Taiping Heritage Ride ( 17-20 March 2016 ), Day 2 - The team gathers for more Makan!!!

Burmese Pool, the water is still clean and clear in this El Nino heat

The walk over the bridge at Burmese Pool

The view from the bridge

Friendly butterflies!

Dragon flies!

More butterflies!

Children from Taiping Children's Home

Children from Vincent Divine Home

Helping out to distribute the popcorn

63 movie tickets for Kungfu Panda 3

Another offering at Kwan Seong Coffee Shop

Prawn fritters

Fried Popiah

Laksa

Ice kacang

Fish Head Curry from Hong Yun

Sambal Mixed Vegetables from Hong Yun

Tofu in pumpkin sauce from Hong Yun

Inchi-Kabin from Hong Yun

Tong Po Pork from Hong Yun

Pre-ride gathering with the team!

We picked Berenda up at 7am, somewhere near the cross junction in Simpang. She had travelled by bus from Singapore the night before and the bus had dropped her off somewhere opposite KFC. It was not a proper bus stop at all, just a roadside stop and since she was the last one to get off the bus, she was a nervous wreck until our arrival. 

It is customary for the locals to drop off along the route to the Taiping bus station which is sadly situated in the far corners of Kamunting! Nobody likes to sit in the bus for an additional 20 minutes after a 10 hour ride, only to catch a transport back to their homes the same way! Thankfully, Berenda was not harassed by any taxi drivers as we were 5 minutes late!

We dropped Berenda off at Flemington hotel for a quick wash up, promising to return for her later. However, upon drop off, we were already feeling peckish and so we made a bee line to the multi levelled market again for finger food. Nasi Lemak, masalavadae, huan chu leng and apam were purchased to go with our milk tea. None of the food were good except for the vadae which was made out of lentils, dried chilies, curry leaves, spices and onions, mashed together before deep frying.

When we were done, we returned to pick Berenda and her 2 other friends. Derek and Tze had arrived a day earlier via a flight to Ipoh and a connecting taxi ride to Taiping. 

We took them to Kwan Seong coffee shop for what is touted by many as the best Wantan Mee in the world! The noodles here are broader and springy, almost "al dente". But what works best for The Choongs are their frothy milk tea tinged with some drips of coffee.

After tucking in for the second time, we left for Taiping Sentral to join the children from Taiping Children's Home and Vincent Divine Home for a movie. The Kungfu Panda 3 movie we watched ended on a good note but instead of stuffing our faces with dumplings, we treated everyone to a McDonald's meal. Some of the children has grown taller and wiser whilst some have left. There were some new faces too and it was our challenge to bond with them.

We said goodbye to the children with a promise to meet them again next year. Then, we went to Pokok Assam for the second day in a row. (We were there with Raymond and his team after the Spritzer tour).

The shop we patronize is actually a residential home cum business entity. Instead of a side garden, the land is used for money making. We had the full course spread of curry mee, laksa, prawn fritters, fried popiah, ice kacang and home made soya bean. All the food is pretty good though not fantastic.

Feeling hot, we left for a dip in Burmese Pool but not before stopping by at Tupai Emas Heong Peah Factory for some of the traditional biscuits. Heong Peah is also known as Biscuit Jerry Gula which comes with a sticky filling. We were quite surprised as besides the conventional biscuits, newer versions with charcoal pastries are also offered.

Burmese pool was a good welcome in the El Nino heat. An oversight to the standard rubbish, the water is still clear despite the number of visitors! The flora and fauna are still thriving.

Throughout our time there, we spotted small fishes, pond skippers, butterflies and a few dragon flies. One dragon fly even landed on Tze's toe!!!

VT and the boys tried their hands at catching fishes with t-shirts and plastic bags. Needless to say, they failed! They should have rented some nets from the peddlers at the car park instead!

For dinner, we went to Hong Yun Restaurant in Pokok Assam. It was our fourth choice after the first 2 restaurants we went to were closed and a third was too posh for our liking. Perhaps many business proprietors had closed for "Ching Ming", sweeping the ancestrals tomb. 

The food at Hong Yun was simply fantastic and cheap. Raymond again joined us at the shop but since they just had tea, they went for drinks and finger food only.

Our night ended with some comfort food from Golden Corner. We had braised chicken feet and chicken noodle soup with the standard Sambal Belacan again. Derek, Tze and Berenda were quickly taken aback by how smooth the noodles were! For first timers, I think they have been assimilated!!

 

Taiping Heritage Ride ( 17-20 March 2016 ), Day 1 - Pre Ride Makanthon

Roasting coffee beans with woodfire

Sugar and margerine is added to the beans

Smelling good

Finished product

Workers packing the coffee

Coffee Beans

The Products in traditional tins

Sue and myself at Dr Sun Yat Sen's abode

Mini golf at Spritzer Eco Park

Cafe at Spritzer Eco Park

Syafiq giving us an excellent tour on the Spritzer factory

We met Raymond's bikes first and foremost before meeting the person himself!

Strida folding bikes, a fixie on Gates Carbon Drive!

We arrived in Taiping in the wee hours of the morning. 3 am to be exact! Wearily, the whole family washed up and crawled into bed for the second time, finally able to stretch out horizontally.

Morning came too quickly. We ended up in the multi levelled new market for the family's favourite, super thin kaya toast. The toasts here are made by 3 petite old people. The bread are toasted twice, then each single slice is carefully cut to make 2 slices. Margarine and kaya are then spread to make what the locals call roti kahwin, a union of two spreads! As we have never seen any young folk helping out, we often wondered how long more we get to enjoy this toast.

VT's favorite fried "kueh kak" stall was not open. Similar to fried carrot cakes laden with eggs, bean sprouts and pickled radish, this version is made out of rice cakes. Truly, a poor man's food in an ex mining town. Ah Pek wasn't around through out our stay in Taiping giving rise to the fear that with his demise comes the end of the food we used to grew up with!

VT had to settle for second best, the Char Kueh Tiau from the stall next door. This is not the best CKT in town but beggars can't be choosers!

As it was only our first day in town, we were highly honed to our inner cravings. Chee Cheong Fun was purchased from Taiping Hawker Centre. This comes with Taiping's very own signature red sauce aka "theem chiong".

We did not have to worry about utensils. Ah Heng, the drink stall owner always provides clean plates, chopsticks and spoons for use. Even our local coffee barista knows the importance of good customer service!

At noon, we had a Starter Course of Tai Chien's famous popiah, char kueh tiau and Nasi Lemak. The popiah is uniquely Taiping as it is made out of thinly handcut turnips, slow cooked till soft. Many sellers these days, grate the turnips which destroys the structure of the food and becomes too watery. They do not add julienned cucumber and roasted peanuts to add bulk but instead scalded bean sprouts, tofu and eggs, then garnished with fried shallots.

We had a short half hour breather before we met Sue's family at Larut Matang food court for the famed Mee Rebus. Sue and Azmi had just collected Aman from Outward Bound School and had decided to drop by, enroute to Penang. The goodness of the noodles here lies in the gravy, which is made out of potatoes. Some may find this a bit bland but you need to savour it slowly.

After lunch, we brought Sue and her boys to Antong Coffee Factory. We had a pleasant surprise as they were roasting coffee beans when we arrived. This is done over a traditional woodfire stove! 

As the late Dr Sun Yat Sen's abode was just next door, visitors were given free access to the house. Other than a beautiful screen partition that needs some restoration, a giant green safe and some old memorabilia, there wasn't much more to see. However, one needs to appreciate the old architecture of the house itself.

We soon left for Spritzer Eco Park. We had made a booking for a factory tour at 4 pm but since we were early, the children while away the time at the maze. There was also a basketball court, a mini golf, a cafe and a gift shop on the grounds.

A pre-formed mineral bottle

The factory tour was an eye opener. We learnt that Spritzer's water are mined from underground, assuring a good mineral content. Inside the factory the production line starts with the pre-formed bottles that were blown to bottle size, then filled, labelled and packed.

It was here that we finally made contact with Richard and Jess. We had noticed their Strida and Carry Me bikes at Antong Coffee and these followed us to Spritzer!!! The factory tour sealed our friendship and we were to meet again on Day 2 and 3!

For us, our food mania continued with a dinner at Panorama hotel. This hotel has been around since the 80's and is a favourite among the locals. Their Panorama fried rice is a popular dish whilst their western food comes with a Hainanese twist.

We ended the night with chicken noodle soup or "Kai Si Hor Fun" from Golden Corner. The Kungfu here lies in the stock, smooth and thin hor fun and the standard Sambal Belacan that is a must among all respectable noodle shops in Taiping!

Braised chicken feet to go with the chicken noodle soup

Taiping Heritage Ride ( 17-20 March 2016 ) - An Introduction

The history of Taiping, as I have learnt in school was all credited to the discovery of tin in the 19th century. Legend has it that Long Jaafar often goes on walks with his pet elephant. One day, the animal disappeared but was soon found with tin ore embedded to the feet together with some mud.

Following the discovery, the Chinese were brought in to work at the tin mines. With development, comes chaos. Feuding wars on the rights to mine tin between the different clans erupted. As the feuds escalated, the Perak Sultanate and the Malay Chiefs were dragged in as well!

The wars finally ended with a peace treaty signed in 1874. It paved the way for the appointment of a British Residency. Thereafter, the town was renamed Taiping, meaning Everlasting Peace.

Tour de Wantan Mee : Lard Overload!!! (12 March 2016)

The Team!

Goofing around!

The envoy

"Blue Clear Sky"

One for the Blog!

Does Monkey God actually lives here?

The ladies at work

The maggots

Leek and tofu stuffings

The kitchen

The steamer

Cooking the turnips

The long queue

We haven't got enough of the chewy noodle!!!! We were so obsessed with it, we ended up at Huo Guo Shan again....2 weeks after our earlier tour of duty! In the quest for the oily noodles that leaves the tell tale signs of glossy lips, all riders promptly convened at the temple's car park. We moved out right on time.

A few meters down the road, Claudine stopped to turn on her Strava. All riders overtook her in a blurred flurry! Her Apple Watch was taking some time to locate her GPS, and with a nagging husband behind, she decided to use her Iphone instead! The setback was she will not be able to monitor her heart rate today.

With Strava running properly, the twosome sped in a hurry. Passing by The Legends Golf and Country Club, they picked Andy up. Andy was slowing down to check on the couple. Always a keeper, he is forever looking out for others!

Now, there were three!

In simple elementary mathematics, the trio raced ahead. Just after the railway tracks, were Janet and YL by the side of the road. Janet was having some bike problems and YL was helping her sort it out. The lovebirds in "His&Hers" jerseys were picked up by the trio. 

Now, there were five!

However, before the uno, dos, tres, cuatro and cinco can even work out a sweat, Janet was seen wobbling on her bike. She missed her pedals a few times and was seen kicking off something. Her shoe laces were getting untangled!!!!

Another delay meant another bigger distance between the Five Amigos and the Maze Runners! They tried their best to close the gaps but Janet was new to the hills and nobody wanted to leave her behind.

When the rolling hills started, Andy slowed down on his first downhill slide. He gave instructions to everyone to "pedal more". We all took to the pedals like hamsters on wheels. Mash! Mash! Mash! The downhill coupled with our mashings propelled us to the top of the hill. We did this at every slope intervals until we were exhausted!

Some distance after the chicken farm, Claudine gave a yelp and swerved her bike out. By the road side with it's tail sticking out onto the road was an enormous monitor lizard! It was immobile, DEAD!

After much labouring, Layang-layang came by....

The wantan mee shop came by.....

But it was a short lived pleasure! Nobody were waiting there. Alas, it was already in the plans to eat only on the return route!

The Five Amigos left the town and resumed their climb again. JEC wouldn't call it "Hills training" if it is not climbing! Passing by some oil palm plantations, Claudine called out to YL for a short water break. They stopped on a road shoulder, at the entrance of Sime Darby estate. At this juncture, Andy took the opportunity to elevate Janet's seat post. He claimed she was not fully utilizing her power!

The stretch of roads here were beautifully tarred unlike the pot holed ones between Sedenak to Layang-layang. The plantation owners take pride on their lands, planting flowering plants by the roadside. They were a myriad of yellow, purple and red. Against the backdrop of a blue clear sky, one could almost pop into the country song of the same name by George Strait!

The Five Amigos started their countdown on the road markers for Renggam. The first marker that caught Claudine's eye was at 11km. Then, slowly it reduced to 6km. Claudine wondered if she was being delusional when she noticed the road marker went back up to 8km!!! 

Everyone rejoiced when they saw the 2km marker to Renggam. Claudine was hoping to see her stationery train on the tracks again. But their rendezvous was not to come today. Appearing like a mirage were the rest of the team on their return route. Without a second thought, the Five Amigos made a U-turn to join the rest.

The team only managed to ride together for a brief moment after securing contact. Then, within minutes, the Maze Runners raced ahead into the horizon. Unable to keep up, Claudine found herself riding alone. Not trusting her safety, Thomas fell back to sweep her. Meanwhile, Hea was a vision from afar throughout the journey back to Layang-layang.

It was a well deserved overbite. Never mind the lard and the potential blocked arteries. We did the hills to compensate for the killer food! 

Besides the earlier monitor lizard, there were a lot of roadkills today. Rats, squirrels, bird, furry creature and wrist watch leather...*baby snake

Khan's tyre... Not only did it get itself perforated, his CO2 cartridge did a kamikaze even before it was used!!! Agnes offered her cartridge to save the day. No mouth to mouth resuscitation from our beautiful rider though!

Chun and some riders left without eating. We guess fatherhood has its responsibilities and as far as we could remember, he recently had baby number two, perhaps a running toddler by now!

When we were about to start our homerun, the train did a ceremonial trundle down the tracks. Regretfully, we were unable to take photos with it today. Thankfully, we did manage some goofs with Leo's Go Pro.

Then, the peloton started to pick up speed...

Very soon, Claudine was left behind...

Again, Thomas swept her...

Once more, Hea was a vision ahead...

Not far after leaving Guang Fatt Wantan Noodle shop, an envoy of cars honked in support of the riders. It was a wedding entourage on their way to pick up the bride. All cars were beautifully decorated with ribbons.

Passing by the chicken farm again, the giant industrial fans were blowing hot, putrid air right at us. While we had sped downhill earlier, we were now climbing on our return. We panted and gasped for air, unable to filter out the stench, virus and all! We sucked them all in and said a silent prayer!!

Before long, our fortitude led us back to the hills and the pot holes again. The sun was stronger at mid morning, casting shadows of the oil palm trees on the roads. With the shadows, it was difficult to make out the holes.

Cruising downhill, a dead monitor lizard with its mouth wide open frightened a good number of riders. Many actually thought the animal was all ready to attack!

Hitting civilisation after a somewhat long run through the green land banks, we came upon a few marquees built for a Malay wedding. It must be an auspicious weekend for nuptials. Factoring in the solar eclipse that occured a few days ago, the cosmic alignment must have foretold a momentous day to unite two souls.

All riders returned to base despite the hills, bad roads, punctures and threatening dead lizards!!! Even our lovebirds made it back safely. They had taken their time to ride back and even made a stopover for drinks at a roadside stall! That is despite the fact that Khan made an attempt to rescue them with his 4WD!

Euphoric, some of the greedy ones were bent on more food. Voon led them to Kelapa Sawit town for some famous "soon kueh". The story was featured on Singapore's U channel this week. 

 The maggot like kueh comes in 4 different flavours of Kiam Chye, leek, turnip and chives. The food will certainly be a prime motivator to return to the hills again. They were really good!

Again, we did not manage to locate the residing cave of The Monkey God. However, He did make his presence known! VT stepped on some monkey poo on the way home!!!

Redefining team spirit with JEC at Kukup (6 March 2016)

Leaving Kukup

The team in high spirits

If you are invited to an event ride set by JEC and the words "Leisurely Ride" is splashed across the event page, then most likely you have been vetted through and probably made the cut. However, try barging into rides that clearly omitted the key words and you'd better have a good back up plan!!!!

So, when Claudine joined in the Leisurely Ride to Kukup, she found herself enjoying a ride drafting behind JEC members. Riding in a peloton, pulled by the lead rider, blocked from headwinds, sandwiched cosily between riders is a most pleasant experience. She felt almost like a trusting newborn baby, carried by the loving parents, feeling contented, secure and safe!

Today's ride was rather uneventful. We left Horizon Hills at 7.15 am sharp. We cruised along the Iskandar Coastal Highway, turned off to Lebuh Kota Iskandar, took the 12 o'clock at the Eco Botanics roundabout and started climbing over the flyover. As usual, everyone overtook Claudine!!!

At the cross junction to Jalan Ulu Choh, we turned right. Then, we took a left turn to Kg Ulu Pulai, near the Eco World development. At Uncle Lim's durian farm, the whiff of durian is significantly obvious. Looks like the season of the smelly fruit and the return of the blue bottle flies are back!

Beautiful day with overcast clouds

We took a short break at Pekan Nanas' Shell station before heading out again. At the strava segment of 10km flats, everyone's horn grew. Khan instigated everyone on the "Flats". Agnes, overtook Leo! Claudine called out for Leo to take the ride one notch faster.

We started pumping the pedals. We rode in line. However, 5 km later, Claudine started to feel the strain. She saw the road marker and gave up on the chase.

Falling back, Khan pushed her to keep up but her spirits were weak. She slowed down to a comfortable pace while watching Leo and Agnes wither into small figures. Meanwhile, Khan who was sweeping from behind got restless after a kilometer or two. He decided to pull Claudine in the ride to close the gaps with the front riders. Having caught her breath, she followed closely to the chequered flag!

At the finish line, we took another brief water break before riding out again. This time, Leo led the team through Teluk Kerang. This road runs parallel to a canal overgrown with purple lilies!

We rode for a good distance, enjoying God's beauty before reaching the T-junction. Here we turned left to Jalan Kukup. Once we hit the main road, the smell of the sea was evident. We were near but still a good 10 km away!!!

We passed the small village of Penerok, before coming upon Kukup Golf Resort. We laboured past the resort and Ayer Masin, and the countdown on road markers begins!

5 km more....the stomach starts to growl!!!

4 km more....the mind play food tricks!!!

3 km more....chicken rice!!!

2 km more....roast pork!!!

1 km more....food, food, food!!!

0km marker was the most welcoming sign today!!! We cruised into the small town and our dear captain was not forgetting our vegetarian friend, Khan. The most diplomatic choice was the corner mamak shop. After all, who can say no to Malaysian's favourite....the roti canai???

We had a good refuel before heading back again. The same route to Teluk Kerang passes many public schools. All were in session on a Sunday since the Sultan of Johor reverted the weekends back to Fridays and Saturdays to allow Muslims more time to worship on the holiest day of the week.

We passed by the numerous chicken farms enroute to Pekan Nanas.

We took a final break in Pekan Nanas at our favourite juice stall before heading home. Riding through the traffic lights just after the Shell petrol station, Agnes and Khan were stalled by the red lights. In true team spirit, Leo and Claudine stopped at the road shoulder to wait for their arrival. After that, we rode home in a peloton, only separated briefly when we tackled the headwinds on our climb over the flyover.

Sweet Senior Citizen Robbed off Cannondale Roadbike!!!! (5 March 2016)

Sweet Auntie Siew Guay has given me her permission to share her story so that what happened to her may not occur again!

Auntie Siew Guay with her favourite bike, now lost!

A most unfortunate incident happened to my friend this morning. An avid rider, she joined Graziella Cycling Club to Forest City, a new mixed-development project in Johor. The route passes by Gelang Patah and Leisure Farm.

Passing by Leisure Farm, my friend and another lady rider noted a rider in distress. Both made a U-turn to offer help. After a distress call was made to pick up the rider, both ladies were separated from the front riders for a good distance. They decided to return to base since there is no way for them to catch up.

Riding home midway, 2 motorbikes with 1 pillion rider came close to my friend. She knew something was amiss and sped up to her friend in front. Before she could call out for help, the bikers took action!!! They kicked her twice before she lost balance and fell into a ditch. As soon as she fell, they approached her to grab her bike.

Sadly, my friend is a sweet 60+ years old lady. She could not put up a fight. Instead she told them nicely if they wanted her bike, to at least give her time to untangle her leg which was caught between the top tube and down tube. They screamed at her, "Cepat!!! Cepat!!!" , grabbed her bike and left with the pillion rider holding on to it.

My friend suffered a few bruises and abrasions. There was some tissue tear to her knee and the doctor withdrew about 4 cc of blood from her knee cap. Overall she is fine though shaken by the incident.

Since they have succeeded, it is a matter of time before the perpetrators repeat the crime. They may become bolder and more daring. It appears their modus operandi is to make the riders loose balance by kicking the bikes and their targets are lady riders.

Please ride in groups, within sight of each other! Do not ride alone!!