Welcome to the Gili Air MotoGP
Where Every Tourist Is Valentino Rossi
There was a time, not so long ago, when Gili Air was famous for something rather unusual in the modern world: there were no motorized vehicles.
No cars. No motorbikes. No traffic jams.
Just bicycles, cidomos, people walking barefoot along sandy roads, coconut trees, the sound of the ocean and the occasional chicken making the questionable decision to cross the road.
Then something happened.
Years ago, Gili Air got an electric bike.
One.
And there was a very good reason for it. It was used by a disabled person who needed transportation around the island.
Nobody had a problem with that. In fact, this is exactly where electric mobility makes sense.
But apparently that lonely electric bike was secretly reproducing at night.
Because one became ten.
Ten became fifty.
Fifty became hundreds.
And today, depending on how you count them, there appear to be more than 1,000 electric bikes and scooters moving around our tiny island.
Welcome to Gili Air 2026.
Or, as we may soon have to rename it:
The Gili Air International MotoGP Training Circuit.
The Valentino Rossi Academy of Gili Air
One particularly interesting development is that Gili Air has apparently become an international training center for future MotoGP champions.
And recruitment starts young.
Very young.
Six years old? Perfect.
Seven? Almost professional.
Eight? Probably ready for qualifying.
Parents can simply rent an electric scooter, put their child on it and release their future Valentino Rossi onto the roads of Gili Air.
Helmet?
Optional, apparently.
Driving experience?
Why ruin the excitement?
Knowledge of Indonesian traffic rules?
Details, details.
Understanding which side of the road Indonesia drives on?
Something you can discover during the journey.
The roads of Gili Air have therefore become an excellent slalom course.
Walking tourists are the poles.
Bicycles are moving obstacles.
Cats add an advanced difficulty level.
Cidomos are the boss level.
And crossroads are apparently designed specifically to test acceleration.
The objective seems simple: reach the intersection as quickly as possible and hope everybody else has better brakes than you.
Alberto Tomba Would Be Proud
For younger readers who may not remember him, Alberto Tomba was a legendary Italian alpine skier famous for attacking slalom courses at incredible speed.
On Gili Air, we now have our own tropical version.
Instead of skis, we use electric scooters.
Instead of snow poles, we use pedestrians.
Left.
Right.
Left.
Tourist with suitcase.
Right.
Local carrying groceries.
Left.
Small child.
Sharp right.
Cidomo.
BRAKE!
Congratulations.
You have successfully completed the Gili Air Slalom Championship.
The interesting thing is that many visitors would never allow their children to behave like this at home.
In many countries, there are clear restrictions concerning the age at which children can operate powered vehicles on public roads.
Parents wouldn’t normally say:
“Darling, you’re six now. Take this motorized vehicle and go practice between pedestrians.”
But apparently the moment some people step off the boat onto Gili Air, normal logic goes on holiday too.
The island becomes a theme park.
No cars means no rules.
No police on every corner means no danger.
Holiday means everything is allowed.
Except physics unfortunately doesn’t take holidays.
Maybe a Driving Lesson First?
Perhaps before renting out an electric bike, we could introduce a revolutionary new concept:
Knowing how to ride one.
I know. Very controversial.
Lesson one:
How do you start an electric bike without accidentally launching yourself into a restaurant?
Lesson two:
Which side of the road do we drive on in Indonesia?
Lesson three:
What happens at a crossroads?
Hint: the correct answer is not “accelerate.”
Lesson four:
Pedestrians are human beings, not slalom poles.
Lesson five:
When you see a child, dog, cat, bicycle or cidomo in front of you, slowing down is an available option.
Lesson six:
Your holiday insurance does not magically turn you into Valentino Rossi.
Perhaps after completing these six highly complicated lessons, tourists could receive the prestigious:
Gili Air Electric Scooter Driving Licence
A beautiful laminated card.
Valid for seven days.
With a photograph, signature and perhaps a little golden coconut for people who successfully understand that Indonesia drives on the left.
Fail the test?
Congratulations.
You have won a bicycle.
But Do We Actually Need 1,000 Electric Bikes?
This is the more serious question.
Gili Air is tiny.
You can walk from the south of the island to the north in roughly 30 minutes.
Walking around the whole island takes approximately 90 minutes, depending on how often you stop for coffee, food, turtles, sunsets or conversations.
That was part of the charm.
You arrived on an island where life moved differently.
You walked.
You cycled.
You slowed down.
You didn’t need an engine for a seven-minute journey.
Of course, there are reasonable exceptions.
Businesses need transportation.
Older people may need assistance.
People with disabilities should absolutely have access to suitable mobility.
There are also legitimate practical situations where electric transportation makes sense.
But that doesn’t automatically mean everybody arriving at the harbor needs an electric scooter.
At what point do we ask ourselves what kind of island we actually want?
Because if every visitor needs motorized transportation to travel 500 meters, perhaps the problem isn’t Gili Air.
Paradise With a Charging Cable
Gili Air used to sell a very simple image.
A tropical island.
Coconut trees.
White beaches.
No cars.
No motorbikes.
Walk barefoot.
Ride a bicycle.
Slow down.
Now perhaps our tourism marketing needs updating.
Visit beautiful Gili Air!
Enjoy our beaches.
Dive with turtles.
Watch the sunset.
And experience the thrilling sensation of having a twelve-year-old pass you at maximum speed while you peacefully walk back to your hotel.
For an additional authentic experience, try crossing an intersection at 6 p.m.
No reservation required.
We Are Waiting for the Accident
And this is where the joke stops being quite so funny.
When the number of electric bikes increases dramatically while riders include inexperienced adults and very young children, the risk inevitably increases.
Eventually, somebody is going to get seriously hurt.
Maybe it will be a rider.
Maybe a pedestrian.
Maybe a child.
Maybe somebody stepping out of a restaurant.
Maybe a collision with a bicycle or cidomo.
And after that happens, everyone will suddenly become extremely interested in regulations.
There will be meetings.
There will be discussions.
People will ask:
“How could this happen?”
“We need to do something!”
“We need rules!”
But we don’t actually have to wait for a serious accident before discussing the problem.
We can see it developing in front of us.
So What Is the Solution?
There are several possibilities.
We could establish clear rules about who may rent and operate electric bikes.
We could introduce a minimum age.
We could require rental companies to provide a basic safety briefing.
We could establish speed limits in busy areas.
We could clearly explain Indonesian road rules.
We could restrict electric vehicles in certain pedestrian-heavy areas.
We could create a simple Gili Air riding certificate.
Or we could take the strongest approach and stop renting electric bikes to tourists altogether, while maintaining sensible exemptions for residents, businesses, older people and people with disabilities.
Maybe that sounds extreme.
But is it really?
One of the reasons people came to Gili Air in the first place was precisely because it was different.
No cars.
No motorbikes.
No rushing.
An island where you could walk.
Perhaps progress doesn’t always mean adding more engines.
Sometimes progress means protecting what made a place special.
Welcome to Gili Air — Please Slow Down
Nobody is suggesting that electric mobility itself is evil.
Electric bikes can be extremely useful.
The question is whether a tiny island needs more than a thousand of them and whether everybody—including young children and people who have apparently never ridden one before—should be allowed to use the public roads without basic instruction.
Gili Air doesn’t need another thousand Valentino Rossis.
It doesn’t need a MotoGP circuit.
It doesn’t need pedestrians practicing emergency evasive maneuvers every time they walk to dinner.
It needs some common sense.
So perhaps next time you arrive on Gili Air, try something truly adventurous.
Walk.
Yes.
With your legs.
It’s an ancient transportation system that requires no battery, no charging station and remarkably little driving experience.
You might even notice the coconut trees.
You might say hello to somebody.
You might discover a small restaurant you would otherwise have passed.
You might remember why you came to a tiny tropical island in the first place.
And don’t worry.
Valentino Rossi already retired from MotoGP.
We don’t urgently need to find his replacement on Gili Air.