WE ARE ALL GOING OUT IN SUNSHINE YELLOW!!! ( 19 November 2016 )

Missing out Joho Foldies

At Nusa Idaman

At Nusa Idaman

On Lebuh Kota Iskandar

At Kedai Minum Chye Huat, Ulu Choh

At Kedai Minum Chye Huat, Ulu Choh

At Kedai Minum Chye Huat, Ulu Choh

At Kedai Minum Chye Huat, Ulu Choh

At Kedai Minum Chye Huat, Ulu Choh

Waiting for the lost lambs

In Yellow Jerseys

Ulu Choh

Ulu Choh

Ulu Choh

At Kedai Minum Chye Huat, Ulu Choh

At Kedai Minum Chye Huat, Ulu Choh

At Kedai Minum Chye Huat, Ulu Choh

Traditional bread

Charcoal toasted bread

Soft boiled to perfection

Oily CKT

This morning, when fellow Malaysians donned their yellow Bersih 5 t-shirts to march the streets for a New Malaysia, a free and fair elections and a clean Government among other things, our own little group of peaceful riders rode out in "Sunshine Yellow", our own version of symbolic protest. Ironically, it rained hard just before 6 am, clearing up half an hour later to give us a squeaky "CLEAN WORLD"!!!

Congregating outside Pan Kobo Cafe, was an "almost yellow" theme. Not everyone has a yellow jersey. Despite that, we were most honoured to see our countrymen coming together for a common purpose! More touching was the support we received from our friends from Singapore, Britain and South Africa!!!

We left later than usual as Yan Ling arrived with yet another tyre puncture! Even though Lucas helped to replace the tube, it burst again when they tried to inflate it. Hence, she had no choice but to pack up for home, leaving hubby, Ching Po to ride with us.

We were separated into 2 groups with TH and YL taking the lead. The slower group was led by Claudine while VT swept from behind. Those who finds it difficult to catch up with the lead group were advised to fall back or face riding alone and even getting lost!

Taking a different route, we went via Nusa Idaman. The faster group was led by TH onto Jalan Sentral 17 before taking J4 to get to Lebuh Kota Iskandar.

Thinking that TH had meant to use Nusa Idaman Roller, a route popular with riders before the road closure, Claudine took the slower group there. His enquiry and interest had led VT and her to recce the place twice before today's ride! This route is tougher with many steep hills to climb!

Picking up Carl, left on his own at Nusa Idaman, they conquered the hills, took a short water break at the peak of the climb, then continued on to SILC to see TH waiting with camera in hand.

A little further uphill was Janet waiting to get help. She had slipped and fell at the stop which left her saddle crooked. Lucas with allen key attended to her.

Somewhere along Jalan Tanjung Kupang, Eva was waiting alone. She was relieved when she found out Janet was fine!

Continuing on, we rolled all the way past Eco Gardens, Alam Jaya industrial park and a chicken farm before catching sight of the lead group waiting by the side of what looked like a formwork industry, producing reinforced concrete slabs. There on, we soon came to the intersection of Lebuhraya Skudai-Pontian.

Here, the lights turn very quickly and it took us a few rounds to cross over to Ulu Choh. This gives us time to chat up a few friends. The first contact was made between Claudine and Kee Tai and she will forever be grateful for his support.

Arriving at Ulu Choh, we saw Keat riding home on his own. The rest had settled down with orders of toast made over charcoal fire and soft boiled eggs. A few riders tried the noodle soup and char kueh tiau from the makeshift stall outside the shop. All in all, the toasts were the best, the soft boiled egg done to perfection, the noodle soup was authentically a taste from the yesteryears and the CKT.... oily! 

Another downside was our drinks took forever to arrive! Our huge crowd probably overwhelmed the sleepy village's only barista!!!

After breakfast, we visited the nearby temple for some quick photo shoots. At the entrance, we were greeted by the stone sculptures of the 12 zodiac animals in Chinese astrology. While the other faiths followed respectfully, the Taoists did not offer any prayers today. We were told there were so many deities in the temple, it will take a whole day to receive blessings from all!!!

Just before rolling again, we found out Jason has a tyre puncture!!! ....And much later, TH, at the exit!!!

Meanwhile, the rest of the non tyre-change department were given a treat by Sasee. He took us into SAJ Holdings, the once upon a time water reservoir for Singapore. A prohibited area, he talked to the personnel in charge to allow us in with strict instructions not to divert from the road and not to take any photos.

The place was well kept but looked like a ghost town. The buildings inside were all bricks, white washed and secured with strong wooden doors and latches from the 1950's. There was a clubhouse, a mosque, officer's mess and a few walk up flats. At the end of the road was the reservoir itself, a beautiful lake of turquoise colour.

According to Sasee, this place was managed by close to 200 British army officers at its height. A plaque by the secondary gates inside states the year of inception, in the 1920's and the names of Singaporean and British officers that played major roles to it.

Riding out, we met our fellow stragglers. Sadly, they had to turn back as this is not a public place for all to ogle.

Malcolm was all restless to go and rode ahead via the entry point. Instead, TH took us through the kampung which bypassed the shophouses outside. Half the crew went with Malcolm while the other half followed TH.

Exiting Ulu Choh, Claudine made a few enquiries but fellow riders convinced her that Malcolm's group have exited. Thankfully, an assessment was made before the final ride home. True enough, the first group were still waiting at the shophouses while Malcolm and Peter had left on their own!!! Like good shepherds TH, VT and Jolin rode back to find their lost lambs!

Taking yet another route, we rode home via Perpetual Memorial Park, past Uncle Lim Durian Farm and onto Jalan Pulai, the scenic kampung route. Everyone seemed to take it slow at the kampung but instructions were made for everyone who knew the way to ride home without waiting anymore as it was getting really late!

At the end, Carl, Maggie, Lim, Chin, Vinnie, VT and Claudine had a drink stop at Nusa Perintis before making their final ride home. While a euphoric Carl stated he was quite traumatized on his first 48km ride, he and VT arrived back to base earlier than the remaining 5 who were led by Maggie on her favourite route via Nusa Idaman rollers. This called for another steep climb and an additional distance of 5km!!!

While our country is plagued with many problems, today's ride has its own long line of complications. 4 of our riders had minor falls today....Janet, YL, Keat and Thomas Moy. There were also 3 punctures, suffered by Jason, TH and Thomas Moy!!!! Throughout all these, we see riders helping each other and working together patiently.

Rome wasn't built in a day. Having said that, may we see the light at the end of the tunnel soon enough!