Eventually I have this chance of calming oneself & mood to post my late entry for the recent event took place last weekend. Yep, the ECC Malacca Environment Ride or we called it the Great Sahara Ride was the one we looked forward to join.
Seven of us from KL convoyed in two cars rendevoued with another two whom we called "orang tempatan" in a'famosa resort Saturday evening after hurdling the deepavali traffic on the highway & very warm weather. All went smooth with the kits collection & our check in into the 2 rooms condo. We had early dinner in Tampin, a walked in tom yam stall which seemed descend enough. Maybe it was due to the large tv screen showing Manu vs Everton in live which attracted us more.
We ended our day with the dissappointing display by fellow Malaysia football team whom was defeated by Vietnam in the Pesta Bola Merdeka. The 2 hour long game ended with a sudden death penalty kick of 1-0. Everybody went to sleep without further argument.
The big day started as early as 5.30 a.m. as not to cramp up the toilet schedule for all nine of us. Grazing at the starting line an hour early than supposed to be & off we rode the 7km rolling road to Simpang Ampat & into the village & estate roads.
There were 9 checkpoints to be completed & definitely dozens of mind blowing climbs. Most are plantation roads connected by tarmac kampung road between the stretch. Some route came as ridiculous as it could be when one had to haul one's bike up steep & slippery jungle loose slope. The queue was unforgettable. Lucky for some us whom was rewarded with a long, hot & loose downhill. Definite loose when the rear wheel going ahead of the front. With some body balance, it was definite fun.
Upon reaching CP5, some of us started to doubt the capacity & challenge awaiting for the rest of the ride. We had 15 minutes pit stop at a makcik's shop munching karipap, cool 100 plus & mee hun goreng. "Alang alang menyeluk pekesam, bior sampai ke pangkal lengan". That was the similar phrase to explain it from Azahari's point. Instantly he was named the "penganjur" from it.
The task & torment started immediately as we turned off from the civilised kampung road, into the bright shiny, hot & glimmering open trail which was climbing and climbing endlessly. The sight of fore riders pushing motionless was disturbing. This was the ultimate Sahara. The climb was divided into three sections. The first climb was enough to drain oneself huffing & puffing trying horribly to reach the first peak under the ice cream umbrella.
Seeing the second climb with tiny riders crawling made everybody crazy. Any miracle or magic or any surviving technic would come in handy but it was helpless. It's only mind & strength. Push upon push, jerks upon jerks with secured foot, we drag ourselves & bikes up. Upon reaching the second peak, a 3 minutes stop was enough to decide that we had to close the agony fast. The third climb made us to the "bukit botak" with no shade at 1.15 p.m. with a sticker for CP6.
Mtb rules of thumb was, one climb must be rewarded with an awesome downhill. In this case, the rules were bent & broken with shattered hearts for every mountainbikers. The downhill was only walkable with very steep & slippery loose sands. Crap! That was the biggest bang for most of us.
The rest of the ride was more of completing the ride rather than enjoying it with task. The weather was definitely killing most of us. I was lucky to survive with enough prep milage & hydration but not enough to satisfy myself. The smacking of unsuitable terrain & challenges into the ride was not so cool. Not looking forward for another mtb long ride to soon.
Facts :
- Team name : kudokukayuhgagahberani
- Team menbers : Nizam, Mutalib, Bachin, Saifullizan, Alwin, Dicky, Zamri, Azahari & me
- Distance for 9 stikers : 55km
- Ride time : 4 hours+
- Outdoor time : 6 hours+
