Let’s Go Ride a Bike Around Borobudur Temple!

The “Wisata Sepeda” bike rental service in Borobudur’s Wanurejo Village, Magelang Regency, Central Java.

By: Sahrudin – alwaysmagelang@gmail.com

ENJOY the sights of picture perfect villages around Borobudur temple in Magelang Regency, Central Java by bike. Heru Saryanto saw this tourism business opportunity and he took it. He, who is also a bike collector, established a bicycle rental service in order to facilitate Borobudur temple’s tourists.

An exceptional collection, American antique high wheel. Not for rent!

Heru named his bicycle rental service “Wisata Sepeda”, literally means bike tour. Located about 500 meters east of Borobudur temple, tourists can find it easily on Jalan Balaputradewa, Wanurejo Village. He arranged his bikes neatly, ranging from the yard to the garage and in the spaces of the building.

Parlor filled with bicycles.

Heru now has nearly 2,000 bicycles in Borobudur and Yogyakarta as well as in Bali Island. In Borobudur itself, he has about 500 bikes are available for all ages of riders. American antique high wheels and a “historic” bike which was found buried in Mount Merapi debris flood, also can be seen here. But of course, these bikes are not for rent.

Also not for rent! A “historic” bike which was found buried in Mount Merapi debris material.

“Basic pricing for daily bike rentals are IDR 30,000 (USD 2.67) per day”, Heru recently said. It is also possible to rent the “polka” or “demang” hat, which in the past used to be a style only worn by the Dutch colonial masters.

Heru among hundreds of his bikes.

Besides individual, generally it is cheaper to hire bikes as a group. The “Wisata Sepeda” offers several tour package options for the tourists group. The tour packages are divided into a group consisting of 5, 5-10 and a group of more than 10 tourists. Heru’s bicycle rental service also develops relationships with travel bureaus and tourism villages, as well as Magelang’s rafting operators.***