The journey to Minas alone, is a sight to behold.
Lots of winding stretches with steep gradient.
There weren't much written about Jalan Lintas Sumatera. I guess those who had rode past this road before us had too much in mind.
We rode towards a ride and while I was climbing, I noticed that Mohd Radzi was rolling on top of a narrow ridge.
When I got there, I took a snapshot of the small hills in the background, a reminder that this was not an easy route and its definitely not for beginners.
We reached Minas late in the afternoon and was rather disappointed to learn that there were no guest houses or hotels in the town.
As a matter of fact, the spot which was marked on the map was actually two rows of houses.
Having spent the night earlier in Duri, my impression of Minas was that it's a big town.
We were dead wrong.
Half-way into the ride, we had our rear blinkers switched on.
Mohd Radzi had no lights, so, I offered him my Blackburn Super Flea.
"I made the right decision to use my 2011 Dahon Jetstream EX. With the bad road conditions and uncertain gradient, this 27-speed bike was comfortable and sturdy."
On trips like such, it's always better to pack in some extra gear and headlights are the sort of equipment one should not take for granted.
We rode past Minas and found a roadside stall and decided to pull over.
The stall owner told us that there is a hotel some 2km away from his location and its a decent one.
Mohd Radzi made the call to spend a night there.
We found the place called "Rindu Sempadan" cottage.
On my mind, we deserved the rest and a good shower after riding nearly 100km in a day.
The push to Pekanbaru is a shorter distance.
We had dinner at a shop near the cottage's gate and discussed about the journey.
Mohd Radzi is an excellent companion and I think he's gonna go far in his future adventures.
Before we hit the sack, I asked if the hotel could provide a lift to their entrance, which is nearly 1km away.
The receptionist agreed and had arranged for a transport for the bikes and gear..
OPPOSITE PAGE: Rolling down the long and winding road towards Minas. This is one of the toughest section of the course.
BOTTOM PAGE: At one of the first oil wells in Minas.