2,000 meters above sea level there exists a volcano that last erupted only a few short years ago. It’s awe inspiring intensity is best experienced first hand; looking straight up from the centre of a crater, that over millions of years has been blown apart from within. For us though, it’s a playground best enjoyed on two wheels. The ashen dunes have become a yearly pilgrimage for the Deus Temple rats and this year was no different. A crew of Californians, Forrest Minchinton, Nick LaPaglia, Todd Cram and Micah Davis, loaded up the bikes and made the daylong journey across Bali, onto the ferry and hitting the edge of East Java the twisting roads that meandered there way up into the clouds. Arriving to this part desert, part lush green jungle scape, never ceases to prompt a crooked smile across all and sundry. No wonder that the next few days flew past, filled with some good ol’ fashion dune carving, from sun up to sundown, ending our days with with wonderful evenings of laughter punctuated with platefuls of simple local rice dishes, an abundance of cold beers and stories that grew taller with each telling. Days like these stick in your brain, like sand in your teeth. Photos: Harry Mark 
