The day for me to go home after a whole hectic semester. went to meet dad at Sentral. Dragged 2 huge bags n a back pack all the way frm Wangsa to there. Supposed to go on a mission to look for the darn battery for the cordless fone at home. Low Yat cant event find it. Finally by 4.45 we were moving home.....home.....home......one word i love in the whole human vocab. Was paying at a toll gate when suddenly a group of 20+ bikers rolled tru the gates. some kawasaki's, yamaha's, honda's maybe aprilla's. Coolz.Reached home around 8.30. And the next day was a sunday.....hehe.....riding day.....skipped church ^^v (i knw im suppose to keep my Sabbath but i miss my riding with my group. I dont ride with them very often now). Sms frm Albert(group leader) said 100km.......oh.......100km??!!! I just got home, laid off my bike for few months and we are going 100 km? I wanted to go.....but i bet i will suffer. Btw route was from Sitiawan - Pantai Remis - Batu Hampar - Beruas - Ayer Tawar - Sitiawan.
23rd Sept....
Woke up at 6.15am. Prepared the bike a little. Put an extra water cage so i can take 2 bottles. Come on, 100 km. Need all the hydration i can hold. Dressed up my jersey, don my shoes n helmet. Speedometer reset for the journey. But before that, went to the nearby 7-Eleven for 100Plus. Important for long distance above 70km riding. Walked in the store wit my darn cycling shoes - *clomp clomp clomp*- tat funny sound when we walk on hard surfaces in these kind of shoes. They can kill a person by its sheer hardness. Paid for a can. RM1.80 - DUDE! Tats more expensive than KL!!! OMG!!! Not too sure abt the cashier's reaction seeing me clad in tight lycra shorts and a jersey at 6.45 am. Then zoomed to the petrol station to fill up air. And then went to Pizza Hut to wait for the guys.
7am sharp. And the calvary started to come in. one by one. Albert came with his just bought Scott bike -RM3000. Then had some new guys. A chinese guy and an Indian guy - both riding Merida bikes - RM3000. Then came Ah Ho in his Proton bike - and new Cratoni helmet. Then came Sam. Shocked me wit his new Trek 5.2 bike. Used Spinergy hubs tat looked like menacing spinning blades of death - can decapitate a mans head i tink. But most of all, he got a Giro Atmos helmet! Same darn thing Lance Armstrong uses! Well cost him a good RM535. :p The came good old Uncle Ting, runs a pharmacy. Hes abt 50 yrs. But hes fit on the bike. Seriously fit. Then came another new guy on a mountain bike. changed to skinny tires and he's ready for the road. Last guy, Dynasty shop owner a little late. hes from ayer tawar - 20 minits ride away from sitiawan. So there we have. 9 of us. had some bike chat then we set about our ride. 100km - for me its not the first time, but it is after a year haven't ridden tat distance.
9 of us. Forming a 2 x 4 line cycling on the road. I was at the back. Just soaking up the morning air. people looked at us. well its a sight for some. its rare for some to see 9 guys dressed and riding like the Tour de Langkawi in a small sleepy town like mine. As we escaped the town into the more open roads we formed 1 straight line. The Train. 9 of us. i was at the back. Shielding from the wind. let them do all the work in front. Hehe. I was trying to stick 3 inches behind the wheel of others. It can save as much as 15% of energy if u stay close enough to the rear wheel. But its been long since i rode in a close group, so i was a bit scared with being to close. Well, i was hoping they dont go above 30kmh or else i will suffer, but guess wat - they did. i mean i can manage 35 - 40 but not for todays riding. As soon we passed the big Tunku Bainun bridge to the other side, they continued flat out. I wasnt huffing and puffing - the legs just kept saying "Look here son, we aint working for u today..uh uh...no sir....ur gona die out there if u go on like this...." - So be it. I continued.
After just 30+ km my legs started to say its almost going to give up. From my speed of 30kmh i had to drop to 27kmh. And the guys kept going. Soon they were out of my sight. we havent reached pantai remis yet too. Soon i was on my own. Man.....wat a narrow lonely road. With lorries zooming pass me almost every 5 minits. And the road was bad, windy and up n downs.
Albert called asked me where was i. "Almost reaching Pantai remis. where are u?" - "Reaching Batu Hampar, remember turn right, k?" Well. I didnt knw how far they were in from of me but i was abt to find out. So i cycled at my own pace. Soon i was doing 25kmh. Slowing each kilometer. passing pantai remis my meter showed i covered 40km. I was thinkng of turning back. But im almost half way and each way is abt the same - i didnt want to go tru those bad roads and hills again. So i decided - continue. I suffer anyway.after 5 km i reach tat junction. Man, im so far behind. how will i ever catch up? The sign says 20km to beruas.......20......dreaded 20km. And i turned into wat seems a loooong loooong lonely road. And it was. Almost no car or bike in sight. Couple of houses here and there. BUt mostly i was alone. My speed dropped to 20kmh. My legs were just hurting and kept telling me to stop. Many times i felt like hitching a ride behind a motorbike and pull me along till i find the guys. But i didnt. Kept pushing. Legs say stop, heart says go.
The kilometers pass by, by then i did almost 2 1/2 hrs or riding. My butt was beginning to hurt. The sun was almost up - 9.30am. I was still far from Beruas. Another 10km. 9km. 8km. 7km. My speed gradually dipped below 20kmh. some places 15. My legs cant even pedal for a hundred meters witout taking a short rest. I doubt i cud reach home by 12 noon. 10am passed. Albert called me again. "Where are you?" - "Almost reaching Beruas i tink. Wats your meters reading? Mine is 57km" - "Ermm, wait ah, mine is 55 (laughs).
I was certain i was near town. More motorcycles and lorries and cars. Thats how u tell if u were near any civilization. And i finally saw the sign board BERUAS. Time to find the guys. Found them sitting down eating curry mee, wantan mee, drinking kopi o, teh ais, barley. I just parked my bike and sat on the chair. I told them im dead. Im done. I cant go on. well they laughed. But i was really dead. I didnt want to eat. took a good 10 minute rest. We were the odd people there. Others were family and friends gathered for a usual sunday morning breakfast. Here were 9 guys in funny looking outfits on cool bikes. We fit in just nice.
After finish makan, top up more 100Plus and water. Then - RIDE!. The sign says : Sitiawan 38km , Ayer tawar 25 km. I did about 60km by now. So we went on again. 10 minits rest only enabled me to follow the guys for 10 minutes. I shouted "38 km 38 km!" Funny enough one local guy shouted at us "HAH! KAYUH LAJU LAGI! PANTAS!" Pantas my @$$ u come do 70km and see u do pantas. Then i got left behind again..........as expected. Well i did a rough calculation by now. i was about 10.30am. if i can maitain just 20kmh i should be home in abt 1 1/2 hours. Simple maths will tell u. So tat was my target. Keep a steady pace.
37km.36km.35km. Then there was no sign left to tell me how far i was from home. Based on my meter i did 65km. Each long lonely km passed by again. By now the sun was battering against me. The head wind wasnt any help at all. Each pedal stroke seemed more harder to push than the last. Just so u knw all this while i was doing in the 2 lowest gear combination. 39 x 21. Its low enough to get u up a moderate hill. i was using this on a straight road - and SUFFERING.
Soon i arrived somewhere i was familiar with. The juction tat turns to Ayer Tawar if i turn rigth. Turn left i go to Ipoh. I was SO near to home now. Its not impossible to make it. best of all, it was only 11am. ^^
I tagged a trailer and managed to keep up to 35kmh for a km or so before i got to a 24kmh speed. Tailwind helped me i guess. I could see the town right in front of me. Then Albert called again. "Where are u?". "Almost at Ayer Tawar town, u?" . "Dynasty , new shops on the left by the road side.".
I was determined to move fast. Finally reached Ayer Tawar. Meter shows almost 90km covered. Looked out for the guys. After s few traffic lights and passing the main town, i saw them gathered at a shop lot, i didnt knw the shop Dynasty was an aquarium shop. They all cheered me, waved me. I turned in left. And finally stopped. "Not bad, after 3 months still can do 100km" said Sam. I agree. i even thanked God i came this far without stopping or turning back. I got off the bike. sat down. LIED down. "Tengok suda baring sana!". Everyone laughed at me. I didnt care. I was dead tired. well my legs actually. i was still breathing good. BUt i cund walk properly. Almost wobbled about a few times. Then the indian uncle gave me some reflexology and stretching. was nice of him. Jokingly said it wud cost me RM30 an hour for services. Or a plate of nasi lemak coz need energy to massage u down. "Tapi kalau orang tu yang besar lagi lah susah. Lagi nasi lemak kena makan. Tak pa kalau lemak macam ini. Dia lembut boleh kasi tekan lagi. Tapi yang muscle keras dan besar tu yang susah oh. Tu kena pakai banyak tenaga mau kasi tekan!" LOL. he was a joker. So after a short break. The last 7 of us head home. Other two went home already.
I was certain it was over coz im almost home. Boy was i wrong. Talking to Sam. The indian guy n Albert in front of me chatting. Suddenly i see him stop pedaling. I knew he had a cramped leg. He cudnt move. And i cudnt avoid in time. It was at a relatively low speed. About 17kmh. My wheel touched his wheel. HE stopped. i fell down - to the OUTside lane where cars were. Sam avoided me. And i swear a car missed my helmet by 2 feet. I really thought my head was going to get crushed by a car or knocked by a motorbike. All this in split seconds in my mind. Then the guys behind avoided me. One ran over my rims. OUCH. I fell relatively soft. Scraped my right knee. Not a big problem. Guys came to see me and Indian guy. I was fine. MY shifter was bent inwards. My shoe got large scrapes. My wheel was out of alignment. It got ran over after all. And i tot tat wat it. Jersey was fine. Helmet ok i guess. Needed to inspect when i go home. I got right up - didnt want to end up like a frog on the road. Frog Kill. Went over to see how indian uncle was. Still a little cramped up. He apologised many times. But i said it was ok. none of us wanted it to happen. Accidents do happen. After some talk and checking we managed to get moving. I told Uncle Ting, what a way to welcome me home.
So i thought the drama was over. WRONG! Rain! Well i found out my derailuer was bent inwards so i cant go to the last big rear gear. Dang. Anyway, it poured on us. We were soaking wet. For 15 minits we got a downpour. First rain ride. MY helmet got wet, my shoes, jersey, bike. All wet. I looked up at the water dripping from the front of my helmet. well i wanted to go fast but well, leg stopped producing anymore energy. I just pedaled in the rain. Got left behind - again. but this time i was already home for sure. Meter registered 95 km. And i was almost reaching town. Ahhhh. Finally. I see those familiar buildings. The rain stops. The sun came out. And i was still dripping wet. The guys wud have been home by now. I just rolled at my own pace to home. I got home. To my doorstep. 12.07 pm in the afternoon and after 102 km or riding. took 5 hours to complete. I sat down at the doorstep thinking back at the last 100km. Later i hosed down my gear and bike. Inspected the damage done to both body n bike. All needs a wash and some repairs later. Have to deal with the sore legs and butt too. This 100km ride is over. For now...........
No comments:
Post a Comment