Offroad Cycling Workshop for Folding Bikes

Time to give back...

My goal with the Malaysian Foldies Forums is to organize as many as two to three public workshops a year.
And its all free!
We don't profit from people who want to learn and are willing to share our knowledge to those who are keen.

Putting a plan together

Since I've created a Facebook page for the Malaysian Foldies, its been easier to get the word around. We have about 430 people who are active on the page and the numbers are growing. That said, it was not hard to get participation.
Our last workshop was held at an outfitter's store, where response was decent.
So, this time round, we had a good crowd with Master Bikepacker TT Siang as our guest speaker.
And our theme: "Basic Offroad Cycling for beginners". 
This is an "experiential" learning process where its split in two modules.
We have a sharing session at the Botanical Gardens and two sets of courses.
I took the first session by introducing the crowd to basic offroad riding.
Siang took on the second session and we cycled out to a simple course before heading to the Rover Trail.

Master Siang sharing his thoughts with the crowd

We assembled at the Kepong Botanical Gardens carpark in FRIM, and when I got there, the crowd was already waiting.
It was great to meet some old friends at the carpark and as soon as everyone was gathered, we got the ball rolling.

Samo, explaining on the finer points of the telescopic handlebar safety...

The crowd was pretty enthusiastic and our timing was perfect.
We cycled out towards the first course, which is a real short route with a decent terrain.
The participants were brought into the trail and shown some basic skills on how to handle and maneuver their bikes on uneven ground.

Setting out to the trail

The happy campers..

We concluded the first part and proceeded to the Rover Trail.
This is a bit tough for beginners, but everyone had made it.
One of the cyclist had broken his bike chain and re-joined us later.
When we exited the trail, I've decided to add a supplementary session where Siang shared about his penny stove and camping gear. 
This is a prelude to our next workshop: "Basic Bikecamping for beginners" which will be announced..

The master sharing his knowledge on camping stoves to the participants

And the best part: Makan!!!!

We concluded the workshop and headed off to Kepong for an early lunch.
As for the ride, we covered about 8km. 
Very short for those who expect a longer distance, but its enough to get the message across about offroad cycling.
So, that said, we are looking forward to more learning and sharing sessions with the foldies old or new...