Bicycling in the Bali countryside

Path through the ricefields

I have always wanted to bicycle through the ricefields in the Bali countryside. I saw photographs and heard stories about the incredible shades of green of Balinese vegetation. Finally, I was able to experience it myself. It was just as beautiful as I imagined it would be.

Ricefield terraces

I had no idea where to go so I booked a tour. We started by first having breakfast on a terrace overlooking Mount Batur. It's obvious that Bali is much more touristy than the neighboring island of Java. Unlike my hiking tour on Java where I was hungry, this tour on Bali fed us well. Even overfed us I think. There were all-you-can-eat breakfast and lunch buffets and snacks in between.

Terrace overlooking Mount Batur

By the way, I could have also booked a tour to Mount Batur. But I decided against it. I think I've seen enough volcanoes recently. And getting up in the middle of the night, just so that I would be driven up a mountain in a vehicle so that I could watch yet another sunrise doesn't seem too exciting.

Bicycling tour on Bali

As I might have suspected in regions where they drive you up mountains to save you from having to hike yourself, the bicycling tour was designed so that they drive you to the foothills of Mount Batur and then the entire two hour route is on asphalt roads that wind slightly downhill. There wasn't much bicycling involved, it was just braking all the way. I would have been disappointed, but they did manage to save the day. At the end of the downhill road, we had a choice of either returning in the van or going for another hour of real cycling, the kind where you actually have to pedal and even go uphill at times. Yes, that was real cycling!