TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Mount Manglayang in East Bandung has a cycling route that is favored by tourists. The combination of forests, valley, and extreme terrain has become the magnet for tourists and cyclists to visit the 1.800-meter high mountain.
Mt. Manglayang is the easternmost part of the mountain ranges in Lembang fault. On its ridges, there are many paths that go across the pine forest belonging to the State-owned forest resource management company (Perhutani).
There are two easiest access to get to the spot. The first option is from downtown Bandung then head to Ujungberung, and ascend pass the Palintang Village. Alternatively, people who come from Lembang direction can go along the Maribaya, Cibodas Village and continue to Bukit Tunggul cinchona farm.
That morning, we started to kick our pedal from Bukit Tunggul, the oldest cinchona farm in Indonesia. The peeled-off asphalt and dusty road combination was a piece of cake since we were riding on all mountain bikes with 2-inch tire width.
We called it the ‘Etape I’, as in the 'first phase', which is the slightly uphill road along the hills between valleys of Mt. Palasari. Morning sun that penetrated between cinchona trees warmed up our body that was previously shrouded by cold weather of Lembang. On our way we encountered other cyclists from the opposite direction and we exchanged greetings. This is a culture that has been simply growing between cyclists.
We went through one uphill road after another for one hour until we reached the end of our Etape I in the open field usually known as Karpet (carpet). The ‘carpet’ is actually the peak of a hill between Mt. Manlayang and Mt Palasari. In this 1,600-meter height above the sea level, cyclists usually take a break here to catch their breath and snacking on modest snacks sold around the area.
When we felt enough, we continued our pedaling journey to the Etape II. The second etape we took was a single trek inside a forest that is favored by many mountain bikers. When we left the Karpet field, our bicycle rolled downward along the vegetable farms and bushes. Glasses are compulsory to wear in this area to protect the eyes from getting slapped or pierced accidently by the bushes and twigs. Before entering the pine forest, there was an extreme downhill path that ended up in a small river. This downhill is a favorite to the ‘downhiller’.
After the river, we were welcomed by flickering path through the pine forest. A capable handling is required to cycle on this trek. The slippery downhill path with the jutting out roots of pine trees became our particular challenges. A not-too-fast speed was recommended to go along the path to avoid the risks of accident as well as to enjoy the exotic cannot-be-missed views. With a help of luck, mists can sometime appears just to enhance the mystical ambience of the forest.
We spent two hours to travel the trek including breaks and photo sessions.
Next was a narrow trail along the ridge with canyon on one of its sides. Again, a beautiful view lies ahead of our eyes: the bluish valley side by side with the hills. However, focus must be kept still since one mistake can lead the bicycle into the canyon. In several spots, the space between the path and canyon were almost not existed. The adrenalin was successfully pumped out along this route. The end of Etape II was the border that separates the pine forest with people’s settlement. This place is called Genteng.
The last phase, Etape III, was not less challenging. We were at first spoiled with the wide-enough rural roads until we reached the rice fields. Despite the beautiful scenery before us, cycling on the narrrow bunds between rice field rectangles became a test to the balance.
The Kiara Payung camping ground could be the finish line of Etape III but there was a bonus track. We rolled down hill until we the final spot in the gate of IPDN campus. The bonus track gave us excitements as we were able to pedal out our bicycles as fast as we can along the corn farm without having to worry about stumbling on passersby as the track was far from settlements.
The total distance from Bukit Tunggul to IPDN campus in Jatinangor is around 30 kilometers and we traveled for 6 hours on 900-meter sloping down elevation track. It was an exciting cycling experience.
GILANG RAHADIAN