8 May 2009: Kuala Lumpur - Melaka

When I told the guy in charge of the hotel that we wanted to check out at 4.30am, he was surprised. "Where are you guys going at that time?"

"Melaka." I replied. He smiled and wished us good luck.

We took the Jalan Pudu - Jalan Cheras route out of Kuala Lumpur. At 4.30am in the morning, the roads were largely clear of traffic and we breezed through the empty streets, taking up a lane. Even on the Lebuhraya Cheras - Kajang, traffic was minimal and when we missed an exit and found ourselves on the Lebuhraya Utara - Seletan, we could easily cross to the other side and back-track. Federal Road 1 led us to Seremban where we had breakfast at a hawker centre.

For RM3.80, one could get a generous, large serving of wanton noodles. I opted for sotong bee hoon (RM4) which tasted unique, something different from the usual kind of noodles found in Singapore. The serving was generous indeed and the dark gravy that went along was tasty. I also tried the "sui jiao" soup which they sold at RM0.60 per dumpling. It was quite nice; the dumplings were definitely bigger than the ones you find in Singapore.

At 9.45am, we reluctantly continued our journey to Melaka. By then, the sun was up and the intense heat made the going tough. We hit headwind at certain spots and it slowed me by quite a bit but luckily we changed direction soon after. We stopped at a petrol station and grocery store in Rembau at about 11am. At that point, my water bag was almost empty and we could use some isotonic drinks. They didn't come very cheap (RM3.50 for a 1.5l bottle of 100 Plus) but it was a splendid opportunity to boost our energy. I pumped my tires up to 80psi at the petrol kiosk and the difference in performance was quite obvious.

A Malay uncle on a bike came over to chat with us. It was an old Raleigh (those pre/post-war bicycles) but the headbadge seemed to be some sort of sticker hence we couldn't tell if it was genuine. I tried to ask him about his bike but he wasn't too sure.

He was very amicable and when he learnt that we are Singaporeans, told us he had been in Singapore before. He described Geylang and Joo Chiat and how he had gone there to visit his relatives. That was back in 1950. He was born in 1941. He asked how long we had been in Malaysia and said we should spend at least a week there. Learn more about the culture and make more friends, he said. He even recommended us a mountain in the area. A lot of people climb that, he said, much to our horror. I think we have had enough of mountains. As we chatted with him, a middle aged man on a scooter joined in. Soon, we parted ways, waving goodbye to them.

As we neared Melaka, we had to cross a hilly region. I thought it was some sort of joke, except that it was not funny at all. It was a rather taxing climb but fortunately, we were rewarded with a few kilometres of downslopes. What an entrance into Melaka.

The best was yet to come. More and more motorists started to acknowledge our presence, waving and shouting their cheers. As we compacted into a small group and moved down a lane, the motorists were more than willing to give way, even when we had to filter lanes. No horns, no nothing. The first question they always seem to ask was where we were headed. Then they would ask, race? We would laugh it off. No...just a holiday.

As we sped past schools, the children would cheer. We were a distraction, and their teachers were teaching when they spotted us! To the teachers, sorry for interrupting your lessons.

When Melaka Sentral loomed within sight, I was so glad. We had done it once again. According to Pan, we were doing an average 30km/h for that 150km which was pretty solid, considering our backpacks of clothes and equipment to last us four days.

Deciding that we have had enough adventure over the past couple of days, we decided to check the availability of bus tickets home. It was not easy to get tickets to Larkin but luck was on our side. When we enquired at the Malacca - Singapore Express booth, the bus driver took us to his bus to check if all the bikes could fit in. They could. He then told us to meet back at the same spot (parking bay) at 2.30pm to load our bikes.

We changed to a fresh set of clothes, grabbed a couple of drinks and assembled at the parking bay. Since we couldn't find the driver, we asked at the counter but the lady knew nuts. Clever Pan realised what was going on and when we returned to the parking bay, the driver was on the bus. We loaded all the bikes in and slept onboard till 4pm (the driver said he had been delayed to 4pm).

To cut the story short, only two passengers with tickets boarded the bus and we left for Singapore. One was a Malaysian visiting his brother, a Singapore PR, in Tanjong Katong while the other was a German who had spent just one day in Melaka before returning to Singapore. He had spent ten days in Singapore, some time in Bintan and was due to fly home soon. He did find Melaka intriguing.

With some help from the driver (we paid RM25 per pax), we cleared both customs with ease and unloaded the bicycles at Woodlands. Waiting for his two passengers, the driver naturally struck up a conversation with us and he suggested we visit Port Dickson (luckily we did not, if not, it would be around 190km from KL - Melaka). When the two passengers arrived, we bid them farewell and off the bus went. We had a little explaining to do when we passed the final police booth at the end of the bus lane but we got through.

Dinner at Woodlands was a welcome relief. The duck rice was okay; what stood out was the ice kachang. As good as before.

On the way home, we tested out the theory that Malaysian drivers were much more courteous as compared to their Singaporean counterparts. We rode in a tight group of four, taking up a lane. As expected, in the short span of 10km from Woodlands to Sembawang, we got honked at rudely twice.

What a holiday!

Total distance: 160km
Money spent: RM255~ (total 3D2N)
Participants: LSH, Pan, Gerald, Daniel

7 May 2009: Speeding down Genting

We only managed to secure Dad's ticket on a Sri Maju Ekspres back to Singapore direct from the First World Bus Terminal in the morning. Dad had to be at the terminal by 10.15am and we only had about 40min to consume our breakfast at Restoran Happy Valley. It was quite the standard buffet fare (I have patronised that restaurant for its buffet breakfast many times) but it was satisfactory to me. For RM25.30 per pax, it was reasonably cheaper to other food outlets in some sense since a bowl of wanton noodles cost RM11.90 at the food courts. We had cheaper food at the taxi terminal canteen for lunch the previous day so it was a change to pamper ourselves.

After we had our share, Dad and I rushed down to the bus terminal, only to find that the bus drivers did not allow Dad's bike up the bus. I approached the aunty who was in-charge of the ticketing counter and she was very helpful in getting the bike up the bus. She provided plastic bags which we used to tie down the stripped bike parts and it suddenly reminded me of a Montague Paratrooper. Later, as the bus pulled away with Dad safely onboard, she told me that if she sold one a ticket, she would make sure one gets onboard without any trouble. I was most grateful to her for that.

The remaining four of us checked out and took a few photographs for memory's sake before the thrilling ride downhill. We met the lorry driver again and this time we agreed to meet at Berjaya Times Square, 7pm. From the peak of Genting to Awana (including a climb at the top), we took only 20min to cover that distance!

The speed limit on Genting was 50km/h but we exceeded that, hitting in excess of 65km/h. As a result, we were the fastest vehicles on the road, and often had the entire road clear for us to corner round the bends. I was glad that we did not cycle down the day before, this required intense concentration, and after our exhaustive ride up, we may not have survived the downhill! For the first time in my life, I was cornering at more than 50km/h. Each corner seemed tighter than the last and as I leaned into the bends, the bike seemed to turn agonizingly slow, threatening to slam me into the barriers and clearing only at the last few seconds!

The humps were also a killer. Each impact jarred me off the bike and I could feel my backpack flying up and slamming back down against me. The best part was the brakes. Pan warned us about brake fade and it was only the first couple of hard corners did my brakes start making a loud screeching noise. It felt as if the brake calipers were being ripped off the bosses and were about to give way any time =P

Coincidentally, we ran into the uncle again. This time, he generously passed me two loaves of bread! I thanked him (more weight training for me =P) and we parted, agreeing to meet at 7pm later.

The others had passed when I stopped and we met at the police post near the foot. On that particular section before the police post, Daniel managed to crank up to 80km/h while the others hovered around 70km/h! Daniel had to fix a damaged link in his chain while I took the opportunity to tweak my rear derailleur.

We continued our journey downhill to Lebuhraya Karak where I overtook a tanker by the left shoulder. My speed continued to increase as I closed in on a prime mover with a trailer. The vehicle was too close to the left shoulder and by then my speed had maxed out. I don't know what got into me but I decided to take the chance and overtook the long vehicle via the middle lane on its right. As I pulled past and away, I heaved a sigh of relief. Later, when I checked back with the others, I realised they had done the same too! =)

Anyway, the road bikes proved their dominance on the rolling terrain and as fast as I could climb the upslopes, I watched as they pulled away on the downslopes, further and further till they were out of sight.

The guys stopped at a rest station and I joined them there. We had some drinks before heading to Kuala Lumpur, stopping by the Petronas Twin Towers to take some photographs. We checked into Hotel China Town (2) at around 3pm, washed up, lazed around then headed for the supermarkets at the Bukit Bintang area. Of course, I visited Giant at Sungei Wang Plaza for my yogurt fest and a pizza bread to curb my growing hunger. We then walked to Berjaya Times Square, shopped at the Cold Storage for fruit bars and hung around till 7.30pm. Until now, we are puzzled as to why the uncle did not turn up or give us a call. He was so enthusiastic to catch up with us.

We had the snack plate at KFC before heading back to Chinatown for an early rest which did not really materialise since we talked until around 10.30pm.

Total distance: 60km
Money spent: RM255~ (total 3D2N)
Participants: LSH, Pan, Gerald, Daniel

5 - 6 May 2009: S'pore, Kuala Lumpur - Genting

We met up at Sembawang MRT at 6.30pm on Tuesday evening. The motorcycle lane of the Singapore customs was jammed pack but somehow we manage to "cut queue", thanks to the rule that bicycles have to use the motorcycle lane (silly when the traffic stretches all the way to the BKE). Clearance at the Malaysian customs was smooth but we encountered a jam along Jalan Tun Abdul Razak. We had to manoeuvre through small gaps between vehicles but managed to get to Kompleks Pengangkutan Awam Larkin without any incident.

We bought tickets (RM31.50 per ticket) to KL from Starstrip Quest Express when the counter staff said all five bikes could fitted into the luggage compartment. As expected, the driver was reluctant to have any of the bikes on the bus and demanded RM20 per bike which was a total rip-off. We expressed our disatisfaction, approached the counter staff and negotiations started. In the end, we settled the issue at RM12 per bike, loaded all the bikes into the luggage compartment and boarded the bus.

We left Larkin at around 9.30pm and the bus literally crawled to KL, making several stops on the way. We reached Puduraya around 3.30am, unloaded the bikes and started to assemble them. A crowd gathered around us, most of them taxi drivers, curious at the sight of bicycles that can be stripped and assembled in a couple of minutes.

After breakfast (prata and tea), we set off for Genting Highlands. I led them on the wrong route but quickly corrected the mistake and by 4.30am, we found ourselves on Jalan Pahang, Jalan Genting Kelang and subsequently Jalan Lingkaran Tengah 2. We joined the light traffic on Lebuhraya Karak towards Genting Sempah. There were barely any lamps on the highway and we travelled in almost total darkness, save for our blinkers. The slopes were daunting and we could see the larger vehicles crawling at low gears. Dad's muscles cramped up soon after. He could no longer ride, hence he had to push his bike all the way to Awana (Genting Skyway) Terminal, which was a crazy 15km away.

Pan, Gerald, Daniel and myself reached the foot of Genting at around 7.30am. We sat by the side of the highway to rest, already slightly drained by the inclined terrain. Unfortunately, Daniel encountered a patch of broken glass which resulted in a puncture shortly after we started the climb and we had to pause our ascend to fix the puncture. I guess all of us underestimated the world's 5th hardest climb (rated by the Pro Cycling magazine). A hundred times of Mount Faber will not have prepared us for what we faced. We stopped along the way to rest, take photos and guide Dad, who was walking, along.

It was about 10am when we reached Gohtong Jaya, Genting Highlands. We knew that the last 8km stretch to the peak was the real challenge. A friendly truck driver whom we met on the that stretch described the gradient as 70% (we know that it is around 30 degrees), lending testimony to the steepness of the road up.

After a rest and an agreement to meet Dad at Awana at 4pm, regardless whether we found accomodation at the peak or were heading back to KL on the same day, we set off to conquer the last 8km. It was to be described as "hell", the most physically daunting challenge in my life. In fact, I found this more taxing than running a marathon at a consistent 45min / 10km pace. Despite the cold weather, I found myself breathing heavily, to the extent of hyperventilating on the long and steep sections, as my muscles worked feverishly to keep the bike moving. It was demoralising to hear vehicles engaged in low gear, their engines protesting and straining to move the load uphill.

There was this section with a turn that was so steep that my front wheel lifted up. I desperately shifted my weight forward and cleared the turn on the lightest gear my drivetrain provided. Daniel managed to grab hold to a passing truck which assisted him in clearing the turn. I watched in envy as the truck moved ahead at 9km/h with him in tow. I seriously wished for another slow moving vehicle to pass but there were none. Poor Pan and Gerald (with race cassettes on their road bikes) faced more problems on that section.

A friendly truck driver pulled over and offered us a lift to the top. Obviously we rejected his offer but we exchanged contact numbers and had a chat. He wanted to meet us for a meal but since we were unsure whether we would be staying on Genting, we couldn't promise anything.

It was simply agonsing to watch the roadside markers count down the distance to the top. 900m was not a problem at all on a flat road but with a continuous upslope, 100m is barely bearable, not to mention 900m. Even with that "short" distance, we had to catch our breath before continuing. I will always remember the last stretch to the finish - a long uphill. Daniel, a brilliant climber, pushed ahead, pedalling out of saddle. I hesitated (feeling no motivation at all), caught my breath, then slowly pedalled up to Hotel Theme Park. Pan and Gerald pulled in too and at that moment, we were so relieved and definitely elated to have scaled the world's 5th hardest climb!

Drivers honked in greeting and cheered us on the way up; now, more people were staring at us with surprise and curiosity. The others said that some people even took photos of us (without us noticing apparently). An uncle even thought we were sponsored free hotel stays by Genting (if only, then we might consider cycling up again). We didn't really mind the extra attention; it felt good to conquer what we set out to do and feel like a star. It was a pleasure and honour to ride with Pan, Daniel and Gerald. They were excellent riders and very fit. In fact, they are the strongest riders I have ever ridden with. We had beaten the odds and conquered Genting.

Pan and I checked out accomodation at Hotel Theme Park. We decided to settle for a family suite (two double beds) at RM170. The only problem was that our bikes had to be secured somewhere. The staff at the counter were hesitant and unsure if we could bring our bikes in and they checked with the manager who provided wonderful service. "Racing bikes?" He asked and had no qualms in letting us carry the bikes into the room =)

A hot shower and simple lunch was more than a delight after the gruelling climb. I disassembled my knobblies and carried them down to Awana via the Skyway, hoping to swap wheelsets with Dad. Everyone was staring at us in curiosity when we walked around Genting with the wheels. Fortunately, in some sense, there was no bus back to Singapore at Awana Terminal. We took apart Dad's bike and each of us carried a certain part up the Skyway, much to the amusement of many!

Dinner at Kenny Rogers' was great and I retired early, exhausted.

Total distance: 85km
Money spent: RM255~ (total 3D2N)
Participants: LSH, Dad, Pan, Gerald, Daniel

Counting Down

A few more hours and I will be leaving for Malaysia. I hope to be on Genting this time tomorrow. God bless this expedition.

Sembawang Circuit - 6.3km run

Labour Day Ride

It was a rather eventful ride (thanks to William's antics). I left home at 7.15pm and only arrived back home at around 1.15am on 2 May. We did Mount Faber and the West Coast route, stopping at the West Coast Park McDonald's for a meal, after which, we continued along Jalan Buroh, Jalan Boon Lay, Jalan Bahar and LCK. I broke away at Sembawang and they continued home.

William was the star of the night. He forgot to unclip on 2 occasions. The first was on Mount Faber, and he fell, catching his shirt on the handlebars and tearing it. We tried to get him to buy the meals at McDonald's and apparently, he got quite a bit of attention.

The next occasion was just before the Marsiling MRT station. At the junction, we slowed to a halt and he unclipped too late. He fell towards a motorbike. The pillon rider caught most of the impact (he complained of back pain =P) and the bike started to tilt towards the side! The rider could barely hold the weight of his heavy bike and his pillon. They struggled to maintain balance. It was real funny but we held our laughter. The pillon had to hop off and help push the bike back to position!

It was so amusing that we laughed our heads off when we pulled over at Marsiling MRT.

Route taken: Plotted on Google Maps
Total distance: 73.7km
Money spent: $3.25
Participants: LSH, William, William's brother, Guang Ming

1st of May

It is the first of May and I am out of a job. After all the hustle and bustle of the last few weeks, I found myself strangely reluctant to have nothing at hand to do. As I wrote the last few farewell emails, read a couple of incoming replies and powered down the computer for the last time at what used to be my work terminal until a few hours ago, it felt uncannily similar to that morning on 11 Nov 08 when I left 39 SCE for good.

I have worked at a few companies in the past and I have always left with optimism and perhaps, relief. Leaving the SAF and now, GIC, was much harder. It is only when you leave that you fully treasure the great times spent with your colleagues, the memorable occasions; and you secretly wish your time there could have been longer.

It had been a great experience working at GIC. The physical environment was outstanding but colleagues made the biggest differences. I am very fortunate to have had such wonderful colleagues. I know people are waiting and want to hear this: I will miss Corp Comms and all the friends I have made there.

I am feeling a bit downcast today (and I am still not sure of the exact reason =P) I hope to get my bike out tonight; it's time to focus on the big challenge next week.