010109 The Good, Bad & Ugly

I just dunno, what's wrong today. Not a bad feeling. I didn't get out of bed on the wrong side. Not even a bad omen but my sixth sense is tingling.
For starters, we had changes in in the RV point. Back & fourth, back & fourth. Neither here nor there, maybe in the Toilet Zone. One day it's some near what restaurant, today it's in my town. The next minute it's there again. SMS flying around. Got me agitated. Finally after much snorting like a stuffed pig, we sorta congregated unofficially in front of the delivery hotel. Then all wanted to pee, moved about again to the belated Projet.
Shahrul, his brudder, Fahmi, his friend, Ajis, Zack Graphic, Apai, Daoh Darko, Sham Dewa & yours truly, not before some more punctures again from Apai & Sham Dewa at my place earlier. 2 huge explosions that ruptured 2 tyres. Zack, you're not supposed to karate them.
We had to change the front wheel altogether. Lucky for Apai, I had a spare 105 that made his bike into MJ (Black & white).
Apai nearly abandoned riding today. The frustration runs deep...really deep...

Then we saw this marshal on a motorbike whizzing by followed by rempit road riders! Duh! Why are they so damn in a hurry?
Shahrul said we'd better wait for the MTB group, its the end of the peloton...uh? All I could see was Nasrul lagging at the tail end. Oh brother...
So we just rode until we reached Rinching towards Jln. Enam Kaki, Zack decided to wake up & get off the slumber. Both of us sped. Caught up with the polka dot jersey, a few dots of riders here & there & 5 minutes before the 1st check point, like a mirage, I could see Hwa's FUJI carb sun's reflection.
I noticed quite a turnout of pro & state riders, no wonder the speed. Some of them stared at us as if we're primates from another jungle. Darwin says we're from the same species. He's an idiot.
No wonder bananas were left on the windscreen. Evolution? No...



DeVolution yes - the idea that instead of evolving, mankind has actually regressed,
as evidenced by the dysfunction and herd mentality of human society.

Sham Dewa & Fahmi have disappeared into oblivion. Riding like the storm beneath the wings. Of course, Sham Dewa donned a new set of jerseys...CSC. The aerodynamics of the Baju pro, made him laju pun macam pro. Berlagak lah tu...



Off we go again after getting bloated from a few bottles of pipe water. What the heck...lemme give it a shot. If I could follow, I'll follow...If I can't, there's still humans some far back from me. He he.
Half of the gang decided to follow suit. Zooming like a pocket rocket till Apai just needed a leak in Nilai town. Daoh who was so engrossed with the ride nearly missed us. My left claf was twitching. Got into the loo & splashed it with cool water, so goes my head too. Forgot to take a teaspoon of apple vinegar, supposedly helps us from getting cramps. Plainly, should train more at high speeds.

Met Cikgu Hisham & his gang somewhere in Nilai, no wonder I didn't see them here with us. They got fed-up waiting I suppose. The ride was half an hour late. So much for that. Zack Graphic hates late comers, he'll never ever wait for you.

Onwards to Salak Tinggi was a breeze, the usual 123 steep Salak Tinggi hill upon De Palma Hotel ,Ajis had to stop a while. Apai got infected too...50 metres later. I sat all the way uphill, so no twitching muscles. Turned back 10 metres to support Daoh & Hwa. We stopped at a bus stop to wait for Md Noor Balung Ayam Merah. He rode alone to Sepang earlier & rendezvous with us in Salak Tinggi . Somewhere along Jenderam Hilir all riders took a break gobbling away ice cream from a moto vendor. Shahrul made so much noise until all the guys looked at him, mouth wide open, saliva seeping out. Hwa was busy showing off his tights. We ended in a coconut husk/shell garage, some riders have ran out of water!









Nasrul was late but he arrived eventually. Only 2 minutes of rest for him, we were already moving. Sorry brudder, that's the rule of the game, no pain no gain. I didn't wanna wait anymore. Just followed rhythm, all the way to Unikeb. Hwa exploded his tube yet another. Fahmi & the marshal went over to help, we cycled back home. Fahmi's tale here.

The good part that came out of the ride:
I pushed myself to the limit. never in my wildest dreams I'd be cranking with such a big ratio 53-15 gears. Mad or what I dunno. But I did it in a period of 15km, I was pushing at a menacing 40-43kph! Whoa! As we left Jalan Kpg Enam Kaki, hell broke loose. I was tailing the 2nd peloton when Zack Graphic popped out of nowhere & overtook us. Not wanting to be left behind, er ...actually I was also testing myself if I could follow the leading peloton. I grabbed the chance, stood up & sprinted to catch the flow. We caught them! Oh yeah,15 km of high octane, endorphins splurging (No I didn't have dog meat for dinner), heart pumping to the rate of 188 bpm. Luckily I didn't bonk. I get to overtake the polka dot jersey 4 times! Eventually I left him behind in Jenderam. There's no looking back after that.
Nasrul finished the ride! "Saya last Abg. Man". So what the heck? U have riders with bling-bling megabucks wheelers taking the sweeper. Be proud brudder! Even though your bike's aint shinin', u didn't cheat. U got guts. Not like some show off jerk. Pakalolo? Chineklli? The marshals were great together with their awesome BIG bikes, betul2 "BADONGA & NALLA" bikes. Must give credit to them. Not a junction without them. They're very concern about our safety. U got a brown hair chick tagging along on a truck in case of emergency. Loads of cars too, bike rack ready. Hats off to them.

The bad:
People gets left behind. Is it a race or is it not? I thought I was supposed to be a kind of a group ride. But right from the start, you've got a pack of riders, ridin like there's no tomorrow. We stopped twice. For the 2nd pit stop, some were out of H2O & so was the organizer! Aiya... Lucky for me, I was ready from the beginning. Scroll down later to see what I had for breakfast & take-away. The polka dot jersey had to stop. He's out of wind. What a pity. It's supposed to be enjoyable. Maybe I'm wrong, I dunno. Who am I to judge.

The ugly:
It was a mess. Riders were separated like goats droppings. My friend felt like going home. What's the real purpose. It got defeated. Was it the objective of the ride? Ask yourself. Overall, my feelings are all mixed up like "rojak" I felt good, felt bad & it kept me wondering...quite a bit.



ETD: 9:00am Masjid BBB - ETA: 12:50pm Home BBB = 3hr 50 min
Rest 1 hour
Total cycling time = 2hr 50 min
3 pcs white bread-210 kcal + 2 slices cheese-210 kcal + 2 bananas-144 kcal + 1 cup MILO-200 kcal
2 pcs white bread-140 kcal + 1 slices cheese-110 kcal
Calories intake, Breakfast & Rest area = 1014 kcal
Calories Burned = 2567 kcal
*Didn't take the Powerbar nor the Quaker Chewy
Average Heartbeat = 138 BPM

281208 Unikeb UKM to Lenggeng - The Ride

Syafiq, Hafiz Skinhead & Nasrun

"Uncle Man, kami lambat lah...tayar pancit..."
Oh no not again. 7:20 am & not a bloody soul. Amin just trailed behind.
Just woke up & stoned.
"I'm feeling sick, might not be riding today...sorry Bg. Man...3 minutes later another sms..."I want to sweat it out, might feel better after that" Apai...
Then out of nowhere appeared Fahmi, apparently "...gatal punya pasal la katakan,"
He's not riding. The itch is just too great to be missed!
7:40 am another puncture!!! $%&#@* Apai was starting to burn up his calories already. Pump & the tire keeps letting out air... $%&#@* again! 8:20 am already & finally we moved!

Took the 4 of us, Apai, Acap, Amin Superstar & me 15 min of hard riding to reach Semenyih. What do you expect when the leader was Amin the Superstar boy.
We didn't want Hafiz & the MTBs to wait too long so we decided to backtrack into Tmn University - Bangi Golf Club - Kajang Mewah.

As usual there's a pack of wild K9 waiting to pounce on us near the Bangi Golf Club. These K9 seems to know where to wait & we always seem to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But I was rather amazed today...they didn't bother us one bit...only bobbling their heads & raising their ears to our rattling chains & derailleurs
Probably they're thinking..."what do we dogs get for chasing & barking aimlessly at odd looking two legged animals wearing tortoise shells on their heads on 2 big circles..." I know for sure, they just like to get the kick of it & laugh silly at us afterwards. "Dumb humans...we like to scare the s*** out of you!"

Lemme tell u people out there something, cycling is like a drug. When you don't ride, you'll feel so weak & helpless like a father to be, waiting beside your wife who's in labor. Scientist say, really? Well, I read it somewhere, our body releases this "drug" called Endorphin (sounds like heroin/morphine to me. It is a morphine like substance originating from within the body. Not to be confused with Mighty Morphing Power Ranges) that will give u the "kick" during an strenuous workout.

There are a clan of homo sapiens who eats K9 as their staple diet. Put the K9 in a sack, bet them up till pulp & they say it taste better that way. The K9 releases endorphins, which is good for one's body. You dogs better watch out! I too know some friends who will turn you into edible sate "Lidah Goyang"...yuck! Then you'll be the one running away from us!

Overcast by Sirus clouds we rendezvous with the rest of the MTBs at the junction of Semenyih - Broga, right here waiting was Hafiz the Cicakman, also his so called twin Hafiz Skinhead (Frizzy hair), Syafiq & Nasrun (a newbe) Salam, salam, salam & off we go. I was yawning...mak oi slow sangat, but right after the Nottingham University I enticed the riders to go faster by taking out my camera. Nak glamer punya pasal, pakai tayar gedabak king-kong pun dah mula laju.

Dengan semangat jitunye, Nasrun with his track bottom & sports shoes were now burning up the new tarred road. Not wanting him to stay behind, we encouraged him to maintain the speed. Boleh tahan jugak newbe ni. Hafiz Skinhead & Syafiq does off-road sometimes so there's not a problem for them. As we're chugging along Kpg Ulu Beranang we were greeted yet again with another pack of K9. This time , bloody hell they gave us our tar worth of road! Watch the video where we got chased, Syafiq standing & sprinting. I was too busy filming in front. 5 kilos to Lenggeng we roadies left the MTB's to their own devices (Pet Shop Boys) to scout for the new nasi kukus stall. Took the right turning heading Kpg Dacing, 1 km into the road kind off eerie. Old depliated huts ada lah, no nasi kukus stall.
Half heartedly as we went over to the regular nasi kukus stall in town, then came along the MTBs. Damn & double damn, no more nasi kukus! We came all the way, takbole jadi ni.
Had a cuppa drinks & Hafiz beamingly..."Uncle Man, ada kedai barulah depan skit je...!
Gulped the last few ounces of the liquid Milo & yo ho here we come nasik kukus.

Tucked slightly on the left, after the corner of N34 entering lest to N30 to Kpg Katup lies the stall. The menu with a slight twist. Variations are the regular nasi kukus ikan semilang (ikan keli), ikan bilis & ikan semilang masak lomak cili api. Wow! I dunno about the rest but I gobbled up 2 packs! As the rest of the gang are busy fattening their bellies, I came across a senior by his bike, he seems to be too old to roll on is old trusty or Old Rusty if I may put it. But what really intrigues me is his spirit to push eventhough it's hard enough for him to ride it.
We nowadays, give up too easily...

We rode back slightly further thru Kpg. Rawa & Kpg. Sungai Gunung Macang Hilir exiting in Kpg. Sungai Jai & back on the Semenyih main road. Took the regular Jln .Kpg. Enam Kaki. Right after Kpg. Kuala Pajam, out of the blue Hafiz Skinhead flipped his front wheel & landed on his knee. The ball like reflector in the middle of the road takes the blame. Some minor lacerations on the knee & shoulder. The bike's ok, pity the jersey, it belongs to Hafiz Cicakman.

Passing the graveyard, council's trashyard & under the new Kajang-Kuala Pilah highway we eventually arrived in Bangi Lama. With Acap leading, Amin, Apai & me went racing to our last pit stop. At the corner of MINT we sprinted to the top of the hill as usual near Teras Jernang. I thought that we have had enough for the day, Amin pushed me to the brink of exhaustion 3 km from Unikeb. Could only keep pace fro 2 & a half km. Amin was sniggering at my bloodless pale looking face. I pushed really hard, heart rate was at a high 188! Gilo ko? Circled a few laps around Unikeb to warm down.

10-15 mins later the MTB's arrive. Nasrun was beaming with pride...
73 km is a BIG achievement for him!

*Note - Ikan Semilang (Salt water Catfish), Ikan Keli (Fresh water Catfish).
Some call it Semilang Darat (Fresh water Catfish literally means Land Catfish).
Siluriformes - has been around for 150 million years.
Clarias: From the Greek chlaros, meaning lively; in reference to the ability of the fish to live for long periods out of water. Surf Planet Catfish.
Some places in Selangor, N.9 & Melaka they call it Ikan Keli as Ikan Semilang, whereas in the Northen states Ikan Semilang only lives in the sea.
Uncanny resemblence, but it's clear characteristics can be differentiated by it's tail.
Taste? Somewhat similar, depending on what it eats!

Keli's tail

Semilang's tail

ETD: 8:20am Unikeb UKM - ETA: 9:40am Lenggeng = 1hr 20 min
Rest 1 hour
ETD: 11:00am Lenggeng - ETA: 12:20pm Unikeb UKM = 1hr 20 min
3 pcs white bread-210 kcal + 2 slices cheese-210 kcal + 1 cup MILO-200 kcal
2 cup MILO-400 kcal + nasi kukus 2 packs-500 kcal
Calories intake, Breakfast & Rest area = 1520 kcal
Calories Burned = 3061 kcal
Average Heartbeat = 154 BPM