Karak > Lanchang Ride - Part 4

A critical decision
The final push to Sin Poh farm in Karak is about 17km.
Rather than backtracking, the fastest way to get there is by riding along the KL - Kuantan road.
This course is paved with danger.
Passing trucks and trailers posed a real problem.
To the uninitiated, its a ride through hell.
One of the guys were actually grumbling about the danger of riding this route. 
But that the way it is. 
I've cycled on many Federal roads and there's nothing lacking in the dangers that lurks ahead.
From Lanchang, we rode past a few villages.
I can see on my EDGE800 that there are three bridges to cross along the way.

Riding out of Lanchang

The endurance factor
With the Sun directly above our heads, timing became a crucial thing in completing the ride.
If we had taken the same way we rode in, I don't think we would be able to get back to Sim Poh Farm before dark.
So, like it or not, the KL - Kuantan road is the only choice we had.
This course is paved with an undulating terrain.
The gradient is between 3 - 5% and on certain sections, there were enough hills to actually roll.
By allowing inertia to do the job, energy is conserved.
After crossing the second bridge, we managed to cycle some 15km on the road.
Right ahead, there was a BHP petrol station where we took a rest.
Ah Pan was very concerned about his teenage friend and I can clearly see that his downhill bike had really slowed him down..

Taking a break at the BHP petrol station

Riding the offroad section behind the Bentong Community College

The landmark to lookout for is the Bentong Community college.
We have cycled for more than 67km and the new bridge linking Karak to Sungai Semantan was a welcoming sight.
The team was elated when we rode towards the farm area.
From this section, there is a 2km offroad course to complete..

Riding towards Sin Poh Farm

Patric, taking snapshots of the farm area...

All in a day's work
We reached the farm at 3:45pm.
The entire day was spent on the road.
The first thing we did, was to clean up the bikes.
Farmer Wong has a water jet compressor and this made it a breeze to clean the bikes before we packed them back into the car.
We spent some time at the farm and were given a tour of the growing plots.
Wong is accepting an award later this month for his effort from the state Department of Agriculture.
As for me, paying a visit to my farmer friend is a norm.
To the rest, it was an eye-opening experience.
With some good riding prospects in Karak, we will check out some new tracks in the future..

Team Jetstream 

A farmer's hospitality: enjoying the day's harvest

Summary
Much of what that lies ahead was mainly unknown.
I for one, am glad to have tried out the kampung roads in Sertik that leads to Felda Lakum and Bukit Damar.
The Elephant sanctuary itself, was an experience to behold. 
I don't think there are many folding bike cyclists who have tried this route, let alone, climb and roll down the steep gradient to get from Karak to Kuala Gandah.
On the whole, the ride was incident-free.
The timing alone, was perfect.
Angela Tan had suggested a longer lunch break to compensate for the heat during mid-day. 
Other than that, no else complained as the ride was meant for more experienced cyclists.
There's no way for a beginner to ride on such a tough course, but in the months to come, I will design an easier route for newbies to ride the Sin Poh farm.

Stats

Distance:	70.58 km
Time:	8:37:30
Avg Speed:	8.2 km/h
Elevation Gain:	897 m
Calories:	2,840 C
Avg Temperature:	29.7 °C

Time:	8:37:30
Moving Time:	4:39:09
Elapsed Time:	8:37:30

Avg Speed:	8.2 km/h
Avg Moving Speed:	15.2 km/h
Max Speed:	57.3 km/h