Bagan Lalang revisit

Huhu...did 96km to Bagan Lalang and back to MTDC Bangi yesterday with 9 other guys, mostly from the way2ride team. Weather was great. The early morning was cooling but the pedal back was windy and warm as we cruised on the winding road of Salak Tinggi.

Despite a tiring journey the day before behind the wheel from Taiping, I was in doubt that I could survive the ride back. It turned out good, syukran jazeelan kullu...alhamdullillah. Everybody was good, which includes Saiful who were joking around with laughter after the ride. We managed to work together maintaining 30-35km/hr from simpang Bagan Lalang to Sg Pelek before 3 fast riders koyak us to pieces dragging at 40km/hr. Giler. We regrouped after bukit De Palma & work again all the way to simpang to UKM.

• Ride dist : 96km
• Ride time :3hrs 26min

Kayuhan ais kacang Bentung

If they said & I can't agree more that Janda Baik route is cool enough, this Bentung route is much way cooler than that. Why? Becauuuse...I get to spin thousands of crank rotations, got 100km+ milage, cool riding buddies...all 11 of us, nice fast descents, nice moderate & long climbs & the final killer Ronald "I kill my brader" climb and not forgetting, the awesome monsoon weather of Pahang that made the ride cooling & wet...hehe.

11 of us gathered & rode off from HOA at 8.30am. Almost an hour to reach GS & followed by a gruelling fast rolling descents down to a quarter way of the old Bentung road before realising that my fellow buddy Saiful was missing. A phone call away & he has actually decided to turn back after having cramps trying to catch up with the charging train. After some motivational talks & a bit of racun, our special ice kacang menu for the trip was irresistable. We rode in all the way into Bentung at a moderate pace.

The combination of ice kacang from Kedai Kopi Kow Po and the next door mee goreng mamak was enough to make every ride to Bentung & back worthwhile. A perfect blend. A gorgeous fusion.

The ride back was divided into two groups. My main task accompanying Saiful back up to GS was at mind & was ready for it. We managed to survive the awesome climb back & rolled down back to HOA clocking at 3.30 p.m.

Facts:

Ride distance : 111.37km
Ride time : 5 hrs 14 min
Bike condition : Superb but require a checking for some knocking sound
Body : Never felt better unlike the after mass from JB's ride...ekekekek
Weather : Drizzled towards Bentung; awesome mid day overcast on the way back.

Southern roadride

Took the chance riding with fellow cyclists in JB last weekend when my trip was actually for a cousin's wedding. The ample Sunday morning was the only window for me to make the trip to Pontian & back before 1.00 p.m. for the wedding.

6 of us started from Impian Emas Petronas station at 8.00 a.m. under a gloomy sky. A distance sight of the dark horizon was a guarantee that our ride back is definitely a mid-day shower. JB has been receiving an extra precipitation rate for the last one week where certain areas has been reported to be flooded. We left for the Skudai-Pontian trunk road after Azhar repaired his rear puncture.

The route was scenic enough for us to enjoy our tarik menarik ordeal. It was rolling & after about an hour 40 minutes passing Pekan Nenas, we reached the end, the peaceful sea side town of Pontian Kechil. As usual, the most idealistic decision for a breakfast is no other than mamak's la.

As we hit our saddle & rode back, the blazing dark sky has started to pour in. Yes, wet & cold was the only precise description of our 45km ride back. To make matters worse for me, the climb back from sea level was similar to climbing a giant step, climb after climb in the busy & wet traffic.

A total ride distance of 92km clocking 3 hours 33 mins (half of it soaked) was something to remember riding in the monsoon with ride buddies i.e. Nuar, Mus, Toing, Eddy & Azhar. Thanks for hosting my first hometown ride.

Earlier on Saturday morning, a fellow cyclist here in JB is attempting his first tour. Tour of Peninsular's west coast from JB to Perlis was his goal. I met at his flag-off in Skudai which was a
proud & touched moment.

As of today, I presumed he has reached the northern stretch of his journey after covering 247km from JB to Malacca on his 1st day & 147km from Malacca to KL on his 2nd. All the best prayers for bro Jamaludin.

Penang Hill x 3

Lambat betul aku nak mengolah idea untuk post kali ni. The last time I sat in front of the pc was 3 days ago with nothing flowing from my left & right brain to my finger tips. Thought of posting about the journey & what but that would be a bit too common la. Nak citer dari awal sampai habis...tangkap lena plak beb.

The most easiest description of this year's jamboree is WORLD 8000x! Seriously, it was total ass whacking awesome due to the followings:

> Dapat panjat Penang Hill 3 kali. The 2nd climb back up almost pushed us to the edge when nasi kandar was mingling in our minds. Lunch time, what do you expect maaa?

> Had the chance to share the tormenting climbs & endless body banging downhills with fellow ride buddies all the way to finish.

> All 8 stickers collected. No idea how many completed.

>Was able to ride most of the climbs although squeezing through the heavy traffic was a bit tricky at times.

>Was rewarded with a very beautiful sunny day & the trails were dry & dusty.

>Having the chance to capture the cool & awesome moments of the ride from my ixus.

>As a bonus, balun nasik kandaq imigresen after ride, ayam tandoori kapitan after jamboree dinner & char kuew teow chaorasta before exiting the island.

Thanks to my fellow buddies who made the ride a worth remembering one for this year...Alwin, Saiful, Zamri, Azahari & geng Selama, Fairuz, Lias, Pi'e, Malik, Bukhari & a few hundreds more on the tarmac climbs & anywhere in & out of the singletracks. Thumbs up to the organiser who knows how to check out beyond the limit...

A peak of mainland from the peak

Ayer Hitam Dam

2nd climb that pushed us to the limit

The 4th time re-riding this trail since 2004

Nasik kandaq imigresen

Pres Ride 2007

Just after 1 week of labour, here comes another torment...the PCC Presidential Ride 2007. Venued at the same Kajang-Semenyih district. The endless climbs & fast rolling, some with technical bit never failed to pump up the adrenalines. Can't exactly clocked in the distance since my wornout cyclometer didn't record it precisely, but comparing with my fellow riding buddies it seemed like around 50km only.

The first loop seemed pretty fast, minus the jammed climbing at the first hill. The 2nd loop was smooth except for the almost empty tummy prior to reaching checkpoint 3 for some awesome watermelons & buns. Maybe Loop 3 was a bit edgy for a few of us, which includes me. Experienced chain-suck at the initial of every hill climb, just when I was about to spin the granny. Really sucked away the spirit & energy, especially when the unclipping went wrong...hahaha.

Loop 4 was amazingly presented with only one climb. Upon reaching the wide track road along the picnic spot, most of us concluded that it will end & only 8km more to the finish. However, the cycle back to the finish was somehow rather boring having to cycle through more bumpy palm estate road & winding tarmac within housing area. Buddies were all scattered finishing the ride at our own pace.

Going to be awhile before I start to do another long moutainbike ride after having fun & exhausting presidential ride this year. Penang Jamboree in 2 weeks time dah rasa macam tak excited & malas...hehehe.

• Ride dist : 50.84km
• Ride time : 5:22:55

Results out...u better run la macha!

The official results from Powerman are out on the web. Nothing to be poyo about sebab nothing can be gauged with. Unless ada duathlon series before the powerman, but then again maybe I can compare with last year's results. Nope, don't think so sebab the distances for the run & bike leg are different. But then again, the results inspires me to look forward to another powerman next year...with improvements...SUB-2 HOURS! Muahahaha!

Basically the details are as follows:

• Run 5.5km = 0:29:53
• T1 = 0:02:03
• Bike 32km = 1:05:24
• T2 = 0:01:35
• Run 5km = 0:35:21
• Total = 2:14:20

Each of the task requires a step-up.

Run 5.5km - The strategy to run at race pace from the start line appeared destructive considering my poor & undiscipline running preps. Only depended on mind & thanks to Saiful who ran along to T1. Get a proper running technic & get the legs in shape la bro.

T1 - Unnecessarily spending more than a minute due to exhaustion from run. Was a bit hazy deciding which items to leave behind & which to use next, in priority. Items to be clearly visible for the biking leg.

Bike32km - The effort of maintaining an average of 29-31km/hr at flats was phenomenal. Maybe this was due to regular rides during Ramadhan & after hari raya. The cramps were probably due to hydration deficiency from days before. Must closely monitor hydration next time. For extra item that might be considered for improvement is an aerobar. Being overtook by aerobar beholders were a sight to be envied. The relax position might help focusing on the spinning rather than pening kepala to get comfy & aerodynamic at the same time.

T2 - Was able to put on the running shoes fast but spending 30 secs looking for a powergel in the bag. However, it was considered a wise move knowing my feeble running & the crampy bike leg before.

Run 5km - Was basically running to survive & finish, not to outrun the others. Hehehe. Was drained from first run leg & the cramp. Was running with precaution so as not to injure myself. Same message : get the legs in shape for running.

Overall - Run la macha...run

Seri Manjung...alahai

2007 nearing an end and that's where all the excitement & those pleasureable tortures roll in. The first to appear out of the corner right after delicious hari raya is non-other than Malakoff Powerman. It's my first appearance. "Belasah aje" was my theme this year since training pun cincai especially the running part. No goals nothing, just to enjoy the trip with buddies, see & feel the atmosphere and killing my legs for the 10.5km run part.

Was only able to overcome the "lazy to start running" syndrome 2 weeks before the event. Crazy kan? Especially when a few advises told that "ok punya since dah biasa kayuh, so stamina should be ok". The truth was discovered on that day.

Four of us started off our journey from my place with a zillion traffic obstacles at late Saturday morning. After almost 45 minutes resolving "how to place 4 bikes on a Wira" puzzle, we hit the gas. Heard that there was a reformasi gathering in the city, so all roads entering KL were choked, I mean really choked! KL-Seremban highway bumper to bumper from Kajang. I can go crazy if stucked in there. We opted to take the outer city highway which doubles the distance & time...janji tak jem.

Successfully reaching Seri Manjung at 4.30 p.m. after a pleasant journey listening to the 1600 music collections from our in house iPod DJ. Tunes ranged around 70's to 80's. We were singing along with the Pet Shop Boys, Level 42, Spandau Ballet, Dato' Shake & lots more.

Just in time to get the timing chip and checked in at Lead View Hotel. Attended the briefing and took the last light before sun down to recce the cycling route since almost everybody was excited to tell about the majestic climb up the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Bridge. Yes, the recce trip definitely made us crazy where we decided to feast on ikan Gerut masak halia for dinner to chase the bridge fear away. Marina cove of Teluk Batik was the spot.

Come race day, each of us put on our race face still baring in mind about the ikan Gerut. We cycled to the transition point and started to stretch & warm up while enjoying the race climate with all those elite athletes, foreign & locals. Semua muka sungguh-sungguh mau race punya.

Our sprint cat start-off at 7.50am with the first 5.5km run around the sport complex through a nearby housing area. Managed to survive with minor cursings. The cycle part was awesome for 3/4 of the 32km route before both my tibial surrounding muscles started to inflict pain. Most of the cyclist that I overtook caught up & left me struggling...argh! The 31km/hr pace flew away in agony. The right leg and followed by the left one. I can't even spin the crank. Every effort was painful. To unclip was totally out of the question cause it will bring the bike & me down by the roadside. A quick gulped of the powergel took me about 2 painful minutes before I was able to race back to the stadium.

The second run was done with precaution as not to kill my legs. My task was to finish it...running, not walking, though it has to be a miilion small running steps. Was overtook again by the participants I left behind during cycling league. Tension oooo...

After 2hr14min20sec of war against me, I crossed the finish line. The rest of the day felt awesome when we decided to reward ourselves with unstoppable food bazarre from Seri Manjung back to KL. Award lunch at Dewan MPM. Shopped for ikan bilis at Lumut. Laksa asam at Padang Polo, Ipoh & mee bandung at my home before we close our 2007 Seri Manjung chapter.

the hunt...

i am so greatful that my hunt is finally nearing it's end. it was a gruesome journey which took me a few years of suffering. i can say that maybe it's due to a few reasons. hehe...bunyi macam gempak je...

well it's actually a mountainbikers' every dream to have their dream machine standing there elegantly with black shining knobbies, glare reflecting rotors, aweome frame geometry, gorgeous wheels, sleek comfy saddle, plush suspensions and promising drivetrains. what else can i say? the book is reaching it's final chapter. will it be a fox?? still have yet to be certained.

the sight of my beloved old & trusty black giant is something that i can't missed in a day. i will take the slightest opportunity to get into the room, sit on the bed fronting it and admiring it bit by bit besides the cdale. yes, it will again perform it's task like previous biggies year by year without complains. 3 main events coming out as we close 2007 chapter and i hope it will be awesome. cool.

...clueless

Though with thorough planning and numerous discussion and iterations, yang menentukan bukan kita. Bikes setup was crispy, diets were meticulously looked upon, apparels were picked finickily. All in order. Looking forward for the weekend.

Saturday started off as early as 6.45am leaving the house for Kiara Park for our first brick session together. Park was the usual cramped with joggers. We hit the pcc Tuesday night route from TTDI to Penchala Link, Damansara Heights and had to cut short back to TTDI to catch up with Saiful whom was fallen back during our speedchase at Sri Hartamas.

Ran two rounds at park and decided to chill, thinking not to push further considering the rest of the day punya chores. Had our late breakfast/lunch at DU with a bowl of asam laksa.

The rest of the afternoon was our last round of ziarah which ended up stucked at MRR2 from Gombak to Pandan. Missed the weekend's best EPL match sebab had to attend our neighbourhood hari raya gathering. The game between Arsenal & Manchester United ended with 2-2.

Sunday which was supposed to be a dirt day at FRIM had to be cut short sebab my loyal giant whom just had it's face lift terpaksa direhatkan akibat mengalami aheadset yang longgar due to careless & poor service of our blood sucking lbs.

caad4 R500

The routine of burning thin rubbers at Putrajaya roads continued from Ramadhan to Syawal. Instead of Friday night, the ride went back to the usual way2ride Wednesday night. A few new Wednesday night faces appeared (kita orang le tu...geng camdek) in the stale evening of Taman Warisan after it received a sprinkle of rain a few hours before.

The usual hustlers were there which had been a while since we rode with them. My best bet was the Morib trip...hahaha...that was one hell of a ride. No turning back, except when you are sitting at the back of the de rusa with the rear door open watching helpless souls drafting.

Ride started at 8.30pm with about no less than 10 cyclists...most of them season looking ones...scary siot...tapi belasah jer. The route changed but definitely we didn't miss the Elite toll plaza stretch. Ooops...forget about something that I should capture the historical moment...

...it was this night that my Caad4 first appearance. As I defined it as a responsive frame came to live. It was hungry to go further at each stroke of the 170 crank. The freewheel were silky smooth. Bumps were swallowed effortlessly. Again it charged ahead. Tarmac were eaten inch by inch without a nich. I'm thankful and greatful that it was our destiny to be together...

Ok, enough of the advert. Our max mark was 48km/hr that night but we went above our average pace at 28km/hr throughout. Clocking 48km at 1hr45min. The adrenalines were cut short by a short drizzle while we stuffed away our things into the car.

Existence...

This post was supposed to be yesterday's. However, suddenly the hours were packedly consumed with unplanned schedules till the wee hours of 28-October 2007.

28-October...the most important date which reflects the existence of me. Hehe...my birth date la dude, which I have gained 36 years of my wonderful life. Alhamdullillah I am grateful for all the achievements and the rise and fall.

My day started off with a no activity day when I lazily decided to call off my running morning schedule with Saiful. The whole morning was spent on the couch, be it the Bicycling mag or the tv or the kids. Due afternoon, it was more of the ziarah thing again.

The adrenalins raced in came evening. The existence of my new significant other. I swapped my first best, hardworking, excelful Scott bike for a caad4 Cannondale. A crucial and most important decision which was made with deep thoughts. To cut it short, I consider it as a gift for myself.

The last gift for the day was when Gunners managed to prove their existence after equalizing with the Reds in the Super Sunday match, claiming back from the Red Devils for less than a day...sorry Mr Fergy.

Getting the gu...

Despite my lack of sleep the night before due to clogging son's nose, the spirit to breath the smell of tarmac drove me to end my 3 hours sleep. Saiful drove in to my place a quarter to 7 and we rushed away hoping to rendevous with Jami & co. along the way to Batu 14. Traffic along the way was heavy at this hour, maybe sebab ada jamuan hari raya at the local school. The unconsiderate ones were the lorry drivers...dang. This stretch is getting busier by the day & more dangerous to the locals when these construction lorries zooming in and out chasing trips transporting earth for a few more housing development. Not a good sign.

We reached Batu 14 and found the rest of the parties. Jami & co and the triats. Alwin planned to tag along with the triats to Kuala Klawang craving for his long ride since raya. The ride took the normal route towards Batu 18, on to Sungai Lui route to the junction and up to Genting Peres. My last ride up here was a few months back. Climate remained unchanged, nice. A few resurfaced premix along the climb. Never felt better to sweat oneselves dragging the grannies and later rewarded with a cool 48km/hr descent back down to the junction. We carted away from the Kuala Klawang attemptees.

As I worked my back through Sg Lui, having Saiful drafting, we managed to consistantly paced ourselves an average of 30km/hr which was something of an achievement for me. Something that was impossible when I first start riding a roadie. The cool and awesome cruise were struck by a strong smell of warm & spicy laksa buyong as we passed the stall. Pergh! The drivetrains were disturbed when the mind sent signal to the tummy to sprint all the way to Batu 18 for roti canai...hahaha.

We sloppily gulped away our breakfast and cruised back through the mid-morning traffic towards home. It was an awesome ride.

Facts:
Route: BTHO - Bt14 - BT18 - Sg. Lui - Genting Peres - BTHO
Jauh : 80km
Masa : 3hrs26min

2 days in a row

Then came Sunday dilemma. After yesterday's awesome climbs up GS, I was expecting some flat routes on Sunday for some cadence training. PCC is riding 100km to Batang Berjuntai from Centrepoint. I was looking forward for a shorter one like the 76km Semenyih loop. 100km is way too much for me considering the initial ride after almost 2 weeks raya holiday.

A few of us decided for the Semenyih then...three of us. However the plan didn't work after Azahari and me got Saiful's msg at 4.30am telling he's bailing out. Son's sick. We concluded Sunday ride by joining Jami & company from my place to Genting Peres junction. Ride was packed with some speedworks and cadence exercises.

Ride facts:

• Route : btho - bt9 - bt14 - bt18 - Peres junction - back
• Distance : 62km
• Time : 2:14

It's riding time...

Waaa...it felt so long since my last ride, well actually it's 14 days to be exact equivalent to 2 weeks...yeah...that's long enough to have difficulty finding back my seating position on the fizik.

Finally, it is time for a Saturday early morning rush for a ride after a month of Ramadhan. I trust it's freedom for most of us muslim cyclists. Won't be the same compared to the night rides we've been doing. The first obstacle was to wake up as early as 5.30am. As expected, I failed. Twice the alarm went off and I was tight snuggly on the bed. 6.10am! ooo...man! I was late for the rendevouz time at 6.35am with Saiful. A quick sms to him to delay the meet as soon as I slammed the throttle.

As I let the cold morning breeze through my side windscreens, the sight of fellow cyclists appeared one by one along my way to Sri Gombak. Two riders were seen pedalling through Batu 9 toll plaza which definitely doing the Langat route. Then cars with bikes are visible as day turned in.

We parked at Azahari's place and made way to meet Mukhlis by the MRR2 before we headed off to old Jalan Gombak. Yes, it was a revisit to Genting Sempah as a treat for Syawal ride...hehe.All four of us shifting between grannies and 16 throughout the climb that took us about an hour. Weather was great. We saw a few other cyclists either climbing or rolling back down. Legs felt great throughout the ride.

The drive back home passed through the nightmare of hari raya weekends. It's an every year nightmare actually. Every inch of Klang Valley roads were crawling with vehicles. Yes, these are our fellow muslims performing their ziarah responsibilities. I've noticed that this year the ziarah concept has been accepted and applied quite impressively. Alhamdullillah that we have realised it. Ever since Syawal started a week ago, the ziarah was awesome. Hope to see the next Ramadhan and Syawal again in good heath.

Ride facts :
· Route : Genting Sempah
· Ride distance : 60km
· Ride time : 2:48

Road back thru time

I was on assignment yesterday to KKB, all by myself. Left the office at 11.00 and took the Jalan Sungai Tua road through Ulu Yam. Light traffic all the way, the opposite if I took the Rawang route. Weather was great for a focused drive on the empty trunk road. As soon as I reached Batang Kali and passed through Rasa and finally reaching Kuala Kubu Bharu, the nostalgia of previous and old days' trips came into my half conscious mind at mid-afternoon.

This route was the usual route for a few of my passed activities. Yes, been using it for quite a while now, even on my last ride at Pertak a month ago. I can still remember my first drive here was a recce trip to Sungai Chilling. It was somewhere in the 90's when nature was a place in mind during weekends. Even the Sungai Selangor Dam was still under construction at that time, and definitely under the full observation of the public, especially the environment lovers.

Ever since, I was wondering what was it like to be going further up to the Gap and all the way to Fraser's Hill. The day came when instead of driving up, I cycled up to Fraser's! It was total awesome. End of the day, on top of my interest cycle trips to KKB, I had an assignment with the local authorities.

The cruising road from Batang Kali all the way either to Fraser's or the more civilised destination towards Tanjung Malim is definitely a road to look forward when I want to kill time driving.

Third week Ramadhan

It's nearing end of Ramadhan and this time around, the night rides were kind of successful. This week itself, the rides gathered quite a large group of people with familiar and some unfamiliar faces.

The Tuesday city ride attracted 11 cyclists on mountainbikes. Definitely there were those normal Tuesday members and a few long lost friends. The get together at Titiwangsa lake that night reminded me of old times when the mountainbikers' jokes and laughters filled the air. True enough, everytime we meet, the casual yet trusty friendship always around. A true 38km disctance was clocked that night which seemed endless through the undulating lung busting hills of Bukit Damansara. It was Alwin's suggestion as part of the last workout for PCC Pres ride after raya, the one that everbody is looking forward to.

Last night was another story. The usual Taman Warisan Pertanian, Putrajaya hubbed the largest gathering of road cyclists compared to previous Friday nights. The imaginary sound of fast train charging forward has already felt in my leg muscles. I am determined to be riding in it.

The train left at 10.45pm making way for about 20 cyclists. Most of them were seen around rides but not a few which I hardly know. The usual route were taken leaving Putrajaya towards Cyberjaya maintaining an average 30km/hr. Upon reaching the stretch to the toll plaza, the crazy horses were tide up with a safety car in front, just to make sure that the peloton didn't break and survive the 8km stretch in one piece. The ride formation was maintain taking turn working in front. The enthusiasm can be felt in the mid-night air as we charged towards the remaining 200 meter mark. Yes, all hell broke loose as surpassed the 200 meter signboard before the toll plaza but only a handful succeeded to burst out. However, from the work done, an average of 40km/hr was kept throughout. Awesome.

We pedalled back the 8km towards Cyberjaya in a leisurely pace recovering from the labour. But not until the climb back into Cyberjaya. Everybody started attacking all the hills along our way back combining with a few speedworks. That was where the train losed it's remaining coaches...hehe. I managed to survive with the loco all the way. An unpressured stroke of pedal brought Alwin & me to the Petronas at Precinct 16 for a can of thirst quenching soya bean & mineral water.

Riding facts:

• Distance 49
• Time 1:47
• Average 27
• Max 50
• Overall - one hell of a Ramadhan ride

Friday express

The Friday express train from Taman Warisan to Cyberjaya and back started off it's journey at 10.50pm, delayed from 10.30 as scheduled due to late cargo from Saujana Utama Sg. Buloh. I planned to stay slow escorting Saiful whom still having the "mental kacau" syndrom ever since Brahim bought a Pina Galileo and charges off with speed and energy during our first Friday night ride last week...hehehe. The peloton was last in sight before we left Putrajaya towards Cyberjaya. Then there were only 4 of us left behind with Awe, Azahari, Saiful & me pushing our cadences towards the Elite toll plaza.

Upon reaching the flat 5km stretch, Azahari & me can't bare the anxiety within. The first struck of gear shifting from his Paris lured me to give a chase. For the next minutes, we were already leaving Saiful & Awe behind not to be seen. We rode off back towards Taman Warisan completing the 45km loop ending at 12.30am. Weather was great for a late workout. Crowd was nice but didn't had the chance to be with them though. Btw, the Arione was superb once I've done the final setting.

Another Tuesday came along

Yeah...another Tuesday came along and only a handful of us did the city ride that night. We rode the same route till TTDI's 7-E and enjoyed a Magnum ice cream each for about 30 minutes. The menu for the night hooked us to the lazy path back to Titiwangsa the way we came, not towards Bukit Damansara & Bangsar as before. Clocking 27km on the cyclo meter ended up at the mamak's beside the tyre shop of Jalan Pahang with another round of mamak's delicacies of roti telur and mee goreng mamak.

Express Rail Link vie Elite Highway

Heheheh...kali ni the night ride was meant for roadies. Since a few of us yang dah gian sangat nak try out their new bikes, we chose Putrajaya as the venue...empty & terang benderang.

It was a 45km loop started from Taman Warisan until the Elite highway toll plaza before looping back on to the duahtlon route. The lung busting stretch was the toll plaza stretch. Aku tak ingat berapa jauh stretch tu tapi that was where the ERL train started the speedwork. One single line and we were clocking 45km/hr yang sempat aku jeling my cyclometer. Giler...but was awesome. Tak pernah aku kayuh laju tu, minus yg turun bukit la sebab tu tak kayuh.

Was glad that boleh catch up with the train pace all the way back to Tmn Warisan. Was totally an awesome & good workout, especially kalau nak bagi flush dada yang serabut. Ride buddies pun cool although most of them aku baru kenal or tak kenal pun before this. 2 guys from way2ride who lead the way, 5 from Jamis's gang, Azahari brought a few jugak, the Brahim bawak Doc, then Alwin, Saiful, me & sorang dua lagi yg aku tak kenal.

Night ride kembali

Not just that I am thankful for the return of Ramadhan, I am also thankful that Ramadhan allows night ride sessions with buddies like previous years. Actually the objective was to at least prep a bit for the upcoming events after hari raya i.e. Lumut Powerman, PCC Prez Ride & Penang Jamboree. If last year the Prez & Jamboree were completed with satisfaction & enjoyment, this year is to improve the record...the least la.

Besides, night rides allows we cycling buddies to keep in touch and let the flow of bike talks goes on. Kalau tidak sebulan tak sembang pasal bikes, mau semangat pudar.

So, the first Ramadhan night ride was last Tuesday night. We started from our favorite spot, Lake Titiwangsa. 7 of us on mtbs. It was the usual route wounding up the muscles up Bukit Tunku towards Masjid Wilayah & Sri Hartamas.

We headed towards Kiara behind the golf course, pit stop at Tmn Tun's 7-Eleven before riding back to Pusat Sains Negara, Bukit Damansara & off to Bangsar. Then it was Jalan Bangsar to Dataran Merdeka to Jln Raja Laut, Jln Ipoh & back to Titiwangsa for a plate of mee goreng mamak kat sebelah kedai tayar. Wrapped up the ride at 2.00am. Clocked 35km.

Ramadhan kembali daaa...

Alhamdullilah aku dapat jumpa Ramadhan lagi sekali. Tahun ni aku plan to complete tarawih. Last year was not so encouraging. A good insentif was that surau sementara al-ansar depa dah usahakan, so ramai muka2 familiar dok tarawih sama2.

Cuaca tak berapa menentu. Kejap hujan, kejap panas. Working hours sampai kul 4.30 je, so very ample time to go back & chill depan tv layan tour of spain or tour de pologne. Dok layan Ch84 je dah 2-3 hari. Channel lain semua aku tak boleh absorb.

Semenyih loop

Although baru sekali jumpa Jami, I pushed myself to join his Sunday ride since no camdekians available. Alwin was supposed to go to bikezooka, Azahari still mourning from Perak's defeat (I guess) and Saiful attached to his personal chores. Since Ramadhan is around the corner, I'll take any chance as long boleh kayuh puas-puas.

Met up with Jami and his buddies along the Cheras-Kajang highway after the Sg. Long interchange. 4 of them. We headed towards Semenyih on the Grandsaga. Pace was leisure. We passed Semenyih busy town in a brisk before taking the turn into the sleepy road towards Tekala. I can still able to tag along with the pace.

When reaching Tekala picnic area (the place that I anticipate they will stop for refuel), the Sg Long train moved on towards the Peres junction attacking several hills along the way. Aiya...wa dah mula tertinggal keretapi again. What was supposed to be a climb that is cool, turned out to be the climb mcm bukit batu 14. Maybe aku dah mula pongeh sebab panjat those bukits without stopping refuelling, tak mcm biasa yg aku buat.

They were supposed to proceed to Peres but was aborted due to pongeh riders like doc & me...hehehe. The train again charged on towards Batu 18 where we finally stopped for refuel. After a glass of coke & teh ais, we paced ourselves towards Batu 9 before I saw their silhoutte at the Grandsaga highway again. Rasa tak puas hati sebab aku tak dapat catch up with the train throughout the loop. Ternyata kaki aku mula berangin upon passing the 50km mark which means tak cukup milage la tuh. I'm determined to improve that. Semenyih loop is awesome. 10.30am dah sampai rumah struggling, I mean real punya struggle, the last climb in the biting sun.

Cycle facts:
1. Distance : 76km
2. Average speed : 25km/hr
3. Max speed : 51km/hr
4. Ride time : 2hrs 57min
5. Buddies : Jami, Sani, Doc and Wak

14th mile to Tekala

Planned with Alwin to ride from Batu 14 Langat to Tekala at a leisurely pace considering Alwin ada bikezooka esok & aku pun malas nak tekan sangat. My arrival was welcomed with a few faces at the dewan carpark with "triathletes" endorsed on their forehead. Hehehe. Definitely the train will be charging fast this morning. They are attempting the Broga Loop. A few other might chill until Tekala only, just like us.

Just as the traffic light at the mosque turned green, yes, I was correct at the first place & was left behind at the last place. They were charging like hell broke lose. The sight of them, which included Alwin, faded away in minutes. Giler. Normally the stretch to Batu 18 allows for warm up. I suffered trying to catch up but my attempt was a waste.

Alwin was there waiting for me at Batu 18 but not the rest of the train. My pace was disrupted by my exhaustion. Reaching simpang Genting Peres or Tekala was impossible. Layan aje la Alwin dengan sesi mengenal pokok-pokok buah-buahan with the orchards along the road although I can hardly catch my breath.

A 5 minutes break at simpang Peres, I decided to proceed to Tekala, considering that the weather was the best ever this morning. Storm clouds above, mist above the hills of Peres. Normally it was already hot at this junction at this time.

The powergel I swallowed moments before regained my energy to push on. It was a "cool" decision. We cruise along the lake at that awesome weather reaching Tekala only to find Mac & Bernard pekena nasi lemak & coke. We joined for some chats.

Mac proposed to use Bukit Langat for our way back. Cool with me & also again considering the coolness of the weather allows a slow leisure 3km climb. The route back to Batu 14 was only 16km. We clocked 46km today. Then again, pekena mee jawa at Batu 14 before we wrapped up our day.

Inter-miles

Hehehe...when almost all the roadies in Klang Valley are riding the interstates right now, finishing their final route to Penang, Saiful & me did our inter-miles ride. The usual Ulu Langat route.

Punya lah lama tak layan roadride, maybe a month plus. Last ride was halfway to Tekala masa baru recover from demam. After that terus aje hectic kayuh mtb starting from Bikezooka, training for Kiara Carnival, the race itself, revisit Kiara lagi & the Pertak. Knowing mtb rides, it was more of a casual & happy rides rather then the serious ones like roadrides. So, forget about stretchings, supplementary food pre & post ride and of course the beauty of a piece of Malboro light under the cool canopy or at Devi's after roti canai.

So, the ride today was fine. Less traffic maybe sebab the usual weekend picnickers busy vacating outside KL. Weather was great. We didn't miss the morning fog overcasting the Peres from Batu 14. Halfway to Tekala, just about to reach the Bkt Setan junction, Saiful had to stop our pace sebab dia kata ada rasa nyut-nyut kat belakang betis...macam kena gigit monyet (happened to be we just ride passed them). Hahaha. Dah mula le tuh.

Carrying on to Tekala might not be a good idea since only the two of us. I was more worried about him riding back. So, we headed back to Batu 18 for roti canai. Today aku cuma take it lightly but maintaining the pleasure of riding sebab kalau boleh next weekend nak kayuh lagi which is the last weekend before Ramadhan. Alwin balik pulau, Azahari pulak orang kampung mai visit. It could've been a long weekend without the ride today. Janji kayuh. By 10.30 dah sampai semula kat carpark Bt14.

Pertak

Pergh! Finally we were able to organise a repeat ride outing with the usual faces from Cameron's trip plus a few new ones. Mantap! Pertak it was. Nampak gaya macam last mtb outing before puasa month, but we have some stuff ready for the month itself.

Anyway, the usual faces made the trip worth of nonsense stuff & jokes & crazy talks. That's the fun of it. We met up at Sg. Buloh R&R around 7.15am & hit the breakfast table at Kaya Kopitiam. A value meal served with 2 half boil eggs, one thick toast & a cup of black coffee. Uish! Enough to make one to consider paying a visit to the loo before we head on to KKB.

The trailhead still the same except for a construction of box culverts were going on crossing the trail as we rode into the trail at 10.00 am.

As we went deeper after the river crossing, trail condition starts to deteriorate. Deeply carved trail from heavy 4X4 vehicles. Fallen huge tree trunks. Massive bamboo falls across the trail had us to detour into thick foliage. Some even forced us to pass around our bikes to get through.

The difficulty of the terrain claimed us an hour extra compared to our first trip here. We reached the dead end trail at 12.30 pm.

To overcome the exhaustion from the blistering ride in, we rewarded ourselves with an hour of nature's cool and refreshing deep pool of Sungai Pertak. It was totally awesome. Dah lama tak menirup...hehehe. A few bites of the sandwiches we brought & the rest of if was killing time.

We headed back down at almost 2.00 pm. Obviously the ride back was a self reward session when each of us tackled the cool technical descents in our own pace. Mutalib ran-out of brake pads, so tree hugging & bike flying sessions was his lesson of the day.

The rest of us rolled in at the river before we headed for our final rinse at the river behind our parked cars. The final reward was our big bites at the Kuala Kubu Bharu town at the mamak corner. All stayed numb & silence as we choked in the last feed and concluded our trip with a lousy massive traffic jam in KL.

Riders in non-alphabetical order :

1. Aimi
2. Mizi
3. Lias
4. Saiful
5. Alwin
6. Epol
7. Ija
8. Azhar
9. Mutalib
10. Nizam
11. Aku

The sky is the limit, the ground is hard...

After fulfilling this year's most awaited mtb race, a few of us decided to test the sturdiness of Kiara ground again by attempting the full loop. Maklum lah, race tak boleh nak bersuka ria macam macha dari Sentul.

We did the same route macam 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately, Azahari who happened to be sitting in replace of Saiful who was abscent, made a face plant at the final technical stretch after the switchbacks & before the turn to lightning ridge. Handlebar terlibat sebab tersangkut kat tunggul yang comel. As a result, dia sudah bedal satu mangkuk maggi sup at devi's corner to regain confidence yang dah berterabur masa jatuh earlier.

We continued on with the usual route behind the school, on to barracuda & regroup at the pondok at the cross junction before hitting 2k. I was so anxious with 2k since attempting it twice the week before. Too bad for me, this time around 2k was a knockout round. I was soaring high into the sky over my handlebar before hitting the ground with my left shoulder...waliaoweiii! Location : Second left turning upon finishing the third rooted drops.

A mistake from chosing the line, ended up with the front wheel swallowed by a deep eroded root-hole. The unintelligent side of me stood there for awhile before Icecube rolled down passed me, also losing his line but didn't face plant.

The following day I declared my lazy day as I pampered myself with early roti canai for breakfast & reading the papers for the whole day. I missed pcc 120km ride to Kuala Selangor...huhu. Left shoulder, left arm, left thigh & right palm still aching from the fall.

Trail : Kiara kampung route
Mtbers : Aimi, Mizi, Alwin, Azri, Azahari Icecube, Hafiz (if I'm not mistaken) & me.

The Carnival

Last Sunday was another hit from Kiara. 7 of us did the full loop up to the kampung. It was so cool. It was a get together ride since all the Kiara faces were there & we were hitting the rooted climbs & rutted drops like machas from Sentul. Every attempt of the technical descents was followed either with huge laughs or handclaps. Hahaha!

After all those line chosing rides for the past few Saturdays & Sundays, I finally got to apply it today. As usual, at this time of the year, KL Mtb Carnival is held at Kiara. And all the familiar faces were there either to participate or to give their support or just to watch.

This year around, I was part of the 36-40 Cat. We had to race straight to the Final since there was only 15 of us. Race was resheduled, so we hit the trail at 8.15a.m.

It was awesome, though I finished 8th clocking 1hr02min46sec. Overall, it was a satisfying race since I managed to finish all the 4 gruelling laps and still enjoyed it despite my heart rate which was beating like a kompang. Yes, that's what we termed it each time we finished attacking those lung busters. Either you get kompang or you're busted. Hahaha! Thanks to my steed for another job well done.

Azri finished just ahead of me. Epol got himself the 4th prize.Mizi was playing manager for Epol.Saiful managed to survive one lap plus while Alwin made it to the final round in 31-35 Cat & satisfied his target. Thumbs up.

That was a gorgeous line...beb

Hitting the dirt & demanding singletracks of Kiara for two days in a row during my weekend was absolutely awesome. On Saturday Alwin & me started off with a warm up climb at the tarmac towards twin peaks before rolling down the race track towards the car park again. We did another round of the race track to get a feel of some lung busting climbs.

I decided for an early exit and spent the remaining 45 minutes at the bikewash area chatting with Jeng, ex-campus mate, Stanley of Bikezooka while Mizi & Epol joined a bit later after finishing their full loop.

Changing to flat bar with bar ends was not a good idea for tackling the switchbacks, even for the technical climbs. Turning radius was limited & shoulder was a bit tense. Not so gorgeous.

So, here come Sunday at Kiara again. I decided to abandon Bagan Lalang road ride with PCC & even Bikezooka series 2 for our full Kiara loop with 6 other Machas. They were actually the usual mtb buddies where our last ride together was Cameron. I named todays Kiara ride as the Machas ride due to the kecoh & huru hara we did on the singletracks throughout the ride.

Optioning back to my riser bar was an excellent idea. Every technical descents was picked with a gorgeous line hitting every drops one at a time in a rythm. Tyre preassure was perfect. Seat post height was precise. The delicate taps on the brake levers were magnificent. I had a great ride with great buddies.

After bikewash, we hit the lunch table at DU for some superb soto, curry mee & asam laksa. Around the table, we have Aimi, Mizi, Iwan, Alwin, Saiful, Epol & me.

Sayonara to downtown

Sayonara, sayonara...sampai berjumpa lagi. That song reminded me of my campus life orientation week. It might be useful to describe my post today. I'm leaving the busy neighbourhood of Jln. Yap Kwan Seng for another place in Ampang.

I'll be missing the busy and chaotic atmosphere. It was a great chance taking a job in the big city. Too bad it lasted for only 4 months.

My last day started off receiving a surprise quotation at my frequent mamak shop for my usual sandwich & canned nescafe. "Semua rm3.40 bos. Huh?! Selalu rm3.30 aje? Itu necafe sudah naik 10 sen, bos...sekarang satu ringgit sembilan puloh sen". Dang. 4 months, 10 cents increased for my breakfast. Lucky last day...hehehe.

The remaining 8 hours was 30% work & 70% non-work stuff. The following might be a summary of the things I'll miss :

1. Beef fried rice for lunch at avenue K
2. Cheap nasi kandar at KLCC
3. Tuna/sardin sandwich & cekik darah canned nescafe from the mamak news stand
4. The sight of arrogant looking arabs & stylish koreans student at the fountain
5. Late evening cityscape of towering KLCC from the meeting room
6. View of Yap Kwan Seng traffic jams during rainy rush hours
7. View of Klang Gate ridge from the pantry window
8. Friday prayers at the peaceful & spacious Maluri mosque

To all my ex-colleagues, it's been nice knowing you guys.

Bazooka Penaka

Kinda liked the name, it sounds like a little triby. Well maybe this Kelvin guy got the bikezooka series mtb race after listening to Wing's Orang Asing album...hehehe...no lah, don't think so.

OK, it started to rain at 6.30 yesterday morning & I overslept. Woke up at 7.00 when I was supposed to hit the road at 7.00...aiya. Rain have stopped as I left Cheras but in PJ and all the way to RRI, Sg Buloh it was drizzling. Talking about crazy people do crazy stuff in the lazy Sunday raining morning eh?

Time trial started off at 9.00am & I was the third guy when they release at 2 minutes interval. No more rain, it was just time & me. The first burst on the straight paved road almost took half my breath. Once hitting the off-road, it was recovery time since takde orang nampak...hahaha. Then there was this 200 meters singletrack winding around rubber trees before going back to another energy sapping sandy road all the way to the finish line. I took 9:13:66. Half dead.

A quick recovery meal at a mamak with Alwin & Azri before returning to our 'making our life difficult' session. The endurance race started at 2.00pm. The loop was about 8km in length. I only managed to finish 5 loops in 3h10m13s after getting a hitch of pain on my left leg during the 4th lap & on the right leg at the 5th lap. Like Azri said ending his 7th lap...semua sakit, even his rambut...hahaha! Yep, thats what I get for what I trained for. As of now, kinda looking forward for the next series but still subject to a thousand considerations.

Azri was the champ for Category 2 while Alwin took the 3rd place. I placed myself in the 5th rank in Category 3 despite missing the xc mass start last July 8th. Turnout today was about 1/3 compared to the previous xc mass, that's why I get to jump the category la...hahaha...sendri mau ingat.


Overall, the event was an awesome one. Cool crowd, friendly organiser, nice prizes, tense-free race environment, great simple TT trail & demanding endurance route up to the radar station. Nice weather for killing oneself in the afternoon when the sun was biting my back during the looong climb. Made new cool friends too.

Check out the Series 1 results here http://www.bikezooka.com/results-series%201.htm

Frasers Hill Ride

Joint PCC ride today all the way to the clock tower of Frasers Hill. PCC buat join ride between mtb & roadies, so a few Camdekians gave it a shot. We left KKB stadium carpark at 9am & I reached the gap in about 2 hours plus. The 31km ascent was similar to GS except for the distance.

Starvation pushed us to attempt the remaining 9km 12-14% climb towards the clock tower, praying that they have decent nasi lemak, roti canai & teh tarik. Another hour of climbing surrounded by peaceful climate got us to the best breakfast of the day.

We rolled back down to the gap at half pass 12. Azahari completed a crash episode when he skidded from a mossy tarmac at one of the sharp turnings & banged himself on the sidewall. No injury recorded except for a punctured front tyre.

The journey back to KKB was attempted with a fast winding descent against the cold air & wind at some stretches. Ride was fun, enjoyable, good work out, nice crowd, nice weather. I give it 5/5.

Mac brought us a disturbing news at the carpark about a fellow cyclist who was missing during his first triathlon in PD this morning. It was later confirmed from friends that he was drowned during the swim leg. Yep, later that I realised arwah Zubir was that senior malay chap rode together with Azahari & me during PCC Sunday ride to Janda Baik.



Cyclo readings:

• Milage : 82.31km
• Time : 4:15:19
• Average : 19.3 km/hr
• Max : 49.5 km/hr

Pick your line la bro...

The first crazy idea of the day that crossed my mind as I woke up on Saturday morning was to try out Kiara all by myself. The second crazy thing was riding it. It's been awhile since my last Kiara ride, which was, I think maybe about 2 months back. The Kiara carnival which is just another drops away drove me to test my guts back. Last year registered but DNS...hahaha. The only year that I missed since 2004. Maybe sebab puas hati from 2005's performance.

Weather was a bit overcast. It may scare away some faint hearted cyclist & kept them to the bed. Did my warming up halfway to Twin Peak before rolling down the winding drops towards the race track. Yep, my nerves weren't there yet...semangat ada tapi berani belum daaa... The basics of choosing the line & rolling over roots and ruts was ok but not the sharp turnings daaa. Mesti mau try a few times lagi before the race date to get rid of those unnecessary clowning stuff on the track...hahaha...I even laughed to myself thinking of it.

Btw, I also need to remember the route again, sebab sesat la tadi. Entah mana-mana la aku masuk...kah kah kah.

Time to migrate?

It seems that lately i've been giving it a thought of migrating to blogspot instead of my current wordpress. My free flickr account has reached it's free limit of photos, they need me to upgrade and of course with some fee. So, if blogspot, all the photos will just refer to my hardisc instead of uploading it to flickr. Cool. Might do the migrating soon. This post is the transition...