Bali Rides

I've been around a bit for various types of 'adventure' trips, sometimes guided, sometimes not. Every once in a long while, I'm lucky enough to find a top-class guide. Ramang Kristian from Bali Rides is one of those guides. Needless to say, we had a great trip. The rides were great, transport and accommodation more than comfortable, and we were well taken care of with plenty of snacks and drinks. Ramang showed us the riding around Bali the way only a local can, with hidden singletrack and bits of local culture and sights thrown in.

Our seven day trip had about 42km of riding, with about 600m of climbing each day. Every trip is customized to the riders skills and fitness, so if you want to ride more or less, technical or easy, it's up to you. The video above should give you a good idea of the type of riding there.

Riding in rice fields with Mt. Agung

Bali is an island just east of Java, Indonesia, with a few active volcanoes. The soil is rich, and the landscape is lush. On Day 1, we started up on the crater rim of active volcano, riding the slopes before dropping down into the lava fields, finishing on the shore of Batur Lake, where we took a dip in a local hot springs. Sadly, my footage of the lava fields and hot springs were lost. I can only say that they were both very special and spectacular.

Fishing boat returning to shore after a night out at Amed, Bali.

Each riding day offered something different. On Day 2, we finished our ride on the white sands of... White Sands Beach, where we took the opportunity to wash off the grime of the day with a quick swim. Day 3 ended with a nice massage, courtesy of Bali Rides. We had one rest day on Day 4, which we spent in Amed and took the opportunity to dive the famous Liberty Wreck. We spent each night in a new location, and got to experience the uniqueness of a new place each night.

Leaving the hotel in Sanur for the day's ride...

The last day was very special. Although it was supposed to be dry season, we had quite a bit of rain during the trip, but the last day was super sunny, and the ride ended with a delicious BBQ at Ramang's beautiful Balinese house, cooked by Ramang's mum and sister, who were visiting at the time!

Google map of our first day's ride

The best time to ride Bali is during the dry season from June through September. Contact Ramang at bali-rides.com for more information.