AmBank KL International Marathon

In the first place, this is the first ever event i have taken part in on an international standard. Really glad and excited that i am part of something BIG. The KL International Marathon kicks of my list of events this year. I have lots of other goodies coming. SO lets take it 1 by 1.

The RUN (30/3/2008) day began at 4am......and like any other sleepless nights, i got only 3hrs of sleep the night before despite my best efforts to tell my mind to shut up and go to bed.

Slept over at Vincents house since we will carpool together and it wont be too rushing for him to come all the way to my place just to fetch me. I must say, he has a nice home with 6 cool bikes. But then the guest room i was sleeping in well..........the mothballs just overwhelmed me..........to say the least.

Got ready and we were off with his brother, uncle, another friend and me. We reached Dataran Merdeka around 5.15am. Parked the car and dressed up. Well i took part in the 21km category which starts at 6am. But at 4.30 am the full marathon runners (42km) were already on their way around the streets and highways of KL. We all went to report......did my warm up. Oh yeah, chowed down my Powerbar. These carbo energy pack athletes food comes handy for long endurance races. I had another 2 PowerGels in my arm pouch for revitalizing later on. Aint cheap though........3 of these babies cost me RM15.

So i we got ready near the starting line. And this is the first time im using the ChampionChip as given to all marathon n half marathon runners to clock their times accurately. At its used world wide in any major event tat required accurate timing.

This is how u should wear it. Looks cool too huh? ^^

Initially i didnt know how many ppl joined my category. And to make matters worse, i was at the back end of the starting pack. Usually id prefer middle n front to get good placings.......but oh well........

As Dataran Merdeka Clock tower rang exactly 6am.......the gun went off........and we were off too.

Would you believe it that it had to take me 1min 26sec to get from my spot to cross the starting line? That was how many ppl were there. As i was still jostling to move........and get a nice running spot.......we went over the magnetic mats at the starting line. They will pick up the chip signal and begin your time.

*Phew* so much for JUST STARTING A RACE!

And as i got into my jog pace i saw faaaaaaaarrrrrr in the distance.......a huge sea or heads. I could see till the end and there were still heads. Behind me........even more heads. And im sure there are at least 4000 of us.........its just so many people. And i was going "This is going to be a LOOONG day......"

"Die lah......no need think for good placings now. Too many ppl.........". That was literally playing in my mind all the time.

So here i am 6am in the morning running 21km with thousands of people. Cool huh? Every corner i take which i can see to the front........the heads bobbing up and down still scares me. How was i going to make up to all these places?

So many people from all nations and backgrounds. The Kenyans will be at the front as always. Then the europeans, asia pacific, US, and other countries all running WITH ME! And then there always the local runners. I love over hearing what they are chatting. NO its not ease dropping. But u cant help when they talk abt something funny. Then theres always the cute girls. Pretty ones, aunties, even there was one lady with tatoos.......intimidating?

Btw even the clown and Spiderman ran the half marathon. They got lots of attention. "Hah! Spiderman! Spiderman dah datang! Lari Lari!" - Policeman

I began running fast to gain some places.........just in case anything happens to me later i have somewhere to fall back on. We made 1 short loop to the starting line again before heading for open roads. And i didnt realize.......how quickly 10 minits had gone by. It felt 5-ish to me. By the time we got out to the highways.

And before i can just start to kick to my cruising gear.........my tummy just had to give me a hard time. No its not those sharp pains at the side when u do sports. Those i can handle. But this is more like a washing machine inside. And i have a long way to go!!! Why at this time??? Why now? It was really distracting and preventing me from going faster. And it made me think alot to stop......but i didnt. I just went on but i had to slow my pace significantly...........and then.........people start overtaking me. everyone did...........I couldnt do anything except pray to God for a healing and give me the strength to go on.

For 30 minits i battled this darn pain. Trust me, u duwana go tru wat i have gone, especially running 21km at the same time. Outside i was really calm.......hardly breathing hard actually........sweating profusely though. But inside i wanted to explode. I just kept going. I think its similar to wat i went through on my first half marathon. Hmm......

Saw some billboards along the way. One was advertising chicken nuggets. Food.......yummy.....

"DARN IT DARREN! Run the race, this aint no time for food!"

The first drink station at KM5 was a welcome sight. Took some water to see if it helped with the pain....it did a tiny bit......but most was still present. And after the drink i had to take a leak.........and like all the other men runners..........just find some bushes or a tree. Well thank God DBKL keeps the bushes by the highways nice and green and leafy and thick and alive! You never know when u need to go.

went back on the road......with the pain. And i checked my time........first 5km in 30minits......this was abit slow (thanks to Mr Pain) or else i would have done in 20-25. So im on the back foot. And being on the highway (with 1 lane graciously reserved for us) i still saw tat long winding sea of heads in front of me. It was daunting. Scary. And i wonder where i will be ending up?

I manage to catch vincent........overtook him. The thing with running on highways is that it is never flat all the way. There are constantly rises and falls. Which also slowed me down. "Knock knock....." , "Whose there?" , "PAIN!".............."ARRRRGGGGHHH!!!"

I was getting irritated i cant run my normal pace. And more ppl overtook me. Sheesh. I bore with the pain for another 30 minits. We had passed Mid Valley along the Federal highway. At 1hr we were at the RMAF Airstrip. By this time, thank God, the pain go lesser. And i could notch up a gear to go ahead. The sea of heads in one long line fanned out across the road. And guess what? I started to overtake ppl. HOORAY! Something i missed for the last hour. I saw drink station 2 coming up so u gulped down my apple flavoured PowerGel. And as i reached for water....dumping cups on me and downing another one.......my good frend returned : "HI! ITs me! Pain!"

Darn it........

BUt this time it was tolerable and i kept my steady pace. And to my relief the halfway point was approaching. We stepped on the magnet mat again so the computer checks with our times. And at this point my time was 1hr 22minits.......which is slow compared to before. Previously i caould do the first 10km in under 1hr or at 1hr+ . But well..........things happen on the road. A european gentlemen came and asked me something abt "What KM is this". LOL. It was funny the way he put it but i understood he wasnt good in English. I just show him my 10 fingers and said "10km, 10." HE nodded.

So i was on track at least to take the finish is 2hrs 30minits. i just had to keep moving. One girl kinda followed me for a bit. Probably just tagging behind me. Then theres this little thing i noticed. Everytime i come behind a person who was walking to overtake.......they always suddenly start running again. Argh.........more frust.

I forgot its Cheng Meng season and its a sunday............so........some roads were clogged with cars........our route. And we had to negotiate traffic jams. But thanks to the police personnel, things were in control. Then theres this long jam where we, thousands of runners, just run pass. And i really saw the looks on the kids, teens, grannies, uncles, husband wife as we were running. Talk abt getting attention. Who says running doesnt pay off?

As we headed back towards city center........i finally........FINALLY.........got into a rhythm that i was fast yet not overdoing. And i overtook more and more runners.
And we entered the streets of KL again.......after almost 2hrs on the road. But now we were on the same path as the 7 and 10km runners. And this is mostly school and college students category. So there were lots of........err......hmm......no no not kids.........erm.......TEENS! on the road with us seasoned runners (Cheh...........bangga nye.....). Well they still yet to learn pace running coz many of them sprinted so fast oni to walk again. Key is to be steady. But well........teens will be teens. So i had a lot of overtaking work to do. I can be running on one side to the other side of the road just to overtake........

And most probably they be laughing at the sponge i put in my shirt on the back to cool myself. Got it at the first sponge station since km 7. Im in the city......should be a few km left to go. I have crossed 2hrs. And now i wana know how far left i had to run. SAdly the signboards oni appeared at the drink stations , not on course. And it would have been better if it was on course. Its good for the runners so we know how to pace. First i heard some one shouted "2km!!!! 2 km!!!" i was like ok.......so i dashed abit..........mind u 2km for me would take 10minits.......and at 2hr 10mins........i was still on the road.........then we came to the last sponge and cooling zone......got a nice bath.......then the marshall pointed out 3km to go...........zzzzz

Buat konfius saje........

But i had my own idea.........i just see the signboard. At this point in time, my legs were already beginning to fell the strain and the pain and tiredness. The knees especially. And my shoes n feet were all soggy from my constant cooling with water.

By now its almost 2hrs 20minits. And to my huge relief..........i saw the dataran merdeka flag pole which tells me it is near. Really near.........then i saw the last signboard saying Dataran Merdeka 500m. The minit i saw that.......i stepped into overdrive. I looked at my watch......2hrs 17.......i was going to make it under 2hrs 30 and that gave me more motivation to run faster. Sprinting for the clock towards the finish line, and being cheered on by the hundreds of ppl there. I lashed out my tongue and i clenched a fist of victory. Man........been a while since i did that. And officially i crossed the line in 2hrs 23minits. And i got within the qualifying time of 3hrs 30mints........so...........i get something! A goodie bag and this :

Just lovely! I found vincent. He overtook me since the beginning. So he came in at 2hrs 09mins. Well.......i did better to beat my target by didnt equal or better my previous best of 2hrs 10mins at last years PJ Half Marathon. Well i gave myself a good pat on the head. And with only so little training done (thanks to Mrs ThunderStorm). But all in all..........like any other half marathon i ran, its an experience of what the human body can do. Endure pain. Suffer tough mental torture. And come back alive. Oh yes, and the full marathoners still kept coming in. They have been on the road nearly 4 -5 hours now.

My next target............hehehehe.

For now, gona bear with the sore legs for a few days..........and get some more sleep!

Thats all for KLIM 08.

Be there again next year.

*Additional note : Got my official time and position from the KLIM webbie.

For Category F (men Open) : 220
Overall Mens category : 537
Official time : 2hrs 23mins 41secs
Chip time : 2hrs 21mins 39 secs
1st KM time : 11mins 58 secs
10km time : 1hr 22mins 19secs

Coney Island Hotdog

Hehehe.....my latest cook : Coney Island Dog

Its the same thing if u go to coney island, new york to eat their most famous hot dog.

But triumphantly i made it here in malaysia!

Had to make the special sauce which is spicy beef sauce.

quite easy to make. Anyone can do it. In the picture i added the hotdog, the beef sauce and topped with green onions. To me, it was a darn good dog.

Btw, if u want the recipes that i have cooked u can ask from me.

Hehe.

DINNER TIME!

Sex

Yes......thats rite folks im back! And with a fire to shed some light on some disturbing social ills. Im bringing thunder and lightning bolt to awaken you all. Something that is for your own good.

So what do u get/think/feel when u hear the word sex? Lust? positions? Condoms? Babies? Partners? Gf/Bf? Bgr? Pleasure? Fun? One nite stand? Deceit? Lies? Perverts? Filthiness?

Tell u honestly sex is being really downgraded to a level where it is not even valued as is should be. Its like trash. Go ahead and shoot me but im not lying and u cant deny it. And this is especially from UNMARRIED couples. Cohabiting partners or ppl doing "one night stands". U wana knw why i dare say it? Go and ask 10 couples and then 10 guys n girls in the world, in Malaysia and even in KL. Chances are about half of them or even MORE have had premarital sex. One way or another. homosexuals. bisexuals. bf/gf. hotels.

U can argue sex is fun and pleasurable. It is. NO doubt. Thats Gods creation and God creates for us to enjoy His wonders. Sex is wonderful. Even to me it is a great thing. But u know the sad thing? Its like sex is a seller item. A best seller. U pay and u get it. U can get it anywhere in any "retail" store. It is no longer a personal treasure. It has become TRASH! And Gods creations are NEVER trash! Its a safe keep of the heart. A TRUSTWORTHY and TRUSTABLE thing.

Partners out there.......how would u like the idea that the other half u are now with might not be pure before? U dont care u say? Then when u get married and then lets hear u say the same thing. Not same situation? yes......true....but coz of all that "fun" u had earlier and let all out on others...........can u assure me that ur spouse and u are going to say "I really enjoyed"? "it was wonderful"? And u gona be with your spouse for at least 50 years............how sure are u? U really can assure u will have an intimate and pleasurable sex life? For at least 30 years? KNowing that u have done it seen it been there feel it know it before marriage. U will get bored of it. And u will see it as no fun anymore.

Trust me we humans are a very predictable lot. If u get the cheat codes for a game before u play and then play it isnt to challenging and fun anymore rite? There wont be the WOW factor. U kill the game. And u have sex before marriage. U stole the cheat codes to find out wat sex is. Then u get married. U KILLED sex. U may not believe me. But this is a very true thing.

Sex is something meant for those who have committed the lifelong agreement of marriage. The Covenant of eternity between a MAN and WOMAN. NO OTHER!

For God created man in His own image; male and female He created them - Genesis 1:27

So a man Will leave his father and mother and be joined with his wife and they shall be one flesh - Genesis 2:24

It is very obvious God did not create a MONOGENDER world. He created man and woman for a purpose : to live together. To multiply. That was His purpose. Adam and Eve; gentleman and lady. GOd certainly did not have homosexuals an bisexuals in His mind because that is SIN. God already said a man is to be united with his wife. NO ARGUEMEntS. That is final. There is no excuse. And the sad thing? The world has sinned against this. And we need to realise it is not Gods fault.

The purpose of sex is :

To have an intimate relation of emotions
To edify the spirit and strengthen the bond of husband and wife
To express love and TRUST
To please one another in the most trustworthy and most secret of ways (its for u n ur spouse only! That is what makes it so valuable and not for others to TOUCH or SEE)
To make babies (above all)

If u dont plan to fulfill even ONE of the above then u are not even ready to take responsibility for sex.

NOw what has all this have to be connected with?

Answer is : your own life and your eternity. your own happiness your own pride. your greed your lust. your responsibility and your trustworthiness.

If you plan to be husbands and wives, you have to be totally accountable for your actions and be totally transparent about with other. Or else u will have a marriage that is not only dull but also deprived of love.

I pray you all will awaken from your sleep. Your eyes which were blind before open and see the truth. Dont go on sinning anymore. You will regret CHOOSING this road. And u will face condemnation as the city of Sodom and Gomorah were rained with burning fire stone and sulphur which destroyed everyone. For God was angry and cannot tolerate such sins. He is loving but sin has no room love and the people that turn their backs on God and mock His name will be deemed to enter hell. God has patience but it is not forever. This is because Judgement Day is coming where He will be angry at those who make Him angry but loving to those who have loved Him and loved the people of the world, YOU.

Why i bother to tell u ppl abt this? Like im being nosy? Im not. Im concerned about you. Im worried to see u face God. What will u tell Him? If u lie before Him tats a ticket to hell straight away. The fact God cares about me and everyone is why i care. If God never showed me His love for others and for ME, i would not be bothered about sinners at all.

God Bless Your souls.

He's been calling you for a very long time to go home to Him. And He will keep calling.

Sick

Haizzz..........the world is so full of sins...........past present n future.

Im so thankful Jesus came and died for the FORGIVENESS of our sins. That whoever believes in Him will be saved from being sent into the Pit of Hell and suffer eternity. The one thing He is ready to give is a New Life so that all can enjoy the blessings and riches He has promised.

Yet the world is bound by sins. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God that was sin. Sin is disobeying God. God tells u not to kill. Not to fornicate. Not to steal. Not to do whatever is opposite of what He says in the Gospel of Truth and Life. And because there is still SIN in this world we can never escape having the ability to sin. Why are we always so prone to anger/lust/pride/greed/evils? Sin is the culprit. Was has and will always be.

And the person/idiot/nuthead behind this is Mr S.A. Tan.......satan........

He only wants to steal life from God creations (you ppl), kill your (yes you) soul and destroy your spirit. Im not talking crap here. The Bible has pointed out the devils intentions loud n clear. He is the King of Liars, The Sweet Sugar Coating, The Accuser of Righteousness and The Mother of all Evil. He does not deserve one once of respect for that. HE deserves to rot in hell for eternity.

But then we the world are his so called playdolls. God never playdolls His beloved creations. He always gives them the opportunity to stand on their own two feet and learn things, sometimes the hard way.......so that one will see its not as what it seems by human perception. Humans can never understand God coz humans never created God. God created us so He understands us the most. So stop complaining God when u are in a rut and look around u first. Ur in the same rut as me and everyone else. Either u climb out or u stay there n shut up.

Im deeply saddened by the latest happenings to my friends who some of them have went the wrong way, blinded by the devil. To them it all seems pink and rainbow skies and green meadows. Thats only in heaven. On earth its not what it seems. I just wish my friends snap out of it and realize : We need to fight the devil...........with the armour of God which is His Word and the Sword and the Spirit.

I just say this issue which saddens me which involes my frends : lesbianism and bisexuality

Im damn sad at this. I know the devil is the one pulling the strings. No other humane or compassionate being will do such a thing. If u all still insist on blaming God well then look at who made the CHOICE inf the FIRST place! And stop giving excuses u cant control or its inborn. That is sin.........not God. God did not create sin. But sin is in this world and so long as we are born in this world we ARE EXPOSED to SIN and born with it! So how can we over come it?

Come to Jesus and tell Him :

"Lord, take away these sins i carry. You have places them on the cross. Cruxified all of mankinds sins. You bore it on the Cross. You paved a way. I want a New Life. I want what others have been rejoicing about. I wanna know why those Christians are so crazy over You. I wanna know why is Your name so popular. Why it is mentioned in every corner. Jesus, please forgive my sins. And i ask for Your blood to cleanse my iniquities. My transgressions be gone in Your name! For You died for my forgiveness, so that i will NOT be JUDGED by the Father in Heaven, but counted as righteous and free! Amen"

The best thing is when Jesus died, he rose again after 3 days. For 3 days he went to Hell to get the key of Death and the key of Hell from satan. Therefore since Jesus has the Keys of Death n Hell, Satan has no more power over death and hell. Jesus has taken death away. Satan has no ability to kill people...........but he still can influence it through sin. Which is why we must be aware of this.

I dont want my frends to end up in hell.

How i wish to see them in heaven.

The worst thing is when those who did not believe in Jesus face God and give an account, a confession, a reason for not believing Him, what are they going to say? They cant lie, they will go straight to hell for that. No one wants to be judged.

What about those who made it? They will enter heaven and dwell in the House that God has prepared for all..............forever for eternity for all of time.

Jesus is for everyone. It is not for westerners. It is not for Christians. It is for the whole world.

May God bless your soul.

Friends

Heh..........i was just browsing tru my Friendsters friends list..........and i have 787 friends............well "friends".

And i started to realise.........not all of my "friends" on my friends list are friends at all. Most of the 787 ppl are just acquaintances.

Recalling Cellgroup last nite where Jason shared a lil abt "what are friends?", its a true fact that a very serious and intimate friendship is a very hard thing to come by these days in a world so full of ppl confined to themselves aiming for personal pride and glory.

Today it seems that as long as u know someone, you consider that someone a friend. That u have at least talked to them or they have at least helped u with some small thing. Thats it. BAM! Already considered a friend.

Another example, lets say u are a businessman and u got to help someone with dealing with the insurance claims and policies.......and you go "Oh yes i got a friend in ABC Insurance Company, i can give u his contact and u can discuss. " Thats it. But then the fact is the most part its just an acquaintance merely in the business world.

And i see this same issue in my very own life sometimes.

A perfect example :

I have a so called "frend" who i got to know on the net some months now. Never had face to face meetings. Somemore we're far apart. And this particular person i tried to be friends with initially........but i got a rather cool reception. So well, since it aint much to do with me, then its that persons loss that didnt accept my frendship.

And one day this person came to ask me for help. Which i gladly did. I helped. After that. Thats it. Done. Didnt even get to chat abt other stuff. The whole atmosphere was really a very one way going traffic. No feedback.

And then i get more requests for help from this person. Regarding some stuff. Involving well the worldly things : money success etc.

And then this person goes, "You're my friend rite? CAn help me or not? CAn la rite? plzzz"

Thats it.

Now u can see whats going on.

I dont know this person any deeper than the brief frendship with some UK students whom my English teacher introduced back in secondary. And that was only by email. That was a really great time though we were worlds apart but i got to know their background, culture, lifestyle, likes dislikes, school, love, religion etc. That was real friendship. Sadly contact was lost in just a few months. I miss them alot till now.

But this person..........who considers me a frend..........when i havent even known her full name even after some months........wants me to help. Well out of generosity i do help. BUt i never even felt like a frend. I felt rather used and just a tool to get others personal glory. And that stinks. honestly.

So what is a frend then? We all come from so many different backgrounds, lives, religions, cultures and systems esp in Malaysia.

How do u consider a friend a FRIEND?

The sitcom hit "Friends" was a nice example to be honest. Even through the wackiest and most morbid situations they still remained friends till the very last season. But thats a tv show. NOt reality. The example is there. However living by that example is a different thing.

So then now as i look at the people around me in my life i started eliminating one by one who is not my frend and who are my friends. Im not despising or casting out anyone, NO. Im just evaluating who are the people who have stood beside me. Who know me and i know them. Who have saved me and i saved them. Who i eat sleep and play with. Who i know their troubles inside out and they know mine. Who know wat i want wat i dream wat i pray for every day. And who i know i can RELATE with and have a relationship.

Now thats a friend.

So how many on my Friendster's list are my friends. Probably just 10% out of 787. At most 20% maybe........but its not even 50%. The rest? Well, for the sake of social life i jsut let them be there.

My msn list : actively over 100 ppl...................yet................how many do chat with me? maybe not even 50. Then there are the dormant contacts which never seem to come online. 1000. Friends? no.

IN all honesty friends are hard to come by now days. Prejudice. Accusations. Pride. Greed. Lust.

The things missing that are missing now are Love Hope and Faith.

This world has been guided into a stream of murky unsettling silt. It cant even make a clear judgement of what is right and wrong. Always misguided.

So as a thought, just think over again who really are your friends and who are just mere acquaintances.

You can help anyone yet not be a friend. You can be a friend but not without helping.

Thats where love comes in.

You can love yourself without loving others. But u can never love others without loving yourself first. And before u can learn to love yourself u have to learn to love God first.

In other words :

A friendship has to be based on love. And love is based on God.

God is Love and God is a Friend

Without God u dont have Love

Without Love u have no Friendship

You need God to learn to love and learn to be a friend.

French Garlic Toast

My newest idea.............surprisingly it is an idea..........lol...........not some recipe i took from the net

I call it garlic french toast

Well the idea came when i was thinking to make my ouwn garlic bread or french toast to eat........then suddenly this tot ran tru my mind......

FUSSION!!!

So wat the heck..........put garlic into the eggs la...........

So finally i came u with this :

And first tasting was really nice............really really NICE.

Hehe.

My cooking endeavors continue........

Long live the kitchen!

The Mountain

Sunday 9/3/2008

Today is sunday. Riding day!

Well like any riding day weekend im always glad to group up and have a nice ride together, particularly today as it was to be a special ride.

RECAP!

The 3 days before today i tried to go up to Gohtong Jaya, Genting Highlands as a surveyor for this weekends ride with the guys. And boy was it a monster for me to climb

Genting Sempah , which is the old route to Bentong, Pahang and Genting Highlands is a climb itself. Starting from Gombak to the top of the Sempah R&R/McD pit stop one would be going up to roughly 560meters above sea level over an 18km road distance. The gradient is very gradual, even the most novice cyclist can pedal up there with the lowest gearing

But when one talks about going up Genting Highlands, its a totally different story. To Malaysian cyclist, Genting Highlands is like the Alp d'Huez of the Tour de France, its the mountain to climb for cyclist but not any cyclist can simply just pedal up there.

And tat Thursday morning my surveying of the climb up was brought to a standstill, literally, as i can only cycle 300meters past the guard house check point. To the top of Genting Highlands is 17km from the Sempah R&R. To Gohtong Jaya town is 8km. I just went 300 meters n stopped. The climb was so steep my bike just wont budge. I was in the lowest possible gear. And its still like i need another 5 gears to pedal up.

What else can i do but turn back and head home. Disappointed. Yet i had to tell the guys that Gohtong was almost an impossibility. And i wondered.....how did the Tour de Langkawi........and Tour de France climbers go up.

BACK TO SUNDAY

For the past 2 days Kevin Han (The BicycleBuySell site admin) was so hyped up abt going up Gohtong. The fact that the climb was hell to me seemed to get him more excited going up Gohtong. So what the heck........let him have a go at it

As usual meeting at the Hospital Orang Asli in Gombak............me dgm, crumbs, kevin, TJ, all met up. At last i get to meet Kevin whom before i only chatted with on the internet. Real nice guy in person actually. Maybe a little crazy...........

That morning PCC (Pedalphiles Cycling Club), which is one of the biggest cycling groups in the country, gathered with about 30 of its members to cycle up SEmpah also and to Janda Baik (my previous Durians n Mangosteens endeavour). We will ride together with them to Sempah but then just me n kevin will go to Gohtong............well..............at least..............TRY to make it. Dgm n crumbs chickened out last minute to Janda Baik . Initially they wanted to follow me n Kev.

So at 8am we moved off. Genting Sempah on sundays is always busy with cyclists. That morning also had other cyclist going up. So its like a pilgrimage for cyclist to be there.

Sempah climb to me was pretty stable and ive been doing this climb for abt 3 months. So the legs are well warmed up for Gohtong...............i guess.

As we reached the top...........PCC took a while to gather its members and they went off down to Janda Baik. Just me n Kevin went our seperate ways to go up the mountain.

As i led him over the flyover which directly links to the Genting road..........it goes UP from 0 km. At the very beginning u get the pounding of the steepness. And i heard Kevin shouting in awe and probably sheer surprise of how steep this climb really was. So we passed the first polis check point. And the road keeps going up n up n up n up.................the gradient is easily a 10%. And it was suffering. Honestly........i had to stop at the same place where i stopped before and catch my breath. Kevin came trailing behind me. And i asked him how was it? Still wana go up?

"Sure la! Sampai mati we go up la"

zzzzzzz

I was stunned. This guy had nerves of steel. I took some deep breaths. And i look up at the road.......still going on and on...........up n up.............

In my mind played lots of things : Am i going to make it? God plz help me........... How many breaks i have to take b4 we both die off? Whens the flat sections?

I looked at my meter as i set it to record the climb from the beginning. There is still 7km+ to go............and well.............lets see how much hell i will get

So i asked Kevin to go first...........i follow him

And the road was still at its steepest. I had to really power down the pedals. Speed was reduced to 7kmh at this place...........not even the first km. Sometimes i stood up......mashing the pedals. Let my body weight push down the pedals. I was in awe at kevin can still go. A pure climber i thought. Then he asked me am i using normal cranks (52/39 teeth)? I said yeah............why?

"Wah so good ah you? I use compact cranks (50/35 teeth) only wor. "

Zzzzzzzzzz!

No wonder he seemed effortless...............we was using a much smaller crank..........means lighter gears for him. Not good for me.

The suffering continued for about 2km...............which is by far pure hell for the legs. Yet i still took time to enjoy the scenery and the cold blowing winds.........low clouds...........and winding uphill roads. In some places it was hot. Global warming i guess.

Then the gradient got gradually shallower. And to much relief to me. Yet i was still trying to catch my breath. So i asked Kevin to stop for a while to catch wat ever air there is up here. Air is thin and i need to breathe harder to get more oxygen to the legs.

After abt 5 minits i got the breath back to go up. I saw the road stil winding up from that spot.......going going going............never stops............

Pedaled up some more. At this part the road was rather kind and not steep. Its almost as easy as Sempah. Which pleased me the most. And then what i didnt expect was..................a Downhill section! I was so happy i shouted for joy.

It was as steep as on the way up...........but now its down! And i was also worried abt another thing : my brake pads............which have been worn out really thin. Its almost gone if i keep doing hard brakes. The descent is so steep u NEED to be on the brakes all the time or else u will hit 60kmh.........and i was not familiar with the roads. So i didnt take the chance............Kevin however seems to enjoy it..........more than me. I just tagged along as a cycling buddy.

After the downhill section theres a sigh that points to Gohtong. And by this time i believe we did 6km.................just 6km...............after so long we went only that far............

And again we were greeted with a climb............gentle climb. Went on for a while............then Kev got out his HP and started to take this picture :

The road is pointing up actually.....Its not the camera that is tilted.......

And then he tried this :

If u see the signboard.......u know i am REALLY climbing up Genting

And finally came up with this:

Yeap.........tats me suffering with my mouth wide open......

And you know what? Before we knew it..........we finally reached Gohtong Jaya!!!!

"Wohoooo! Reach liao!!!"

Kevin checked his GPS to confirm, and it is!!!

OH man was i the happiest ever cyclist! After all that suffering........we finally made it

WE MADE IT

Oh God tat feeling was just so nice. Gohtong greeted us with this nice foto :

This is Gohtong Jaya!

And this is me abt to get some 100Plus at the 7eleven :

I was still catching my breath.........

We took a nice break..........took in the scenery..........enjoyed the altitude........btw......i asked Kevin what was out altitude on the GPS.........so he checked.........

903 meters above sea level

Now thats friggin high............

And then ask i muched a portion of a Sneakers bar........guess what Kevin said?

"Eh Darren, Awana just 2km up only la...........wana go or not? Come on try la......."

IN MY MIND : "Dang la this Kevin...........really wana go ah? To go or not to go? Think think think think"

"Haiya come on! Go la..........JUST 2 km oni la wei"

"You sure u wana go?"

"Hell yea......."

"Fine hell for another 2km la.........."

Leaving Gohtong :

Haiz.........more hell to come.........zzzz (Btw if u look at my rear gears......u can see my chain is at the last cog and the smallest front ring. That shows how steep it is...........)

So ok........we left Gohtong.........and after a miss direction at the round about..........we got back on track (thanks to the GPS) and started climbing AGAIN.

Well another shallow climb..........for the most part.........some parts got a tiny bit steeper. But well........ntg compared to the initial stage.

So as we slowly climbed up...........Kevin kept checking his GPS to see where is Awana going to be..........

We passed a second police check point........the one like a castle. Then we passed Gohtong Memorial Park. That place is HUGE! And the clouds got so low........its cold and visibility reduced.
"1km to go..........."

And then finally in the end......we reached Awana. And this time Kevin was more estatic than me. U want proof?

Here u go...............

Special note to Nuar_jb, my frend, i dah betul2 naik ke sini ler.......

So we reached Awana. And Kevin gave me an altitude of about 1000 meters. In just 2km we went up 100 meters.........50 meters every1km, 25 meters every 500 meters........4 meters every 100 meters.......1 meter every 25meters travelled.

So finally Kevin said : "Lets cabut. Balik" By this time it was almost 10.30am

Boy was i glad to hear that.....................

And so we said goodbye to Gohtong and Awana.

The other part now is getting down............which is a nightmare for the brakes. Its not safe at all to go down, with vehicle traffic on a mountain side and in the cold. So i kept my brakes on all the time. In some places the road drops till i feel like i can just go over the bars.........even a small road hump or bump scares me as i tot i can go flying or fall off the bike. And with the winding roads...........really tests my downhill skills.

IN just 10 minits.............we got back to Genting Sempah............just 10 minits............

At the polis checkpoint Kevin waited for me as i took my time down. Then i called crumbs to check where are they. They were on the way back to the hospital but havent reached Sempah yet. Well some riders were faster...........Crumbs the slower ones. Dgm passed us as we rested at the RnR while i munch my Sneakers for some energy.

After that we went back down to the car park at the hospital. All was smooth. By around 11.30 i was finally down and just thought back of that enormous climb of my life with Kevin. And i was really really REALLY proud i could go up Genting, well, half way at least. Its a privilege. And as i related the story to dgm..........he wanted to go next. Haha.

Well........we chatted abt our rides. While waited for crumbs to get back down. He was really far behind. At almost 12pm he reached. And everyone packed their bikes n headed home. I had some drinks with dgm n crumbs and also newly met Annie (PCC rider) who shes known famously for falling in the longkang during last years Interstate Ride. Nice lady and very friendly. By 1pm we were done. And i still had 12km to reach home..........on the bike..........

Got home in like 20 minits or so.

And really an awesome ride today.

One of the most best rides i have ever done. And i tink will be aiming Genting Highlands next.

Total Ride Time : 4hrs
Total Distance : 87km
Total Climb distance : 26km
Downhills : 26km
Max Elevation : 1000 meters above sea level

More rides to come!!!

Carribean Citrus Chicken

Alright!

My first dish that i have ever cooked

Carribean Citrus Chicken is the name!

And i can really take pride in myself that i didnt burn down the kitchen and hangus the chicken.

After a few going arounds testing some feedbacks were positive.........except one that says its a tad sour..........but its citrus...........so sour is part of it.

For me this is a success.

And i will try more dishes. Hehe

For now............happy eatings!

Adidas a124

Would you believe its the mix up of the year? The previous Adidas shades i got was the wrong one actually. HAHAHA

Now tats a good laugh. So after testing it for a ride, and with good feedback, i sent the shades back to Briko. And he will send the proper one to me. And so today as it arrived........and as usual..............

*zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

*BEEEEP BEEEP BEEEPPPPP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*

"OK OK im coming...............sheesh..............for the third time already..........."

*Looks at clock.................11am.............*

Am i cursed or something?

Idiot

Signs package.............takes it to room

*Brush teeth come back*

NOW.............opens and wala............the a124.............

Now we can cook some serious mileage together.

Adidas a124

Which u tink nicer? this or the a132?

Rear view with my RX prescription lens clipped on. With out im as blind as a bat.

Says rite there..........a124

Menacing looking thing huh?

And heres it with the orange lens...........cool also huh? Hehe

Thanks again Briko!