Bedugul to Wongaya Gede
From red strawberries to red rice
Leaving Ubud behind, we drove north to Bedugul. It is uphill all the way, and we pass through rice paddies, sleepy villages, vegetable fields and forest. We check out a market which is obviously homogenised for the tourist trade - nearly every stall holder is selling the same products at over-inflated prices. We are offered watches, which if taken at face value must be some of the best in the world; they come with a 100 year guarantee!
The riding started on single track down through plots of carrot, spring onion, garlic, chilli, potato, cabbages & strawberry, then into classic dark, moist rainforest with soft deep soil, interspersed with roots and small drop-offs. Magic stuff. This was followed by big concrete and tarmac descents 'till we arrive at the recently proclaimed UNESCO area; a subac to control the irrigation system. Even though this is the same system used all over Bali to control the water as it gravity feeds through various farmers’ fields, this is one of great beauty and magnificent views.
We lunch on local delicacies; Balinese chicken, red rice, steamed spicy greens, stir fried vegetables and coconut, and Balinese sate.
After lunch we ride broken tarmac roads which contour around and then bomb down through farms and villages. Our hotel tonight is peaceful; villas placed within red-rice paddies. It is like being in a large terraced garden. The pool is fed from the paddies above, and drains into the ones below.
Our room has an outdoor shower which soothes as it massages away the pain of the road. It is cool up here on the side of the mountain, so there is no need for air-conditioning or fans in the rooms, and as we drift to sleep safely shrouded by our mosquito nets, we are serenaded by a symphony of frog calls.
For those playing at home we rode 28k in 1:55, ascending 357m and descending 1165m.
https://www.strava.com/activities/69880298
The riding started on single track down through plots of carrot, spring onion, garlic, chilli, potato, cabbages & strawberry, then into classic dark, moist rainforest with soft deep soil, interspersed with roots and small drop-offs. Magic stuff. This was followed by big concrete and tarmac descents 'till we arrive at the recently proclaimed UNESCO area; a subac to control the irrigation system. Even though this is the same system used all over Bali to control the water as it gravity feeds through various farmers’ fields, this is one of great beauty and magnificent views.
We lunch on local delicacies; Balinese chicken, red rice, steamed spicy greens, stir fried vegetables and coconut, and Balinese sate.
After lunch we ride broken tarmac roads which contour around and then bomb down through farms and villages. Our hotel tonight is peaceful; villas placed within red-rice paddies. It is like being in a large terraced garden. The pool is fed from the paddies above, and drains into the ones below.
Our room has an outdoor shower which soothes as it massages away the pain of the road. It is cool up here on the side of the mountain, so there is no need for air-conditioning or fans in the rooms, and as we drift to sleep safely shrouded by our mosquito nets, we are serenaded by a symphony of frog calls.
For those playing at home we rode 28k in 1:55, ascending 357m and descending 1165m.
https://www.strava.com/activities/69880298
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