Old Roots, New Routes

Shine a Light, Shine a Light *

Posted on March 28, 2013 by alchemyrider

I thought about cycling technology during the ride along the Shah Alam Expressway the other night. Specifically about how much bicycle lights have evolved since I last bought one. My thoughts were prompted by how the spot cast by my headlight paled next to that coming from Chon’s headlight. I had also noticed that Mark’s rear light was so bright that I had to avoid looking directly at it. Not an easy task when you are on his wheel.

The first bike lights I bought, in 2008, were from Cateye. They came in a set. They looked something like these ones.

I say something like these one because these are the current models. The HL-EL 135. I don’t remember my headlight having three LEDs (light-emitting diodes) like this one. What I didn’t realise at the time was that Cateye designed this headlight to be seen by others, and not to help the rider see what is in front of them. To their credit Cateye makes no secret of this in their 2012 Headlight Chart.

In 2009 I started riding regularly at night with the West End Bicycles 6.30 group. I needed a brighter headlight. So I bought a Planet Bike Blaze headlight and Superflash rear light. Again as a set.

The headlight and rear light were noticeably brighter that their Cateye equivalents. The only downside was that the headlight run-time on two AA batteries was only five hours at high output.

In 2010 I bought my first road bike. A second downside of the Planet Bike headlight became obvious. The headlight and mount were bulky. This wasn’t a problem on my hybrid bike because my hands were usually on the handlebar extensions. On my road bike however the headlight took up space on my bars where I wanted to put my hands. So before long I bought another headlight. A Niterider MiNewt Mini-USB.

The Niterider MiNewt had three advantages over the Planet Bike headlight. The MiNewt was one third the size of the Planet Bike. It could be mounted on my helmet, thus freeing up space on my handlebars. Lastly it was the first bike headlight that could be recharged via a USB port.

I must admit that the separate light and external battery pack is not as convenient as an all-in-one unit. NiteRider do provide a velcro strap for attaching the battery pack to the stem or head tube. They also include a 1 meter / 39 inch extension cord so it is possible to ride with the battery pack in a jersey pocket.

In 2011 I bought my second road bike. By then Niterider was selling the MiNewt Mini.150-USB. As the name implies, the output had increased to 150 lumens from the previous 110 lumens. There was also a flash mode. Best of all the run time was unchanged. Brighter being better, I bought one.

Note: Bicycle light manufacturers often use lumens as the measure of light their equipment produces. Some use candelas. A few use lux. Unfortunately there is no regulation or consistency in the bike light industry with respect to how light output is measured and reported. Caveat emptor applies.

Light output is not the whole story either. The shape of the beam is a big determiner of the effectiveness of the light. A broad beam may not properly light the road or path ahead. A focused beam may light up close objects, or those farther away, but not both at the same time. Beam shape and pattern are a function of bulb angle and shape, reflector shape and lens shape.

What is the current state of play as far as bicycle lights are concerned? Niterider sells the MiNewt Pro 750. It has five times the light output of my MiNewt Mini.150, four light levels and three flash modes. If you don’t want a light with a separate battery pack you can buy the Lumina 650. The Lumina 650 puts out more than four times the lumens of the Planet Bike Blaze, and it is rechargeable.

Systems with external battery packs put out the most lumens. Chon’s headlight is an SSC-P7. It can pump out up to 1,200 lumens, though at the expense of run time. Chon tells me that the run time at 1,200 lumens is ridiculously short, so he runs his headlight at 600 lumens. Still plenty bright.

What’s the brightest bicycle headlight on the market today? That seems to be the Lupine Betty R12. This light has a claimed output of 3,600 lumens. Better yet, in a review of LED bike lights, mtbr magazine measured the actual output of this light at 3,625 lumens. In comparison, the xenon bulbs used in High Intensity Discharge car headlamps (the ones with a bluish tint), produce about 3,000 lumens.

As with all things top-end, the Lupine Betty R12 comes at a price. About USD930 / RM2,900 online.

Finally, Mark’s rear light is a Cateye Rapid 5. The main LED looks to be just as bright as the one in the Planet Bike Superflash. However the Rapid 5 has five LEDs in all while the Superflash has three LEDS. The Rapid 5 has four modes. The Superflash has two modes. See what I mean about bike light evolution.

I am tempted by the latest bright and flashy. I think I’ll stick with my MiNewt Mini.150 and Superflash. I am going to pull my Tacx Lumos lights out of storage tonight though.

These mount in the handlebar drops. Each light has a white LED for forward lighting. There is a red LED for visibility from the rear. And there is a button-activated amber LED that is a turn-indicator.

I don’t need no high-output headlights!

* Title courtesy of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.

Is This a Cycling Blog or a Food Blog??

Posted on March 27, 2013 by alchemyrider

I haven’t eaten any satay since I came home to Kuala Lumpur almost six months ago. I mentioned satay in Another Place to Eat three days ago. We stopped for satay last night.

Karma? Coincidence? You decide.

Tuesday and Thursday nights have become KESAS ride nights. I wrote about this route, along the Shah Alam Expressway to give the road its proper name, in Another Uncle Wiggily.

WhatsApp is our current messaging medium. My mobile phone starts pinging with weather updates from 5pm or so. Confirmation that the ride is on comes at about 7.30pm. Between then and the 9pm start time the messages are usually of the “I’m on the way” and “Stuck in traffic” variety. It was no surprise to get a message from Chris at 8.50pm, telling us that Chon and he were close by. What was unusual was his second sentence. “Satay ride. Chon is hungry.”

It turns out that there are two choices for a satay stop. Both are Sate Kajang Haji Samuri outlets. The first is about 10km into the ride, at the Taman Kinrara Rest & Service area. The other is on the opposite side of the expressway at the Awan Besar Rest & Service area. About 19km from the start.

Chon chose the nearer one.

Kajang has been traditionally known as the “Satay Town.” There was a time when you had to make the 20km drive south from Kuala Lumpur to Kajang to get authentic Kajang satay. These days there are numerous stalls and shops selling Kajang satay.

Sate Kajang Haji Samuri is a Malaysian equivalent of a fast-food chain. They have twenty outlets. Three in Kajang and the rest scattered around the Klang valley, Seremban and Port Dickson. If the quality of their satay is consistent across all their outlets, they are doing something right.

We had chicken satay. It came piping hot from the grill. Tender and juicy, with the right hint of lemongrass in the marinade. A key part of a good meal is the kuah satay or peanut sauce. This one was good enough to eat by itself. And in a nice touch the kuah satay and the sambal, or chilli paste, for the sauce came separately. So each of us could add as much or as little sambal to our individual bowls as we wanted. I skip the sambal completely.

We also got a generous serving of cucumber and nasi impit, or compressed rice cakes. These are the traditional accompaniments to satay. There was a time when ketupat instead of nasi impit was served with satay. The difference being ketupat is cooked in a woven palm-leaf pouch, while nasi impit is cooked in a far less labor-intensive plastic pouch.

Photo courtesy of Mark Lim

Happy days for Gary, Chon, Chris and myself!

Photo courtesy of Mark Lim

As an aside, the short zip on my Not Possibles jersey may have been adequate for Dutch weather, but it didn’t work so well last night in the heat and humidity of Malaysia. Especially as we averaged about 32kph getting to the satay, and the same afterward to burn it off.

That satay was worth the effort!

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Kajang, KESAS, Ketupat, Nasi impit, Peanut sauce, Sambal, Satay, Sate Kajang Haji Samuri, Shah Alam Expressway, The Not Possibles, WhatsApp. Bookmark the permalink.

Another Place to Eat

Posted on March 24, 2013 by alchemyrider

Life in Malaysia is all about food. So it stands to reason that cycling revolves around finding new places to eat.

Last week Mark had noticed a particularly well-patronized stall on the Kampung Sri Kundang route. So we set out from Bukit Jelutong just before dawn to check that place out. Our hope was that we would get most of our riding done before it got very hot. The sun had other ideas.

So we kept the pace relaxed along the Guthrie Corridor Expressway and Jalan Kuala Selangor. Mark slowed down as we made the left turn at Kampung Sungai Pelong. He thought we were close to the stall he was looking for. Sure enough, it was 300 meters down the road.

Sate Sri Subang has made a name for itself as a place to get good satay. Satay is an archetypal Malaysian dish. In my days of business-class travel on Malaysian Airlines, courtesy of my employers, the beef and chicken satay served onboard was always a highlight.

The satay grill comes to life in the evenings. In the mornings the offerings are nasi lemak and nasi dagang. Nasi lemak is available everywhere in Malaysia. Nasi dagang is a dish more commonly found in the northern states of Kelantan and Terengganu. It was no surprise that the ladies running the stall this morning were from Kelantan. Immediately identifiable as such by their Kelantanese dialect.

Having been denied our nasi lemak last Sunday, we had our minds set on some today. As we waited for our nasi lemak to be plated up we were tempted by a range of savory and sweet items laid out on the table.

Being weak-willed when it comes to food, we added curry puffs, pulut panggang, and kuih koci to our plates.

We will be stopping at Sate Sri Subang again.

So now we have two breakfast options during our Guthrie Corridor Expressway rides. A stop at Sharif Roti Canai in Kampung Sri Kundang is compulsory though. We haven’t found a better teh halia anywhere else.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Guthrie Corridor Expressway, Kuih Koci, Nasi Dagang, Nasi Lemak, Pulup Panggang, Sate Sri Subang, Sharif Roti Canai. Bookmark the permalink.

Beat the Heat

Posted on March 23, 2013 by alchemyrider

Chris and I rode to Kampung Sri Kundang and back this morning. We got on the road at 6.50am. Just as it was getting light.

We made our usual stop for roti canai and teh tarik halia. We have recently added soft-boiled kampung eggs to the breakfast list. Fresh from the backyard chicken coop. I will take a photograph of the bright orange yolks next time.

We were hungry. Everything smelled so good. It all tasted so good.

By the time I thought to take a photograph – this was the scene.

The sun was out on our ride back to the 7-Eleven at Bukit Jelutong. We got there before 10am so the thermostat was not yet on maximum. We were sweating anyway.

A delivery truck pulled up. We stood so close to the open doors we were almost inside the truck. It was exactly what we needed.

2011 BP MS150

Posted on March 21, 2013 by alchemyrider

I will be riding in the 2013 BP MS150 from Houston to Austin. This is a charity ride in aid of multiple sclerosis research and treatment. If you would like to donate to this worthy cause on my behalf please click on this link:

Donate to Multiple Sclerosis Research and Treatment

My first BP MS150 ride was in 2010. I wrote about that ride in Austin or Bust. I registered late for that ride and had to scramble to get onto a team. One outcome was that Tom and I didn’t get space in the team tent for the overnight stop at the Fayette County Fair Grounds in La Grange. Instead we stayed in a motel that was a 40 minute van trip away from the fair grounds. I am sure we were more comfortable on proper beds in our air-conditioned motel room than we would have been on camp beds in the team tent. Especially as it rained hard that night. However we paid for it by having to be up and ready to leave the motel at 5am to get back to the fair grounds in time to start with everyone else.

I signed up early for the 2011 BP MS150. By then I had moved to The Netherlands, and was no longer working for Hess Corporation. The team captains were kind enough to let me join the Hess team anyway. They were even nicer to allow friends of an ex-employee onto the team. So Barbara, Dane, Laura and Tom would be in Hess colors with me.

I flew into Houston a few days before the start of the ride. I visited the new Hess office at Discovery Green and called in on Patrick Cummings, one of the team captains. The first indication that this experience would be quite different from the previous year’s came when I heard that we would spend the night in the VFW Hall at the Fayette County Fair Grounds in La Grange. No tent pitched on grass for us!

The ride started as it did the year before. My West End friends and I rode out at dawn from the Jack Rhodes Memorial Stadium in Katy. Tom and I chose not to wear jackets so we shivered for an hour or so. By the time we got to the first rest stop it was warming up in the patches of sunlight. There were still some jackets and arm warmers in use though.

Our lunch stop was in Bellville. That was when I got the the second indication that the Hess team did the MS150 a little differently. There were Hess volunteers and a Hess tent at the lunch stop. We had an alternative to the sandwich lunch on offer for everyone else. The wonderful Hess volunteers were handing out chicken and spicy chicken sandwiches from Chick-A-Fil. And Snickers bars and iced drinks.

This is Tom, Laura, Dane and I at the Bellville stop. The patch on Laura’s jersey signifies that this was her tenth consecutive BP MS150. Fantastic!

One of the other stops before La Grange was at Industry. The guys from West End Bicycles were manning a bike service tent there. We hung out with Daniel and the team while we ate our bananas before continuing west.

One of the most appealing things about this ride is the encouragement all the riders get from the communities along the route. It seems like entire towns turn out to cheer us on. And some do more than simply clap and wave.

Laura, Barbara and the rest of the West end crew rode into the Fayette County Fair Grounds at La Grange at about 2pm.

It was pretty hot by then, so we were grateful for the Hess volunteers who were on hand with cold water and iced towels as we got to the VFW Hall.

That was, dare I say it, just the start of the pampering that we received at the overnight stop.

In 2010 we queued for thirty minutes with everyone else for the communal shower trucks. In 2011 we lounged in folding chairs with a cold drink in hand while waiting for our turn in the Team Hess shower truck. After which we handed our sweaty cycling gear to a friendly volunteer to be laundered. Note the jerseys drying on the line behind Laura and Barbara.

Feeling a bit tight and sore despite the hot shower? Get a massage!

We spent the rest of the afternoon waiting for our turn to be kneaded, and chilling with drinks and munchies on the patio behind the VFW Hall.

We were eventually roused from our seats and coaxed into our freshly laundered jerseys for the obligatory group photo.

Then it was dinner time. Courtesy of the crew manning this beast.

The barbecues come big in Texas! And the food that came out of this one was delicious.

Well-watered and fed, we started thinking about sleep. As I mentioned earlier, no tent pitched on the grass for us.

Air-conditioning and indoor toilets if you please.

There was no excuse if you didn’t get a good night’s sleep. And there was no excuse if you weren’t well-fed by the time you got on your bike in the morning. The Hess volunteers served up a delicious breakfast from the kitchen next to our sleeping area.

The BP balloon lit up the pre-dawn sky as we waited for it to get bright enough to continue on our way.

The decision to be made at the start of Day Two was whether to take the Bechtel Challenge Route or the Pfizer Lunch Express. The Bechtel Challenge takes riders through Buescher State Park and Bastrop State Park. We chose not to take the Bechtel Challenge Route in 2010 because the hilly roads were wet and potentially dangerous. There were no such concerns this time. The Challenge adds about 17 km / 11 mi to the ride but it was well worth doing. The road wound through scenic loblolly pine woodland that is 18,000 years old.

Photo courtesy of Lady Vagabond at http://ladytraveltales.blogspot.com/2011/08/paige-smithville-and-bastrop-texas.html

Sadly Bastrop State Park and the surrounding pine forest were the scene of a devastating wildfire in September and October 2011. This was one of the most destructive single wildfires in Texas history. Bastrop State Park suffered significant damage affecting 96% of the park. The Challenge route was not an option during the 2012 BP MS150. However I am happy to say that the road through the park has reopened, and weather permitting, we will ride the Challenge route again this year. Albeit through an altered landscape.

Photo courtesy of Jay Janner at http://photoblog.statesman.com/bastrop-state-park-reopens-after-fire

We skipped the opportunity for even more pampering from the Hess volunteers at the lunch stop in Bastrop. We did the usual for the West End crew. No matter what team we were riding with, we congregated at the Whataburger for a burger, fries and a milkshake.

It was about 55 km / 34 mi from Bastrop to the finish line at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. We made one last stop at the Moose Family Center of Austin. The Moose Lodge is about 5 km / 3 mi from the Texas State History Museum. A perfect place for the West End gang to regroup so we could roll through the finish together. Sophie and Alisa joined, Tom, Barbara and I. We missed connecting with Laura and Dane. They thought they were late getting to the Moose and had ridden on.

It is quite a thrill to ride that last kilometer or so through spectators three and four deep on both sides of the road.

We took advantage one last time of the superb care – read cold drinks and snacks – provided by the Hess volunteers at the finish. Then Tom and I headed toward the State Capitol.

I am looking forward very much to my third BP MS150. It is going to be a treat to reconnect with my West End friends. Who like me have been spoiled by the Team Hess treatment in the past. Who like me can’t imagine riding the BP MS150 with any other team. And who like me are depending upon your generosity to raise as much as we can to put toward the search for a cure for multiple sclerosis.

Donate to Multiple Sclerosis Research and Treatment

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Posted in Cycling in Texas and tagged Austin, Bastrop, BP MS150, Fayette County Fair Grounds, Hess Corporation, Houston, Industry, La Grange, Multiple sclerosis, VFW, West End Bicycles. Bookmark the permalink.

Tick Tick Tick

Posted on March 15, 2013 by alchemyrider

It stands to reason that as soon as ISKY 1 stopped creaking, ISKY 2 would start ticking. As with the apparent source of the noise from the purple bike, the ticking seemed to come from the bottom bracket of the orange bike.

Hoping to benefit from past experience, I started my hunt for the source of the tick with the rear hub. It was in a better state than the one on ISKY 1 had been. It still needed to be cleaned and re-greased. The freewheel runs quieter now. But the ticking persisted.

The next step was to remove the cranks and take a look at the bottom bracket. The bearings looked fine, apart from needing a good clean and some fresh grease. I did discover this though.

This disc spring sits on the drive-side crank spindle.

There is a new disc spring in place of this cracked one now.

ISKY 2 is still ticking though. But, unless I am imagining things, not as loudly as before.

The optimist in me thinks the ticking will just fade away.

The realist in me knows that there is more work to be done.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Bottom bracket, Crank spindle, Disc spring, Noise. Bookmark the permalink.

Let’s Get Wild Ride

Posted on March 11, 2013 by alchemyrider

These pre-dawn starts to bike rides are getting to be a habit. The latest Dave Ern-organised ride was scheduled to start from Bandar Sri Sendayan. About 70km from home. At 7.30 am. Chon, Chris, Mark, Marvin, Shahfiq and I were among the thirty five or so bleary-eyed souls who convoyed to the Sendayan Galleria for the start of the “Let’s Get Wild Ride.”

Photo courtesy of Dave Ern

This ride would take us to Raptor Watch 2013 in Tanjung Tuan, Port Dickson. Regular readers of my blog will recall that Dickson is apparently one of a number of Scotsmen who have given their names to places in Malaysia.

For the last fourteen years the Malaysian Nature Society has organised a Raptor Watch event around the migration of birds of prey like the Oriental Honey-buzzard , Black Baza, Chinese Goshawk and Japanese Sparrowhawk. These hunting birds migrate north between mid-February and mid-April to their breeding grounds in Mongolia, China, Russia, Siberia, the Korean Peninsula and Japan after a taking refuge from the harsh winter in the south.

Tanjung Tuan is the nearest landfall across the Straits of Malacca from Pulau Rupat in Sumatra, Indonesia. The birds have to traverse just 10 nautical miles / 18.5 km of open water to catch the thermals at Tanjung Tuan to help them on their way back to their habitats in the northern hemisphere. If the weather is right it is not unusual to see a hundred or more raptors swirling overhead in the updrafts.

The usual mix of road bikes, mountain bikes, folding bikes were joined by a tandem-like bike ridden by Dave Ern with his young daughter on a tag-along.

Photo courtesy of Ann Daim

Our 40 km or so route to Tanjung Tuan along the old trunk road took us southward through rolling countryside and under the Seremban – Port Dickson Highway. This highway now carries the bulk of traffic between Seremban and Port Dickson. We then went south-west, under the highway once more and through the town of Lukut to Port Dickson, or PD as it is commonly called. From there is was about 15 km to Tanjung Tuan.

It was relatively cool when we started riding. So we were presentable enough to be photographed. This is Marvin and I.

Photo courtesy of Ann Daim

We were less presentable by the time we got to Tanjung Tuan. The sun had come out at it had warmed up considerably. It was definitely arm-cooler and Sweat Gutr conditions.

Migrating raptors not withstanding, Tanjung Tuan, or Cape Rachado as it was once known, is perhaps best known for it’s lighthouse. Local folklore states there has been a lighthouse at that location since the Portuguese colonization of Malacca in the sixteenth century.

There is a paved path from the entrance to the Tanjung Tuan Recreational Forest up to the base of the steps leading to the lighthouse. It is a stiff climb on a bike. 75 meters / 250 feet of elevation in 900 meters / 3,000 feet of path. We all needed a bit of a rest before we tramped up the steps to the lighthouse.

Photo courtesy of the Malaysian Nature Society at http://mnsraptorwatch.wordpress.com/about-rw/

The area inside the balustrade is not normally open to the public. However the keepers of the lighthouse agreed to open the area to the public for this weekend. So we joined everyone else on the courtyard facing the sea, hoping to spot a raptor or two. It had rained the day before, which kept the birds away. It has to be a hot day to generate the thermal updrafts that the raptors depend upon. It was certainly hot when we were there. We were perhaps a bit too early though. All we saw were a pair of native White-Bellied Sea Eagles.

Photo courtesy of the Malaysian Nature Society at http://mnsraptorwatch.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/white-bellied-sea-eagle.jpg

It had been some time since I was last in PD. I lived in the Sunggala army camp in PD for a couple of years from when I was seven. My memories include the barber who arrived at our home on a bicycle, the neighbors who had one of the few televisions in the camp, the friend of my mother who would visit bearing a packet of ginger biscuits for a sweet-toothed little boy, the Officers’ Mess where my parents played tennis in the evenings and then watched Shindig on perhaps the only other television in the camp, and of course the long stretches of almost empty beach.

When I was nine or ten we moved to KL. PD became a regular weekend destination. The Sri Rusa Inn was a favorite spot. We also spent a lot of time at the Port Dickson Yacht Club, especially after my father acquired a speed boat. We would often fortify ourselves for the drive home with excellent Cantonese style fried noodles from a stall along the seafront in town.

Things are a little different today. The army camp must be at least four times the size it was when I lived there. It even houses an Army Museum. The Si Rusa Inn is sadly derelict. The Yacht Club has a Royal designation. And much of the beach frontage is built-up. Unfortunately the hotel and resort boom of the 1990s was curtailed by the Asian Financial crisis. So amongst the resorts, hotels, villas and bungalows are many unfinished and abandoned projects.

I had to be back at my car by about 2pm. The other five were happy to head back before the day got really hot. Before we got going again we replenished our potassium reserves with coconut water. As fresh as can be, straight out of a green coconut that had been opened to order. The stall also sold cold canned drinks. My bidons were almost empty so I topped them up with two cans of 100 Plus.

We made our way down from the lighthouse at about 11am. Lunch somewhere in PD was the plan. We made a photo stop about half way between Tanjung Tuan and PD town. The road runs along a rise right alongside the beach at that point, so nothing has been built on the beach side of the road. Which preserves views of the beach and the sea that I remember from many years ago.

Shahfiq, Chris, Mark and Marvin. Chon was behind me taking photographs of the views

We rode into town in the vicinity of the noodle stall that I remember so fondly. Except the area is now covered with rows of shops and restaurants. Including the McDonalds that we patronized. Obviously ‘fast,’ ‘predictable.’ and ‘air-conditioned’ were qualities that appealed to us. The restaurant was surprisingly crowded. It turned out that the locals knew something that we didn’t.

It wasn’t yet noon when we got to the counter. Our server told us we would have to wait a few minutes before she would take our order. Something about a special offer. Promptly at noon the menu boards were flipped to reveal all. 25% off double cheeseburger meals!

It was 12.45 pm and broiling when we left McDonalds. We had been smart to take advantage of the free refills to recharge our bidons. In no time I was sweating buckets and dipping into my bottles. To the relief of all, it started to rain. Patchy at first, but pretty heavily for the last 7 km. We all got soaked to the skin but were thankful for the respitefrom the heat the rain provided. The final 15 km of rolling hills were challenging despite the cooling rain. That final section might have been just a bit too wild in the full heat of the day.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Cape Rachado, Dave Ern, Hot, Let's Get Wild Ride, Malaysian Nature Society, McDonalds, Port Dickson, Rain, Raptor Watch 2013, Royal Port Dickson Yacht Club, Sri Rusa Inn, Sunggala Camp, Tanjung Tuan, White-Bellied Sea Eagle. Bookmark the permalink.

Thirsty Work

Posted on March 4, 2013 by alchemyrider

Nineteen of us set off from outside the 7-11 at Bukit Jelutong on the Van’s Urban Bicycle Co. group ride this morning. We were a roughly 50-50 mix of folding bikes and road bikes. Our route to Kampung Sri Kundang was a bit different this time. Instead of heading north on the Guthrie Corridor Expressway we took the hillier option along Jalan Batu Arang to the west. Hillier to the tune of 200 meters / 650 feet of elevation in the first seventeen kilometers.

We made regular stops to regroup and to ensure that no one got lost. This was our first break at the bus stop outside the UITM Puncak Perdana campus.

Photo courtesy of Van’s Urban Bicycle Co.

From here it was five more climbs before the right-hand turn toward Sungai Buloh and Kuala Selangor. Everyone was relieved that the rest of the way to Kampung Sri Kundang was flat. Hence the smiles at the traffic light at the junction with Jalan Kuala Selangor.

Photo courtesy of Van’s Urban Bicycle Co.

Photo courtesy of Van’s Urban Bicycle Co.

It was a warm morning, but there were lots of clouds in the sky. So we weren’t in direct sun.

Photo courtesy of Van’s Urban Bicycle Co.

Even so the humidity was high so the ride was sweaty work. We were all glad to get to Kampung Sri Kundang. As always the roti canai and teh tarik was worth the ride. By the time we saddled up again the sun had come out in full force. It was at least 35°C / 95°F during the 33km back down the Guthrie Corridor Expressway. And a tough 33km for those who weren’t used to riding as far or climbing as much as we did today.

We were all hot and thirsty by the time we got back to Bukit Jelutong. I had emptied both my bottles in addition to the two teh tarik I had with my roti canai. I went straight into the 7-11. Firstly because it is air-conditioned, and secondly to buy a 1.5 liter bottle of 100 Plus. I had never drunk a liter and a half of anything in one go before. There is a first time for everything.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Bukit Jelutong, Guthrie Corridor Expressway, Hot, Kampung Sri Kundang, Roti canai, Teh Tarik, Van's Urban Bicycle Co. Bookmark the permalink.

Ronde van Vlaanderen 2012

Posted on February 27, 2013 by alchemyrider

The 2013 Spring Classics season is almost upon us. If the current weather conditions in northern Europe are anything to go by, the March races in Belgium may include the snow, sleet, rain and howling winds that, together with the legendary pavé, give Gent – Wevelgem, the Ronde van Vlaanderen (RvV) and Paris – Roubaix their harsh reputations.

So I was thankful that there was no snow or sleet in the lead up to the 2012 RvV cyclosportive. I tried to be better organised than I was for the 2011 edition (click here for that story.) I looked on-line for group tours to the RvV. I found one put together by the Gruppo Sportivo Gazzetta. They were coming from the UK to ride the RvV. They had block booked accommodation at the family-run Horenbecca Hotel in Horebeke. Which was within riding distance to the start in Oudenaarde. Most importantly there was room for up to six Not Possibles if we quickly confirmed our participation.

There were lots of Coffee Club conversations about riding the RvV, but no quick decisions. By the time Richard and I finally decided we would do it, Gazzetta had already confirmed their numbers with the hotel. Theresa, my Gazzetta contact, gave me the telephone number of the hotel. I still had laughter ringing in my ears from my late attempt to book RvV accommodation the year before. As expected, Luc Wachtelaer, the owner of the Horenbecca, told me that all his rooms were booked. What I didn’t expect was to be offered space in the almost finished spa that he was adding to the hotel. “As long as you don’t mind not having any windows” Luc said.

We met the eight Gazzetta members who made the trip across the Channel for dinner at the Horenbecca on Thursday evening. Luc is an excellent chef. We knew from the first bite of our evening meal that we would dine at the hotel as often as we could.

Luc, his wife and his mother kept the food and drink coming late into the night. Which meant that it was a slow start for some on Friday morning. After a top-notch breakfast we headed out for what Theresa had described as a warm-up ride. Richard and I interpreted “warm-up ride” to mean a jaunt of perhaps 30km at a fairly gentle pace. The reality was a little different. We covered about 90km, including two climbs up the Kapelmuur. “Just for fun,” as that famed climb was not part of the 2012 RvV route.

I was grateful that those two climbs were split by an excellent pasta lunch and a couple of coffees in Geraardsbergen.

Photo courtesy of Cycling Tips at http://www.cyclingtips.com.au/2012/04/a-ride-through-flanders/

We rode over a few cobbled stretches, including one bumpy descent before lunch where I lost the bolt that joins my non-drive side seat stay and chain stay. I must say that I was very impressed with the strength of the aptly named Columbus Muscle carbon rear triangle.

Despite one seat stay and chain stay no longer being connected the rear triangle didn’t snap and collapse. The only clue that something was amiss was the smell of hot rubber from my rear tire rubbing against the non-drive side chain stay. There was a bit of a wobble but that was masked by the bouncing around on the cobbles.

That could have marked the demise of my weekend. So I was doubly grateful for the help Neil provided. He hoisted my frame, sans wheels and water bottles, onto his shoulder and rode to the nearest bike shop to look for a replacement bolt. Forty five minutes later he was back with my repaired frame. What a star!

Neil on the left

Richard and I woke up on Saturday a bit worse for wear from the previous day’s exertions. Nothing that a good breakfast couldn’t fix though. We had opted for the 87km route. Our new Gazzetta friends were all doing the 138km route. So the only part of the ride that we shared was the 10km to the start in Oudenaarde.

It doesn’t look it from this photo but 15,345 riders from 32 countries rode the 2012 RvV. Granted not everyone started in Oudenaarde. 3,000 hardy souls rode the full 244km course that started in Bruges.

Richard is an avowed BMC fan. The morning started out well for him!

It was a fairly cold morning, though thankfully without rain, sleet or snow. So Richard and I were bundled up as we left Oudenaarde.

It wasn’t long before we were warming up.

A ride profile like this is guaranteed to generate some heat, but it never warmed up enough for us to take our jackets off.

The 87km route had more than enough climbing in it. Despite the pretty views . . .

. . . some of the climbs were tough, . . .

so we made sure we followed the correct arrows!

There were lots of these on the course.

Some research revealed that they were for Dries Devenyns (3 S = Drie S). Dries is from the village of Kluisbergen, which is all of 13kms from the race finish in Oudenaarde.

We also saw this gentleman pushing his draisine along. He may be Czech, but he is a true Flandrien. He put the rest of us, including the penny-farthing rider, to shame.

Richard and I rolled into the finish seven hours after we started.

Despite having eaten at every rest stop we were starving. We passed on the offerings at the finish . . .

. . . and rode into Oudenaarde, past the marching band . . .

. . . to where else in Belgium but . . .

for a heaping portion of double-fried frites. We were thusly fortified to make it up the final climb to the hotel. A ride to Horebeke in one of these would have been appreciated though.

The next morning we all kept an ear out for the thump-thump of helicopters. The RvV race route would twice bring the riders near the Horenbecca Hotel. The approaching helicopters signaled the imminent arrival of the breakaway group, the chasing peloton and everything that accompanied it.

This was a great finish to a memorable weekend. Hopefully I can repeat the experience one of these years.

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Posted in Cycling in Belgium and tagged Geraardsbergen, Gruppo Sportivo Gazzetta, Horebeke, Horenbecca Hotel, Kapelmuur, Oudenaarde, Ronde van Vlaanderen, The Not Possibles. Bookmark the permalink.

Fraser’s Hill Revisited

Posted on February 25, 2013 by alchemyrider

Fraser’s Hill was a favorite holiday destination when I was growing up. Sometimes my family and my cousins’ family would occupy an entire stone and wood-framed bungalow. We would spend the days going on walks, or when we were older, trying to play golf. Evenings were spent first scoffing dinner prepared by the bungalow cook, and then playing board games or just lounging in front of the stone fireplace.

Louis James Fraser is one of a number of Scotsmen who have places in Malaysia named after them. Cameron, Dickson and Darvel are others. Fraser operated a tin mine high in the Titiwangsa Range in the 1890s. He disappeared some twenty five years later. A search party sent by the Bishop of Singapore found no trace of Fraser. What the Bishop did find was the the perfect place for a hill station. In the years of empire the British were fond of recreating a slice of home in highland areas where they could retreat from the heat of the lowlands.

Hence the mock Tudor-styled bungalows, and the cooks who could make the best Yorkshire pudding east of the River Tees. My last visit to Fraser’s Hill, or Bukit Fraser as it is now properly known, was at least ten years ago. I have fond memories of Fraser’s Hill. I have less fond memories of the road to get there. A winding, nausea-inducing stretch of tarmac that gets even narrower and twistier over the final 8km to the top. A section of road that some say was created by a snake being chased uphill by a mongoose being chased by a monkey being chased by a tiger being chased by an elephant.

Chon, Mark, Marvin, Shahfiq, Wan and I met at the Sungai Buloh R&R on the North-South Highway at 5am. We were either very keen or certifiably mad! By 5.45am we were in Kuala Kubu Bahru. Just in time for breakfast at the 24 hour Restoran Fazlina Maju.

The meeting point was at the mini stadium in Kuala Kubu Bharu. The ride was organised by Dave Ern. Dave is very well known for organising cycling events. The Fraser’s Hill ride was Stage 1 of the King of 9 Mountains series that Dave is organising. Check out Dave Ern’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/dave.ern to see what other events he has and is organising for cyclists.

Dave does a great job. He posted riding rules on his Facebook page. As riders arrived at the start point he handed out a list of the names and mobile numbers for the lead riders, the mid-ride and rear sweepers, and the support car drivers. He gave us a rousing pre-ride briefing, and we all had excellent support from his crew of volunteers.

Photo courtesy of Ann Daim

Then we were on our way. Our first photo stop was at the Sungai Selangor dam lookout point. Dave Ern was already there, briefing the riders that had chosen to start their ride at the lake.

We made regular stops along the 32km from Kuala Kubu Bharu to the Gap. It is a pretty ride with lots of photo opportunities. And we needed regular breaks from the non-stop climbing!

We even had spectators.

The Gap used to be the point where the two-way road became a one-way road for the final 8km to Fraser’s Hill. Traffic went up on even hours and came down on odd hours. The drive took about twenty minutes so you weren’t allowed through the gate later than 40 minutes past the hour. If you missed the gate time at the Gap you waited at the Gap Resthouse. In the days when the drive from Kuala Lumpur to the Gap took the better part of three hours, a fresh orange (that’s what the kids got anyway) on the veranda at the Gap Resthouse was a treat.

Sadly the Gap Resthouse is no more. It was closed for renovations and never reopened.

A second road from Fraser’s Hill to the Gap was built in 2001. So today the old road from the Gap up to Fraser’s Hill is open all the time to traffic heading up. The new road is the one-way route down.

That last 8km includes 400 meters / 1,300 feet of climbing. Suffice to say were all pleased to get to the top.

A friend asked me if Fraser’s Hill was as I remembered it. My answer was “yes and no.” The police station is the same. It will probably stand unchanged for the next hundred years.

Scott’s Pub and Restaurant used to be known as the Tavern. I remember it for its dart board and billiard table. And of course for its food and drink.

The golf club across the road from Scott’s has expanded greatly. You don’t have much of a view of the course from Scott’s anymore. This is the course to the right of the clubhouse.

What used to be the Merlin Hotel is now the Shahzan Inn.

This photo is courtesy of TripAdvisor

The few bungalows that we saw looked to be in good shape. This is Glen, which overlooks the golf course.

Here is our “We made it!” shot.

We didn’t take a tour of Fraser’s Hill. It was all we could do to ride up one last slope from the clock tower to get to the the food court (also new) next to the old roller skating rink for lunch.

It started to drizzle just as we finished lunch so we bolted for the road downhill. We didn’t get caught in the rain but the road was very wet in places. There are no descent photos. I was too busy having some high-speed fun.

There is now talk of a ride to Cameron Highlands. Another place named after a wandering Scotsman. And 600 meters / 2,000 feet higher than Fraser’s Hill. Hmmmmm.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Dave Ern, Fraser's Hill, Gap Resthouse, Glen Bungalow, Kuala Kubu Bharu, Scott's Pub and Restaurant, Tavern. Bookmark the permalink.

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Fraser’s Hill Revisited

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