akmal's bike park

akmal's bike park

Thursday 31 December 2015

27.12.2015: Impromptu Touring to Hutan Lipur Ulu Bendul with Yad

This is the second impromptu touring with Yad this year. The first was in April (read it here).

Yad was supposed to come by my house to fetch some bicycle items. I threw to hime a proposition as well: how about a ride up Bukit Putus via the old road and then soak in the river at Ulu Bendul?

Seems like a plan and he agreed. As he was without his bicycle in Senawang, I offered my souped up XTC for his usage. We went out a bit later than the planned 8.00 am as I had to change the XTC clipless pedals to platforms and get my bike ready as well.

riding into the sun
the road was ours
It was Yad's first ride up Bukit Putus, and my third so far. I love the route as it is not busy with traffic nowadays, has a mild gradient up and the route is lined with greenery which also providing the shade; cool and breezy along the way. The only thing that poses a problem to cyclists is the known presence of a group of dogs nearby Starfresh Agro Park. Never go up there alone. 2 is good, 3 is even better.

It is unimaginable that such a busy road during my childhood is now a deserted recreational route. It was since the new wider multi carriage highway being commissioned that the choice of route has shifted. The old road (Route 361) would actually eventually take you to a higher elevation compared to the new highway (Jalan Kuala Pilah, Route 51). At which, is the usual starting point for hiking up Gunung Angsi.

at the gantry - standard feature of
Hutan Lipur across Negeri Sembilan
Past the highest point, we went down 2 km towards Kuala Pilah and went to Taman Rekreasi Ulu Bendul. We went straight to the gantry and on tarmac we cycled up to the campsite. There was a barrier on a bridge over the river, but we went on the side with our bikes and cycled further a bit offroad.
Yad in Taman Rekreasi Ulu Bendul

We spotted a nice area with somewhat deep section of the river and some space for our bikes. It is a bit secluded so we didn't have to worry much about security. The water was cold as expected, with plenty of shade from the big trees around. It was quiet and no other people around. I think we spent some thirty minutes soaking in the water and chatted catching up with things.

down to the water
It was about 10.30 am when we got out of the water and dried ourselves out. I brought along in my PakRak a change of clothes together with the mobile changing room - the ever versatile kain pelikat. My bum has to be dry as the Troll is with leather saddle; can't get it wet.

We took an alternative route offroad out of Ulu Bendul to the main road, which bypasses the picnic area. We road a short distance uphill before stopping at the roadside to replenish my water bottle with natural water from the mountain. After continuing about 1 km uphill to the highest point on the old road, we started our descend back to Seremban. Reached home at about 11.30 am.

From Strava, the total distance from the house to Ulu Bendul was about 15 km with some 300 m elevation climb. Average speed was 25.5 km/h with max speed of 63.4 km/h (!). Well, must be something wrong with the GPS. Definitely.

Troll in the nature
dual track out to the main road
climbing up towards the old road
free water
enjoying gravity
It was nice actually to be able to do such nature rides once in a while. And it is a big bonus that such things are accessible. Simple luxury that money can't buy.

For the next one, Jeram Toi via Bukit Tangga is quite interesting. InsyaAllah.

Enjoy your rides!


Tuesday 1 December 2015

Upgraditis?

There's Nothing Wrong With Your Bike

Really. I agree with Aaron.

There's simply no cure for upgraditis, but you can definitely do more to upgrade yourself. Soup up your leg muscles and better your heart rate.

Do some circuit training, weight training and cardio workouts. The next time you tackle that familiar hill, take note of your heart rate and your timing. Can you clean it up with ease and have spare energy to keep going (for the next one!)? Once you have upgraded yourself, sprinting a short uphill or taking up the endurance challenge of a long hill climb will be your breakfast. In fact, you'll want them for dessert as well.

Read on:
http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/opinion-theres-nothing-wrong-with-your-bike/