This was marked as my first bike-only event.
Tell you what, since two weeks ago, I was one of the 12 pacers from Bintaro Trojan Runners who obliged to accompany some runners who have target for the upcoming Jakarta Marathon 2016. Every single Sunday. Some excuses (for not to be there) are oke tho 😉
Anyway, I cancelled the 100K Rapha Women Jakarta Chapter last month thus I wanted to participate this event. But I have a duty to be a pacer. Rizky, the PakAji told us just signed up and he’d nego with the pacer-ing thing. So there we were 😀
There were 3 groups in this event, with average speed of 40K(kilometer)P(er)H(our), 30Kph, and 20 Kph! Which group I fell into? Ha! Go Figure! =)) Fortunately, the fast cyclists from BTR were willing to downgrade their speed.
here’s the recap:
- Picking up Vitri, at 4.30am (-____-) off we go to Gatot Subroto, Synthesis Building where the start line was. We got there at 5.30 something (we did sholat shubuh near Blok M. I took a slice of bread and water with honey as my intake.
- Reunited with other friends from BTR, the boys did check and re-check my bike to make sure. I brought water with a tablespoon of honey in my bidon (bottle) for hydration purpose.
199
- Adit, the team captain, has divided who ride by whose side. Based on his plan, I suppose to be side by side Agnes. At about 6 am something flag off for the Charlie Team.
Start Line
- Took left turn, ride along Gatot Subroto and took left again entering Jl. DI Panjaitan. Unfortunately, we took the wrong way. Tiba-tiba stop, kita gotong2x sepeda ke jalan sebelah, heading for Bassura City in Cipinang which also marked as the first water station. They greeted us with traditional dance from Bali and a cup of Cafe Latte from Starbuck! Finally, caffein intake for me! Reunited again with the BTR, than (forget who) reminded us again to stay in a pleton. Ngga boleh ada yang ngacir sendirian. Sebelumnya kami tercerai berai. Cyclist who made to this stop got blue bracelet. I took a banana and a bottle of water. We had ride for 10 Kilometer.
- Then we were heading back to Cawang again, unfortunately I didn’t recognize that I left Agnes, because I was busy catching up my friends. I forgot which route we took, the next thing I know was…we rode passing Pasar Grosir Cililatan, took left turn then Jalan Raya Bogor which was A HELL! HELL ON (CYCLIST’s) EARTH. OH EM GEEEEE Moment! it was the hardest multi tasking for me. Parts between balancing the bike (I put the cleat on, so I took my shoes off every now and then because I was afraid of falling down– kalau tiba ngerem tanpa leaps cleat), concentrating between keep moving while dealing with the brainless Angkot’s and Kopaja Drivers who always made the sudden stop, many-many times I got to stop because there road was very occupied with brainless motorcyclist who took the contra flow on the left side. Hanjrit! Pengen gw tembak rasanya tuh pemotor lawan arah. Udah dia yang salah, dia yang maki-maki. I stopped again busy catching up my breath (and guts). Fortunately, there was a motor marshal with the green vest asking me whether I wanted to be evacuated or not. OH, NO WAY JOSE! I still had many power to complete the next route. I just hate this (sh*tty) road.
- Then, Aphit was my pacer for the rest of the track until…suddenly…some marshal told us “Balik arah! Di sebrang pit stop-nya” It was around 15 km from the first station to the second. 15km of hell! *masih kesel plus gemetaran nulis ini*
Jiah…..it was a hard maneuver for me. We stopped at Prajawangsa Apartment in Cijantung. A- IDR 250 mi0-under construction – apartment (or ground breaking phase, I can’t remember). I know the price,because the MC keep informing us the price per unit 😉
Here, the Kalimantan Timur dancers greeted us. If you befriended with me in FB or Instagram, I post a video of this dance. And owh, they gave us, ah I forgot Red Bracelet I guess. Apiet tried his luck to shoot a balloon with Dayak’s traditional weapon. Nembak cewek ditolak terus sih ya, bro? Then we realized there were no Adit (the captain), Maya (Adit’s wife) and Rino. Unfortunately, there were no marshal around, so they kept straight instead of making a U-turn in Prajawangsa because nobody told them to. There were also some cyclists who got lost. Rino was really pissed off! (I would too,if I were him). Anyway, I took a fit bar and a bottle of Pocari for the intake. Owh, it was a-22.7Km- ride already.
Apit nembak Balon
some of us
- Regrouping, we headed back to Jalan Basuki, made U turn, then cruising the rest of Jalan Raya Bogor then made the right turn to Jalan Raya Haji Juanda and here we went dealing with countless rolling road in Depok. I shifted my gear, tried to get my bike easier, here came the drama. The chain was misplaced. Rantai gw lepas, malih! Pak Aji, VItri and even Mas RezPo stopped to help me :D. Done. Then I caught my group again, gowes (menurut gw) sekencang-kencangnya dealing with the hilly road then here we go again, the chain misplaced again. Oh the-so-called-bike- drama. Dua kali rantai lepas. Fortunately (again), there was Mas Rezpo with the marshal again, helping me. Note to myself, I have to learn with so-called-shifting-gear incase gw mau sepedahan di Alpen. (Kalau ngayal, sekalian!)
- Suddenly I felt so exhausted that my feet were’t steady. Those were shaking but I kept moving. Traffic was better. Fortunately (catatan: BERDOA SEBELUM AKTIVITAS ITU PENTING ADANYA!) , some of Charlie Pleton stopped in traffic light. I gained by breath and my sanity back. Others were waiting 2o0 away. Later, we made right turn, heading for Universitas Indonesia then Jalan Raya Pasar Minggu (another owh-so-called-kota-ini-kebanyakan-orang-ngga-tau-aturan-moment) in one of the train station. We were heading to the last pit stop in Kemang. I can recall, gw ngomel-ngomel ke Pak Aji “nih yeee…gara-gara elo gw daftar ginian!” =)). *Asik-asik nyalahin orang aja* The sun was quite hot too. Along Jalan Raya Pasar Minggu I was hallucinating, couldn’t tell the different between Race Marshal with green vest and Abang Ojek dari Grab Bike.
somewhere in Depok
- Last Pit Stop was Synthesis Reserve Kemang and the entertaniment was from Reog from Ponorogo. The cyclists who made it to this top received yellow bracelet. I parked my bike, had a bottle of water, Pocari and Fit Bar again. It was 9.30am something . scorching hot! Nyengat banget malih! It was a -48.4KM- ride already.
- To save time, we wanted this event to finish very…very soon. So, we took off. Always kept ourself in a group. Pak Giri did a very good job of opening the road so less hustle and bustle for us. So did Adit, the captain who patiently wait for the last person in group. Unfortunately, Agnes stopped in last pit stop. The rest of the track was fine. of course, since I quite familiars with this area (hell yeah, hahahha. Jakarta Timur asing deh buat gw) We made right turn from Jalan Ampera, dealed with undulating road of Jalan Mampang, smooth road in Jalan Rasuna Said, turn left to ITC Kuningan, climbed Karet fly over, made a U-Turn in front of City Walk (HELLO OFFICE BUILDING), climbed Karet Fly Over again, passing ITC Kuningan, made a left turn…and they (the fast cyclist such as Thya, Giri, Vitri, etc) went nuts! They rode with average 30’s KPH! Hmppphhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! Ditahan-tahan 50km sebelumnya, akhirnya lepas kendali! Made a U-turn in Tugu 66! Wooossss…I couldn’t see their sight again!
- I stayed ISTIQOMAH! Sutrahlah…ntar lagi sampai. It’s Jalan Rasuna Said and Jl Gatot Subroto anyway. There were marshal too besides me. Someone who rode folding bike (crazy! folding bike for 71Km!) was ‘pushed’ on his back by the marshal. It would be easier for him to keep moving.
- And there I go! Survived in one piece in never friendly Jakarta Road under the scorching sun! Ha!
Done!
Colorful Bracelets! Indonesia is ME
In case you are wondering, Synthesis is the developer that will build the mega block area. 😉 The tag line of the event was
“Bring out Miles of Smiles”. All registration fee will be donated for Operasi Bibir Sumbing.The- THUMBS UP- movement.
That is the recap of my first bike-only-event! Big thanks to my Bintaro Trojan Runners (now cyclist) family.
Karena dengan kalianlah, kata PERTAMA KALI bisa diulang sampai RIBUAN KALI.
Except for the part in Jalan Raya Bogor, the event was ok with sufficient water stations.
Until my first Audax or Tour De in…
Yeah right! I was joking!
PS : for my non Indonesian reader, 71Km represent Indonesia’s Independence day. it was on August 17th, 1945.
me and my story 