‘Onthel’ riders parade Denpasar

Posted by Administrator on 10th February, 2014

Hundreds of onthel (classic Dutch bicycle) riders from across the country on Sunday fun-cycled from Puputan Badung Park through several areas of Denpasar to promote bicycle heritage tourism in the city.

The onthel riders, who are under the Indonesian Old Bicycle Community (Kosti), had been gathering at the park since Saturday, holding their third national congress. The carnival, themed Denpasar Tempo Doeloe (Denpasar of Old), was part of their cooperation with the city administration to promote the area’s tourism.

Denpasar Mayor Ida Bagus Dharmawijawa Mantra opened the event, while Jero Mangku Sukarja, one of the local priests from Jagatnatha Temple, led the carnival.

The riders rode from the park and circled the city through Jl. Veteran, Jl. Patimura, Jl. WR Supratman, Jl. Nusa Indah and returned to Puputan, covering around 10 kilometers in distance.

Other local priests also came along with Sukarja, saying that the event could unite all cyclers in Indonesia. “This is like a celebration of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika [unity in diversity],” Sukarja said.

Sukarja carried pejati (offerings) at the front of his bike and an ivory-colored young coconut — which is used in ceremonies — at the back. While covering the distance, Sukarja said he continually prayed for the safety of all participants.

Other participants were Sudarmaji and his friends from Lampung, who spent 10 days on their onthel to reach the island. “Only onthelis [onthel riders] can do this [ride so far], young or old,” he proudly said.

The congress was the first to be held in Bali, a province with not as many bicycle collectors as other cities, such as Yogyakarta, Bandung and Jakarta.

“People in Bali still look down on onthel. It is not considered an asset from the past,” said Agus Sudyawan, a congress committee member, on Sunday.

He put Yogyakarta as an example where onthel city tours could actually be an alternative tourist attraction. “In Yogyakarta, all hotels offer onthel for guests to rent,” said Agus, who owns seven himself.

According to Agus, 18 onthel communities existed on the island, spread all over Bali, except for Karangasem regency. “We normally hold social events, like blood donations or fundraising for disaster victims to gather everyone,” Agus said.

As every one of the classic bikes had its own history, he said that they could become an interesting heritage tourism attraction, something that was starting to be promoted in Denpasar.

The event combined several arts performances from other provinces in one place, such as rindik (Balinese bamboo musical instrument), keroncong (traditional Javanese rhythmic music) and bondres (traditional Balinese comedy).

In addition, the congress held an exhibition on classic bicycles and their spare parts, as well as a workshop on old onthel by onthel lover Jos Rietveld.

Last changed: 10th February, 2014 at 10:18 PM