Day 4
There were two items on the itinerary for Monday. A road trip to Melaka and Leonard’s 3-in-1 party.
The road trip started with a bak kut teh breakfast at Restoran Ah Hei Bak Kut Teh.
Once on the road to Melaka, it became clear that the Jalan Alor food stalls and/or alcohol had claimed one victim.
Luckily a nap and some non-alcoholic Malta drink rejuvenated Matthias.
Pai and TH took the Germans sightseeing in Melaka.
Lunch was at Restoran Seng Kee.
I don’t think the Germans remember much about the drive back to Kuala Lumpur.
Leonard’s 3-in-1 party was at the Grand Imperial restaurant in the Bangsar Shopping Centre. 3-in-1 because 1. the Germans were here, 2. because he recently scored a hole-in-one, and 3. it was his birthday later that week.
I must say Ralf was resplendent in his lederhosen. Doing it “My Way!”
But he sometimes runs out of steam.
Leonard was a wonderful host. He does talk a lot though 💬💬💬.
Day 5
The Day 5 ride was 115km from Tanjung Malim to Simpang Pulai.
Some bikes went into Amy’s truck. The other bicycles and people went into three other vehicles.
It took about an hour to drive to Tanjung Malim. We parked beside a Shell station and got ready to roll. The entire ride would be on Federal Route 1.
It was 31ºC when we got to Sungkai. We stopped for drinks and ice-cream.
Zaryl had a more urgent reason to stop. Her saddle had come off her seat post. It was Patrik the mechanic to the rescue.
12km further up the road, we arrived at a fresh fruit stall. Iced mango tastes very good when it is 35ºC.
The heat didn’t bother Marc though.
We made another drink stop at Tapah.
We had lunch at Kampar. We were 85km into the ride.
That is when Patrik discovered his souvenirs from the Hyatt House Hotel.
Pai dressed for the heat when we left Kampar.
At 2:30 pm we were in Gopeng. The air-conditioned KFC was closed for renovations. We had drinks in the open-air Alif Cafe instead.
I had a puncture 4km from our destination 🤬.
I must admit that one flat tire among twelve cyclists riding 115km each is good going.
Happy to be at the Mornington Hotel.
After a shower some of the group went for a massage. Starting with the feet.
Then it was dinner time. The restaurant TH chose for us was hosting a wedding that night. I think the wedding party was a bit worried when our scruffy group walked in the door.
We were seated upstairs, though. Out of sight of the wedding guests.
The highlight of the meal was the steamed grouper head. Which was something out of the ordinary for our German guests.
Day 6
Our Day 5 ride had been our longest. Our Day 6 ride would have the most elevation.
We checked out of the Mornington Hotel and rode a few kilometres to breakfast at Restoran Nasi Kandar Pulai.
The road is fairly flat until the PETRONAS station about 5km from the Mornington Hotel. Then it starts to rise. Gently for 7km, and then more sharply to the border between the states of Perak and Pahang.
The road was relatively quiet, and it was cooler than it was the day before.
It wasn’t long before we were spread out along the road.
That sign reads “Heavy Vehicles Keep Left.”
Thank goodness for our support vehicles. They created a buffer between us and what little traffic was on the road.
And were on hand when there was a puncture and a floor pump was needed.
The support vehicles waited at the 43km point in case any of us wanted water, or in the case of the Germans, beer.
The Waterfall Café is 6km further up the road. We all stopped there for a rest, a drink, and some roasted peanuts.
The state border is 4km from the Waterfall Café.
It is another 30km and 800 metres of climbing from the border to Brinchang. There is some relief in the form of a 9km descent from Blue Valley to Kuala Terla.
Kampung Raja is roughly halfway down that descent. We stopped for lunch at Restoran Lai Ki in Kampung Raja. Lemon chicken, batter-fried squid, fish in oyster sauce and fried greens hit the spot.
The virgin jungle between Kampung Raja and Brinchang is gone. Vegetable farms, tea plantations, and hotels and restaurants have replaced the trees.
There were no more tree-lined roads like this for the last 20km to Strawberry Park Resort.
There are potholes and patches on the road from Kampung Raja to Brinchang. We had to be careful on the fast descents.
Everyone got to Strawberry Park Resort safely. TH’s suite was the hangout room of choice.
Patrik lit a fire.
Some serious rehydration happened in front of that fire.
Kelin drove up from Kuala Lumpur to join us for barbecued steaks, lamb and chicken accompanied by sweet potatoes, sweet corn, potato salad and green salad.
And pasta. TH demonstrated his chef chops by cooking two versions of spaghetti Frutti di Mare. With marinara sauce and with alfredo sauce.
TH also provided a soundtrack via his Bluetooth speaker. Hits from the 80’s and 90’s.
The evening ended with dessert and wine. A lot of wine.
Old Roots, New Routes 