Another Uncle Wiggily

Many moons ago I lived with a host family in Painesville, Ohio.  I have very fond memories of my year as an American Field Service (AFS) exchange student.  One memory in particular is of Uncle Wiggily Longears.  Uncle Wiggily is the main character in more than seventy children’s books by Howard Garis.  Those books must have been a childhood favourite in my host family.  “An Uncle Wiggily” came to mean a new adventure or experience.

I just had my latest “Uncle Wiggily”.  I have driven along the Shah Alam Expressway on countless occasions.  Also known as KESAS, it is a major roadway linking Kuala Lumpur, Cheras, Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam and Klang.  I never dreamt that one day I would cycle a part of it.  That day, or night to be precise, came yesterday.

Six of us started off near the Sunway Lagoon Theme Park.  I managed to have a rear tire puncture as we rode past the Monash University Malaysia campus on the way to the highway.  All of two kilometers from where we had parked our cars.  I suppose better there than alongside the highway.  The university carpark came in useful as a safe place to replace the inner tube.  My companions were ahead of me when I stopped.  It is a good thing they came back for me.  I didn’t know the route.  It would have been a short ride back to my car.

Photo courtesy of maslogo

We rode on the motorcycle lane beside the highway.  The riding surface is very good and all the tunnels are well-lit.  Best of all we didn’t get buzzed by many motorcycles and scooters

Photo courtesy of Sam Cheong at The Samosaurus Chronicles

We covered about 30 kilometers from the Kewajipan interchange to the Sukom interchange and back to the Sunway interchange.  Negotiating the Sunway interchange toll booths in a car is often a fraught-filled experience because of all the traffic.  Cycling unhindered around those toll booths was a most pleasant “Uncle Wiggily”.