Cycling in Asia

This was my seventh trip to Bintan and by far the hardest one.  We started with 22 people today and many of them were first time Bintan riders. 

The day was off to a rough start as the ferry ride over was extremely choppy and rough. Some cyclists were really impacted and this was the roughest ride I had experienced. The rough waves were a sign of things to come.  Despite the sun shining brightly at the ferry terminal where we started, it was within the first couple of kilometers that we would meet the high powered winds that would increase the difficulty of this already challenging ride. 

Here is a picture of Sara, Jeanette and Myia before the ride starts.

At kilometer 84 we stopped and I felt amazingly refreshed after enjoying a huge tailwind down the coast road. The coast road was also just repaved so we were able to push 35-40km/hour most of the way with minimal effort.    I knew the next stretch between km84 and 105 would be the toughest but the wind really knocked me out.  There was great debate on whether or not we would actually stop at kilometer 105 however by the time I arrived there was no doubt I would be stopping. I had pushed hard to try to catch up with Damian after my chain dropped on a big hill.  After hearing GO GO GO from  Damian I knew it would be hard to catch up with the group. 

After regrouping at the rest stop we pedaled in the last 35km to the ferry terminal.  

It was a tough day but most of the folks finished. 

Well there is no doubt that this trip to Bintan was better than the previous one.  During our last trip you may remember that we had more than 20 flat tires and that not many of us actually managed to finish the ride since we ran out of spares!  Well this time we had more riders and more finishers and only a total of two flats for the entire group.  Many people achieved the ride for the first time and there were a few newcomers to the usual group.

  Here is a video of a few of the key moments from the ride.

  Next ride January!