Tour de Kukup (7 January 2017)

In the village, Kukup

Petronas, Kukup

Iskandar Coastal Highway

Officially dubbed "Cow Lane" by Amoi

Breakfast at Kukup

Breakfast at Kukup

Breakfast at Kukup

Breakfast at Kukup

Breakfast at Kukup

This morning, we started with 36 riders. By push off time, there were only 29! Thanks to one of the junior riders who decided to check out his weight on a water pipe, we lost 7 of them. His wrong judgment created a 3 feet geyser in the parking lot which caught the attention of the security guards. Henceforth, the whole junior team were held back, not allowed to ride out, until their parents were called in to settle the misdemeanor.

We left Horizon Hills with Captain Leo of JEC taking the lead. As promised he held on to his word and kept the speed at "yawn" rate for some but a relief for many. Even the weaker links managed to keep up with the pace until Gelang Patah before the peloton broke up into 2 groups.

Approaching Uncle Lim's Durian Farm, William from Singapore finally caught up! Crossing the causeway at 5.18 am, he did not make it to meet up point, circling Bukit Indah's roundabout 3 times at a loss. Giving up finally, he rode to Gelang Patah for breakfast with hopes of catching up with us along the way. Thankfully, he did!

After regrouping at Pekan Nanas' Shell, we pushed off again for Kukup. As usual, the 10 km flats warrants a heart pumping ride. Andy came up to the girls, rescuing them from a tough ride. Initially, he pulled Claudine and Zoe. Soon, Sibyl got in the line while Zoe dropped back a few times. When she could no longer keep up, the trio went ahead to Thomas, Chiam and SK Wong. Together, they sped ahead to the end of the finish line, only to see the lead group already waiting. Nonetheless, finishing any ride receives the highest honours in this sport!

Kukup came soon enough for many. Our Bollywood superstar was still around, eager to wait upon us. We had the standard roti's which can be decent but don't try to be adventurous as the mee hoon will turn out stale and dry while the assumed nasi lemak in banana leaf is actually tapai ubi, fermented sweet potatoes!

As we had another guest rider with us besides William and Kai Weng; Lee Lee, hailing from KL, was given a brief tour of Kukup. We rode into one part of the village with elevated concrete slabs as access road. The heydays of wooden boardwalk on stilts had long since been replaced but travelling on the narrow pathway with the sea below waiting to eat us up, can be just as harrowing. 3

We had a heartwarming time, witnessing a wedding procession. The bride in standard white and the groom in baby blue strolled down, NOT the red carpet, NOR the runway, BUT the elevated pathway!!! It must be very warm for the whole entourage to be underneath their liveries in today's hot scorching weather. 

Out of the village, we made a quick stop at Petronas for a quick refill before heading back. Just before the Indian temple which is the landmark to the "cow lane" and palm oil estate, William's front wheel hub broke, marking the end of his ride. Chiam assisted him to board a bus heading for Pontian where he was lucky to get a private taxi willing to take him back to Singapore.This comes with a heavy price tag of RM300.

Back at Pekan Nanas, we stopped at our usual stall for fruit juice. It seems, the weaker riders were not the last to arrive, as Chiam having sorted out William's predicament had followed the likes of Voon and Ryan Low on the longer route to Pekan Nanas. They streamed in one by one slightly later.

Here on, we parted ways. Leo led the stronger team on the longer route home. Thomas, Chiam and SK were caught unaware of their departure. They had no choice but to leave with the second group.

When Eva started to suffer cramps just after Uncle Lim's Durian Farm, the group was further divided. Zoe left with the trio while VT and Claudine stayed back with Eva. Meanwhile, Mr Lim who rode ahead with Jason and Siew Hong had a fall at the traffic lights near to Eco Gardens. He suffered cuts around the fingers, a swollen hand and a bruised knee. It was a matter of losing one's balance weaving through the line of cars at the lights.

With Eva still suffering from cramps, the last group decided to take a lunch break at Gelang Patah's Restoran Kulai Yun Nan Bao Dian. Sadly, tried as she might, she could not finish her ride. Riding out, a few kilometers later, she boarded her support car, called in to the rescue. Thereon, it was rather reassuring to have Mr Pang tailing the last group all the way back, making sure everyone got back safely without anymore hiccups.

Photo Credits :

Chiam
Leo 
Andy