USJ26 - Tg Sepat Ride Part 4

Getting a massage by a master in Jenjarom

Pain management
My left leg was badly damaged from a motorcycle accident 10 years ago.
I had a class-3 compound fracture and underwent four major and one minor surgery to overcome the injury.
Since then, I've hiked fairly and scaled Mount Kinabalu last year.
When I took up cycling, my overused left leg may have developed tendonitis or at least that's what I think it is.
From Tg Sepat to Morib, I noticed that the pain on my left leg, especially on the side of my knee near the platella, was intense.
I kept feeling sharp pain each time I stretched my left leg and this was pounding all the way.
At Morib, Michelle had to go to the ladies' room.
While she was relieving herself, I spotted a place where we could rest.
I found a stall and ordered some young coconuts.
An old timer, who was nearby, watched as we rested.
He joined our table and engaged in small talk.
Pak Yackob, who is probably in his 70s, asked about our bikes. 
As we downed our coconut juice, I got up and walked over to the stall owner to pay and get two bottles of water to refill our emptied ones.
That's where I felt the pain and couldn't bend my left leg.
"Are you okay? Shall we scrap the ride?," asked Michelle.
"No, we'll decide in Banting," I said.

No pain, no gain
The 10km ride to Banting was paved with pain.
I never felt so banged-up and each time I pedal my bike, the pain just kept coming.
At this point, we have done 100.5km with another 50km to go.
As we slowly cruise past the junction to Banting, the pain was unbearable.
We stopped at a bus stand.
The first thing that came to mind, was my Deep Heat rub ointment.
I dabbed some on the injured part of my left leg and started rubbing.
It was instant pain-relief.
Just as we thought that we were getting nearer, there's the Banting bridge.
We climbed this in the earlier part of the day and its one more session before we roll down towards the Jugra stadium.
Slowly, I started crunching my gears, riding ahead of Michelle and made it all the way to the top of the flyover. 
I felt much better and pushed for another 15km towards Jenjarom town.
The Deep Heat treatment was temporary.
By the time we got to Jenjarom, it was back.
I made a hand sign to detour towards this town.
We have never been to Jenjarom, so, it was a perfect opportunity to explore the place.
This place is identical to Tg Sepat's town layout and I was surprised to find so many food outlets there.
There was a coffee shop not too far from a junction near the main road.
Michelle had pointed it and we decided to pull over.
While downing a can of 100PLUS sports drink, I pulled out my tube of Deep Heat rub.
An elderly man asked what it was for, I politely told him that I had strained my leg.
"Here, let me help," he gestured in Hokkien.
The man place my damaged leg on his lap and started to give me a rub, while he was at it, he told me that my muscles were strained.
I never thought that I could experience such hospitality in Jenjarom and offered to buy him a drink which he politely declined.
After the rub down, which was another temporary relief, we continued with our journey....


The final push
The reading on my Garmin EDGE800 GPS gave 125km.
It was getting late in the evening as we slowly made our way towards Teluk Panglima Garang.
Even with the pain, I knew we were getting our objectives achieved.

On the KESAS motorcycle lane

Traffic was heavy on both sides of the road and Teluk Panglima Garang was within reach.
We cycled past this town and headed towards Sijangkang.
The weather was getting hot, but fortunately for us, it was cooler in the day.
Slowly, but surely, we rode past Sijangkang.
There was a bicycle shop on the opposite side of the road, and one of the guys there waved at us.
As the light was failing, we turned on our rear lights and the LED safety vest.
Now, here's the best part: The entry into KESAS motorcycle lane was a right turn. 
Before that, we had to climb a flyover with our heavily laden bikes.
This was a tricky manouver as we slowly squeezed our way to the right-hand side of the lane.
On the KESAS, we have been on the road for nearly 13 hours.
It was getting dark as we rode on the motorcycle lane near Bandar Botanic.
To get to Shah Alam's Section 23, we have to ride past at least three exits on the KESAS

Light at the end of the tunnel: Cycling on the KESAS highway

We only have an hour to go and with the agonising pain, every meter gained on the road is a step towards our goal.
Slowly, we cycled our Dahon Speeds towards the Puchong exit.
Then, came the tricky part of veering left towards the Proton factory.
I led Michelle who was afraid of the heavy traffic towards the safe side of the road.
By the time we rode past the car factory, it was already pitch dark and it was also drizzling.
Our LED vests, my Cateye twin lights and Reflex rear light made a difference.
From Section 23, we were about 4km away from Putra Heights.
At 147km in total distance, either your bike breaks down or you fall apart.
My wife muttered: "Aiya! No more crazy things after this ah!"
I knew that my doctor's appointment was up. It's gonna be a trip to the orthopaedic specialist..
After clearing Section 23, the next tricky part, is to ride across the road, against the flow towards the Putra Heights entrance.
Its also a gradual climb towards the junction to USJ 26.

Final lap: heading home...

We did it!

After being on the road for 14 hours, we reached our home. We clocked 153.2km. With this, we broke our previous record of 133.2km ride in a single day. For the record, it was our second century ride and we made it. The feeling was ecstatic.


Post ride recovery
I'll be lying to say that everything was fine.
My left leg felt like raw meat and my butt was aching.
But for all intent and purpose, it was a ride well worth the effort.
I for one, am proud of Michelle for her mental strength and endurance.
As I jokingly mentioned about the 200km tour, she snapped at me and said it was a crazy idea. But who knows? If the left leg gets treated, we are talking about some serious long haul ride!


Ride statistics
Total distance: 153.2km
Number of stops: 10
Number of puncture: 0
Average speed: 16km/h
Top speed: 31km
Moving time: 4hrs 20minutes