I met the early members of the R@SKLs after the 8th CFAL round Penang island ride in 2016. The year of the dropped pedal 😂. Lay, whom I came across during the ride, introduced me to them.
The R@SKLs trip to Penang has been an annual event since. Each year the number of riders has grown.
2017
https://alchemyrider.me/2017/08/14/the-rskls-like-penang-day-1/
2018
https://alchemyrider.me/2018/08/13/cfal-2018-prelude/
In 2019 seven of us rode to Penang. About twenty others drove or flew up there.
2019
https://alchemyrider.me/2019/10/16/kuala-lumpur-to-penang-day-1/
This year a group of seventeen opted to cycle to Penang.
The first day’s ride was from Tanjung Malim to Kampar.
Some of us got to Tanjung Malim by road.
The rest took the train from Sungai Buloh. After stopping at Bin Soo’s and AiLei’s for muffins.
Being the R@SKLs, our first stop was one kilometre from Tanjung Malim KTM station for roti canai and nasi lemak at Restoran Al Kassim Maju.
We had two support vehicles for this trip. An ice chest in the back of Amy’s truck held water and 100 Plus. Our drivers, Azaman and Suwardy, took advantage of an ice delivery to the restaurant to buy ice for us.
There was a flat tire to deal with before we could get going. That was the opportunity to try out TH’s new toy.
Then we were on our way.
Our next stop was an unplanned one. Vanessa had a flat tire north of Trolak.
We dipped into the ice chest at our first rest stop just before Sungkai.
The next stop was for fresh-cut fruit at Bidor. Having ridden 55km, we were more than halfway to Kampar.
We spent more than one hour at Tapah for lunch. We got there at 1:00 pm. It was 36ºC, and we appreciated the air-conditioning in the KFC. We are on the floor because all the furniture has been removed from the ground floor of the restaurant. No doubt for social distancing reasons.
The others went to a chicken rice shop across the road. I assume that shop had ceiling or wall fans.
The remaining 22km passed without incident. We checked into the Grand Kampar Hotel, showered, and went looking for food. About half of us went to the McDonald’s around the corner from the hotel. We had our first taste of strictly enforced COVID-19 SOPs there. In addition to the now-standard registration via the MySejahtera app and temperature checks, we couldn’t all gather at the counter to order our food.
After our burgers, we met most of the rest at the Entertainment Hub for more rehydration. We fell foul of the COVID-19 SOPs there too. Our group had grown to more than ten, so we couldn’t stay.
The last stop before calling it a day was at Restoran Ken Claypot House. Claypot meals are a Kampar speciality. COVID-19 SOPs meant five people to a table.
Day 1 done.
Old Roots, New Routes 
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