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..