OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2011 Part 2

Cyclists doing their lap at Dataran Merdeka

Friends and some kiasu buggers
I made plenty of friends and most of them are foldies. There were some whom I had shunned due to conflict of interest.
I met some at Dataran. Seems that they were in the Kiasu Racing Team who took part in the 21km Polygon Foldie Challenge. 
These guys paid top-dollar to enter the challenge and their ring leader, to my surprise, was still riding his old bike. 
By now, I guess he might have gotten a new and better performing bike. But seeing as it is, they guy was cycling his bike that was plastered with some crappy stickers..  I wasn't wrong when I said he is a stingy bugger... Hhahaha!
While making a trip to the mobile toilet, I bumped into CH Lee, a bicycle dealer in Kota Kemuning. He was with his family.
We exchanged some information and snapped photos.
At the big flagpole, I met two of the Stormriders - Rita Wong and her friend who were both taking part in the foldie challenge..

Michelle, at the starting line

The long wait...
Like cattle, we were herded onto the pen. 
There, I waited and struck a conversation with a fellow foldie. I couldn't recognise him because the last time I met this guy, he was riding a red Dahon Speed P8. This time, he was on a blue coloured MuP8.
While waiting, the crowd started to swell in the pen.
My colleague Low Boon Tat, who dropped out of the 52km challenge had joined me.
"Eh Sam ah! That Kenny Hills stretch was bad la, a lot of people crashed there!," he warned.
I wasn't worried at all. We had our Jetstreams. The tires had good road-holding qualities and my Ashima disk brakes would take on any terrain.
Our 'secret' weapon, were the front and rear suspension.
While most foldies were riding light, we packed some equipment.
The Jets were like a Boeing FA-18F Superhornet - multi-role and multi tasking.. It will get us in and out alive. 
Word of the day: Survivability!

Cyclists eager to go.. (pix by Cycling Asia)

Blast-off! And Fat man's climb..
After all the speeches and bla-bla-bla, the airhorn blared. 
It was time to leave the pen.
The first section of the ride was towards Bank Negara. This is a long stretch of hills and I can see that the strong cyclists were pulling away, leaving the unfit lot struggling to pedal uphill.
I kept my cadence at 60rpm and a steady speed of 8-9km/h. The strategy was to conserve energy for the second lap.
As the road slowly winds towards a drop near the remote-sensing centre, I saw for myself how easily one could get hurt.
Its an 'S'-shaped curve and the thin road tires wouldn't give enough traction.
My Jetstream's Schwalbe Marathon Supreme tires worked its wonder. The Ashima disk brakes gave the stopping power needed to avert potholes.
What made the descent so smooth, were the German-A fork, Kilo front shocks and the Suntour epicon rear shock absorbers.
The road-handling was superb and the Jetstreams had proven its versatility in the 82km Penang Round Island ride in September.


Madness at Jalan TAR
A brief part of my life was spent on the road cycling to work.
Like it or not, I had to ride along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. This is the worst stretch in the city centre.
The ride organizers had cordoned off a section of the road to allow cyclists to pass through. Great job on their part.
The traffic cops were keeping things in tow and line.
This wasn't bad as I kept my speed at 25km/h.
Unlike the lighter Dahon Vector X10 and its high-performance cousin: the X20, the Jetstream wasn't meant for speed.
Its ability to sprint was sacrificed for comfort...
After a left-turn towards Jalan Sultan Ismail, many cyclists were already struggling with the undulating terrain.
This course led us towards KLCC and down Jalan Sultan Ismail again.
There was a water station in front of Life Centre.
Like Penang, the ugly Malaysian scene rears it face, cyclists were dumping water bottles on the street.
I felt no need to hydrate as I packed my Camelbak Octane 24 hydration pack.
The road in Jalan Sultan Ismail is a gradual climb and as the course banked towards Jalan Raja Chulan, its a downhill roll.
On my high-gear, I picked up speed and headed towards Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock.
Again, this is the busiest section in the city with plenty of hidden hazards like potholes and motorcycles....


Lap one.. 
As the group were cycling near the Samad building, I noticed that they were cranking for their lives. 
Its no wonder as the crowd cheered on.
"Come on! You can make it! Pick up speed!"
But wait a minute, I am not racing.. hahahah!!!! 
I pedaled my bike towards the RFID gantry as my buddy Billy yelled across the field! 
He was waiting for us to finish our ride. I raised my left hand and gave a thumbs-up sign, indicating that everything was okay.
Then, I pressed towards Fat man's climb near Bank Negara.
As I was cranking up, I noticed a foldie overtaking the group.
It was Mr Kiasu!
The red bike and all those cheap stickers were unmistakable. This guy did five laps earlier and was pulling away. 
Behind him, a couple in a Giant Halfway made their appearance. They weren't friendly at all and later, Michelle told me that one of them had nearly caused a crash.
At this point, I knew that my fitness level had gone to the dogs. Nearing the half-way mark, I was  crunching gears rather slowly.
I am the tortoise on two wheels.
Barely minutes before the infamous 'S'-curve, another foldie, Will, was catching up on his white Dahon ECO-7.
He was rolling downhill fast! I set up my high-gear and rode past my friend.
Riding downhill is favourable to the Jetstream..
And after clearing the danger zone, it was a final push towards the finish line.

The young dude and his Vector X10

Its over in a flash!
Getting people cheering for you on the sidewalk is certainly a rush.
As I made my way towards the Samad building, the crowd was boisterous. They were yelling out their buddy's name.
I managed to ride under one hour and safely make my way to the recovery area where medals were handed over.
Michelle radioed me and cruised towards the pen area.
I saw Mr Kiasu and some of his friends taking a break. 
And meters away from the scene, there was this young Malay dude with his Dahon Vector X10. What a magnificent bike! 
Michelle and I were glad to have completed our ride. She wanted to check her timing on the 21km Foldie Challenge, but details were unavailable...

With the Metro cycling team guys after the ride.. 

OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2011 Part 1

Team Jetstream

It was early Sunday morning and there were some chores at hand.
First, load the bikes in the car, then, final check on all the gears.
We were packing load, at least 8kgs each for the OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2011 ride in Dataran Merdeka.
Our plan was to rendezvous with my buddy Billy, at the Bukit Aman carpark near Lake Gardens.
We managed to score a light meal from McDonalds to fuel up and met Billy at the planned location at 06:00am.

Cycling towards Dataran Merdeka

It took us less than 10 minutes to get to the venue and people were already starting to pack up the square. 
There, I met Chanson Lau and Ruey Chan from Le Run Industries. 
We chat a little bit and made our way to the pen area where Billy had decided to give the 52km challenge a go.
Michelle and I watched on the sidelines as Guan, a foldie friend of ours made his way. This dude is celebrity in the folding bike world. He was with his friend Alvin.

Foldie with an environmental message: Guan 

These guys had entered the 52km challenge with their little bikes, a minority in a world dominated by 700cc wheels.
By 06:15am, the starting grid was already packed with bicyclists.

Starmetro cycling team captain Kevin Tan and the gang

At the distance, Billy pointed at the Media Prima cycling team. It was unmistakable, orange long sleeved jerseys, mainly riders from Berita Harian. Some of them, I had the chance of being their acquaintance. These were our challengers.
As daybreak began to fill in, I heard my name shouted in background.
It was Kevin and the Starmetro team. They made their way slowly into the pen.
I was surprised that they wore their training jerseys.
When asked, they said: "Aiya! The size too big la!"
The 52km challenge started a bit late.
We were told that traffic conditions were not favourable to the cyclists. 
Many roadies were eager to paint the town red and I as I see it, it was the amateur cyclists who made up a large majority in the group.
Moments later, the airhorn blared as the cyclists slowly inched their way on the road...

We are good to go!

Starmetro's cycling team with Kevin Tan, Glenn Guan, OCBC's Jeff Chew, Milo's Ng Ping Loon and Low Boon Tat

In the beginning... 
Way before the CFAL3, my colleague Kevin Tan asked if I'm interested to help in forming a cycling team.
I told him that the sales pitch would be for a small four-man team with two reserve cyclists. It has to be from the Metro section.
To get the numbers going, I asked around. Seems that none of the reporters were interested.
This left me with nothing by the pixmen who formed the core group. He had an office helper to come along.

The deal
Everyone has to chip-in. We have to look for sponsorship and I've set a goal to finance four brand-new bikes.
Initial discussions were made with Le Run Industries to procure four Polygon Helios 500 road bikes.
Its frame colour matches The Star's corporate scheme and is the perfect bike at a decent price.
I cut a deal with Le Run's Danny Teoh and ordered four bikes.


Taking a turn for the worse
By mid-August, letters were sent out.
We had The Star's Executive Director and GCE's blessings to proceed with the project. I told him that we are taking the challenge to answer Media Prima's entry to the OCBC ride.
Days went past and not a single response from our so-called 'Friends of The Star'
Time must have been hard.
A tobacco company asked for paperwork. We responded. At the end, they wanted to give a measely contribution of RM1k. 
I think that is not even pocket change, so fuck them! We don't need them.
Even some corporate big-wigs have kept their silence. We've helped them a lot, but for a small budget sponsorship, they shunned us...


A break
By early September, our boys are bringing in their bounty.
We've secured sponsorship from our old friend Milo and Powerbar.
Canon cameras came next and an event company also contributed. With the funds, we were all raring to go.


Delays, delays, delays....
I've closed a deal with the Le Run boys and managed to get four loan bikes.
Our official jerseys were fucked.
We couldn't meet the production deadline due to so many issues.
Finally, I managed to get Le Run's Chanson Lau to help out with a training jersey.
This was based on their Polygon Helios jersey. The colours were right. All we need to do, was to add our sponsor's logos.
Danny Teoh was also tasked to this before this trip to Bali, Indonesia.
When the bikes and jerseys were delivered earlier this week, I was astonished by the quality, fit and finish..

The Polygon training jersey

Fucking sour grapes..
I've been busting my chops to get the Starmetro cycling team going.
When the bikes and jerseys arrived, one asshole said: "Haiya, you should get me the Helios-700 instead of the 500 la!"
I told him that he had been jerking me off since the team was formed.
"Fuck you! and the politician next to you and the busload of supporters behind him! You said you can get funding, all I hear is you talking cock, singing song and playing mahjong... At least the rest had come up with funds, you got fuck all!"
I guess my outburst had silenced him. No more whining from this turd-knocker.


Rushed training..
With the bikes on hand, team Captain Kevin Tan conducted two training sessions with Glenn and Ehfan. The rest didn't take part and one of the pixmen had to travel overseas on assignment.
Milo's Ping Loon was committed on this project.
On Thursday night, we rode with OCBC's head honcho Jeffery Chew. 
It was also a photo ops that puts Starmetro's cycling team back on track..


And, now, the main event..
With hours away from the big day, I am all set to ride at the 21k community ride.
I paid a bomb for my wife to take part at the event.
Initially, OCBC's PR company had wanted to slip her in as a media participant.
I don't want a free ticket.
So, I was told that walk-in registrations are still being accepted. But to no avail.
This didn't deter me from forking out nearly RM300 to get Michelle and my buddy Billy in for the ride..

At the nick of time: Ehfan posing with the Helios 500 and our ride jersey

The foldie race

The Polygon foldie category was a last-minute addition

A couple of weeks ago, I received a message by another foldie.
He said anyone who had signed up for the 52km challenge can now shift to the foldie category.
This was created in mind of new suggestions for the ride on next Sunday.
I managed to talk to OCBC's Chan Kok Leong and asked him what the whole deal was all about.
He told me that there a few hundred foldies in this new category.
My immediate reaction was: "Fuah! Really ah?"
I met Polygon's Danny Teoh and asked if he was aware of the new category. 
He was in the dark.
Now, the rumour that is floating around is this: a publicity crazy bike shop owner had mooted the idea so her kiasu customers can sapu all the top prizes..
I don't know if its true, but its definitely entertaining to hear that people would go to extreme lengths to win some plastic medals.
Its also a good plug for the bike shop!
Strange thing is, why pay RM98 to cycle 21km? 
If you look on the broader picture, this goes to say that foldies who had initially signed-up for the 52km and downgraded to 21km are so weak, they could only manage two rounds.. Hahah!
When I received the participant's list, fewer than 80 people are in the Polygon Foldies Community Ride.
Way it sounds, the kiasu buggers with their souped-up bicycles who had trained very hard for this would be in the running for the top prizes.
The saving grace is the fact that some foldies I know are sticking put to their 52km challenge. Good on you guys!
 

Team Starmetro & Team OCBC Ride Desa Park City

Starmetro's team captain Kevin was one of the first on the scene

Michelle and I had little sleep from our night out at Sumi-Ka yakitori restaurant last night.
With whatever thrown-in, we woke up at 05:00am, packed our bikes and made our way to Desa Park City.
This place is located somewhere near Kepong and we've been there once some years back.
Much has changed at this self-contained homestead. 
It was chosen by the OCBC team as their training ground.
They are also the organisers of Cycle Malaysia which is expected to take place in mid-October.
Our cycling team captain Kevin Tan had invited me to join in the ride and get to know the OCBC sponsors (the bank gave four places for our media team in the 48km race).
There, I met Mr Chan Kok Leong, a very sporty and easy going fella who liaised with Kevin to get our team registered with the event.
I also met my old schoolmate Yap, who is employed with the bank.
The OCBC team were led by their head honcho Mr Jeffery Chew, who is one helluva fit cyclist.
We rode for 10.6km before regrouping with the rest of the cyclists.

Yap (far right), my former schoolmate

Later, we were led to climb at a slop with 10% gradient. 

Some of the cyclists had broken off from the main group for the flatter area.

Michelle and I were crunching our gears on the climb and made it all the way to the top of the hill.

We then rode back to the Joo Ngan Son's bicycle shop where the cyclists re-grouped and had a late breakfast.

Fighting fit: OCBC's Chew

At Desa Park, I met a few foldies. One of them were Will Ong, some bank employee dude on his Dahon Eco C7.

Another guy I met with his Red Dahon Speed P8 was a dude called Patrick. 

He told me that he would be going touring on his folding bike and I wished him all the best.

Seems like the Desa Park City would be a suitable training ground for our cycling team for the OCBC event in October...

Team Starmetro for OCBC Cycle Malaysia

Team Captain Kevin Tan (far left) and his roadie gang

I've concluded round 1 of talks with a sponsor for my team Starmetro who will be taking part at the OCBC Cycle Malaysia's 48km challenge.
We've formed it with six other guys from the Editorial Department with blessings from Starmetro's Senior Editor.
In the weeks to come, the team, led by its Captain Mr Kevin Tan, will be training for the 4 x 12km course in KL beginning with a series in Desa Park City and Hulu Langat Bt 18.
As team publicist, I have the task to round up our sponsors and carry on the good name of The Star at the event.
Having said that, the Star cycling club is born..

OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2011

 

I've signed-up for the OCBC's Cycle Malaysia 2011 event at Datran Merdeka in October.
It cost me RM49 for registering with the community ride that would take about 24km to complete.
This would be the debut of Team Jetstream at the streets of KL, but my other half Michelle won't be around.
She said she would be in China during the period, so, I had to rough it out myself.
I think my Jetstream EX would be able to slug it out as its now 'Street ready'.