Denpasar is the capital of Bali and a city that most visitors drive around rather than into, which is a shame because it is the part of the island that works for the Balinese rather than for tourists. It is crowded, noisy and full of scooters, with markets selling offerings, spices and fabrics, and temples tucked between shops. Puputan Square, the central park, commemorates the day in 1906 when the Balinese court, facing Dutch troops, walked out in ceremonial dress and chose death over surrender, an event known as the puputan. A fine museum nearby shows Balinese art and ritual.
The wider story is the way the island's culture continues to function. Every morning, women set out small woven trays of flowers and rice on pavements, shrines and the dashboards of cars, and every few days a procession blocks the road for an hour with music, parasols and offerings. Do not get impatient: the procession has the right of way, and you wait. Ride on the left, as in Indonesia generally, and expect the unexpected, from dogs asleep on the tarmac to a family of four on a scooter.
The route north leads out of the lowlands and up to the mountains. The road to Bedugul climbs through rice terraces and fruit orchards to a cool plateau at about twelve hundred metres, where the temple of Ulun Danu stands on the edge of Lake Beratan and the mist rolls over the water. Beyond Bedugul the road drops in a series of bends toward Munduk, a village of coffee and clove plantations with waterfalls and views of the twin lakes of Buyan and Tamblingan. The surface is patched in places, there are steep sections and wet leaves, and in the rainy season landslides sometimes close the road.
Fuel in Denpasar is easy, with state stations on every main road, and in villages you will see petrol sold from glass bottles by the roadside, which is fine in an emergency but not ideal for a good bike. The dry season, from April to October, is best, but the island is always green.