KLMBH Epic Ride2

This year's Epic Ride can be considered as all round MTB ride. You have uphills, downhills, river crossing, mud, fast fireroads, singletracks,etc. HYH told me that the members of KLMBH cleared some ares to create trails specifically for this ride. Such dedication! We are honored to have taken part in this year's ride.

1st traffic jam. Waiting for turns to go down the river stream

Lee CH

With clear cool water running, I wished we had time to enjoy nature's delight.

Lee CH with the Titiwangsa Range as background

Abundance of single track like this. Willy pushing his bike.

After Check Point 3, we came the a downhill. It was steep with about 45degree angle and distance of about 50 meters. I should have got down and push but for some reason, decided to go for it. Just down 10 feet and I fell off the saddle. I must have put too much weight at the back and lost control. I quickly got up (out of embarrassment) and although was feeling some ache around the inner thigh, told LeeCH and Willy that I was ok. Then I looked down at my right leg, there was a 3" cut and the blood was flowing down to the ankle. A quick look and I knew the ride is over. The crank had cut it deep. There is no way I can continue as paddling will only make the cut bigger and make me loss more blood.

I made my way up and luckily one of the organiser's people was there to summons help. I must take this opportunity to thank a Chinese rider who sprayed Opsite on my wound and got it dried up faster and another Malay rider who had bandages with him and that help to close up the wound while waiting for help to come. Sorry I didn't get your names and I appreciate the help Guys!

The hare of the ride, Ajis came by motorbike and brought me to a Government clinic to get the wound clean. He later sent me to my car and I drove to a clinic in Batang Kali town for stitches. I have had a good share of falls during all these years of cycling but this one takes the cake for the deepest and longest cut. 5 stitches as remembrance of 2009 KLMBH Epic Ride.

After the ride, we had our food and drinks at Al-Salma's restaurant. While we were eating, Fendy's eagle eyes caught attention of a pretty young thing walking by. She was with her family and I guess are part of the the organiser's group as they were seen helping at the registration counter. I take my hat off to Fendy who was man enough to go up to the mum and asked for permission to borrow her daughter for a group photo. All the best in your quest Fendy!

We took the Genting Highland way back to Malacca and stopped at the cable car station one last time for this photo shoot.

Something to remember this year's ride. Managed to ride 30 out of 54 km. Never fear for I will be back next year.

KLMBH Epic Ride1

Sleeping beside the rainforest is not exactly quiet. Unless you are the type that knock off the moment your head hits the pillow, you hear lots of things coming from nature. Even with the constant sound of water flowing beside our chalet, the sounds of insects and other creatures is still loud enough to keep you awake.

I thought I was the only one having trouble sleeping but when I woke up to take a walk after getting tired of rolling around in bed, Willy spoke to me. I managed to catch some sleep until nature call that I had to attend to and it's tossing in bed again until the alarm rang at 6am. I guess I had about 1 hour of actual sleep. The rest of the time was just pretending to sleep.

It was nice and cool 7 km ride from our chalet to the starting point. Good warm up. Along the way we saw a few cars with bikes mounted on them but no one gave us a hoot of acknowledgement. Aiyah, why so cold? One car took the wrong junction going towards Genting and turn back after seeing us cycling straight. Hey, you're welcome!

I have seen new riders who struggled to keep up after the first initial kilometers and with determination, improve their stamina and ride technique. Willy is one those who join the cycling fraternity last year and I am proud to see him taking part and able to finish 54 km of hard core riding.

Trying to locate our names amongst the long list of names at the registration counter. Luckily we were early and took our time. After that the crowd started to grow.

With long rides that this, we need to keep power gels and protein bars to replenish the energy along the way. Before ride it is best to store energy with the power drink (teh tarik) and power canai first. Restoran Al-Salma owners must be smiling cheek to cheek as business boomed for the day.
Getting ready for ride briefing

HYH giving ride briefing

Beautiful scenery with the Titiwangsa mountain range

No problem riding up. Just keeping Lee company

KLMBH Epic '09 Pre Ride

The Kuala Lumpur Mountain Bike Hash (KLMBH) has always been consistent on organising enjoyable monthly hash rides and once a year, the mother of all hash ride, KLMBH Epic Ride on 10th May delivered what it promise.

A big round of applause to HYH and his team for a good all round mountain bike ride.

Today's photo entry will be on the pre ride. The preparation and the night before.

Managed to borrow the Thule cross bar and 2 bicycle racks from Keong and added 2 more bike rack to fit all 4 bikes on the roof. I figured it should not be a problem because we carried the same amount of bike when we went to Taiping. What I forgot was first, it was Ah Yang's car which had better suspension and springs and secondly, there were only 3 guys in the car.

From left (me, Willy, Lee CH and Fendy)

So with 4 bikes (1 darn heavy Kona bike) and the 4 of us in my trusty Proton Wira, we managed to drive all the way to Batang Kali even though the car scrapped its wheel liner whenever we hit a bump.

I didn't realised how small Batang Kali town was until I tried to find a hotel. Googled for it, no luck. Tried Virtual tourist, no luck. Finally used the GPS Map source and searched of hotel POI around the area and a few names came up and they were mainly camp sites. Finally decided on Amberstone Eco Resort as they had a website and the photos of the chalet looked decent. See the screen shot below. Noticed the nice A frame huts on their header.I should have realised it's like going to a food court. You order the chicken chop because the photo display shows a large juicy chunk of chicken thigh with large amounts of potato fries and coleslaw. When the food finally comes, you still get a chicken thigh but a chicken that was on a diet and you can literally count the number of potato fries.


As you can see from the actual photo of the A frame huts, it is so small that a hobbit should feel real comfortable in it.

Opps, not good for a 1st impression. Luckily we booked the chalet instead of the A frame huts ...or that was what I thought. I somewhat pictured in my mind the word chalet would mean individual structure which had a small hall with 2 rooms since it stated quad sharing in their website. What we got was a tiny room with 2 double decker beds. With our stuffs and bikes in the room, the room was so small that we had to go outside just to change our minds.

The bright side of the lodging was the stream that is constantly flowing with cool clean mountain water.
Putting aside these small inconveniences, we decided to drive up to Genting Highlands since it was only 28 km away.

Using the cable car to go up. We were surprised that it was Fendy's 1st time going to Genting Highlands.

Dinner at the Highlands. This Taiwanese beef noodle that came bundled with a small bowl of desert and a drink cost a whopping RM19.00.


For RM12.00, we get to be Superheroes for less than a minute.

Superman ride

Up Up and Away. Also hoping the dinner we just had doesn't come up

A much milder experience at the 3D ride

Cable car ride to heaven

You're welcome

I have been cycling for about 10 years now. I have seen cyclist come and go. One thing that I have noticed is that when a person decides to take up cycling or any sport seriously, that person will often be at the bicycle shop. Be it in the morning, you see the person hanging there, other days you see them during lunch break, tea break and sometimes until the shop closes.

So much so that their circle of friends are now people of the same hobby. It becomes so obvious that when it comes to a celebration of a birthday or any anniversary, the invitees are usually the same group of people who cycle with you. It makes you wonder, what about their other friends? What was their life before cycling?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I am appreciative of many things that have come by. A good family, a large circle of friends, our 16 year old Proton Wira that is still running (almost) smoothly, my bike technician who without being told, replaces the missing screw and lubes the squicky parts while servicing, etc.

I used to be in a youth club called the Rotaract Club. My life before being a Rotaractor was pretty dull with the family business taking up most of the time. Being in the Rotaract Club open my views on so many things and I have learnt a lot from the training, mingling amongst other Rotaractors and best of all rubbing shoulders with the members of the parent club, the Rotary Club where you get to meet so many interesting people with open hearts willing to share their vocational experience and expertise. For this, I am appreciative to my friend, Edmond Koo who introduced the world of Rotaract and invited me in.

The same goes to hobbies like cycling. There are some who walk into the bicycle shop and after buying, joins a cycling group. But majority are usually influenced by friends. Like they say, poison the person into cycling. If you are one of the latter and now enjoys cycling like it is the best thing that ever happen to you, do remember to thank the person who introduced you to it. I was one of those walk in customer but I am appreciative to Lim HT for the encouragement during the early days of mountain biking in the Malacca Mountain Bike Hash club (M2BH).

As for the many people I have "poison", I say to you, "You're welcome".

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

19.6.09 - I am now listening to one of my favourite group band, Journey. Suddenly I remembered this article about Appreciation and I realised I need to record my appreciation to another friend, Leu Kok Keong who was instrumental in introducing so many bands and songs to me during schooling days. My daughter Michelle has now taken to liking the song "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey and I will slowly open her world to more Steve Perry's wailing voice when he sings most of Journey's hit songs.

KLMBH Epic Ride 09

Almost every event needs some kind of promotion to make it a success. It can be in the artwork graphic like below or the writeup that is so good you cannot wait to go. As for me, I made up my mind to go the moment I saw the promo flyer and now with the ride details, it is even more confirmed that by hook or by crook, I have to get my butt there on 10th April.

So far 6 have confirmed going from Melaka and 2 more are still thinking of it. Maybe this write up will seal the deal.
Taken from KLMBH forum. My favourite line on the last checkpoint "Welcome to Valhalla my friend"

Ride Description.
1. Check Point CP 1 -Comment: The first chicken loop for people on a short ride.Description: The first section aka CP1 is relatively easy and starts with a 1.7km road section to a oil palm plantation in Ulu Yam. The terrain in CP1 is moderately undulating and nearly fully shaded. This is the quintessential Malaysian plantation cross-country ride consisting of mature trees and well manicured trails. There is one river crossing between Ulu Yam and Ulu Tamu. The river is beautiful and scenic and is knee high most of the time. However, after a heavy rainfall, the river can be as deep as waist high in parts and fast flowing and therefore, may not be safe for unsupervised children. This is a fantastic warm up route. Come and stretch those cold muscles here and breathe the fresh air.Distance to check point : Approx. 16.9kmDistance from check point to Home : Approx 1.2kmClosing time: 11:45am(TBC)

2. Check Point CP 2(Water Point) -Comment: The second chicken loop for people on an intermediate ride.Description: The route traverses kampung roads through Kampung Genting Malek. There is also a small shop set up in front of the owner's house in Genting Malek for riders to buy drinks. This section is characterised by narrow single lane 'kampung' roads that meanders gently around small 'kebuns' and is relatively flat and shaded. There is a short single track section in a rubber estate just before check point CP2. Riders can replenish their water here at CP2.Distance to check point: Approx. 26.4kmDistance from check point to Home : Approx 3.7kmClosing time: 11:45am(TBC)

3. Check Point CP 3 -Comment: HYH's favourite route in Ulu Renning and the third chicken loop.Description: This section has been used in both the 06 hash and 08 Epic Loop 2. 6km of beautiful and shaded cross country riding through a mature oil palm estate. At the end of the ride to CP3, riders enter the village of Ulu Renning. There is a small shop here that sells drinks and some food. Riders can take a break here to eat and have their tea break. Riders on an intermediate ride can follow the main road back to the starting point.Distance to check point: Approx. 32.6kmDistance from check point to Home : Approx 6kmClosing time: 1:30pm(TBC)

4. Check Point CP 4(Water Point) -Comment: The fun starts here!Description: Up to this point, the ride has been civilised. The fun starts here! The first section is a shaded steep and steady climb on narrow premix road. There are some very good views of Ulu Renning here before we enter into a downhill section. The bottom of the downhill leads to a red metal bridge and riders will face the main climb on the Epic aka Hill Nos 1. The hill is steep. However, when the planets align and conditions are perfect, our stronger hares have claimed to have ridden all the way up. The subsequent downhill will lead the riders to our second and last refill point. Check-point 4 is located in a cool and shaded riverine picnic area, frequented by the villagers. This is a good spot to take a break and fuel-up before attempting to complete the remainder of the Epic. Riders can replenish their water here at CP4.Distance to check point: Approx. 38.5km(TBC)

5. Check Point CP 5 -Comment: Continuous climb in rubber estateDescription: The ride from CP 4 to CP5 is a continuous 5km climb albeit, on a relatively easy gradient. The trail is shaded by rubber trees and there seems to be a constant light breeze here. This is a lovely ascent, which has been used many times by the hash. We expect only the faster riders to make the closing time and the rest will be ushered through a chicken loop back to CP 1.Distance to check point: Approx. 42kmDistance from check point to Home : Approx 7.5kmClosing time: 2:30pm(TBC)

5. Check Point CP 6 -Comment: ‘First Among Equals'Description: You are super fit and strong. After 42km of fast riding, you are still fresh and you should be. You are the uber man/woman. You laugh at how easy our monthly hashes are. You want a challenge. And so, we will throw at you more hills, more sun, another river crossing, more single track, slippery and steep gravel roads...and you say, "Bring it on!." If this fits your bill, then our final route from CP6 to CP 1 is tailor-made for you. Welcome to Valhalla my friend.Distance to check point: Approx. 45kmDistance from check point to Home : Approx 6.7km

Cookie

It's been some time since I last updated this blog. It's not because of writers' block, in fact, there are some stories lined up in my mind that I want to share but life's reality always hits me that prevent all these from happening. The thing that we try to avoid but never possible, the word that brings shivers to some and changes :) to :( when you think of it. The mood swings that definitely comes after Sunday and called Monday blues. WORK. But like or not, it's the thing that brings the bacon to the table. Now that I am able to slot in some time between work, it's time to share this small news.

Our Miniature Pinscher, Cookie recently gave birth to 3 puppies. Unfortunately not pure breed as the father is Lexus, our Chihuahua. I don't think we will find any problem selling them off. Small toy dogs, cute and adorable, who can resist them. The only thing is to identify the cross breed. What shall we call them when they are half Miniature Pinscher and half Chihuahua?

MiniHuahua, ChiPinsher, MiniChi?

Earth Hour

This Saturday 28th March is Earth Hour. I am doing my small part by taking part and I hope you will too.

Just off your lights at 8.30 pm for 1 hour on Saturday 28th March