JKNM Mini Jamboree

All good with the bikes. Dandy. Just need to be ridden and tested. I crave for some miles on them. Had the chance to ride up Peres last 2 weeks for a spin and a cuppa coffee at Anje’s Place :]

A week later Azmar threw an invivation to sign up for Malacca Mini Jamboree at Ayer Keroh hosted by Jabatan Kemajuan Negeri Melaka. The fee was cheap and yet we got ourselves the normal jamboree kind of goodies e.g. free lunch, drinks, cash prizes and lucky draw awesome gifts. Cheap eh?

The issue with Malacca trip is the driving distance without the need to spend overnight. Then we had to sacrifice our sleep for a super early morning drive from KL. I woke up at 4.30 and we hit the road at 5.30 a.m.

With stopped for prayer and breakfast, yet we still managed to put ourselves at the start line in time. Mr. VIP was at his typical ‘punctuality’, hence providing us ample time for casual talks. That was before we were chased away from the VIP parking when a black Honda Accord with exclusive plate number approached us at high speed. Lucky la it was just a Honda. If not for the coming GE, I bet it will be a Bentley!

“OK la. We know you’re late already but don’t pull that kind of stunt in front of us weekend warriors la. We see all of those stuff many times already!”

The horn blew off and and these 500 mountain bikers hit the tarmac for the first 7km. As usual, the purpose was to screen the participants before clogging the narrow trail ahead. I remember passing by Malacca Zoo and all those tourist spots before hitting the trail. With the advantage of a 29 inch, the tarmac roll was awesome. Likewise, I also noticed some weirdo trying to wheelsuck. Is that cool? Lantak korang lah.

Once inside the trail the race tempo started. Everybody wants to attack that climb, he wants to be the first on top. Don’t loosed those grips on the slippery climb! Push bike please step aside! Don’t block the riders trying to cycle up! It was all chaos!

I presumed that I was already in the middle of the pack after the tarmac roll or maybe the last quarter, due to late start giving away to the large group to start first. I don’t know. Maybe. But there seemed to be less congestion when most of the riders around me were cycling and not pushing their bikes. Hence that would mean I am in the mid-pack. That’s good news.

The trail head

The only time we got stuck in a haul up when there was a very steep cliff where we had to shove our bikes down with the help of some marshals. The rest was between us and the trail. Be it a single track, a trail across some vast vegetable plots, some grass field cycling, parallel to the North-South Highway and more single trails. We got leaves brushing on our left cheek for a kilo or two. Then followed by another kilo on the right cheek. The mix of different terrain and kind of trails made the jamboree an enjoyable one. Plus, they don’t give you big amah hills to take our breath away. Instead, we were given a big highway long gradual climb for a change. It was nasty due to head winds and sun.

Muddy

The sight of the next loop of shaded trail was a great relief. I had a hunch that the end is nearing when the scene of MITC area seemed familiar. Kawtim-ed in top 100. Alhamdullillah.