Offroad: Seri Alam 26.08.2012 - gathering of brothers

 This is ride special simply because it has been a long time since my last offroad outing in Skudai. Lond put up on PG Gerek fb page about the ride, so I set out to join in. Moreover, it is in Seri Alam. It has been a very, very long time. Being the first offroad after Ramadhan, I'm sure it would be a bit taxing.

 

7.30 am and I went to Ruza in Nusa Damai but no one there. Lond was waiting in Ruza in Taman Scientex. The restaurant is open, but without breakfast or even hot drinks. Bought RM3 worth of assorted kuih from nearby stall and had it in the restaurant. Washed down with plain water. Eg and Am joined us shortly after. To my surprise, Reza came too. So there we were, 5 of us. We went to the other meeting point in Taman Scientex and had breakfast over there.

 

Eventually, we started rolling proper at about 9.15 am.

:P

 

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Route:

Taman Scientex - Backyard - Flora Heights - Fort William - Mashi Maro - Badminton - 7-Eleven - Kambing - Seri Alam Bike Park - Kuil - Nusa Damai - Taman Scientex.

View the trail on Sports Tracker and here.

 

My stats:

Dist 31.07 km
Odo 384.7 km
Max 40 km/h
Time 2:36:29
Avg 11.8 km/h

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The first 10 km was very taxing. I was out of breath, and the stomach feels uneasy. Not to the point of vomiting or nausea, but uncomfortable although yet can still endure the ordeal. However, the legs are good and didn't give any problem. Alhamdulillah. I have to note here that most of the time little granny was asked to serve and big ring was spared most of the time. Sheesshhh...

 

I enjoyed the ride in overall. Especially the sumptuous start of Fort William - Mashi Maro section. The boing-boing downhill was simply awesome. The downhill to Badminton was interrupted with fallen (more of chopped off) trees at the halfway point.

 

To our surprise, the settlement at Badminton (and all other kotais) were deserted and some were burnt. A chat with a PATI on motorbike at the trail reveals that they had moved to other places. There were multiple thefts; cooking gas tank and rice were robbed. The PATI told us it might be that the thieves came around to their places following the waypoint markings that were left after the events ended. They didn't want to take them off out of their respect to us cyclists. We agreed that they could take off the markings for their safety; the markings should be taken off by organizers after the events, anyway. So, please be warned that if you're in Seri Alam trail, do expect discontinuity or even absence of markings from now on.

 

We met with people from Cyclemotion at 7-Eleven for a short get together (beraya tanpa makan-makan) and rode together for a few kms before parting off at the goat farm. The five of us went ahead and that led us to the bunch of DHers at Seri Alam Bike Park - another section that I enjoyed most. The run down at Seri Alam Bike Park towards the lake was amazing. Kudos to the trailbuilders!

 

It's good to be back on saddle offroad, and more so getting to meet again with fellow bikers after such a long time. What's leaving a big impression to me is the Seri Alam Bike Park. It left me grinning to this day.

 

Anybody has a Glory (with fullface helmet, neck brace, paddings, etc.) that I can borrow?

:D

 

Photos are in here.

 

Thanks for coming over, dude.

Have a great day ahead!