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September 20, 2005
A Shaky Start - Biking Eastern Java
DAY: 99
LOCATION: Jember, Java
NAUTICAL MILES TODAY:
NAUTICAL MILES YESTERDAY: 35
NAUTICAL MILES TOTAL TRIP: 884
All OK. In the town of Jember, 100kms from Banyuwangi where we left from yesterday morning. Crazy traffic south along the coast road to Rogojambe where we lost Chris for the remainder of the day (he took a wrong turn and ended up taking a longer route to Jember). Basically every motorized and non-motorized vehicle, biped, quadraped, moped, dog, cat, chicken, rat, cyclist all jostling for space on the same minute stretch of asphalt that would classify as a rural 'B' road back home. Scary to begin with, as the driver of these huge trucks spend as much time in the opposing lane overtaking as in the one they should be in. But after awhile you realize they're used to driving on these kinds of roads where missing everything by a matter of inches is considered normal, and perhaps their tolerance for cutting it as fine as they do is higher than the average Westerner would be able to handle driving on the same road.
Roadrage is non-existant here. Whereas in somewhere like Alabama we'd have been sworn off the road by numerous truck/pickup truck drivers using a plethora of obscenities and beer cans, we've had nothing but smiles, waves and the habitual 'Hello Meester' aimed at us from passing truck windows. And no anti-western sentiment from Muslims so far AT ALL! In fact quite the opposite. They really seem to love cyclists here and we're all quite hoarse from returning salutations.
Today we climbed around the volcano Raung which took a few hours of cranking in low gears (and walking!) up to 1,500 feet above sea level, affording us much-needed cooler air and spectacular views of the surrounding coffee and rubber plantations. This is Java as I hoped it would be; lush rainforest and vegetation in abundance - a welcome balance to the congested roads and polluted towns like the one we're in now. April is doing better today after a bout of heat exhaustion early yesterday morning. But her damaged knee from a ripped ACL 2-years ago is now starting to play up. We intend taking it easy these first few days to avoid over-stressing her knee and for all of us to build the cardio-vascular fitness we didn't seem to get from kayaking.
Posted on September 20, 2005 6:22 AM
Comments
HI! We are studying about your adventures in the IMPACT LISTENING 1 English book. I am learning English in South Bend, Indiana but I am from Russia. You are an inspiration!! Good job and stay healthy. Our class would like to watch a movie about your life.
Posted by: Makhmud at September 21, 2005 8:25 PM
Hi Jason
Good to see you blokes are alive and well and makeing good progress. I've been checking you out on this website every few days and useing your Lat $ Long to see where you are on Google Earth's Sat photos. Very impressive mate.
Ha Jason, that speargun was not ment to protect you from coconuts. You should use a paddle for that.
Keep the dream alive mate.
Regards to You. April & Chris
Bob Z Mission Beach
Posted by: Bob Zylmans at September 20, 2005 7:41 AM