Yes, my blog will be migrating to http://wcr1414.blogspot.com/. Lepas ni most of my post will be from there.
July 8, 2007
The last time aku wrote a post here was after riding Janda Baik with PCC. A week later aku revisit the route again with my buddies, more of a trial ride. Why? Sebab kami try out new stuff on that ride. Aku baru sambar new pair of road shoes so boleh try it out with the Look pedal yang came with my bike, which aku dah simpan lama sebab takde kasut. To my surprised, Saiful pun sambar jugak a pair with new 105 pedals and new Fizik Pave. So, that morning at parking lot hospital orang asli, time flew by with us doing our last minute settings.
Climbing GS ada beza sikit. Yep, kaki memang ada melekat lebih sikit kat pedal compared to the floating feeling masa guna pedal & kasut mtb. So, power transfer tak wasted. So the climb was a bit less tiring, tambah pulak Alwin loaned me his Fizik Arione for try out. Itu pun another product to be in my next buying list. The Fizik was awesome, tak macam standard stock Scott saddle yang aku guna selama ni, which after a while, aku mesti adjust my posture to get comfortable. Power transfer with the stiff sole of the road shoes, and the road pedals was magnificent! Best giler! 200% power! Hahaha! No wonder orang lain semua power.
Unfortunately our journey into Janda Baik was cut short sebab time was not on my side. Aku kena ciao awal. Dah le start lambat. We had teh tarik just about 500m after the pintu gerbang. The climb back was macam biasa…penuh kelengitan. The rolling down 16km back, aku belasah bagi work out this weekend worth while.
Impian aku untuk teruskan stim kayuh dengan kasut baru terpaksa cut short sebab ada family trip. Things got even worse bila my health was compromised. Trial ride at RRI for bikezooka, Tekala ride & even bikezooka itself semua gone. Double slack! My right arm was stung. Just above the wrist. It happened masa nak ke meeting in Shah Alam last Tuesday. Sakit giler. I don’t know whether it was a bee or a wasp but the thorn stucked on my hand was scary. Tangan dah macam Popeye. Dah habis stim dah aku rasa. After that, things came crushing down. Soar throat followed by fatigue & selsema. Fitness level from Sabah pun entah2 dah gone jugak. Aaaargh!!!!
Anyway, something did help me to keep up my adrenaline during the period, and it was these guys…hahaha! Totally awesome!
June 26, 2007
I left home in a hurry as not to check in late for the PCC ride started from Hospital Orang Asli Gombak. Yep, 15 minutes before the ride mesti ada sana aaa. As I paraded into the parking area, all eyes were stucked on me or my car or my bike on the roof…aku pun tak tau. The hump was making my entrance more obvious…cilakak. Manalah tau, maybe they were expecting a Pinarello Dogma kot, so as to talk it over the ride today. Unfortunately, they found only my old school bike…hehehe.
The big group left at 7.40 a.m. while Azhari & me tried to catch up 10 minutes later after no sight of Alwin. We just don’t want to miss the kabus up there eh? Hehehe. It’s been quite a while since I rode GS a few months back. It was cool though, as Azahari termed it “banyak main-main”, which was climbing and chatting our way through at a constant 16km/h. We passed a few riders & a few others passed us as well. And definitely we saw the morning mist above Karak Highway. We joined the regrouping session at the junction before the peak and waited for about 15 minutes before zooming down to GS reaching 50km/h. There was no turning back for me, though at the far end of my head I need to be back to the carpark latest by 12.00 p.m.
It was about 9.00 a.m. when we rolled down the magnificent winding and cool road towards JB. Upon reaching the pintu gerbang of Kampung Janda Baik, Azahari & me decided to check out the route ourselves with the sight of the rest of the PCC zooming passed us maintaining momentum to hit the first climb.I didn’t quite recall the distance that we rode in but my guess was 10km. We reached a breakfast stall for roti canai, preventing not to starve ourselves during the climb back but missed out the teh tarik. The sight of the teh tarik maker at the kitchen was not convincing enough for us to be served in time. So we opted for a drink at the kedai runcit next door.
We continued to finish the kampung loop at 10.00 a.m. to complete another 10km before exiting JB. The climb back to GS was windy & I tried to reserve my juice for the ultimate GS climb ahead. As Laif put it…”hero kalah dulu”, when I persuaded him to catch up with the frontrunners. Definitely the climb was a curse. Kayuh duduk pun mental, kayuh diri lagi mental…aiyah! The heat slightly added the spice to the suffering.
Azahari & me rolled down the 16km back to Gombak using up our last joie de vivre clocking 2 hours 45 minutes riding time covering 60km of undulating GS to JB route. Nice ride, nice work out, nice route & a beautiful day.
June 25, 2007
Lebih tua dariku
harap sabar menunggu
kepulanganmu ku tunggu
bukan maksudku mendiam
tiada niat menyimpan dendam
hakikatnya rindu yang mendalam
jalan ini kan membantu
hari esok siapa yang tahu
kata ibu dengar sahaja
cerita hanya kita berdua
pagi yang gelap
kini sudah terang
aku adikmu
dan engkau abang
ku amat merindui kamu
pagi yang gelap
kini sudah terang
aku adikmu
dan engkau abang
inginku ulang ke masa dulu
tak akan putus hubungan kita
tarik nafas lega kerna aku tak apa-apa
jalan ini kan membantu
hari esok siapa yang tahu
kata ibu dengar sahaja
cerita hanya kita berdua
The chart above was extracted from Azahari’s polar for the Cameron’s ride. Thx Azahari.
June 19, 2007
It was rather warm when we left the city that afternoon. Our next ride was something of 
an opposite to the city’s climate. Saiful, Alwin & me headed towards R&R Rawang to meet the rest of the members. It was 4.00 p.m. when we started to hit the highway and most of the journey was wet. Our drive up to Tanah Rata through the winding road was made easy due to the abscents of busy holiday traffic. We checked in at the apartment, all 12 of us at 7.30 p.m. in the blistering wind and cold rain.
The evening was too cold, maybe due to the rainy clouds above that had not discharge it’s total capacity. A nice peaceful dinner at Tanah Rata town followed by attending the ride briefing at 10.30 p.m. and we were off to attend to our final preparation for tomorrow’s biggy. However, the last hour of the night was not left with late chats about bikes and jokes in the kitchen, served with tuna spread and a whole bunch of 12 bikes to review…of course the white Orbea was the center fold topic.
There were about 80 mountainbikers rolled off from Habu at 8.15 a.m. that morning. They came from as far as Penang, Kulim and Kuantan. The roadsides of Habu were packed with bumper to bumper parked vehicles. What a rare sight for Habu eh? We headed towards Ringlet before navigating ourselves down winding road heading to another smaller & busier town choked with diesel fuems from local farmers’ land rovers.
As we exited the town, the sight of massive vegetable farms on steep hill slopes started to envelope with smell of fresh organic fertilisers by the roadsides stifled our noses. Popular as it’s highland attractions, Cameron Highland didn’t fail to provide nice long granny climbs as part of our warm up stretch. The breathtaking views turned ugly when we came across devastating earthworks which will be making way for new road alignment. Hills were cut, rivers were choked and silted, while muds were all over the place. We were already covered by them even before we hit the off-road sections. Yeah, thanks to “good” hillside development policies.
When the ugly feelings started to get on our nerves, we finally ventured out to an off-road trail and regrouped. Mizi’s chain broke just as we continued our offroad climb. Then it followed by an unplanned regrouping with more jokes and chats. Acong hurriedly lead the climb right after Mizi solved his problem but too bad for Acong, he didn’t get far. The stress that he put on his bike during the climb resulted to a bent hangar. Everybody laughed away as Acong transformed into a mental kacau face…hehehe.
The following 9 km descent on winding earth and partly concreted road sections was the excitement of the day. The shattering and speedy rolling seemed endless to reach the bottom when hands, arms and legs gone numbed. Upon reaching the flat, a huge laughter roared the air when I attempted a discovery dive studying microorganisms in a mudhole with my oakley & the half side of me. A slight twist of my handlebar while avoiding lots of massive mudholes ended up with a face plant…choit!
We started to enter orang asli settlements. The kampungs were connected by a 
concrete road mixed with steep, slippery and broken ones. The sight of exposed rebars was a nightmare to koyak the tyres. The locals called it their highway but the Kulim guys, whom rode it before, named it Bukit Meluat. The name was reflected through our faces as we climbed every hill one after another. Long lungbusting ones. This section of the trail separated our group, in fact any other group riding today. Aimie can’t barely cycled up the climbs, his legs gave way to severe muscle cramps. The cramps got worst when every foot steps brought pain. He had to lay down. A few of us had to follow our own pace to survive the demanding grannies lies ahead.
My trauma of Mat Kilau almost got me when Saiful suddenly yelled at me from behind when his chainrings jumped the cassette during one of the climbs. We were lucky that it wasn’t a complicated problem, it was resolved in a few seconds.
Alwin, Yunus, Saiful and me arrived at a pondok which marked the beginning of the Boh tea plantation. The gorgeous views of tea plants all over the hills was something of a 
reward from our devastated granny experience. Strong winds and fair weather hailed us as we enjoy tuna spread and California prunes for lunch. Milage has reached 33 km. Mizi and Ija turned up moments later. We decided to wait for the rest of the members, hoping they survived the climbs.
Riders came and go at the hut. An hour passed but still no sight of Aimie, Acong, Lias, Pi’e, abang Zul and Ghafar. Every passing group of riders brought us the news about Aimie’s condition. It was worrying. At 3.00 p.m. we decided to ride on towards the Boh cafeteria and wait there. Just as we started pedalling of in 500 meters, the rest of the guys appeared from behind the hill. Smiles of relief and joy gleamed on all our faces…and the nonsense started all over again…hehehe.
Another 6 km of gradual climb on the tea plantation road. Half of the way was bike pushing escorting Aimie. Clouds of rain from the distance sky hovered above us and started to trickle highland’s precipitation with cold wind that adds to the challenge. We put on our raincoats and joked our way through. All those sticky muds were rinsed away. Still, stunning views of the terrains made the climb worth while.
Mizi, Lias, Pi’e and Ghafar took turn pushing Aimie’s bike as he can barely walk with more burden other than himself. Another 3 km to go, a vehicle arrived to fetch Aimie, it a one of the Kulim guys. Upon his departure, we were energised to finish what we started…cycling! The spinning session heated up our cold muscles and half way through we stopped to remove our raincoats which started to annoy the pleasurable climb.
Finally we made it through to the cafeteria and rewarded ourselves with hot exclusive tea, brownies and cakes. Wind was still blowing furiously as we sipped our tea by the
verandah. Bought myself a packet of Columbian coffee as a token of all the hardships before embarking on to the next thrill.
Soon it was time for us to roll down the last 6 km tarmac back to Habu in the strong chilling wind. We were trembling tremendously on our bikes as we deal with the slippery road. We reached Habu moments later, changed to clean clothes and drove back to Tanah Rata for a bowl of hot sup tulang and fried rice. We started our journey to Tapah at 7.00 p.m. cutting through the pitch black winding road paving a much slower trip. Arriving in KL at 11.30 p.m., we were singing the Beatle’s song…Life goes on.
Facts :
- Trailname : Thompson trail, Cameron Highland
- Distance : 45 km
- Highest elevation : 1300m
- Members : Azahari, Alwin, Saiful, Aimie, Mizi, Ija, Lias, Pi’e, Ghafar, Yunos, Acong, abang Zul & aku.
7 wonders of the world :
- Mizi broke his chainrings
- Acong bent his hangar moments later
- Aku attempted discovery dive in mudhole
- Aimie down with severe muscle cramps
- Saiful’s chainrings jumped the cassette like Mat Kilau
- Pi’e fell of the bike sebab baju hujan tersangkut pedal
- Alwin mabuk on the way down to Tapah
June 18, 2007
After spending a few rides around Ulu Langat routes, wa punya stim to hit the tarmac mula memuncak again after completing my last Sunday’s ride to Tekala. Yes, a few months back I was kinda burnt out as a result of self-excitement melebihi kemampuan. Bila mula tekan pedal, mula-lah flashback of all those torments and agonies masa lalu…but not this time.
10-June 2007. The Sunday morning drive to Batu 14 was a typical one, meeting the rest of team Camdek except Alwin who rides with PCC today. The way2ride guys were there at the carpark. We’ve agreed to follow them but at our own pace considering we’ve lost gauge of our performance & strength after been abscent from road rides awhile. There was quite the usual faces & they greeted us with “Lama tak nampak?”. And my nickname that they gave during previous rides started to fill the morning air again considering the current hot Malaysian gossip.
The warm-up length up through Batu towards Genting Peres junction was rather cool with the peloton stuck together accompanied with chats & jokes. Upon turning towards Tekala, the first climb broke it all…hehehe. I was in the mid-end of the pack which was already sorted out into 3 groups. Azahari was ahead of me fading away as we cut through the undulating and scenic route of the Semenyih Dam. My last sight of Saiful was after I climbed the famous straining hill before reaching the Peres junction. The ride to Tekala was awesome due to a mix of some bitter climbs and long fast descents. Weather and sweat work was great. We spent the next half an hour at Tekala stall for refreshments & chat around.Everybody rode back the same route instead of way2ride’s earlier plan to do the Semenyih loop back to Batu 14. Riding back was kind of a good workout for a few of us. I peaked my enthusiasm for road cycling at this moment. Undeniable it was, I was already looking forward for more future rides in my head. Every stroke of the pedal, every turn of the large crank reflected the pure energy transfer in reaching back Batu 14. It ws pure science, sheer adrenaline ans chasted pleasure…woohoo!
Through it all, it was a fantastic work out with nice riding buddies. A total distance of about 60km in approximate 2 hours.
June 18, 2007
30th May ’07 : The following day was spent under the sun. I was told not to miss a visit to Taman Laut
Tuanku Abdul Rahman. With a boat fare of RM20 per person, within minutes we were already hitting the waves heading towards Manukan Island. Water was clear, weather was fantastic for a dip except for some rubbish from recent storm littered the beach.We headed back to mainland slightly afternoon for a session of crazy shopping for the shoppers.
The sight of the mountain range from the sea took me back to the moment up the Kinabalu National Park. Already I was planning to make a comeback, maybe via Mesilau trail. The rest of the day was spent walking around KK for souvenirs.
June 10, 2007
Due to the freezing temperature, getting a warm & snoozy sleep is a nightmare. I only managed to fall deep at the last hour before roomates’ alarm drilled through my eardrums. No time playing dumb by the bed coz the cold will struck even whenever we stood still. A quick glance at the washroom basin & mirror, making sure my face looked healthy & the whole Laban Rata hostel were in rush our. Everybody were busy getting into their gears & gadgets.
By 2.00 a.m. we rolled up into more steps…again. The first few hundred meters were so hard on ourselves. Body was trying to overcome the numbness of the freezing wind, heartbeat was ramming high even though we just started climbing the first few steps. Steps and more steps before we hit the rock surface. It was one mother of all rock. So huge that it seems like a bare rock plain and the only way was UP. We pulled ourselves up the white rope & laid our footsteps carefully in the dark as we don’t want to have the slightest idea of how far the ravine besides us falls. Our headlights were only focusing on where our foot is to be placed.
The journey of pulling ourselves up ended as we reached Sayat Sayat. A ranger recorded our climbing tag numbers. We continued on walking up the rock surface, struggling to move ourselves within the constraint of the mountain’s altitude. The moon was full & the beauty of the terrain’s geography was lit by it’s infinite brightness. A shadow of South Peak guided us through the alienated topo.
We reached the 8.5km signboard, which means anothe 500 meters to go. Surprisingly, our pace were so slow. Getting the 2.5km from Laban Rata took about 2 hours. The last 500 meters squeezed our last juice of the energy. Suddenly the terrain became steeper, the rope stopped & we had to climb with our hands and legs for the last 100 meters. Everything went so fast. Within the shortest time, we were already placing ourselves on the highest point in South East Asia. Ooooo…man!!! I don’t know how to put the words for the feeling I felt at the moment. The best desciption would be…WOOOHOOO!!! I was the third person to reach the peak that morning sharp at 4.30 a.m. A feeling of gratefulness and thankful touched my innerselves.
A few quick snapshots were taken, waited for Waklah to arrive. Along with him were the whole 190 other climbers non-stop line. In a blink, the peak was congested. We had to make way for them. We decided to descend. Upon our way back, reaching the vast rock plain, sunrised. The first orange stream cut through the darkness of the peaceful sky. We stopped for a few more shots before the camera gone dead.
We headed down towards Sayat Sayat again passing more climbers who were walking like half asleep. 
After checking out at the ranger post, and quick stop at the loo, we picked a nice spot to witness the sea of clowds approaching the land below blanketing villages, forest and mountain ranges. The moment and the sight was extrodinaire.
We slithered ourselves down the slippery wet steps back to Laban Rata before I hit the bed in an attempt to recover from the drained energy & lack of rest. It was already 7.30 a.m.
June 9, 2007
“We woke up at 4.30 a.m. to start our journey to Kinabalu National Park, which took another 2 hours by bus. We witnessed the morning people either starting their day or ending the night shifts. By 6.00 a.m. the morning sky was brightly shone by the beautiful sun as we make way further into the remote of Sabah, away from the coastal area of KK.
The silhouette of Mt Kinabalu accompanied us along the winding and climbing road. Far away beneath our eyes are the beautiful land below the wind where morning fogs overcasted the mountain range of remote Sabah.
Kinabalu Park HQ was busy with holiday makers & climbers like us. Registration was without a hitch. 
Within minutes we were already being briefed by our guides in front of the trail map and the view of the majestic Mt Kinabalu lay upon us like breakfast meal of the day. We boarded the park shuttle towards the gateway to “the heritage” through Pondok Timpohon.
Our journey today will take us through the mountain forest of Kinabalu National Park and up to Laban Rata (our hostels) 6 km trekking, which is equivalent to an average of 5 hours. Climbers were provided with huts, toilets & untreated water along the way. It was all well facilitated. Climbers can also pay for the belongings to be carried by local porters.
4 km of endless steps and 2 km of endless boulders trail welcomed each one of us. The steps passed by with a brief, but I can imagine the nightmare of having to scale it down back to Timpohon Gate tomorrow. Temperature dropped, air grew thinner & humidity doubled as we struggled the last 500 meters to reach Laban Rata at 3272 meters high. I laid my foot one after another as I pushed up the steep terrain. Breathing was nothing that I took for granted at this point of time. Every breath was taken with full concentration so as not to upset the heartbeats. It was already 2.30 p.m.
A RM15.00 nasi goreng and a RM5.50 pot of hot coffeee was the best, the highest ever paid lunch I have ever had. The worse was yet to come, when it was time to take our evening shower. A strike of freezing jetstream shower hit our forehead equivalent to a bee stung. A lazy evening was spent around Laban Rata witnessing the beauties of Sabah at the bottom & the gigantic rock of the Kinabalu plateau at the back.
This was the best of it, the chance to admire the peacefulness of nature at the highest peak in South East Asia. These are the reasons for me to keep on coming back climbing. Every peak provides me the same peaceful mind.
June 8, 2007
“Gadget boleh dijual beli but not stamina”. That was the most said phrase upon leaving the land below the wind. As I turned back my head before soaring high into the blue sky, leaving behind Kota Kinabalu International Airport, I was determined to make a return to the majestic plateau.
The day was Monday 28th May 2007. Waklah & me left BTHO for Putrajaya KLIA Transit Station beginning our journey with downpours as we approached KLIA & LCCT. We made it just in time for checking in at the Airasia counter. Yeah, thanks to Mr Tony that now “everybody can fly”…hahaha. Attempting a Kinabalu trip 10 years ago was a slaughtering RM2000 with Malaysia Airline, which kept my dreams all these while until today.
The two an a half hours flight was bored stiff with me stucked in the middle seat & the guy by the 
window was like busy with his lecture notes or something. Finally the captain was on the intercom “thank you for flying with us. We are now at 38,000 feet at the speed of 937 km/hr”…oooo man, it felt like a century! Arriving at KKIA around 3.00 p.m. KL time in the scoarching sun was no more different from KL a day ago. Thanks to En. Kadri, a shuttle was arranged to fetch us at the airport & to Trekker’s Lodge.
Our first meal experience in KK was rather cheap. We had our late lunch at Restoran Sri Rahmat. It was unbelievably RM4.50 per head for a plate of white rice, a fresh fried fish & a scoop of vegies, not missing teh ais as well. No way we can hit that price in Yap Kwan Seng. A stroll at the waterfront & at pasar Philipines with fresh vegies & fishes. I trust they are cheap as well. Another cheap meal encounter was during dinner. Two big smoked groupers, four dishes of smoked squids, a few mix vegies, 8 plates of white rice for a mere RM65.00…crazy!
A head-cracking session with our backpacks deciding which to bring & which to be left behind ended our day before our wild adventure tomorrow.
Gebang Jangan Tak Gebang Beb 