The Clan wasn't sure of where to ride. Showed up in Unikeb & decided to roll with Pak Berahim & half of the MAPLAY Club roadies. Don't play-play fellas. When the "Bearded One" arrived, we knew we're gonna be in lotta trouble. Back fro Hajj & snarling for action, Tuan Haji Zamani pounced on us victims & trashed us like a rag-doll beyond recognition.
Pak Berahim said that we should do some drafting today.
Right from the start he led the pack on a wild goose chase but I figured there's no wild goose or duck in sight. So, follow the leader lah & smack we're rollin down LEKAS highway to Mantin.
As we were turnin into the highway, a Lone Rider (Not Lone Ranger) minus his sidekick Tonto came rollin pass us. Howled him to join us & for all you know it was Nizam. Apparently he saw Rashin packin the bike this mornin but decided to go solo. Probably he got sick ridin alone & as I glimpse, I saw him trailing behind. Ah, another cook wouldn't spoil the broth. It'll make it tastier! There were aptly 12 riders who rolled off Unikeb but Syarul Hulk had to take a rain-cheque. It's his daughter's Birthday. Good papa, good papa...
Shakri
A shower would be good during these hot times, but a shower-head for an urinal is really way-off. Pretty amusing eh?
me, my twin, Hj. Zamani, Rashin, Pak Berahim, Nizam, Shakri,
Mr. Won, Rizal, (Squat L-R) Zairi, Yazid, Cikgi Hisyam & Dr. Pauzi (On bike)
Yeah...drafting it was until our tongues were waggin like a thirsty K9. Every time it was my turn to draft, every time it was an incline. Hey you people, you wanna kill me eh? My chest was beatin like a syncro drum, beating into trance mode.
Ignoring the huff, puff & lactic asid buid-up, we pushed on with a frenzy monotonic propulsion till Mantin rest area. The pack that trailed behind was just 5 mins away. Mad...
Like Nizam Family XTVT (said "During drafting lah, we could check if we're truly strong & full of stamina. We could judge if we could ride as a group or otherwise..."Further stressing that the felt he rode better than the previous ride in Perez where he was down with cramps. He thanked everyone for the experience albeit his cheap bike.
Nizam, I personally don't care if you ride a cheap/2nd hand/chap ayam/chap monyet bike or whatever. It's never been about what bike you ride - It's about what rider you are. As we enjoy ridin with anyone, we enjoy ridin with you too.
Right after the Bangi Lama Hill, we had split into two clans. Hj. Zamani geared up & most of us were left with our reserves. Me & Rashin could only tag before the last 2 km. Rashin's heart was pounding beyond the rate limit. As the Domestic Anchor Man, Hj. Zamani is one sentimental guy. To follow him is to have the guts to accept torture. His average is normally 35kph. Once a while we should do that, not too sure if I could tag him every other weekend. You'll bust your chest!
Pix from Yazid's on-board digicam, which later went kaput after the violent shaking. Yazid was really a Pisser. He would entice & foul-up every intervals from the peloton - which is good to psyche you up! If you can't follow, you're pissed! Rizal the Single Speedo is definitely the sprinter, to hell with gears - I don't need them. The KOM otai is Pak Berahim area. Don't be fooled by his age, his youthful vigor will blow you away.
Excerpts from Rashin's thots - In every race group, every rider has a job to do. Domestic Rider, Sprinter Rider, Climber Rider & the Pisser Rider. The Pisser is like a Sprinter, but he will torment the peloton. He will create intervals & occasional sprints to leave the peloton. In actual fact he's merely playing around tactically. When a Pisser strikes, the peloton will follow, this will happen when points are being chased at a particular stage. Point stage plays an important factor for the colored jersey, KOM - Sprint King & the Overall Winner (Yellow Jersey). That's teamwork & the pisser is amongst the strongest amongst his team-mates. Collecting points is the most important thing to do in a race, nothing else matters. Xcellent drafting vids by Yazid of MAPLAY here.
Unikeb - LEKAS - Mantin
Google route
It was a merciless ride, full of challenge. Solid yet...WE Suffered Well.
