Pontian Food Expedition (15 May 2016)

The team without Michael

The girls with the monkey

The Brawns

Babysitting Dominic

Thomas photo bombed the loving couple

The fishball eater and the girls

"When I was young, cendol means the green stuff coming out of your nose!!" Quote by TH

Oakley event is coming up and training is underway. Seasoned century riders have little to worry as the event sponsored by the famous eyewear company is only 108 km. However, it can be a bit unnerving for newbies, not used to high speed endurance tests with little to zero breaks.

Our own localized training received much hype. We considered tweaking the original route for slower riders, we debated on taking in minors with signed parental consent and we agreed to disagree on the roll out time...

Thomas threw in the towel when he saw the flagged off time was 6.45 am. Andy was sure he will be late as he had to send his children to school before driving to our meet up point. When we finally agreed to keep our usual roll out time, life threw us a lemon...

Claudine realized a little too late that her Ultegra Di2 gear shifters were not working. It was only 2.5 months ago that the battery went flat. Pure coincidence or not, it happened on the very same route as today's!

Heeding Jolin's suggestion, she rushed home to get a powerbank and cable to charge her battery. Everything secured inside a pouch on her top tube, she decided to take the shortest unchartered route back. This requires rolling down a grassy slope.

The grass was wet from the morning dew and her hesitation gave her a complimentary view of the grass at eye level!!! Stunned, she quickly picked herself up. A minor soreness on her Thoracic 10 or 11, she shrugged it off and pedalled as fast as she could to the waiting group.

Slain grass and mud were still on her elbow when a group photo was taken. Then, everyone quickly rolled out as we were 15 minutes off our usual schedule!

Within 5 minutes, the electronics shifters were clicking again. Claudine and TH raced out through Horizon Hill's Southgate and onto the butterfly interchange. Here, the front runners disturbed some flying insects. They did a kamikaze, smashing themselves onto their faces!

Once on Iskandar Coastal Highway, Khan took the lead. Agnes followed closely. We all shifted lanes in synchrony.

We turned off to Lebuh Kota Iskandar. Climbing up the interchange at top speed was Wei Lun on his mtb. Just the day before, he rode to Batu Pahat on a day trip. Today will be his recovery ride though he was still revving at top speed.

Arriving at Jalan Ulu Choh, Khan, Agnes, TH, Claudine and Wei Lun waited for everyone to arrive. Soon, we saw CK's broad shoulders rolling down the hill, creating drag! The rest followed behind.

We went through a series of traffic lights before taking the left turn just before the power station near Eco Gardens. We passed our usual turn off to the scenic kampung route but CK must have had a deja vu afterthought for he turned in. TH's baritone voice travelled through the noise of the passing cars to alert him of his error.

We all arrived at Pekan Nanas Shell station in no time. Dominic was seen coming out from the store with 2 bottles of 100 plus and stuffing his mouth with a cream bun. Observing his 2 filled bottles of water, Claudine was wondering where he will be storing the excess liquid!

We shot Dominic a 5 minutes break which sees him chewing and gulping faster! Then he was off to the toilet to dispose off the excess liquid in his bladder!!!

We rolled out again as soon as Dominic was ready. Passing by the factories, we had to weave our way through quite a few foreign workers travelling counter flow to the traffic.

We had quite a few law breakers on our team too! TH was influencing a few riders to run the red lights. He did it at SILC, at Pekan Nanas' Econsave and yet again at the iconic pineapple in the town itself. We saw Thomas, Dominic, CK, YL and Janet following suit!!!

Mumbling her disapproval to Khan was like casting a spell to ensure their obedience. They stopped right after that!

Heading towards Pontian Kecil, we faced a few mild rolling hills. Claudine found herself riding alone along this segment. Before long a figure in red overtook her. It was our Lady Captain!

Agnes led Claudine to catch up with Jolin, YL and Janet. Soon, TH overtook the paceline, drafting behind a motorcycle for the longest time!!!

Irked by the unfairness of the game, Agnes tried to catch up, leaving the group. As usual, Claudine was there for the free ride. The two girls overtook TH, who gave up on the 2T exhaust fumes after awhile.

Arriving in Pontian, we saw Aaron in JEC suit leading Team W Cycle. Wai, Wayne and few others in blazing red jerseys were tailing the black!

When Zoe arrived together with Wei Lun who had assumed sweeper role, we turned to our breakfast stop at Restoran 933. While most of us went for pork noodles served with fishballs, meatballs, pig liver, minced meat and meat slices, Andy downed 10 fishballs!!! YL and CK had chicken rice while Thomas had a western dish of roast chicken, braised egg and tofu!!! Jolin though, just drank Milo!!!

Kueh teow which is basically flat rice noodles, is usually processed together with tapioca flour to give it a smooth and springy feel. At 933 though, they still upheld the old kueh teow recipe leaving out the tapioca flour. It is broader, less translucent and sadly breaks easily.

The soup stock is pork based, garnished with fried shallots which lents a distinct taste. Best is the pig liver which is cooked just right, retaining the springy, almost crunchy texture! Livers, once overcooked will taste like rubber.

Hot soup and hot chillies warming up our bellies, we took the short walk across the Pontian bridge, then rode counter traffic to the cendol stall. At 9 am in the morning, we were the only customers there besides the pesky flies. Even at 933, the restaurateur had to resort to glue paper to control the colony. A joint product of the durian season, with the onset of the smelly fruit comes the flies.

When we were about to take leave, Michael made an unceremonious stop. He had come from Gunung Pulai to meet us. Together we escorted him back.

We rode through Kampung Kayu Ara Pasong. Throughout this route, Khan and Andy took turns to lead Michael and Claudine. The 2 men work in perfect coordination, breaking the wind for the other 2 behind.

Sometimes exhausted, the torch is passed to Michael. When he does tank, our speedometer reduces significantly.

At Parit Sikom, we made an unplanned pitstop as this was a major right turn. We stood as markers for the rest to follow.

When the rest finally arrived, we took off again. This time, Thomas joined the paceline. He made a comment on a certain snake head which made Claudine laugh. Winded followed by a slight climb over a bridge, she lost momentum and fell behind.

Peering backwards, Khan was attacking. She called out for help. Gallantly, Khan pulled her along.

She kept up the pace. Together they closed the gap. By the time they finally caught up, Claudine was totally winded. It became a struggle to keep up. After awhile she gave up the chase.

Khan, Andy and Thomas were like school boys playing with speed. Their composure was one of joy.

Soon, however Andy realized Claudine was no longer in the paceline. She was trailing a few hundred meters behind. He fell back for her to catch up but she never did. Thus, they rode within sights of each other for the next kilometer until they hit Jalan Sawah.

Right after the turn off, Elaine was there. She had joined us for breakfast, skipped the cendol and yet made it to the pitstop to hand us cold 100 plus from a cooler box stored in the trunk of the car. It must not have been easy to haul the box filled with ice and drinks!

Some of us were already riding with empty bottles by then. The support car with 100 plus was a thoughtful gesture from The Liew's! We were really grateful.

We had another 18 km through undulating hills to Pekan Nanas. Janet was already suffering from her 1 pint of Hoegarden from last night. Jolin's one week in Sarawak playing "tourist" at the state elections left him drained until now. YL's cleats broke, giving him blisters from too much movements.

At Pekan Nanas fruit stall, Wei Lun's "recovery ride" was not doing what it was supposed to do. He was still stiff!!! Perhaps riding on an mtb and racing earlier was doing a reverse to his body!

Auntie gave YL a band aid for free! That reduces the rubbing between skin, socks and shoes.

After a good refueling, we left. Khan, Andy, CK and Thomas made an unceremonious stop at Uncle Lim's durian farm. However, they did not get any durians when Claudine overtook them with stern warnings on discipline! They retaliated by overtaking and racing all the way home!

Meanwhile, Dominic who was having a close race with Claudine fell back. He had a tyre puncture! YL and TH stopped to help but the Transit of Mercury on May 9 had caused an interstellar reaction to space relativity! The space in Dominic's and TH's rubber tubes refused to inflate!!! Khan was called to the rescue!

Oblivious to the panic she may incite, Janet overtook the 3 men by the roadside. Riding alone, she then made a stop for drinks at a sundry shop. YL arrived back at Pan Kobo, horrified that his dearly beloved was not there!

Somehow, everyone arrived home safely with no further drama. Johor had won the FA Cup and our good bomoh foresees good days ahead till Ramadhan. That extends to this Saturday's Oakley Ride! May every participant be gunning ahead!!