Putrajaya Newbie Ride

March of the newbies
Folding bikes are growing in popularity. 
There is no doubt about it as more and more peer groups are sprouting like mushrooms in social media networks like Facebook.
Taking the cue, newcomer Andrew Ng had organised a ride for beginners.
The plan was to meet up at Precinct 1 in Putrajaya and ride for 20km around the lakeside.
It was as simple as it sounded.
This attracted more than 60 people who gathered at the Dataran Putra.
An early shower didn't dampen the spirits of the cyclists as they waited for another hour before cycling.
A couple of 'seasoned' riders left the scene, but this didn't stop the rest from continuing with the ride.
At least one beginner was grumbling and showed her displeasure. But hey, you can't please everybody.
The rain stopped at 8.15am and as soon as the shower died down, the ride leader began his briefing.
While he was at it, I reminded him of the slippery pavements and told the rest to proceed with caution.
The group was split in two with the more experienced riders taking another route.
Michelle and I decided to ride with the newbies.

Photoshoot at the square

Ride leader Andrew Ng and the newbies

A simple route
We did a loop around the lakeside.
Michelle had tagged along with Hui Min, Andrew's wife who took the task of sweeper.
Later, she praised the couple for being so patient with the newbies.
We rode towards Precinct 2 and turned back to complete a 20km loop.
And just as I had expected, a cyclist fell and grazed her knee.
What surprised me was the fact that her riding buddy had just stood there to watch.
To rub salt into the wound, he continued taking photographs of the woman with his cellphone camera.
I went to assist the lady by cleaning her wound and later, dressing it.
"Ah! Next time, I follow you on your rides ah!," she said.
I wasn't amused with her reaction and was pretty disgusted with the fact that her partner actually made some sarcastic remarks about her fall.

The Samos

The lunch plan..
I was game about having lunch in Dengkil.
Never been there and never knew there were good food at this little town.
The ride was over by noon, so, we packed our bikes and took off to Dengkil for lunch as planned earlier by the ride leader.

The makan place

The food at Sinki restaurant was pretty good.
Later, Michelle and I had spent the remaining day with Mr Fong Kook Keong and his son.
We had some beers and talked about the riding scene.
Fong said he is very keen to do some bicycle touring and that he wanted to follow us to Cambodia next year.
Well, much is left to be said as this is still just a talk.

Summary
Andrew Ng did a great job in bringing together the beginners and some experienced riders. But, in my humble opinion, the group should not be separated. 
There is nothing wrong with older guys riding with the new ones.
As I see it, it would be a great chance for the newbies to learn from the old hands.
If the concern is on whether the experienced riders would get bored or fall asleep cycling on a slower pace, then, they should stay at home..