Dad, how far more?

First and foremost, as usual we have to praise to our beloved Allah swt for all the barakah from the month of Ramadhan until Syawal and until we are back to our usual routine.

Alhamdullillah our Ramadhan was pretty much accomplished, better than the previous. Alhamdullillah our Aidil Fitri was superb with more meaningful approach, more food and stronger silaturrahim with fellow family members, relatives and friends. Not forgetting my late father whom have left us for two years now and may Allah bless his soul and place him among the ambia’.

Approaching the weekend after a week of festive mood, I had to dodge those tempting laziness and put in some strength in setting my mind for a ride. With a bit of courage and a feather duster, I dragged my bike away from its month long resting place under the staircase into the middle of the living room. Gosh! It still had mud from the last ride! And when was that? With guilt, I ran through a damp cloth wiping it away exposing what was supposed to be a shining metal. The usual routine took place but with a bit more effort gathering the bike stuff from all over the house after a month of disregard.

However, the plan for the Saturday morning ride into Langat was shelved when rain came over for a nice cool shower outside the bedroom window prompted me to text Det and friends of the cancelation and carried on hiding myself under the hood. It was peaceful.

Hence, the remaining daylight was spent with more feasting which I lost count of the amount and type of food intake.

With words flying around that Langat will be packed with post raya cyclist, we were excited to hop on to the bandwagon. To add to the camaraderie, Amir decided to get his first long ride experience. We drove all the way to Batu 18 where the meeting place was set by the LeTuang gang. Now Amir has the empty kampong road to himself from Batu 18 to Simpang Peres and I don’t have to worry about traffic. It was also actually a reception ride for CK with his new Dogma and we have all eyes and drools all over the road that morning.

Amir rode gracefully. Toggling around with the gearing and cadence seemed second to nature for him. I guess the bike skills from his neighborhood adventure came in handy. Approaching KM7 the first anticipated question came out from him, “Berapa jauh lagi ayah?” To kill his boredom and mini suffer fest, I had to goreng him a bit about the route and its famous folklores tales. About the majestic climbs. As well as the sharing of cooling and peaceful climate that we cyclists endure on each ride. Well, that kept us occupied for at least a mile before he popped up a second gesture, “Sakit bontot la ayah”. Hehe. For an iron butt like me would have felt the same after an absence from cycling, and for Amir, that would be no exemption. Furthermore, he was not equipped with a pair of cycling short. Argh! I presumed that cute butt will have a long day ahead.

Approaching the final 500 meters, the climb up to Simpang Peres may well seemed to be Amir’s toughest point. Any forgiving day would have felt the same for any of us. But, the key point was not to stop and pushed on and that was what I did. Motivating him and with extra support and cheers from other fellow cyclists, Amir concurred the climb full strength. Alhamdullillah.

Masjlis berkampung at the junction was a ritual for a day of light and easy ride like today. Amir decided to stretch his legs and butt during the break before we descended back to Batu 18. Most of us went up Genting Peres which is a must for a comeback ride after a long break. As for the rest of us, we definitely don’t want to miss the breakfast window at the all time favorite Roti Canai Anje.

The 10km back to Batu 18 was done casually by Amir, except when he started to ask for the miles countdown to the finish. And he started to complain whenever the milestone on the roadside differed from the remaining distance I told him from the cyclometer. I presumed it’s a symptom of tiredness. But he remained cool. 20KM for his first long ride experience is an achievement indeed.

The everlasting distance, for him at least, ended with a plate of roti telur and favorite drink iced milo at Anje’s Joint. With Amir around, I have plenty of chance to loosen up the cycling legs before the start of a new training season. Nothing fancy, only a small event at the end of the month at a place full of memories. Like the wise said, we’ll see how it goes.

Jemput makan cikgu. Jemput makan kawan-kawan!