Ebony and Ivory Ride (8 April 2017)

Forest City

At the butterfly interchange

First Climb

The only Foldie!!!

The best husband

Coming down the slope

Regrouping in Gelang Patah town

Raining in Pendas

Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno!!!

Arriving at Forest City

Guards saluting and directing all riders

Beautiful landscaping

Poolside

Beachside

Costume Fail

Dab Goofing!!!

With Quili, Person in Charge at Forest City

It was sheer Olympian spirits that bound us together and helped us finish today's ride. Faced with many hurdles and adversities, everyone took it in stride. Rain clouds started blowing in when we were all setting up for group photos. Then, as we rolled our first 10 km, the wind fought us head on and sideways. When the sky decided to leak tiny droplets just after Gelang Patah town, many could have turned back but none did! Everyone just pushed ahead without hesitation even though it began to pour heavily thereafter!

We arrived at The Heartstopping Prata stall in Pendas all soaking wet. While some took their breakfast, more than 10 others; notably Chiam, Sibyl, SK Wong, Thomas Moy, Chee Kiang and Kee Tiam laboured on to the jetty in the rain. They were the worst lot as the rain only got heavier!!!

It was a morning resigned to being wet! When the "jetty group" returned earlier than the stipulated time, all cold and shivering; the bigger half of the riders with warmed bellies joined them in the rain to Forest City. Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno!!!

Arriving at Forest City, we were given warm welcomes! The security guards along the final 1 km stretch, all saluted and directed us as we arrived one by one. It was still raining when we parked our bikes and since we were all wet, we did not hesitate to take lengthy group photos as it patters on.

Before....

Before.....

After!!!!

We were given a guard of honour welcome as we stepped indoors. Then, an English speaking host gave us an introductory tour to their project, slowly losing us as he went on and on. By the time he finished, half the group had disappeared, trying to get warm outside or helping themselves to hot drinks at the sales foyer.

Only one person was warm and dry today! It was Victor who had come all prepared with a change of clothes and a prayer that it will not rain for the first part of the morning!!! Everyone should give him a poke for not finishing his prayers properly!!!

A buffet lunch was served at their restaurant, courtesy of Forest City. However, a slight miscommunication between the person in charge and the restaurant resulted with the waiters scrambling to stop us from eating!!! Quili had walked us down explaining that lunch will be served at 11.30 am but the restaurant insisted that we can only eat at noon! They could only try to stop us but when they were faced with wet, cold and hungry cyclists, they failed miserably!!!

The rain did let up when we leave! As some took longer to eat, we left in staggered groups. The last group rolled out when the sky started to leak again. Thankfully, it was just a drop here and there and not one that got us dripping pools of water like earlier when we sat through the introductory speech!

When there's a big group of 47 riders, some technical problems are bound to happen. Hooi Leong had a tyre puncture just before the Prata stall! Chee Kiang's pedal came off just before the turning into Forest City. He continued pushing on a metal rod!! Chung Keat's ego was bruised when he fell off his mtb at the parking lot in Forest City!!!

Our Singaporean friends

Everyone arrived safely home though some took a little longer as they had to cycle back through the Causeway where home is the tiny island that once was part of Malaysia. A modern cosmopolitan today, we still share the same comradeship, riding together through rain and shine .....and guilt for soiling the plush dining chairs at Forest City!!!! 

A World Without Borders!!!

Photo Credits :

1. Ang Yee Ling

2. Andy Chan

3. Desmond Loh

4. Lionel

5. Y K Chiam

6. Paul Eddie  

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Food for the day :

 




 

A Recce for Ebony and Ivory Ride (1 April 2017)

The Recce Team at Pendas Jetty

Waiting for our food at Warong Poyot

Low tide

Forest City with its hanging gardens

One of the reasons why we waited patiently for 10 minutes to get clearance

Batik and kebaya clad staff

Hanging Gardens of Babylon???

Steeds

Monkeys

Nasi lemak beef rendang

Lontong

Mee Soto

The Ebony and Ivory Ride scheduled for 8 April 2017 is a joint venture between A Taste of Johor and Asia Cycling Network with a vision to bring together people from all nationalities irregardless of race, religions or social status. Aiming to foster social inclusion and human development, both the visits to the rustic fishing village of Pendas in contrast to the new Forest City development gave rise to the themed name. ACN had driven the route twice; once with Philip Sim and on both occasions meeting up with the person in charge at Forest City to express our intent. Today's recce ride was with the same purpose but more so, to simulate the actual day's event.

We started rolling as soon as Philip was spotted climbing up the slope from Horizon Hill's Eastgate. He was not allowed any rest time even though he had rode all the way in from Singapore as he was caught shooting the sunrise, resulting to his delay! Exiting the Southgate and taking on the butterfly interchange, we cruised on Iskandar Coastal Highway before turning off for Lebuh Kota Iskandar. After which, we had a short regrouping at Gelang Patah and once again at the Pendas junction.

Arriving at the Heartstopping Prata stall aka Warong Poyot, we were disappointed our Prata man had taken the day off. Disappointed, we settled for mee soto, lontong and nasi lemak. However, the beef rendang served with nasi lemak turned out exceptionally good, alleviating our frustrations.

After breakfast, we rode to Pendas jetty which overlooks the hillock of Sunway Iskandar. To our right, Singapore appeared a short swim away! Here and there were little stalls trading fresh fishes caught from the sea.

Before long, we left the rustic fishing village and headed for Forest City. As we approached the "ivory towers" a security guard standing at his post refused to allow us entry. This was not surprising as several riders have been turned away on previous occasions.

Throwing names does not gain us entry. Even though we had informed the person in charge to expect our arrival, no red carpets were rolled out to welcome us. Instead, the head of security came on his motorcycle to check us out. It was after a few phone calls and a good 10 minutes wait that we were finally given clearance to enter!

At the driveway to the main lobby, Quili came out to greet us, apologizing and assuring that things will be smoother next week. We refreshed ourselves over complimentary drinks served at the sales gallery before taking our final bow.

On our way back, we took another water break at Gelang Patah. While some had fresh coconuts, some preferred the cold drinks offered at Petronas. TH though went ahead alone without a break.

The hot mid day sun finally took a toll on Maggie. Climbing up the slope as she entered Southgate, her leg cramped. She had to sit by the side of the road while Lim and Claudine accompanied her. They had a heartwarming experience when a Good Samaritan pulled his car over to offer help. He must have cast some magic dust for somehow, Maggie's leg finally recovered and with that she walked home accompanied, by Lim.

Photo credits :
1. Ang Yee Ling
2. Philip Sim

Klip Klip Nite Ride (22 March 2017)

Waving the Johor flag

Meet and greet the children at the village hall

Dabbing in action

Lovely kids

Getting their helmets fitted

HRC marshals with the children

Safety talk at Kg Majidee Police Station

Rolling

Rolling

Even Singaporeans came to give a show of support

Police escort

Klip Klip Nite Ride was a collective commitment from the caring society to bring safety awareness to the general public at large, especially after the Mat Lajak tragedy on 18 February 2017. Starting from the Kampung Majidee Police Station, the ride spanned 12 km with a stop at the village hall to meet and greet the village kids before riding on with them to Warong 48 where all riders were hosted to a free supper.

 It was a well organized event with police escorts and HRC ride marshals paving the way. The ride was well received by both the village folks and the cycling community. Many cycling clubs came to show their support and the headcount surpassed the expected 100 benchmark.

The ride ended with some BMX stunts by 2 able adults. They were very impressive but watching on, we can only hope these stunts are emulated indoors ONLY as in tonight's case and not on the open road where the children loved to hang out!!! Another cause for worry was the presence of many motorcyclists without helmets on the road that night. It was a total disregard to safety and the law. What messages will be passed on to these children?

Overall it was a commendable effort. The children were given new helmets while brakes and lights were reinstalled onto their bikes that evening itself. Meanwhile, Stephen and Aswana had spent their days prior to the ride rounding up the kids to teach them safe riding habits. Klip Klip Nite Ride can only be a catalyst to spread safety awareness but at the end of the day, it is a long term effort from everyone concerned to make it a success!


Photo Credits :
1. Khaw Sue Chen
2. Stephen Ngu
3. Happy Riders Connect

4. Asia Cycling Network