Some of the best rides happen with very little planning. A chat on the 5th led quickly to an agreement to ride from Kuala Lumpur to Port Dickson on the 11th. And back again the next day. We had four others opt-in within a few days.
Brian, Kellie, Kenneth and I started before sunrise from Petaling Jaya. We rode to the Sanctuary Mall in Bandar Rimbayu, where we met Jake and Mark. There was time for coffee, Milo and roti canai before we pointed our bikes towards Port Dickson.
We took our regular route to Jenjarom, and then rode the quiet secondary roads to Tanjung Sepat.
The only animal life we saw on the way to Tanjung Sepat was of the domesticated variety.
It took us about two and a half hours to get from Rimbayu to Tanjung Sepat. Which meant it was time for food and drink. We went to Hai Yew Hin. Home of excellent rice porridge.
And pretty good fish balls too.
20km later we were waiting for the ferry across the Sepang River.
Kenneth asked where the river originates. I didn’t know the name of the river then, let alone its origin. Thanks to Google Maps I know know its name, that it originates in Sepang, and forms the border between the states of Selangor and Negri Sembilan.
It was 1:30 pm and 34ºC when we got to Port Dickson. Our first stop was for bowls of . . .
We checked in to our usual PD accommodation. The Waterfront Boutique Hotel.
After a shower, it was time for a late lunch. We got into the Double Queue Thai Cuisine restaurant just in time. The kitchen closes for a two-hour break at 3:00 pm. A lamp post outside the restaurant was a convenient place to hang my laundered kit to dry 😂.
After a post-lunch nap it was dessert time. There is a McDonald’s within walking distance of the hotel. Mark has the McDonald’s app. As luck would have it, there was an ice cream promotion that he could redeem. A soft-serve cone, an Oreo McFlurry and the choice of a strawberry or a chocolate sundae for something like RM8.00.
Mark had the McFlurry. I had the cone and the chocolate sundae.
Mark and I sat in McDonald’s until dinner time. The others joined us there, and Jake researched dinner options. Gerai Hock Kee was on the opposite side of the hotel from the McDonald’s. We walked along the waterfront and past Port Dickson Public Library to Gerai Hock Kee.
The restaurant is small and unpretentious. No flashing neon sign here. The food – thick noodles in dark soya sauce, fried mantis prawns, fried shark, oyster omelet, and green leafy veg – hit the spot.
There was beer at dinner. Which was enough for most of us. But not for two, who had couple of nightcaps at the Pattaya Pie Kitchen & Bar.
It was bedtime for the rest of us.
There used to be a bhangra pub beside the Waterfront Boutique Hotel. The loud music kept us awake for most of the night on a previous visit. The pub is gone, so we all had a good night’s sleep.
We were on the road at 6:00 am, with a breakfast stop 10km away in Lukut. Dawn broke through cloudy skies as we headed to the ferry at Sungai Pelek.
Our route back was slightly different from the one we took to get to PD.
We took a detour to Avani Sepang Gold Coast.
We also took the more direct route along Federal Route 5 from Tanjung Sepat to Morib. We stayed on Federal Route 5 through Banting before turning right onto Jalan Kampung Sri Cheeding.
Restoran Al-Arefin Bistro is our regular hangout in Rimbayu. And for many other cyclists. So much so that the restaurant recently installed a sturdy bike rack out front.
Jake and Mark ended their ride in Rimbayu. Brian, Kellie, Kenneth and I made it safely back to Petaling Jaya. Once again, lots of kilometres ridden without any punctures.
Murphy’s Law – If something can go wrong, it will – didn’t strike.
Yhprum’s Law – Everything that can work, will work – held instead.
Old Roots, New Routes 