Kayuhan Raub 2012 - part 1

The last long-distance cycling event of the year..
Well, for us that is.
I've booked two places for the Kayuhan Raub 2012 that took place at the Raub district in Pahang.
We had a great time last year and made it a point to go back for another round.
Michelle did not complete the ride and actually returned with a vengeance.
Like usual, we fed the dogs before leaving our home for Bentong where we had an early lunch.
The plan was to take the scenic route via Kampung Sang Lee and Tras.

Our boy, looking pensive

Bentong's wantan mee

A decent lunch break
We pulled over in Bentong town after an hour's drive from Subang Jaya.
At the small trader's association, there is a coffee shop that sells wantan mee.
I can also see a banner promoting the Fabulous Food 1 Malaysia campaign where the district's MP will launch it on December 15.
Right in front of the shop, there is a family selling wantan mee.
I ordered two plates plus some extra wantans and the bill came to RM10.40.
The noodles were excellent, but the char siew could be better.
After a good fill, we proceeded towards the Fraser's hill junction and towards Sang Lee village.

Kg Sang Lee's mascot: the Landrover

King of fruits: the Durian

 Michelle and I made a stopover at Kg Sang Lee to snap a couple of photographs.
There was a on old Landrover and a large concrete Durian which was displayed side-by-side. 
We couldn't resist posing next to it and would accept being labelled as 'bogus' by some master guru cyclists for not using our bikes to get there.. Hahahah!
From Sang Lee, we moved to Kg Tras, a small village that has some really colourful buildings.

A scene in Kg Tras

After the detours, we arrived in Raub at 3pm and met up with Mohd Radzi, one of our regular cycling kakis.
Later, we drove to Taman Tasik Raub to collect our goodie bags..

Team Jetstream is up and running!

I am happy to report that team Jetstream is now officially on-line.
We are going to ride in the countryside with our full-suspension foldies.
To borrow a line from a fellow foldie on the Dahon Forum: "Team Jetstream - The Few & The Proud..."

Riding the 2011 Dahon Jetstream EX

Parking the bikes on a ditch

Rolling downhill with the Jetstream EX at 49km/h was effortless

The 2011 Jetstream EX is the last of its kind.
I'm glad to have been able to procure on and took it for a downhill roll from Genting Sempah to Bentong yesterday.
At speeds up to 49km/h, the Jetstream EX is stable as the front German A and Kilo shocks are able to take the rigors of our badly maintained country roads.
Everything down to its VRO handlebar steering system and ergon grips were precision-made and this made handling on the long and winding stretch along the course very solid.
The Ashima PCB disk brakes gave superb stopping power and as I pumped the brakes, I can hear the rotor sound slowing down my descent.
On certain stretch, the brakes did not cease.
As for the 3x9 SRAM Dual-drive II drivetrain, I must say that it worked well to my expectations.
The front and rear suspension were not wobbly at all, it took most of the hard bumps and riding this bike, for a big guy like me, was really comfortable.
That said, there are more challenging rides ahead and as long distance guru Mr TT Siang would put it: "Hulu Langat is Jetstream country.. "
I hope he would be able to restore his Jetstream XP back to its riding condition so that we could explore the hills of Hulu Langat as team Jetstream..

Genting Sempah - Bentong Ride 230711 Part 2

With Ah Pan at the hot springs

The Jetstream EX, she clocked 71km on her maiden flight

At a waterfall along the route

Taking shelter from the rain beneath a viaduct

After spending a few hours with Farmer Wong and Ah Pan, it was time to hit the road.
Ong and I made our way towards our first pit-stop, the Bentong Hot Springs.
We rode about 16km from Bentong town and along the way, we met the convoy of bicyclists who were on their way back from their ride.
What looked flat in Bentong was an optical illusion.
The road ahead was a long and winding undulating terrain and our climb towards Genting Sempah is ahead of us.
It took us about 45-minutes to get to the hot springs where we rested.
The water was not even lukewarm and its rather strange that the Pahang tourism office would pass this as an attraction.
There, we chat about cycling and got to know each other better.
From the hot springs, we made our way to Bukit Tinggi.
This is a climb from 115metres to 660metres. Although the gradient was not steep, its gradual and we were crunching our gears.
The SRAM Dual-drive II yielded 27-speeds on the Jetstream EX. 
No issues with getting the best combination out of the low gear and some training I did in Hulu Langat really helped in the climb.
Half-way towards Bukit Tinggi, I made a judgement call. 
We took shelter underneath a viaduct along the East Coast highway as it started to pour heavily.
About 40-minutes later, we started cycling in the light evening shower towards Bukit Tinggi which is about 6km away.
I checked the GPS and we were very near the BP petrol station.
There, we took a refreshment break and proceeded towards Bukit Tinggi village and had some coffee at a restaurant.
For a first-timer, Ong did very well with the climb.
I suggested that we push our bikes on the steep hills towards the Genting Sempah junction, about 900meters away.
When we got there, police patrol car pulled over.
We made small talk with a cop and his partner who was on routine crime prevention patrol.
From the Bukit Tinggi junction, its a 5km crunch towards our finish line in Genting Sempah.
I told Ong that there is really no need to kill ourselves as the final push is a gradual climb.
We finished the ride in about 40minutes from the Bukit Tinggi junction.
For Ong, its an achievement and as for me, I've finally added this route onto my records.


RIDE SUMMARY


Total distance - 71km
Average speed - 17.2km
Top speed - 49km
Total time - 9hrs:6min:48sec
Total time riding - 4hrs:39min:09sec
Max cadence - 179rpm
Average cadence - 56rpm
Elevation gain - 592meters
Elevation loss - 601meters

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...

Team Jetstream: The Few and The Proud

The front fork

My new ride, rock included

Ashima Pan Cake Brakes system

Suntour rear suspension

The test-ride route

I know for a fact that when the 2011 Jetstream EX goes down in bicycling history as one of the most advanced folding bike ever made, demands for whatever remaining stocks would soar globally.
We are pretty lucky to have scored at least a few units of the 2011 Jetstream EX as production was delayed by the split in the Hon family.
I must praise Joshua Hon for coming up with such an awesome bike featuring a lightweight frame and some extreme components.
And for this, I also pride myself for saving up every ringgit and sen for it instead of shamelessly asking the country's distributor for a free bike. Hahah!
Okay, getting to the lowdown, I've installed a set of MKS EXIM superior pedals yesterday.
The FSA cranks took it like duck on water and these quick-release pedals are the best there is for folding bikes.
Later, I've also adjusted the VRO handlebar to suite my riding style. I love it upright and on a relaxed mode.
Filling up the tires up to 65psi was no sweat with my Topeak Joeblow sports pump and I must say that the distinct 'clicking' sound made by the American classic hubs gave the Jetstream EX character.
This morning, I fitted my EDGE800 performance bundled GSC10 speed and cadence sensor and this worked well with exception for the speed sensor because the fork position was awkward.
Like the Speed TR that came with a SRAM Dual-drive 3x8, it took some getting used to when it comes to riding the Jetstream EX.
But I must say that the shifting was smooth and the Dual-drive internal hub does it job to give enough torque for cycling up slopes. 
The true test for this is in Hulu Langat's 10km uphill ride to the Selangor-Negeri Sembilan border.
Compared to my Dahon Speed P8, the handling on the Jetstream's VRO handlebar is rock solid. 
No lateral swaying and wobble at all.
Initially I thought I had to hunch down to ride the bike, but I was wrong. The riding position was very comfortable. 
What about the suspension? Well, this is one part that I haven't figured out.
All my life, I have been riding bikes with rigid frames.
The Jetstream EX is my first soft tail ride. 
So, it would take some adjustments to get a smooth ride on the Jetstream.
I'll have to say that with a short front and rear shock, the ride is not as bumpy on my Speed P8 and Curve SL.
Since this bike is just two days old, there's plenty of riding to be done, so, stay tuned for more updates..
 

Finally, afer a long wait...

Last of the Jetstream EX

One of my dreams is to obtain a full-suspension folding bike.
And back in the mid-2000s, I came across the Dahon Jetstream XP and fell in love with it.
Last year, I caught wind that at least two 2011 Dahon Jetstream EX would be brought into the country.
This gave me plenty of hope and time to save up for the Jetstream project and after a massive delay in production, Dahon had finally shipped out their remaining inventory of the high-end full suspension bike.
Its also their last batch of Jetstream EX as Dahon would no longer continue manufacturing the bikes.
Instead, they will only maintain the Jetstream P8 which is sold at a fraction of the price. And the good news is, a small batch is making its way into to country. More on this later.
So, there I was, at Le Run's warehouse, waiting with anticipation as my bike was taken out of the box for assembly.
First order of the day was to assemble the VRO handlebar. No sweat!
Then, the dual-drive connection box on the rear wheel of my Jetstream. Done.
Prior to this, everything I knew about the elusive Jetstream EX was through the internet and a chance encounter of the Jetstream XP at a bike shop in Singapore.
The latest incarnation of the EX is a lighter framework and components - 11.5kgs.
You can literally lift it with one hand.
Everything on this bike spells high-end. Its only fair to say when you see it up close and personal and as Dahon would put it: "Ride it to believe".
Now that the EX is in my hands, all there's left to do, is to assemble the MKS Exim superior quick-release pedals and my special MKS mudguards....

Rock-bottom price!

Dahon Jetstream XP- circa 2007-2009

I received a phone call today from my buddy Ah Pan.
He was very excited and asked if I want to join him on making a bulk order for the Dahon Jetstream XP.
"Eh, Sam ah! I can get the XP for RM3.8K lah! We are ordering a few!"
Well, obviously, my friend was unaware that there are only two Dahon Jetstream EX that is coming into the country and shipment is expected to hit the shore sometime in mid-july.
He may have heard it wrong.
But, I am also told by my source that a batch of Dahon Jetstream P8s would be shipped in from a neighbouring country.
This might be the correct info.
The Jetstream XP was marketed in 2007 and improvised in 2009. From 2010 onwards, the Jetstream EX had replaced the XP with some minor improvements.

It's getting better!



Improved: the 2011 Jetstream EX

There is a three-month window for the Dahon Jetstream EX folding bike.
This full-suspension ride showcases some of the best components ever to be found on a folding bicycle and is said to be the most advanced ride of its kind.
For 2011, Dahon had streamlined the disc brakes on the EX, giving it a sleek and low-profile look.
Changes also include an lighter fork and since this bike is on the premium category, it has a mass appeal to folding bike riders in search of a better ride.
Two will make its way to Malaysia in the second quarter.