Luca Montoya | Bentang Jawa

Earlier in 2024, after watching his exploits for some time via his highly entertaining Instagram account, we welcomed Luca Montoya to the MASON family.

With years of touring and exploration under his belt, Luca – ever eager and always curious – decided to mix  a taste of ultra racing into his bikepacking adventures. So, after swinging by Sussex to pick up a bright orange MASON Bokeh, Luca headed south to Spain, then east to Turkey, before flying to Indonesia to take on his biggest challenge yet: the Bentang Jawa self-supported ultra race.

We caught up with Luca to ask how he found his first ultra endurance race.

How did you find the ride, route, and overall experience compared to your previous touring?

Bentang Jawa was my first ever ultra-distance race, so I didn’t have any specific ideas or expectations about how it would be. Before I started, I knew that this race would show me whether I wanted to dive deeper into the racing scene.

Even though I didn’t finish the race due to the infamous “Bali belly” (food poisoning), I still had an amazing time on my bike.

Sharing the same route with over 100 like-minded people was just incredible.

The fact that everyone has a tracker and there are checkpoints, dot watchers, and camera teams along the way gives a feeling of “being watched.” Even if something really bad happens, there’s always someone not too far away. That’s very different from when I cycle in places like Patagonia on remote bikepacking routes in the mountains. If something goes wrong there and I find myself in a bad situation, like an accident, I might have to wait days for help to arrive. 

With that feeling of “security,” I was excited to push my limits in this race.

The cycling itself felt very different from my “normal” bikepacking experience. I was constantly thinking about my nutrition. Instead of just riding as usually. Also because I was fighting my illness, I didn’t film much, even though the landscapes were incredibly beautiful, and I had many wonderful encounters with locals.

I’m still very happy about the experience and know for the next race how to handle certain situations differently. Can’t wait to join my next race!

What was the toughest moment of the race?

Calling a DNF after 580 km.

There’s a lot of preparation and logistics involved, which come with high expenses, so I was definitely upset. But hey, that’s sometimes how it is - motivates me to come back stronger. 

What was the best moment?

Riding through the night into the sunrise! It was really amazing. Words can’t describe the beauty of Java during day and night. The support from the kids standing by the road, cheering for us riders, was also incredible to experience.

How did the bike perform? Were you happy with your choice of components?

The Mason Bokeh3 is a strong all-around gravel bike! It handles every surface easily and smoothly while keeping the speed high. Even though my lowest gear didn’t work, I still got a KOM on one of the longest climbs in the first 600 km. I’m definitely proud of that—haha.

Is there anything you learned along the way that will stay with you in life?

I definitely learned a lot about my body. For my future races, I need to remember that an ultra-distance race is not a sprint. It’s great to be fast in the short term, but it’s more important to stay strong and consistent throughout the entire race. I might have just rested for a full day to recover and could probably have finished the race, but I was too focused on finishing with a great position instead of simply making it to the end.

Thank you, Bentang Java and all my supporters! I hope to be back next year!