OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2014 - Part 2

Flag off!

We slowly moved our bikes to the main starting line.
The Sports and Youth Minister waved a flag with a loud burst from the airhorn, signalling for everyone to roll out.
By the time we rode past the VIP stage, at least a thousand cyclists had made their way to the hills in Lake Gardens and Bukit Tunku.
As we were moving, remnants of the 48km challenge participants can be seen either resting by the roadside, or had completely given up.
If you don't train for such an event, you will never be able to complete four laps in the 12km loop.

Radzi and Me at the rider's pen

At the starting line

An interesting combined route...

If you have done the first OCBC Cycle Malaysia Ride back in 2011, you will notice that the climb and descent from Bukit Tunku would lead to Jalan Putra and straight towards Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
This time round the organizers avoided Jalan TAR completely. 
Instead, the riders went straight towards Jalan Kuching and up the ramp towards Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Campbell.
This is a combination of the 2011 and 2013 (There were no Cycle Malaysia event in 2012) where the ride was done at the KLCC.
Even with such a short route with a distance of 12km a loop, cyclists tend to fumble.
The first casualty was spotted near the JKR complex in Jalan Hishamuddin. A lady fell and injured her face.
Other than that, we saw a few novice cyclists suffering cramps along the way.
The climb to Bukit Tunku was taxing on them.

Radzi on his Joe P24

Rolling downhill towards Bukit Tunku

Motorists and pedestrians aren't too happy when the roads are closed...

Meeting people along the way..

As we rode towards Jalan Campbell, I met a few cyclist friends.
And right there in front of Yut Kee restaurant, stood a dude with his arms folded.
Radzi told me who he was and I was kind of freaked out at first at the sight of a psycho cyclist who advocates 'no-helmet because it's a choice thing'.
But seeing as it is, we rode off our fear.
At KLCC, I saw Fei Lee of GW Cycles setting up his camera to capture his clients in action.
We slowly made our way back to the Dataran and completed our first round.
With the prospect of riding back to Subang Jaya, my strategy was to conserve energy by riding at a leisurely pace.
After clearing the hills, we made a pit-stop in front of the KLCC and refilled our water bottles.
The Dataran was not far away and as we slowly rode back to the event area, I can see and old dude lifting both his hands.
To me, its fulfilling the ride for the third time.
Radzi and I collected our medals and moved on to the large helmet where we took snapshots.
I met up with the kids whom I had advised earlier and talked to them.
They wanted to take a photo with me which I happily obliged.
After the snapshots were taken, we rode towards Kg Baru for a taste of Nasi Padang..

A snapshot with the kids

Mission accomplished!

The scene at Dataran

Our Terns

The best nasi padang in Kg Baru

A rewarding meal

The journey home...

It was all over for the rest of the people at Dataran.
I had to make my way to Brickfields to enter the Federal Highway bike lane.
Took me about 30-minutes to clear the city centre and made my way to Angkasapuri.
This was a non-stop ride averaging at 20km/h. 
The pace was a relaxed one as I slowly rode towards the Subang Jaya exit.
Once I got into the the USJ1 interchange, it was home-run.
Slowly, I rode towards Persiaran Kewajipan and with every stroke on the crank drawing me closer to USJ 20, it was clear that I made good time.
When I reached the gate at my home, the GPS read 82.3km. That was the total mileage clocked from Subang Jaya to the Dataran and back.

Summary

Having ridden in two OCBC rides, this was one of the best event ever and sadly, its also my last. So, that said, I hope the organizers would look into the participant's needs and I think the OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2015 is going to rock harder if they've maintained the good work.