19.04.2015: Impromptu Touring to Hutan Lipur Lenggeng with Yad

the entrance to Hutan Lipur Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan

Perhaps the best plans are those unplanned. Or somewhat impromptu.

I was at the wet market in Ampangan when Yad asked me whether I was cycling; and he told me that nowadays he spends the weekend Senawang at his mom's house in Senawang. That promptly made me triggered an idea to him, whether he fancied an on road spin around Seremban. Equally promptly, he agreed and would be at my house in half an hour. Just nice for me, as I was about to get home from Pasar Ampangan.

I had been longing for a  bike ride, on road preferably, much in a preparation for something big (for me at least!) in May insyaAllah. Befittingly, the morning's ride would be nice, plus a chance to catch up on current affairs with Yad.

At about 9.30am, Yad's already at my place while I was having breakfast. A few moments after, we were busy preparing our bikes and at about 10.00 am we were on our way cycling around Seremban.

First stop was at Yad's former school at Ampangan, just a stone's throw from my house. After a mandatory photo snap, we went on towards Ampangan proper and turned into Jalan Jelebu.

Yad at Jalan Jelebu, just before the idea of the detour

Perhaps triggered by the roadside signage, Yad threw an impromptu idea: "how about going to Jeram Toi?". I checked the map on my phone, and I thought why not. However, I saw a notice 'permanently closed' on the map, so we immediately scrapped it without further checking whatsoever. At the same time, I saw Hutan Lipur Lenggeng on the map, which is not far from where we were, and it seems doable as the distance is much shorter than it would take to Jeram Toi. So, a change of plan and we headed out to our mini adventure.

Right from the start, I pointed out that the ride shall be a leisurely ride, with max speed of 20 km/h on flat road. Well, it is quite tough to stick to 20, actually; most of the time on flats we cruised at 23-25 km/h. The route is actually a constant uphill but on a manageable gradient, except for a comparatively steep hill just a kilometer from our intended destination.

The weather was good, sunny all the way and understandably hot as we headed out quite late. It started to drizzle a bit when we reached Pantai. However, it died down and back to sunny clear sky not long afterwards.

some horses by the roadside

We managed to keep our speed at a comfortable 20+km/h all the way, bar the steep hill section of course. That resulted in about 18 km/h average speed throughout the journey. Not taxing to the heart, lungs and legs. Comfortable leisurely ride. The traffic of a Sunday morning along the route also was accommodating. Not too many cars, or any big vehicles. Only for a couple of different times there were herds of superbikes zooming past us and at one point a solo cyclist on a road bike overtook us uphill.

a mansion at Pantai

I may have been through this route by car some time before, but it was not as distinct and memorable as this trip. The benefit of going slow is that one's senses could absorb the surroundings (yes, smoke and dirt as well). We stopped quite a few times for photos, and admiring the nicely built traditional Minangkabau kampung houses.

beautiful traditional Minangkabau house

at Pantai town

nearing the turn towards Lenggeng

waiting for Yad at the highest point of the journey

The road condition was good, and rather exceptionally good after the small Pantai town all the way heading towards our destination. It was recently paved with new white paints for the divider and shoulders.

smooth paved road

We reached Hutan Lipur Lenggeng at about noon. Nothing spectacular to write about the place, actually. There's a dedicated camping site, a viewing tower, ample parking lot and also the waterfall. The waterfall should be the highlight of the place, but it is not as grand as one might think. Anyway, for ones who have cycled under the sun for some kilometers and climbed a 190 m hill, soaking in the stream on the rocks is a little bit of a great reward.

We didn't do much at the place except cooling ourselves down and taking photos. Did some catching up upon matters and news revolving our lives. Such getaway on a weekend from busy KL is a nice thing to have once in a while. I won't complaint if we could do it often (our wives at home would, I bet).

happy cyclists

After close to an hour, we headed back to Seremban the same route that we came in. The uphill shortly after Hutan Lipur Lenggeng was with a forgiving gradient. Its reward is a generous gravitational pull which resulted in 67 km/h max speed on my odometer. There were no other vehicles sharing the road with me when I'm downhilling, so it was a maximum joy all to myself.

one for the road

The journey back to Seremban seems short and direct; we didn't stop anywhere else except at a roadside stall called Ibu Cendol. We ordered ABCs for both of us and enjoyed every spoon of it.

:)

route map (see data on the top)

Alhamdulillah, we reached my house at about 2.00 pm without any mishaps to us nor the bikes. I really enjoyed the ride, and the company. I reckon it would not be as nice to ride solo. So thank you, Yad. And ever more so for the impromptu detour. There shall be more tours (our detours) such as this, hopefully insyaAllah.

Photo album (on fb): http://bit.ly/HLL190415

Route map:

1. Seremban to Hutan Lipur Lenggeng: http://bit.ly/home-HLL (lots of photos therein)

2. Hutan Lipur Lenggeng back to home: http://bit.ly/HLL-home

Kona Nunu

Note:

I was riding 3x9 speed Kona Nunu with Surly CrMo Troll rigid fork (for 26" MTB) and a pair of new Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, with Ibera PakRak rear pannier rack and rack bag. I love the smooth rolling of the SMP and Troll fork. It is somewhat with a comfortable cushion yet firm on the tarmac.

Also on the handlebar are a pair of generic ergonomic leather grips bought from Pak Ngah of Sungai Pelek. Quite comfortable and with supple smooth cushion. I enjoyed it better with bare hands rather than with gloves on.

Modern MTB - Spoilt for Choice

When I started mountain biking in 2008, the bicycle used to be simple. Apart from the riding discipline, there are not many complication in deciding what kind of bike you're going to buy or upgrade to.

For instance, it is either hardtail or full suspension (FS). And FS would most likely lean towards All-Mountain (AM) or Downhill (DH) with a few exception to XC.

The rest are quite standard.

Nowadays, true to the sport's nature (and industry), evolution and solution to specific needs have been churned out quite rapidly  thus giving a broad spectrum of customisation. And with that, limitations to a big extent. Hey, this is mountain biking, after all. You ride a rig that's suitable with you and your type of riding.

These are the choices (or limitation) that you could have in assembling your bike that I have thus far collected (except fat bikes, and the list may not be exhaustive):

• Wheel size: 26", 650B (aka 27.5") or 29".
• Headset/Headtube/Steerer tube: 1 1/8" top and bottom, 1 1/8" top and bottom tapered 1.5" or Giant's Overdrive2 (OD2) 1.25" top with 1.5" bottom.
• Bottom bracket: Square tapered, Shimano external, ISIS, SRAM GXP, BB30, PF30, BB86, BB92, BB79, BB386EVO.
• Rear Shifter: Matching SRAM shifter with RD, matching Shimano's shifter with RD (SRAM's Attack shifter can also do the job, but rare nowadays and limited to 9s).
• Drivetrain: 8/9/10 rear cassette and matching chain
• Drivetrain (11s): 11 rear cassette (XX1) with matching XD Drive hub, 11s shifter, 11s chain and single chainring (a really restricted grouppo).
• Gear combination: 1/2/3 chainring coupled with suitable cassette (see Drivetrain)
• Stem/Handlebar diameter: 'standard' Ø27.2 or oversize Ø31.8 (seems to be the standard nowadays, overtaking 27.2) and relatively newer Overdrive Ø35
• Stem/steerer tube interface: standard 1 1/8" or Overdrive 1.25" (related to: Headset/Headtube/Steerer tube above)
• Fork end: QR 9mm, TA Maxle (15mm/20mm/DH).
• Rear axle: QR 9mm, TA 10mm, DT Swiss/Maxle Lite 12mm (check that your rear fork end 'over locknut distance' is 142mm for through axle).

Phew!
Anything else I've missed out?

Welcome back, Revelation 409

For quite a long time and after a series of unsuccessful service and repairs, my much beloved Rock Shox Revelation 409 is back to work. This time, its steerer tube is mated on my Trance headtube and the dropout is clamping the sweet Mavic CrossTrail. A second time assuming duty on a full-susser.

It has been dormant in a fork box in the storeroom as it is suffering a leaking problem.

It got me frustrated after sending it for repair a few times before this but the leaking was still present. I even had the thought of letting it go. However, I love the features abundant on the fork that I held onto it and resigned it to the store room.

Features
Tavel-adjustable (100-130mm) U-Turn.
Floodgate Motion Control.
Remote Lockout (poplock).
Rebound adjust.
Dual Air (+ve & -ve).
Lightweight at  from MTB Malaysia fb group I get to know about Aziz (Aparaziz Oi), an independent fork and shock serviceman. I contacted him for the sevice/repair job and he agreed to it.

Over the phone, his initial diagnosis was that the dust seals are busted and need to be replaced. Well, he seems to know what he's doing. Plus, I thought his many customers can't be wrong sending their forks, shocks and bikes for service and repair. So I gave it a shot.

A week after that, I got my fork back complete with a poplock RL (paid separately) and new RS dust seals.

There's no leaking on the left stanchion, and the U-Turn works perfectly. However, the floodgate and the right stanchion had some oil leaking. I was alarmed and was a bit frustrated. Anyway, I fitted it on Trance and completed the setup a few hours before taking part in NS Nature Seri Menanti 2015 Special Edition Jamboree ride.

However, the RL didn't do its duty at all. I notified this to Aziz and he asked me to re-send the fork to him for some adjustment. He has a 30-days warranty policy in effect for all service and repair job done. I don't really look forward to the much hassle excercise of disassembling the fork from the bike, though.

At the time of this writing, the fork is still on the bike. Perhaps I'd do the disassembling job in the coming few days.

Thanks for coming over.
Enjoy your rides!

14.12.2014: Umar Rides!

Umar rides!

Two weeks ago Umar asked me to take out the training wheels on his bike. Perhaps spurred by how his cousin Ainin could swiftly cycle on two wheels, as he witnessed during our short visit to her kampung. And so I obliged, and more. I took out the pedals as well and lowered the saddle, et voila, it transformed into a cheap balance bike. However he was not that keen to practice.
Anyway, the setup did not last long as he insisted to have the pedals put back on (perhaps to him like any bike should be). Last night while everyone in the house were cycling outside, with pedals reinstated he relentlessly practiced balancing and pedaling at the same time.

The major obstacle that he's struggling to get over with was looking down to locate the pedals. Not having the eyes looking forward resulted in him losing his balance and automatically bringing down his legs down to support for a fall. No matter how many times I tell him to keep his eyes looking forward, he kept on looking down at the pedals.

However, he was relentless and one who does not easily give up. I thought he would eventually as his leg should've felt tired from repeated cranking, stopping, repositioning on the pedal and supporting from falls. There's not a single sign of frustration, only a display of steely determination to get it right.

It was already midnight when I called everyone to get in the house. By this time, Umar was still not getting the hang of it yet. He refused to stop until I promised him that we would continue the next day. Judging from his determination, Umar would pretty soon cycle on his own very, very soon.

struggling with eyes and feet

Today evening I took Umar to a back road nearby our housing area for him to continue his practice. He was still struggling a bit with his feet kinestesis.

Perhaps learning bit by bit after so many attempts, he eventually got it. He could locate the pedals without looking, kept his feet on them and completed several cycles of cranking along a straight path on the road; with eyes looking forward. Check out the videos below.

showing commemorative scars from inevitable falls

And so, Umar finally got the hang of it - both balancing and pedaling. All by himself, being persistent and relentlessly keeping himself on it. And perhaps most importantly, not being frustrated of failed attempts.

 

fall and rise

Umar's first ride

 

"saya dah pandai...", says he to kakak and abang

Weight Training Benefits Cycling

I signed up with a gym a few months ago (okay, my wife persuaded me to join her) with a bit of reluctance. It is the commitment bit that makes me resisting the idea. Anyway, since she's insisting on it herself, I gave in and accompanied her. Nothing to lose for me (she's paying. Ha!), and everything to gain.

*cue Rocky theme song and the Philly steps scene

At first, we went for treadmill runs and stuff. We fiddled a bit with the machine weights with minimal instructions from the trainers. Nothing much of a structured fitness program, really. A month after that, we went for the free Personal Training session that came with our membership.

Basically it was really a fitness benchmarking, and also the gym's marketing bit in selling their real deal - PT sessions. I flopped real bad, especially on upper body and core strength. The legs (from cycling and running) are strong but could be better.

I have to say that the program is expensive, but for someone who does not have any idea about fitness and strength training, best to leave it to the expert. And so my trainer drew up a training plan for me for the next six months. Well, I agreed for a three month program and later on see how things develop down the road.

The program tackles with strengthening the core muscles, along with big and small muscles.

It has been 9 sessions now, and I have felt the difference in my strength and ability. Of course this is coupled with a change in diet (though not totally strict on it).

Take for example my recent ride in Tampin jamboree. Alhamdulillah I managed to climb the hills much better than I would than before; I surprised even myself. The parallel foot position during coasting downhill was also not tiring my quads as I would before. I believe it is from the leg presses, leg extensions and curls that I did during weight training. I could really feel that the legs are stronger. Thus I had fun in the ride. Also the core strength exercise helped in my body positioning on the bike. With stronger back and midsection, I could sit better on the saddle and ever ready to move about when needed i.e. for downhills, cornering and climbing.

Albeit, I'm still not through yet with the program. Meaning the legs can be made stronger still. As it is, I'm happy with the change that I felt so far, and am determined to get stronger insyaAllah.

If there area local gyms available near you (and cheap), I strongly suggest for you to turn up into one and get started. Find out about the program that they can offer you to be stronger. Only with strength and stamina would we able to enjoy our rides to the fullest (and perhaps also to take part in races).

At least we need strong upper body to push the bike uphill, no?

Thanks for reading.

Get stronger.

22.11.2014: NS Nature MTB Jamboree - Series 2: Tampin

I missed their event in Jelebu, and continuing the momentum from the offroad ride a fortnight ago, I registered for this event through the kind people from Perpatih Cycling Club. It is quite exciting for me as this would be one of a series of jamboree rides in Negeri Sembilan this year; to get a feel of what Tampin has to offer.

Tampin is not far from Seremban, so along with the gang from Perpatih, we convoyed from the meetup point (Petronas station at Jalan Tampin) in Senawang at 6.40am. We reached the starting point - Stadium Tampin - at a comfortable time, about half and hour before the start of the event (race category). Already the starting line has been filled with riders and their bikes. With the nice weather, the atmosphere is filled with good vibes and I'm raring to go.

Tampin Stadium grandstand and the participants flocking behind the starting line

trail route and profile

Unfortunately as I was busy with work and home the entire 2 weeks, I had not given much attention to the most important information that the organizer had put up in their fb event page - the trail route and elevation.

Take a look at the trail profile. Notice something? For the first 5km torture is expected. A steep climb to 250m elevation awaits. You may rest and you may decide to ride or push your bike, the hill (and a CP right on top of it) is there to stay awaiting for you. I decided to ride and take the challenge head on. I guess I managed only for the half of the climb. It IS steep.
*my Sports Tracker map and elevation reveals that the steep climb is actually at about the 10th km, with highest level at 278m!

fellow riders as seen at my climbing rest point

the climbing that awaits

the climbing section that demanded many to be on foot

the view from my 2nd climbing stop

with gang from Perpatih, resting at a  plateau en route to CP1

Climbing up, I gathered supports from fellow riders who gave way for me, and a few in their weariness while pushing the bike up did gave me some good words of motivation. I have to say that the two-tiered climbs that I managed to clean were the best moments for me in this ride. The ensuing downhills are good as well for they are ridable; I enjoyed them tremendously.

with Miep; now a face is attached to a name very often heard  of.Donning a sports shirt, I should've got the clue earlier that he's a rider from Pasir Gudang.

atop the hill, CP1 awaits

the view at CP1

However, the joy was marred by a major hiccup on the trail. Soon after rolling downhill, I came to the section where the trail is already jam-packed with riders waiting for their turns to cross a wide gap. And after that, single-filing (in multiple lanes) into a singletrack steep and muddy technical downhill in the woods. I guess it took me the best of half of an hour or more to get through the jam. We ended up on foot all the way in and up on equally muddy technical climb.

pretty muddy affair

I noticed that a few riders behind me are wearing sneakers which definitely has transformed into sleek soles. Grip and proper footing - important for bringing the bike uphill on foot - are diminished, what more with the added task of carrying the weight of the bikes. Hence I decided to gather about five of us nearby each other to form a human chain; get proper footing and bring up our bikes one by one. Teamwork is the key. After all, it's a jamboree and by then the podium placings were already taken up anyway.

The trail to CP 2 after that and continuing to CP3 are a mix of small hills and a few nice rolling downhills. Nothing much to write about. I didn't stop at CP2 as I was on a comfortable pace and on a roll. At times I was like being transported back to Seri Alam with the usual rubber and palm oil plantation. Sigh.

flowy singletrack, like wide ruts

When I finally reached CP3, it was already past cut-off time. All 3 CP stickers collected, and now is the long way home. We were instructed to take the tarmac route to get back to the starting point. And so we did. I drafted behind a couple of riders all the way, 8km to the stadium.
:)

In my personal opinion, the trail is nice with challenges scattered at many points along the way, marking is ample, organisation of the event is quite good, but the lucky draw is not perfect (because I didn't win anything). Perhaps the major one thing that blemished the overall event (and consequently making other relatively smaller imperfections being blown up as major failings by many participants) is the huge gap en route to CP2. That section wasted many of the riders' time. Anyway, I applaud the willingness of fellow riders to work as a team in hauling our bikes uphill and clear the obstacles on the trail. I enjoyed the ride, except at the gap and non-ridable technical singletrack.

Note:
1. I did some weight training for the legs a few weeks ago and I have to say that it helped a lot.
2. Breathing and pacing were controlled with the assistance of zikrullah, and alhamdulillah I did not face any mechanical problem for the bike along the way. Nor any signs of cramps and headache.
3. Man, I really enjoyed the two climbs en route to CP1.
4. Drafting is not a sin.

Thanks for coming.
See you in the next writing.
Ride on!

09.11.2014: Ticket to Jamboree Ride 2014

Team Akmal

Perpatih Cycling announced that they are going to have a newbie/beginner offroad event at Taman Bandar Senawang not long after they presented the local Senawang & Bukit Putus trail to mountain bikers near and far (Cabaran Bukit Putus 2.0). The number of participants is limited to only 300, so I immediately grabbed two tickets for myself and Marsya. I asked Yad as well if he would like to join, as the event is nearby to his mum's house in Taman Senawang Indah.

the crowd at the starting area

Nowadays 300 is a small number for a jamboree ride compared to when mtb jamboree started many years ago.
*the usual number now is more than 1,000 - the Burung Hantu 2014 event attracted 2,500.

with Kru - the all-green rider

Marsya adjusting to the ride and bike handling, at Taman Bandar Senawang

The event is just the kind of ride that I need for Marsya as she had been asking for an offroad ride for many months already. I myself had not had many opportunity to ride in Senawang lately. The full distance is 18km designed for beginners (said them), but judging from her fitness level, I'd say a half of the distance would still be good enough after a very long hiatus.

Yad - rider otai Taman Senawang Indah

Marsya had outgrown her Polygon frame. So I prepared for her Naza's Diamondback Apex SL with lots of lightweight parts (within my wallet's limit of course) so as not to burden her much with the machine and she could focus on her riding.

The trail is a very nice mix of what Senawang can offer. Tarmac. Long and short uphill climbs. Long downhill descend. Singletracks. River crossing. Double track (palm oil plantation). The trail design is quite good for a beginner and experienced rider. Kudos to Perpatih gang.

It was raining in the morning a few hours before the event started, so I expected muddy trail to be savoured.

entering muddy offroad

We started on the tarmac for a few km. During this I refreshed Marsya on offroad riding basics - parallel feet during coasting, brake levers assignment (which ones for front and rear), gearing, body position for going downhill, etc.

Marsya crossing the river

Marsya rode quite well for 6km. She even managed to pedal through crossing a river; must be quite an accomplishment for her. There were sections that forced her to get her feet on the ground and push the bike instead, though. The long ascend really taxed her and we rested quite a long while. I took a breather too, and waited for her to recover.

While I was at the trailside, Farid, who is a follower of this blog, greeted me. We chatted for a while, and Marsya went ahead continuing her climb. Sometimes it is the small things like this which give me the motivation to write (and dusting the cobweb on this blog pages). There are people who still read.
:)

At one T-junction about 8km along, we were presented with options. We were cautioned that the left turn would present us climbing ride and the right turn would take us to the starting point very quickly. It was very easy for us to make the decision of taking the right turn and finish the ride short.

taking a fiver (or ten)

Total riding distance: 8.59km.
Total riding time: 57 minutes.

I'd say it was a very successful event and I liked it very much. For a small fee, the organiser thrown in a (pink!) cotton t-shirt and simple lunch with ice cold drinks. Plus lucky dip and lucky draw prizes too.

Marsya's not-so-lucky-number

one for the album: Marsya, pinky me & Yad

I would like to convey my thanks to Perpatih gang for coming up with this event. It has everything that I had wished for, in a small scale jamboree ride. Small crowd, no race, meeting up with friends, ample lucky draw, simple food and drinks and an awesome mixed trail. Plus, it is specially tailored for beginners which is very, very suitable for me to bring along Marsya.

Map of our short route is here.

Thanks for reading.

08.06.2014 Ride around Taman Desa Ros

Hafazi scaling the narrow path

Just before the start of Ramadhan, the three of us from Taman Desa Ros (twins Hafizal and Hafazi and yours truly) explored our neighbourhood. while the trees are still there, and looking for possible connecting route to Forest Heights.

beyond the trees is Forest Heights

We came unequipped, though. What looks like a possible trail to FH is inexplorable unless we have parangs or a chainsaw. Anyway, we ventured on and went out towards Taman Guru. Apparently there is way to get there but only by foot; that is, if you cross over the fence. Respecting the boundary, we stopped just there and headed back.

towards Taman Guru

just next to Taman Guru

 As a bonus, though, the nearby green patch has potential for a short technical course.

Hafazi rolling down

Hafizal contemplating (and went rolling short after)