CYCLING BALI DAY 5: FLYING THORUGH BALI BARAT NATIONAL PARK

CYCLING BALI DAY 5: FLYING THORUGH BALI BARAT NATIONAL PARK

For the 5th day of my trip I had decided to cycle in late afternoon instead of early morning. That would offer several advantages. The greatest was spending nearly a full extra day at my lux seaside resort, which would also provide my body a longer rest. Although I felt perfectly fine, yesterday’s tougher than expected ride on nearly flat roads alerted me that I might be wearing down.

In addition, my later cycle meant I could avoid spending an entire day at my next destination- Gilimanuk. There was little to do or see there. Basically Gilimanuk is just a sleeping spot for truckers transiting between Bali and Java. Instead of being bored at Gilimanuk I could spend nearly the whole day at Bali’s beautiful north coast. Yippie!

I had actually intended to explore the Pemuteran area in the cool early morning hours, but during breakfast I realized that I just didn’t feel like it. Instead, I spent the entire morning and afternoon lounging at the seaside and pool, writing and editing photos for this blog.

About 3 pm I got ready and climbed onto my bike at 3:30. Off to Gilimanuk! At 3:30 it was still a bit too hot, as I’d expected, since it usually starts cooling slightly at 4 pm. But I wanted to allow extra cycling time in case the road was harder than expected. I certainly did not want to be cycling in the dark on a highway with trucks.

It was just 35 km to Gilimanuk, which I expected to take no more than 2 hours. But just in case, I’d allowed 3 hours. By the 5th day of my trip I definitely did not trust my motorbike research trip notes. For 4 days those notes had under-estimated the steepness of roads. My notes for this particular section of road said that after 10 km of flat coastal cruising, the road began climbing. Hmm… what exactly did that mean?

So it was with some dread that I set out to cycle to Gilimanuk. On the bright side, I had 10 km of flat roads to start with. After that I’d be cycling through the forests and mountains of Bali Barat National Park entirely surrounded by trees. Great!

Happily, the first 10 km were flat indeed. I cruised along in my top gears, having a breezy time. Then I officially entered Bali Barat N. P. and, yep, the road started climbing. I braced myself and ploughed ahead… Quite surprisingly, only the very top of the first hill was extremely steep. Following that… “What’s this? Downhill? Cool!” I flew down the road.

As it turned out, amazingly, the hills were neither too steep nor too long. But the down hills were quite long and plentiful. For once I faced a route easier than expected. Clearly my motorbike notes were not at all accurate for cycling. At least distances were correct. I’d recorded them from my motorbike’s odometer a week earlier.

The last 10 km into Gilimanuk were mostly flat or downhill. I thoroughly enjoyed the unexpected pleasure of flying downhill instead of climbing uphill. I equally enjoyed the beautiful trees, views of the Bali Barat Mountains, the pleasant songs of birds and insects, and the distinct lack of people. It was a great ride.

Exactly 2 hours after leaving Pemuteran I pulled into Gilimanuk. I found a hotel, showered, and pedaled to the seaside to watch the sunset over Java.

ferry plying the channel between Bali and Java

Gilimanuk is the westernmost town in Bali and departure point for ferries to Java. There are clear views of Java’s many eastern volcanoes. Spectacular! Unfortunately, the sunset was not. Still, I got some great photos before heading back to my hotel to eat and relax. It was time to rest for tomorrow’s early morning ride along Bali’s southern coast.

View of eastern Java’s volcanic peaks from Gilimanuk, Bali Cycling Bali Guidebook by Lash If you’re inspired to cycle around Bali, check out my guidebook- Cycling Bali: Guide to Circumnavigating Bali by Bicycle   You might also like to read my previous or next day’s cycling Bali stories: Cycling Bali Day 4: Cruising Bali’s Forgotten North Coast Cycling Bali Day 6: A Taste of Java in Bali —————————————————————————————————————————————