Julie JeweLz for Japan

OK saper kenal Julie angkat tangan?! For sure kenal punya, Julie dah tentu lebih terkenal dari aku, in fact lebih power ooo. Setakat any event triathlon dia sengih je, aku pulak yang terkebil-kebil. So Julie ni or lebih dikenali from her blogger's name missjewelz akan berlari Sundown Ultra 100km sama macam abang Zack Yui, RaYzeef and bro KA kita nanti. In fact ada lagi geng lain tapi aku maybe confuse which one doing which one not.

So Julie ada extra sikit selain dari extra banyak, distance ultra yang dia akan lari bulan depan. She's running for a cause. A charity cause untuk fund Japan under the Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) as the NGO partner. Seronok kan dapat lari sambil doing some good deeds? The devastation that hit Japan was too bad. Just imagine if kita juga di timpa nasib yang sama. Not just us, our loved ones, our kids, our orang kampung yang jauh dari kita, our running routes, our beautiful cycling playgrounds, all gone hanya dengan sepetik keputusan Allah s.w.t. So, untuk kita mendapat bantuan permasalahan kita, sekali sekala kita kena jugak tolong orang demi insan sejagat. Amin.

Dear Shakhir,

I will be joining the band of runners doing the ultra marathon next month in Singapore. In conjunction to that I will be running for a charity cause which I have initiated, and dedicated for the victims of the devastating Japan tsunami and earthquake. For your info, I am working closely with Malaysian Red Crescent Society raise fund for this very cause.

Would appreciate if you can share this intention with the rest of our running (and non-running) community via your blog, if possible. You can do this by either sharing the link of my Sundown Ultra preview or merely pasting the post on your blog.

To give you an overview of the charity program, kindly read the following :-

Salam and greetings,

Dear friends,

Introduction

I will be running my maiden 100km road event at the Sundown Ultramarathon 2011 in Singapore next month. It will be my longest running event, as I have never done anything above 42.195km in a single day. The last long 'run' event I did was the Sabah Adventure Challenge(SAC) where I ran a total of +/- 70km of trail over 2 days, coming in 4th after Singapore, Hong Kong and France trail runner! The longest walk would be ages ago at the Penang 12hours Walk where I walked nearly 60km. I have been preparing for the Ultra event for nearly 4 month now,intermixed with several other events (SAC and Kenyir Triathlon) and it is merely a month away before I stand at the start line in Marina Barrage, Singapore to run my longest !!

As I go on with my daily life, whether walking or running, I thought it would be more meaningful for me to run the ultra for a cause. For that reason, I am happy to share with you that I am initiating a charity cause dedicated to the Japan tsunami and earthquake victims. And while we have gone through the phase of mourning of this tragedy and expressing our condolences to our brothers and sisters in Japan, you can extend your good intention through this charity cause I am currently organizing called 'To Japan, With Love'. It is never too late to lend a helping hand.

The Idea

The idea is to get donors (that's you!), whether corporate or individuals, to come in as pledger. Each meter pledged is worth RM50. For individuals, you are free to pledge any distance (and amount) that you wish to. All donations are directed to the Malaysian Red Crescent Society's Japan Earthquake and Tsunami fund.

Among the written Benefits : a chance to have your names printed on the official t-shirt along with other sponsors. Names will be mentioned on the event website ! The official T-shirts will be given out to donors of more then RM100, after I complete the ultra marathon. This is due to the tight budget that I am working this charity program on ! 2x Exclusive postcards designed by missjewelz herself for donations below RM100.

Un-written Benefits : Plenty. God Bless !

Why it matters to missjewelz

missJeweLz is the pen name I use when I blog. I realize that something as simple as running can do and make a lot of difference in one's life. Through running I discovered that I do have that will power in realizing something that I wish or want, whether in sports or in life generally (Hey, you do too !). Through running, I have developed my sense of 'self' and 'others'. While there are time where we have to think or 'our' selves, it is that balance between 'self' and 'others' that matters. Achieving that balance is tricky especially in this century where it is mostly about satisfying others, or the extreme opposite; self-indulgence. Through running I have met, ran and exchanged stories with so many friends. Through running and the sharing of what I do (running and sports la, what else!) I have inspired myself and plentiful of others to keep on going no matter how the difficult the course may be. If there is a will, there is surely a way. I am sure most of you can relate to this.

I do not have any other skills that I can make use of to the benefits of others. A degree in Psychology does not translate to better the lives or many others, yet alone my own. But one thing that you and I may have in common, is that desire to finish that running, triathlon or duathlon distance since we are committed to it, and I don't see why we can't join 'forces' to make a little change in someone else's life. A good change.

I am committing myself to a distance of 100km, and I want to invite to YOU join me to make this run a meaningful one. Do join this cause to aid the affected Japanese victims and help rebuilding their lives. Amen.

The sponsors and partners

1.Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS) is my official NGO partner, and my contact person is Ms Suhana, who I am working closely with to ensure that all goes well pertaining to the donations. They have endorsed and authorized this charity program !

2. Powerbar is my official sports nutrition partner.I have collected my sponsored goodies (coming in the form of Powerbar Performance bar, gels and endurance drink) from Totalfield, Powerbar's official distributor . Thank you also to Totalfied for the nice pink drifit Powerbar T !

3. Pacesetters is my official running club partner (Footloose - will definitely have a scribble on it once the run is completed)

4. Sponsors :- made of both corporate companies and individuals. If you think your company is interested to contribute to this cause, do let me know. And apart from that, do hook me up with the corporate comm. department or person-in-charge. Tax exemptions are compliant to all companies which donate to this charity fund ! (Thank you in advance for the help)

How it works

While I am organizing this on a low budget, (sorry, I can't afford any PR companies/agents at the moment), there are no fancy-nancy promos. Just a straight-up relaying of information, and simple procedure of how you can donate, which I have listed below: -

1. Fill in the individual sponsorship form (follow the instructions!), transfer the fund to Malaysian Red Crescent Society's 'MRCS INTERNATIONAL RELIEF FUND' via Maybank Account No – 5144 – 2210 – 2657. SAVE the transaction receipt.

2. Forward a copy of the filled individual sponsorship form AND a copy of the transaction receipt to kilausuria@gmail.com and suhana@redcrescent.org.my

DONE !

For any inquiries, feel free to reach me, Juliana at kilausuria@gmail.com or this email address. Any updates will be informed via email, blog and also through an upcoming website ! Kindly read through the attachment for more details. Would appreciate this if you can forward this email to your friends. Sharing is caring ! :)

JULIANA ALI @ missJeweLz

017-3323 451

http://missjewelz.wordpress.com

Keluh kesah Mak Esah

Tu la dia. Kalau tak berpeluh hujung minggu hari tu, macam ni la jadi dia...mengeluh. Tapi orang tua-tua cakap tak baik mengeluh, malah kita sepatutnya lebih banyak bersyukur...kan? Manusia, macam tu la...mudah lupa, apatah lagi bersyukur. OK chop! Aku bukan mengeluh tapi saja amik tajuk tu dari koleksi majalah Gila-Gila zaman aku dulu.

Weekend lepas memang bukan hari-hari yang meletup untuk aku bak kata Katy Perry. Ye la, kalau tiap-tiap minggu meletup, lenguh leher nak mendongak ngadap langit tengok bunga api beb. Tak bagus jugak. Ada kala kita kena slowdown sikit, masuk gear cruising and biorkan masa berlalu dengan benda-benda yang lebih diperlukan.

Mungkin aku terbawak-bawak semangat kecekalan untuk rembat 2-3 event kononnya aku mampu. Al-maklum la, dulu-dulu boleh. Tapi tu bila ye? 5 tahun dulu? Kalau umur masih 25, bermaksud 5 tahun dulu baru 15 tahun...celah gigi aje. Kalau dibanding dengan 5 tahun abad umur aku sekarang, uiiii semangat jauh beza kederat ni macam nyanyian Amy Search - Langit dan Bumi beb.

Adakala kita kena dengar cakap badan kita. Adakala juga kita kena dengar lagu Roxette - Listen to Your Heart jugak. Kalau nak dirembat training siang-malam, hujan-panas, guruh-petir dan tekan klik butang mouse untuk SIGN apa jua event depa buat, aku rasa THOR pun boleh gadai tukul dia kat pajak ar-Rahnu Bank Rakyat beb.

Aku ada gak terfikir (hari ni la) pasal keupayaan kita untuk berbelanja besor hanya untuk menguji limit kita. Of course aku kena mula fikir dari sekarang sebab periuk nasik aku bukan semakin besor untuk menambah kerak nasik. Nak bayor RM50 untuk lari sejauh 16km kat NPE, baik aku bawak family pi tengok Kung Fu Panda ye tak. Apatah lagi kalau aku nak bayor sampai RM300 untuk berlari keluar masuk hutan kat Temasek. Even yuran Powerman pun dah naik ke RM170! Apa ke hae semua naik ni beb?

Kalau nak hutan, kayuh dari rumah ke Langat pun dah terbentang luas Gunung Nuang boleh rembat sampai Janda Baik. Kalau aku nak test power or push my limit (menyusahkan diri)...alamak Mak Esah oiii...tak puas-puas naik Gunung Tahan 4 kali? Layan tangga ke puncak Gunung Kinabalu? Lepak tepi Air Terjun Jelawang kat Gunung Setong? 10 hari berhujan kat Gunung Rabung? 3 hari canoeing dari Tasik Chini ke Sungai Pahang? Naik Gunung Nuang tiap-tiap minggu? Segala ceruk air terjun satu Malaysia diredah? Pikul basikal naik Banjaran Titiwangsa? Segala ceruk off-road hutan aku kayuh? Kayuh 3 hari merentas dua negeri (interstate)? Apa lagi? Puas dah kot.

Aku dah puas merasa susah. Kepuasan tanpa batasan. Dah puas otot peha, betis, pinggang ni pikul 30kg Karrimor 10 hari. Dah puas mandi peluh. Dah puas minum kopi panas & makan maggi tatap pemandangan indah Sungai Teku yang mengalirkan tadahan dari puncak Tahan. Dah puas bergayut (absailing) ke dalam gaung 60 kaki pukul 12.00 tengah malam. Maybe semua tu aku tak dapat medal je la.

Tu la dia. Maybe dah sampai masa untuk aku amik biskut rendam kopi-O, naik bukit kasi pelan-pelan kayuh, baru ngam orang panggil hero! Saper la sangka peloton hidup ni terpaksa buat detour macam Giro Italia Stage 14 tak jadi naik puncak Tualis ye tak? Terasa jugak macam Cruel Summer tapi apa la sangat kemampuan kita ni? Kita hanya merancang, ketentuanNya itu ada sebab musababnya. OK la tu, sekali aku cast my line, belum tentu setiap kali umpan nak mengena ye tak? Kadang-kadang kita kena gak tebar jala terus. Muahaha. Or sit back and relax enjoying the time.

Macam minggu lepas tengah aku dok melayan Amir buat science revision, dia tanya berapa tinggi gajah tu ayah? Giraffe tu berapa pulak tinggi nya? Puas la jugak aku bagi gambaran kat dia. Terus cuti Wesak Day aku bawak satu rumah pi Zoo Negara. Tu dia aih! Fuiyo! Ni first time abang tengok depan mata beb! Kata dia. Eleh....padahal umur 2 tahun dia pernah gak datang. Ye la masa tu bukan dia tau apa pun.

Macam pagi semalam. Saper nak ikut ayah cycling pi beli paper? Nak! Nak! So amik extra milage sikit untuk Kaklong and Amir naik turun bukit sebelum sampai kat kedai. Ayah slowly grinding kat belakang pakai crank besar masak kicap, buat leg press sikit la sambil dengar bunyi hub Zipp yang garing itu. Bising la bunyi basikal ayah ni! Kata Kaklong. Muahaha!

Macam untuk upcoming Ipoh Century Ride nanti. Aku akan angkut satu rumah pi lepak kat hotel Tower Regency tu. Dah la dapat special rate untuk peserta, boleh la anak-anak aku berdebus dalam pool hotel tu. Nasik Wanggey untuk aku dan laksa Padang Polo untuk wifey sudah semestinya. Maybe untuk Powerman pun nanti aku rembat cara sama. Boleh la wifey borong ikan bilis. Coti-coti berlumba nama dia. Silap-silap masuk Pangkor pun best jugak.

So tu la dia. Mak Esah dah bercakap. Ni semua pasal aku dan aku only. Aku Menulis pun Bukan Kerna Nama. Hanya untuk aku semata-mata. Kita tengok lah nanti macam mana keadaannya bila sampai masa. Alamak! Dah bunyi macam orang tua pulak cakap macam tu kan? Walau apa pun, pujangga pernah berkata, I Still Got the Blues untuk kehebatan aktiviti weekend warrior stuff. Tapi weekday warrior, aku sekadar supir tuition & kelas Iqra untuk training petang, dan iron-board man untuk training Subuh Shafie. Terbaeek!

Transition

With too many things to cramp in two months before Ramadhan, it's started to get on my critical nerves. I just had to digest what I can chew without having to bloat about it. Signing up for events, is one easy task - which depends if you don't have to dig deep into your pocket, but preparing for it is another thing.

OK ni bukan TT bike Specialized yang Fabian Cancelera akan pakai kat Tour de France nanti, nor it is about triathlon transition yang aku tak pernah buat pung.

After interstate, I skipped KL Towerthon and Larian Bomba though it was supposed to be in my want-to-do list this year. Too bad it's only a week after interstate, where DOM still lingers and pushing myself for a back-to-back race ain't quite lack of wisdom at that point of time. I'll just have to wait for next year to hurl myself up the KL Tower staircase and give a chase at the limited medal in the veteran category of Larian Bomba.

Anyway, I was kinda relief that I decided to get back into the running groove that particular morning as Larian Bomba. A totally not quite long-SLOW-distance run, thanks to Syah and Azmar for the pace setting but it was a good call. It was now or never. Should I delayed that LSD, I would have suffered in the next round. Well, that was the first transition - cycling to running.

The recent weekend, the crave for cycling didn't easily fade. We had to plan something, in fact it was more of a gathering after missing some peeps prior to interstate. It was about catching up. So, it was a ride to Bagan Lalang, the most flattish route...and fastest I guess, for fast back home. Maklum la semuanya orang berkeluarga.

Back to the drawing board, Hal Highdon's training program says I should be dealing with 29km next weekend. Ouch! That's a handful. Again, it's either now or never. Besides, we have quite a bunch of us following the same program, and group running would be a good start to motivate each other...just like the old days. Crossing my fingers as I post this, hopefully I could survive to the carpark!

I'm anticipating the second transition will be right after KL Marathon. That's where the cycling conondrum starts again for the Ipoh Century Ride. The thing is...(sorry Shuk pinjam kejap), this ICR is just a week before PD Triathlon! Aiyak! Now, where can I get all the recoveries and strength to do all those at a very small window? OK. The concept is, to wait and see. Give it a shot at a time and see how it goes after each one of them. Just hope that I wont be the one that's being shot!

Our top chart of the week

Errr...pardon me. Iklan sikit. Can't help it but this song seems to be the top chart at my home lately. Masuk aje pintu rumah, 3 orang peminat dah mengadap TV. Ayah pun apa lagi, join ler...

PCC Interstate - Day 3 - Bukit Merah to Damai Laut

Fast and Furious

Yes. I meant that. Today was supposed to be a leisurely distance (compared to previous two days), with very friendly flat stretch back to Taiping, followed with a kampung road and the Pantai Remis stretch. Peloton rolled out late at 8.00 a.m., yet still we felt our deepest sleep were disrupted when we remembered our bikes need to be savioured from the bike storage room - you know la some people will simply shoved aside people's bike to get to theirs. Though mine is an old alu steed, a beauty is still skin deep.

What happened after this was gritting experience and heart pounding that lasted with days of aching quads and calves.

No breakfast from the hotel for us, so we were on our own. As planned, Alwin and me decided to join KOTRT. We knew of lads from the group from our mountainbiking years frequenting Penang every year. Shaharin Wan (pack leader), Azmi, Shamoon, Malik to name a few. The rest, macam biasa, slowly will get to know them. The group decided to leave slightly late, as usual not to add to the congestion.

The Orange Bus Drivers (KOTRT)

Alwin and me didn't had breakfast, the first stop at roti canai right after exiting the resort was a blessing. While enjoying Troy on Astro Beyond, Shaharin started feeling restless when more cyclists passed by.

OK the fast and furious thingy started right away! Crazy bunch. Shaharin already shouting from the rear "Remember your ass infront of you! No curi tulang OK!". The single file peloton speed up to 35kph and we took turn leading the peloton every 2 minutes before open up for the next ass behind. It was the Penang KOTRT Express Bus service heading to Damai Laut.

It was hard work, but fun at the same time. When we stopped at a traffic light, Shaharin will shout again "Remember your pace line! No curi tulang!". The thought of sneaking back to curi tulang kena cancel. I was squeezing the handlebar and gritting teeth only to survive the 2 minutes. The only chance to squeeze for hydration was when I was in the middle. At times we reached 40kph! Terbaek...

We took the right turn to Kuala Sepetang and as we were about to catch up with the momentum again, the rear wheel of my front's ass blew up. It came with a huge BANG! Nyaris gugur bulu kaki or what was left of it from the high speed chase. Lucky for us, when we are riding with experience cyclists, chaos and panick was avoided. The guy slowed down without any sudden stop to the road side, which would only create domino effect if he did. I swerve to the right, avoiding him and slowed down yards away. Kalau cyclist tarak experience sure dah emergency brake, pastu campuq risau rim rosak & tak pikiaq pasal the rest at the back. Kacauuuu...

Cam whoring during punctured ass...err I mean tyre

It was a blessing in disguise. Most of us were struck lucky for the inevitable occurence, and took the opportunity for a leak :) and lots of breath. A good 5 minutes repair, and we were good to go, still with our pace line. However, the kampung road condition was pretty much...bad. Macam Paris - Roubaix la. Potholes, sharp tiny road humps and kids! We were shouting all over the place signalling the back riders for the hazards. Tak cukup tangan nak tunjuk dah kalau kiri kanan lubang. We heard later in the day, a few cyclists hit the road humps and somersaulted. Argh! Scary man...

Finally, after almost 5km in the kampung, we reached the main road again. Not quite gorgeous also, which reminds me of Batu Arang with it's corners, inclines and uneven pavement. But the peloton soared again. 38kph and the I can't reach my nails to bite it! Support crews by the roadside howled and roared as we passed by. Dah rasa macam pro-team tu! Terbaek!

At one time, Team MKH poked into the peloton and drove us nuts.  Some of us, with curry still in the blood, can't simply take it as a free ride for outsiders. Itu semangat sudah membara daaa...macha! The Orange Express Bus hit the throttle and we were wheezing and cutting through smaller groups at 42kph! Adoiii aiii... But, once we are in a big peloton like this i.e. 40 cyclists, the speed felt leisurely. I don't have to do much work, but just focus on the rooms within the peloton and no single tiny mistake.

This furious cycling lasted for almost 45 minutes which at times I felt like hours, trying to catch up when more cyclists lost their legs to the speed. I can't barely sit at my original position but flew to the back and moments later had to let them go. Argh!

Lucky me the MKH guys and girls stopped at a stall for a break and found out further ahead KOTRT stopped at a Petronas. Legs were shivering as I dismounted and complaining in disbelief to the KOTRT guys that they were doing great but crazy stuff.  Almost everyone shook their head of the feat that were done moments before. It was definitely painful but fun. I had the honor to experience it with this bunch of lunatics!

The stop was brief, and we continued again expressing the rage of the Orange Express. With that speed, we should be able to reach Swiss Garden Damai Laut in an hour. But, the heat adds torment to the burning leg muscles. Again, the 38kph speed was so adversely in harmony to our achings. Hampir nak kena kancing gigi beb! Why can't they slow down?! 35 would be just nice, but the peloton was just plain ignorance of the casualties that took place. I didn't barely turn my head to check what was left behind me, but when I let loose of the peloton, I noticed nobody was there! Lol. I guess there were easily 5 to 6 cyclists gone with the wind.

It was a lonely ride into the last 3km stretch to Swiss Garden. But the last 1km was beyond my expectation. It was a killer! Heat and rolling hills just don't match to aching body. Why must golf resort built at so secluded area with hills to climb la?!

Out if these three, of course la aku yang paling koyak....aiyak

Most of us reached Swiss Garden with a lot of HOT issues. Yes, I mean hot! And perhaps a bit of "koyak". Well, the koyak part was something we asked for. Hehe. Anyway, it was my first time at Swiss Garden. Nice place. Very solitude. Great ocean view and nice cozy rooms. We rewarded ourselves with a 20 bucks Taiping Char Kuew Teow at the hotel restaurant for lunch. Want us to cycle back outside?! No way. Checking in was a bit hassle for the whole lot, so we lazed around the lobby view deck and let the sea breeze blew us to sleep.

Simply a place to be lazy

Intertstate 2011 ended with a gala dinner at the ballroom. It was grand enough, but without any special dress code. We were tanned enough to be in a pair tux. Lol. More miggling around with new friends, watch football at the big screen and I dozed off somewhere before midnight with so many great experience to babble about. Interstate 2012? I might give it another shot.

Keluh kesah Mak Esah

Ride distance: 110km

Ride time: 3hrs 34min

Avg spd: 30.8kph

Mx spd:

PCC Interstate - Day 2 - Brinchang to Bukit Merah

The longest route

Ada jugak la sedetik fikiran tatkala sengsara semalam untuk ditch kayuhan hari ke-2. Ni semua seksa punya pasal. Tapi, lumrah kami yang bergelar insan marhaen tak kenal erti serik, bangun jugak pepagi kul 5.00 dalam gigitan sejuk untuk dok berlonggok depan lobi hotel, ready untuk rolling at 6.30 a.m.

Ada info kata suhu pagi tu 18 deg C. Untuk aku yang memang mudah tewas dengan suhu rendah, bersiap sedia seberapa lengkap yang boleh untuk tak terganggu perjalanan. Agak-agak cerah sikit, main peloton pun bergerak tapi a few of us lepak kejap takmo sesakkan jalan. Aku sarungkan cycling jacket & glove. Alwin tarak jacket, so dia apply teknik ala-pro tour cyclist...sumbat suratkhabar kat dalam jersi cover dada.

Bukit yang dalam background gambar previous post memang sah menu breakfast. Panjang pulak tu dari Brinchang nak sampai ke Equatorial Hotel tu dia kat ataih tu. Yang beriya-iya jaket bagai tadi, dah mula rasa rimas ler pulak. Aku tak boleh imagine macam mana aku kadang-kadang tengok ada orang jogging pakai jaket. Bahaya oooo...

Senyum terkucil haruman baja Kampung Raja

Sampai Equatorial, gambar dulu dengan jaket beb. Tu je sekali, lepas ni susah nak jumpa kayuh pakai jaket. Lepas tu turun tak habih pulak. Jalan melengkau lalu pekan Tringkap, cerun kiri kanan dan saujana mata memandang dengan ladang teh & kebun sayur. Masa ni ler bersyukur ada jaket walaupun jaket dah mula kembung berkibar macam bendera bila speed descending bertambah. Turun sampai Kampung Raja & mula climb balik bukit tonggek last kopek. Dah ramai jugak yang mula kembang hidung & layan kayuh lenggang kangkung. Padahal baru 18km.

Sampai jugak aku kat simpang tiga Gua Musang - Simpang Pulai. Dulu jalan ni hanya perkhabaran je tapi sekarang dah semakin sibuk especially musim cuti. Dari situ, descending tahap melampau pun bermula, all the way down to Simpang Pulai. 50km rasanya. Mual dan muak pulak rasa turun tak habis-habis. Aku hanya mampu cecah halaju terminal 57kph sebab aku masih teringat orang yang tersayang. Keh keh keh.

Regroup kat Petronas Simpang Pulai. Sambil tu aku amik kesempatan bedal karipap & nescafe tin. Sejuk lapor cepat. Hari ni cabaran lebih kepada distance. Semalam cabaran climbing. Esok belum tau, maybe cabaran Camel Trophy kot. Supposedly, hari ni cyclometer mesti clock almost 200km. Dah kautim lebih kurang 70km tadi dalam kedinginan segar, akan dituruti dengan balance 130km lagi, yang mana aku jangka akan panas tak hengat.

Aku decide untuk follow group BJCC hari ni. Alwin suruh aku go ahead, dia akan catch up. Nak masuk town, advisable dalam peloton. It's good to be seen. Around 14 of us rasanya, and single file sebab takmo kacau trafik. We passed by Hospital Pantai and headed towards Sunway City as we took turn leading the peloton. Aku saja showed my attendance by leading at this stretch...tunjuk buat kerja sikit la. Lagi pun dalam peloton ni ramai BJCC big names i.e. Doc Alwi, Doc Adrian, Affendi Goh, Razali, Doc Taufik and a few others yang aku masih cuba cari nama. Some of them are BJCC big shots and some are the race horses.

Buat kerja sikit untuk BJCC

Next pit stop was BHP Chemor. A quick one, as people starting to feel the heat. I think that would be the next 30km from Simpang Pulai. Peloton average pace was kept at safe mode 30-32kph melalui jalan rolling up and down. Kami take turn leading to be fair, no free ride OK. Ada jugak la yang muka macam takut-takut tu, dok nyorok tapi takpe...belum ada confident. Kat BHP botol mineral besau and coke antara gandingan hidangan terbaek. Ada dua group besar passed by during our pit stop i.e. KOTRT and Born to Ride. Dah macam race pulak nampak suasana.

Rolling start semula heading towards Sungai Siput. Suhu yang semakin meningkat dah tak dihirau. Yang penting kena survive the distance. Macam biasa, our plan was to ride another hour that should cover another 30km for our next stop. And aku masih menyumbang buat kerja di depan bila tiba giliran.

Ada at one moment, alih-alih terpaksa buat kerja dengan Razali kat depan. Tak pernah berbual or kenal sebelum ni tapi aku buat selamba cuba start sembang apa yang patut. Nampak gaya this guy memang power and dengar cerita pun captain team racer BJCC. Habis ler aku punah kejap lagi...

As we left Sungai Siput and lead towards Kuala Kangsar, Razali ni ternampak pulak group Born to Ride yang overtook kami kat pit stop Chemor tadi. Agak memang lumrah racer, dia agak teruja untuk tapau balik group tu. Tak pasal-pasal, naik jambatan Sungai Siput tu, speed pun naik ke 38-40kph. Adoiii aiii...kompom jap lagi aku koyak.

Sebaik aje dapat cangkuk group Born to Ride tu, aku terus sound Razali, game over untuk aku and terus aku bukak bagi syif kat orang lain pulak buat kerja. Disebabkan tahap teruja depa ni, lepas overtake group tu, speed depan terus maintain, maka berteraburan lah beberapa casualties di sepanjang jalan ke Kuala Kangsar itu...termasuk la aku. Lol.

Nasib baik la mostly jalan kampung, so tak ler terkilan sangat kayuh layan jiwa all the way to Kuala Kangsar. Supposedly depa akan stop lunch along the way kat Kuala. Aku buat kawan dengan sorang cyclist Singapore yang muka pun aku tak nampak sebab dia dok tutup dengan Buff. Nampak shades je. Kami kayuh la kejap sampai aku jumpa balik geng BJCC kat Mat Tom Yam, while that Singaporean carried on sorang.

Air dah macam-macam masuk perut tapi lunch kena jugak makan something solid. Jauh lagi perjalanan. Yang paling sempoi and senang nak telan, aku order nasi putih & sup ayam. Memang lazat berkrim. Syukran. Almost an hour jugak dok menjamu selera sambil menunggu support car & a few other cyclists sampai. Masa ni kami dah clock 153km. Setakat ni kayuhan paling jauh aku dah cecah from semalam.

Dapat input dari Mac, lepas ni akan climb Bukit Gantang, that climb beside PLUS Highway and kilang simen tu. Baru dengar berita tu, sup ayam macam nak terkeluar balik. Lepas tu akan follow dengan jalan flat sampai ke Taiping and Bukit Merah. Musuh utama jalan flat ialah angin!

Kali ni aku play safe dok belakang sikit sebab aku have no plans to attack that bloody climb. Unfortunately, my hope vanished right away approaching the climb bila ternampak group KOTRT baru nak start climb. Apa lagi, lagi sekali adegan meghoyan bermula. Kedengaran bunyi gears shifting prapp! prapp! Campy, SRAM, Shimano...semua menunjukkan performance masing-masing. Oleh kerana aku hanya bertemankan kaset gigi 25 Ramlah Ram, aku hanya mampu melambai-lambai group kami dari belakang. Muahahaha! Nasib baik climb tak berapa tinggi and jauh.

Turun aje bukit, group dah hilang. Jumpa hanya geng splinters (serpihan)...bukan sprinters. Hehehe. Sorang-sorang kami kutip ajak buat peloton baru yang mematuhi halaju kebangsaan. Salah sorangnya Doc Taufik and sorang lagi rider MKH. Kat sini aku bedal GU gel, maka syif menarik pun bermula straight away sampai la ke Taiping, maintain 30kph. Pit stop kat Caltex Taiping.

Jalan ke Taiping & all the way to persimpangan Bukit Merah memang exposed and flat. Untuk mereka yang lutut dah berasap or semangat semakin kusam, menempuh headwind + heat boleh mengundang "bonk". Aku jeling meter, speed masih mampu maintain 32kph dan distance dah cecah 160km. Mak aih! Aku bersyukur kaki masih mampu memberi kerjasama erat & ukwah. Maintain macho all the way.

Sekali sekala local mat rempit lalu & bersorak untuk kami. Ada yang kagum bila dibagitau kami kayuh dari Cameron. Agak depa tak mampu nak digest distance tapi sebut Cameron je dah cukup bikin depa melopong. Hehe.

Finally sampai entrance Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, tapi bisul yang last ni memang pukulan penutup paling bisa. Tu dia mendongak macam Kak Limah tepi tingkap. Aku tak sure berapa percent, ada yang kata 26%, ada gak yang kata 17% tapi dongak tetap dongak. Untuk tidak dongak, kami akur cecah dagu kat handlebar. Konon nak attack dengan standing climb, seperti beberapa orang yang lain tapi hanya mampu mendaki 50m aje. Lepas tu kaki terus masuk angin. Turun tolak sebab momentum hilang. Ada pulak awek dalam kereta lambung, "apa barang tolak basikal bang?!". Adoiii aiii.

Ada sikit recovery kat selekoh, aku buat second attempt. Kali ni aku mesti paku my butt kat saddle jangan sampai bangun if aku nak survive the climb. Alhamdullillah settle. Terus turun all the way sampai hotel. Sembur bike kejap, check in amik kunci bilik, terus naik basuh baju & clean up, full blast aircon and turun balik cari Alwin who came in an hour later.

Dinner starts at 6.30 p.m., habis aku balun amount macam hidangan nasi tambah sambil layan photos of the day, videos and briefing by Ride Director. We were told, masih lagi ada cyclists yang baru check in. Gilos!

BJCC open table durian Semanggol lepas dinner. Kompom saper lahap lebih, esok kayuh pakai bib aje without jersi. The rest of the night kami hang out with more new friends i.e. the PCC clan, Amanda Chin and penutup kami saja test water sembang dengan Shaharin Wan, rep KOTRT sebab esok konon nak ride with them. Esok roll out at 8.00 a.m. so the stay up was just nice.

Grinding facts
Distance : 197.36km
Ride time : 7 hrs 22 min
Avg spd : 26.8 kph
Mx spd : 57.2 kph

PCC Interstate - Day 1 - Raub to Brinchang

Big Momma's Climb

First of all, aku nak panjatkan setinggi-tinggi terima kasih kat kawan-kawan yang mendoakan perjalanan aku ke PCC Interstate ni. Mekasey!!! Al-maklum la, training pun agak huru-hara & setakat selit-selit mana yang termampu je. So bila menjelang event tu jadi la simptom demam tapioka.

Sesungguhnya ni la pertama kali aku sign up untuk PCC Interstate ni walaupun depa dah mula anjur event ni sejak 14 tahun yang lalu. Habis segenap ceruk tanahair depa dah kayuh. Last year ada gak teringin aku nak cangkuk tapi macam biasa la, badan ni hanya satu. Kederat takde la banyak, so aku lebih kan ke training untuk KL Marathon. Tahun ni, training KL Marathon pulak lemauuu...

Alwin fetched aku at home pagi Jumaat tu at 4.00 a.m. Hujan lebat menambahkan drama perjalanan kami dari rumah ke Raub. Berkejor la jugak nak sampai ke Rest House Raub before peloton berangkat at 6.30 a.m. sampaikan terlepas McD Taman Melati for breakfast.

Sungai Koyan pit stop

Oooo...ni rupanya Rest House Raub, tersergam indah di atas bukit di tengah town. Ramai dah yang berkumpul dalam gelap pagi tu. Kami terus park kereta kat belakang sebab nak tinggalkan kereta kat Raub. While Alwin setting apa yang patut, aku mencelah untuk menunaikan kewajipan apa yang berkaitan. Alhamdullillah cuaca sangat sempurna untuk kami berlepas meninggalkan pekan Raub menuju ke arah Sungai Koyan.

Aku bagi pihak cyclists, mohon ampun & maaf kat orang Raub pagi tu sebab tak pasal-pasal trafik jadi sesak. Maklum la Jumaat masih hari bekerja dan bersekolah, jadi perjalanan mereka secara tak langsung terganggu la sikit. Kesian. Sampaikan beberapa lori terpaksan buat peloton depa sendiri sebab tak dapat overtake kami kat jalan yang agak sempit.

Menuju ke arah Sungai Koyan, hari yang semakin cerah mempamerkan langit yang semakin mendung. Kami terpaksa berdendangkan lagu "Singing in the rain" untuk beberapa ketika sebelum sampai ke town Felda Sungai Koyan untuk sarapan pagi. Nasi lemak dan top up botol air. Lepas ni 90km tarak phone coverage dan fuel station.

Alwin & me decided to tag along with geng BJCC since we were left from the big peloton and BJCC was the only group left (well, actually what was left of them la). Ada la 10 orang termasuk Doc Taufik jiran aku. Sebaik aje masuk simpang ke Pos Betau, jalan dah mula mendaki dan persekitaran mula berubah. Takde dah nampak ladang kelapa sawit, hanya hutan malar hijau dan gunung ganang. Sebak dada aku kejap menyaksikan kehebatan alam. Ada la sikit-sikit kami bergurau senda tatkala pendakian tak begitu kejang otot. Aku belum sempat nak berkenalan dengan depa, alih-alih team LeTua lalu satu peloton dengan ada motorsikal escort...berdesup! Ada la beberapa orang BJCC yang ingin menduga akal dan kederat, pi kejor dengan harapan dapat free taxi all the way up. Depa tak tau, sat lagi kompom putus urat kentut kakau cangkuk leTua tu. Maka bertebarlah kami di sepanjang pendakian itu.

Kami stop jugak la at a few breathtaking views untuk snap photo tapi most of them sekadar termenung aje sebab hujan sudah kembali. Camera kena simpan.  Ada kala, kami hanya duduk tepi jalan dalam hujan sambil bersembang melepaskan penat lelah. Kalau hari lain, bertuah ler teman nak buat keroje tu.

  

90km pendakian ni dah mula menusuk kalbu bila cuaca tidak membantu dan perut dah mula berdendang "Keroncong Untuk Ana". Aku kunyah gak Snickers sulam air hujan. Kenyang beb. Alwin dah masuk granola bar yang ke-4. Betul punya lapor dia. Langsung takde tamaddun manusia kami jumpa bila dah mencecah 4 jam mendaki. Ketahanan mental dah mula bergoncang. Papan tanda sempadan Daerah Cameron menjadi saksi kepada mereka yang mengukirkan senyuman kelat di muka menandakan ketamadunan akan muncul sebentar lagi.

First tamaddun manusia adalah hanya beberapa kedai motor dan tapak semaian. Adoiii aiii. Patut kedai motor ni paling koman pun jual la Chickedees or Twisties ke untuk pelanggan. Bau baja organik pulak menambah kekelatan muka. Puas jugak la kami dihampakan dengan cabaran bukit bukau dan ketiadaan kedai makan. Sampai la kat pekan Habu baru jumpa curry house. Manyak lega oooo...aku terlalu gelojoh hingga lupa nak amik gambor kedai ni.

The SIGN! ...ooops...perut kantoi beb! Lol

Mee goreng mamak, telur goreng mata & teh O panas Cameron pengubat duka lara. Amin rezki Allah mencurah-curah. Ye ler tu, kejap lagi peluh akan mencurah untuk azab second chapter.

Perut dah gendut, matahari dah bersinar sikit, jalan pun dah mula sibuk. Kami sempat di wawancara oleh dua orang uncle. Sorang dok citer pasal pendakian yang berikutnya. Adoiii...aiii. Alih-alih mee goreng sepinggan terus terbakar dalam perut mendengarkan penjelasan terperinci uncle. Yang sorang lagi, dok kata team leTua terbaek! Pukul 11.00 a.m. depa dah sampai Habu. Fan club rupanya.

First climb from Habu up to Ringlet betul punya cecah dagu kat stem. Nasib baik pendek tapi boleh tahan cungap gak la. Aku target mau refill air kat Tanah Rata, poyo tadi kat curry house takmo. Sekali gagal daaa...

Climbing sampai Tanah Rata serupa macam Bukit Putus (pada hal aku tak pernah kayuh sana pun). Kompom la putus beberapa urat. Maksud aku...selekoh demi selekoh, and aku teruskan grinding chainring kaset 25 yang dah mula main lagu Ramlah Ram dengan husky voice. Tak tahan beb. Baru sampai R&R Cameron Valley, aku terpaksa akur dengan kemampuan. Ada lagi 9km tuh! Bedal teh secawan lagi. Alwin dah mula mengidam asam kecut strawberry kering. Apa-apa je la bai, janji lu senyum. Lol.

Dapat golek-golek macam filem Hindustan syiok ooo

Cyclists still climbing scattered all over the terrain. Oooo...idak ler kami ni last tercorot rupanya. Lega. Macam biasa, pemandangan ladang teh sungguh asyik. Rasa macam nak baring je atas pokok teh yang kelihatan macam tilam spring kat bawah tu.

Ku sangka balance 9km up to Brinchang bakal akan mematahkan semangat tapi rupanya, lagi 4km aje climb dan selebihnya rolling. Yeay! Quick stop kat Tanah Rata untuk top up air mineral, lepaih tu berdesup aku menuju puncak Star Regency Hotel di Brinchang. Ada jugak bisul climb sikit sampai depan hotel. Cis!

Lama dah aku tak ke sini. Those hills, esok menu warmup

Keceriaan di muka masing-masing terserlah bila sorang demi sorang sampai. Apa taknya, dah serupa macam kerja opis. 7 jam 22 minit berkayuh dan almost semua mendaki. Tak pernah aku alami pengalaman dan route kayuhan macam ni. Tak sama macam training ground Broga or Teranum. Nothing close. Betul punya cabaran hari pertama. Masa yang tinggal hanya cukup untuk basuh bike and group photo. Yang selebihnya attack hidangan makan malam dan pasar malam. Lights off as early as 9.00 p.m. bila masing-masing dah macam zombie Kampung Pisang. Sejuk macam biasa la...Cameron beb.

Pepatah petitih

Distance : 148.8km

Ride time : 7 hr 21 min

Avg spd : 20 kph

Mx spd : 53.2 kph