Idul Fitri Holiday and The Pollution in Jakarta

Posted on October 15, 2007
Filed Under Bicycle, Daily Notes | 1 Comment

This is my contribution for Blog Action Day 2007

Picture 1

Picture 2

See those fogs in the background of picture no.1, well it isn’t a fog actually, it is the haze of pollutions in Jakarta. Now, you can see from the picture no.2 that the traffic were mild, since it’s still Idul Fitri. Most of the offices are still off and the employees are taking vacation. Whether taking a road trip to their relatives out of town (or what we called ‘mudik’) or just staying home enjoying quality times with family.

The point is the traffic in Jakarta this past two days are delinquently clear and quiet. No flocks of motorcycle, just a few running around. The traffic is so smooth that I managed to go to the office this morning in about 40 minutes when in normal working days it took me about an hour and fifteen minutes. The roads were seamlessly clear.

Yet the haze is still there. Good God. Is this how Jakarta has become? Yet in this holiday where less cars and motors are around, the pollution levels are still somewhat high.

A couple of days ago, the newly appointed governor of Jakarta, Mr. Fauzi Bowo said that the pollution level in Jakarta were less this past few days compare to normal work days. Yes, it was lessen but not necessarily in a moderate level.

On his campaign to become the new governor, he point out a couple of things, a workaround to this pollution problem in Jakarta: a monthly Car Free Day, Bicycle as a Feeder for Bus way, car control mechanism. This is actually some point to lessen the traffic in Jakarta, which in the end will lessen the pollution level too in some ways.

As you might expect, for me, my solution to lessen the pollution level is using Bicycle as an alternative transportation mode. This is a start.

You may think, “Gosh, I live in Bekasi and I worked at Pluit, it’s miles away! How the heck will I work, when all of my energy is consumed while I’m cycling, dude?” Yes, I concur. But every effort needs a sacrifice for a start. Trust me, after you cycle about 4-5 times, you will eventually get used to it. The important (yet the hardest) thing is to try.

Okay, if bicycle isn’t your choice, try mass transportation! Haa! I know, mass transit in Jakarta is a joke, once again I agree with this. Nevertheless, like it or not this option is considerably a better option than using your own vehicle. I know that the government should fix the quality of our mass transportation, hey, that’s why they build bus way, right? Whether you hate it so much with its construction that made traffic more complicated, yet we must condone this sacrifice for the greater good of good transportation. You can beg to differ with me on this one. But hey, I told you I prefer using bicycle then mass transit right?

So overall, pollution and traffic in Jakarta are getting worse and worse. But stop relying and blaming government for this problem. Try to fix it by yourself, use mass transportation or use a bicycle if you don’t mind since it’s far healthier. Do not litter. Start from yourself don’t rely on others. There is still hope for a clean air in this city. Make it a beautiful city again. I love you Jakarta!

Tua di Jalan

Posted on October 2, 2007
Filed Under in Indonesia, Bicycle, Daily Notes | 2 Comments

Bersyukur, kadang-kadang kita jarang melakukan hal ini belakangan ini. Kita cenderung melihat sesuatu hal dari sudut pandang yang berbeda.

Saya kemarin untuk kesekian kalinya bersyukur, mengenai apa? Mengenai trayek yang saya tempuh dari rumah menuju kantor. Rumah saya di daerah Ciledug, kurang lebih berjarak 9 KM dari kantor saya di bilangan Palmerah. Saya biasa mengambil jalur "belakang" dengan melewati Joglo, Pos Pengumben, lalu ke Kemandoran. Memang sepanjang jalur tersebut ada titik-titik kemacetan.

Namun, tidak sebanyak titik-titik kemacetan di daerah pusat kota. Kemarin sore, jam pulang kerja saya pergi ke Blok-M untuk membeli sesuatu. Saya pergi dari kantor (Palmerah) ke arah Semanggi, di situ rencananya saya akan naik Busway ke Blok-M. Sepanjang perjalanan saya mendapatkan banyak titik-titik kemacetan yang cukup parah, ditambah pula dengan banyak dari pekerja yang ingin pulang cepat-cepat agar bisa berbuka puasa di rumah

Karena jarang melewati trayek tersebut pada jam pulang kerja, saya merasa agak terguncang merasakan kemacetan yang terjadi. Maklum, biasa lewat jalan belakang dan pulang di atas jam tujuh malam. Saya jarang mendapatkan pengalaman (ataukah rasa stress?) seperti ini.

Saya melihat tampang-tampang pekerja yang letih (mungkin karena mereka berpuasa juga ya?) berdesak-desakan di busway dan merasakan pahitnya kemacetan di Jakarta. Saya bersyukur saya tidak (mungkin belum?) mengalami perjalanan seperti ini setiap hari.

Ini yang mereka bilang dengan "tua di jalan" ya? karena saya sendiri sudah sangat lelah sesampainya di Blok-M. Betapa ruwetnya lalu lintas ibukota pada sore di hari-hari kerja. Membuat stress di kantor tambah meningkat di perjalanan pulang.

Saya bersyukur mendapat rute yang tidak (belum) membuat stress, dan saya bersyukur bahwa saya masih dapat menggunakan sepeda tercinta saya sebagai moda transportasi ke kantor yang nyaman, sehat, dan malah dapat mengurangi stress.

Slightly Injured

Posted on June 26, 2007
Filed Under Bicycle, Movies, Daily Notes | Leave a Comment

I twist my left arm the other day. This is the part of me where I should remember to back down a little bit. I have not crash or had a bicycle bails before this happened. My guts were way up high before then. I guess now I should think twice before trying something rather insane in the future

This is how it happened. Last Saturday, I went cycling to the forest of UI with the guys at the office. At one stop, I had to try a steep slope that I thought was jumpable. Me and my overly guts wins that time, but the experience had to stop me. I fell hard on the ground.

It’s been three days now and I think I have recovered from it little by little. However, that was a hilarious yet important experience for me because you wouldn’t know how sharp a knife is without having cut from it first, would you?

Moreover, this injury makes me realize that sometimes we forgot important things in us until we lose it. I’m right-handed, but I value my left arm now more than ever. We need something or someone to support our main things, I need my left arm to support my right arm, as do Batman needs Robin to fight crimes (this was quoted from the time where Tim Drake becomes the new Robin), even Jerry needs Dorothy to complete him (Jerry Maguire, 1996)

Aah, here I am with my oh-so-philosophical times…. screw it…I’m tired, I need to crash home and get some sleep. It has been a hectic day…

PS: You can check Dodi’s blog for more of that UI experience.

From Jakarta Bersepeda to StarDict

Posted on June 13, 2007
Filed Under Internet, Bicycle, Daily Notes, Software | 1 Comment

Here’s a couple of things that happens in this past three days of my life:

The part where I enter The Matrix

Finally, after buying a 20 meter network cable, my home box (deathstar) has officially connected to the cyberspace(cyberspace?? wasn’t this a mid-nineties term). By stretching the cable and plug it to the ADSL router on my father’s room, I have manage to browse the internet using my newly Etch (Yes, I now use Etch and No, I haven’t got the time to blog about the switch,yet. Sorry…).

The part where I went to see the old Jakarta

I participated in the “Jakarta Bersepeda” fun bike event, an event where all of bicycle enthusiast can partake in a touring around some of the landmark of Jakarta. By taking the route from Monas – Medan Merdeka – Harmoni – Gajah Mada – Glodok – Balai Kota and vice versa, all of the cyclist were enjoying the experience (based from what I see and I experience myself), if you want a more complete report of the venue, please visit Dody’s blog. Personally it was okay, though it was so clear that the event had an implicit “sponsor” message in it. Knowing that in a couple of weeks there will be an governor election in Jakarta, and somehow “incidentally” one of the candidates were present and opening the event that day. LOL

The part where I found a good dictionary

The truth is I’m not very good in English. I learn English via movies, books and sitcoms (don’t ask, a long story). Yes, some formal education were there, but mostly I learn from experience. That’s why sometimes I needed a dictionary to help me find an appropriate word that I need. After googling for awhile I found out about StarDict. This GTK 2.0 based application is suitable for finding the right words swiftly. It’s a lightweight program. One thing though, this application does not include dictionary database. But not to worry, StarDict provides it for user to download in their website. There are many dictionaries available there, even an Indonesian – English dictionary. StarDict is very helpful indeed.

Motorcycle and the Traffic in Jakarta

Posted on January 24, 2007
Filed Under Bicycle, Daily Notes | 4 Comments

I might be wrong, but here’s the visualization in my brain when it comes to road user hierarchy:

Higher level will result in high priorities over the road. That’s my ideal thinking. Truck has to prioritize Cars. A car has to prioritize Motorcycle and so on.

In my opinion, this level of priviliges on the other hand has a very strong effect regarding road accidents. I’ve always told my friends, in the case of motorcycle versus car in some road crash

In the case of Truck versus Pedestrians, I don’t have to tell the outcome anymore. The truck would always be the guilty parties. Well, at least that’s how I see it. Don’t know about you all.

Regarding to this, there’s a new law here in Jakarta, which prohibited motorcycle to roam free in some of the specific roads (the one that they called “protocol road”). This, of course ignited some controversies to all sides. The local government of Jakarta thinks that this rule will lessen the traffic in Jakarta.

I totally disagree with that statement above. Yes, the excessive use of motorcycle in Jakarta is very concerning (you can buy a motorcycle with no down payment at all). However, was it the only culprit of making Jakarta’s traffic worse?

Tour de Jatiasih

Posted on January 23, 2007
Filed Under in Indonesia, Bicycle | Leave a Comment

Hari Sabtu, 20 Januari 2006. B2W-KKG (Bike 2 Work Kelompok Kompas-Gramedia) melaksanakan acara offroad sepeda bareng di Jatiwarna, Bekasi. Tepatnya di track PGCC. Selain grup KKG sendiri, kami juga didampingi oleh “yang punya gawean” yaitu anak2 PGCC. Menurut Abi, anak KKG yang juga anggota PGCC, track yang rencananya akan kami lalui ini kurang lebih berjarak 10 KM hingga di base camp JJ (Jalur Jatiasih).

Track melintasi tempat-tempat pemukiman warga dan juga perkebunan. Sempat beberapa kali rombongan berhenti untuk mengambil napas sejenak. Akibatnya, rombongan B2W-KKG agak tertinggal dengan rombongan tuan rumah.

Setelah melewati beberapa rintangan yang cukup membuat stamina terkuras, kami akhirnya sampai juga di pemberhentian Base Camp JJ (Jalur Jatiasih). Track di medan tersbut dipenuhi oleh tanah merah berlumpur akibat dari hujan yang terjadi di malam seblumnya. Lumpur tanah setengah kering itu menempel keras di bagian-bagian sepeda terutama di roda. Akibatnya, perjalanan menjadi tambah berat.

Untungnya, sampai di base camp ada tempat cuci steam sepeda, sehingga sepeda bisa langsung dapat dibersihkan. Namun, apa daya setelah menyantap makan siang di base camp, hujan mengguyur daerah tersebut. Walhasil, pencucian sepeda menjadi kurang berguna karena saat pulang kami harus menghadapi lumpur lagi.

Foto-foto aksi dapat dilihat di bawah ini:

Lengkapnya ada disini.

Bike to Work

Posted on January 15, 2007
Filed Under Bicycle, Sports | Leave a Comment

It has been a month now since I decided to cut loose and try to go to work by bike. Here’s the background: I love to bike, But the last time I ride a bicycle was back in senior high. The reason was simple, I don’t have time. Workloads at school and some other hobbies occupy my mind to try to ride a bike again. The bike was in the attic all those years.

So now, we back in present year. The “Bike to Work” movements suddenly emerge in the early 2005. It contaminates many urban city workers. Especially those who commute. Including in my own office

Started with Mas Ari from the production division. He arrived at the office one morning, wearing a bicycle jersey and make quite impression to the other guys. After a brief Q&A session, his testimonial changes some of the guys way of thinking regarding the transports to work. Then my friend Dodi started to ride a bike to work. Until October 2006, 4 guys at the office have decided to go to work in a bike.

Me? No, at first I have yet gone undecided. Though the guys were pushing me day to day, forcing me to use a bike instead of mass transport (In this case using an “Angkot”). The reason? I guess it was concerning my hectic job. I don’t have the time to taking care a bike anymore. I once think that it would take some time and some effort to maintain a bike. Well this is true in certain (positive) way.
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