Elusive Shortcut to Pendas (27 January 2018)

Goofing around

Stepping into the time capsule

Organically fed wild boar meat gone to waste!

Roadies and their precious!

Returning to the highway

On the highway

Medini 9's Edible Garden

Ever since the Sunway Iskandar link that connects Iskandar Puteri to the Second Link Expressway was opened, scores of riders have explored this alternative route to Pendas. Not exactly a shortcut but at the moment, a low traffic highway with wide road shoulders, it beats traversing along the narrow trunk road of J4. Besides, J4 passing by the entrance of Leisure Farm Resort was the infamous road where our sweet senior citizen, Auntie Siew Guay was robbed off her Cannondale roadbike!

Riding out this morning, we avoided the butterfly interchange where Kimura met his fate. Instead, we went through the internal roads of Horizon Hills, making full use of its cycling infrastructures, all the way to the new shop lots. Crédit must be given to this developer for its well planned, well maintained bike lanes that spanned a whole 13 km or more!

Rolling downhill from Horizon Avenue’s shoplot, TH was the first to overtake Mr Lim, the designated lead rider. An unofficial race began all along this quiet new road, all the way to the Eco Botanics roundabout.

Here on, TH took over the lead, taking the 12 o’clock exit; a shorter but more congested route. As, Mr Lim had planned a longer but safer route that avoided the Mydin roundabout, the group was split momentarily! However, we soon caught up with TH who must have been wondering why nobody had read the route he had plotted before hand!!!

The only threats we faced were along the Anjung and Mydin stretch. Once we tackled the Mydin roundabout, we were very much playing on the road all the way to Pendas with only a handful of cars passing us.

At Sunway’s futuristic archway, Jagjit and Mr Lim explored the possibility of a career change. Astronauts or service maintenance crew depends on how childish is one’s mentality!!!

It's a female!

Further down the road, VT’s keen sense of observation found us a stuffed toy to bring home to bed with!!! As none of us were trained taxidermist, we had to leave the game meat behind only to see it dragged to the bushes on our return.

According to TH, the Sunway link ends at the Gelang Patah Rest & Recreation area. Beyond, is the toll plaza.

As we do not wish to be picked up by traffic police for encroaching onto the tolled Highway, we made a detour via a palm oil estate. Observing the muddy path, this 20 m off road stretch must be a popular route amongst the villagers.

Once we overcame this short obstacle, the route beyond was so beautiful and serene. Pet chickens were allowed to roost in the open while monkeys frolicked in the nearby forest, all the while wary of the stuffed toy tiger that “watches” over them!!! Trees branches grew over the road, forming an arch that offers a natural canopy.

Coming out at the back end of SMK Kompleks Abu Bakar, some teenagers were practicing a dance routine at the school’s compound. As we circled the school’s perimeters, we soon joined the old route to Pendas, familiarizing ourselves with the government flats and the customs and immigration complex.

As there are 2 ways to Warung Poyot, we chose the longer but quieter route. This turned out to be a treat as the road has since been widened and tarred in anticipation of the coming general elections. The vegetations, however, were still left undisturbed.

Coming close to the ecofish farm, a troop of monkeys were enjoying a healthy breakfast of freshly plucked cempedak. While we marveled at their agility, the alpha male wasn’t too pleased with us. It probably sensed Claudine’s disapproval as they were really wasteful, throwing away the unripened fruits!

At Warung Poyot, the greedy few ate nasi lemak with rendang daging and lontong kering while the rest patiently waited for their roti canai. When we were done, we headed back, stopping by Medini’s Edible Garden which Philip had earmarked for next week’s farmer’s market ride.

Farewell, Jagjit

We parted ways at Horizon Hills’ Southgate. While the ride ends there for TH, Mr Lim, VT and Claudine, Philip still have a long way before reaching Singapore. We bid farewell to Zoe and Jagjit as they headed for Bukit Indah but sadly this is the last farewell for Jagjit as he heads back to his hometown in Gopeng in a few days’ time!