LTF comes to JB (12-14 February 2016)

"Gong Xi! Gong Xi!" 5th day of CNY

LTF team crossing the border

LTF team in Malaysia

Taking a break at the Istana

Bikes taking a rest

Watch out for the Cows!!!

Tg Piai

Iconic Globe

KC's pet toy that made the ride

Beware of monkeys!

Docile rabbit??

Date : 12-14 February 2016
Venue : Singapore - JB - Kukup

When the LTF team heading for Dabo, Singkep were deported at Tg Pinang, Claudine and VT quickly invited them for a Kukup ride. They arrived a day after their epic deportation, in big beads of sweat! The meeting point was at Perling's Kang Bee Hong chicken rice shop but nobody was in any mood to eat. Questions and Answers were fired at rapid intervals as everyone were baffled how this incident could have happened.

Please see the link :
http://lovethefold.blogspot.my/2016/02/deported-from-tanjong-pinang-riau.html?m=1

But eat they did.....eventually, though George was suffering from indigestion. Perhaps his body was rejecting the previous day's event!

Sue who has had a year's longing to join LTF's adventures came to meet the gang with son, Amri in tow. She had her first hand education on foldies and what to expect on bicycle tours from our LTF chief.

True to the spirit of LTF, every meal is ended with desserts, so the team trooped to Moonlight Cafe, Bukit Indah for cakes and coffee. Not air-conditioned we suffered the humidity of an incoming onslaught of rain. It was not the best choice but during the CNY week, many cafes were closed and thus everyone sweated it out politely.

Then, the rain came!

It poured and poured for hours. And we chat and chat for hours, hoping to sit out the rain. Moonlight staffs were so kind they came offering us cold water, on the house, as they realized we were stuck with no opportunity to escape.

When 6 pm approaches, the sky was still grey. We knew it was time to start being proactive or we may risks having dinner at the cafe as well. It was decided that VT and Claudine should drive home with at least 2 foldies and come back with 2 cars to bring more home!

Stepping out to organize the logistics, we noticed Alvin's Brooks leather seats was drenched! The Moonlight plastic bag protecting it had been blown away by strong winds! Berenda was more meticulous. Her seat was still in good condition, her bag still protecting the seat.

When VT and Claudine returned with 2 cars much later, Ying Chang has already left with KC's mountain bike!!! The rain had tapered down to a drizzle and it was soooo like him to love riding in the rain. Everyone arrived at the hosts' house, but YC, on 2 wheels beat the rest to the finish point!!!

We had mandarin oranges to celebrate CNY, cookies and chocolates while waiting for the few to shower. VT's mum even came out with her walker to meet the famed group.

When it was time for dinner, George has made a decision to follow YC back to Singapore the same night. He really doesn't think he was up to a century ride the next day. It's been a bad day for George as he had lost his handphone near the istana. You see, George should have followed KC for a cleansing to wash off the bad luck hovering over the group!

YC's and George's bike were put in the trunk of both cars. It was intended for VT to drive them to JB Sentral so that they could ride into Woodlands easily.

Everyone enjoyed an authentic dinner at Agneey's cuisine at Tampoi. We had too much of ghee dhosai, masala dhosai, plain dhosai, garlic naan, plain naan, onion uttapam, bhatura, mutton curry, garlic chicken, tandoori chicken..... We washed it all down with Teh Tarik. Alvin exclaimed, "This tea has body!"

The night ended with YC and George back in Singapore while the remaining team shared quality time in the hosts' living room. When it was time for bed, Alvin and KC shared the guestroom while Claudine's boys exited the room happily for Berenda.

The ride to Kukup started early. Just packed with a cup of Milo, everyone left as dawn was breaking. We rode out through the Southgate onto the butterfly interchange and headed towards Legoland. Just before the theme park, we turned left, onto another interchange and headed towards Pontian.

VT was leading the group while Claudine swept from behind. Boy, the Singapore team could really ride. They were like little hamsters pumping on the wheels. Up the flyover they flew and down they sped!

In no time, everyone arrived at Amin's mamak shop at Nusa Ria. Breakfast was an edible Nasi Lemak with fried chicken in red batter, fried mee mamak that was a bit wee spicy, dhosai and roti prata. Today was Claudine's turn to get indigestion. She ate very little.

When we were powered with spicy food, we rode again. We got onto the scenic kampung route. We passed the malay cemetery, the madrasah and the government school. At the bridge that intersects the river, we stopped for a group photo.

Then we rode again. We passed Uncle Lim's durian farm and finally stopped at Pekan Nanas' fruit stalls. Our usual coconut juice stall had just reopened after a long CNY break. Lucky us!

When we were done refueling, we rode yet again. We turned off a few kilometers after Pekan Nanas and headed towards Kukup via the famed Strava segment of 10km flats. When we did finish the 10 km, whizzing and wheezing over chicken farms, we turned right at the T-junction.

We then took the first left turn. This road leads through an oil palm estate. In the midst of the oil palm estate is a malay kampung.

We passed a lorry collecting the oil palm fruits.

We passed by a few cows left to graze by the side of the road.

We hit the main road to Kukup. From here, we turned left. When we reached the junction to Tg Piai, we made a pre-stop at Petronas station for a drink. By this time, Claudine and VT were already suffering. The speed set by Berenda on her tiny 6 speed Brompton was wayyyyyy too fast. The couple have never been subjected to a constant 28kph on foldies before. It was hard to keep up with the Queen of Taiping Shan!

At Tg Piai, we made a stop at a resort for some quick photo shoots. From here, we can see the industrial part of Singapore. We then went to the National Park which is mainly a mangrove swamp with wooden walkways. Promoted as the southern most tip of EuroAsia, the novelty had attracted quite a few tourists.

Bicycles were not allowed in but thankfully, we brought some locks to keep the bikes safe. The operators were quick to advise us not to leave any bags behind as the clever monkeys will not hesitate to make a go at it. Lockers were provided inside for free but they were only the size of pigeon holes, so Berenda had to carry her huge Brompton pannier along!

The walkways were spread out and there were two towers for a higher vantage point. But we were too lazy to walk let alone, climb. So, we contended to walk the 1 km straight to the jetty to see the blur vision of Karimon Island in Indonesia and the many ships that ply one of the world's busiest shipping line! It was breezy at the jetty but packed with tourists and the incessant blowing of a bullhorn by a person there drove us out quickly.

Away from the noise, we made a slow walk to the iconic stainless steel globe that marks the tip. Sadly, truly Malaysian style, the concrete jetty had collapsed slightly and thus, we never really reached the southern most tip of EuroAsia. We took solace on another jetty overlooking the globe. The wind on that afternoon was cool and it could have lulled us to sleep had it not been VT who was roaring to go for his seafood lunch.

Kukup came soon enough. The village was crowded with tourists when we arrived. We went to our usual restaurant next to the Kukup International Jetty. While we pushed our bikes right into the restaurant on stilts, we came upon a line up of Harley Davidson bikes. What an impression our weeny bikes must have looked next to the Giants!

The settings of the restaurant was the same though KC's white macaw is now propped closer to the counter. Perhaps it has been harassed by customers before and having it nearer to the cashier makes it easier to protect it from harm's way. KC though, almost "choked" the poor bird with his rubber duckie!

Lunch was terrible though thankfully not at cut throat CNY prices. The Japanese tofu seems to be laden with pre-cooked sauce, the fish pre-fried and then topped with soy sauce and garnishing, the salted egg fried squid came fried in plain batter....the only thing that tastes good was the vegetables.

We left 10 minutes after our Bikers, suffering from past midlife crisis, rumbled out with cheers and waves from the crowd. Our departure though, went almost unnoticed had it not been a waitress....she called out to her fellow friends to cheer for us but embarrassingly, it turned out lukewarm.

Out from the restaurant, we decided to have a quick stop for rojak and mango in crushed ice. Again, the food at this popular stall is a disappointment. The stall must have been low on fruits for they substituted them with tofu and fried yiu tiau! So much for CNY!!!!

Alvin rode with us to the junction leading to the oil palm estate before bidding us farewell. He rode alone to Pontian and cheated by boarding a bus heading for downtown. Can't blame the lovesick man as he was rushing home to Celia's homecoming from Cambodia.

The remaining group then rode at high speed through the estate road and out onto the 10km flats segment again. This time though, Claudine called for a rest at the shops by the junction. She declared herself truly exhausted!

The coffee shop owner was very nice to us. He allowed us to use his chairs even though we didn't patronize his shop. We never intended to order anything as we preferred the coconut juice at Pekan Nanas. Moreover, there were a lot of flies on the tables!

Fully recovered, we rode again. This time, Berenda and KC thoughtfully reduced the speed. By the time the trio caught up with VT who had had a headstart, Claudine was fully herself again.

We had another drink at our usual fruit stall in Pekan Nanas and then we headed home, all tired and weary. Thankfully, the rain did not come until we were safely home!

When it was time for dinner, went out to Mak Engku, a Malay restaurant nearby. We had Nasi Goreng Kampung, fried lekor, otak-otak, Sotong Goreng kunyit and tomyam.

KC and Berenda spent another night at Claudine and VT's home. No thanks to their bad hosts, they went to bed early that night.

The next morning, the rejuvenated team members, all went out for Ipoh Old Town Char Kueh Tiau. Then, KC and Berenda rode back to Singapore!