Genting Sempah - Bentong Ride 230711 Part 1

A passenger car overtaking a lorry on a double-line along the route

The long and winding roll

The route recorded by my Garmin EDGE800

My day started as early as 4:30am. 
Woke up, took my shower, dried up and applied some Hammer seat saver cream on the groin area before I put on my Zoic black market cycling shorts and my Lime Green race ready long sleeve Tee-shirt before I hit the road.
The day I have been waiting for had arrived. 
It was my 2011 Dahon Jetstream EX's maiden flight.
I've arranged to meet D.C. Ong at the Genting Sempah rest and relax area which is roughly about 45-minutes drive from my home in USJ, Subang Jaya.
I got there early and waited for Ong and McDonald's to open.
We had breakfast there and got around setting up our bikes.
Ong was riding a 27-speed Rallyart F-1 folding bike which he got from Taiwan during a family trip there three months ago.
He's a new rider and this was his fist long-distance training ride.
I punched the 'start' button on my Garmin EDGE800 gps and we were on our way.
The first leg of the ride was a smooth 25-km roll towards the Bentong Hot Springs, which is located about 26km away.
Our first stop was the Bukit Tinggi junction which is roughly about 5km away.
There, we took some pictures and proceeded to the Janda Baik junction.
All was good as we rolled the distance.
I told Ong that the journey back would be really fun.
At least 25km of steady climb.
We met Ah Pan, my buddy from Karak, Pahang at the Bentong Hot Springs.
This is a pretty rundown place that is not even on the map.
My farmer friend was all alone with his trusty Dahon Dash P18, which is by far, the fastest foldie in Bentong.
From the Hot Springs we rode to town and along the way, we met a bunch of cyclists who were escorted by the traffic cops. 
When cyclists cross paths, we greet each other.
After two hours of cycling, we clocked 37km to reach Bentong from Genting Sempah and there, we caught up with Farmer Wong, my contact and took a lunch break..

Into the unknown..

I'll be headed out to Genting Sempah tomorrow with fellow cyclists DC Ong to check out the Genting Sempah - Bentong route.

Much has been spoken about this place as it is a popular cycling route for road bikes traveling from Gombak to Bentong.

For the short distance ride, much of the terrain here is said to be hilly.

As for the ride, I will be putting my Dahon Jetstream EX to its test and with all the wide-ranging gear, I don't think I would be crunching gears too much along the way

The plan is to hook up with my buddy Ah Pan at the Bentong hot springs which is located on the outskirts of town.

I was told that this place has been renovated to meet the needs of the state's tourism standards.

We've been to Chamang waterfalls and much of the surrounding in the hotsprings remains unknown to me until I check it out tomorrow...

Race Ready Alta Long Sleeve T's

Race Ready's apparels

Cotton T-shirts are comfortable.
But on a prolonged-wear during cycling, it can weigh a tonne and smell like a roadkill.
The solution is a dry-fit Tee and I have been wearing my Under Armour shirt for a while. It was given to me by my friend Mike Pendtrack of PMDC tactical some years back.
I found the dry-fit tees to be useful and lightweight. 
For touring, this would shave some weight on my panniers.
They are easy to maintain and dries very fast after a quick wash.
While researching for something suitable, I found Hammer Cool T offered on Hammer Nutrition's website.
There were not much choice in terms of colour because Hammer's corporate colours are red and white.
So, I did a quick search on the internet and was let to raceready's website.
There, the sizing options are available with some really cool colours.
My first choice were the raceready Readytech Alta long sleeve and Readytech mesh long sleeve Ts.
I ordered them and it took about a week to arrive at my office.
Fitting-wise, it was perfect.
Most of the dry-fit Tees that are made for Asians are too small.
In the case of the Readytech Mesh, it was like finding Cinderella's glass slipper.
I took this out at the Putrajaya interparks Series 10 ride and it was the perfect wear.
Soon, it will some long-distance action.

Photo Malaysia Cycle&Makan Putrajaya Series 05, July 02

The cycle&makan gang: (L-R) John, Din, Khai, Maxby, Samo and Michelle

We took a 16.3km route around Putrajaya's lake area

I guess Sunday mornings are reserved for snooze.
We got up as early as 05:00am in the morning to catch the Photomalaysia.com's cycle&makan ride in Putrajaya. 
Maxby, the forum's owner had posted a note about this session.
He thought I was in Singapore for a round-island ride. I had to work, so the trip down South was out.
It was mentioned earlier in a mass-email to the folding bike club people. I guess you'll have to own a Brompton or a Birdie to be accepted into the 'inner sanctum', hahah!
Anyways, the light rain in Putrajaya didn't stop us from having fun.
Maxby asked me to lead the ride, which I did by taking a lakeside route.
From our experience with the Putrajaya interparks series rides, its no sweat leading a group around the fringe of the lake.
We started in Precinct 2 and moved towards Precinct 6.
Since there was an overcast, its not really a great day to shoot photos.
The Photomalaysia.com members were very accommodating.
We later worked our way back to Precinct 2 at the Putrajaya mosque and parted ways with John Ishii, one of the cyclists.
Then, we rode towards a makan place near the new century monument (monumen alaf baru ).
There, a late-breakfast was in order. 
We've worked out a good appetite for nasi lemak and roti jala.
The conversation was pleasant and as we were working our way out of the restaurant, another group arrived.
It was Col Azzudin's Putrajaya Urban Riders.
I had a chat with the Colonel who outfitted his Dahon Speed P8 with a set of travel racks.
The guys who rode along with him too were a pleasant lot.
They were surprised to see the Dahon Curve SL. Adib, one of the old hands were there too, he rode off on his own.
By 11:30am, the whole show was over. We packed our bikes and I waved at Maxby and Khai who left the mosque in their vehicle.
If there would be another Photomalaysia ride, that might take place in Malacca..

Broga Series 02 - Part 2

Chatting over late breakfast

With Jessica (left) and David (centre) in Broga
 

I've been having some trouble loading up pictures directly from my laptop.

So, having figured out that I can link the images from my photobucket account, well, here goes..

Okay, we made it to Nottingham University which is about 4.5km away from Semenyih.

The morning air was fresh and cool and this motivated us to climb the slopes to the Bukit Lalang trail head which was packed with vehicles.

I guess on a Saturday, people just want to spend some quality time outdoors.

Broga town is only about 10-minutes ride from this point as we had covered more than 8kms.

David, Jessica and Chong did okay.

Later, when we were climbing towards the Chinese temple, I noticed that Chong have had some problems with his rear derailleur.

We took a break at the temple compound and there was a hive of activities there as the local community center had organised a charity cross-country run.

From there, we made our way to town and took a refreshment break at a coffeeshop.

There, we got to know each other better.

David is retired and his wife Jessica is on her own while Chong is in the construction business.

As the day got hotter, we made our way back to Semenyih and clocked about 18km or cycling.

We ended up having an early lunch at a Hot Soup restaurant and planned to conduct a ride in Sekinchan in the weeks to come.

RIDE SUMMARY

Distance covered: 18.8km

Average speed: 16km/h

Top speed: 51km/h

Number of stops: 3

Number of punctures: 0

Broga Series 02 - Part 1

Breakfast at 69 coffeeshop in Semenyih, Selangor

A sporting couple: Jessica and David leading the trail

Lady in the Red Dahon Speed P8

There were two things on my 'to do' list yesterday.

One was to lead a ride from Semenyih to Broga and the other was to evaluate the Selle Royal E-bike saddle.

I was out with my colleagues on Friday night and had to cut short the social session by 11pm so that I could get some sleep.

And as usual, I got up at 5.30am to load up my Dahon Speed P8 onto the car along with other gear. 

It took about 45-minutes to get from USJ26 in Subang Jaya to Semenyih town via the LDP and SILK highway.

When I got there, it was just in time for a decent breakfast.

The plan was to meet at Semenyih's Maybank branch and later head off to Broga.

I had black coffee and a bowl of mee kicap (noodles with dry soya sauce gravy) with some stuffed vegetables. Very decent tasting food!

Last week, I met up with a couple from Klang - David and Jessica who started riding their Dahon Speed P8s. 

He asked about Broga and I thought it would be great to do a follow-up ride. 

Basically, its 9km on undulating terrain, which is decent enough for beginners.

I met the couple at Maybank while setting up my ride.

Later, Chong Yew Ming, another Dahon rider had joined us.

At about 8am sharp, we rode off towards the Broga junction which is about 500metres away from Semenyih town...

Back by popular demand: I'll be organising a ride this weekend to Broga

I met a bunch of new foldies last week and one of the question floored was: "Eh, can we do a Semenyih-Broga ride ah?".
Sounds good to me because I wanted to get some shots of the temple.
This time, I would rig up my Dahon Speed P8 with a new camera mounting.
As for the ride, its a straight-forward 9km single journey ride to the border of Negeri Sembilan.

Chamang waterfalls

With Farmer Wong at Chamang

Bentong's natural attraction - the Chamang falls

I'm back on the road, fresh from my century ride.
This time - its a recce trip to the Chamang falls in Bentong, Pahang.
Prior to this, I've made some arrangements with Ah Pan, my buddy.
In Bentong, I met up with Farmer Wong, Ah Pan's boss and ride 10km with him to the falls.
It was an easy ride for the first 4km and things got a little tougher when the road leads to a series of hills with a steady incline.
The climb towards Chamang falls was a killer as I lugged some 12kgs of photographic equipement.
Here's a tip: ditch the backpack and load up your panniers.
I was already bonked by the time I reached km 8 on the route.
The rest was an easy roll towards the park area at the falls.
At Chamang, we rested and I took the opportunity to snap some shots of the rapids there.
After chilling out there for nearly an hour, we rode back to Bentong.
Farmer Wong treated me to a meal at Karak before we headed out to his farm in Sertik.
I called it a day after doing some work at the farm...