Audax Randonneurs Malaysia has organised a Pink Ride since 2018. These Pink Rides are a celebration of female cyclists’ strength and unity. I wrote about the Pink Ride 2.0, the Pink Ride 3.0 and the Pink Ride 6.0.
The first five Pink Rides were BRM200 events. Brevet de Randonneurs Mondiaux (BRM) events are sanctioned by the Audax Club Parisien (ACP). The BRM events are run all over the world under rules laid down by ACP, which also records and validates the rides.
Last year, Audax Randonneurs Malaysia added a Permanent 100 Pink Ride option. Permanents are not sanctioned nor recognized by the ACP.
A Permanent 100 Pink Ride was offered this year as well. Although advertised as a 100km ride, it was 120km long.
I rode the Permanent 100 last year. That was the only 100km or further ride I did in 2023. Opting for the 120km ride this year instead of the BRM200 was a no-brainer. That also suited my three riding companions.
Once the route was confirmed, I set about identifying possible rest stops. I picked out more options in the second half. We would ride the first half in the early morning before the sun came out. The second half of the route has more than twice as much elevation as the first half, so we might need to stop more often. Finally, the stretch between Sendayan and Mantin is mostly through oil palm estates with almost no roadside facilities.
The start and finish was the Setia EcoHill Mall. That is about an hour’s drive from home. Rather than leaving home at 3:30 am on Sunday morning, I chose to stay at a hotel close to the mall on Saturday night.
That allowed me to collect the event kits at the EcoHill Welcome Centre on Saturday afternoon. Each event kit contained a bike frame tag with a unique QR code, a brevet card with route cues and spaces for checkpoint stamps, and a waterproof envelope to hold the brevet card, cash, etc.
My biker chick and I stayed at the Le’genda Hotel in Bangi. The decor and furnishings of this newly opened hotel are fresh and contemporary. The rooms are surprisingly large.
The hotel is part of Union Square. One side of the square is lined with restaurants. The Bangi Avenue Convention Centre sits on the opposite side of the square. Across the road from Union Square is the Bangi Wonderland Water Park.
We hit Union Square for dinner. We went to Original Teppanyaki, and we were not disappointed. The food was excellent. An interesting twist is that the drinks and dessert menu is from My IceCream, a separate outlet.
The start time for the Permanent 100 was 6:15 am. The two remaining people who planned to ride with me would be at the Setia EcoHill Mall between 5:00 am and 5:30 am. The third person forgot about a previous commitment when she registered for this ride, so she had to pull out.
I received a message as I was about to leave the hotel for the 12km drive to the mall. One person was at the mall but had forgotten his bicycle helmet. He would be an hour late for the start if he drove home to get his helmet. So we were down to a group of two.
I met Geetha outside this restaurant. It was the most popular place in the area because it was the only restaurant in the mall that was open before 5:00 am, and most importantly, it had a toilet!
We rode to the Start/Finish arch, where Sam Tow, the driving force behind Audax Randonneurs Malaysia, took our photograph.
204 cyclists started the Permanent 100. The two of us were on our way at 6:00 am. Slightly early because the QR scanner wasn’t working. We would have our frame tags scanned at the Checkpoint 60km away.
I emptied my bidon by the time we got to the Shell station at Pekan Sepang. We stopped for me to buy water and chocolate milk. We covered that first 44km at an average speed of 25kph. Only 16km to the Checkpoint.
We were at the Checkpoint at 8:37 am.
The Checkpoint was at a Shell station a couple of kilometres outside Lukut.
We got our frame tags scanned, and Geetha took my brevet card to be stamped. It was a humid morning, and I was sweating buckets. I went immediately into the Shell SELECT store to buy more water and chocolate milk.
If I had paid attention, I would have noticed the supplies available behind where brevet cards were being stamped. Hydration, amino acid replacement, and muscle pain relief needs were all covered.
We were on our way again eight minutes after arriving at the Checkpoint. We climbed about 280 metres already. We had about 625 metres of elevation ahead of us. It was time to slow down and conserve energy.
I was out of water again and ready to stop for a refill about 75km into the ride. When researching places to stop during the ride, I noted a roti canai place at kilometre 78. Roti Canai Kayu Api does not sell bottled water, but they have a help-yourself water dispenser. They also have an enticing menu. We joined a half dozen cyclists who had arrived before us and had something to eat. The roti telur kahwin roti biasa banjir combination was excellent.
Eating was an excellent idea. We had 400 metres of climbing in the 42km to go to the finish. The calories and sodium would come in very useful.
We hit the 100km mark at Kawasan Perindustrian Nilai. We were both feeling good with 20km to go. Confident that we would finish in good shape and with plenty of time to spare.
That was premature on my part. With less than 6km to go, I felt a twinge in my left sartorius muscle. An early warning of cramp. Where was that Salonpas Spray when I needed it?
I am susceptible to cramp in my sartorii. Those longest muscles in the body extend from the anterior hip to the medial tibia. When these muscles cramp, it is excruciatingly painful. I have learned to stop immediately and stretch a twinging sartorius to avoid a world of pain.
I stopped and stretched. And stopped and stretched two more times after that. The last time, less than 1km from the finish. That stretching kept the cramp at bay.
In keeping with the Pink theme, a mobile unit from the Breast Cancer Welfare Association Malaysia was at the finish, offering free clinical breast examinations.
Geetha and I rolled through the Start/Finish arch at 12:23 pm. We were both delighted with how well our ride went. Our ride time of 6 hours 23 minutes was an hour faster than we anticipated. We enjoyed the ride immensely. Best of all, we both felt good at the end.
After the finish line photograph, we closed out our Permanent 100 with cold drinks at the adjacent Sri Rahmat Selera Kampung restaurant. “Yes,” all three limau ais were mine!
A very successful day out for the two of us.
Old Roots, New Routes 