Tag Archives: Kuala Lumpur

Stuck Indoors

Posted on June 28, 2013 by alchemyrider

Peat lands, forests and palm oil plantations are burning in Riau province, Sumatra. At this time of the year westerly monsoon winds blow from Indonesia across the Strait of Malacca to Malaysia.

Malaysia uses the Air Pollution Index (API) to measure air quality. The amount of sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter in the air is used to calculate the API. A value above 100 is unhealthy. A value above 200 is very unhealthy. A value above 300 is hazardous. People are advised to stay indoors when the API is above 300.

In the past week the API hit 750 in Muar, Johor. The highest API in Malaysia in sixteen years. Readings in Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam nudged 200.

This was Kuala Lumpur a few days ago.

Photo courtesy of Lai Seng Sin at AP Photo

The air quality in Kuala Lumpur is not great at the best of times. For some years now there have been too many poorly-maintained diesel engined buses and lorries spewing black smoke, and too many poorly maintained two-stroke engined motorcycles spewing white smoke.

When my biker chick and I moved to Den Haag in 2010 we immediately noticed the clearer air there. I was later told that the air quality in the Netherlands is amongst the worst in the European Union. The Dutch may emit excessive amounts of nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide, but it certainly looks like they have less particulate matter floating about.

I dug up some photographs I took while riding in the Den Haag area to remind me of what clear air and blue sky look like.

The API this evening for Shah Alam is much improved compared to what it has been recently.

API courtesy of apps.evozi.com

Tomorrow we ride!

OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2013

Posted on January 21, 2013 by alchemyrider

My alarm went off this morning at 4.15am. It was time to get ready for the OCBC Cycle Malaysia ride. Malaysia’s only mass participation cycling event on closed, public roads in Kuala Lumpur.

Our start time was 6.15am. That would give us time to complete four loops before the city streets were once again opened to motorcycles, cars, lorries and buses at 8.30am.

By 5.00am my Racun Cycling Gang buddies were arriving at the entrance to my apartment building. The ride started in front of the Petronas Twin Towers. The building I live in is 500 meters from the Twin Towers. So I had access to some of the most coveted parking space in the KLCC area.

At 5.30am we were gathered in front of Restoran Pelita, about two-thirds of the way to the start. That was where we met those of our group who had parked further away and had ridden to the KLCC.

Time for some last-minute adjustments before we rolled to the start.

This ride was billed as one of the largest of its kind in Malaysia. It certainly seemed that way as we waited amongst about 5,000 other riders at the start.

There were riders from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and from further afield. Being amongst so many riders was a bike-spotter’s dream. The “splash the cash” award went to the rider on the bike right beside us at the start. I had never seen a Specialized S-Works McLaren Venge in the wild before.

The only difference between the bike in the photo above and the one we saw this morning was that the Zipp 404s had been swapped out for a Mad Fiber carbon wheelset.

Photo courtesy of Cycling Malaysia Magazine

Photo courtesy of Procycling at procyclingwarehouse.com

So it was with the heady sight of a RM 54,000 / US 18,000 bicycle disappearing into the darkness ahead of me that I started the ride.

Photo courtesy of Cycling Malaysia Magazine

I soon forgot all about the Venge as what was supposed to be a fun ride exploded around me.

For some reason the organisers had given each of us a timing chip. Perhaps that was the reason for so many people blasting along the fairly narrow start chute at maximum speed. Sadly a number of riders came to grief a few minutes later along Jalan Raja Chulan when they hit a pot hole at speed in the pre-dawn darkness. From the pieces scattered along the edge of the road I think at least two riders are in the market for new carbon front wheels. A few others required medical attention after going down hard.

Mark L picked up a double puncture along the same stretch of road. Fortunately we had a spare inner tube each so he was able to fix both flats. The upside, if you could call it that, of having a double puncture is that by the time we got rolling again the sun was up, and the high-speed riders were all ahead of us.

The rest of the ride was a lot of fun. A few meandering cyclists notwithstanding. After the drama of the flat tires there was a short climb into the Lake Gardens followed by a u-turn back down the hill. We rode past the Bank Negara Malaysia (Central Banks of Malaysia) building and through a wooded and quieter part of the city. The second half of the loop took us back past the office blocks, shop houses, hotels and apartments of the city center. It was a treat to ride on streets that are usually clogged with traffic.

Photo courtesy of Yuri Wong.

When I was sixteen I cycled to school along some of these same streets. So I really appreciated the opportunity to ride through a city center that has changed dramatically since then.

The morning ended in the best way possible. I made it safely to the finish in front of the Twin Towers, where I got my participant medal.

Photo courtesy of Irene Cho

Then it was back to Restoran Pelita with the Racun gang, where we traded ride stories between mouthfuls of roti canai, nasi lemak and teh tarik.

3 Comments

Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged KLCC, Kuala Lumpur, Mad Fiber, McLaren Venge, Nasi Lemak, OCBC Cycle Malaysia, Pelita, Petronas Twin Towers, Racun Cycling Gang, Roti canai, Teh Tarik, Zipp. Bookmark the permalink.

Shall We Climb?

Posted on January 7, 2013 by alchemyrider

Wind comes with the territory, so to speak, in the Netherlands. So often the key decision for the Not Possibles is whether to start a ride with the wind or against it. Hills come with the territory in Kuala Lumpur. The choice to be made here is to ride a route with some climbing, or to ride a route with a lot of climbing. The choice on recent weekends has been to climb a lot. 1,319 meters / 4,300 feet the Sunday before Christmas. 1,069 meters / 3,500 feet the Saturday before New Year’s.

So it was nice to climb ‘only’ 684 meters / 2,240 feet last weekend. The Racun Cycling Gang met at Pekan Batu 18 at the usual unearthly hour of 6.45am. Well, some of us were there at 6.45am. This is Malaysia after all. Our peleton of folding bikes, mountain bikes and road bikes started into the mist along Jalan Sungai Lui at about 7.15am.

11km later we got to the T-junction with Jalan Sungai Lalang and Jalan Hulu Langat – Kuala Klawang. Every other time we have turned right toward Tasik Semenyih. There is some climbing along the way to the Sungai Tekala Recreation Park, but nothing like the climbing awaiting those who turn left.

On this day our only option was to turn left. The road to Tasik Semenyih was still closed following a landslide that took a section of the road into the reservoir. Here we are at the T-junction, waiting for the folding bikes to catch up to us. Mark is helpfully pointing out the “Road Closed” sign.

Photo courtesy, I think, of Shahfiq Abdul Manap

We regrouped, girded our loins, and started the 9km climb to the summit of Genting Peres. I had struggled to the summit from the opposite direction during the Broga 116 ride in November 2012. This time the climb was almost pleasant. It was much cooler, and I didn’t have cramping quadriceps.

A third of the way up the climb we turned a corner to a spectacular view of the mist-shrouded valley below. That view alone made the climb worthwhile.

The summit of Genting Peres is on the border between the states of Selangor and Negri Sembilan. We waited at the border marker for the rest of the foldies to arrive.

As always the payoff for all the climbing, the view notwithstanding, is the “look ma, no brakes” descent. Well, perhaps not quite “no brakes.” It is a twisty road, the surface is a bit sketchy in one or two spots and there are cars and motorbikes to watch out for. Nevertheless I surprised one driver by overtaking at 60kph.

The mist had burned off by the time we got back to the T-juntion. We had blue skies and a crescent moon overhead (I promise the moon is visible in the photo) as we rode back to Pekan Batu 18.

Photo courtesy of Mark Lim

From Pekan Batu 18 some of us rode on to the Sungai Congkak Recreational Forest. The others drove there. We all went there for this . . .

Photo courtesy of Shahfiq Abdul Manap

Nasi lemak, curry puffs and teh tarik of course. At the stall beside the river. Note that the unopened packets of nasi lemak were not for me!

All that was left to do after a beautiful ride and yummy food was to roll back down the hill and gently pedal the short distance back to Pekan Batu 18.

Photo courtesy of Mark Lim

And of course to take a nap once I got home.

No Chip Seal Here

Posted on December 19, 2012 by alchemyrider

I bought my first bike in Houston. My early solo rides were on the few bike trails along the Columbia Tap to Trail and Brays Bayou. Then I met the Six Thirty group. The majority of our group riding was done on city streets. In most cases there were no bike lanes. Where there were bike lanes you tended to stay out of them. I remember Washington Avenue having a bike lane in name only. What had been designated as a bike lane was badly rutted filled and with debris. So we took our chances toward the center of the lane.

We also rode on the farm-to-market roads outside Houston. There was less traffic on them, which was a plus. They tended to be chip sealed, which was a minus. Chip seal has a layer of aggregate embedded in the bitumen or asphalt. On that surface we were were modern-day Rough Riders.

The Dutch cyclist has the good fortune to have 29,000 km of bike paths. The Dutch cyclist is truly blessed to have 29,000 km of bike paths that are almost without exception well-maintained. The majority of the paths are asphalt. Those are generally the smoothest. Some paths are made of concrete slabs or pavers. Those sometimes have cracks and bumps in them. Then come the brick bike paths, which run the range from smooth to bumpy.

Bike paths in towns and cities are usually red. This differentiates the bike paths from the road where bicycles and motor traffic share the same road-space. This one is asphalt.

In the center of towns and villages the surface is occasionally brick. Ideally the bricks form a smooth surface. Sometimes though you are in for a rough ride.

Concrete pavers often appear around the edges of towns. This a section of the new bike path on the beach south of Kijkduin. The dashed center line indicates that this is a two-way path. The surface is good enough for the Not Possibles to hit 45 kph / 28 mph or more when the wind is right.

Outside towns the paths are almost always asphalt. Usually smooth and fast, although this section of the LF 1 near Monster is due for resurfacing.

This smooth asphalt path is in Midden Delfland.

Where the paths follow roads the two are usually separated. Like this one in Noordwijk.

Now that I am in Kuala Lumpur I am back to riding on city streets and sharing the roads with other traffic. Riding in Kuala Lumpur is a lot like riding in Houston. Except there is no chip seal here.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia, Cycling in Texas, Cycling in the Netherlands and tagged Bike Path, Chip Seal, Houston, Kuala Lumpur. Bookmark the permalink.

Mark’s Nasi Lemak Ride

Posted on November 26, 2012 by alchemyrider

The West End Bicycles Six Thirty group in Houston has Ted’s Taco Ride. Mark’s Nasi Lemak Ride could become the equivalent for the Racun Cycling Gang in Kuala Lumpur. Roti canai and teh tarik have made frequent appearances in my posts. This is the first time I have mentioned nasi lemak. Nasi lemak is another quintessential Malaysian dish. Best described by a good friend of mine, Azlan Zahari Zahid, who writes a blog titled The Nasi Lemak Journal. Click on the link to his blog to read his description of this very popular dish.

Mark Lim suggested that we add a ride to the Sungai Congkak Recreational Forest to the end of our round trip from Kampung Batu 18 to the Sungai Tekala Recreational Park. More specifically, to the nasi lemak at Sungai Congkak. Mark, Chon and I set off at 7.15am for Sungai Tekala. Two hours later we were back at Kampung Batu 18 and ready for the main event of the day. After a final 75 meters / 250 feet of climbing we pulled up to an unassuming stall on the bank of a small river.

This is what we came for.

Individual packets of nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaf. The traditional way of serving this dish. Here’s what was inside each packet.

A little mound of coconut and pandan flavored rice topped with a sambal made from chillies, onion and dried anchovies, a slice of cucumber and a bit of omelette. Simple and delicious. We demolished two packets each in next to no time. Which turned out to be the last of that batch of nasi lemak. When Marvin and his friend, whom we had met up with toward the end of our ride, arrived a short while later they had a thirty minute wait for the next batch to finish cooking.

The stall was relatively cool, nestled as it was at the edge of the jungle and next to a small river. The water made a pleasant roar as it tumbled over the rocks.

We sat with our teh tariks and enjoyed each other’s company and the calm surroundings. My sense of well-being due no doubt to the two helpings of nasi lemak that I had just devoured. As I gazed around the stall I noticed a framed newspaper article on the wall titled “Me and My BMI. Nasi Lemak and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance.”

It turns out that this particular nasi lemak stall is well-known. The proprietor Haji Ramli Maon and his wife Rosnah Zakaria have been serving one of Malaysia’s favorite breakfast meals to cyclists and non-cyclists alike for more than fifteen years. A stream of whom had turned up on bikes and in cars as we sat there.

Marvin and his friend got their nasi lemak, piping hot and fragrant, fresh out of the pot. They agreed it was worth the wait. Mark, Chon and I had a third packet each. We couldn’t resist. Especially when a packet costs only RM 1 / USD 0.33. My somewwhat excessive breakfast of three packets of nasi lemak and two teh tariks cost the princely sum of RM 6 / USD 2. I paid the equivalent of fifty nasi lemaks to the guy who came by selling bottles of jungle honey. If he is to be believed that honey is a miracle cure for most any ailment. Mark has already tried some of his. He confirms his thumbs up rating for the honey.

Chon (left) and Mark, jungle honey and teh tariks.

I give the whole morning a thumbs up. I don’t think this will be the last Mark’s Nasi Lemak Ride.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Houston, Kuala Lumpur, Nasi Lemak, Racun Cycling Gang, Six Thirty, Sungai Congkak, Sungai Tekala, Ted's Taco Ride, Teh Tarik. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Into 6 ft²

Posted on November 25, 2012 by alchemyrider

My biker chick and I had just a few requirements while shortlisting apartments in Kuala Lumpur. Easy access to the Light Rail Transit system so we can avoid the traffic jams. A guest room for all our friends who have promised to visit us. A study for work and online shopping. And space for two bicycles, a workbench, a work stand, and shelves to hold helmets, lights, gloves, spare tubes, and the rest of my cycling paraphernalia.

I was spoiled in Den Haag. We had a basement utility room that easily doubled as a store room and bicycle workshop. It quickly became apparent that I would not have the luxury of that much space in Kuala Lumpur. Unless I took over one of the bedrooms. Which might have meant living on my own.

The apartments in Kuala Lumpur on our shortlist all had maid’s rooms that could become bicycle rooms. They all had small maid’s rooms that could become small bicycle rooms. I have 6 square feet at my disposal. Once I got my workbench and shelves into the maid’s room I was left with 4 square feet. That isn’t enough space to have both bikes and myself in the room at the same time. So for a while I would wheel one bike outside when I wanted to work at the bench. Biker chick suggested that I rack one bike above the other, and also suggested what to use to do that. Smart girl.

We once had an IKEA Stolmen system in our bedroom. She suggested using two posts and some hooks to hang one bike above the other. That is a great solution because the posts telescope to fit a range of ceiling heights, and the hooks can be mounted anywhere on the posts. Another big advantage is the posts do not need to be bolted to the floor and the ceiling so installation is very easy. The hardest part of the installation turned out to be sliding pieces of old inner tube onto the hooks. 700 x 23c inner tubes are a very tight fit on Stolmen hooks. Dishwashing liquid and some elbow grease did the trick.

Now I have one bike in a stand against the wall, and another suspended above it on non-scratching hooks. It isn’t the cheapest solution but it is quite elegant. And portable, in case our next move is to somewhere with a similarly small bike space.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Apartment, IKEA, Kuala Lumpur, Stolmen. Bookmark the permalink.

Your Country Very Hot

Posted on November 12, 2012 by alchemyrider

My biker chick ZAZ and I have moved a number of times from our tropical home to more temperate climes. Each time we struggled initially with the cold but we did get used to it. Almost without noticing our increasing tolerance for low temperatures. Until we got home again.

We have a catchphrase that we use with each other a lot in the first few months back home. “Your country very hot.” I shouldn’t be surprised that we have to reacclimatize to the heat and humidity. It does take a few months before I don’t feel the need to take four or five showers a day.

Yesterday’s ride confirmed that I am not yet used to being back in a hot and humid country. I was invited to ride the Broga 116. I had expected to be part of a group ride. What I hadn’t expected was that I would be part of a highly organized group ride. A group ride with two SAG support vehicles, three water stops, photographers along the route, lunch at the finish, a t-shirt, and in a first for me at any organized ride, a route ‘tulip‘ sticker for my top tube.

All put together by a cycling club, without commercial sponsorship, for anyone who was willing to pay RM 30 / USD 10 to participate. At least fifty of us stumped up the cash and were ready to roll from the car park at the Sungai Tekala Recreation area at 7.30 am.

I had three 25 ounce bottles of Nuun-treated water, a layer of sunscreen on every bit of exposed skin, and a cap under my helmet to soak up sweat. In other words I was unprepared for the heat and humidity.

On previous rides I had noticed that my average pulse rate was 10 to 15 bpm higher than it had been in the Netherlands. I knew that was because of the higher ambient temperature in Kuala Lumpur. It was about 28C / 82F with a relative humidity over 80% at the start. It would get considerably warmer as the sun rose in the sky. That fact should have been my first warning that I would have a tough day.

Graph courtesy of The National Weather Service at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/heat/index.shtml

The second warning came 35 km into the ride, in the form of the first climb of the day. The Bukit Mandom 1 climb is only 1 km but it has grades of up to 10.2%. By the time I had crested that climb sweat was dripping onto my top tube and I was already into my second bottle. The descent at 60 kph plus cooled me off a little but that was scant respite. After 1 km the road tipped upward again as Bukit Mandom 2 presented itself. By the time I completed the 1.8 km to the crest of that hill I knew for certain that it would just get tougher as the ride progressed.

As indeed it did. Bukit Tangga (literally Stairway Hill) was bigger and badder than the previous two hills. I started cramping in both quadriceps on the lower slopes and had to stop 3 km into the climb to stretch. If nothing else that gave me the opportunity to take this photo of my fellow cyclists grinding up the hill.

The spasms from heat cramps in my quadriceps were my constant and faithful companion for the rest of the ride. Whenever the grade kicked up above 6% I had to slow down to below 10 kph. I found that if I rode in my inner ring / largest cog combination (why oh why didn’t I have my compact crank?) and maintained a very slow cadence I could continue to pedal without completely cramping up. The observant among you, dear readers, will have noticed from the route tulip that the planners had saved the biggest climb of the day for the end. 13 km long and a total of 470 meters upwards. I have never been so glad to to see the back side of a hill.

Nevertheless I took several positives from this ride. The organisation was excellent. Which was a very good thing. The water stops saved me from becoming severely dehydrated. I had 75 ounces / 2.2 liters of fluid in my bottles at the start of the ride, which turned out to be woefully insufficient. I picked up at least another 2 liters of water at the stops, along with, pardon the pun, a bunch of bananas.

The views, when I wasn’t staring fixedly at my front wheel so that I wouldn’t have to look up at the never-ending slope ahead of me, were lush and verdant.

I learned that Aesop knew what he was talking about. My slow and steady 6 to 8 kph up Genting Peres meant that I caught and passed a number of other riders who had started the climb at speed but then had to stop for a breather before the top. And I finished the ride on my bike and not in a SAG support vehicle. Not that I am competitive or anything!

Our sea freight had been delivered so I was able to do the ride in my Not Possibles jersey.

Best of all I made new friends, courtesy of Syihan Nik, who invited me to do the Broga 116. By the way I still haven’t decided if I should thank him or thump him. Here are Syihan and I early in the day, looking and feeling considerably better than we did at the end. As you will soon see.

I finished the 114 km soaked in sweat but my cooling mechanism hadn’t coped very well with the conditions.

Despite cold showers and iced drinks my core temperature stayed elevated for the rest of the day. So there is no doubt about it ZAZ. Your country very hot.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Broga, Heat, Humidity, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nuun, The Not Possibles. Bookmark the permalink.

“The Hills Are Alive . . .” *

Posted on November 3, 2012 by alchemyrider

When I found out that I was moving back to Kuala Lumpur, Farid was one of the first people I contacted about riding. He and I were colleagues at Hess Corporation. At the time he rode motorbikes. I assume he still has his motorbike. These days he also hits the roads on his red and white Colnago Ace.

This morning was the first opportunity we had to ride together. Farid rides with the Cyclistis. A group afflicted with the love of cycling. Early starts are essential if you want to avoid the midday heat. I was in the car at 6.45am for the twenty eight kilometers to the meeting point. Adzuan, Asyraf, Farid, Syihan and I met around the corner from the police station at Pekan Batu 18, a village at the 18th mile on the Hulu Langat road.

Kuala Lumpur sits in a basin and is surrounded by hills. My compact crankset will get a lot of use here. Our route took us steadily upward from the start. We turned onto Jalan Sungai Lui and rode through rolling countryside for the first 10 kms. The approach to Kampung Gemi marked the first true climb of the day. 60 meters / 200 ft in 1.4 km.

The payoff was the 2.5 km descent to Tasik Semenyih. This is a man-made lake. It is one of the reservoirs that provides fresh water to Kuala Lumpur and other towns and cities in the Klang Valley. The dam holding back the lake is visible in the distance.

We rode through more rolling terrain along the western shore of the lake. In the Netherlands you have to be alert for ducks, geese and rabbits crossing the bike paths. Here we have to watch out for a different animal.

In the Netherlands all the water is horizontal; in canals and lakes. The heavy rain we have had here over the past couple of weeks is feeding lots of these alongside the roads.

At the far end of the lake we hit a 500 meter stretch that dropped at better than 6.5°. No problem with ‘riding’ my age there. The problem came just a few minutes later when we turned around to retrace our route. Going up that 500 meter stretch wasn’t as much fun.

I took a short detour at the 30 km point. They guys had told me about a steep climb up Jalan Sungai Tekali. I thought I would take a look at it. It certainly was steep with a grade of better than 9°. A taste was all I wanted so I stopped after 500 meters and waited for a car to go past before turning around. I forgot that I was in a very small gear. As I turned my bike I pushed down hard on my pedal and my front wheel lifted off the ground. In a dejà vu moment, considering the topic of my last post, I tumbled to the ground. In typical roadie fashion I first checked to see if my bike was okay. It was. I on the other hand had a bloodied elbow and a bruised hip.

I have learned a few tricks since I started riding here. One is to add a towel and a bottle of water to my riding kit bag. Essential for wiping oneself down after a hot and sweaty ride if you want to be presentable post-ride. Here are my very presentable fellow Cyclistis; Asyraf, Adzuan, Hairi (who started late on his mountain bike and caught up with us at the end of the ride) , Syihan and Farid, after the mandatory teh tarik and roti canai.

* Title courtesy of The Sound of Music.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia and tagged Cyclistis, Hess Corporation, Hulu Langat, Kuala Lumpur, Netherlands, Roti canai, Tasik Semenyih, Teh Tarik. Bookmark the permalink.

Alternative Reality

Posted on October 22, 2012 by alchemyrider

I have been driving on the Federal Highway since the 1980s. It is Malaysia’s first expressway, and it runs for 45 km from Kuala Lumpur to Klang on the west coast. During the four years before I left Kuala Lumpur for Houston I lived just off the Federal Highway in Pantai Hill Park. I drove along the Federal Highway almost daily. The Mid-Valley Megamall was a frequent destination. I took my mother for regular medical checkups at the University Malaya Medical Centre. I ate many meals at the restaurants in the Petaling Jaya Hilton. A corollary to all those car journeys on the Federal Highway was the number of hours I wasted whilst inching along in the traffic jams for which the highway has become infamous.

I didn’t think it was possible to cycle along the Federal Highway. But that is exactly what I found myself doing last Saturday morning. I had agreed to help out with a cycling safety class being run by YC and Albert K. at Van’s Urban Bicycle Co. So after a brief talk about the do’s and don’ts of riding on city streets Albert led us from the shop to the motorcycle lane running alongside the Federal Highway headed toward Kuala Lumpur.

Photo courtesy of Albert Koo

Before long we were cycling under the Kota Darul Ehsan arch, which marks the border between the state of Selangor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. From the vantage point of a bicycle saddle it certainly looks like the the biggest arch in Malaysia.

Photo courtesy of Albert Koo

Apparently the motorcycle lanes were originally intended for bicycles. We cyclists were definitely in the minority though. Riding single file was essential as we were continually being passed by motorcycles. You can see them in the distance in these photos. That motorcyclist on the right in the picture below should be on the motorcycle lane by the way. The skyscraper is the Menara Telekom.

Photo courtesy of Albert Koo

Less than ten minutes later we were at the Mid-Valley Megamall. It has often taken me at least three times that long to drive from the Menara Telekom to the Mid-Valley Megamall. Now I know there is an alternative I’m going to see if there is a place to safely park a bicycle at the mall.

We turned around at the mall and headed back on the opposite side of the Federal Highway. We took a different route from the highway back to Van’s Urban Bicycle Co. Conveniently there is a mamak restaurant below Van’s. Ravi’s Banana Leaf, which as the name suggests, uses banana leaves as plates. If you read my post about the ride from Bukit Jelutong you already know what we had at Ravi’s. Teh tarik and roti canai of course!

Photo courtesy of Albert Koo

Reverse Dragon’s Back

Posted on October 21, 2012 by alchemyrider

I was so excited to finally do my first long ride in Kuala Lumpur today that I could hardly sleep last night. So it was no hardship to be up at 5.30am for breakfast. That gave me time to drive the 27 km to Bukit Jelutong. I got to the rendezvous point at 6.50am. Mark L. arrived shortly thereafter, followed by Wan A. By 7.30am we were a Racun Cycling Gang of four roadies and three foldies, ready to get on the road. We weren’t the only ones heading out for a ride this morning. The car park quickly filled up with all sorts of vehicles that disgorged all sorts of bikes and riders.

Mark led us on what he described as a Reverse Dragon’s Back ride. Which meant tackling the six hills that make up the Dragon’s Back at the start of the ride rather than at the end. A wise choice in my book given the potential for roasting sunshine by midmorning.

As it turned out we were lucky with the sun. It was humid and fairly warm, but it stayed overcast for most of the morning. I was glad that I had sunscreen on though. I picked up some color in spite of the cloud cover.

Riding in Kuala Lumpur reminds me of riding in Houston. The Houston weather, at least in the summer, rivals Kuala Lumpur’s for heat and humidity. More to the point, riding in Kuala Lumpur requires cycling alongside all manner of motorized vehicles. Fortunately I had a gentle reintroduction to sharing the road. The Sunday traffic was relatively light. This is Mark coasting down one of the humps on the Dragon’s Back with just the occasional car for company.

Some of the major tollroads have separate motorcycle lanes. Which of course make excellent bike paths. Almost like the ones in the Netherlands. After the Dragon’s Back and a stop for a drink we rode for 30 km on the motorcycle lanes alongside the Guthrie Corridor Highway. The road surface is excellent and as it was a Sunday there were very few motorbikes out.

What is different here as compared to Houston and Den Haag is the lush and verdant foliage that covers everything beyond the shoulders of the roads. Vegetation quickly reclaims any cleared land. In just a few years secondary jungle takes hold.

The route that Mark chose was one that few other riders were on today. We had long stretches to ourselves, including one 5 km section where Mark and and I were able to cruise along at better than 40 kph. We stopped at regular intervals to regroup, including at the point where we would leave the highway. Once back together again we returned to the urban roads. From there we gently pedaled the last 2 km to where we had parked our cars. Which just coincidentally was right in front of a ‘restoran mamak.’

These are very popular restaurants run by Indian Muslims. These restaurants grew out of the roadside stall equivalent known as ‘gerai mamak.’ Some gerai and restoran mamak are open 24 hours a day. All serve a variety of food and drink, including the ubiquitous roti canai and teh tarik. Those make up the standard order at the end of a ride in Kuala Lumpur, in the same way a koffie verkeerd and an appelgebak met slagroom put the finishing touch to a ride in Den Haag.

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Posted in Cycling in Malaysia, Cycling in Texas, Cycling in the Netherlands and tagged Bukit Jelutong, Den Haag, Guthrie Corridor Highway, Houston, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Netherlands, Racun Cycling Gang, Roti canai, Teh Tarik. Bookmark the permalink.

Old Roots, New Routes

Tag Archives: Kuala Lumpur

Stuck Indoors

OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2013

Shall We Climb?

No Chip Seal Here

Mark’s Nasi Lemak Ride

2 Into 6 ft²

Your Country Very Hot

“The Hills Are Alive . . .” *

Alternative Reality

Reverse Dragon’s Back

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