Stage 20: Java

Cimaja to  Ujung Gesting
Date: 10-09-2014 Time: 05:21 h Σ Time: 117:20 h
Distance: 97 km Σ km: 2426 km Temp: 21/35 °C
Up: 1279 m Σ Up: 25066 m Calories: 2220 kcal
Down: 1288 m Σ Down: 24967 m Σ kcal: 54139 kcal
Conditions: Another joy ride. Roads good. Climb long but never steep, easy to find a pace to make it to the top effortless. Temperatures moderate. Head wind in the afternoon turning back to sea.

Another enjoyable cycling day. The morning climb after 15 km on the main road from sea level to almost 800 m was a ‘piece of cake’. Easy to find the right gear and pace to finish the 20 km gradual slope in one turn. Thereafter all day long downhill. That is how it should be. The vegetation and landscape changed. Hilly with endless tea plantations, with tea pickers at work. I stopped to ‘chat’ with some of the tea pickers – great fun. Another stop at a school where girls and boys were playing soccer together in heir school uniforms. I ‘crashed’ another school lesson and turned it into a ‘the stranger entertaining the kids’ lesson. At the end the kids formed a quire and sang an Indonesian song for me. The day ended at the Turtle Beach Hotel – nice, spacey and clean. Unfortunately someone must have told them that we must all be Germans! Only Beer at the bar, no soft drinks. We were told that the turtles usually come to the beach at around 8/9pm, so we will have a chance to see them tonight.

 

stage-20

At Turtle Beach

Arrived at the Turtle Beach. A 95 km relaxed ride. A 20 km climb in the morning into the tea fields. Thereafter an all day drop down to sea level, through rice fields, rubber tree plantations and numberless little villages.

image

I took it really slowly as my coughing does not get better and keeps me from restful sleeping.

Tonight we might go to the close by sanctuary where sea turtles come to the beach and lay their eggs.