070310 Port Imperata Cylindrica

Bandar Baru Bangi - Bagan Lalang

No other rider from the clan wanted to ride today. All gave a million lousy reasons, like my cousins "BBBD" belly buttons banging day lah & all sorts of nonsense. Me? I got sick of the same old route. The last time I rode to Bagan Lalang was more than a year ago. 21 December 2008 to be exact. Why the long absence? Simple...
1) The route is swarmed with vehicles, light & heavy. Sometimes you get dead cows by the road. Monitor lizards are the norm. Dogs & cats aplenty...

2) It can get damn hot at times, well - most of the time. Start too late...You'll boil your puny brain.

Bagan

Lalang

Basic Epistemology

According to the Dewan Dictionary/Kamus Dewan, the "Bagan" word has lots of meaning. One of it is - Pillars that's newly build. In the same tone, it refers to pillars/stilts/sticks or a platform made of wood on sticks/stilts where you dry your sea produce. (Fish, squid, etc...). It can also be referred as an illustration/drawing. The usual meaning would be a small port, hence houses/entire village with small jetties which are build on stilts by the Port/Bagan near a river mouth. Get it?

Bagan = Pengkalan/Port

Lalang = Tall Grass/Imperata Cylindrica

Imperata cylindrica, also known as congo grass or kunai grass. It is a perennial rhizomatous grass native to east and Southeast Asia, India, Micronesia, Australia, and eastern and southern Africa. The plant is listed as an invasive weed in some areas, though some nations use it widely for thatching the roofs of traditional homes.

Don't be a "Lalang" is a Malay proverb.

A person without principles, swaying left nor right - like tall grasses getting blown by the wind.

Clone & clones

Ate 3 pcs of white bread & two slices of cheese plus a mug-full of cereal mixed with some oat. That should be enough to sustain the 100 km.

A fortnight ago we did the 92km from Bandar Baru Bangi-Semenyih-Tekala-Perez. "It was torturous & Kuala Kelawang was even worse. The distance to Bagan Lalang was nothing compared to those two" said John John.

Wak Jali, Baby & Rahman were already waiting in Teras Jernang, so we took a slow spin to warm up till Bangi Lama.Pedalling towards Jenderam Hilir, they did a Harry Houdini. Then my cell beeped. "U roll-on first lah Azman, I'll wait for Zanudin"Zanudin, another bloke who we greatly missed. I haven't seen him for months. It was Wak Jali recovery ride after a month hiatus. His shoulder got whacked during the LTDL KL Ride. "Beep-beep" again, "PCC behind you guys woi..." he shouted by the wind. By that time I & John were already near Sepang old town.

Dark clouds were hovering above & it started to drizzle. 5 minutes later it poured! Puddles of water slowed us down quite a bit. Got us totally drenched & made the SIDI all squeaky & squishy. Yuck! We arrived in Sepang Goldcoast at 9am. Surf sounds breaking on the beach. Oh what a sight for sore eyes, after being beaten hard by the rain.

Me, John John & my twin

Settled down for a snack & some time later the PCC people trickled in. Caught Hsing Ling Colnago, Vong's Specialized & Don Hider's Orbea Orca (Not the Killer Whale) & decided to join them for a cuppa. Strangled & "Peek A Boo" Don. He shrieked as it has been months since I met him in Orang Asli Hospital, Gombak after a horny day with a very good "Mak Janda Baik" which took us with open arms.

It was a pleasure riding with PCC, but it's totally a different group from years ago. One old familiar face from those days was probably Don Haider. I only knew a handful. Vong, Hsing Ling & Razali. Only noticed Razali after he mentioned about the 2008 Aids Ride - but what the heck, it beats riding alone.

Form a bunch (Like our grandfather's road), we doubled-up side by side, enjoying the camaraderie. We were on a roll right after Pekan Sungai Pelek when the peloton then got into a single line as soon as the road got narrow in Sepang.

Then someone had an adrenaline rush & started the blistering pace. 35kph & at times reaching 43kph. I was searching for my breath but lucky enough, a spare canister of pure Oxygen (O2) was found embedded in the far corners of my lungs.

Four blokes disappeared right after that - trailed by 3-4 other groups. Took a light gear for the climb De Palma, Salak Tinggi & right after the peak, we pushed hard to catch up with the leaders. We hooked them all the way till Jenderam Hulu. Because of the regrouping, the pace was frenzy from Bukit Unggul passing Bangi Lama & MINT. Downhill to Teras Jernang came passing by. Sprinted to the usual finishing by the durian stall & 2km before MTDC, it was the cooling-off time. Never do an abrupt ending - You'll kill your self.

I'm glad we tagged along the PCC (Pedalphiles Cycling Club / Blog) http://pcc-cycling.freeservers.com & http://pcc-cycling.blogspot.com . At least I could test my endurance with the speed demons. Most importantly, cycling in a bunch is fun. Mono cycling tends be a bore.

The ride back to Bangi was simply furious! This could be the best ride for this year. Speed RULES!

Don Haider

UKM - Bagan Lalang

Google route

* "BBBD" Belly Buttons Banging Day
Loosely translated from the Malay saying - "Berlaga Pusat/Berkahwin"
Two belly buttons banging each other = Marriage/Shagging lah, that oso must tell u ah? Aiya...