I registered for the ride, and I also volunteered as officials. On the day, I found myself manning Checkpoint 3 with Shamsudin Fadzillah .
Yad came to my house in Seri Alam and we went together to Plentong to get ready. My bike was left in Plentong since the previous week's ride, together with other things - helmet, shoes and bag. Went out for nasi lemak and wam Milo with Yad and Zul at Abang Syam's breakfast shack. Zul? Oh, he's a noob from my office, making PER 2009 as his first offroad ride.
About 8:00 am, I was ready to go - back to Seri Alam. Checkpoint 3 is nearby my house in SA, so I need to get there, riding the bike on road from Plentong. I'll be riding to CP with Atuk from my house in SA. It was quite exhausting, actually, on road to SA. I wonder how I did about a year ago on my first RTW from Plentong to Pasir Gudang. At about 8:40 am he arrived in his Wira with Coilair Deluxe perched atop the roof. Getting the bike from the rear passenger seats out and placing the wheels is a thing of the past for him now.
Once ready, we went out towards CP3 on road. There was an uphill before we came to the trailhead offroad. That too, is exhausting. The fun started very soon, and we hit the see-saw ride a few minutes later. Not one to be missed, I guess that technical downhill singletrack is the highlight of the ride from CP2 to CP3 in PER. However, there's a catch - you're greeted with an uphill ride to CP3 as soon as you're out of that section. Befittingly, as a gesture of victory, CP3 is located just after the uphill ride. Almost all riders who came around CP3 were panting out of breath, begging for their souls, and water.
So that's where Atuk and I were, donating blood to evil mosquitoes for more than 6 hours. We were there from around 9:20 am. I went out at about 3.25 pm, though, to catch up with Zuhur prayers. And something to fill my stomach, too.
The first rider to reach CP3 is Ali Tamago, at 9:52 am. We were not surprised to see him that early, for he's a fast rider. However, what we were surprised to see is that his ride passport bears only one sticker from CP1. Perhaps he luckily got lost and skipped CP2. 10:40 and a bunch of local riders came around, including Tulang. Peak time at CP3 was at about 12:00 to 1:00 pm.
I enjoyed manning the station. One: I could drool at the riders' bikes. Two: i'ts not tiring, although it was washed away by greeting the riders coming up to the CP. I hope that we lifted their spirits up for them to move on for the next 7km or so back home to the starting point. Three: I met lots of people from Johor, S'pore, KL, New York (yeah, the first time I met a New Yorker, and there were at least two of them), Australia. Okay, the ang mohs are from S'pore, not directly from faraway lands coming over especially for the event. Oh, and to my surprise I met Benjamin Soon, a guy I know from my previous job, just two months on a mountain bike. Quite an achievement, really, to have reached CP3.
I went out alone, back to Plentong at about half past 3. There's a surprise in store, actually. The route back from CP3 was initially a gentle uphill (still enough to make you mentally busted after all the distance). The payback is awesome. Downhill singletrack amidst green grass, open area beside the Plentong apartment area. As usual, you can always expect something fresh from Cyclemotion. Kudos for that, bros!
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