Cycling in Ubud

I visited Bali early this year. I spent three months there cycling around Ubud visiting various art galleries, museums, and exploring the roads outside the town that were decorated with terraces of rice fields and countless numbers of stone statues. The routes to the north of the town consist of moderate slopes with a lot of mountain resorts on both sides of the roads. For a short cycling trip in the morning or in the afternoon, I usually chose the Suweta street. I rent a Wim Cycle mountain bike for 50,000/day and used it for two months. It was an old bicycle but good enough to be used for traveling around. As I cycled up the slopes of the Suweta street, I could see the beautiful scenery of Ubud terrains. In the mornings farmers were working in their rice fields. There were coconut trees and various species of fruit trees in the gardens. Frangipani or plumeria flower plants grew everywhere and particularly near Balinese temples. After around fifteen minutes, I turned right to enter the Sriwedari road. Now the terrains became a small down hill track for me. I surfed down at high speed heading to the cross roads of Ubud main street. Then, I returned to the guesthouse where I stayed on Jalan Sukma. Although using helmet is not a must when cycling, I highly recommend that you wear it for personal safety.

statue of a Balinese dancer in Ubud Bali — Statue of a Balinese female dancer in Bali

There are a lot of cycling tour companies in Ubud that provide mountain biking trips to the countryside of Bali. The rate per day is quite cheap. Just type "cycling tour package in Bali" or "cycling in ubud" on Google search engine and you will get tents of tour companies that sell such tour packages. There are also packages offered to visitors interested in cycling around Bali island.

Air Asia advertizement campaign in Ubud Bali through cycling — Air Asia Advertisement Campaign in Ubud, Bali of Indomesia.

While in Ubud, I saw a unique ads campaign that was launched by Air Asia. The low cost airline hired cyclists to promote its flights from Bali to China, Tokyo, Taipei and Korea. The cyclists pulled the red banner behind him.

Ubud is considered the center for art and culture of Balinese community. In the commercial center of Ubud, we can easily find art galleries that sell paintings, wood carvings, batik clothing and silverware that are offered to tourists. There are luxurious villas, spa resorts and family run guesthouses in Ubud that you can choose to stay. I paid 1.5 million rupiahs or around 170 US dollars per month for a nice room with private toilet and a kitchen. Ubud is a popular tourist town in Bali. Millions of visitors go there to see the natural beauty of Bali island and the unique culture of Balinese people.

Now I am back to Manokwari city again. This is a small town in West Papua that has got beautiful landscape and seascape. I have guided several visitors who are also avid cyclists exploring the suburban areas of Manokwari.