Bali to Bromo

[Spanners On Tour]

Bali to Bromo Day 1.

We started in Ubud and headed on our dirt bikes towards the center of the island through forests, creeks and over mountains. Amazingly diverse bike riding and climate, from hot and tropical to cool mountain air with a light drizzle.
In a small village we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a Balinese ceremony complete with gongs, incense and strange costumes.
We rode through some green lanes on the west of the island, areas only accessible by dirt bike or by foot. It was really out in the sticks.
We finished off with a long beach ride towards the ferry taking us from Bali to Java. We had the dirt bikes and support vehicle onboard in no time and made it across the the resort on the other side in time for dinner.

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Bali to Bromo 5 day tour with www.adventureridersindonesia.com

[frenchy3]

Looking forward to this report. Someone has done a useful looking modification on the bike seat for comfort. It looks very similar to a "Seat Concepts" profile.

[Spanners On Tour]

The Honda CRF does have a really comfy seat. We all want one on our bikes now. I've tried the stock CRF seat and compared to my own Kawasaki and Yamaha seats they are rock hard.

[Spanners On Tour]

Bali to Bromo Day 2.

On the 2nd day of the Bali2Bromo trip the guide took us into a rainforest on the east coast of Java. It provide some shade and lots of water crossings, either on rickety bamboo bridges or just bombing through on the now quite muddy dirt bikes.



As the rainforest thinned out we entered an area with lost of volcanic hills, home to huge coffee plantations. We had a few samples along the way.



In the afternoon we started ascending a hill leading up over a volcanic rim and into a crater with a lush caldera about 20 kilometers across. It got colder as we headed into the clouds at the top of the crater rim, but as soon as we drove back down into the caldera we were back to tropical temperatures.



We stayed at a little old Dutch ranger station turned guesthouse. They had a pool as well as a jacuzzi heated by the volcanic thermal action underneath us! The fridge was working full time keeping our drinks cold.



The guesthouse was attached to a coffee production plant. Drying, roasting and packing. We had a few samples and some picked up a couple of souvenirs.

After a good buffet dinner we looked at maps, tried to dry out our riding gear and then got some well earned rest.


#bali2bromo #theMagmaTrails

[daveuprite]

Superb pics. Really sharp and bright. Must be that tropical light. Keep posting them - they're great.

[Spanners On Tour]

Day 3 of the Bali to Bromo trip started off inside a huge volcanic crater. We group crossed the huge caldera via small pathways through coffee plantations to reach a volcanic ridge. It offers a view of smaller volcanic cones inside the greater volcanic rim.



After a short stop to enjoy the view and take pictures we got back on the bikes and headed back into the plantations. Lots of small muddy tracks led through vegetable fields up to the top of the crater. There were only a few coulda so we had a pretty good view of the inside of the crater we had started off in that morning.



After lunch we headed into a sugarcane plantation area. The tracks varied from muddy hill track to rock, concrete and tarmac back to single tracks. Never a dull moment on the dirt bikes. A short but intense downpour added to the fun.





As we got closer to Jember where we had accommodation booked, we went through small farm villages. At one point we even drove through someone’s property, straight through their backyard, much to the family’s amusement. Unfortunately one bike knocked off the silencer landing hard after a jump. Something to be fixed early morning before leaving.



The hotel in Jember was fancy with a rooftop beer garden and pool. They had a bbq buffet that night. Well deserved after another eventful day on the dirt bikes.


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[Spanners On Tour]

Superb pics. Really sharp and bright. Must be that tropical light. Keep posting them - they're great.

Thanks, there is pretty intense light at midday but we had a guy with a good camera on the trip so he got some of the great shots.


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[Spanners On Tour]

The 4th day of the #Bali2Bromo dirt bike trip started of in the town of Jember in East Java. After riding out of town on tarmac roads the group hit some forest trails.



It was cool in the shade and the ground was still soft and muddy. As a result it was hard work to get traction in some areas. The forest led to an area with large sugar cane fields before getting near the base of the Bromo outer rim.



Lots of small potholed roads and trails lead up along the outside of the volcanic crater. The adventure riders ascended lush farm areas with vegetable and tea. The aim was the Puncak B-29 viewpoint.



There was a group of young people camping at the top and as the clouds lifted the caldera inside the Bromo crater was visible. It’s quite a stunning view. Lots of small rivers crisscrossed large sections of ground covered in volcanic ash. A center volcano was emitting ash and the far side of the caldera - upwind from the ash cloud was green and lush. There’d be no camping here for us though.




The group found some small dirt bike tracks leading down the inside of the volcano. As other riders had been going the other way it had created deep ruts. Lots of mud and overgrowing branches added to the fun.



Once at the bottom, inside the crater the Adventure riders crossed the caldera. Going past the active volcano they had seen from the top, still emitting ash. It was time hit the gas and have some high speed fun. Hard compact volcanic ash with little jumps and small rivers of rain water to cross as the riders headed to the Lava View Lodge Hotel at the other side of the crater.



Everyone was covered in wet black volcanic ash. After a wash the group met up in the restaurant overlooking the crater and had some refreshments while talking highlights of the day. There were quite a few!