Selamat Jalan

Yesterday was the end of the bike trip and time to say goodbye to all my new friends.  I was worried about how it would be traveling in an organized group, but it turned out to be great. There were 20 people on the trip, and I genuinely liked most everyone, which is rare given that I don't really like people. And, it was a mix of ages (23-68), solo travelers, couples, and a family.  My trip BFF was a woman my age from Brooklyn, with a great collection of Cole Haan Nike Airs.  (Fortuitously, there was also a recently retired Nike exec who gave me the skinny on the Cole Haan - Nike relationship. Short answer is I need to stockHipile.)

So, we ended the trip in Manggis, on the eastern coast of Bali.  The last night, there was a dinner out by the ocean, with paper lanterns strewn about and cloth covered everything, like a wedding. We had just finished dinner - I had a crazy good Mahi Mahi - when a torrential downpour hit and soaked everyone. I rallied long enough for a lava cake dessert, but that was it.

The next morning, we went out for one last bike ride in the country. Mostly uneventful, though my Brazilian buddy crashed into a stray dog. I don't know if the dog was blind or rabid, but it charged her bike when we were moving along.  My friend was okay, and we did not get bitten. The dog ran away, so I don't know its fate. That might have been the biggest biking drama I witnessed, and I'm surprised incident happen sooner, or with a rooster.  I do regret skipping the 8k loop at the end, because I'm told the women out working with sickles were topless, which seems like a strange sight to bear witness to.  (And a work hazard.  Is there no Balinese OSHA?)

And now, I am in the south of Bali in Jimbaran, on my own for the last few days. Last night, I walked on the beach to the fancy Four Seasons to have one last night at dinner with a few people from the group who had yet to fly home. And now, I have a few days to read, nap, and sit on the beach.  (I did not take a single nap while on the bike trip.  I'm very disappointed in myself and my lackadaisical attitude towards vacation sloth.)

I already miss the biking. I think I biked around 190 km last week.  (Okay - 120 miles.  But doesn't km sound bigger and more impressive and foreign?)  Over the week, I improved a boat load. I was walking my bike up far fewer hills. And, as I suspected, I'm now totally dying to have an expensive titanium bike.

Off to the beach and an attempt to book a flight for tomorrow to the neighboring island of Java, to see some temple ruins.