Well the party at church the nite b4 was simply great. Everyone had a great time enjoying the performances and Daniel's special video. LAst scene was the best! My head coming in.......kepoh oni. Kekeke. Finish time 2.30am.
I was considering riding all the way to genting sempah today (1/1/2008). But so late sleep i wonder i can wake up or be fit enuf to climb.
I woke up at last. Tho few hours of sleep still can manage.
So got up at 6.50. Prepared all. Gone in like 15 minits.
Today i was thinking of climbing up Genting abit.......maybe to Gohtong Jaya. BUt i said lets tackle Sempah first. And i tot i was gona do it alone. Since no one teman me. But i knew there will be cyclist going up n down Sempah since its a holiday.
Going tru Danau Kota, Gombak n UIA then i enter the stretch where Genting Sempah road begins. suddenly saw a cyclist so i caught up with him. Greeted n chatted. Mr Jamil from Melawati. So we stop to have some milo while waiting for some of his frends to join. Didnt turn up so we went our own. At least i wasnt alone now. Starting the gradual ascend up (gradual as in 1-2% gradient), it was getting cooler. And we rode side by side chatting abt ourselves. Then we caught two mountain bikers tat started earlier. Greeted n passed them. The last time i went as far as 19km from start. Genting sempah is abt 25km end to end. So just the extra 6km shudnt be TOO bad......rite?
Anyway after th19km mark i was on new roads i haven ridden. They are narrow and scarily enuf, on my left is the ravine..........i look down at the tree trunks and they just keep going down.......and down........and down.........man......tats scary. And the road so narrow. It got significantly cooler. MY water even became cool like from a fridge.
By this time it was about 9++am. Mr Jamil was left behind so i tot i go ahead first. The roads are super winding and still going up. It never went down. I was in my smallest gear ratio and kept a steady 15-18kmh pace. Some points the road went UP steeper so had to really push it to the max. Kaki oso almost want to break oledi.
My meter showed 24km.....not too far to go. Kept climbing. And i can hear the highway down.........DOWN. Some parts u can see the highway tru the trees. The cars were like ants and i was so HIGH up! I got the jitters. And i was so surprised i climb up this high. I didnt knw wat was my elavation. BUt it was certainly high up here. I can see the hills all around me with clouds moving. It got colder and colder wit elevation. And strong winds prevailed.
Funny enough suddenly i had this prayer : God, dont let the monkeys chase me n bite me.
A few more meters up i saw 4 monkeys. 2 babies n 2 elders (obviously mum n dad). And they were not pleasant to see me n jumped right on my tail for a while. I remained emotionless n kept pedaling. Thank God for tat prayer! I then realised they were aggressive coz my mouth was wide open and my teeth showed. Showing teeth is a sign of aggression in monkey land........ :P
My meter said 26km and i still havent seen the McD rest stop that im suppose to see on the map on Google Earth the nite b4. Kept pedaling more. Along the way saw some other cyclist going down. And another guy overtook me suddenly....with great effortlessness......sienz.
NOt too long ahead i see shops n huts : Signs of civilization! I must be near to the pit stop. And the highway got nearer to me. NOt tat i came down. The highway came up as well.
Then i went downhill a bit and infront i see this huge place. Makan place/McD/PEtronas stop. Phew! I made it all the way up here. ITs so nice up there. The clouds were so low, it was windy n cold and the place is lovely! Waited quite a bit for MR Jamil but didtn see him. I was thinking he double back coz he said got appointment. So i took a short rest.
Then by the highway i heard this loud rumble. Unmistakably Harley rumble. And there were like 10 bikes roaring. Turns out they want to Genting. To go u have to exit the Karak highway and enter to the flyover which is where i rested around. So long i havent see a group this big. Was lucky to see them. I was tired and i really tink Genting had to be postponed.
So i turn around to head down.
Saw some other cyclist also. Traffic for bicycles today looked heavy.
Then i saw two cyclist sitting under the flyover.....and one i recognised straight away. Syaaban from Way2Ride team. Its a group i been following up on their forums. So hes the first guy from there tat i met. sat down had a nice chat. WAited for other riders tat followed him. Then we went back all the way down.
This is also my first time i descend for long distance and at speed. I wondered how they went down so fast. So i tried to keep up but to my abilities. Went down at 40kmh......48in certain places and then taking all those corners like pro......hehehe. Finally i get to try come cornering n descending skills which i never had to try. Its cool yet needs to be done withing the limits. But i was ok. Can take the pace. And it took us 20 minits to reach all the way down as opposed to 1hr going up.........zzzz
So after that went for minum with Syaaban for a while then went home.
total distace : 61km
i later found out Genting Sempah is abt 500 meters in elevation and i bet i was at leat 200 meters above the highway!
This was a good way to start the new year. Cycling up somewhere so nice.
More stories of my riding trips to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment