Rawang - Batu Arang Ride: Part 2

In the big country...

The journey from Kundang to Kuang was breath taking.
Lots of greenery and clean country air.
We rode past a few fishing pay ponds and Kuang town was in the horizon.
Cikgu Chin led the cyclists past the town area and into the outskirts of Batu Arang.
We rode past some housing area and rolled into the town square.
I've never been to Batu Arang and found this town to be rather fascinating.
There is a monument in the town square which was still under construction.
We gathered around and took some snapshots before moving into a fruit stall where Cikgu Chin had arranged for a durian tasting session.

Moving towards Kuang

At the monument in Batu Arang

Hui Min and Michelle

At a local bicycle shop

Learning from an old-timer

A makan place in Batu Arang

The newbie's blues..

We stopped at a local bicycle shop.
One of the guys said he had some issues cycling and that the gear was not shifting well.
The bike shop owner told the new guy that there was nothing wrong with his bicycle.
"You need to change your gear in order to ride on flats and climb hills, there is nothing wrong with your bicycle...," said the old-timer.
Well, I guess if you have very little knowledge in bicycles, you tend to jump into the wrong conclusion.
So, that was the case.
The new fella was happy to pedal his bike around and learned that he actually has gears on his bike to make the journey even smoother.
But, seriously, a long ride like this would be tough for a beginner.
We rode around town and to my surprise, the layout in Batu Arang looked rather similar to Sungai Lembing in Pahang.

Our Jets

Durian time!

The local fare at a coffee shop

Down time!

After the durian session, we went to the other side of town to see the remnants of a brick factory.
The long chimney from the brick kiln can be seen from a distance.
Michelle and I took some shots at the area before moving on.
While waiting for the others to re-group, we learned that one of the cyclists had a flat tire.
All of us rode towards the downed cyclist and a the time, a few guys were attending to the cyclists.
I noticed from a distance that they were fumbling all over.
Then, I offered help by fitting the inner tube into the tire and got it inflated. The bike was up and running in no time.
My take on this: too many cooks spoils the broth.
To make matters worse, some of the guys actually don't know how to patch and change an inner tube. A lot of time is wasted by fumbling around and hoping to get it right.
We fixed the problem and moved on from Batu Arang to Rawang.

At the old brick factory

A boy and his bicycle

Cikgu Chin capturing the scene

Michelle and Ann

The hilly ride to Rawang

We circled around Batu Arang and found a half-demolished house with creepers growing all over it.
It felt as if we were in an old Khmer ruin.
No time was wasted in capturing the scene and all of us were excited with the find.
As we moved on, the terrain became undulating. This was spoken of by some old-timer who cycled around the area.
The average gradient was around 5 - 9%.
We finally made it to the junction linking Batu Arang to Rawang.
There, we waited for the rest to re-group and rode to the AEON shopping mall near Country Homes.

The famous wall in Batu Arang

Rolling hills

The journey to Rawang

A job well-done!

From the AEON mall, we rode towards Emerald West housing estate.
What Cikgu Chin didn't tell us, was the steep climb towards Emeral East.
We got past this and rolled down towards the Lafarge Cement factory and back to the SMK Seri Garing.
Once everyone was accounted for, we parted ways.
Some of us decided to have a late lunch in Kg Lee Kim Sai with Cikgu Chin and Cikgu Lee.
On the whole, the teachers had done an excellent job leading the ride.
Cikgu Chin told me that he will retire in February 2014 and focus on doing some adventure rides. I wished him all the best on this and told him that his rides are worth joining.

Rawang - Batu Arang Ride: Part 1

The other side of Rawang.. 

I caught wind of a ride organised by Cikgu SC Chan, a teacher in Rawang, Selangor who took up cycling seriously.
The route was from Rawang - Kundang - Kuang - Batu Arang - Rawang.
To the uninitiated, this is roughly about 56km looping around Rawang's heavy industrial areas and towards Kundang lake, Kuang and Batu Arang.
The plan was to meet up at SMK Seri Garing near the Lafarge Cement plant and ride out from there.
I told Michelle that it was time for us to join up with the foldie community as we have been totally isolated from their activities.
From his reputation, Cikgu Chin is a meticulous person who plans his ride and takes really good care of the people who cycles with him.
I know about this through friends who rode with him in Serendah.

Teacher in da house: Cikgu Chin setting up his bike

Wild country

We drove to SMK Seri Garing and found that there crowd was already setting up their bikes.
Among them, were familiar faces.
Facebook celebrity Andrew Ng and his wife Hui Min was already there with a relative who was cycling for the first time.
Cikgu Chin and his cycling buddy Cikgu Lee was seen there setting up their bikes with one of their pupils.
Slowly, one-by-one, the cyclists arrived at the school.
We were allowed to park in the compound and the cycling event was acknowledged by the school's headmaster.
We gathered for a group photo before riding out to the Lafarge cement factory where the trail begins..

Taking a snapshot with the cyclists

The headmaster posing for a shot

We were surprised to learn that Rawang is actually a small valley surrounded by hills.
There were some stretches along the route where the gradient was around 5 - 7%.
Slowly, but surely we rode up to a plateau and re-grouped.
At this point, it was clear that the more experienced cyclists were ahead of the pack.
Those with strength and stamina were not even panting after the climb.
We waited for the last guy to reach the rendezvous point and moved on.

Cycling along the cement factory

Clearing the hill

Rolling down towards Kundang

Expecting the unexpected..

Just a quarter way round the bend, I experienced a flat tire.
My front wheel was dragging as a result of a slow-release.
Upon closer inspection, I found a piece of wire embedded on the tire's wall.
It was small enough to patch and it took me about 15-minutes to recover the bike before moving on to climb a series of slopes before we rolled towards Kundang.

Helmet malfunction: my friend rode a distance before he noticed the helmet was worn the other way round.. 

Taking snapshots at Kundang Lake

Much to do about nothing in Kundang..

Kundang is a small town located not too far from Rawang.
It can also be accessed via Sungai Buloh.
After taking the scenic route from the Lafarge cement factory, we reached a busy intersection and moved towards the lake area in Kundang.
Most of us commented on the filthy public park which was a put off.
Empty cans and drinking bottles were littered everywhere.
We took some snapshots and moved on to a stall located about 500 meters from the lake and had late breakfast there.
Cikgu Chin was considerate enough to eat in a Malay stall as he was mindful about the Muslim cyclists in our midst..