Karak > Lanchang Ride - Part 1

A follow-up
Last month's ride from Karak - Bentong via Kg Cinta Manis, Sertik and Mempaga had inspired me to conduct another ride towards Lanchang.
The plan was to ride from Sin Poh farm towards Kg Sertik using an offroad track nearby.
I had no idea of the terrain and ground conditions as much of my plan was based on past experiences using the route with a 4x4 vehicle.
To get things going, I rounded up some experienced riders through the Malaysian Foldie Forums and its Facebook page.
After listing the requirements for participation, I had a handful of people who signed up for the ride.
This was strictly for experienced riders as the trail is expected to be tough.

Michelle at Farmer Wong's house in Karak

 I planned it in such a way, the team would spend a night at Farmer Wong's house in Sin Poh Farm.
So, to make it happen, I gave Ah Pan, my old buddy a call to get clearance to camp at the farmhouse.
Sin Poh farm is an award-winning vegetable producer in Pahang and is also the first farm of its kind to be awarded with a Good Agricultural Practise certification from the state agriculture department.
As for the ride, we had Andrew Ng with his wife Hui Min, Patric Yee, an old kaki including Master TT Siang and his wife Angela.
All in, we had seven riders including Ah Pan and a 14-year-old kid.

Stage one: Karak > Sertik
The alarm clock blared at 05:00am. 
I woke up and immediately packed my thermarest sleeping pad.
After a breakfast meeting with the rest of the exploration team, we set up our bikes.
This was also my first ride with the Ay-Up headlights which worked very well.
Our bikes were perfect for the road conditions.
At 06:30am sharp, we rode out towards a rubber plantation and made our way towards a fruit orchard some 1.5km away.
The coarse and loose gravel road had proven to be really tough as the tires couldn't get a good grip.
At certain sections, we had to push the bikes as it was next to impossible riding up the loose gravel.
Puncture was also a main concern, but most of the bikes were using a 20" Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tires.
The only small bike in the ride was Angela with her Curve SL. 

Lights on: At the early stage of the ride

Re-grouping at a hilltop

Daybreak: A scene from the trail

 We cleared some 2km in to the trial and everything had looked fine.
I had no idea that the terrain was so rough and undulating, it seemed like we were riding a mountain bike hash.
The suspension on my Dahon Jetstream EX had taken the knocks and bumps very well and with a 27-speed drivetrain, climbing the unpaved trail was not an issue.
Michelle too had done the track with ease on her Dahon Jetstream P8.
We reached the end of the trail at the rubber plantation and rode through a tunnel across the East Coast Highway.
At the end of it, the trail continued until it joined-up with route C138 towards Sertik

A group photo at the entrance of Felda Sertik in Pahang