Kuala Selangor

Selepas selesai Morib, kaki terasa sengal buat beberapa hari terutama hamstring. Hampir aku suspen bila mengenangkan injury lama di hamstring kiri. Harap tidak berulang. Cramp yang menyerang menghasilkan kesan sengal  yang tidak surut sehingga 3 hari. Aku perlu evaluate semula sesi letihan dan kayuhan agar tidak memudaratkan dan maintain jauh dari injury.

Hati ini masih melonjak-lonjak untuk membuat milage ride sebaik sahaja sengal kaki mula hilang. Manusia memang macam tu. Hasil perbincangan BBM (ada lagi ke orang pakai BBM??!!), kami decide untuk ke Kuala Selangor. Lagi sekali hirup angin coastal.

Group tak berapa besau, Cuma 6 orang aje yang join. Saiz yang sedang-sedang elok untuk saling memahami jenis kayuhan yang dirancang. Plan untuk maintain selagi boleh dalam Zone aerobic, tiada stop makan besau cume beberapa pit-stop pendek untuk rehydrate and such.

Kayuhan sesedap rasa & mampu bersembang sesame sendiri bermula dari Bukit Jelutong – GCE – cilok masuk LATAR – exit di Ijok – persimpangan Batang Berjuntai – Kg Baharu Pasangan (nice name) – Kuala Selangor – back to Ijok – Jalan Kuala Selangor – Jalan Batu Arang – and back to Bukit Jelutong.

Di Kg Baharu Pasangan kami dihidangkan dengan 15km jalan lempeng & tegak. Kalau tidak kerana kerja-kerja menaiktaraf yang sedang berlangsung, dah tentu suasana kayuhan boleh menjadi indah bagai berpacaran. Ngeh ngeh ngeh.

Angin dan suhu silih berganti menambah ‘keenakan’ kayuhan seperti di mana-mana jua di serata Malaysia. Alhamdullillah semuanya berjalan lancar dan setiap di antara kami masih mampu mengukir senyuman dan berjenaka sehingga ke akhir.

Jalan Batu Arang yang turun naik macam belakang unta menghidangkan beberapa bukit pendek tapi curam yang hampir mematahkan semangat. Tapi di kerabat kan juga demi untuk kawtim total milage 144km. Alhamdullillah.

Morib Annual

Almost seemed like an annual affair about this ride to Morib. About a year ago, almost the same date and month, we were trailing our butts for Morbid Morib. This time of year, the plan was set a month ago. At least one long ride per month. Konon. But I didn’t realize that it will take the pleasure out of it, which turned out to be…torment!

When the miles have piled up from months of long rides, mostly in endurance pace, the heart is jumping for joy for the treat of testing the strength. Little did I know that I paid the price for it. Well, at least I knew…in a hard way of course. As always.

Our pace was slightly a bit on the high side throughout the ride. We paid our price there and then. The culminating weather for the past few days added salt to the wound. There was always the weather factor but don’t blame it. Just some analysis.

Despite some technical glitch with punctures and chain misled, we still managed to reach Morib at 11.00 a.m. which was faster than a year ago. Told you we were fast. The break was also short with quick meals and top ups. In 20 minutes we were off for the final battle.

As we started to leave Morib, the group of 18 was already divided when few of us decided to keep the pace to their own mandatory safe zone. Too bad we can’t wait and had to decide what was best for the majority.

The flat Morib-Bagan Lalang road never played a joyful note. The war tune was mostly from the gusting wind and scorching sun with a bit of smell from a nearby plantation. Euwww!

From Sepang onwards, it was live or die pace. Nobody bothered or willing to control the pace anymore. I was cranking my own sweet and sour 53-16 ratio, holding on to the pace as long as I could. Somewhere deep inside the pain, I was also a bit surprised that the sustainable threshold was manageable.

Since it was now already an own expense, I tried repeating the same mode for a few more times with recoveries in between. The remaining stretch of rolling, through Salak Tinggi and Kampung Jenderam was bantered with more ‘5 big-3small’ menu.

The last regrouping was 5km away from the carpark. I was sure dehydrating was waiting for me. Both bottles were empty by then. Quads were in pain, waiting nervously for the cramp to strike at anytime. I chugged down a 100plus before the final push.

Each time it cramped, I just kept on striking the heavy gearing to strain out the pain. It went on a few times but I had to live with it and none panic situation required, as long as it was manageable.

We wrapped it up in 5 hours closed to a century distance which was also almost the same kind of ride to Kuantan Century Ride 2012. Coastal simulation perhaps. With the building blocks getting into the intensity stage, I would expect more pain coming.

MH Jamboree 360

Organizing memang 'A'. Thumbs up!

Untuk tahun 2013, ni lah event mountain bike pertama yang aku sign. Tanpa sebarang kerja-kerja letihan off road, aku bedal.com aje. Al-maklum busy mencari milage dengan road rides. Sekurang-kurangnya ada la sedikit bekalan stamina. Lagi pun, sekali sekala kena jugak test kemampuan. Macam ujian bulanan anak-anak di sekolah gak. Alhamdullillah.

Tapi musibat berlaku tanpa mengenal bau. Lain sikit ayat. Selalu orang buh “malang tak berbau”. Aku rasa Allah nak test or maybe jugak balasan cash akibat aku start bukan di tempat official. Padan muka akuuu…

Seawal 6.30 pagi aku dah ketemu Azmar di tepi jalan depan Minlon sebab nak konvoi untuk ke venue & collect goodies. First time masuk Kota Warisan, selalunya lalu depan je. Tak sangka banyak jugak rumah & kedai-kedai yang dah occupied. Trail mtb sure memang dijangka ada punya sebab ladang kelapa sawit yang terbentang luas memang adat trail jamboree kat Malaysia.

Start line kat atas bukit. Kalau hangpa lalu main road Dengkil-Salak Tinggi, sure boleh nampak tulisan putih besaq Kota Warisan kat tepi bukit depa buat. Haaa…kat situ lah. Disebabkan jumlah peserta hampir mencecah 1500 orang, cubaan menyelit di belakang Start Line dah agak mustahil. Lantas aku & rakan-rakan decide untuk mula dari bawah aje di mana jalan lebih luas & kurang kesesakan.

Ramai tu boh!

Sebaik peloton hadapan melintas kami, aku teruih cangkuk. Memang sah laju kepala keretapi mountain bike ni. Sekali sekala aku cuba menjeling meter, terkezut jugak aku tengok speed mencecah 35 km/j!!! Tu dia aih! Maybe sebab atas jalanraya lagi. Selepas 5km, bermulanya off-road. Itu pun aku dok perasan speed masih boleh maintain 32 km/j!!!

Off-road peringkat permulaan agak lapang dan permukaan jalan masih rata. Tapi sebaik memasuki canopy ladang kelapa sawit dan bermulanya jalan sedikit mendaki, permukaan dah mula 100% off-road condition. Loose rocks & tebing jalan yang terhakis. Even siap ada parit melintang.

Kalau kayuh santai dengan kawan-kawan over the weekend mungkin keadaan tidak begitu risky tapi dalam kumpulan sebegini ramai dengan kelajuan yang ‘Ma shaa Allah’ punya laju, kesilapan yang sekecil kuman boleh mengakibatkan dunia ini terbalik seketika. Hahaha!

Tang parit melintang at 45 degree tu lah Yang Berbahagia ini telah bertukar menjadi Yang Tergedodos! Aku follow rapat rider depan, tidak kurang satu kaki jarak tayar depan aku & tayar belakang dia. Keadaan yang mula mendaki menyebabkan pace attack bukit berlaku. Rider depan lepas parit tapi aku tidak. Kuang! Kuang! Kuang!

Maka aksi James Bond telah bertukar menjadi aksi Jebon. Handlebar aku terlipat sebab tersangkut dalam parit & aku terhempas aksi Silambam melebamkan sebelah kanan badan. Adeh! Penuh tanah dari lengan sampai ke kaki. Kaki kanan masih tersangkut di pedal, slow-slow aku tanggalkan. Rasa perit-perit sikit je tapi aku kurang ambil perhatian. Kayuhan perlu diteruskan sebab aku rasa aku masih gagah. Boleh ke?

Slow-slow aku bangun dan dirikan basikal semula. Riders masih menderu-deru melepasi aku dengan kelajuan yang menggerunkan. Aku menanti peluang untuk masuk balik dalam peloton. Ada 5 saat aku tunggu & terdapat bukaan, terus seriaaap! Aku masuk & sambung attack bukit semula.

Slow-slow juga keperitan dah mula amplified. Macam ada amplifier pulak dalam badan ni. Maybe otak aku dah mula hantar message rasional bahawa terdapat kecederaan yang perlu diambik perhatian. Sambil-sambil aku assess injury. Dari siku sampai ke tangan terdapat calar yang agak nampak brutal. Darah dah mula mengalir & luka dah mula bercampur peluh lantas menghantar message ‘nyut! Nyut! Nyut!’. Adeh! Pedih!

2XU syariah compliance compression tight aku pun dah kelihatan lubang di lutut sebesar biji kacang hijau. Adeh! Lutut pun terasa pedih, harap tak luka kronik.

Ride pace di dalam group depan ni boleh tahan chun. Setelah beberapa kilometer kayuhan, aku dapati masing-masing dah mula menjaga pace yang sustainable. Takde lagi terdapat attack di bukit. Begitu juga tatkala menuruni bukit. Ketinggian bukit yang kami daki berbeza-beza. Ada yang ciput pendek je tapi curam dan ada jugak yang sayup mata memandang. Siap zig-zag lagi. Ada jugak yang kreatif tu siap jerit pulak dari atas. Adeh!

Part downhill pun boleh tahan mencabar. Bukan sebab teknikal sangat tapi sebab kelajuan dan permukaan trail yang menghamparkan batu-batu pecah dan hakisan. Agak bahaya sekiranya hilang tumpuan dan yang 50-50.

Setiap kali aku sampai di CP, aku akan cuci luka dengan air mineral yang diberi setelah meneguk membasahkan tekak. Ye betul! Keeping up with the pace memang menyebabkan tahap dahaga yang boleh tahan kronik. Tapi aku tidak menghabiskan masa yang lama di setiap CP. Paling koman 2-3 saat togak air pehtu ciao.

Dah puas mengharung trail kelapa sawit, kami redah pulak single track di celah-celah semak mana entah. Aku follow aje orang depan sebab takde ruang memotong. Lagi pun pace kami semua lebih kurang sama. Sebaik keluar dari semak samun, jalan pasir tanah terbentang luas menuju ke jalanraya berturap. Jarak kayuhan baru mencecah 30km dengan masa kayuhan menghampiri 2 jam. Aku jangka mungkin ada satu lagi loop off-road yang akan diredah tapi sebaik aku berselisih dengan Azmar, aku difahamkan yang kayuhan dah hampir habis. Leeeer!

Once masuk jalanraya, kami diarahkan menuju semula ke arah garisan penamat (start line tadi gak). Berdesup aku layan tapi seat post pulak lama-lama menurun. Adeh! Takde masa nak stop untuk adjust. Aku layan aje setakat yang mampu sampai ke penghabisan. Alhamdullillah.

Second notification aku terima dari otak apabila pinggul kanan (term yang paling baik aku boleh fikirkan buat masa ni) aku terasa sakit. Mula-mula aku ingatkan sebab seatpost rendah tapi mungkin juga hasil aksi Jebon tadi. Sengals!

Dengan penuh sopan santun aku capai se-tin minuman Red Bull dari gadis Red Bull (ngeh! Ngeh! Ngeh!) dan slow-slow aku teguk penuh rasa kepuasan & kesyukuran sambil aku perhati panorama sekeliling.

Nampak gaya hasil dari sesi letihan hujung minggu yang lepas-lepas mampu menyediakan platform untuk aku maintain kayuhan intensity tinggi dalam jamboree ni. Alhamdullillah dengan nikmat yang dikurniakan. Dan Alhamdullillah juga takde injury yang lebih serious dari itu.

Namun, badan kali ni betul punya rasa letih hasil dari intensiti kayuhan. Asal nak bangun dari duduk sure muka mula 'tersenyum' kerana pinggul ku yang sengal dan tangan yang pedih. Adeh!

Pinjam neh dari CM Magazine.
Jebon oren sebelah kanan :]

LtdL Stage 5 - Genting Highland

Within days after clocking awesomeness on my cycling map, the international cycling scene hit our country with le Tour de Langkawi since February 21^st. The much awaited stage came last Monday, February 25^th where the peloton will climb the Hors Category, Genting Highland. The hardest there is in the country of course but nothing compares to the majestic ones in Europe though.

It was a working day, hence these bunch of enthusiasts (konon) took the day off and plan for some fun on high altitude. Some of us even took the challenge of riding up which was kind of an annual affair nowadays. Det and me just stick to our original plan driving up with packed nasi lemaks and hot Nescafe.

It was a blessing for those who cycle up when the weather was just perfect with no sun around until noon. In fact, it rained! Our drive up was filled with more anxiety as we passed familiar faces. Most of them filled with regrets and curses. I almost got myself into that option of riding up, perhaps next year. I did attempt once a few years back. The climb was one thing, but the descending was the worse. You get numb arms, numb fingers, numb butt, and numb face from the freezing cold. And that ain’t pretty while approaching a downhill corner at the speed of 60 kph.

However, most of us decided to bivouac at the Temple area (temple lagi!). This spot where we can cheer the pro riders when they passed by and perhaps give them a push up the steepest climb. We had a carnival atmosphere. A few local cycling groups had barbeque (Kambing golek!) while waiting for the peloton to arrive.

It rained throughout the outing; it got heavier when the peloton arrived. But that didn’t dampen the pro riders’ spirit of climbing or our fun cheering. I had my waterproof Cybershot with me, hence I just point and shoot for the fun and experience!

ROTM - Sungai Tengiiiiii

The regular Sunday ride-day was adjusted to give way for some family rescheduling. Hence, the weekend came just in time for BJCC’s Ride of the Month (ROTM) on Saturday. Nice pick I guess. The destination was Sungai Tengi and back from the usual Bukit Jelutong RV point. The distance that should cover is 165km.

However, as usual the crazy ideas had us made some alterations where Alwin and I decided to start from his place in Subang instead. That will be an extra 11km one way. And the final figure was beyond our imagination until we discover it at the end of the ride.

The thing that I don’t prefer to spend my weekend workout is to travel away from my place too often especially on Saturday. The afternoon traffic will be as tiring as the ride itself. Perhaps this would be an exception. Sekali sekala takpe la kots.

Right after solat, the travelling begins and I was 5 minutes off due to nature’s call…for the second time that morning! Can you believe that? Nervous la kots.

We got the tires rolling as soon as everything’s in order. With a century distance to attempt, no compromise is required. Saturday morning traffic have started making its way especially at Batu Tiga. Once we entered Bukit Jelutong and reached the RV point, there were almost about 50 cyclists will be joining the ROTM.

We didn’t have to wait long for the train to start charging, leaving Bukit Jelutong and into Guthrie Expressway. It was a very long train and I place myself safely in the middle of the pack, where the pace was manageable.

The usual GCE distance was taken until we met LATAR continuing towards Ijok. I didn’t have my heart rate reading yet for the ride hence a more subtle approach i.e. huffing & puffing method was used. As long as I can catch up and stay in a conversation mode, which was fine with me.

The day has started to shine bright, a sign that is going to be a roasting ride back later. Roast duck anyone?

Once after Ijok town for refill, we turned at the first left, which was basically a new venture for me at this part of Selangor. We were briefed that it’s going to be a 30km brutal flat as a pancake and straight as an arrow stretch. It really was!

The agony was not the flat and continuous pedaling without coasting, but the boredom and monotonous that started creeping in after the first hour. There was not even single scenery that we can enjoy for the minimal pleasure that we seek. It was definitely creepy and sleepy at the same time, but we can’t afford to fall off our bike and create disaster in the middle of a cruising speed peloton.

There was a bit of rolling towards the end before we slump our bikes and butts for a pre-booked breakfast at the so called Felda Sungai Tengi small town. It was a bit dragging when the meal stop took almost 45 minutes though.

It was obvious that we saw some nervous face wreck and worried look in the peloton as we started pedaling back. The scorching sun has started playing the hot tune of coastal humid wind. The ride back towards Ijok was modest where most of us stuck in the tame peloton. The headwinds grew stronger compared to the morning breeze.

We checked in at Petronas Ijok for refills and lying around inside the aircondition petrol station. Outside, it was nothing more than pain scenes. There was more pain than pleasure from this point onward. This was the part that ‘we bite more than we chew’ thing, and had to live through it.

Unfortunately the peloton didn’t stay together as we left Ijok. Hell broke loose when some of the stronger ones decided to crank it hard. My mistake was to get tangled up with them at the first sight of the ‘temple climb’…(no! not Temple Run). The acceleration was ridiculous for me to follow, hence I decided to be a bit wiser by letting go and recover.

The problem when pushing the red zone too long, it took a bit longer to recover. The panting was endless, legs barely respond to any passing small pelotons. Argh! And that was the worse place to get yourself in agony, the 15km stretch between the ‘’temple’ to GCE exit. Traffic was menacing the dusty road and the grime started piercing into the system. Not good.

Eventually the pain slowly eased and recovery seemed possible for another torment via GCE. Mathematically there should be about 5 inclines, painful ones, due to its length and creepy sight. Secondly, the time and wind condition adds up to the formula.

We formed a small group and followed our own pace which was down to basic pedaling, slow! The ups and downs were solitude. Halfway through we decided to take a break at the GCE rest area for some replenishment. Coke!

Alwin and me departed from the group as they left towards Bukit Jelutong. I was plainly determined to just finish the ride. Back to Batu Tiga and up Glenmarie (who put this incline here?!) and into Subang. A subtle attack of cramp occurred when I was leaving a traffic junction but it slowly subsides moments later. Still, it was painful.

We sank ourselves under Alwin’s car porch almost paralyzed by the extreme heat. Slightly above century distance, it was crazy but still somewhat awesome and a pinching pain. The trusty number was 173km in 6 hours 8 minutes. 

Off the beaten track