5 RIDING ROUTES YOU CAN'T MISS IF YOU'RE IN JOGJA

I used to ride my mountain bike (MTB) with my dad pretty often few years ago. It didn't last long because I didn't find the right community yet. However, since the pandemic started last year, I've been really addicted to cycling. I bought my own road bike last year and that's how I started to love this sport more and more everyday. What I do every weekend is just riding my bike around the city. And even now, I ride my bike not only on weekend but also weekdays. I keep practicing at least 3-4x a week to achieve my own goal.

Riding around Jakarta is really nice. You will see the city from different perspective, and of course from different speed. But I tell you, if you have a chance to ride your bike outside Jakarta, you guys should visit Jogja! Yes, Jogja is definitely a heaven for cyclists. The contour of the road makes even your track more challenging. So, since I got an opportunity to live in Jogja for 2 months, here some of the best destination list that I can share to you, dear my cyclist readers.

1. Gran Fondo Jogja-Magelang-Jogja

As far as I know, not so many Jogja cyclists trained by mileage, they tend to be trained by elevation or training duration (since the contour of the road itself is not supporting for you to speed, so mileage training is not really applicable for most cyclist in here, especially the recreational cyclist like me LOL). So basically there are not so many Gran Fondo cycling route in here. So I discovered another option to still have Grand Fondo in Jogja, which is trying the "Jogja-Magelang-Jogja" route.

The climbing was not too hard actually, but it was stable average on 2-3% gradient along the way from Jogja to Magelang. The elevation gain itself was not too high as well, it was only 300 something meters. Sounds easy, but my legs hurt during the entire ride, so much!

But well, it was all paid off with the beautiful scenery along the road. The weather was so nice at that time, I could see Mount Merbabu clearly. I also reached Borobudur Temple and got a selfie in front of the gate, just to remind myself that I've ever got to this place by my own bike. Too bad I couldn't enter the temple with my bike. So I just passed off and went home after that.

You might check on my Jogja-Magelang-Jogja route on my Strava account HERE.

2. Strolling around Cangkringan area

This route is actually my daily training cycling route during my stay in Jogja. I usually took like 1-1,5 hours to stroll around Cangkringan area. Woke up every 5 am in the morning, started my ride around 5.30 or 5.45, and then got back home around 7 am. Got around 30km a day. So refreshing yet I got a lot of climbing skill upgrade during this training session.

Although it was just a daily training cycling route, the view was still amazing. I could smell the fresh air, no pollution, less people and less vehicles around. And the most important thing was, this area served me with lots of beautiful spots that I would never ever miss it.

3. Road to Plunyon Kalikuning

Plunyon Kalikuning is one of the popular riverside park in Jogja, featuring footbridges and hiking areas. You will be mesmerized with the beauty of our natures, the green and hills and beautiful Mount Merapi. It's located in Cangkringan area as well, so if you need more challenge than point number 2 route, you can add Plunyon Kalikuning to be part of your riding journey as well.

Eating Carabikang cake, Gorengan and Es Timun after riding is a common riding culture in Jogja. Make sure that you won't miss yours!

You might check on my route to Plunyon Kalikuning on my Strava account HERE.

4. Pawon Purba

Pawon Purba is a small traditional restaurant and homestay, located Gunung Kidul. It was my first time riding to Gunung Kidul, since many of my friend told me that South area of Jogja is not really favorable for cyclists, because we will be upwind along the road. To be honest, I didn't feel much about the upwind experience. What I felt the most was how painful it was when there was a hairpin road before we enter Gunung Kidul area.

If you don't know, hairpin turn is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, so that it makes us have to turn our vehicle about 180° to continue on the road, or else we will be slipping. It might not as hard as other hairpin turn in Tour de France or Giro d'Italia, but it's quite hard enough for me to handle since it was my first time facing that kind of road. As I remembered, the toughest climb was about 17% gradient, so it's actually still manageable (compare to some other climbs in Jogja).

You might check on my route to Pawon Purba on my Strava account HERE.

5. Climbing to Klangon

I put this on the last list because I bet this is one of the hardest climb I've ever been through. Klangon is located in Desa Glagaharjo, Cangkringan, around 1,100 above sea level. It is a forested hill known as one of the best views of Mount Merapi volcano for camping, hiking and mountain biking. I highly recommend you to  consistently practice at least 400-500 meter elevation-ride for a week to pass all the climb to Klangon without any stop. But believe me, it's okay to take a break during your climb, especially when you reach certain point of heart rate. It may cause you trouble if you force to climb without any break when your body needs to stop.

Of course I took several break time during my ride to Klangon. Like I mentioned earlier, it was one of the hardest climb I've ever had since I started cycling. I felt like climbing Mount Papandayan for more than 4 hours with 60liter of Carrier was much easier than this one lol. I was even thinking "What the hell am I doing? Waking up early in the morning just to get this suffer?" But hell no, I ain't gonna stop because Klangon was just a few kilometers away. On my second stop, I just stood up on the edge of the hill, enjoying my fitbar to recharge my energy on 914 meters above sea level. Not long after that break, I continued to ride my bike to the third stop, before reaching Klangon entrance gate! Yeay! Finally I got to Klangon with my bike!

You might check on my route to Klangon on my Strava account HERE.

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If you guys ask me which one is the most favorite road of mine, I probably will choose riding around Cangkringan area. It makes you feel close to the nature with less effort. You can just ride around 60-90 minutes to feel the fresh air and beautiful green scenery of Jogja. However, if you ask me which one is the most memorable one, my answer will be definitely my ride to Klangon. It was the most suffering yet the most exciting moment of life. I never knew my limit until I reached Klangon. It was a very tiring yet addictive at the same time.

Shout out to my fellow local Jogja friends, Mba Dipsi, Mas Suryo and Mas Dewo - who not only accompanied me to stroll around the city during my stay in Jogja, but also encouraged me to push my limit and developed my climbing skill lol. We'll definitely catch up again soon to explore more cycling route. I still haven't been to Lost World Castle and Obelix Hills (with my bike) tho. So hopefully I can visit Jogja again and ride around the city with my handsome Candy.

Matur nuwun Jogja! Really can't wait to see you again soon!