After a helluva hiatus, we were finally able to resuscitate the Deus Sunday ride. Rebranded and flying under the brand new name of the Deus ‘Kumpul-kumpul’, which literally means ‘Get Together’ in Bahasa Indonesia.
For the first foray, we thought it best to keep things manageable and invited a select few from other garages and riding groups around Bali to join us. Eleven Garage, Bckyrd Garage, RSM Garage, Afternoon Cruisin, Excel Turbin and G6K. Thirty from them and with the Temple Rats we were forty neat.
Meeting at the Temple at eight, though individuals trickled in until after nine, there was the usual meet and greet as well as a gander at the rides before the heat of the day told us to saddle up. Some housekeeping first, let everyone know what we were doing and where we were going. Undoubtedly the group would get separated along the way.
An hour until pit stop one, the Tegelalang Terraced Ricefields. We sort of got everyone in and out and on time and headed through the top edge of Denpasar along the bottom of Ubud before turning left and heading into the hills.
Sure enough, we had splintered into three parties, that surprisingly enough, arrived within minutes of each other.
Parking up and chatting, we eagerly awaited the van and its cargo, a supply of iced Deus coffee latte’s. The thought stuck, you couldn’t do this pre-pandemic. Back then the road would’ve been back to back tour buses and throngs of tourists that surge, to and fro, being attacked by touts who pick off the stragglers and lure them into shops and bars. Today the place was almost empty except for us. Shops and restaurants boarded over. Hibernating. Deserted.
We drank, saddled up and moved on. Kintamani in our sights, another forty minutes up the hill. The incline proved tough for a few of the older bikes and they fell, by the way, needing an additional rest stop or two to make it up on the rim. A beautiful clear day greeted us there. The view of Mt Batur sitting smack bang in the bowl of an ageless volcano the backdrop. The air crisp and crackling. Gone was the temperate climate left a couple of hundred vertical metres behind.
The group camaraderie had taken hold and people mingled and circulated. Other groups rode past. Road bikes in one. Old Vespa’s in another. We weren’t the only ones taking advantage of this day.
The last leg of the outbound journey, we’d get there in another forty. The first ten minutes took us off east around the rim of the extinct volcano until a right fork plunged us south and back down towards Gianya. Market gardens and small villages were strewn the length of the one-lane road that was masquerading as the main thoroughfare. We flashed past with all our built-up momentum and enthusiasm, plunging deeper and deeper into that wonderful vague blur of green. What started out as one after another still managed to fracture up into three groups. With the exception of three stragglers in, the rest of us made it there almost on the dot of one.
Off to one side and down below the canopy hidden from view, a small warung laid claim to the foot of the concrete bridge that straddles this breath-taking valley. This was our final destination. We all clattered down the numerous steep moss-covered stairs to alight at her base. People spread out into the floor of the jungle. The line of the lowest point was traced through her base by a bubbling brook that gave life to everything around. Clothing discarded and in underwear, the available swimsuits, people slid over the big stones and slipped into the cooling waters, washing both the road and any lasting effects of the morning away.
We set about awaiting our lunch, the establishment was booked and had promised our fare, however, they’d awaited our arrival to begin to prepare, this laid our afternoon somewhat bare. A beer or two while lunch cooked? why not. It was then we noticed that most of the Garages had a little sideline in Arak and wallowing in the cool waters little flasks soon appeared and you knew the effects were working as bird song disappeared behind laughter.
We drank then ate and then talked for a good hour and more. Laughter echoed up and down the ravine. All good signs the day had gone well. The afternoon encroached pushing us to pack up our things, we all moved up and out of this chasm of enchantment.
One last distraction before people headed for home. The Slow Race. Who could cross the dirt-floored carpark the slowest? A balancing act on bikes. We ran through several heats until there was a final four. The Vespa nearly had it before the foot on the floor giving the prize to the XSR155. An unlikely candidate but a well-deserved win. But come to think of it, after the day we’d all had. We were all winners.
When all was said and done, we set off home.
Can’t wait for the next one.
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Bahasa Indonesian Version
By Geri
Setelah jeda yang luar biasa, kami kembali kan lagi semangat Deus Sunday Ride. Dengan nama ‘Kumpul-kumpul’ yang secara harfiah berarti ‘Berkumpul’ dalam Bahasa Indonesia.
Untuk perjalanan pertama, kami menjaga hal-hal tetap terkendali dan mengundang sejumlah bengkel lain dan grup motor lainnya di sekitar Bali untuk bergabung dengan kami. Eleven Garage, Bckyrd Garage, Rider Sing Mebekel, Afternoon Cruisin, Excel Turbin and G6K. Dengan total 40 orang bersama team kami.
Berkumpul di Deus Temple jam delapan, kami bertemu dan menyapa sebelum panasnya hari mengajak kami untuk bersiap. Pertama, kami memberitahu semua orang apa yang kami lakukan dan kemana tujuan kami. Tidak diragukan lagi jika kelompok akan terpisah di sepanjang jalan.
Satu jam menuju titik stop pertama yaitu Sawah Terasering Tegalalang. Kami membuat semua tepat waktu melalui melalui Denpasar menuju Ubud sebelum belok kiri dan menuju perbukitan.
Benar saja, kami telah terpecah menjadi tiga kelompok, namun yang cukup mengejutkan kami tiba di titik stop pertama di waktu bersamaan.
Parkir dan ngobrol, lalu kami sangat menunggu van dan muatannya, yaitu es coffee latte Deus. Anda tidak dapat melakukan hal seperti ini di masa pra-pandemi ini. Saat itu jalanan penuh dengan bus wisata dan kerumunan turis yang hilir-mudik, dilengkapi pedagang yang memikat turis untuk datang ke toko dan bar mereka . Hari ini tempat ini hampir kosong kecuali hanya ada kami . Toko-toko dan restoran tutup, hibernasi dan sepi.
Kami bersiap-siap untuk melanjutkan perjalanan. Kintamani sudah dekat, empat puluh menit lagi mendaki bukit. Tanjakan terbukti sulit untuk beberapa motor tua dan mereka membutuhkan istirahat tambahan di tepi jalan . Hari yang cerah dan indah menyambut kami di sana. Pemandangan dari Gunung Batur dengan cekungan gunung berapi yang tak berujung sebagai latar belakang, udara segar dan menyejukan. Hilang sudah udara panas yang tertinggal ratusan meter di belakang.
Persahabatan telah tercipta dan orang-orang berbaur dan menyebar. Terlihat kelompok motor lainnya melewati kami, salah satunya dan juga ada Vespa tua, ternyata kami bukan satu-satunya yang mengambil keuntungan hari ini.
Kami melanjutkan perjalanan terakhir. Mengitari tepi gunung berapi sebelum mengambil pertigaan kanan dan terjun kembali menuju Gianyar. Kebun, pasar dan desa-desa kecil bertebaran di sepanjang satu jalur jalan yang menyamar sebagai jalan raya utama, kami melintas dengan momentum dan antusiasme yang terbangun karena menyelami lebih dalam dan lebih dalam lagi ke dalam kekaburan samar -samar indah hijaunya alam ini. Dari yang dimulai dengan satu grup, akhirnya kami memecah menjadi tiga grup yang akhirnya berhasil mencapai satu tujuan.
Di satu sisi dan tersembunyi dari penglihatan, sebuah warung kecil berada di kaki jembatan beton yang menjembatani lembah yang menakjubkan ini adalah tujuan akhir kami. Kami semua menuruni tangga yang tertutup lumut curam untuk turun di pangkalannya. Orang-orang menyebar ke lantai hutan. Pakaian dibuang dan pakaian dalam adalah satu-satunya pakaian renang yang tersedia, mereka menyelam sungai. setelah itu kami menunggu makan siang, pemilik tempat telah berjanji tetapi belum mempersiapkan, membiarkan sore kami kosong. Satu atau dua bir saat makan siang dimasak, kenapa tidak ?. Sebagian besar teman-teman kami memiliki arak dan berendam di air dingin sungai menikmati kicau burung yang menghilang di balik tawa.
Kami minum kemudian makan dan kemudian berbicara selama satu jam lebih. Suara tawa menggema di atas dan ke bawah jurang. Semua pertanda hari itu berjalan dengan baik. Sore hari mengganggu mendorong kami untuk mengemasi barang-barang kami, kami semua naik dan keluar dari jurang pesona ini.
Satu gangguan terakhir sebelum orang-orang pulang yaitu Balapan Lambat-lambatan. Siapa yang paling lambat bisa melintasi tempat parkir berlantai tanah. Kemampuan menyyeimbangankan motor akan di uji dibalapan ini. Kami berlari melalui beberapa ronde sampai ada ronde ke empat besar. Vespa hampir memenangkannya sebelum kakinya terjatuh di lantai memberikan kemenangan kepada XSR155. Kandidat yang tidak mungkin mendapatkan kemenangan tetapi ternyata malah mendapatkan kemenangan yang layak. Tapi kalau dipikir-pikir, setelah sepanjang hari ini kita miliki bersama, Kami semua adalah pemenang.
Tidak sabar menunggu perjalanan bersama berikutnya.
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