281110 Ride 4 Grace

I didn't hesitate one moment when Steven contacted me for his plans to ride from Penang to Kelang, Selangor. Moreover his brother Chan Leng was my classmate since 1972. We had known each other since the dinosaur period.

Advised him to use the trunk roads as the PLUS highway is out of bounds for cyclists. Plotted in my mind a rough route for him & he later made a round trip by car & recce the route a couple of weeks b4 the ride.

They started riding on 26 November (My 45th Birthday) but I was caught up with a lot of other things. It would have been a perfect birthday ride.

Frankly I celebrated my birthday with the family in KB & took the flight back to KL barely having enuff sleep before the ride. Asaari & Sungai was very kind to pick me up at the cheapo terminal & whizzed me back home. Hurriedly packed some clothes & hung 2 bikes on his car.
My tummy growled as the only thing I took was some light lunch. To perk-up my physique, I slurped a bowl of eel soup & gobbled up 2 plates of rice.

Ashaari was veering right to left & immediately I took over the wheel even though I was damn tired. Luckily I wasn't sleepy. Tailed a Saga & took a left turn to Sg. Sembilang, Jeram & lodged with them @ the Kapar Seaview Resort.

Hj Farid was caught by surprise. He didn't know that I knew Steven's & his plan coz I had told Steven to keep mum over my appearance. Not wanting to chat too much as we're gonna ride 2moro we slept like logs with Ashaari snoring & snorting like a baby piglet.



Early next mornin, we clicked like a band of long lost brothers & rode together. After the customary group photograph, we rode along the canals admiring the placid tranquility of the outskirts. We rendezvoused with Daniel Shee @ DShee in Kapar & the group single filed throughout the ride for safety reasons. As usual, I went ahead at times to video & photograph their antics.

We were given an unexpected rousing welcome @ Grace Home with nasi minyak to boot! Later we were treated with a sumptuous dinner & forced upstage with our blushed cheeks.




We rendezvoused with Daniel Shee @ DShee in Kapar




Hj. Farid with Cikgu Rodzi @ the back





Who are the guys -
Thay are your regular "Joe's" who share a passion for cycling and have come together for a cause. Seven (7) of them comprising Thommy Saw, Winfred Ng, Michael Yeoh, Tuan Haji Ahmad Faridun, Cikgu Mohd Rodzi, Jimmy Tan and Steven Heong rode on a mission to raise funds for Grace Home hence our theme "Ride for Grace". The ride took them through 3 states beginning from their home state of Penang (my home state too) and ending in Grace Home in Klang, Selangor.
They rode in the wee hours of the mornings sticking mostly to coastal trunk roads and rest during the afternoons. At the end of this ride, they have covered approx. a distance of 400km.
This ride is self funded and all donations and love offerings will go to Grace Home.
We hope that the funds we raise from this ride will help to provide the folks at Grace Home a place that they can truly call their own, permanently.



The vest says, Don't run the red lights or you'll be sorry! Aint the scribbling scary?




Jimmy brought along his baby girl




Sue, Ang, me & my old La Sallian classmate Chan Leng



"If you're doin something good - I'll give you the fullest support" quoted Cikgu Mohd Rodzi who hails from Teluk Kumbar, Penang. An avid rider who pedals around the island on almost every free day. Rodzi had earlier planned a similar leisure ride to KL but he decided to team up and share our mission.

The old & destitute made me ponder a while. We have too much and yet we forget about those in need. I'm glad that I made this ride with Steven & the gang. (Even though not all the way from Penang) A ride that left a lump in my throat & tears to my eyes...

It's a great feeling...
We rode together as one - regardless of colour & creed.


Pastor Roy with Steven

Penang - Kelang, Selangor

Google route

*2 days later, Hj. Farid & Cikgu Mohd Rodzi rode back to Kuala Kangsar & arrived @ his home at 2am in the pouring rain. They rolled non stop from KL to Kuala Kangsar & just took a short nap due to a heavy downpour 20km to the end.
Apparently, they were already delirious for the last 50km or so. That's hardcore!

Da Vid



Daniel Shee @ DShee, Ashaari & me. Tompang sekaki!

071110 Broga Loop-Hole

Sum ol' frens & sum new ones. Big ones, small ones...




Pick a tush & ring d extensions...

We were really looking forward for the Broga loop ride as there will be hundreds of riders ridin side by side. Moreover, certain areas are kind of dull & devoid of anything but eerie sounds of cicadas mating.

Like a dark cloud of swarming angry bees, we took off with such frenzy to a point that most of the others were out of breath. To make matters worse, the Semenyih dam was waitin to kill-off anyone who tried to conquer it.
Most had to succumb to muscle cramps, unused to the terrain & unsure of the route.





The clan took the usual steps & brushed it aside. This route has been our staple for the last few months & it was no big deal to us. At the junction of Batu 18 & foothills of Perez, we noticed blocks of riders turning back & quite a number already clinging to dear life lumped into dirt trucks.


With d Ipoh clan

Clicked with a few riders from Ipoh & reached the peak of Perez hounded with helpers handing out bananas. Arief can’t help but take a few customary shots here for this is the first time that he rode around this area.


Arief, Ashaari, Rahman EM & me


Arief's 1st. climb @ Perez, he didn't even blink!

We gobbled as much as we can & rolled down the near empty landscape.
Since we had climbed much of Perez, the roll-down was swift with sharp & hidden corners.


This fella fell, but made it thru the hellish route. Respect babe!

Smell of raw rubber stenches the air as we swiftly pounded the straights of Kuala Kelawang towards Jelebu. By now there were less than thirty (30) riders that we crossed path. It kept me wondering how so many others disappeared into thin air.

Took a breather at a petrol kiosk & left some more behind us as we rode towards the killer hills of Jeram Toi/Bukit Tangga. A bloke overtook me but succumbed to the torturous hill ahead. I knew it was a long climb but Arief & Ashaari hopped like a wild bunny up the incline.
I was doin 10-8-7 & at time 6 kph per hour but I persevered as I knew I'm mentally strong enuff to withstand it. Rahman EM was breathing hard behind my back and seem ages to the top. Alas! We were greeted with ice showers & more bananas.


Ice cool shower @ the peak

Fortunately that was the last hill but we need another miracle to finish the last 30km or so. I was already on my reserve tank. We turned from Pantai towards Mendum, Arief's tyre blew apart. Luckily each of us carried spares.

"I get really pissed when riding with someone without spares. To me they have no respect for the other person".

Pulled off the tubes & bang! Out of nowhere Rahman Ujang Brava appeared. Apparently he trailed behind some hundreds of invisible finishers & caught up with us. He helped Arief with the tubes as some other whipped lcrooked like the road-sign lookin like a beaten snake. They clamored towards the almost never ending twist & turns that blurred our minds.


D beaten snake climb with Rahman Ujang Brava givin a hand to Arief.

One fella who trailed us was wobbling left to right. What a sight. I sniggered as he cursed the moon, the stars & all the planets in the universe. Sniggering? I was lamenting at the last 20km to finish. Fortunately Mendum Hill is easier climbed from the reversed. If you ride to Mendum from Lenggeng, you're hell doomed!

From Lenggeng onwards, gears were at the lightest - spinning at every mile. The strong wind wasn't much help either - it just made the ending more dreadful.
On a high note, I had neither cramps nor mishaps. I'm very proud of Arief to have achieved so much without much training. Kids, can’t expect to match tem eh?

When we arrived in Nottingham Univ, there we only a few souls around & some workers tearing down the flag-off arch. There were no more lunch & to add insult...all medals promised to the finishers of the loop were all gone! WTF?

Don't tell me after all the grueling hills & overtaking a few hundred other cyclists there were nothing & no one left? We paid our entries didn't we?

Where are the marshals who are supposed to do their job? In a race, if u made a u turn, your numbers will be marked or torn-off. If we can't professional about this, don't act like one please.

One girl @ a desk even had the cheek to say..."Finish lah, what to do".

I came to know later that those who took a U turn & hitched a ride on the sweeper lorries were given medals. Even heard those who illegally entered the race got it!

"I WAS FAST ENUFF TO WIN A MEDAL but TOO SLOW AGAINST THE CHEATERS"



Some people would just go down so low, for a few measly bucks.
What a F***ed-up ending.



Broga loop race

Google route


Arief d young warrior with a "Borrowed medal"...enuff said

CIOCC bidding Chiao!



Meaning of tush - the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on. Your ass lah...

180610 Never Again, KL-BBB

It's been 2 weeks since I humped the bike. 2 weeks passed - I'm supposed to take her home tonite. Rumbling Balls of Fire pestered that I take it back immediately, as someone was eying my C50.

KL Sentral, Dayabumi & the river stinks

Without further delay, the time was booked on a Friday,
Thot that it might be an easy day,
not like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
As these times it can be a bit of a mêlée.

Oh, on what a wrong side I could be.
28 km of road morons barking up my tree.

Roads were congested beyond compare.
So much that I regretted, I just could not repair
Every junctions & turns I had to beware.
My life & limbs were at stake, that rose my hair.

Damaged done, I just had to accept the fact.
That I would never ever ride that route again.
Unless I wanna end up in a box - compact!

Route: Plaza Sentral - Bandar Baru Bangi

Google route

Mêlée - Encounter or to struggle amongst something/people. = Confusion
"The mêlée of Hari Raya shopping..."
A confused tumultuous mingling, as noisy of a crowd: the rush-hour melee.
[French mêlée , from Old French meslee , past participle of mesler , to mix ; see meddle .]
Origin: 1910–15


Confusion - Not be confused with Confucius "孔夫子"

CONFUSION
A poem by: Alphonsus

I watch the morning sun arise
and bring forth new that day
a sense of hopeless loss and fear
and watching all that lay

about my mind in tangled mess
and muddy thoughts profound.
No simple loss of innocence
could ease that scentless hound.

The morning sun, it never changes
yet never is the same.
The ice of frozen memories
melt little with its flame.

How, and who, and why, and what
the questions all abound–
the rock tied to the rope of thought
tossed random all around.

No home in thee. No home for me.
My unbound thoughts no rest.
No glassy lake of mirrored sheen
to help my mind do best.

The morning sun now in the noon.
The time goes back and forth.
Scrambled eggs of lunchtime sup
and Eastward goes the North.

And so my face goes upside-down
to match my state of brain,
and the morning sun now rise to night
to fall up-down again.

Confucius "孔夫子"

Teacher & Philosopher - Values & philosophies that emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity.

300510 Disaster Strikes

What was supposed to be a long ride on the saddle to Port Dickson became a marathon nightmare on the toilet seat. By 7 am, I was dehydrated like the "Resurrection Fern" (Polypodium polypodioides) which looks dead most of the time, but springs back to life when remoisturised.
Well, I'm not like the plant which can survive extreme measures of water loss.

Resurrection Fern.
Not 2 b confused with Alien Resurrection

No amount isotonic drink can replace the important blood salts like potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+). Like a leaked water fountain, may body spurted fluids as if I'm a squid. I became an octopus out of water, unable to wiggle even the tiniest toe. I was squished, wringed to pulp. Without this much training, Malakoff 530 km might just be another dream... I hope not.

BBB to PD that fizzled out.


Google map

020510 Rollin with a weak body & soul

We were all created from dust & earth.

Remember, as invincible as we think we are - we all vulnerable to HIS forces.

"HE is the One Who has made perfectly everything He has created: HE began the creation of human beings with clay, And made HIS progeny from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised: But HE fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of HIS spirit…” Quran 32:7-9 (As-Sajdah, the Prostration)
“Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!” (Quran 23:14) (Surat Al-Mu’minun, The Believers)
“We have indeed created humankind in the best of molds.” Quran 95:4 (Surat At-Tin, The Fig)

“The work of Allah who has perfected everything (He created). Qur’an 27:88 (An-Naml, The Ant)

Of course that doesn’t mean that everything YOU do is perfect. It refers to your abilities, your potential. You are perfectly capable of fulfilling every obligation that Allah has laid on you; of bearing any burden that is laid on your shoulders; and of achieving any noble dream that Allah has placed in your heart. You were created without flaw, with a pure soul imbued with fitrah, a powerful mind, and strength in a body whose magic is still not understood by modern science.

Ever wonder why a Muslim is allowed by ALLAH to get sick? Abu Sa'id al-Khudri R.A. reported that the Prophet said: Whenever a Muslim is afflicted with a hardship, sickness, sadness, worry, harm, or depression - even a thorn's prick; Allah expiates his sins because of it. (Hadith - Muslim & Bukhari)

It's been a while since I got sick. Never in my deepest soul that I think I'd never get ill. But as mere humans, we sometimes forget who we are. And so that particular morning and a few days before the ride, I actually felt horrible. My mind was cluttered & body subconsciously weak.

Dull grey - my soul, a total wreck.

me, Najib, Izwan, Mr. Won, Amin, Bulek, John,
Suhaimi, Acap, Syaruk Hulk & my dull grey clone

All smiles but deep down I was dull grey & hangin on a thread.

Welcome Izwan to our clan

Not cycling shall make me feel worse and create havoc to my well being.

The Maplay boys enticed us to follow them to KLIA, but even Dr. Pauzi & Wak Jali had to take a rain cheque. The route wasn’t set as I'm not gonna kill myself with the unforgivable kilos. We just looped a usual route.Even for the last 10km, I was a mess. Could only do 20kph. The leaders slowed down, probably sensing my incapability to exert anymore. My taps ran dry. I was weak to the core.

Better safe than sorry

Why should you indulge yourself with such strenuous activity when you know you can’t do it? I know for a fact that some people would torture themselves for the sake of glory. Vainglory I would say. They know that their body can’t take the punishment & yet for showmanship or for status wise - they would rather die. For what? That's plain stupidity...

Count your blessings while you are sick, using the opportunity to seek forgiveness of sins and remaining patient during the affliction.

Unikeb-Salak-LBJ-Jijan

Google map

011009 Tragedy in Putrajaya & Texas

Tom Reed - Express News

That's a photograph of seven year old Kylie Bruehler, left without a mother and father. She is at a funeral service to bury her parents, Gregory and Alexandra Bruehler who were run down and killed while riding their tandem on the shoulder of the road in Bexar County, Texas, US. A driver veered onto the shoulder and mowed his pickup truck into them & dragged them for almost 200 feet.

The local news reports that “The driver looked off, he was looking at something else and realized the curve in the road came a lot faster than what he anticipated”. He got away scot-free...investigators say there are no charges on the driver. They believe this was an accident and that somehow the driver lost control of his truck.

What's the point in having laws if there's no accountability?

3 years ago my friend, Dee - got killed & she juz bought the bike a few days before. On the fateful day, CIOCC's Clan rendezvoused with Admiral Alauddin & his gang near the Masjid Putrajaya & went for a loop.

An hour earlier riding together, an hour later she's dead.

Hajjah Alia rang a ding me & we went over to the morgue in Putrajaya Hospital. I was in denial, disbelief, shell shocked, dumbfounded, amazed, astonished, flabbergasted, stupefied, thunderstruck, perplexed & damn angry. She got hit near Putrajaya, on a humongous six lane highway... by a young lad. Al Fatihah for Dee.

I don’t know how many times I’ve almost been killed while riding my bike.

I don’t know how many times drivers have intentionally tried to run me off the road.
I don’t know how many times I’ve been honked at yelled at and blamed for dumb crap just because I’m on a bike or waiting at a red light or trying to make a left turn on a multi-lane street. People are more kind to the cycling grass cutters than they are to full attired cyclists. Can’t go for a nice bike ride without fearing for my life. It almost makes me want to give up riding sometimes.

The incident sent shivers down my spine. People who drive OVER other people don’t belong on the road. Cyclists on the road are treated no better than a chicken.

I thought they are a lot of learned folks around here since UKM, UPM & Uniten is just a stone throw away. I'm wrong. You'll come across a lot of dumb asses with skulls full of mud in Bandar Baru Bangi too. Syarul Hulk turned green & nearly bashed one idiotic moron a couple of months back.

“Bicycling is the future. It has to be, coz there’s something wrong with a society that drives a guzzler to workout in the gym.”

"May God Bless His & Her Soul, MAY THEY ALL REST IN PEACE"