Kompas’ Bali Bike 2012 starts today, explore destinations

A three-day bicycle tour into Bali’s renowned tourist destinations commenced on Friday morning at the newly opened Santika Siligita Hotel, Nusa Dua.

The event, organized by Kompas, the country’s largest daily newspaper, is an effort to introduce Bali as the perfect place for cyclists to have an adventurous holiday.

Bali Bike 2012 will see 116 cyclists test their endurance to the limit along a 290-kilometer route stretching from Nusa Dua, to Denpasar, Ubud, Kertagosa, Candidasa, Kintamani, Pelaga, Bedugul and Taman Ayun, all famous tourist attractions. The route traverses one city and six regencies.

The participants will spend the first night at Candidasa, a quiet seaside resort in Karangasem, and the second night at Kintamani, a hilly region facing Mt. Batur and Lake Batur in Bangli.

“Through this bicycle tour we would like to repromote Bali,” Kompas deputy chief editor Budiman Tanurejo said Thursday.

One of the participants, Marlowe Bandem, could not hide his enthusiasm about the tour, stating that the local tourist industry should take inspiration from this event to develop tourism packages targeting sports enthusiasts.

“It will be a fabulous ride. I have met the other participants and we are all very excited about what is going to happen tomorrow morning,” he said, after attending the tour’s technical meeting.

Marlowe said in addition to being an opportunity to flaunt his newly acquired blue Tommasini classic road bike, the event also offered two attractive things.

“This is a fine event because we have a chance to meet people from various backgrounds who share a similar passion, and also because we will have a chance to test ourselves and our bikes. The fact that the route goes along some of the most beautiful places on this island is definitely an added bonus,” he said.

The participants came from as far as Jakarta, Manado and Singapore. They have brought their own bicycles and paid their own transportation and accommodation. Out of the 116 participants, nine are female and five are foreign nationals.

Kompas has organized bicycle tours since 2007, including the 1,200-kilometer tour from Anyer to Penarukan in 2008 and the 820-kilometer tour from Jakarta to Palembang in South Sumatra in 2011.