hahaha...
why can't the Polis be more macho and just crash the barrier? after all, those barriers are FRP what..
maybe they sayang their car...
Crook Beats Polis with Smart tags
ps- Polis is Malaysian for Police, as in Policia in Italian.
pps- FRP is Fibre Reinforced Plastic.
ppps-Sayang is love la....
Friday, April 29, 2005
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
The Average (Dumb Arsed) Joes
The Ever Hensem OP Adventure Team
Stupe in Cave, noticed those scary reflective monsters' eyes in the background?
Doc and Steve, Laughing at Stupe for being scared of the dark...(Noticed the sharp fall behind? that's where we came out from)
Flying Stupendous Man!!!
Doncha Worry Doc...your RIbena Mobile(on right pocket, packet in purple, will survive this flight)
Steve, Pretending to be scared, Dumb ass...
At CP8, Tired...
Osama New hostage kept in one of the crevices at the Pinacle of Gunung Kundu...
Stupe after almost pissing at the wall climb...
Doc, At Pinacle, and having fever...background is part of the Kinta Valley
Steve, at high traverse line, it's 40m below Dude!
Doc, You Jump, i'll jsut take pictures!!
All the dudes and dudette that got cut off after CP9...yes, a whole lorry load of us!!
The Ever Hensem OP Adventure Team
Stupe in Cave, noticed those scary reflective monsters' eyes in the background?
Doc and Steve, Laughing at Stupe for being scared of the dark...(Noticed the sharp fall behind? that's where we came out from)
Flying Stupendous Man!!!
Doncha Worry Doc...your RIbena Mobile(on right pocket, packet in purple, will survive this flight)
Steve, Pretending to be scared, Dumb ass...
At CP8, Tired...
Osama New hostage kept in one of the crevices at the Pinacle of Gunung Kundu...
Stupe after almost pissing at the wall climb...
Doc, At Pinacle, and having fever...background is part of the Kinta Valley
Steve, at high traverse line, it's 40m below Dude!
Doc, You Jump, i'll jsut take pictures!!
All the dudes and dudette that got cut off after CP9...yes, a whole lorry load of us!!
Friday, April 22, 2005
What the...
This is bloody unexceptable, and this is beyond humane...a gang of Africans raped a local girl over 3 days???
Man! Why aren't the authority hauling up these bunch of overstaying *tourists* and whip their sorry dick?
The Star News
Man! Why aren't the authority hauling up these bunch of overstaying *tourists* and whip their sorry dick?
The Star News
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Eco-X Race Report by the Average Joes Part 2
On to CP4 DUMAs:
The route from CP3 to CP4 was far. It was at least 2.5km through rubber plantation. Then we had to run 1.9km to a T Junction, then another 1.2km to the CP.
It was already noon by then. Time is a factor, not so much of fear anymore. Doc was latching himself to me and Steve. Fever setting in, and he was feeling cold, despite the heat in the afternoon sun. We ran and walked fast. Frustration abound and we started to joke about those signs.
You see, the night before, Doc was telling Bandit that he will be the access baggage in his team with two very fit kick boxers.
Then it was the Brooks running shirt that was given as part of the goodies. Doc’s T had IPOH RUNNERS written behind it.
It suddenly hit us that Bandit will have the last laugh, as Doc is now our access baggage.
And the fact that the DUMAs Joes took the hashing trail, was evident enough that we are living up to the IPOH RUNNER’s slogan…
Oh well. Since we are still at the same position since we started the race, we might as well do some park ranger work. Steve was seen picking up Powergel and Powerbars wrappings, strewn all over by the other participants. Being environmentally friendly chap that we are, we tried picking up as much rubbish thrown by participants as we could.
At this point, there was one team in front of us. A Singapore team. A mix team. We said our *hi*s whenever we crossed path. Feeling slightly dejected that we might not be able to do reach in time, we pushed and pulled everyone together and ran the race of our life…to CP4.
We met the French team that called themselves Ayam Brand at the last 1km to CP4. They are finishing their race and are running to CP10. Definitely a very nice bunch, unlike some claimed to be friendly neighbours that we some knows. (well, you all know who la!)
CP4, it’s caving time.
We reached CP4 with 30 Minutes to the cut off time. Had our harnesses on and headlights on, we ran into the cave opening.
A bit daunting. I’ve not done caving. I do not know what to expect. The cave opening was only big enough for 1 person. Steve almost got stuck between the opening. I need to suck in my tummy. Was pleasantly surprised that Bandit did not jam the whole opening up. (Sorry bro, can’t help it)
Wow.
It was DARK. Pitch black. The headlights with 7 LEDs bulb didn’t even seems to disturb the certain eeriness in the cave. There wasn’t any lights, let alone any noises in the cave. By this time, the Singapore Mix team was behind us, and told us that they will be following us in the cave, for fear of getting lost.
We found the first few route pretty easily, though in pitch darkness, with the bearings supplied and good map reading skills(or rather, luck), we soon found what they call the Mao Tze Tung Chamber. Aptly named as it was the hiding spot of the communist during the Emergency back then. There was this BIG read STAR drawn on the cave wall. We did took some time to suck in what we deemed, part of history.
Moving on, we crawled, scrambled, climbed and we finally reached the spot, which we saw rays of lights flooding into the cave. It was the cave opening. And we are at CP5.
At this point, the Singapore team decided to cut infront of us...oh well…at least they lived up to their Kiasu namesake…
CP5, the Flying Fart, eh, Fox.
Imagine our delight, when we saw the Monster Girls, OP Adventure and Pura Pura Kura Kura team just in front of us at the flying fox.
We were told by the CP5 marshal that there is 10 teams that has not checked in at CP4. out of which, at least 3 already quited the race by CP3.
Those were words of encouragements. We, being the very very last team, didn’t do so bad afterall, we managed to catch up with the last few teams despite doing some extra races by ourselves.
The view was spectacular. We, at the top of the cliff in the cave, with the cave opening on the other side of the rope. Elevation was 75m from base camp. The line looked at least to be 70 meters long, the marshal at the other end looked only as tall as 2 inch.
One by one, each team are checked and checked again for their harness and carabiners to be functioning and doing what it was supposed to do.
Marshals lock each and everyone in.
The Monsters Girl screamed.
The Pura Pura mix team shouted and waved.
OP Adventure Looked cool. But silence was only broken by Bandit’s bitchy scream as he glide down the rope at maximum speed. He said he farted on air…well…that, you have to ask him yourself for more explaination why this is the flying fart for him, and not fox.
The Average Joes took the time to let the excitement sink in. If this was exciting enough, we can’t imagine what it would be like in those harder technical rope section. We could only pray that we will be allowed to do it. No matter what it takes.
After landing at the other end of the rope, participants has to climb all the way up again. This is where the rock climbing skills that some of us has been doing come in useful. The edges are sharp as the stones and surfaces was carved by the elements. It was a pretty tiring climb as we emerged at the starting point of the flying fox again.
The altitude drop from the top of the flying fox to the bottom was about 50m.
Me and Steve went to the edge of the Cave mouth to see where we were. We could see the NS Highway, and make a quick mental note of where we were exactly, should be travel on the highway.
We then quickly find our way out, more bearing taking and darkness in the cave again to find our way out.
We reached CP6 after decending the rocky and jagged cliff of the cave.
CP6
At the bottom of the cave, we were told my the marshal that we do not make it to the cut off time of 12pm, which of course we knew.
Adamant that we are not technically able to do the technical rope section, we decided and head on to CP7. It’s a do or die thing, if they do not allow us to do it, we’ll make sure that non of the marshals get out of CP7 alive. *Evil grin*
From CP6, we had to run about 1 km to the turn off of Nomad Adventure Park.
CP7
The Average Joes decided to act dumb(well, we already did that for half the race, why not just carry on with it?) and checked into the mystery test.
We did not beg anyone if we could do it.
We did not threaten anyone for it.
We did not throw tantrum and cry if we are deny of it.
We just want to do the rope.
The mystery test at CP7 involved moving a numbers of item from one end to the other. But there is a catch, the plank they supplied isn’t long enough to reach the other side, and no team member could touch the ground in between the two points. We can’t throw the boxes, planks, pipes and can. We have to transport it over, and our DUMAs over.
Wasn’t very tough. Maybe because at this point, we’ll do anything to get to CP8…
We got through the CP7 with 1.5minutes penalty(really, what are 1.5minutes compared to us getting there 1 hour and 30 minutes late???)
Joyous that we could do the technical roping…we scrambled quickly, before the marshals decided that we did not make it to the cut off time. ;-)
At this point, we didn’t see Team OP Adventure and Dunno La. We thought they went on to CP8 already.
On to CP8
The route to CP8 was kinda dangerous in some portions. It is the mountain’s ridge, with sharp edges and loads of loose rocks everywhere, we just had to be extra careful. Again, loads of maneuvering under huge rocks and tiny crevices that was kinda difficult for me and Steve to squeeze pass.
It was it’s own adventure, as the whole mountain seems quiet, as if observing what we are doing, spooky, and yet, exhilarating!
CP8: Point of No Return.
Nope, we are not talking about any sexual stuff here (after Doc’s bending over at CP2, it is kinda hard not to Not talk about sexual innuendos…LOL)
We saw the Monster Girls and another mix team that we know as Wasabi 1. The Singapore team was 3 teams infront of us. They skipped the flying fox and took a one hour penalty to do the technical rope section. I guess it is kiasu spirit at it’s best…taking 1 hour of penalty just to get infront 3 teams of the DUMAs Joes???
There was a long queue at the rock climb area.
The first technical area involved participants to climb up a rock surface that looked like a chimney. It was almost 10 meters high, and with lil surface but roots to grab on. Team mates has to belay their own members, and officially, after the watermelon Steve and chopstick Doc went up, I am the last participant of the race. At that point, I am just glad that I could do the technical section.
We didn’t get to do the rock climbing until 1hours and 30 minutes later as there was a bottle neck at the high traverse section.
When it finally came to our turn, we took all the time I could to savour each and every roots and rocks that we cling on 10 meters above. I felt like spiderman that moment, abeit a clumsy one.
After reaching the top of the climb, we are to face a fixed line task. This involve the participant to clip themselves onto safety lines, and walk across some pinnacles of the mountain. Sharp rocks, big gap with views of the jungle below and shaky hands working on those carabiners. Adrenalin rushed through every nerves and muscles. I got stung by bees 3 times..and yet, I do not feel the pain, nor those cuts and gash on the shins and calf or fingers felt anymore painful that it should be.
Bunch of junkies we are.
We reached out turn for the high traverse. We could immediately see why there was a bottle neck previously. The two horizontal cable(6mm steel cable) was suspended about 40m between two ridge. On the left is the jungle and on the right, is the kinta valley…magnificent! To add to the difficulty, the cables are on a gradient, meaning, we had to move ACROSS and UP to the next ridge. A quick check of the altimeter registered a 89m at the starting point and 93m at the other side. Moreover, because of the angle, the top cable and the bottom cable sort of close into each other towards the end.
So, you could be starting with the top cable ON hand’s length and end it with the same cable under your armpit…tricky tricky, especially the last 2 feet, as the cable tends to be slippery, and foothold, jittery!
Again, I went last, and I didn’t had any pic of myself taken while doing that…because I took the pics for Doc and Steve. As I was the last person, again, I took the time to savour what Ipoh and mother nature got to offer, maximum hang time there while the wind, sun and nature tried their best to scare me. And trust me, it wasn’t really hard for them to do that!
I crossed the last 2 feet and the feeling was simply awful. Scared shit eventhough I had 1 sling hokked on me and the top cable, and one prusik cord tied as safety latch, incase I slide back to the starting point of the traverse.
Soon after, the weather changed, bright and sunny one moment…and dark and windy the next.
Monster girls were getting ready to abseil when it poured cats and dogs. The wind strong sent chill down to the bones. Hungry as it was almost 4 hours when we last had any food(ran out of supplies at CP4). No more water for the past 2 hours. And knowing that beyond the cliff, is a 90degree drop about 65m below…did some quick calculation and it worked out to be about 27 storey high, assuming that each floor is about 8 feet high. That’s like abseiling down some towers in KL! Even when Doc did the Abseil in AXN last year, it was only 50 meters high.
There were 3 lines for the abseil. Doc took one, I took the other one and Steve took the last one. The wind got stronger and the rain began to pour so heavily. I was checked and all my equipments were double and tripled check to make sure that it all is functioning the way it should. Can never be too safe when it comes to safety.
Here I go. I didn’t manage to say any prayer. Stepped off the cliff and went down, cautious at first, and once I gained confidence with the prusik cord being able to save my life should I pass out out of fear, I let the rope go faster.
Rain hitting on me, adrenalin flowing, arms aching and tired. Hungry. Thirsty.
There were two instances that I stepped on the cliff wrongly and almost had my face smacked into the sharp surface. I decided to go slow, and enjoy the vegetation that is growing out of the crevices and the roots on those rocks. Just a way to take the mind away that I’m about 30 meters off the ground.
I reached the ledge soon after, unhooked and hooked myself to a second set of rope. This time, the cliff surface was smoother, and I could hear doc shouting and rooting for me. I went down fast, so much faster than the first time, this time, rather than abseiling, I was repelling off the cliff. I was down in like 10 seconds, but it did felt like eternity before I was told to jam my ropes.
Doc looked sick.
I was exhilarated.
Steve came soon after. With those permanent smile as usual.
The time was already 5.30. there is no way for us to complete the race. It’s official, we the DUMAs Joes are last, and didn’t complete the race, one CP short.
CP9
We passed the passport to the marshals and they signed it and noted our time. We were told to go to the parking area and hitch a ride back to Gua Tempurung.
There, we saw the 4 teams infront of us. Happy to see us back.
It was a good sense of camaderie. The usual face we see in most races, but we do not know their names, this kinda race is starting to feel like it’s some groupie kinda thing…well, not that we are complaining though.
CP10
I’ve told u ppl that we skipped this. The river is too shallow, we can’t board the river. Further more, we DUMAs has had enough of the raging rapids up in Sg Kampar.
The ride home to CP11
All the 4 teams and some marshals rode at the back of the 1 tonne lorry. As if not enough being battered by the cliff and river, it’s the trees’ turn to each slap our head everytime we go pass those low overhang. Thank goodness there is any durian at that height, or any Kerengga nest…
We reached Base camp. Happy, but at the same time, frustrated not being able to finish the race. But we sorta got what we came for. For the DUMAs, it was our first Eco-X outing. We now know how tough it was, and the organizers wasn’t joking last year when they say the race is tough.
We each had 2 servings of rice, way past our lunch. And had another 2 servings, when we stopped at Tapah Rest Area later.
Bandit was happy to see us back, he told us that the river boarding was too long and not too fun as the water was about ankle deep only and the water wasn’t fast.
Ah, that was the consolation that we knew…that we didn’t make any mistake risking humiliation to check into CP7 to do the mystery test, eventhough we were told that we already didn’t make it for the cut off time…
Last Words:
Doc : pls sms everyone that we’ll run TTDI tomorrow at 6pm and swim at Bukit Jalil on Tuesday.
Steve: Dude, when is the next race??
Stupe: Dumb ass…
The route from CP3 to CP4 was far. It was at least 2.5km through rubber plantation. Then we had to run 1.9km to a T Junction, then another 1.2km to the CP.
It was already noon by then. Time is a factor, not so much of fear anymore. Doc was latching himself to me and Steve. Fever setting in, and he was feeling cold, despite the heat in the afternoon sun. We ran and walked fast. Frustration abound and we started to joke about those signs.
You see, the night before, Doc was telling Bandit that he will be the access baggage in his team with two very fit kick boxers.
Then it was the Brooks running shirt that was given as part of the goodies. Doc’s T had IPOH RUNNERS written behind it.
It suddenly hit us that Bandit will have the last laugh, as Doc is now our access baggage.
And the fact that the DUMAs Joes took the hashing trail, was evident enough that we are living up to the IPOH RUNNER’s slogan…
Oh well. Since we are still at the same position since we started the race, we might as well do some park ranger work. Steve was seen picking up Powergel and Powerbars wrappings, strewn all over by the other participants. Being environmentally friendly chap that we are, we tried picking up as much rubbish thrown by participants as we could.
At this point, there was one team in front of us. A Singapore team. A mix team. We said our *hi*s whenever we crossed path. Feeling slightly dejected that we might not be able to do reach in time, we pushed and pulled everyone together and ran the race of our life…to CP4.
We met the French team that called themselves Ayam Brand at the last 1km to CP4. They are finishing their race and are running to CP10. Definitely a very nice bunch, unlike some claimed to be friendly neighbours that we some knows. (well, you all know who la!)
CP4, it’s caving time.
We reached CP4 with 30 Minutes to the cut off time. Had our harnesses on and headlights on, we ran into the cave opening.
A bit daunting. I’ve not done caving. I do not know what to expect. The cave opening was only big enough for 1 person. Steve almost got stuck between the opening. I need to suck in my tummy. Was pleasantly surprised that Bandit did not jam the whole opening up. (Sorry bro, can’t help it)
Wow.
It was DARK. Pitch black. The headlights with 7 LEDs bulb didn’t even seems to disturb the certain eeriness in the cave. There wasn’t any lights, let alone any noises in the cave. By this time, the Singapore Mix team was behind us, and told us that they will be following us in the cave, for fear of getting lost.
We found the first few route pretty easily, though in pitch darkness, with the bearings supplied and good map reading skills(or rather, luck), we soon found what they call the Mao Tze Tung Chamber. Aptly named as it was the hiding spot of the communist during the Emergency back then. There was this BIG read STAR drawn on the cave wall. We did took some time to suck in what we deemed, part of history.
Moving on, we crawled, scrambled, climbed and we finally reached the spot, which we saw rays of lights flooding into the cave. It was the cave opening. And we are at CP5.
At this point, the Singapore team decided to cut infront of us...oh well…at least they lived up to their Kiasu namesake…
CP5, the Flying Fart, eh, Fox.
Imagine our delight, when we saw the Monster Girls, OP Adventure and Pura Pura Kura Kura team just in front of us at the flying fox.
We were told by the CP5 marshal that there is 10 teams that has not checked in at CP4. out of which, at least 3 already quited the race by CP3.
Those were words of encouragements. We, being the very very last team, didn’t do so bad afterall, we managed to catch up with the last few teams despite doing some extra races by ourselves.
The view was spectacular. We, at the top of the cliff in the cave, with the cave opening on the other side of the rope. Elevation was 75m from base camp. The line looked at least to be 70 meters long, the marshal at the other end looked only as tall as 2 inch.
One by one, each team are checked and checked again for their harness and carabiners to be functioning and doing what it was supposed to do.
Marshals lock each and everyone in.
The Monsters Girl screamed.
The Pura Pura mix team shouted and waved.
OP Adventure Looked cool. But silence was only broken by Bandit’s bitchy scream as he glide down the rope at maximum speed. He said he farted on air…well…that, you have to ask him yourself for more explaination why this is the flying fart for him, and not fox.
The Average Joes took the time to let the excitement sink in. If this was exciting enough, we can’t imagine what it would be like in those harder technical rope section. We could only pray that we will be allowed to do it. No matter what it takes.
After landing at the other end of the rope, participants has to climb all the way up again. This is where the rock climbing skills that some of us has been doing come in useful. The edges are sharp as the stones and surfaces was carved by the elements. It was a pretty tiring climb as we emerged at the starting point of the flying fox again.
The altitude drop from the top of the flying fox to the bottom was about 50m.
Me and Steve went to the edge of the Cave mouth to see where we were. We could see the NS Highway, and make a quick mental note of where we were exactly, should be travel on the highway.
We then quickly find our way out, more bearing taking and darkness in the cave again to find our way out.
We reached CP6 after decending the rocky and jagged cliff of the cave.
CP6
At the bottom of the cave, we were told my the marshal that we do not make it to the cut off time of 12pm, which of course we knew.
Adamant that we are not technically able to do the technical rope section, we decided and head on to CP7. It’s a do or die thing, if they do not allow us to do it, we’ll make sure that non of the marshals get out of CP7 alive. *Evil grin*
From CP6, we had to run about 1 km to the turn off of Nomad Adventure Park.
CP7
The Average Joes decided to act dumb(well, we already did that for half the race, why not just carry on with it?) and checked into the mystery test.
We did not beg anyone if we could do it.
We did not threaten anyone for it.
We did not throw tantrum and cry if we are deny of it.
We just want to do the rope.
The mystery test at CP7 involved moving a numbers of item from one end to the other. But there is a catch, the plank they supplied isn’t long enough to reach the other side, and no team member could touch the ground in between the two points. We can’t throw the boxes, planks, pipes and can. We have to transport it over, and our DUMAs over.
Wasn’t very tough. Maybe because at this point, we’ll do anything to get to CP8…
We got through the CP7 with 1.5minutes penalty(really, what are 1.5minutes compared to us getting there 1 hour and 30 minutes late???)
Joyous that we could do the technical roping…we scrambled quickly, before the marshals decided that we did not make it to the cut off time. ;-)
At this point, we didn’t see Team OP Adventure and Dunno La. We thought they went on to CP8 already.
On to CP8
The route to CP8 was kinda dangerous in some portions. It is the mountain’s ridge, with sharp edges and loads of loose rocks everywhere, we just had to be extra careful. Again, loads of maneuvering under huge rocks and tiny crevices that was kinda difficult for me and Steve to squeeze pass.
It was it’s own adventure, as the whole mountain seems quiet, as if observing what we are doing, spooky, and yet, exhilarating!
CP8: Point of No Return.
Nope, we are not talking about any sexual stuff here (after Doc’s bending over at CP2, it is kinda hard not to Not talk about sexual innuendos…LOL)
We saw the Monster Girls and another mix team that we know as Wasabi 1. The Singapore team was 3 teams infront of us. They skipped the flying fox and took a one hour penalty to do the technical rope section. I guess it is kiasu spirit at it’s best…taking 1 hour of penalty just to get infront 3 teams of the DUMAs Joes???
There was a long queue at the rock climb area.
The first technical area involved participants to climb up a rock surface that looked like a chimney. It was almost 10 meters high, and with lil surface but roots to grab on. Team mates has to belay their own members, and officially, after the watermelon Steve and chopstick Doc went up, I am the last participant of the race. At that point, I am just glad that I could do the technical section.
We didn’t get to do the rock climbing until 1hours and 30 minutes later as there was a bottle neck at the high traverse section.
When it finally came to our turn, we took all the time I could to savour each and every roots and rocks that we cling on 10 meters above. I felt like spiderman that moment, abeit a clumsy one.
After reaching the top of the climb, we are to face a fixed line task. This involve the participant to clip themselves onto safety lines, and walk across some pinnacles of the mountain. Sharp rocks, big gap with views of the jungle below and shaky hands working on those carabiners. Adrenalin rushed through every nerves and muscles. I got stung by bees 3 times..and yet, I do not feel the pain, nor those cuts and gash on the shins and calf or fingers felt anymore painful that it should be.
Bunch of junkies we are.
We reached out turn for the high traverse. We could immediately see why there was a bottle neck previously. The two horizontal cable(6mm steel cable) was suspended about 40m between two ridge. On the left is the jungle and on the right, is the kinta valley…magnificent! To add to the difficulty, the cables are on a gradient, meaning, we had to move ACROSS and UP to the next ridge. A quick check of the altimeter registered a 89m at the starting point and 93m at the other side. Moreover, because of the angle, the top cable and the bottom cable sort of close into each other towards the end.
So, you could be starting with the top cable ON hand’s length and end it with the same cable under your armpit…tricky tricky, especially the last 2 feet, as the cable tends to be slippery, and foothold, jittery!
Again, I went last, and I didn’t had any pic of myself taken while doing that…because I took the pics for Doc and Steve. As I was the last person, again, I took the time to savour what Ipoh and mother nature got to offer, maximum hang time there while the wind, sun and nature tried their best to scare me. And trust me, it wasn’t really hard for them to do that!
I crossed the last 2 feet and the feeling was simply awful. Scared shit eventhough I had 1 sling hokked on me and the top cable, and one prusik cord tied as safety latch, incase I slide back to the starting point of the traverse.
Soon after, the weather changed, bright and sunny one moment…and dark and windy the next.
Monster girls were getting ready to abseil when it poured cats and dogs. The wind strong sent chill down to the bones. Hungry as it was almost 4 hours when we last had any food(ran out of supplies at CP4). No more water for the past 2 hours. And knowing that beyond the cliff, is a 90degree drop about 65m below…did some quick calculation and it worked out to be about 27 storey high, assuming that each floor is about 8 feet high. That’s like abseiling down some towers in KL! Even when Doc did the Abseil in AXN last year, it was only 50 meters high.
There were 3 lines for the abseil. Doc took one, I took the other one and Steve took the last one. The wind got stronger and the rain began to pour so heavily. I was checked and all my equipments were double and tripled check to make sure that it all is functioning the way it should. Can never be too safe when it comes to safety.
Here I go. I didn’t manage to say any prayer. Stepped off the cliff and went down, cautious at first, and once I gained confidence with the prusik cord being able to save my life should I pass out out of fear, I let the rope go faster.
Rain hitting on me, adrenalin flowing, arms aching and tired. Hungry. Thirsty.
There were two instances that I stepped on the cliff wrongly and almost had my face smacked into the sharp surface. I decided to go slow, and enjoy the vegetation that is growing out of the crevices and the roots on those rocks. Just a way to take the mind away that I’m about 30 meters off the ground.
I reached the ledge soon after, unhooked and hooked myself to a second set of rope. This time, the cliff surface was smoother, and I could hear doc shouting and rooting for me. I went down fast, so much faster than the first time, this time, rather than abseiling, I was repelling off the cliff. I was down in like 10 seconds, but it did felt like eternity before I was told to jam my ropes.
Doc looked sick.
I was exhilarated.
Steve came soon after. With those permanent smile as usual.
The time was already 5.30. there is no way for us to complete the race. It’s official, we the DUMAs Joes are last, and didn’t complete the race, one CP short.
CP9
We passed the passport to the marshals and they signed it and noted our time. We were told to go to the parking area and hitch a ride back to Gua Tempurung.
There, we saw the 4 teams infront of us. Happy to see us back.
It was a good sense of camaderie. The usual face we see in most races, but we do not know their names, this kinda race is starting to feel like it’s some groupie kinda thing…well, not that we are complaining though.
CP10
I’ve told u ppl that we skipped this. The river is too shallow, we can’t board the river. Further more, we DUMAs has had enough of the raging rapids up in Sg Kampar.
The ride home to CP11
All the 4 teams and some marshals rode at the back of the 1 tonne lorry. As if not enough being battered by the cliff and river, it’s the trees’ turn to each slap our head everytime we go pass those low overhang. Thank goodness there is any durian at that height, or any Kerengga nest…
We reached Base camp. Happy, but at the same time, frustrated not being able to finish the race. But we sorta got what we came for. For the DUMAs, it was our first Eco-X outing. We now know how tough it was, and the organizers wasn’t joking last year when they say the race is tough.
We each had 2 servings of rice, way past our lunch. And had another 2 servings, when we stopped at Tapah Rest Area later.
Bandit was happy to see us back, he told us that the river boarding was too long and not too fun as the water was about ankle deep only and the water wasn’t fast.
Ah, that was the consolation that we knew…that we didn’t make any mistake risking humiliation to check into CP7 to do the mystery test, eventhough we were told that we already didn’t make it for the cut off time…
Last Words:
Doc : pls sms everyone that we’ll run TTDI tomorrow at 6pm and swim at Bukit Jalil on Tuesday.
Steve: Dude, when is the next race??
Stupe: Dumb ass…
Eco-X Race Report by the Average Joes
As Promised, pictures later as the camera ran out of batt...
here goes!
Team: Average Joes (Steve, Doc and Me, Bib number 106)
Race stats:
Timing
Race Started: 7.45am
Race ended: 9 Hours 42 Minutes and 20 Seconds later at CP9
Food/Drinks:
Total Liquid Consumed by all 3 members:
10 liters of water in water bladder
3 water bottles of isotonics drink at bike
6 packets of Ribena Mobile
A few mouthful of Sg Kampar river water.
Total Food/energy food consumed:
Energy Bar aka Powerbar : 1.5 bar
Energy Gel aka Powergel: 4 packs
Muesli Bars: 6 perhaps?
Bananas: lost count (at CP9)
Technical Stuff:
Total Altitude Gain: 233 meters from base camp.
Total DUMAs(Dumb Ar$e) curses: infinite.
Total Dumps/craps taken: Only one at hashing trail.
Waking up:
Everyone was rudely awaken up by series of farting noises coming from Bandit and Stupe in the morning. Doc was oblivious to it. The Alarm rang at 5am and everyone was up by 5.15am for shower and breakfast.
After a series of equipment check and loading of the gears onto Steve’s iron horse, we were on our way at 6am.
Received call from Bandit’s team mate, aka Cipet and brother that they had totally forgotten to purchase batteries for their headlights. DUMAs. Salvaging our pockets, we managed to find 4 batteries, one of them would be without lights in the cave later, we reckon.
Base Camp:
Arrived early at about 6.45am at base camp, Gua Tempurung. Most participants were seen preparing themselves and some pretended to cycle to the other end of the base camp in the pretext to warm up. In actual fact, there were there to either pee, or take a dump. The grasses there was duly fertilized that morning. Kudos to all of us!
Race director Yuen Li called the participants to the front line, everyone did, and a few kiasus were seen lining their bikes right up front. Average Joes, Three Blind Mice, OP Adventure, Pura Pura Kura Kura was seen hanging out at the rear of the pack, oblivious of the whole barahuha at the front.
We didn’t even know the race started until we heard the air horn being blown. Average Joes ran to their bike and started the race at the back of the pack. Well, we have to maintain being average, isn’t it?
On to CP1:
We are on our way to CP1, It is a cycle from Gua Tempurung through some pretty flat offroads until we reached a wash out caused by a landslide. There, the Joes overtook 5 teams to gain position to being 6th last.
There were loads of first timer of mountain bikers taking the trail, some were seen with their bike stand still on the bike, with thick OEM saddles. After the first Major washout, where everyone got down and dirty to carry and lift the bikes over to the other side, it was pretty much MTB time, ie Mari Tolak Basikal (and not MounTain Bike, mind you!).
The pushing was ardous. There is no instants to pedal because some DUMAs decided to walk on the only line to cycle. DUMAs. Doc, Steve, Rahim, Karoline was seen attempting to do it, most gave up after 30 meters. I swore the gradient was almost 15 degree, as I found my chest to be resting on the saddle as I was pushing my bike up…it’s that steep. Still, some DUMAs stopped suddenly and jammed up the whole lane.
Doc was overwhelmed by fatigue midway thru the push. Can’t blame him, this Joe has been down with fever and sore throat for the longest time (ok, 1 week to be exact), This was my first time seeing him bending over(nope not what you think it was) and trying to catch a breather.
Reached CP1, On to CP2:
The downhill was great fun, reminds most of us of Sg Dua. Fast downhill with loads of bunny hoppings and gravel driftings, things that separate the seasoned bikers from the newbies. The peak was registered at 233m from base camp, we did climb up that high.
Some bikers was seen pushing their bike down the downhill section, Jabil’s speedo registered a max of 40km/h on the downhill section. I’m sure Steve went faster than that (because of momentum).
We exited the biking section and parked our bike, got our passport signed and proceed towards CP2 check point.
At this point, we noticed some more experienced race winning team had lost a team member, it goes to show that adventure racings are full of surprises…feeling good, The Averages Joes, Three Blind Mice, OP Adventure and Dunno Lar went on towards CP3.
CP2 Done, On to CP3:
As soon as we exited the bike park, we had to haul our asses up a steep off road hashing trial. We reached the side of Sg Kampar. Magnificent. River raging and rapids abound!!! Some of us decided to jump into the water and swim. Some were seen slipping into the river and landing squarely on their DUMAs.
The slopes are steep and the ground are slippery. We reached a portion of a broken dam that the locals made to pond up water. The Average Joes are at the average position at this point of the race, ie in the middle fo the pack, maybe at the front 25%. OP Adventure was just right behind. Not bad for a bunch of weekend warriors!!! The Joes saw some trial marking. We then decided to run up the steep hill, and we saw more papers thrown on the jungle floor. It was a steep ascend, almost crawling.
The DUMAs Joes thought that it was the right trail to CP3 (as written in the instruction, it was written that “you will get to a distinct single track which open up to a dirt road”, so we thought it was it!) and we are secretly hoping that all the rest of the team will get lost in the jungle!!!
We cheekily moved some of the paper trail to confuse the opponents…(so much for sportmen’s spirit eh?) At the top of the climb, 60m from the river, we reached an opening, MINUS the CP3 marshall…we knew we were F big time. There wasn’t any footprint, signaling NO ONE actually came this way.
The DUMAs Joes decided to head back DOWN to the river. Only then did it dawn to us that those were the hashing trial…no wonder the paper has lions printed on it…it was the Ipoh Hashing group’s trail…freshly set for next week’s run! DUMAs!!!
That detour caused us an hour. By the time we got down to the river, we knew, that we were LAST team. We saw 3 marshalls, and they were the sweeping marshals!!! Well, the DUMAs Joes regained their last position, and they weren’t even trying hard to get that! What luck!
Thinking to make up for lost time, as it was already 11am, the cut off time of 12pm stays and we badly want to do all the technical rope section.
The DUMAs Joes decided to swim for it. River as deep as Doc’s nose, we swam for it, only getting out at some point where the river is too furious for us to tackle.
CP3, Finally:
We reached CP3, battered, demotivated, with Doc feeling sicker than ever with his fever, and Steve, happy that he took a dump while on the way down from the Detour.
Even the race marshall was surprised that we came in so late, as we were in a good top 20 position at CP2. Oh well…”We went Hashing” were the answer, in unison.
To be Continued…
Monday, April 18, 2005
It was the Year 1977...
I was at site in Tg Malim, behind Proton Plant's sewage treatment plant today to check on some man holes.
i noticed a book. A diary. it was year 1977. Belongs to one malay woman.
i flipped through the diary with my shoes, out it opened, on 6th september 1977, a recipe to make Rendang Moden...
the pic are a bit not too clear, will take a new pic, when i go over there again.
but here is how it looked like.
Oh ya,
me and my team mates survived the Eco-X. It has all the element of things that would go wrong, will go wrong.
more report on that later, all i can say is, damn...what a race, bloody 10 hours and abseiled down almost 65 meters(almost 27 stories building high) down some mountain with caves in the rain, feeling thirsty, hungry, dirty and scared shit... and that is just part of the whole thing...
more of that later, i promise you all!
i noticed a book. A diary. it was year 1977. Belongs to one malay woman.
i flipped through the diary with my shoes, out it opened, on 6th september 1977, a recipe to make Rendang Moden...
the pic are a bit not too clear, will take a new pic, when i go over there again.
but here is how it looked like.
Oh ya,
me and my team mates survived the Eco-X. It has all the element of things that would go wrong, will go wrong.
more report on that later, all i can say is, damn...what a race, bloody 10 hours and abseiled down almost 65 meters(almost 27 stories building high) down some mountain with caves in the rain, feeling thirsty, hungry, dirty and scared shit... and that is just part of the whole thing...
more of that later, i promise you all!
Friday, April 15, 2005
fear..it's a factor...
..when you are transporting RM100k all by yourself over a 35km stretch from point A to Point B.
here is how heavy and how much the whole stacks looked...
here is how heavy and how much the whole stacks looked...
Monday, April 11, 2005
Batu Dam - The Land of Leeches
Date: 10th April 2005
Time: 0900-1230Hours
Attendance: Doc, Derek, Stephanie, Teen Teen, Bandit, Mat Gan, Zulfikar, Rizal, Azman, Stupe
Surprised attendance: Azri, Nik, Shahkir and gang!!! Whole loads of them!!!
It was a rahter usual day for the weekend warriors and warrior-ress (think Xena).
But most of us were rahter shocked and pleasant to see such huge turnout in this week's Batu Dam's offroad ride.
it is as if the whole world converged at Batu Dam yesterday.
There was 5 mat sallehs with 2 ladies and 2 dogs doing hiking in Batu Dam in Jeans and hiking boots.
Then, there was this whole bunch of hi-tech groupies that rode the dam route much earlier.
Our group, the one tht we would classify as the Average Joes aka Light and Easy buggers, were the last to leave the parking lot to take on what Batu Dam had got to offer, again.
Noticeably differnet was the water level, the dam must had dried up about 10 meters of water, as we are used to be riding with the water next to us, but it was clearly visibly that the dam is about 10meters lower than usual (my canggih altimeter watch confirmed that)
The ride was fast, and rahter easy, maybe due to the fact that most of us are rahter fit at this point of the year (due to loads of races this time around, so better prepared la!)
The whole batu dam looked like some major highway during balik kampung season where the trail are jammed up by fast moving vehicles going fast on the emergency lanes.
Also, we didn't get any leeches on us, maybe they are all on holiday, after the long hiatus..or perhaps all of them had long clingged to the earlier group of bikers that entered the Dam yesterday...
FYI, Mat Gan is 100% beginner and i must say he did blardy well for his first time.
Teen Teen showed tonnes of improvement and i'm not gonna mess with her anytime soon.
Stephanie was her usual careful self but seemed rahter gung ho about going downhill this time around.
Zulfikar was delirious when he found out the downhill section was such thrill. He is getting his wife a bike soon.
Rizal was seen as excited, since this time around, bandit wasn't teh navigator and there isn't any chances of Bandit leading them off the trail and into some forsaken place....he trully enjoyed the downhill.
Derek claimed it was his second time in Batu Dam...so, better gear yourself up and abandon Kiara for a while.
Bandit claimed he bunny hopped over teh chest high log on the downhill portion. I truly believed he did that.
Doc..oh well, what can i say, this favorite boy of ours are forever the flavour of the month...he's a slut, as usual..and he was patience enough to show Mat Gan, all the correct way to take the downhill portion at 40km/h.
Azman was his usual iron man self, he overtook everyone with no mercy....siao man!
As for me, i enjoyed it loads, maybe because i just changed the rims of my bike, and the confidence that i get in stopping on time, should there be any log at chest level appears out of no where (i can't bunny hop like how bandit does...)
here is some pics...enjoy.
Doc "i'm gonna ride this crossing" Hisyam
Doc" I rode this crossing and am dry" Hisyam
Rizal "Damn i'm wet"
Derek "get out of my way" Dude
Teen Teen "The Thule Babe"
Stephanie " What hole??"
Zulfikar "get away from my arse Azman!!!"
Bandit "This is how you do it" Azly
Mat Gan "get down on it"
Me "i'm so vain" Stupe
Time: 0900-1230Hours
Attendance: Doc, Derek, Stephanie, Teen Teen, Bandit, Mat Gan, Zulfikar, Rizal, Azman, Stupe
Surprised attendance: Azri, Nik, Shahkir and gang!!! Whole loads of them!!!
It was a rahter usual day for the weekend warriors and warrior-ress (think Xena).
But most of us were rahter shocked and pleasant to see such huge turnout in this week's Batu Dam's offroad ride.
it is as if the whole world converged at Batu Dam yesterday.
There was 5 mat sallehs with 2 ladies and 2 dogs doing hiking in Batu Dam in Jeans and hiking boots.
Then, there was this whole bunch of hi-tech groupies that rode the dam route much earlier.
Our group, the one tht we would classify as the Average Joes aka Light and Easy buggers, were the last to leave the parking lot to take on what Batu Dam had got to offer, again.
Noticeably differnet was the water level, the dam must had dried up about 10 meters of water, as we are used to be riding with the water next to us, but it was clearly visibly that the dam is about 10meters lower than usual (my canggih altimeter watch confirmed that)
The ride was fast, and rahter easy, maybe due to the fact that most of us are rahter fit at this point of the year (due to loads of races this time around, so better prepared la!)
The whole batu dam looked like some major highway during balik kampung season where the trail are jammed up by fast moving vehicles going fast on the emergency lanes.
Also, we didn't get any leeches on us, maybe they are all on holiday, after the long hiatus..or perhaps all of them had long clingged to the earlier group of bikers that entered the Dam yesterday...
FYI, Mat Gan is 100% beginner and i must say he did blardy well for his first time.
Teen Teen showed tonnes of improvement and i'm not gonna mess with her anytime soon.
Stephanie was her usual careful self but seemed rahter gung ho about going downhill this time around.
Zulfikar was delirious when he found out the downhill section was such thrill. He is getting his wife a bike soon.
Rizal was seen as excited, since this time around, bandit wasn't teh navigator and there isn't any chances of Bandit leading them off the trail and into some forsaken place....he trully enjoyed the downhill.
Derek claimed it was his second time in Batu Dam...so, better gear yourself up and abandon Kiara for a while.
Bandit claimed he bunny hopped over teh chest high log on the downhill portion. I truly believed he did that.
Doc..oh well, what can i say, this favorite boy of ours are forever the flavour of the month...he's a slut, as usual..and he was patience enough to show Mat Gan, all the correct way to take the downhill portion at 40km/h.
Azman was his usual iron man self, he overtook everyone with no mercy....siao man!
As for me, i enjoyed it loads, maybe because i just changed the rims of my bike, and the confidence that i get in stopping on time, should there be any log at chest level appears out of no where (i can't bunny hop like how bandit does...)
here is some pics...enjoy.
Doc "i'm gonna ride this crossing" Hisyam
Doc" I rode this crossing and am dry" Hisyam
Rizal "Damn i'm wet"
Derek "get out of my way" Dude
Teen Teen "The Thule Babe"
Stephanie " What hole??"
Zulfikar "get away from my arse Azman!!!"
Bandit "This is how you do it" Azly
Mat Gan "get down on it"
Me "i'm so vain" Stupe
There you go, two weeks of preparation for this weekend race.
Here is what the whole deal is all about:
Race format and Disciplines
Race time:
3 ½ to 4 hours for the winning team and 6 hours for the last team.
Mountain biking
The mountain biking is not going to be very difficult or have much technical single track. Most of it is pretty flat and fast but there will be parts that will make or break your race. Tactically, this is a crucial section if you are a competitive team.
Running / On foot
Most of this section can be called "run if you can" because the terrain is so tough that only a few abnormal human can actually run through it. Most participants will be trying their best to stay upright and balance on the very rocky path. Being sure-footed is a huge bonus, so we encourage all of you to train on some serious off road terrain. Even better if you are used to scrambling up and down boulders and rocky paths .
Rope Work
This race will have the most spectacular rope sections that we have ever organized. And you will have to be sure of your skills as once you get to the rope sections, you are committed and can only go onwards. If you lose your nerve up there, you'll wait till the end of the race for the marshals to bring you down. There will be a rock climb, a diagonal abseil, a traverse bridge and one of the longest abseils we have ever had.
Caving
Definitely one of the highlights of this race. Have your wits about you, otherwise you can seriously get lost in this multi-level, multi-chambered cave. No crawling or squeezing at all, so don't worry if you are tall or broad.
River Boarding
Be prepared to jump into a river for a cooling or slogging section - depending on your strength.
Eco-X
Here is what the whole deal is all about:
Race format and Disciplines
Race time:
3 ½ to 4 hours for the winning team and 6 hours for the last team.
Mountain biking
The mountain biking is not going to be very difficult or have much technical single track. Most of it is pretty flat and fast but there will be parts that will make or break your race. Tactically, this is a crucial section if you are a competitive team.
Running / On foot
Most of this section can be called "run if you can" because the terrain is so tough that only a few abnormal human can actually run through it. Most participants will be trying their best to stay upright and balance on the very rocky path. Being sure-footed is a huge bonus, so we encourage all of you to train on some serious off road terrain. Even better if you are used to scrambling up and down boulders and rocky paths .
Rope Work
This race will have the most spectacular rope sections that we have ever organized. And you will have to be sure of your skills as once you get to the rope sections, you are committed and can only go onwards. If you lose your nerve up there, you'll wait till the end of the race for the marshals to bring you down. There will be a rock climb, a diagonal abseil, a traverse bridge and one of the longest abseils we have ever had.
Caving
Definitely one of the highlights of this race. Have your wits about you, otherwise you can seriously get lost in this multi-level, multi-chambered cave. No crawling or squeezing at all, so don't worry if you are tall or broad.
River Boarding
Be prepared to jump into a river for a cooling or slogging section - depending on your strength.
Eco-X