JCI JBE Charity Ride (23 July 2016)

Riders heading out, all with proper laminated bibs and cable ties

RELA escorts to ensure a safe ride

Note the father and son team on detachable tandem bikes

Taking a break at Rider's Corner

Ad Hocs, no worries, just ride!

Early birds at McDonald's

Strida

Local support

New styled riding

Durian hopping

.......Durian hopping!

Washing with the shell will remove the offensive smell

Junior Chamber International, JB Entrepreneur recently held a charity ride to raise funds for several causes. Among the beneficiaries are Care Heaven, PDK Johor Jaya, Persatuan Kebajikan Amal Lexin and United Nations' Nothing but Nets program. Kicking off from Austin Heights Private & International School, the 21 km fun ride received some strong support from several local riding clubs.

Leading the convoy of riders out of the school was a Mercedes Benz C-class. Meanwhile, Rela guards were commissioned to see to the safety of the riders. A fully equipped ambulance with a team of paramedics from Regency Hospital were present to offer emergency evacuation and first aid.

Rolling out after a short briefing, we turned the corner to SJKC Foon Yew 5 before turning left to the busy road of Jalan Mutiara Emas Puteh. Immediately hitting this road, Ivan and his son on detachable tandem bikes suffered a dropped chain. A fellow Tasek team rider was quick to offer his help while a Rela officer on motorcycle directed traffic.

All sorts of bikes were spotted on this funride. There were an abundance of Roadbikes, Mountain bikes and Foldies of various makes. Then there were the 2 detachable tandem bikes pulled by the Ang family. Most notable are the couple on Strida, an "A" shaped collapsible bike. Folded to the size of a baby stroller for easy storage, it is primarily aimed at city dwellers and commuters. Strida's are driven by Gates Carbon Drive, reputable to be maintenance free and able to run up a 20,000 km mileage.

Not long into the ride, Rina had a mishap rolling over a speed bump. She lost control of her small 16 inched wheeler which sent her reeling down on her hands and knees. Her riding pants still intact, she suffered friction burn on her knees and some cuts on her palm.

Frankie was quick to administer first aid while Yew Loong directed traffic and some offered moral support! Nothing serious though, Rina was still accorded the proper treatment of a distressed damsel! When the ambulance finally arrived, Frankie rode with Rina to our waiting group at Rider's Corner, Seri Austin while their Bromptons were hauled up the accompanying pick up truck.

Rider's Corner at Seri Austin is one of the four recreational pitstops mooted by Happy Riders Connect. It offers basic amenities such as restrooms and a prayer room for Muslims. Pre-arrangements can be made with the persons in charge to offer light snacks and drinks. The other Rider's Corner in Johor Bahru are located at Regency Hospital, M Suites Hotel and Rumah Iskandar.

After enjoying a good get together over icy cold, rose syrup drinks and banana cakes, we continued our ride. Today, The Cycling Owls were spotted in their team jerseys and mean machines. Obviously, this group is known for their good heart, supporting the charity ride and speed, riding on aero bikes with high profile wheels!

Alvin, FR Rider's Team Captain was notably missing though his team too had strongly supported this charity drive. Instead they had gone on for a mud and dirt time, riding off-road on another event organized by IGCC.

Much to everyone's surprise, we made a stop at Bandar Baru Dato Onn's Police Station. The chief in charge came out to give us a short talk on safety. Thereafter, we made the ride back to Austin Heights to receive our finisher medals.

Running concurrently with this charity ride is a small scaled fun fair. Thrown into our goodie bags are RM20 coupons, credits to spend at the fair. While most bought food with long shelf life such as biscuits and cake rolls, Maggie the coffee connieuseur could not resist a cuppa! Andy threw some lollies into his bag and another bunch into Claudine's!! Ollie was seen with a year long supply of pens while Thomas bought some nyonya kueh for sharing.

The ride finished, the Ad Hocs proceeded to The Toast for their second round of breakfast before dispersing for the day. Some greedy ones though, lagged behind for durian hopping!!! It is, after all the art of of checking and trying out durians from stalls to stalls!!!!

Ride Hard, Chow Lard - Asia Cycling Network Inaugural Ride (10 July 2016)

The Big 55!!!

Ollie, Matt, Hea, YL

HK Yew and Janette

4 Foldies and a Roadbike

Another Tern D16

Bromptons, 6 speed and 2 speed

Kevin Lin and his MTB friends

Ollie with KTM's crossing guard. He never saw the train coz he rode too fast on his Foldie!

Serenity

Noise!!!

Cobwebs

On the inaugural launch of Asia Cycling Network, we all met again at Huo Guo Shan, fondly known as the residing cave of the Monkey God. This event was hosted by Saikit's group of friends. Even though the Ad Hocs co-hosted the ride, the torch was clearly passed to them for their great organizational skills!

We started the ride with a group photo which was quite a feat considering there were 55 of us! Never mind that, Chng TH even came with a tripod!

When the shutterbugs were satisfied, we were given a briefing and introduced to our marshals for the day. Then we were loosely separated into groups and the roll out began!

While the roadbikes were first to head out, the MTBs and Foldies dutifully waited for their turns. The Choongs had gathered themselves with Frankie, Rina, Casper, Eva and Pang, meaning to ride out together. But when they started to roll, it was obvious that Pang, had had some secret training before his first debut. He raced ahead keeping a few hundred meters behind Eva and Casper. Frankie and Rina on Bromptons though were soon left behind to ride with the sweepers.

After quite a few hills that left Pang breathless, Eva and Casper soon broke away. Caught with adrenalin rush and other speeding RBs, they left their head of the family behind. Demotivated, though still averaging at a decent 22 kph, Pang started to wonder about pit stops.

Claudine was sent ahead to signal Eva and Casper on an unofficial water stop. Chasing a RB and a MTB rider half her age, using Cupcake, a Tern D16 was no easy feat. Everytime, when she was almost within "shout" distance, they would hit a hill and "small wheels" will be left behind.

She finally caught up when Casper stopped to check his bike. There wasn't anything wrong with the bike but he was convinced there was some mechanical error. The fastest it would go is 28kph no matter how hard he spinned. Message disseminated, the chase was for nought, for we never see the mother and son team until Layang-Layang later on!

After a 10 km distance, Claudine called for a waterstop. While Pang, VT and TH stopped too, we saw Miki, Saikit, Mei Hiong, Wee Cin and BL Chea rolled past. 

After the stop, VT rolled down the hill and disappeared into the horizon. The remaining trio rode on to the chicken farm from which point, TH sped ahead to escape the stench. He disappeared too!

When Claudine and Pang finally reached Layang-Layang, Pang's wantan mee was already waiting for him. Claudine though had to order for VT and TH, then pay for Yew Loong's meal over a challenge of who was the first to spot the Ad Hoc logo on the JCI JBE charity t-shirt! Wong Kyuan, CK, Janet,YL, Ollie and Matt were already half way through their meal! The health conscious, Zoe and Chiam stayed away from the lard but instead called for drinks only.

At the breakfast table, Saikit proudly introduced his ex teacher, Mr Choo to us. Mr Choo had recently finished a 38 day round trip around Peninsula Malaysia to raise funds for Pei Chun school. A journey of 2000 km, he rides an average of 60-70 km a day, only resting for 8 out of the 38 days.

While most riders headed for Renggam, some of us cheated and decided to return to base. Yeoh, her younger son, Christina and Janette stayed behind to wait for the returning group from Renggam.

Gearing up to return to base, a member from Defi Cycling Team from Kluang approached us. Another local cyclist residing in Sydney shared the same curiosity over our big group.

Heading out, YL led us to the Layang-Layang train station for a sightseeing trip. After, we headed home. 

We chanced upon Delta, Yik Chun, Wong Andrew and their MTB kakis on the opposite direction. We all waved and cheered each other on. It is nice to know that for cyclists, we all speaks the same languange...A world without borders!

On the return journey, Claudine diverted her attention on Rina instead. She was convinced that Pang doesn't need her help. Moreover, he was in the good hands of Eva and Casper.

Rina, instead was being punished by natural elements.....the rolling hills of Sedenak! Mechanically, a 2 speeded Brompton has its disadvantages. Physically, she was not strong yet, considering that she had only started riding 3 months ago. After awhile, Rina had to push up some hills.

Frankie and Claudine though were enjoying the ride. With so many stops, they even went off road to watch some migrant workers at work. Using a long pole with a sharp end, they transferred palm oil fruits from the small motorized vehicle to the dump body of a tipper truck. The Bangladeshis were so kind hearted they even offered their bottled water to them!

Hitting the tarmac again, the trio saw CK whizzed past. They rode on, half pushing, half riding their bikes. They saw their shadows grew shorter, a sign that midday was approaching!

With another 5km more to base, a rescue vehicle pulled over. It was TH!!! Rina and bike were bundled up into his car while Frankie, VT and Claudine continued their journey home.

One kilometer after, a monitor lizard was crossing the road. Claudine and VT zipped past the creature but 10 seconds later, they heard a thud as an oncoming vehicle rumbled past.

Two kilometers after, they came upon a line up of stalled cars. It was the railway crossing and they had closed the boom gates for the train to cross. Everyone were excited! Even TH wound down his window to give instructions...."take more photos!"

It was a long wait! The crossing guard was tickled by our excitement. We exchanged greetings. Finally, the Diesel engine trundled along, slowly. Flags were passed between driver and guard, then it slowly picked up speed and left with its long line of carriages.

When the gates reopened, it was a mad rush back to base. The Pang's were already all packed and ready to leave. YL and Janet were enjoying cold drinks on the temple grounds. Hea and CK had left the crossings earlier, thus they got back safe. Thomas and Zoe arrived on time to load their bikes into their cars before the first rain came! But for the others who went to Renggam...Chiam, Steven, Wong Kyuan, Saikit and his friends.....they were all drenched from top to toe and perhaps even their underpants! Some waited out the rain, some rode back while some returned with rescue vehicles!

Their rides completed, Claudine and VT spotted Kevin Lin by the roadside on the way to Tesco Kulai. He had a tyre puncture! Poor boy and his MTB mates were seen huddled by the side of a container, seeking respite from the hot sun while they changed the inner tubes.

It was an eventful and memorable ride for all. Everyone had a really good time Riding Hard and Chowing Lard....and Getting Soaked! Everyone have good reasons to return to the hills, especially Pang who left his shades somewhere between Layang-Layang and Sedenak!!! 

Drowning in Lard at Layang-layang (2 July 2016)

Kulai Tree 91

Some of the Madcats

Getting ready to roll out

It's always thumbs up before the ride!

Months after LEKAS ride, riders are still proudly displaying their feat by donning the jersey!

Big Men on Little Wheels

Cupcake found some friends to play with!

Loading up on Lard

Loading up on Lard

Loading up on Lard

 

Recently, Bob our Ironman friend had just bought a TT bike. Most Saturdays find him training the hills at Sedenak all the way to Renggam, and sometimes beyond!!! We were thrilled for him and in awe over his achievements. Wanting to rub shoulders with an Ironman, this week found us making another trip to the residing cave of the Monkey God.

Lured by Claudine with the promise of good food, Kai Weng, our new riding friend from Singapore made another border crossing. Our resourceful friend found his way to Kulai's famous beef noodle in the wee hours of the morning to get his hands on a bowl of the famed noodle. This noodle is so good, it is said to be sold out by 10am!!

The Madcat and Kulai Tree team came in full swing! Some of them were on roadbikes, some on Foldies and a few on MTB's. Many of the Madcats donned their new yellow jerseys, which did away with the Halloween Cat!

There were at least 40 of us at Sedenak, thus the themed title, "Drowning in Lard!" Saito, Chee Kiang, Thomas Moy, Jolin and few others were only gearing up at roll out time, thus we could not assemble everyone for a group photo. In fact, we had to ride out without them.

 

Leading the pack during roll out were the Madcats on roadbikes. Then, the Foldies followed behind. Just a few kilometers later, JM Chong overtook Claudine on his 16 inch Brompton wheels. Leon came along on his 700 Bike, a folding bike from China equipped with a built in speedometer which is sync enabled to a smartphone via Bluetooth.

Right after Legends Golf and Country Club, David Lai was seen bending over to pick up a dropped water bottle for a "kitten" on mtb. Quite a few of his team mates stopped or slowed down. It was a great opportunity for Claudine to overtake but soon, they attacked her again. Not accepting defeat, she tried drafting behind the men on little wheels but once they hit the hills, she was on her own again!

It was quite some time before the Ad Hocs overtook Claudine. The first to overtake her were Ollie and Hea right before the railway tracks. Then, Thomas Ridley and VT bullied her just as they were all making the crossings. Zoe, came soon enough in her new BH roadbike.

Under the canopy of the Palm Oil fronds, TH came from behind. He explained that Bob and Suzanne had stayed behind to wait for another late comer, JM Lew. They rode up 2 slopes together before TH whizzed down a slope and was gone!

Leaving the estates, Claudine turned behind to see an orange figure with broad shoulders approaching. It was Saito. They had a short exchange before he overtook her followed by SK Wong and another friend.

Passing by Lew Peng chicken farm, the nauseating smell of chicken droppings were both welcoming and disgusting. Welcoming because it marks the half way point or more!

A motorcyclist honked and gave thumbs up when he overtook Claudine. Another family on a pick up truck waved their support. The children pressed their faces to the windows for a second glance!

The white and black Layang-Layang signboard was most welcoming. Then, the sight of many Ad Hocs waiting by the roadside just before the junction to Guang Fatt Wantan Mee shop marks the end of Part 1!!!!

Even though the event was hyped with Option 1,2,3 and even 4, many riders chose Option 1. Only Andy, Thomas Ridley, Zoe, Chiam, Kai Weng and Bob made it to Option 2 which is Renggam.

JM Lew and Suzzane never made it to Layang-Layang. JM suffered a puncture midway but had no tubes with him. He had to take Suzanne's MTB to ride back to base and return for her with Bob's car.

Claudine rode back to base mostly in sights of the foldie team, VT and TH. They stopped by the railway tracks for a group photo before finally reaching Huo Guo Shan. Packing up to leave, we received a Whatsapp from Ollie. In his haste to get home, he had left his Campagnolo Zonda wheels behind!!!