Now in its third year, the Jawa Pos Bromo 100km is a non competitive climbing challenge that takes participants from Surabaya, the capital of East Java to Wonokitri, a village near the summit of Mt. Bromo. This year, a total of 937 cyclists from 13 countries took part.
This would be my second time taking on the Bromo 100km challenge, and Jon’s maiden attempt. I was honored to be selected as a road captain for this year’s challenge. Road captains are nominated peloton leaders and our responsibility was to help other participants follow the route and maintain the ride schedule.
We woke up at 3am for breakfast and last minute bike prep. By 4:45am, we were ready to depart from the hotel. The ride would start from the East Java Police Department Headquarters, a 20min ride from the hotel.
We were greeted by thunderstorms when we arrived in Surabaya the day before. We had our fingers crossed that there would be good weather throughout the ride. Some grey clouds appeared initially, but fortunately they went away. As the heat climbed, we were grateful for the cool respite offered by the trees.
Photo credit: jawaposcycling.com
The roads stayed relatively flat for the first 70km before the climb.
The final climb and main feature of the day is gradual at first before getting much steeper in the last 10km.
It was steep! Not yet at the top, we reached 1600m above sea level.
The crew worked selflessly the entire morning. Kudos to them.
At the peak in Wonokitri, we were greeted by a local traditional shelter where lunch was served and everyone could catch a breather before the bus ride back.
We had high hopes and the ride met them easily. It was a fantastic time with a great bunch of cyclists from all walks of life, gathered together to ride and challenge ourselves. We can’t wait for our next adventure!
