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| The complete team at Gelang Patah |
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| At Restoran Amin's |
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| At Restoran Amin's |
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| At Restoran Amin's |
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| At Pekan Nanas |
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| At Pekan Nanas |
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| Oops! We lost our support car |
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| Warming up before the actual hills begin |
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| Renggam's railway station was packed! |
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| Extreme weather without cloud cover |
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| Layang-layang to Renggam |
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| Rolling hills |
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| Susanna's version of authentic pisang emas...no goatees!!! |
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| Dinner! |
Arriving at the first meet up point
this morning, Claudine was taken aback by the choice of rides. Everyone
had come with road bikes except for KC, VT and herself. On trusty
touring bikes, there was no way they could keep up with those speed
machines. But then again, it was a lame excuse considering York Fuan was braving
it with 16 inch wheelers on 6 speed!!!
We took the customary group photos
before setting off for Valley West, only to stall midway. Susanna had
come forward on her missing roommate, Zoe! It seems Claudine had not
done a proper head count and rolled out after allowing a 10 minutes buffer.
Luckily, our damsel was spotted coming up the Eastgate slopes and was
quickly swept into the group.
It was still early and we were all in a
great mood. Even Bernie’s bare bottom, covered only in briefs and
shorts was feeling great! Dressed in T-shirt, he even received
compliments from Zoe on his youthful looks!
After whisking Philip into the
paceline, we set off for Restoran Amin in Gelang Patah to meet the
Singapore team. The group had met at Woodlands around 5.30 am while most
of us were still in bed, arriving earlier than expected, thanks to
a speedy clearance at the CIQ. They were later, met and hosted by Moses
from Country Garden’s Danga Bay onwards.
Finished with a hearty breakfast of roti’s and
such, we headed for Pekan Nanas. Those who had off loaded their bags
into the support car were suddenly lighter and keeping well with Jolin,
the lead rider. When the rest finally arrived, they were
full of complaints on the “touring” speed!!!
As the next segment is devoid of food
stalls, we made a pit stop at the corner coffee shop by the canal for
drinks before heading out to Sedenak. Leaving Pekan Nanas town, we lost
our support car as soon as we made the turn into the backroads
of Gunung Pulai only to meet much later, in Layang-Layang.
Meanwhile, we were blissfully happy
riding the foothills of Gunung Pulai, amidst quaint kampung houses
decked with flowering plants, fruit orchards and palm oil estates. Along
the way, we rolled past a bridge, met some local folks having
a “picnic” by a road shoulder and gone astray only to be led by a
confident Philip, who happens NOT to be a local Malaysian!!!
At Kampung Melayu Raya, we committed
ourselves fully to the perpetual long and flat stretches. TH, Bernie
and Jolin had to be constantly reminded to slow down as Claudine had
previously lost some riders in this maze. Swabbed by patches
of cow dung and running alongside waterways controlled by small lock
gates, she was not prepared to start another search team this time.
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| Take 5 under the North South Highway |
Emerging out on Route 1’s Jalan Besar
which ran parallel to the North South Highway, we connected with J25’s
Jalan Sedenak. The immediate climb to Hua Guo Shan’s temple was a shock
for many who were beginning to feel the strain from the
earlier race. Coming close to mid-afternoon, the heat was becoming
unbearable. TH was first to report a cramp followed by KC.
Unfortunately for them, no one could
will themselves to ride down and offer help. Even young Jolin raised the
white flag.
We were reluctant to leave for
Layang-Layang, but with only 60 km under our belts, we really had to
keep going or we will never reach Kahang. Cringing under the heat, we
left the temple sanctuary and braced the next segment. As a cooling
measure, Jenny, Lim and a few others were seen dousing their clothings
with water before push off.
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| We are heading that way! |
Stopping by the railway crossings for a
quick group photo, Bernie never came. He had called Suzie, arranging
for a pick up; altogether giving up on the hills and heat.
Meanwhile, TH
and Susanna were only turning the pedals, waiting to be
swept up by the support vehicle. Thus, when we left the railway
crossings and the fighting cock that our railway guard had proudly
professed its championship winnings at Pontian only last week, nobody would have fully figured the owners of the 3 bicycles loaded to the trunk of
the support vehicle.
Later, as we entered the labyrinth of the palm oil
estate, Henry and Mr Lim started a sick joke. They started crooning while the others
were panting their way up the hills. "Every place I go, I'll think of you. Every song I sing, I'll sing for you."
Arriving at Guang Fatt wantan mee
shop, lead riders Jolin and Raymond were already comfortably seated with
those from the support vehicle. However, everyone were in shock when Zoe and York Fuan wheeled in
with reports of KC suffering from cramps! He has never been known to suffer from cramps but what luck to strike
a double whammy this time!
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| Come rescue me!!! |
Communicating via whatsapp, VT soon
left his sentry post at the junction to Bukit Batu upon KC's announcement that he needed help. Left with little choice, Bernie and Suzie had to
hurry through their lunch for his rescue.
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| Gearing up to leave for Renggam without TH and Jolin who were picked up by Elaine |
The weather was reportedly heating up
to 37 degree C when we finished lunch. Following Philip’s suggestions to wait
out the heat, we arranged for a late push out which saw VT and him retreating into the airconditioned comforts of 7 Eleven while the
rest tried taking naps either horizontally or laterally!
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| KC at Renggam railway station |
A little motivation goes a long way.
Riding on promises of cendol and pisang goreng, we arrived at Renggam’s
railway station in no time.
Thereafter, we embarked on our long
and arduous ride to Kahang, passing by Renggam’s mountainous landfill
which pilferaged the otherwise, clean air. Fueled by gula melaka and on
gentler rolling hills, we sped to the junction of J51.
When we reached the Mardi roundabout,
the food stalls spread out on the opposite exit with huge followings was
too irresistible. Breaking for tea, their famous sup kambing never made it to our table as the heaty concoction does not go
well on hot days. Instead many went for the cooling coconuts while
Susanna profusely declared that the pisang emas sold here were from the original breed as they do not sport any goatees.
After the Mardi roundabout, we turned
right to Route 749, riding along the foothills of Gunung Berlumut. The
air turned cooler as evening approaches but with the foothills came the
continuous slopes to climb. Soon Bernie was back in the
support vehicle and with dusk approaching, KC tried to cheer everyone
on with a makeshift fan made out of palm fronds.
The last 10km to Kahang ran along a
winding and relatively busy trunk road. Along the way we rolled past a
Chinese cemetery sending twice the shivers down Claudine’s spine. What
with dusk approaching and the Hungry Ghost month, all hell
will break loose!
That night, we walked the streets of
Kahang and were impressed with their residential houses. Unlike the
usual kampung baru concept from the Briggs administration, the houses
here have been revamped to reflect the economic viability of
the area. Not as remote as initially thought, the epicenter is
predominantly Chinese with a few restaurants, phone shops, kedai runcit,
cake shop and even a Thai massage!
During dinner, Claudine befriended a
young lady, visiting from KL. She became the spokesperson for the
restaurant and explained it is run by her uncle and his wife. Having
just returned from a gap year in Canada, Kahang is her last port
of call before she begins her life as a working adult. So while
Claudine blessed her with well wishes on her new career, we wondered if
life is the same behind Hell’s Gates. Coincidentally, today is the peak
of the Hungry Ghost month, the 15th of the seventh
month on the Chinese Lunar calendar and many superstitious Taoist took to
the road with prayers to appease the spirits!
Photo Courtesy :
1. KC
2. Suzie
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Hotel 128, Kahang
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