Cerita Basi 3/4

When you have full fun activities EVERY week, most times on both Saturdays and Sunday, it is amazing how dated and ancient it could sound like. I felt like our fun days are similar to car sales in KL. Any given car plate number will be 'old' after 2 weeks, and you are out of the race :D.

Writing this out is more for memory tracking of one of the days I took Batman out for a spin lesson with the Otais. The menu for the Sunday (20/02/11), thanks to the absence of Iris' swim class for the month, was to ride from IIS to Janda Baik en route Genting Sempah. I have done Genting Sempah before, where I suffered massive backpain on the way back, so this will be a testament if I have it in me to tackle the endless climbs.

The guys waited at McD Taman Melati as I hurried Batman into the car, and left to the RV point at IIS. Next time I'd take the Wira and slap the seat down, lah... lagi senang. After the morning ritual of catching ups and etceteras, we hit the road, and the morning wind swept our way easy, passing the hospital inside where tonnes of riders gearing up. It was like passing a grandstand or somesort, where riders check each others' bikes and gears. For some reason, this justifies and OK-ed on guys checking on each other, and when all of us were in our tights, I would reserve my views to the greens instead.

Having said that, the climbs were awesome. I got a good grip on gear shiftings, but still too scared to reach out for my bottle, and ended up almost dehydrated, but thanks to many small stops, I managed few sips. And thanks to Ziff's gotong-royong the day before, I have someone to pace with. Other riders are just too strong!

In between the many stops we had, I'd heave a sigh of relief as the climbs are taxing. The severely low riding experience on my part with what gear to use, when and which, plus the extra weight I have been carrying the past months were quite overwhelming. The guys in the front peloton zoomed away in a breath, and you could see them riding effortlessly. And it between the dripping sweat off my chin, what I could think off was how nice it would be to run this course. Unbelievable!

At Genting Sempah, we regrouped and headed on to Janda Baik for breakfast. I was growling, and hence did not show any sign of protest. Coming down towards Janda Baik was rolling downhills, and putting a big crank was delicious. But it caught me unsuspectedly, as coming uphill at the main junction, I was still with the big crank, and as I fiddle my way on how to drop it, I was already stationary in the middle of the hill. Thanks to Saifol, I recollected my shattered ego and we slowly made our way to the pitstop. 

We had a relaxing breakfast, when my proposal for chocolate bars for fuel was rejected by Kak Tipah, and insisted that I eat more calories. I have never been a big eater in between and right after my races, so the maggi chowdown did not gel well, let alone the telur goyang. But immediately after the pitstop, we hurried down with one single objective - to ride up McDonald's hill.

After a quick regroup to tarik nafas, we tackled the McDonald's hill, with me zigzagging away, and stand whenever it was too strenuous, but in the end - success! Memang muhasabah diri...

And from then on are multiple downhills. I made a novice mistake in putting a small crank, and only saw the guys blasting off in corners, and disappeared in the greens. When Kak Tipah came from behind to point the mistake, massive cramp on my left quads sidelined me by the roadside. We stood there, stretching, for a good 15 minutes before headed down again. Lest to say, when we arrived back at IIS, the guys were all ready to roll back to their weekend duties.

All in all, it was an enjoyable ride - all 80+ km of them. Not easy, but doable. It is just something I could not muster doing alone for the time being, so until then, I thank friends who allowed be to tag along.