Kapar

Getting soft and lazy...

Michelle has been suggesting a ride in a place she knew very well.
Its in Kapar near Klang and there is a simple offroad route to the Kapar Power Plant where she usually goes.
I've hardly ridden my bike since late April and I guess its time to get back in shape.

The plan..

We parked our car in Kapar town and ride out to kampung Tok Muda.
This is roughly about 7km away from town and we get to cycle around areas that are not too heavy in terms of traffic.
The Klang - Teluk Intan Federal Road is laden with heavy vehicles and is usually heavy in traffic.
In this ride, we will have a chance to see and try for ourselves -- the offroad routes leading to the power station and beyond..

Riding out of Kapar town

We've never ridden around Kapar before and felt that the area was suitable to be explored.
So, the bike of choice was our Dahon Jetstream.
Michelle led the way and we ended up at the Kapar Power Plant.
This is a huge facility where the power turbines are coal-fired.

Nearing the power plant..

At the cooling water outlet near the plant

I was told that there is an abundance of marine life around the power plant.
This place is also famous for its shellfish harvest.
There is a sorting facility for cockles which is the main economic activity for the fishermen around the area.

Beyond Tok Muda..

After a brief visit to the power plant area, we cycled towards Pantai Jeram.
There was a nice offroad track near a sugar cane plantation which we rode past.
And as far as the bikes are concerned, they held up pretty well.
Michelle had tried to access the beach area near the power plant.
But our attempts were futile as part of the shoreline was fenced up to keep intruders at bay.

Getting lost is part of the game..

Riding to Sungai Janggut

Places of interest.. 

The Kapar power plant is a place to be during the bird migratory season.
I heard that it would be opened to the public especially for bird watchers.
As for the trail, I'd say that the ride was pretty decent and that there aren't that many tough trails.
We made our way to Sungai Janggut and ended up at another cockle sorting area.
There is a seafood restaurant here, but I guess since its hidden from plain sight, only those who are on the know would be able to get there..

Pantai Jeram..

With the exception of Bagan Lalang and Morib, most of Selangor's shoreline are made up of mud plains.
Pantai Jeram, which is very near to Kapar is an exception.
But much of the shoreline was affected by soil erosion and there is no direct link from Sungai Janggut.
This meant that we had to cycle away and get back to the road leading to Pantai Jeram.
Its a small area and during the weekend, its pretty packed with families on their picnic trip.

Cycling towards Pantai Jeram

We reached our destination!

The only interesting attraction at Pantai Jeram are the stalls selling fresh seafood.
Here, you can find live cockles and razor clams.
Prices are pretty decent and if you hang around there when the catch is brought in, chances are: you will end up with some really fresh catch of the day.
We wasted no time by cycling back to Kapar and completed the loop by clocking-in a total distance of 40.75km.
Not bad considering the fact that part of the route was offroad...

Natural selection...

Bad news comes in pairs.. 

I went to the backyard to check on the Yellow Vented Bul Bul chicks.
One of them was missing.
The last time I saw them both was this morning.
In a short span of time, the hatchlings were growing at a rapid rate.
It took merely days for feathers to grow on their body..

The chicks calling out for its parents..

This was the last shot of them together

I have been warned.. 

When I posted the photos of the chicks and its parents feeding it on Facebook, some friends had warned about natural predators like crows and such.
In the real world term, its natural selection.
That's why animals give birth and lay as many eggs as possible so that their hatchlings could survive.
As humans, we mourn the loss of our child and it could be hard to swallow.
For the bird, I guess its tough luck, better chance the next cycle.
I really doubt it that I would witness another nesting in our backyard, nevertheless, capturing the pictures of the egg till it hatched and eventually the chicks growing up to this point, was a real excitement.

Last of the Bul Bul chick.. 

The odds are stacking..

It's kinda funny that the adult Bul Buls were not guarding its young.
There all sorts of predatory creatures in our neighbourhood from the Brahminy kite to crows and other slithery critters.
I suspect that the crow or myna might have some part in the abduction and killing of the young chick.
Way I see it, the surviving hatchling has a 40% chance of survival in the next few days if nothing gets to it.
I really hope to see this young Bul Bul grow and fly away from its nest.. 

Basic Bikepacking Workshop

In keeping a promise...

A novice cyclist once asked: "Hey Sam, you should organise a workshop for us beginners. Teach us how to patch a punctured tube and maintain our bikes.."
I took the cue, gauged the interest, established an on-line community first through Google Groups, which is now defunct which paved way for the Malaysian Foldies Forums.
And on the first outing, I managed to rope-in Schwalbe Malaysia to co-host a workshop called: "Basic Bicycle Recovery" at Desa Park City.

Fourth series in a row

In keeping with my promise, I proposed to conduct the Bikepacking For Beginners workshop, catering to a crowd of between 30-40 people.
I ran this with the event's co-host Mr Edmund Foo of Atmosphere Outfitters who agreed to have it at his premise for the second time. (We did Basic Folding Bicycle Touring last year).
To get things going, I also roped in Mr Yong from Quicksports, a loyal supporter of the MF group who specialises in the sale of Garmin Bicycling GPS.
Yong had set up a table to display his ware as well as participate in the 30-minute talk I conducted for the crowd.

A participant registering for the workshop

The crowd checking out Yong's goods

The crowd during the talk

Introducing Yong from Quicksports

Edmund with his special tee-shirts

A family affair

I managed to get some help from my wife Michelle who generously contributed an overhead projector for my PowerPoint presentation.
She also manned the registration table where door gifts were handed out courtesy of Le Run Industries. 
We expected at least 30 people, half the number had turned up.
Nevertheless, the show must go on! 
So, I presented my talk and ended it by thanking the participants and co-hosts for turning up.

Giving back

Hosting the talks was my way of contributing to the public apart from my opinions through my blog and Folding Bike Column on BaikBike.com.
By teaching people on how to do things, it is my hope that someday, they too would be able to spread the awareness.
Our good deeds in reflected through good examples and if done right, the interest could be sustainable.
That said, I hope to continue giving back to the community through my series of talks conducted at no cost to the participants...