Day 116 - north and I mean it! - Unfinished Business

August 24, 2023

Day 116 - north and I mean it!

Dina, afif, Sami, roni

I meant to finish yesterday's post by returning to footpaths. I forgot so I'll start today's with them. It was after 10 that I walked from the warung to the hotel passing the hospital on my way.

This is the footpath outside the hospital. Just yell and they will come and get you. If you walk, do so on the road.

I noticed the Alfamart sign glowing above. Not far away was Alfamaret. They come in pairs.

I have been in dozens of these stores, pretty much to buy water, fake orange juice and an occasional packet of coconut biscuits.

Breakfast was a mediocre fried rice that I supplemented with some banana cold dogs. I was on my way before 9 and soon found where I went wrong yesterday. Three signs, a couple of hundred metres apart, indicated Palembang straight ahead. The fourth, hidden behind a tree, indicated Palembang to the right. Anyway, I made a mistake and paid for it.

I didn't feel tired from yesterday's workout, but with limited accommodation on the way, opted for a lazy 85 km.

It might be good that I did. I just didn't roll today, something I put down to a patchwork road eaten up by trucks. Most were laden heavily with cassava, something I'll get to later, so prepare yourselves. As usual it was an overcast day but bright enough to make photography tricky.

Sumatran trucks are green or orange. They refuse to meet socially.

No doubt a controlled burn; I just don't like the colour.

Can I please have one! Pineapples are bromeliads of which most of the 3500 species come from tropical America. Over 200 provide a source of food.

I had done just 15 km when I noticed a bakery - uncommon in Indonesia. What's more, this one was advertising "roti durian". I wandered in and the first thing I saw were small muffin-like cakes. Now, a simple way for a touring cyclist to judge the quality of a snack is weight. These cakes were heavy. I grabbed a few and then enquired about roti durian, of which I knew nothing. It's simple; the plain loaf is cut in half and spread with a dose of durian puree stored in the fridge. I splurged! My purchase was 50,000 rp.

Vendor of the day - the delightful woman in the bakery.

Bus shelters too are uncommon. I saw this one after 30 km when I needed a snack. It was here that I decided that roti durian is good.

I got going from my bus shelter and soon had the disturbing sight of monkeys in small cages. We have seen them being used in Malaysia to harvest palm oil fruits.

Indonesia, to me, is a country with a lot of stuff falling apart. In particular, tiles and rendering seem particularly prone. I think this may have much to do with being in the tropics. Even so, why not build accordingly?

Bits are dropping from all over this archway that spans the road.

The first raptor I have seen since a sea eagle off Labuan Bajo. How long will this structure last? The adjacent umbrellas are showing their age.

Decrepit places can look terrific! And here's the bicycle and the cyclist of the day, or so I thought. He's got that front suspension.

I had the vendor of the day, the cyclist of the day and then I spotted a roadkill.

A few minutes later, a pair of tourers appeared coming towards me. We were all excited. Selamet and Mr Heru are doing a round-trip from their hometown, Lampung City, to Palembang. They're both riding Federal bicycles, which are made in Indonesia. I didn't look too closely, but at a glance they looked good.

That's Selamet on the left with Mr Heru. These blokes are definitely the cyclists of the day. The old bloke takes silver.

In the background of this image sits a temple or some form of religious structure. I'm never sure when a building reaches the status of "temple", but a little way on, I was sure.

I'm sure you will recognize the building next door. The impending storm made for good light.

I've seen similar sculptures in many countries - clearly Hindu.

I sensed that rain was close and managed to dive under cover at an Alfamart - of course. I looked up accommodation, as rain belted down, and saw a homestay nearby.

But before I take you on that journey, let's do cassava. I've been smelling it all day. Ground cassava clearly ferments and emits butyrate. We may not realize it but we all know that smell.

Cassava, Manicot esculenta, is a tuberous plant from South America that's grown widely in the tropics. The tuber resembles a sweet potato. The leaves are also edible. The tubers are typically manufactured into flour that is then used for breads, a source of starch and, of course, alcoholic drinks. You've probably eaten cassava chips. I know a little bit about it because, before leaving ANU, I helped Howard Bradbury with his project on cassava and cyanide.

Chopping into lengths for planting. Could she chop! Apologies - awful photo.

A maturing crop backed by a palm oil plantation.

Cassava workers who have just finished loading bundles of canes.

Scrambling to package dried cassava before the rain.

The rain stopped and I cycled to Avista Homestay, which is more like something you'd find in Ubud. Not surprisingly, it's fully booked. Even so, Dina made me a cup of tea with biscuits and then offered me a room in the house. She then brought me more tea and an egg and vegetable sandwich. Dina's not the only one running the show - it's multi-generational.

I found a fine warung for dinner and took a few photos on my way back. Things went my way today. I even saw a couple of interesting birds - a lesser coucal and a white-throated kingfisher.

One glitch on cycleblaze is that sometimes deleted photos reappear.

Today's ride: 85 km (53 miles)
Total: 8,229 km (5,110 miles)

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Ian DouglasAppreciated the elaboration on Cassava.
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8 months ago

Jackie LaycockIn Prymont in Sydney, many years ago before the gentrification, CSR had a factory and often driving across the Pyrmont Bay Bridge, you could smell that sweet sickly catch in the back of the throat smells that I feel may be similar to all pervading smell from casava. Together with the smog and smoke, it must be truly unpleasant at times.
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8 months ago