The true believer..

"A bicycle is as good as its rider.."
Some old-timer once asked me: "Ey Sam ah, should I modify my bike from a single chainring to a double chainring ah?"
I told him that his bike was good enough.
His reason was not having enough 'leverage' to go fast and climb hills.
People doubt themselves sometimes.
And it is such that puts them in a very insecure feeling about their own abilities.
When you mix with other people in a social ride, you are bound to meet some Primadonnas, wannabes and has-beens.
Fortunately, there are more good people than the stupid ones.
And guys who try to influence newcomers to modify their bicycles just go fast and climb coconut trees are bad role models.

 "Humility: the road less traveled.."
In many ways, I find that experienced cyclists who look down on others because they have a cheap bike are despicable.
Its rare to find people who are sincere these days. But there are some out there who really lived up by their good examples.
To learn, you must learn to listen.
To progress, you shouldn't be afraid ask.

"Never doubt yourself.."
If you ever suffer from low self-esteem by comparing what you have with other people, you have lost the first battle.
But when you train and plan out what you want to do with yourself, many doors will open.
In short, never doubt yourself.
It takes a lot of self-sacrifice to get from one point to another. 
Through the learning process, one would gain some self-confidence as well as the skills and knowledge to tackle challenges on the road. 
I cite the example of German Heinz Stucke. 
This guy nails it on the head by traveling to 38 countries around the world on a 7-speed folding bike.
Stucke's adventures had inspired me to take on the road.
It was his personal achievements that motivated me to take bicycle touring on my Dahon Speed P8.
There is no reason why a Godzilla-sized person (hahaha! Some guy in the Lowyat Forums had cashed-in on this monster term to describe me) cannot go touring with a shitload of stuff.
My aim was not to go fast, but rather see things at my own pace.
And armed with a pocket camera, I was able to make the most of my trips.

"Every effort you put in, you gain a little more.."
I view cycling as a hobby. 
Its a long-term thing as well.
I've acquired the bicycles, now I yearn for more trips.
That's why its important to walk the talk when you have the opportunity.
I told myself that if I never do things I set to do, it will never be done. Just empty thrash talk.
And for that, I am proud of achieving my personal goals.
The road ahead is long and winding, but with the right mindset, its a mile at a time at my own pace because I know that eventually, I am gonna get there..

Southwest to Tg Sepat - Part 4

The definition of 'fun'
There's no doubt that folding bicycles are getting popular.
Compared to three years ago, more people are taking their bikes on the road.
From its infancy to maturity, folding bike touring has taken a new perspective in terms of mobility and range.
With a properly-rigged bike, the journey can be endless.
In our case, we've done fairly well on our Dahon Speed P8 and Speed TR.
And for the record, very few people have gone touring on a folding bike. That is a fact.
Tg Sepat in this case, is the perfect staging point for longer rides - especially towards Port Dickson and Malacca.
I see plenty of potential in this route with the exception of the Jenjarom - Banting stretch..
And when it comes to touring, our main aim is to have fun.
Making the ride enjoyable meant having planned the routing and breaks meticulously.
Our time in Tg Sepat had come to an end and its now back to our home in USJ26.
Having found the correct routing, we should not go off-course like we did the day before.
Before we set out, breakfast was in order.
And based on the recommendation from the owner of the Vietnam coffeeshop, we tried the Fish Kut Teh guy near the Chinese temple.
Now, here's a trivial thing: If you want to eat Bak Kut Teh in Tg Sepat, better be early.
There's competition as busloads of foreigners were racing to chow down their Bak Kut Teh.
We sat down at a table and waited for a young man to take our order.
He recommended shark meat to go with the Fish Kut Teh which I rejected.
So, finally, we managed to score a bowl with all the usual stuff and started to chow down our breakfast.
By 9am, Tg Sepat was already packed to the brim with foreigners.
We made our way back to our room and started to pack up and leave..

A foreign bus in Tg Sepat

Decent: the seafood Bak Kut Teh

  Before we check out, I worked on Michelle's Dahon Speed TR.
I lubricated her chain with some Teflon grease to make the ride smoother.
So far, the TR had held on very well, even on offroad environment, but Michelle said she preferred the Jetstream P8 as its more comfortable.
Once I was done, we dropped the keys and began to ride out of Tg Sepat..

Giving the chain a little clean-up

Found a place to chill!

Riding out of town

Our favourite photo spot in Morib

Pedal power!
We were averaging between 20 - 25km/h from Tg Sepat to reach Morib in 45-minutes.
It was getting really hot with the Sun directly over our heads.
I told Michelle that we shouldn't waste time to cycle to Banting.
Since we had quite a fill at the Bak Kut Teh shop, there's enough stored energy to push all the way to Banting, which is 23km away.
Morib was no sweat as we worked out way to places like Tongkah, Simpang Morib and Kanchung Darat.
When we reached Banting, a man driving a banged-up piece of junk had suddenly swerved out. I engaged my airhorn and by the look on his face, he wasn't really pleased. Fuck him.
We took a little more than an hour to reach Banting town and as we made our way toward the evil Banting bridge, I noticed a signboard that says: "Cendul Banting".
Now, having tried another stall further down the road, I was thinking out aloud: "Well, which is the 'real' Banting Cendul???"
I signaled for Michelle to pull over and we had a taste of this icy dessert.
Now, we had the 'kosong' (without glutinous rice and some red toad egg-like thing) with the Cendul and it tasted great.

The evil Banting bridge

The old way: a worker using an ice-shaver

Another Cendul stall!

I spent some time snapping some shots of the Cendul guy.
He didn't mind being photographed.
And a week earlier, some senior guy from the editorial floor actually criticized me on my photos.
"Eh Sam, you don't know how to take pictures la, your photos are lousy!," said the old-timer.
I told him that I am not a photographer and his reaction was: "Ah! Those cameraman, they simply snap only la! A good photo comes from the eyes of a reporter!"
What the fuck was this guy talking about and why did he insulted the photographers? 
He suggested that I take a short course in photojournalism without examining my background. What a prick!
Anyway, moving on, when we were done with the Cendul, we moved on the Banting bridge.
Michelle seems to be more energetic compared to the previous day and the first 500 metres was a climb.
With a heavy load, I was crunching my gears. But that was no sweat because our training in the hills of Hulu Langat actually helped.
I learned the proper climbing technique from the gurus back in the days and the skills had proven to be useful.
As we rolled down the Banting bridge, Jenjarom and its death alley is just a 7km stretch..

Climbing the Banting bridge

Taking a break at the Caltex Station in Jenjarom

 The heat, the heat, the heat...
We did okay from Tg Sepat to Jenjarom.
As the Sun rose above our heads, I signaled for a halt at the Caltex station in Jenjarom.
This is a crucial staging point in the ride.
My cyclometer had clocked-in 120km. The GPS recorded the same.
We have roughly about 30km to go in the journey home.
The decision was to ride towards Kg Jenjarom and turn to Jalan Sukepi and Jalan Kebun.
It will be a short and bumpy ride ahead.
Well, ironically, another group had set out on the same route, especially at Jalan Kebun.
What made me laugh was the fact that some of the riders had suspension folding bikes and they were pushing their rides on the unpaved road. What a bunch of pussies!

A lovely stretch: the kampung road near Jalan Kebun

As rough as it can get: the offroad section

Connecting to the home run: Jalan Kampung Lombong

 I think its a sheer waste of time modifying a full-suspension bike and pushing it on the gravel road: fearing damage. 
If this is so, the guys have no business on the trail. They might as well ride their Birdies on the race track.
The road to Jalan Kampung Lombong was straight-forward.
Just follow the sandy road and right at the end of it, we found the underpass on the Elite Highway.

The home-stretch..
We cleared Kg Lombong with no issues..
What looms ahead: is the seven villages in Puchong located along the Klang river. 
Total time spent on the road is roughly more than four hours and we have covered quite a bit to reach the bridge that connects Puchong to Subang Jaya.

Riding along the Klang River

Underneath the ELITE Highway

Home at last!

 
It didn't take much effort to cycle back to USJ26.
We stopped by the Petronas station near USJ24 to pick up some ice to make some iced Oolong tea.
After leaving Tg Sepat at 9:30am, we arrived at our home in USJ26 by 2:30pm. 
Rather than using the KESAS Highway motorcycle lane and Kota Kemuning, we have success in paving a route using Kg Lombong which is significantly shorter.
To sum it up, it was a fun trip!


Ride statistics


Total distance: 153.2km
Average speed: 10.7km
Maximum speed: 47.8km
Time: 14hrs:16mins:47sec (2 days)
Number of punctures: 0
Number of stops: 10

Southwest to Tg Sepat - Part 3

A different perspective on Tg Sepat
 We've rode to Tg Sepat on many occasions and I must say that staying a night in this village is a memorable experience.
After getting some rest, Michelle and I took down the bikes and rode around the town square.
We went to a restaurant for dinner and since there are a quite a number of seafood, we settled for a place which is located at the edge of the town.
So, we landed at Hock Heng Huat restaurant.
The dishes here were standard. We had Horr Chien, Fishball soup which was just below average and the curried shark fillet.
Dinner came to RM56 including a bottle of beer.

Cruising in Tg Sepat...

Beers

 After a fill, we rode towards another section of the village.
I had my Manfrotto light tripod and my Canon Powershot G1X for a landscape photography tryout.
So, we ended up at a fisherman's jetty and I found a decent place to set up my camera and tripod.
The night was really windy with waves pounding the breakwater.
And as usual, there were scores of local tourists from all over the country who were eating at two of the most popular makan places in the village.
When I was done, we rode back to the Homestay to take a break...

At the breakwater

Tg Sepat's famous landmark: the Lover's Bridge

 Late night in Tg Sepat
We tried to get some shut-eye, but a house across the street from our Homestay was blaring out music at full-blast.
Not satisfied with the below-average quality dinner, I suggested to Michelle about taking a walk around the village's town square.
She agreed and we were on our way - cruising down the streets of Tg Sepat.
The first thing I noticed about the music was a wooden house with speakers stacked to its roof. Man, the dude who owns this sound system is serious about his hobby!
And there we were - taking a leisurely stroll.
We found a nice Malay cafe serving good burger and the one thing that caught my attention was the sight of a woman frying char koay teow. 
There's not much activity in this village except for people chilling out in coffee shops.
And that's exactly what we did.
I found another char koay teow stall at Lorong 4 and wasted no time in ordering a cup of coffee and a plate of fried noodles.
While I snapped some shot, there was a commotion in the background. 
Apparently, an old-timer was kicking a fuss. I didn't take his picture and way I see it, what the fuck was his problem?
Anyway, I acted oblivious to his behavior and went on with my coffee. 
The char koay teow here is pretty decent. It costs RM3.50 per plate and I can see that everyone was enjoying themselves.

Enjoying a plate of char koay teow with a nice cuppa

Sleepy hollow: Tg Sepat at night

 Later, we walked down a couple of rows and found 'Vietnam Coffee' at a shop whose neighbour is the famous Tg Sepat 'Fish Kut Teh'.
There was a nice long bench and table where we sat and as we chilled out there, I ordered a small plate of char koay teow.
A lady came by to take our drinks order and we had iced Vietnam coffee.
This costs RM3 a glass and is damn sweet.
The shop owner came by and I ordered a glass of iced coffee black.
He was puzzled as to why we don't want excessive sugar.
"Eh, very bitter la!," he said.
I told him that it was okay. 
Then, I asked him about his famous neighbor and if there is anyone in town that can rival his Fish Kut Teh.
"Ah, you must try my cousin's place next to the Chinese temple down the road.." 
On the char koay teow, Michelle loved the first stall.
My choice was the second stall. 
Why? Raw cockles! Springy and crunchy like clam sashimi! And best of all, it costs RM3 for a single serving.

We need Vietnam coffee!

Char koay teow done right: Stall no 2 rocks!

 We chilled out at the shop till we finished the coffee and walked back to the Homestay.
By this time of the day, the activity in town had halted.
I noticed that the music lover too had switched off this sound system.
That said, time to catch some sleep for the ride back the next day...

Southwest to Tg Sepat - Part 2

 Bumpy stretch ahead
My 2009 Dahon Speed P8 is the subject of ridicule among the Folding Bicycle Gods, Legends and Myths.
And on the Kg Lombong stretch, I put this bike - laden with 20kgs of load including my nearly 100kg rider's weight to its test.
Well, that's about 20km of offroad riding with full load and if anyone would say that their folding bike is the best touring bike in the world, they have the right to do so, because they believe that only theirs are the ultimate.
But in my humble opinion, the Speed P8 is the best load hauler in the Galaxy. Period.
So, there we were, after the backtracking and detours, we found ourselves at the junction of Kg Lombong.
The EDGE800 pointed a path near the village which is a decent stretch of gravel road.
We rode past this without any hitches and connected to Jalan Merbuk.
From there, we could see the imminent changes brought by progress.
A highway from Putrajaya is cutting across this area which is mainly sitting on peat soil.
Traffic was also heavy with vehicles plying the route, bypassing the Klang - Banting road through Sijangkang and Teluk Panglima Garang.
After a 32km ride, our bikes held on. 
Now, that said, not every folding bike owner would go on such a trail where the bike gets thrashed.
Well, lucky for us, the Schwalbe Big Apple 2.0 tires took most of the bumps and grind and our Selle Royal Ergo Gel insert saddles made the ride really pleasant.

Lunch near Simpang Morib

Morib, revisited...

The death alley
To get to Banting, we must cycle from Jenjarom.
There are no known inland routes to bypass this riverine town.
We had to cycle on a narrow road with just half a metre of leeway from the road shoulder.
The Klang - Banting road is also busy with traffic and there are many heavy vehicles that would just speed away with no regards to small vehicles.
If there is a move to improvise this stretch, I would love to see a motorcycle and bicycle lane just like the one in Kg Jenjarom.
The distance to Banting is roughly about 8km.
We have to climb the famous Banting bridge to get to town.
Along this stretch, the Sun was directly over our heads.
We made no stops until we reached Simpang Morib and had lunch at a Chinese restaurant there. 
I ordered a plate of fried beehoon and savoured the below-average dish there.
After a good fill, we rode to Morib which is about 6km away.
When we go there, the place was laden with people.
We spent a very short time at this popular beach and shot straight to Tg Sepat which is about 17km away.
To get the our destination, we must pass through Batu Laut and Kg Kundang.
By this time of the day, the Sun was scorching and the temperature became really unbearable.


Tg Sepat at last!
We've done Tg Sepat a couple of times.
I've memorised some key landmarks in this route and this enabled me to judge the distance and estimated time of arrival.
As soon as we cleared Batu Laut and Kg Kundang, a familiar signboard greeted us at the outskirts of Tg Sepat.
On the first day, we spent more than seven hours on the road. Nearly a quarter of the time was wasted on finding the path and backtracking.

Entering Tg Sepat town

Inside the room, taking a break...

The sight of Tg Sepat town was a sigh of relief.
We've made it from USJ26 via Kg Lombong in Puchong.
As soon as we rolled into town, I called Mr Tong, the Homestay facility owner.
It took about 10 minutes for the guy to arrive.
We talked a bit and I was told that the Tong family owns a four-storey building where the Homestay is located.
The man allowed us to carry our bikes into our room and was really friendly.
All I needed, was a shower.
And after freshening up, we took a break before heading out for dinner...

Southwest to Tg Sepat - Part 1

Search for the Southwest passage
There is a route from USJ26 to Tg Sepat bypassing the KESAS Highway and Kota Kemuning.
I found it by referring to Google Maps and confirmed the existence of this trail via Google Earth.
By using this, I save at least 15km on the road to reach Jalan Sukepi which connects to Jenjarom. 
So, having studied the route, I began to make preparations to do an overnight trip to Tg Sepat. 
We cycled there many times, but have never stayed in the village.
Accommodation facilities are really limited in the area and the first place that came to mind was the Gano Farm Homestay.
Sadly, due to the School holidays and the weekend, no rooms were available.
Lucky for me, I was referred to another Homestay in town.
So, I called Mr Tong, the owner and was offered a large room for RM90 a night.
With that taken care of, its just matter of getting the bikes tuned and our body in shape for the ride.

The planned route

The passage to Jln Sukepi

 Into the unknown..
Okay, we knew part of the route, we got the bikes, we've got the gear.
That said, Michelle and I had set out for the adventure.
We rode from USJ26 after feeding the dogs and made our way to Kg Perahu in Puchong.
Now, little did we know that part of this village is connected to Bukit Lanchong.
So, we rode about five kilometres off-course and found ourselves across the wrong side of the Klang river.
The plan is to head to Kg Lombong and find the link to Jenjarom..

Crossing the Klang River

The road to Kg Lombong

 We had to backtrack to Kg Perahu and made our way to the bridge near the LDP toll booth.
This time round, we found the right track and cycled along the Klang river.
From this point, there are seven villages dotted in the area.
We need to make our way towards a tunnel underneath the Elite Highway.

Lost
The most embarrassing thing is to get lost twice. 
Yes, I had a GPS on my cockpit. 
Instead, I took a straight path without realising that the actual route was a sharp left-turn after we came out from the underpass on the ELITE Highway.
So, that said, we cycled all the way to the fringe of Kota Kemuning. 
At this point, my hunch was telling me that we were way off-course. This time, another 3km and we have strayed into the Section 31 area in Shah Alam.

The offroad section near Kg Seri Aman in Puchong

Heading towards Kg Lombong from the edge of Kota Damansara

 While making our way back to the correct path, I met a cow herder. 
He told me to take a left turn after passing two water gates along the path.
The kind man said that we should be heading on the right direction after seeing a Surau along the way.
I turned on the navigation page on the Garmin EDGE800 GPS which pointed the way to Kg Lombong as the journey continues..

Getting ready for the long ride

Taking out the Speeds..
I took out my bikes today and set them up for the ride next weekend.
The situation is ideal for a ride from USJ24 to Tg Sepat via Kg Lombong in Puchong.
Instead of using the KESAS Highway motorcycle lane, we are trying something different.
This would be an exploratory trip along the Klang River.
I scrutinized the Google Maps and Google Earth to get a visual reference of the route that I am going to use.
Seems that our chances of linking from Puchong to Jenjarom via Jalan Kebun seemed good.
We are going on a full touring set-up with the bikes.
There's the Ortlieb front-rollers and since this will be a self-supported trip, we are going to pack our extra gear including spare inner tubes and our bike maintenance kit.

Our touring-ready bikes..

 The numbers
I've already made mention of this tour on the Malaysian Foldies Forums.
Not sure if there are any takers, but Michelle and I are pretty comfortable of doing it together.
Well, just the two of us in this case.
I am booking a room at the Gano Farm Homestay facility, a mushroom farm at the edge of Tanjung Sepat.
The estimated distance from USJ24 - Tg Sepat would be around 75km.
We've done a daytrip from our home in USJ26 - Tg Sepat before, but this time round, it will be very different.

The route

 

Flight of the Eclipse - Part 2

Mission accomplished..
I've set out on a long-distance ride yesterday from USJ 2 in Subang Jaya to Jugra.
Had a few buddies to accompany me on the ride and it was an equal mix.
At least this time round, my cycling buddy Roger Teoh had someone with a Tern to match his Joe D24 26" folding bike.
We rode for 120km (shorter distance for those who started from USJ2) on a round-trip.

Putting the Tern through its paces on the trail

Roger and his trusty Joe D24

Riding on the dirt track

Handling and performance
There's no doubt about it that the Tern Eclipse S11i is one bike that is built solid.
For a pricetag of RM7.7k a pop, it met my expectations as a short and middle distance commuter bike.
The Schwalbe Big Apple tires that came with it yielded plenty of comfort while on the road - taking off the bumps and rattle.
Its also a feature-packed bike with lots of good stuff thrown in.
On the surface, it appears like any other bike, but the genius - is in the details.
I love the Shimano Alfine 11 drivetrain.
After running it in for 100km (three rides from short, middle to long distance), the internal hub gear became much smoother.
On the average, I was doing about 21km/h. This was my 'cruising' speed.
Since its pretty heavy - at 14.7kgs, the bike's top cruising speed was recorded at 32km/h.
One issue I had with this bike was the rear disk brakes.
It was dragging as hydraulic fluid in its reservoir had 'swelled'.
I bled it a bit and it helped for the rear hub to freewheel a bit.
But this got worse with heat. It started to drag again and riding this bike for 100km was a real test of endurance.
I think the Eclipse bikes with mechanical disk brakes would fare better in our hot and humid weather.
As far as handling is concerned, the S11i was superb. 
This is by far, one of the more superior bikes around in the rare 24" market.

Getting there, and back: All good adventures ends up with a pleasant memory...

Total distance clocked-in with the Eclipse S11i

Speaking of the ride, I enjoyed the Eclipse S11i very much.
But when practical issues like cost and basic requirements comes to play, my money is on the more basic Eclipse P9. This would be the 24" bikes that I would invest in for me and my wife - which we will also bring along for our tour of the Peninsula.
Well, I'll keep the rest of my findings for my in-depth review for BaikBike.com, so, to you Samoholics out there, stay tuned!

Banting Char Koay Teow Ride - Part 2

Getting there is half the fun...
Uncle FC Meng, one of the country's leading recumbent bicycle touring cyclist had always insisted that getting to one place is half the fun, while the real test is getting back to the point of origin.
I took his cue and on my solo rides, this was reflected each time I hit the same course as part of the endurance test.

Becoming 'soft'
I must say that all the inactivity and nightly beer sessions had taken a serious toll on my body.
My legs felt the strain and I pressed on with the pain, I can really feel each fibre on my thigh muscle bunching up.
Later, it was imminent that cramps are just waiting to happen.
Nevertheless, I pushed on.
We made it to the Banting bridge and staged our ride towards Jenjarom.
At the familiar Caltex station, we stopped for a can of 100PLUS.
The rest was much-needed as the day grew hotter.

A small vehicle lane at Kampung Jenjarom

We made a turn toward the Indian temple in Jenjarom and used a shorter route to get to Jalan Kebun.
This is easily about 15km of Kampung road.
Roger said he loved the scenery which I agreed.
The last time I was there, the road was still being paved.
This time round, it was ready and smooth.
Along the way, we took a break at a hut near the junction towards Jalan Kebun.
From there, we pushed towards the Kg Jawa exit.
But before that, we stopped at a warung to have a drink.
I think the guys were really exhausted as we had hit nearly 78km.
Another 20km or so, the ride would be over...

Done-deal! 100km for the record...

An achievement
We crossed the KESAS Highway, heading towards USJ2.
When we arrived at the Shell station where we began the ride, I can see the faces on the guys.
They have achieved something on their small bikes.
Clocking 100km in a day. 
To me, it was just another ride. More to come of such nature and even further.
The way its done, it seems that I had won at least one touring partner.
Our group was small and manageable. 
No egos, no gurus, no dictators, just a bunch of guys who can agree on the decided path.
That said, I can certainly look forward to more adventures on two small wheels with the guys...

Our humble effort