11.11.12: solo ride around localities

at UniKL MITEC Seri Alam/MRSM JB

I had a very limited saddle time during the last few weeks due to various reasons, the major one being rainy evenings/nights. That's why I tend to cherish any rides that I manage to do. More so when the ride is coupled with an objective other than spinning the crankwheel.

Helmy, an avid freebies collector (and a reader) of MBUK asked me to get him a copy of Nov 2012 issue from KL. He's riding in Plentong that day, so I delivered the mag by riding on road with my RTW Machine. Heck, it's only a 2km ride from home.

So, after chat over nasi lemak(!), I went off pedaling home. Noticing that it was still early and the distance covered was not that far, I decided to stay on saddle and charted a longer route in my mind. I covered various places, hills and a little bit offroad (mud!) thrown in the overall distance. Not too bad, alhamdulillah I covered about 30km that morning. Enough endorphin over less than a couple of hours of spinning around the localities. No bad doggies.

:)

Route: Plentong > Bandar Seri Alam > MRSM JB > UniKL MITEC Seri Alam > Flora Heights > Nusa Damai > Taman Cendana > Taman Bukit Dahlia > KIP Mart Masai > Masai > Bandar Seri Alam (Suria) > home.

Oh, and for the first time I used the Raleigh panniers bought from Amir Syafiq who got it from Bristol during his years there.

Bila lah nak buat short/long distance touring daa...

Distance: 28.6km
Route map in here: http://bit.ly/T2x7Qo

Thanks for coming over.

Have a good ride!

And take care of your solat.

Seri Alam Offroad 14.10.2012: Leading the Pack

multiple Yad

It's only a week to Burung Hantu 2012 event, and I needed so badly some dirt time. The last offroad was at PCP two weeks back and that followed by an 8.6km Fun Ride on tarmac with the family, participating in Mega Ride 2012.

 

Highly motivated, I pedaled to Ruza Taman Scientex on that Sunday morning. There were only 5 of us: EG, Wak Amm, Yad, Apau and myself. It was a small group, and the level of fitness & skills are about the same, hence I decided to ask EG if I could lead the ride that morning; with him as a guide whenever we got lost of course. And yes, he guided me quite a number of times!

 

The trail network in Seri Alam is quite confusing for me all these while; and I've been tailing the riding group whenever we rode in there. There were numerous occasions before this when I got lost, and not knowing which part of the area I was. It is quite scary, especially when it is close to the afternoon when water supply depleted and the body is exhausted. During the last 2 rides, we had been going through the same trail, so I could remember a certain (sumptuous) parts of the trail. This time, I took the lead.

Destination points: Flora Heights, Fort William, rodeo, Mashi Maro, and Badminton; and then Seri Alam Bike Park on the way home.

 

I tell ya, when you're in the lead, the trail's various branches opened up. Paths on the sides which were not noticeable suddenly become very, very visible. In many occasions I did steered the group to unfamiliar routes and we had to retrack to jalan yang benar. EG had been helpful in correcting the way, all the way. Thanks, deh!

 

Anyway, I felt confident to lead a group from Nusa Damai up to Badminton now, insyaAllah. Still a bit blur to get back to Bike Park, though. Hehe...

Photos in here: http://bit.ly/ZpG3lT (action shot overload!)

Route map (Nusa Damai --> Seri Alam) is here: http://bit.ly/TDA2eF

Thanks for coming over.

Ride on!

Jangan tinggal solat ye.

Ronda Riadah Mega Ride 07.10.2012: Family Fun Ride II

The people in the family was quite excited when I told them that we are participating in the second installation of Mega Ride's Fun Ride. The advertised distance this time, however, is triple than the first's 5km. That got me a bit worried, especially for Adam's single speed BMX. For Marsya, I built her a 9-speed mountain bike 2 weeks before her birthday, so no problem there except for her handling of it.

 

We did about 4 training sessions with the kids, and once with the missus and Umar. It made a lot of difference, really, and I think they are fit enough for up to 10km ride on tarmac. I sensed that they enjoyed the small victories whenever we finished our training sessions. And I think more rewardingly the family bond is better when we go out cycling together. Getting the kids to get ready on time is still an area that we could greatly improve on, though.

:P

 

So, the D-Day arrived. I managed to load the Innova with 3 mountain bikes and 1 BMX while still having comfortable space to sit in (Umar as usual would hop around front and back, regardless). We got up early and drove out to Bandar Dato' Onn that Sunday morning. Such an awesome spectacle it was, a carnival of cycling enhusiasts gathering on a big open space of the grass hill.

As usual, the eventual flag-off was preceded by formailities of short speeches, safety briefing and anthems. We the Fun Riders had to wait from 8.00am to 8.50am before our turn arrive. By that time, Umar was a bit restless and sleepy. I managed to keep him interested although he refused to wear his helmet all the way.

I kept track of the distance and kept watch on Adam's condition. The gentle slope heading to Seri Austin was a bit tough for him, but he managed to pull through after a short rest for water halfway. The weather was nice and bright, but by the time we reached the turning point at Seri Austin, it was already a little bit hot. Nothing to complain, though, as it is much better than if it is raining. The total distance was only 8.6km according to my cyclometer. Well, I think it is just about the right distance for us, with the amount of training that we had.

After getting our meals and drinks, we went off. Not bothering too much on the lucky draw at all. We had what we wanted, and it was more than the measly RM50 entrance fee for the whole family. The goodie bags itself worth more than that (a good quality jersey with back pockets); plus the meal, free-flow drinks and satay provided. The family outing: priceless.

Looking forward for the next Fun Ride, and preferably with shorter waiting/idle time and suitable ride distance.

Photos in here: http://bit.ly/TZ5ed0

Thanks for coming over.

Have a good day!