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.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, September 10, 2007
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
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
Saturday, September 8, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, August 27, 2007
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 :
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 :
- Aimi
- Mizi
- Lias
- Saiful
- Alwin
- Epol
- Ija
- Azhar
- Mutalib
- Nizam
- Aku
Monday, August 20, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, August 3, 2007
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 :
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 :
- Beef fried rice for lunch at avenue K
- Cheap nasi kandar at KLCC
- Tuna/sardin sandwich & cekik darah canned nescafe from the mamak news stand
- The sight of arrogant looking arabs & stylish koreans student at the fountain
- Late evening cityscape of towering KLCC from the meeting room
- View of Yap Kwan Seng traffic jams during rainy rush hours
- View of Klang Gate ridge from the pantry window
- Friday prayers at the peaceful & spacious Maluri mosque
To all my ex-colleagues, it's been nice knowing you guys.
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