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