The Man Who Rode Around Borneo - Prologue

I only found out how mentally drained and physically knackered I was only after I got home in Singapore three days after the end of Ride Around Borneo (RAB). I was also too affected by the experience cycling around Borneo. To see how people live in remote parts of Borneo, especially in Central Kalimantan and the little helps given to them was probably too much for me to handle. I felt so helpless and wish I could do more while I was there but then again, I was struggling myself. I’ve been to remote places before but I have never seen such poverty like this in my life.  Well, there will always the first time.

After all the unpacking, cleaning, assembling the bike, catching up with “work” (I do work in between cycling) and friends, the next thing I needed a real break. Get off the bike and get my mind off it for a while. It was a little overwhelming to experience Borneo on a bicycle speed in a short period of time.  Even until now, the memories of Kalimantan are still fresh in my mind. The people I met and those who have given me shelter and those took care of me. Thank you very much.

Well my rest obviously took longer than I have expected; it is more resting my mental than physical. RAB to me wasn’t exactly a bike tour (touristy like cycling) like many had expected it to be. It was more like a challenge for me to complete that one circle and prepping myself for my future big cycling adventure. As much as I wanted to see and go places in Borneo, I simply don’t have the luxury of time, especially in Kalimantan. I was like racing against the clock the moment I got in to Kalimantan. Ideally, it would be very nice if I could go slow and take my time. I couldn’t get the 60 days visas I had wanted.  After crossing into Kalimantan via Kampung Aruk, it was all get there, eat, sleep, wake up the next day and go again and it keeps repeating until I got out from Kalimantan. Even that, I overstayed in Kalimantan by a day and valid for the officialdom there to charge me for overstaying. To the Immigration officers in Tarakan, Kalimantan Indonesia, thank you for your kind understanding.

I am now well rested (sort of) and compelled to share my story here. It’s not going to be easy for me to put my experiences cycling around Borneo into words as I am bad at writing. I hope you can understand. But before I go on rambling, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you (you know who you are) for making cycling around Borneo happened. Those of you that have supported this adventure (buying Ride Around Borneo shirts and indirectly contributing to raise fund for charity), you people will be remembered as long as I live and breathe. Yes, every time mounting the bicycle when I was in Borneo, many of you came to mind. Many times the thought of giving up came to mind and when the road gets tougher; many of you linger in my thoughts and urge me on. Without many of you, cycling around Borneo will be just another idea and dreams of mine. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

RAB did not happen overnight obviously. It took me few months after cycling in Sumatra to decide where will be my next cycling adventure going to be and the thought of somewhere nice came to mind. You know, touristy cycling. I was thinking places like Bali (which I rode around with four other friends on rented motorbike), Krabi (which I rode before with bunch of cycling friends – The Slackriders), Phuket, and Langkawi and as far as Australia, as in cycling around Australia. They are all to me attractive places to be cycling on.

I needed a place to harden and taught me the real world of ‘hardship’ before my next big cycling adventure and initially Sabah, Borneo comes to mind. I chose the road less-travelled; Borneo to feel how is it like to be alone on a longer period of time on my bicycle. Also Borneo is known for her harshness and I had thought this would be a good ground to test my physical and mental endurance before I embark on my longer cycling adventure tour. Then I thought to cycle from U.K to Singapore. But now, I am happy to share that I’ll be cycling from the Arctic Circle, Norway to Singapore. It’ll be called ‘Arctic – Asia Solo Cycling Adventure 2014’. A quest to cycle unsupported from Arctic Circle, Norway to Singapore. To celebrate Singapore 50^th Birthday. Through this, I also hope to spread the message to people out there that anyone can pursue their dreams if they set their mind on it - illustrating "nothing is impossible" spirit and to bring Singaporeans together to celebrate this grueling adventure.

Back to Ride Around Borneo. When I first pitched the idea to friends and interested parties (potential sponsors), they (even myself) had thought it was a crazy idea. Not achievable. I was told there wasn’t proper road in Central Kalimantan (mostly true), it is dangerous and stuffs like and I read in a blog post on how bad the roads in Central Kalimantan is if I ever got in there. I know people have cycled in Malaysia side of Borneo, from Kota Kinabalu to Kuching and vice-versa. Two very close friends of mine from Kuching, Simon Sandi rode his recumbent bike from one end of Sabah (Kudat) to the other end of Sarawak (Sematan), a total distance of 1,400km with two other boys from Sabah.  And another, Francis Ho cycled from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah to his hometown, Kuching.  Not a great distance but I encourage cycling enthusiasts (especially roadies) to give it a try to see how you handle that mentally. Simon Sandi had called it ‘Tip-to-Tip’ the same time I rode around Borneo. Writing this now in comfort of my home, thinking of riding 1,400km in that kind of Borneo’s scorching heat was unthinkable. I am melting just thinking of it now. I ride in the rain anytime in Borneo that is for sure.

I never rode any place as remote as Kalimantan, especially in central Kalimantan where on some stretches there wasn’t anything resembles a local village or a decent track (not to mention asphalt road).  If there should be a road, you’ll find it in the middle of nowhere and hardly any vehicles traversed on it as the locals there still prefers the old shorter logging trails, this mean through the jungle. And then when I thought I’ve found that perfect asphalt road, I can’t to think it’ll go on and on. Most of the time, it never did as it will just disappeared in the abyss. That is the state of the basic infrastructure in Central Kalimantan. I was told on one stretch that I was on, some 5km long took years to complete. It was still work in progress when I rode there, with only two workers from Java working on it. I swore I rode past one or two ‘Zebra Crossing’ right in the middle of nowhere with no other vehicles or villages insight. No I wasn’t hallucinating. 

Never had I seen genuinely sincere people. Every one of those people I met tried their very best to make me comfortable. Yes I do accept their hospitality with a little bit of hesitation in the beginning because I wasn’t sure if having me in their home would inconvenience them. What more with me being dirty most time not to mention the smell of course and the stuffs I brought along on my bike. Slowly but surely I had realised all that doesn’t matter to most. For them, hosting a stranger on a bicycle is like a gift from God.  To hear the stories and experiences we brought along to share with them from other places is priceless. The trick is to ask and you’ll receive.

Many times in Kalimantan I was on the verge of ditching it all and flew home, it was that hard. I wasn’t used to their heat. Maybe heat is an understatement; let me try again, the scorching heat. By 9am, most days, I felt it was like I am riding under noon sun. Imagine what it’s like at 12pm. I can’t even go out there to cycle. But I need to move on to catch lost time. And when it rained, it pours. I remember leaving Naga Bulik in Central Kalimantan to Pangkalan Bun, one gentleman reminded me to be careful of the storms. I was told about the storm while standing directly under the morning heat just before leaving the roadside food stall, “When it rain later, find a good cover”. I looked at the gentleman with disbelief and inside me I said quietly, “you got to be kidding me”.  True to form, the spirit of Borneo, after 2 hours of pedaling, I can see the clouds forming ahead. I was just through 30km of scorching heat and just ahead of me the storm gathers to welcome me. And I am not even halfway to my next checkpoint, Pangkalan Bun. Here I am behind schedule by 2 days and the weather playing havoc. I saw motorbikes (moped mostly) slowing down ahead of me to one small roadside stall and I followed. It was a simple set up with Keropok (fish crackers), Teh Ais Botol (Indonesia produced bottled Ice Tea) and home cooked dishes. Here taking shelter, I got to know in-depth on Central Kalimantan and the roads ahead of me. The storm come and go, it was one of the heaviest rain I’ve seen, at least to me but the local shrugged it off and told me they have seen worst. Nothing damage from where I was so I guess that wasn’t their worst.

I continue on from there and keep convincing myself everything will be alright. One checkpoint at a time and I’ll make it through. Boy I was wrong.

Some others have gone much longer and farther cycling around the world and in comparison to what I have achieved cycling around the third largest island in the world, Borneo, it is no sweat. Anyway, I love riding my bicycle the same. In the heat (though I’ll be swearing), in the rain (and I’ll be wet and cold), riding up slopes up the mountains, through broken roads and the best part of going through all that will be the chance meeting people along the way and I am not going to lie, the foods.  This writing is a way to share my experiences cycling around Borneo. Though not the best place to cycle tour, but if you’re looking for an adventure, Borneo is the place to be.