As if knowing that i enjoy writing (with or without proper grammar, that is), here is the more detailed report of the ride up Genting on Friday night.
As everyone know, there were 16 of us, excluding 2 Astro crew which were there to film Zabil's training.
Part of the whole Entourage
The 2 Astro crew that is still wondering why we are doing this...
There were a few new friends i made in this ride this time. One of them rides a road bike painted like a Frisian Cow! Sweet! Didn't take any pic of the bike, but here's the rider's pic.
May (the cow bike owner) with Dilah
I wouldn't mess with them above if i were you, when it comes to cycling i meant!
And so, by 10.30pm, we were off from Genting Sempah RnR!!!
And as to just let you all see just how dark it is, or how foggy it was...here is a short video i managed to capture. Mind you, trying to get ahead of the pack just to take this video is hard, all of them are strong cyclist! I volunteered to be the sweeper not because i wore the brightest reflective vest, but because i'm SLOW!
Here is the link : Here
That's just me trying to catch some water in the air
It was this dark and foggy. Cars were not going as fast as they usually does. Add on with some of them getting confused over 16 riders climbing up Genting in the middle of the night...in the middle of the rain!!!
Look closely at all the pics above, you will see road signs and all the reflections of other bikers and their blinkers!
First stop was at Goh Tong Jaya where most of us have a quick bite and hot drink. I managed to touch a max speed of 58.5km/h before reaching this place. This is also the half way mark up to Genting. The other half would be tough with steep climb of over 12 degree gradient.
Vicky had a problem as her rear brake pad on her Hydraulic were totally worn off! bad news if she want to enjoy the downhill later! But that was easily fixed when Ben and Azmar lend her a hand at Goh Tong and swapped the rear pads with the one in front! well done!
more reasons to cam whore!
And so, we were off after a short break. Passing the second police beat base, this time, there were a scary looking K9 unit guarding the beat base...I swore i saw Bacin pedalling faster!
It started to pour really heavy by the time we touch KM6. The dreaded switchback at KM4.4 is just upfront. Then, suddenly...KARO has a PUNTURE!
OK. I do not have any tubes. I do not have any pumps. Karo has a tube but no pumps.
My attempts to call others for help had no one answering my call, except of course, Azmar (coincidentally, he was first on my mind to call!!!)
And so, Azmar came rolling down eventhough he was a good 1km away from where me and Karo was.
Attempts to change the tube was futile as the tube that Karo has was also spoilt. Mat Licin, the ex-Selangor cyclist many moons ago, came so well prepared and even have a foot pump with him! Cayala Bro!
Karo trying to fix her rear tire
As there were no tube available to change the punture, Azmar called out for help and someone has a tube to fit the 2.2 tires that Karo has. But it was at KM2.1 meaning, we need to walk up 2km to get the tube. Azmar volunteered to pedal up and grab the tube and meet up as we walk up. So Sweet!
And as we walked along, the rain got heavier, the fog got thicker and the wind got stronger. I felt my bone shivering!
Then, came Steve and Dilah and Azmar, rolling down and helping Karo with her punture and we were on our way again!
Yay!
The fog got really thick and we had to use the roadside lines to see where we were going. Cars were also moving slowly as they were unsure where they should point their steering too.
At KM1.5, we know we had past the hanging stone and were comfortably at 5000feet above sea level. A bit more as Adilah says that we could run the final 1.5km within 8 minutes...
We finally reached KM0.0, which is the junction after the police station at Genting. The fog was thick as i didn't know i even passed the station until much later! Perhaps i was too tired and was totally blanked!
Me, Adilah and Steve went to the grocery store at the Bus Station to get some food to eat, i was really hungry as i did not eat at Goh Tong!
Totally blur, me and Dilah, that is!
We stopped at Starbucks for a quick cuppa and regrouping. Some of us decided to take the support vehicle down as they were too tired/scared to go down in this weahter. Sounds fair.
Bacin Chicken
Bacin had to rush back home to bring his family back to Johor, so, he went down with the Astro crews. :)
anything that came our way goes into the tummy!
The ride going down promised to be both fun and crazy, especially in the thick fog and unforgiving wind and weather.
After the first km, i decided the only way to keep warm is to pedal down all the way...that proved to be true.
I recorded a fast 61km/h between Starbucks and the second police beat base. Going 11km/h over the permitted speed limit of 50km/h on my way down. It was exhilarating.
As i reached Awana, i took my raincoat off as it was getting warm. From there onwards, there was a good 2km climb before going downhill all the way again.
On my final assault downhill i was gaining good speed and my max speed keep going up from 61 to 62 to 63kmh...
Then disaster happened as one car tried cutting me off from the right. Dumbass Hyundai Elantra!
I was forced to brake and i managed to control the bike as the rear wheel skidded, but lost it as i realised there is no way i could hang on to the road as both the front and rear tyre lost grip. Mind you, i was using a 2.1 tyre upfront and a 1.8 tyre behind and it's knobbies with loads of grip!
Falling under my old bike, with left knee and both elbow scraping the cold hard tarmac. I was lucky to have my pouch behind me as it sort of acted as a barrier between my tush and the road, at the expense of the pouch of course. Wifey bought it for me! Arrgh!
Could had been less if he was clean shaven...
...like my left elbow...
..or my right elbow...
..even my left knee...
The blood didn't come spurting out like i thought it would, infact, due to adrenalin rush, there wasn't any blood until i reach Genting RnR.
My first immediate reaction was to get out of the road! I literally picked myself up as fast as i fell and ran to the side incase of incoming traffic.
When i was absolutely sure there wasn't any traffic, i went to pick my bike up. No damage except the left handle bar gets a good scrubbing
even the metal gets a good scrub...what more my skin?
Amir helped me with cleaning of the wound with undiluted Dettol. Yeah, sweet. I couldn't feel the sting as the pain was actually really really bad. I can't imagine those that crashed while going at 50km/h on the road bike in a Peloton.
It was only until later than i realised the speed which the crash happened...
Yes, you dumbass Stupe!
And so, as i'm writing this, there is still stinging pain of the crash, my left hip was also bruised and where my hip bone is, a big blue black bruise reminds me of the fall. The wound has been drying up and it's still painful whenever i take bath and worked out in the gym. But at the very least, i'm still smiling!
Sucker for pain!
Some of my friends actually rode up again on Saturday night. But because i wasn't there, it wasn't as dramatic as it was. Hahahaha! I'm sure they are glad about that!
And as a parting word, here is a Belated Birthday Wish to Adilah!
Her birthday was yesterday and i totally missed out on it.
So, Adilah, Happy Birthday again!
To all the guys out there, she is single, smart and funny. Apply within!
A lawyer by profession but would rahter be a tai tai anyday!
Happy Birthday to you, Adilah and to you, Azmar!!!
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