R@SKLs Do Morib

Photograph courtesy of tripadvisor.co.uk

The R@SKLs still had the 1,200 plus meters / 3,900 plus feet of climbing to Fraser’s Hill, from the weekend before, in their legs.  So for this weekend’s ride they opted for the flat run from Kota Kemuning to the beach at Morib.

Sixteen of us gathered at BR Maju Restaurant in Kota Kemuning.  We weren’t the only ones in lycra at BR Maju.  It is a popular spot for cyclists to have breakfast, or just a drink, before heading out on their rides.

Photograph courtesy of Peter Shea

My previous rides to Morib have been westward on the motorcycle path alongside the KESAS Highway, and then south on Jalan Klang Banting.  The ride along the motorcycle path is nice enough, especially on Sundays when there are few motorcycles on the path with you.

The riding on Jalan Klang Banting, however, is truly unpleasant.  That road has been damaged by the constant heavy vehicle traffic.  Cyclists face more than 10km / 6mi of potholes, ruts, lumps and bumps.

This time Meng and CK led us along a much more pleasant route southward from Kota Kemuning to Bandar Rimbayu and the bridge over the South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE).

From the SKVE crossing to Jenjarom, the riding is along 14km / 9mi of well-surfaced, lightly trafficked kampung roads.  The occasional speed bump is much more preferable to the minefield that is Jalan Klang Banting.

We did have to ride northwest along Jalan Klang Banting to get from Jenjarom to Jalan Bandar Lama.  Whilst the road surface along that 4.5km / 3mi section was not great, we had avoided the worst ruts and potholes to the north.

The right turn onto Jalan Klang Banting confused some of us.  A left turn onto Jalan Klang Banting, aka Federal Route 5, would take us south and then west through Banting town and onward to Morib.  Surely turning right would add distance to our ride?

Turning right instead of left did add 6km / 4mi to our ride.  The reward for riding extra kilometers was that once we were on Jalan Bandar Lama, we rode over well-surfaced and quiet roads to Morib.  Although the road surface south along Federal Route 5 from Jenjarom to Banting and then Morib does improve, there is always a lot of traffic to deal with.  Thumbs up for the coastal route.

The group had been divided about where to eat and drink in Morib.  Delicious Bread Coffee Shop was on the minds of some.  As the name suggests, their kaya toast is delicious.  But the coffee shop had run out of nasi lemak by the time we got there, so we opted for the food stalls along the beach instead.

I had not noticed, but our group had shrunk by one.  Leonard’s bicycle had started making worrying noises as we left Kota Kemuning, so he headed back to his car.  And drove to Morib.  I’m not sure which he wanted to see more, us or the nasi lemak!

Photograph courtesy of Simon Soohu

This is what everyone had been waiting for.

Photograph courtesy of Mark Lim

We found a helpful tourist to take a group picture of us at the beach.

Photograph courtesy of Ong Peng Hong

I suspect that most tourists are disappointed when they see Morib beach.  It is not one of Malaysia’s better beaches.

Photograph courtesy of Simon Soohu

We retraced our route back to Kota Kemuning.  We rode along the coast for 7km / 4mi, and then along the Sungai Langat for 3.5km / 2mi.  Just as the road veers away from the river, there is the option to turn left to Bukit Jugra, and a climb of 180 meters / 590 feet over 1.6km / 1mi.

We turned right.

As is often the case, it had warmed up considerably by 11am.  Luckily we were spared the full brunt of the sun.  There were rain clouds over the sea, and it was overcast on the coast.  It had rained the night before.  The rising temperature had made it more and more humid, so everyone was dripping with sweat.  We didn’t help ourselves by pushing a 30kph / 18.5mph pace.

Once we had crossed the climb of the day – the bridge over the Sungai Langat – we were ready for a drink and a rest.

Photograph courtesy of Google Maps

1.5km / 1mi from the river is Ross Cendol & ABC Santan Sawit.  The stall is not much to look at from the back.

But it has tables and chairs shaded from the sun by umbrellas.

Photograph courtesy of Simon Soohu

Photograph courtesy of Simon Soohu

And of course, ice-cold and sweet cendol.

Photograph courtesy of Simon Soohu

It was about 30km / 18.5mi from Ross Cendol back to BR Maju Restaurant.  By the time we left the cendol stall, those rain clouds over the sea had moved inland ahead of us.  The wind picked up, especially as we neared the bridge over the SKVE.  Fortunately, we didn’t get rained on.  We got a bit splashed and splattered anyway.  The roads between Bandar Rimbayu and BR Maju Restaurant were very wet.

Apart from Leonard’s mechanical, that was the only blemish on the ride.  Nice roads, good weather, and excellent company.  What more can a group of cyclists ask for?