Bali Batur Crator Ride

Some might have noticed I didn't have much to say last week, and now you can see why... we were in Bali having a really rather nice time

Although this trip had a fairly hectic schedule I had been allowed one day off on Monday, which was used to partake in the Bali Trailblazers Batur Crater ride. This ride and the tour company have been discussed here before (see anyone been mountain biking in Bali?) so naturally I thought part of any trip over there would have to include checking it out.

Although am not sure a trip to Bali solely for the riding would be worthy, I would thoroughly recommend the crew and this ride to anyone looking to include a bit of MTB in their schedule. During organising this, emails were always promptly answered and the day went pretty much exactly to plan despite the ... erm... 'unusual' traffic in this part of the world which one might think would have thrown a spanner in any kind of schedule.

The pace was very relaxed due to the only other clients being a couple of road riders who seemed fit enough but didn't have many (any?) technical skills and had to walk numerous sections of the track. As I booked alone it's fair enough I guess, but given there were only three clients on this ride I would imagine if you had a group of that size you could ask for exclusive use of the guide's time and pretty much set any pace you liked.

From the statement above you might think the track was technical, but to be honest the trails were easy enough. No drops, no rocks to climb, no hike-a-bike or anything like that. The most challenging section was one particularly steep bit of single track with two tight switchbacks which required good balance to get round. Some sections of the trail were really very overgrown too - lots of long grass and bushes to roll through and hope you're going the right way!

The guide was awesome and clearly skilled, plus an all round nice guy - he was happy to chat about the usual bike stuff as we trundled along waiting for the slowies. He fell asleep on the van on the way back to Ubud mind, but being driven around in Bali is an experience in itself so none of that for me!

The bike I had (a Felt hardtail) was pretty average: hydro brakes which was all I really cared about and some sort of Shimano drive train (yeah - I wasn't much paying attention). There were a few issues with the gears (I tweaked the RD barrel adjuster numerous times) but wasn't enough to put me off. I never ride a hardtail and found it a bit sketchy on the descents - is that what one usually feels like?

I'd previously decided to take my own pedals/helmet/pack, etc. and their use went without drama so all good.

For the duration of the ride the weather was very pleasant, just about perfect I'd say. Even though the locals were saying there had been an unusual amount of rain lately and it looked pretty dull in Ubud when we left, along the ride route no such drama and plenty of sunshine despite some threatening clouds that never came to anything. Even though it often felt incredibly humid in Ubud and the river valley our hotel was on, again, no such worries on the ride. I found this rather amazing to be honest and didn't feel like I was really sweating much at all, despite the 28C average temperature. I only drank a moderate amount of water too - you'd certainly consume more in a Sydney summer ride.

Basically then - a great day out and well worth a look if you happen to be in this part of the world. Here's a few more shots and the GPS: