Hi Doug! This is the guy with the blue motorcycle you've just met this morning in Bangkinang now I have seen your bike take care Doug! May you get so many nice and great experience in our country, Indonesia
Thank you. My couple of nights at the HW72 is one of the highlights of this little trip so far. I really enjoyed my time there. I wish I could have stayed at least another day and enjoyed another breakfast buffet. But perhaps I can stop off there on my way back to Dumai.
That was a tough day Doug to say the least. Having driven some of the roads of North Sumatra in an air conditioned SUV and not enjoyed the enormous level of truck traffic I cannot imagine the comparative level of difficulty and discomfort on a heavily laden bicycle. I hope that your trip upon the lesser roads is more enjoyable. Don't be ashamed to pack it in (or put the bike on a bus or lorry). You've tried and that's far more than most of us. On a more positive note.. your camera set up for video was fantastic. Itchy Boots would be proud of you !!!!
I haven't gotten very far on this here heavily-laden bicycle, but I've since spent one day on the roads leaving from Pekanbaru, and on the map, it looked like the road might be smaller and less busy and more scenic. Unfortunately, that hasn't turned out to be true. The road itself got a bit narrower, but the truck traffic remained almost at the same level. That surprised me. Perhaps the truck traffic will diminish over time, but I'm not holding my breath. I wouldn't have any problem packing it in and putting the bicycle on a bus or truck if that ends up being necessary. I've done that in the past. I'll take whatever transportation makes the most sense. I have no cycling pride in that way. 🙂
Doug, may I suggest a light helmet as its benefits are head protection should you get into accident (knock on wood you never will), direct sun protection from wearing you out so quickly and perhaps small blockage of road noise if it wraps around your ear. If it has eye visor, it'll protect you from bugs or unknown objects running into your face, eyes as well. And I think it's probably time to get knee brace or some kind to make them feel supportive for long ride just in case.
Amazing how you’ve filmed your riding on the road, can’t of been easy setting up your cameras to achieve such professional shots, well done 👏. Plus your physical exertion, you are pushing yourself to the limit, take care of yourself, especially as you are on very busy roads and have to keep your wits about you!
I've slowly been working out systems for mounting the camera in different places. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. The key is that you have to have two mounting points - one at the base of the selfie stick and then a second one a foot or two along the stick. It works out well because the base mount doesn't have to very strong. It is more about positioning, and it doesn't have to have a firm grip. You can use almost anything just as long as the base of the stick doesn't move around. But then the second mounting point has to be extremely strong and hold up the entire weight of the camera and stick, and I managed to do that by using two giant clamps from two different Insta360 motorcycle mounting kits. I took the clamp from one kit and attached it to the clamp from the second kit. Once I figured that out, I was able to put the camera almost anywhere around the bike. It does take time, however, to get all that set up and then break it down again. It's not easy to do at the side of the road with that sun beating down and all those trucks roaring past. 🙂
Those oil Pipelines were made at the time when an American Oil Company Chevron (or Caltex) was still around before their contract wasn't renewed and thus overtaken by Pertamina. Duri and Minas are one of their largest Oil Fields.
Great insight of your journey. I love the interactive roadtrip towards the end of the video. Now get yourself a good recovery rest before continuing your next leg Doug...even documenting you staying in Duri for few days would be interesting to watch.
Time 29:45 Duri - Duri in Malay mean thorn as in thorn in the flesh. How irony that going to Duri is giving you knee pain as sort of thorn in the flesh to you. Wishing you the best of health and a prosperous new year.
Hey Doug, I used to live in Pekanbaru. I think it's better for you to stop by Pekanbaru before going further, as there are not a lot of places to stay for the night between Pekanbaru and the next rather big city Bangkinang. Oh, and if you need to stop a bit and find food on your way to Pekanbaru, there's a small town called Minas.
if you arrive just before dark in Rumbai (as its the first Pekanbaru district from Duri) I could recommend you to try Sate Padang cun and Martabak djoeragan 👍
I did stop in Pekanbaru, and I stayed there for quite a few days. In fact, my original plan didn't include going to Pekanbaru at all. But I've been moving so slowly that I had to adjust my plans and go to the immigration office in Pekanbaru to get an extension for my visa. I was hoping to do that in Bukittinggi, but I knew I had no chance of getting there in time. Once I got my visa extension in Pekanbaru, I got back on my bike and rode to the town you mentioned, Bangkinang. I'm there right now. Unfortunately, even after all the time off the bike in Pekanbaru, my left knee is still in a lot of pain when I ride my bike. My right knee is fine. But my left is still giving me problems. I'm hoping it will gradually start to heal, but I'm taking it very slow, and I've been off the bike for two days here in Bangkinang. It's actually a very nice town. With its very wide and quiet streets and well-maintained sidewalks and lots of open spaces, it feels very different from the other towns I've passed through, such as Dumai, Duri, and even Pekanbaru. I remember Minas, by the way. I stopped there for a cold drink at an Indomaret before the final twenty or thirty kilometers to Pekanbaru. That also seemed like a nice place. I would have gotten something to eat there, but I was still feeling ill. I'm not sure if they had any hotels there.
I suggest you plant a little flag high up on you trailer for safety reason. Vehicles around you may not be able to see your little trailer behind your bike.
The company that makes the trailer produce a special flag with its own mounting system. I used to use it, but I found it was a lot of trouble. The mounting system was not well thought-out, and it was difficult to put on and take off. I ended up getting rid of it.
A camera can be mounted on a bike with a long stick, can be on the road, but can't see your hand while cycling the camera around, how do you do it? Please let me know
The Cycling Canadian is back with some real cycling. You are pretty tough Doug, that was some ride, you still managed to sound so coherent in your room after that. I'm not sure if I missed hearing you say, did you claim the money back on the Agoda side?
I wrote to Agoda just to tell them about what was happening at these Oyo-branded hotels, and they said that they would contact the hotel and look into the situation. However, there didn't seem to be any possibility of getting any money back. I don't know how that works. That isn't a big deal, though, because it is a budget hotel, and the price on Agoda was very reasonable. I lost very little money in that deal. It was just annoying to be asked to pay three to four times that much again in cash once I arrived. This seems to be a general problem with hotels that are associated with Oyo. I booked a room in the town of Bangkinang through Agoda, and almost the same thing happened. The hotel is also part of the Oyo system, and even though I had reserved a room in advance and paid for it in advance, they said that I had to pay more. They even put me on the phone with a rep from Oyo, and they said that the prices on Agoda were too low, and I had to pay extra at the hotel when I arrived. It's just a weird system. The person on Oyo said that when I booked my room and paid for it, they then sent me a text message telling me that I would have to pay more in cash when I arrived at the hotel. I never got this message, but that doesn't really matter. The whole thing seems weird. They advertise a very low price on Agoda to get you to book the room and pay for it. And it's nonrefundable, so now you're trapped. And then they make you pay more in cash when you arrive at the hotel. And you don't have a choice but to pay more or go to a new hotel and lose the money you've already paid. I don't think they're doing it on purpose and trying to scam people. They just seem to be very confused about how the Agoda and other online booking systems work. 🙂
@@PlanetDoug Nice to see your replies Doug. I guess you know best, especially since it's not a large amount. Hopefully not, and I'm not sure if it would help, but in the event if it happens again, perhaps you could try getting the receipt at the end of your stay. After which send Agoda the photo of it as proof, showing you had paid separately for those exact same times of stay. Also by documenting the condition of the facilities, ie the toilet, could also reflect the kind of attitude/service the hotel has to Agoda, which could help favor your case for the refund.
Well, my knees did give in almost completely. That was an unpleasant surprise. That has never happened before. I think I simply pushed myself too hard and too far on that first day and I badly strained both knees. It was a dumb thing to do. But as I said, I never had to worry about knee strain before. It was always just muscle fatigue and a sore butt that limited how far I could go. I never thought I could damage my knees by going too far too soon. Since then, my right knee has recovered completely. I don't feel anything out of the ordinary there. But my left knee is still giving me a lot of pain. I've really been babying it along hoping that it will start to heal. But the jury is still out. This could be a permanent state, or it could just take a long time to go back to normal.
You said you get turned around sometimes because of Google Map's perspective? Can't you tap that little compass icon so it turns the map toward the direction you are going? I think I had the same problem till I tapped that icon the first time. Or am I misunderstanding the problem? Fantastic angle from down left and behind you. Kept trying to determine where your stick was, but am completely baffled.
I didn't know I could do that with Google Maps. I wish you had told me about that little trick sooner. 🤪 That's brand new to me. And it seems to work perfectly. I didn't know that compass icon would do that. With the camera, it seems like it's better to have the camera lower rather than higher. I seem to end up with more usable perspectives with the camera lower. There is less of that wide angle distortion. I think for the shot you are talking about, I had the selfie sticked attached to the aluminum bar that attaches the trailer to the bike. I have to use two mounting points to make it work - one just to hold the base and a second much stronger mount to hold the weight of the stick and camera. You can't see the selfie stick, of course. It's invisible. But you can see the black clamps on the aluminum rod. That's where the selfie stick is attached.
Hi Doug, did you check the OYO apps to check how much is the OYO rate ? I was in a Small Resort 2 years ago in Thailand. A guy came in with an Agoda booking and they refused him as they stopped using Agoda a while ago. And they were still on the Agoda apps.
I did that later on, and the rates were all pretty much the same. At this place in Duri, they just said they weren't accepting any online bookings at all. It didn't matter if it came through Agoda or Oyo or anywhere else. Interestingly, almost the same thing happened at my current hotel. It's another hotel that is associated with Oyo. I booked the room through Agoda and paid for it in advance. But there was quite a bit of confusion when I arrived, and they told me that I would have to pay extra in cash. They accepted the Agoda reservation, but since the price on Agoda was lower than they'd like, they wanted me to pay more. It was all very strange. They even put me on the phone with an Oyo rep who explained that this was all normal. Since the Agoda price was lower than the walk-in price at the hotel, I would have to pay to make up the difference in cash. There's something weird going on with Oyo hotels in Sumatra it seems. 🙂
My goodness, that Relive journey at the end of the video seems like a motorbike journey rather than a bicycle. Truly appreciate the 360 camera for this specific video purpose and gave great perspective to your ride. Hope your knees healed well and perhaps make more frequent stops in your travels ahead.
As you know, the knee-healing is an ongoing process. 🙂 Right knee is back to normal. But the jury is still out on the left knee. I'm definitely making those more frequent stops.
The hotel clearly scammed you, a lot of money for a cell. Too bad, I hope you can get some money back. I hope your knees improve, is your saddle a little high? It looks like your leg is straightening too much. Cycle touring in sandals is not ideal, cycling shoes with SPD cleats would hold your feet in the correct position and avoid strain and twisting on the knees.
@@Abraracourix I checked and they are still on Agoda. Others got scammed as well. Their rating is 7.4. Do you know how to report them to Agoda?or at least get them off.
I was actually wondering if my seat was too low. I thought maybe I wasn't extending and straightening my leg and knee enough. On some later days, I raised the seat a bit to test that idea, but it didn't seem to help. I ended up putting it back to this position. I don't know if any of these types of changes would make any difference. I've always ridden this bike wearing sandals in exactly this way, and I've never had a problem with my knees like this before. My guess is that I was just off the bike for many years and then I just started too fast while carrying a lot of weight. I just wasn't physically prepared and I put a strain on my knees. I should have ridden just twenty to thirty kilometers and quit for the day. Eased into it.
Your vlogs reached another level of filming, Doug. All the best for you knee and take care on those busy roads where they are not used to cyclists.
Hi Doug! This is the guy with the blue motorcycle you've just met this morning in Bangkinang
now I have seen your bike
take care Doug! May you get so many nice and great experience in our country, Indonesia
Thanks you for visit and take a rest at HW72 Kandis. Have a nice and save your journey. Succes for you always. Kind s regards. Hotel W72 Kandis. 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Thank you. My couple of nights at the HW72 is one of the highlights of this little trip so far. I really enjoyed my time there. I wish I could have stayed at least another day and enjoyed another breakfast buffet. But perhaps I can stop off there on my way back to Dumai.
That was a tough day Doug to say the least. Having driven some of the roads of North Sumatra in an air conditioned SUV and not enjoyed the enormous level of truck traffic I cannot imagine the comparative level of difficulty and discomfort on a heavily laden bicycle.
I hope that your trip upon the lesser roads is more enjoyable.
Don't be ashamed to pack it in (or put the bike on a bus or lorry). You've tried and that's far more than most of us.
On a more positive note.. your camera set up for video was fantastic. Itchy Boots would be proud of you !!!!
I haven't gotten very far on this here heavily-laden bicycle, but I've since spent one day on the roads leaving from Pekanbaru, and on the map, it looked like the road might be smaller and less busy and more scenic. Unfortunately, that hasn't turned out to be true. The road itself got a bit narrower, but the truck traffic remained almost at the same level. That surprised me. Perhaps the truck traffic will diminish over time, but I'm not holding my breath.
I wouldn't have any problem packing it in and putting the bicycle on a bus or truck if that ends up being necessary. I've done that in the past. I'll take whatever transportation makes the most sense. I have no cycling pride in that way. 🙂
Doug, may I suggest a light helmet as its benefits are head protection should you get into accident (knock on wood you never will), direct sun protection from wearing you out so quickly and perhaps small blockage of road noise if it wraps around your ear. If it has eye visor, it'll protect you from bugs or unknown objects running into your face, eyes as well.
And I think it's probably time to get knee brace or some kind to make them feel supportive for long ride just in case.
Hi Doug, I'm enjoying your travels very much. I'm surprised you don't wear a helmet while riding. Please stay safe.
I enjoy watching this video! Interesting camera angles. I hope your knees recover. Take a good rest. Well done!
Amazing how you’ve filmed your riding on the road, can’t of been easy setting up your cameras to achieve such professional shots, well done 👏. Plus your physical exertion, you are pushing yourself to the limit, take care of yourself, especially as you are on very busy roads and have to keep your wits about you!
absolutely!
I've slowly been working out systems for mounting the camera in different places. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. The key is that you have to have two mounting points - one at the base of the selfie stick and then a second one a foot or two along the stick. It works out well because the base mount doesn't have to very strong. It is more about positioning, and it doesn't have to have a firm grip. You can use almost anything just as long as the base of the stick doesn't move around.
But then the second mounting point has to be extremely strong and hold up the entire weight of the camera and stick, and I managed to do that by using two giant clamps from two different Insta360 motorcycle mounting kits. I took the clamp from one kit and attached it to the clamp from the second kit. Once I figured that out, I was able to put the camera almost anywhere around the bike. It does take time, however, to get all that set up and then break it down again. It's not easy to do at the side of the road with that sun beating down and all those trucks roaring past. 🙂
@@PlanetDoug 👍
Those oil Pipelines were made at the time when an American Oil Company Chevron (or Caltex) was still around before their contract wasn't renewed and thus overtaken by Pertamina. Duri and Minas are one of their largest Oil Fields.
Great insight of your journey. I love the interactive roadtrip towards the end of the video. Now get yourself a good recovery rest before continuing your next leg Doug...even documenting you staying in Duri for few days would be interesting to watch.
thank you for sharing
Time 29:45 Duri - Duri in Malay mean thorn as in thorn in the flesh. How irony that going to Duri is giving you knee pain as sort of thorn in the flesh to you.
Wishing you the best of health and a prosperous new year.
Mr Doug,,, thumb up.
Stay safe and stay happy 🇲🇾🍺🍺🤣
Bedankt
Have a nice lunch there. Love your video's
Thank you, Maarten. I really appreciate the help. 🙏
Hello Senior Comrade Doug on the ride of Indonesia!
#Riding2023#
Well done 👍👏🙂
Glad you made it.
That road up bukit tinggi i saw on youtube is quite steep. Good luck!
The cycling Canadian returns!😂😂
awesome loved the video!
Hey Doug, I used to live in Pekanbaru. I think it's better for you to stop by Pekanbaru before going further, as there are not a lot of places to stay for the night between Pekanbaru and the next rather big city Bangkinang. Oh, and if you need to stop a bit and find food on your way to Pekanbaru, there's a small town called Minas.
if you arrive just before dark in Rumbai (as its the first Pekanbaru district from Duri) I could recommend you to try Sate Padang cun and Martabak djoeragan 👍
I did stop in Pekanbaru, and I stayed there for quite a few days. In fact, my original plan didn't include going to Pekanbaru at all. But I've been moving so slowly that I had to adjust my plans and go to the immigration office in Pekanbaru to get an extension for my visa. I was hoping to do that in Bukittinggi, but I knew I had no chance of getting there in time.
Once I got my visa extension in Pekanbaru, I got back on my bike and rode to the town you mentioned, Bangkinang. I'm there right now. Unfortunately, even after all the time off the bike in Pekanbaru, my left knee is still in a lot of pain when I ride my bike. My right knee is fine. But my left is still giving me problems. I'm hoping it will gradually start to heal, but I'm taking it very slow, and I've been off the bike for two days here in Bangkinang.
It's actually a very nice town. With its very wide and quiet streets and well-maintained sidewalks and lots of open spaces, it feels very different from the other towns I've passed through, such as Dumai, Duri, and even Pekanbaru.
I remember Minas, by the way. I stopped there for a cold drink at an Indomaret before the final twenty or thirty kilometers to Pekanbaru. That also seemed like a nice place. I would have gotten something to eat there, but I was still feeling ill. I'm not sure if they had any hotels there.
I suggest you plant a little flag high up on you trailer for safety reason. Vehicles around you may not be able to see your little trailer behind your bike.
The company that makes the trailer produce a special flag with its own mounting system. I used to use it, but I found it was a lot of trouble. The mounting system was not well thought-out, and it was difficult to put on and take off. I ended up getting rid of it.
A camera can be mounted on a bike with a long stick, can be on the road, but can't see your hand while cycling the camera around, how do you do it? Please let me know
The Cycling Canadian is back with some real cycling. You are pretty tough Doug, that was some ride, you still managed to sound so coherent in your room after that. I'm not sure if I missed hearing you say, did you claim the money back on the Agoda side?
I wrote to Agoda just to tell them about what was happening at these Oyo-branded hotels, and they said that they would contact the hotel and look into the situation. However, there didn't seem to be any possibility of getting any money back. I don't know how that works. That isn't a big deal, though, because it is a budget hotel, and the price on Agoda was very reasonable. I lost very little money in that deal. It was just annoying to be asked to pay three to four times that much again in cash once I arrived.
This seems to be a general problem with hotels that are associated with Oyo. I booked a room in the town of Bangkinang through Agoda, and almost the same thing happened. The hotel is also part of the Oyo system, and even though I had reserved a room in advance and paid for it in advance, they said that I had to pay more. They even put me on the phone with a rep from Oyo, and they said that the prices on Agoda were too low, and I had to pay extra at the hotel when I arrived.
It's just a weird system. The person on Oyo said that when I booked my room and paid for it, they then sent me a text message telling me that I would have to pay more in cash when I arrived at the hotel. I never got this message, but that doesn't really matter. The whole thing seems weird. They advertise a very low price on Agoda to get you to book the room and pay for it. And it's nonrefundable, so now you're trapped. And then they make you pay more in cash when you arrive at the hotel. And you don't have a choice but to pay more or go to a new hotel and lose the money you've already paid.
I don't think they're doing it on purpose and trying to scam people. They just seem to be very confused about how the Agoda and other online booking systems work. 🙂
@@PlanetDoug Nice to see your replies Doug. I guess you know best, especially since it's not a large amount. Hopefully not, and I'm not sure if it would help, but in the event if it happens again, perhaps you could try getting the receipt at the end of your stay. After which send Agoda the photo of it as proof, showing you had paid separately for those exact same times of stay.
Also by documenting the condition of the facilities, ie the toilet, could also reflect the kind of attitude/service the hotel has to Agoda, which could help favor your case for the refund.
Hard Day!
Hello
Well done Doug, that looked tough. I think I'm about your age and my knees would have given in completely. Hats off to you!
Well, my knees did give in almost completely. That was an unpleasant surprise. That has never happened before. I think I simply pushed myself too hard and too far on that first day and I badly strained both knees. It was a dumb thing to do. But as I said, I never had to worry about knee strain before. It was always just muscle fatigue and a sore butt that limited how far I could go. I never thought I could damage my knees by going too far too soon.
Since then, my right knee has recovered completely. I don't feel anything out of the ordinary there. But my left knee is still giving me a lot of pain. I've really been babying it along hoping that it will start to heal. But the jury is still out. This could be a permanent state, or it could just take a long time to go back to normal.
What's the handlebar you eat using? Looks very comfortable...
Spread the Word... Boycott B'rasco. Standard Bait and Switch. BOYCOTT B'RASCO !!!
You said you get turned around sometimes because of Google Map's perspective? Can't you tap that little compass icon so it turns the map toward the direction you are going? I think I had the same problem till I tapped that icon the first time. Or am I misunderstanding the problem? Fantastic angle from down left and behind you. Kept trying to determine where your stick was, but am completely baffled.
I didn't know I could do that with Google Maps. I wish you had told me about that little trick sooner. 🤪 That's brand new to me. And it seems to work perfectly. I didn't know that compass icon would do that.
With the camera, it seems like it's better to have the camera lower rather than higher. I seem to end up with more usable perspectives with the camera lower. There is less of that wide angle distortion.
I think for the shot you are talking about, I had the selfie sticked attached to the aluminum bar that attaches the trailer to the bike. I have to use two mounting points to make it work - one just to hold the base and a second much stronger mount to hold the weight of the stick and camera. You can't see the selfie stick, of course. It's invisible. But you can see the black clamps on the aluminum rod. That's where the selfie stick is attached.
We can make a book based on your adventures n courage. You n zahariz the Malaysian cyclist camper should form a club
I feel sorry for you. anyway that's your choice. if in Malaysia I come to help you sir. well done!
Hi Doug, did you check the OYO apps to check how much is the OYO rate ? I was in a Small Resort 2 years ago in Thailand. A guy came in with an Agoda booking and they refused him as they stopped using Agoda a while ago. And they were still on the Agoda apps.
I did that later on, and the rates were all pretty much the same. At this place in Duri, they just said they weren't accepting any online bookings at all. It didn't matter if it came through Agoda or Oyo or anywhere else.
Interestingly, almost the same thing happened at my current hotel. It's another hotel that is associated with Oyo. I booked the room through Agoda and paid for it in advance. But there was quite a bit of confusion when I arrived, and they told me that I would have to pay extra in cash. They accepted the Agoda reservation, but since the price on Agoda was lower than they'd like, they wanted me to pay more. It was all very strange. They even put me on the phone with an Oyo rep who explained that this was all normal. Since the Agoda price was lower than the walk-in price at the hotel, I would have to pay to make up the difference in cash. There's something weird going on with Oyo hotels in Sumatra it seems. 🙂
My goodness, that Relive journey at the end of the video seems like a motorbike journey rather than a bicycle. Truly appreciate the 360 camera for this specific video purpose and gave great perspective to your ride. Hope your knees healed well and perhaps make more frequent stops in your travels ahead.
As you know, the knee-healing is an ongoing process. 🙂 Right knee is back to normal. But the jury is still out on the left knee. I'm definitely making those more frequent stops.
what a pity
The hotel clearly scammed you, a lot of money for a cell. Too bad, I hope you can get some money back. I hope your knees improve, is your saddle a little high? It looks like your leg is straightening too much. Cycle touring in sandals is not ideal, cycling shoes with SPD cleats would hold your feet in the correct position and avoid strain and twisting on the knees.
@@Abraracourix I checked and they are still on Agoda. Others got scammed as well. Their rating is 7.4. Do you know how to report them to Agoda?or at least get them off.
@@norlizahmohdnor88 Agoda doesn't care and never reply emails.
I was actually wondering if my seat was too low. I thought maybe I wasn't extending and straightening my leg and knee enough. On some later days, I raised the seat a bit to test that idea, but it didn't seem to help. I ended up putting it back to this position.
I don't know if any of these types of changes would make any difference. I've always ridden this bike wearing sandals in exactly this way, and I've never had a problem with my knees like this before. My guess is that I was just off the bike for many years and then I just started too fast while carrying a lot of weight. I just wasn't physically prepared and I put a strain on my knees. I should have ridden just twenty to thirty kilometers and quit for the day. Eased into it.