Bromo Day 1 Ride.

Day 1 Ride:- Mount Mujur.

Mount Mujur Groupie

   Ride proper begins today.
   The herd assembled at the lobby and off we went. Today's ride will be at Mount Mujur. Plan was, do a double loop around Mount Mujur. Then return back to Harris Hotel for more beer drinking before heading out for dinner.
   Breakfast at the local stall by the roadside before heading up into Mount Mujur. As usual, Antony pretended to listen to all the food request and what who prefers and don't prefer. Everyone ended up with Nasi Soto Ayam. Dotty ate someone else's of course. Then she proceeded to eat her own portion.

Nasi Soto Ayam

   Before anyone realized anything, Antony chased and whipped the herd into their respective lorry for the ride up to Mount Mujur Trailhead. We checked the toilet to make sure Fong was not lost inside the toilet. Lorry took a breezy 30 minutes to go up the mountain. Krankster hopped off looking a wee bit woozy. He was smiling more than his usual self.

   " Is it me or anyone else feels woozy and happy?"

   CT and VC stared at Krankster in wide eyed disbelief. This fella must have been drinking the beer behind our back. How come he is woozy and happy at this hour? What time did Krankster wake up today? We need to be more vigilant. Something does not add up. Didn't we agree to go sleep and stop drinking at sunrise? Eh.....

   Bikes checked. Water bladder filled. Biological bladder cleared. Antony said something about the trail going up and down somewhere. Everyone pretended to listen and said hooray. Some clapping for godknowswhat. And on saddle we went. Up this pebble strewn trail that gradually leans upwards. Annie decided to take a break after 6 meters. Started flipping and speaking to her bike in Hakka. Ivan pretended to show some concern for the RM40 lucky draw bike. We all stopped to stare as usual. Gery the guide poked the bike in the ass a few times. Voila... Problem solved. Nothing a simple Javanese magic and chant can't resolve.
   Team A. The so called fast team went off first. Like lightning they disappeared. "Shazam!" someone said. Team A left us in a cloud of dust.
   Team B cursed in Hakka. Hokkien. Hainanese and Javanese.
   We were in Team B.
   Waited for the dust to settle before proceeding.
   Team B took off at a leisurely pace. Team B stopped after 15 minutes to speak to Annie's bike again and take photos. Team B remembered that they were on a holiday. Team B smiled for photos. Annie smiled as well. Ivan's smile was stuck on his face ever since he left Bukit Jalil.
   Team B was busy taking blurfie with Manta's camera when Krankster started pointing towards the sky. Short of shouting " Ze plane ze plane like that Hobbit in Fantasy Island". We thought Krankster was a wee bit too happy this morning.
   Turns out, Team B accidentally stopped and took a wefie while Mount Semeru erupted.
   Team B morphed into Team Japanese tourist. I counted 7 camera phones within moments.
   Click click click....

Mount Semeru showing off in the distance.

   We only took 3 videos and probably 49 photos of the volcano erupting in front of our eyes. Team B got tired of watching the smoke plumes floating into the stratosphere after 10 minutes. Team B decided to continue cycling. Team B finally caught up with Team A at the wooden shack. Team B congratulated Team A for being Shazam like.
   Fast. Race pace. Efficient. Elbows tucked in. Heads down. Aero position engaged. Butt high and tight for maximum power delivery. Dotty was beaming with pride. Hanz and Aldrich strutted around like Alpha Peacocks with tail wing widely spread out for all to see and admire. Swenson and Desmond were on the verge of thumping their chest like proud silver back gorillas. Team B told Team A about the volcano eruption they just witnessed..

   Team A stopped talking to Team B for the rest of the day.

   After our usual obligatory apple break. It was the start of our first downhill run.
   Seeing that both teams were no longer on talking terms for the day. Team A took off.
   "Shazam...!"

   Downhill run was typical of all trails in Bromo. First sector was through canopied bamboo forest. Then comes the single tracks. And the rock strewn single tracks. Along comes the dusty bits. Each time i come to visit Bromo, i rediscover my faith in God and prayers. All i could do was squint and hope for the best. A Chinaman squinting is taking things to the extreme. I couldn't see anything for 15 minutes. All i heard was rocks flying against the bikes and a lot of old men screaming like little girls. And Hainanese swear words. Trail finished at the local village. We spotted Team A refilling water and beer as we arrived. The usual compliments for Team A of course. I took a photo with a goat.


   A brief stop and we packed up for the second run at Mount Mujur. Another 30 minutes of chatter before we arrived back at the same trailhead. Lube the chain. Re-adjusted the squinty eyes. Off we went again. Shazam..! Of course. Team A disappeared. A few decided to jump ship from Team A. Nope. Mount Semeru did not want to fart this time around. No erupting volcano this round. More la la chatter before we caught at the same hut. Now it was to be another downhill run off Mount Mujur using a different route.
   Took off.
   We lost half of Team A after 3 turns.
   It was another 25 minutes before Indra and Bayu managed to locate the 6 lost riders. Post mortem on the trail. It was Dotty's fault apparently. Tycoon said he missed the left turn because he couldn't see past Dotty's butt. Dotty said she was not at fault. Dotty blamed mass added with momentum. Dotty claimed she was only to be blamed for the mass bit. Momentum compounded with mass is no fault of hers. Velocity is Einstein's doing, not hers. Those 6 flew past the turn and ended up at another peak. Tailook said he was obediently following Dotty and Tycoon. Jowei said he wanted to see the volcano. We don't know who the other 2 were. No one owned up to it. Despite us asking. Everyone stared at the ground. Ivan was of course smiling. VC said we shouldn't be wasting time arguing when we could be back in the hotel drinking beer. I took a pee at the bush.
   Antony's jaw dropped open for a few moment. He was either impressed with the groups vast knowledge in physics or he now realises how screwed he really is for the next 3 days.

   Team A took off.

Team B Gopro view.

   Team B strolled along. The usual single tracks and dusty trails. Almost entirely downhill for the next 20 minutes. Tycoon tried to catch Antony. He wanted to personally have a word with Antony. Tycoon did not understand why Antony did not switch off the magnets he laid down in the single tracks. Doesn't Antony realize we are riding mountain bikes not KTM trains? How are we to ride if the magnets continously pull our bikes into the middle of the single track all the time? Eh....

   Upon hearing this, Aunty13 decided to lie down.

Aunty13 looking for rainbows.

   After 15 minutes of prayers and Javanese magic, Aunty13's legs decided to listen to her. Finally made it out to the trail after passing by a few quaint villages. Saw more goats. Stopped to take photos with a flock of ducks swimming in the paddy field. Waved and high five'd a couple of school kids. Winked at a few Javanese girls in their sarong. Pretty much a ride through the local farm and kitchen.

Team B GoPro view.

Ducks watching Team B ride past.

   Team A saw a lot rocks.

Team A view for day 1. 

   CT and VC were both over the moon when Antony announced the ride for Day 1 was over. Back to Harris Hotel we headed. It was another 3 hours before dinner. Plenty time to catch up on loss beer drinking time.
   Dinner was a riot.
   Everybody didn't get anything to eat for 90 minutes. VC was in agony. Poor man had no beer the entire time. CT did his best to console him. Antony's smile was frozen for the longest time. Krankster ate a few packets of peanuts. Aunty13 continued talking to her frozen legs. Aldrich continued smiling to no one in particular. Fong wandered off somewhere, came back and still had nothing to eat.

   Dinner served.
   Dinner done within minutes.
   Harris Hotel.... Tonight is officially Single Malt night. Karaoke in full session. Captain America managed to pull out a mini karaoke set from his luggage. Team B sang Chinese songs. Team B sang old people songs. Unker sang a Hindi song about an elephant. Aunty13 sang her wedding song. Aunty13 sang her high school graduation song. Desmond wanted to sing some girly Bon Jovi song. Fong went exploring. Manta requested an Indonesian song in memory of his maid. Aunty13 sang her 18th birthday song. VC nodded to all the songs. Oily wanted to mop the staircase. Krankster did a Swiss rain dance.

   I was surprised the police did not knock on our door.
   We only lost Tycoon and Aldrich that night. Those 2 fella decided to move one street away to preserve their mental health and sanity. And they didn't want to spend the night in an Indonesian jail for unruly behaviour.
   We finished singing when the third bottle of Single Malt ran out.
   It was to be a horrid second day.
   We only have 2 bottles of Single Malts left.

   Un'beliveable