GClub's grand event of the year is ON !

Thumbs up to CFAL 2010 ! A big thank you to all the participants, sponsors, helpers and friends ! (Click links at the bottom of this page to view more photos in facebook and other websites. Will check if there will be videos...)

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15th OCTOBER, 2010, 1130 PM

This will be the last update for the event. On Wednesday andThursday night we had riding number sorting for those who deals in bulk registration esp from bicycle shops. A total of about 400 participants were sorted out. Was helping out at G hotel today and I feel that more than a thousand have collected their numbers and goodies bag. I would like to appeal to all those who have not, to come tomorrow (last day) NO COLLECTION OF NUMBER OR JERSEYS/T SHIRTS ON EVENT DAY.

For the round island rides, it will be an escorted and paced ride by the Royal Malaysian Police outriders from the starting point i.e Padang Kota until Jelutong expressway. So Please do not overtake the pacercar i.e POLICE Car in front. This is to help all the cyclists cleared the maze of traffic lights in the inner city centre of Georgetown. Once at the Jelutong Expressway, the Police car and outriders will speed off allowing all the cyclists to ride at their own speed. This should help the 2000 plus riders to spread out i.e the fast riders in front speeding off, the moderate riders in the middle and the rest at the back.

My last message to all of you -PLEASE RIDE SAFE, AFTERALL IT IS TO PROMOTE BICYCLE LANES.................

Thank you for supporting the event. See you on Sunday

Regards,

Lim Seh Guan

1th, OCTOBER, 2010 930 PM CFAL FEVER starts !

Dear Cyclists, the countdown begins. It is only 6 days to the big day. Please take note; We are only open for registration, collection of your goodies bags and riding number on 15th Friday 6 pm - 9 pm and 16th Saturday 3 pm - 9 pm. DO NOT EXPECT TO REGISTER ON THE EVENT DAY i.e 17th OCTOBER. I REPEAT DO NOT REGISTER ON EVENT DAY. You may ended riding with no riding number.

In your goodies bag you will find your jersey or t shirt, a useful note on the doS & Donts , a programme schedule for the day and a map of the round island route with marking of water stations. Do take time to go through it and plan your ride. Please wear the event jersey or t shirt on the day. If all 2500 riders were to wear the same event attire it will look FANTASTIC.

All safety precautions are being taken care off. At last count, we have 25 G club cyclists, 20 Rotarians & their spouses, 20 CIMB bank volunteers, 67 girl girls, 60-70 personnels from PDRM, 70 St John Ambulance personnel, 180 RELAS, 4 ambulances etc etc. Ultimately your safety lies in your own hand. Please be vigilant and obey all traffic rules.

Ample water stations are availabe, so please do not crowd round one water stations. There will be distance signposts telling you the distance to the next water station and the mileage you have to go to assist you to plan your ride.

The cut off point is at 1130 am, where we expect everybody to be back at Padang Kota. Those of you who cannot complete the ride due to various reasons, there will be 3 sweeper trucks staggered and the last one will pass you at 11.30 am depending on where you are. Do not hesistate to board it with your bike if need to. If you refuse and wish to carry on, you will be on your own as all the RELAS, police and water stations will be withdrawn from that time onwards.

In the event that you or your mates need emergency help, there are 7 St John Radio Signal cum first aid stations scattered throughout the route. Please study the map that will be included in your goodies back.

After the event, lunch will be served at 1030am until 1230 pm. Entertainment and best of all lucky draws, a grand prize Scott bike costing 3K +++ will be offered. So please do stay back and enjoy and cool down yourself.

PLEASE RIDE SAFE.............................

This is what inside our goody bag...

3rd, OCTOBER, 2010 930 Pm

Flag off etiquette  

During flag off do not rush. There are >2000 cyclists on the Round island. Be considerate and for the first 500 metres do not overtake the  CM & VIPs and the G Club cyclists marshalls. After the clock tower the VIPs will stop for you to pass.

Overtaking another cyclist

Slower moving traffic stays to the left; faster traffic to the right.

Never overtake on the left of a group

Pass slower moving vehicle on the right; announce your intention to do so 

Announce hazards

 Most cyclists do not have a full view of the road while riding in a group

Announce pot holes and other hazards so that others can avoid them

Call out the hazard and point down to it, either left or right. 

Watch for traffic from the rear

The last rider should frequently check for overtaking cars

When overtaking other riders, make sure there is no cars at the back.

This is not a race, ensure safe overtaking on wider stretch of roads.

Watch out at intersections

Leader should announce slowing or stopping at intersections, if necessary

Do not follow others blindly through intersections without looking for

Each cyclist is responsible for checking cross traffic; if you must stop, signal

Leave room for cars

On narrow road or during climbs, leave space between every three or four riders

Motorists will utilize the shorter passing intervals to pass the group

Good relation with motorists is the responsibility of every cyclists.      

Stop off road

When stopping for mechanicals or regrouping, always move clear of the road

Always indicate you are stopping with your right hand

Always yield to traffic in the roadway and overtake only on the right    

Ride single file

It is illegal in some places to cycle two abreast.  Avoid doing this if you can

In Penang, the roads are narrow, it is better to ride in a single file

Wet conditions

During wet conditions, increase distance between riders to allow safe brake

Observe Traffic rules

 This is not a closed event. Please observe all traffic rules

No helmet no ride

  Make sure you have your helmet on when riding.

Dangerous stretch on the round island route

After Teluk Kumbar and Puspakom when you start to climb the Genting Hill  There are a stretch of construction and flyovers. 2  lane road becoming one lane and traffic controls are use to control traffic coming from either side. Please obey traffic lights and GO SLOW. The road is narrow and very slippery esp if it rains  and prone to serious accident.

The Batu Ferringhi stretch after Rasa Sayang Resort, again the road is very narrow and winding. Ride with caution and look out for buses.

28th SEPTEMBER 12 MIDNIGHT TUESDAY

We had a fruitful combined meeting with the MPPP, POLICE Department,St John Ambulance and various sponsors and we are glad to receive tremendous support from all of them.

We will be having a 50 strong brass band from the King Edward school, Taiping who will be playing for us from 615 am until 645 am before the pre ride briefing. We have requested some fancy marching songs to lift up your morning spirit and after the fun ride  flag off at 8 am, they will be shipped off to Teluk Bahang to welcome those who managed to make it back the round island ride. They will play near the Teluk BAhang dam to welcome you back at about 9 am having completed 3/4 of your round island ride.

On top of the brass band, we will also have a group of special drummers, The Deaf Beat. These are all deaf drummers who>

We have also increase our RELA's personnels to 180 to man critical junctions. I would like to reiterate that a few crucial junctions at the Genting areas where there are a lot of construction going on where 2 lane road become a sharing 1 lane road are the most dangerous part of the round island ride. Please obey the instructions like " slow down" , sharp turn, narrow road posters etc that are going to be held by the RELAs to help the cyclists to negotiate these junctions.

We will also include in your goodie bags which you will bring back on Friday or Saturday when collecting your riding number, a lists of do's and dont's and crucial information to ensure that you are safe. There will also be an event schedule for your perusal. Please go through it carefully as if could save you the hassle of injuring yourself or to others.

16TH, SEPTEMBER, 10.00 PM THURSDAY

During our weekly meeting yesterday, we have decided to have one last press conference on the 8th October. Suntonic has confirmed sponsoring 2 water stations; at the starting point (padang Kota) and halfway round island at Sungai Rusa (Please refer map). We are trying to persuade Suntonic to provide free flow of drink i.e to allow cyclists to top up their water bottle instead of just serving in small cups. Failing this we may get more distilled water for topping up. Rotarian JOso it, either left or right.&nbsporganise this.

Along the way, cyclists esp those from outstation please look out for the RELA men who will be holding red arrow signs to guide you at crucial and confusing junctions. There are a few abrupt turn; if you miss the turn you may end up in Balik Pulau town!! (Again please refer to the map below.) We are lucky our partner in service the Rotarians of Tanjung Bungah have undertaken this very important task of deploying the RELA and ensuring safety along the route. There will also be vehicles marked "OFFICIAL"  going around the round island route to ensure that everything is in order.

We are also implementing new signages esp for the round island. As you loop around the island esp when you are climbing the Genting Hill and Balik Pulau hill, your heart will cry out, how far more ?? why so far one?? I want to give up already...... but dont for you will see a signage just like along the highway which will give you some inspiration;  "NEXT WATER STATION  xxx Km"  "xxx Km to finishing line"

AS for the holding area at Padang Kota, we hope cyclists will start to gather there by 630 am for a short prebriefing. We will flag off SHARP  at 7 am what come may. The arrangement for the flag off will be; The Chief Minister will be riding in front with the YBs and VIPs escorted by a motorised traffic Police. Immediately behind the CM will be a row of G CLUB CYCLISTS who will form a line so that the 2000 ++ adrenaline charged participants would not overan our VIPS. It is here that we hope to get your cooperation. Please allow the VIPS to lead us just for about 500 metres to the Victoria clock tower. The CM will then wave you guys off as you turn into Weld Quay and speed off. He will then ride to Komtar Walk. WE IMPLORE YOU ALL TO COOPERATE AND HOLD YOUR "HORSE" just for this 10 minutes short ride.

As for the Fun Ride, it will be mainly the ROTARY CLUB OF TANJUNG BUNGAH'S event. The 500 participants will be flagged off by the District Governor of the Rotary Club and they will be conducting most of the activities. G Club cyclists will be providing supporting roles.

In view of the high Outstation participants, some as far as Kota Kinabalu, Singapore and Thailand, we are having a "get - together". We call itstyle="font-size: small;">

9th SEPTEMBER, 10.30 PM THURSDAY   

BREAKING NEWS; Dato' Seri Stephen Yeap, Director of CIMB Bank will be flagging off the Chief Minister and the 2023 round island participants !!!

On our Tuesday combined meeting between RELA, St John Ambulance and Girl Guides representatives, The Rotary Club of Tg Bungah and the G Club have finalised the arrangement with the 3 establishments. There will be 4 ambulances positioned in strategic places i.e places that are prone to accident. There will be 70 St John personnels including paramedics, first aiders, 2 motorbike paramedics, 2 St John ambulances  and a handful of Radio Signal personnels. 7 Radio Signal Unit Stations cum first aid stations will be positioned throughout the round island route. The St John Radio Signal Team will play a very crucial role in establishing rapid response in case of emergeny in mobilising the ambulances, motorbike paramedics and also the medical personnels based at the nearest stations. A Rotarian or G Club member will also be at the base station monitoring the whole round island route with feedbacks from the 7 stations. (PLEASE REFER TO MAP BELOW)

As for the Girl Guides, we are requesting from the Girl Guide Commissioner for 60 guides to help out in distributing drinks at our 5 water stations ( 3 along the round island route, 1 at Quayside and 1 at padang kota) and also helping out at the event site. (PLEASE REFER TO MAP BELOW)

As for the RELA, their representative has pledged to provide 160 personnels. They will be distributed throughout the round island route and the fun ride route at crucial dangerous junctions and accident prone area. (PLEASE BEAR IN MIND YOU HAVE TO OBEY ALL TRAFFIC RULES INCLUDING TRAFFIC LIGHT) They have proved very useful last year in maintaining safe riding.

There will be a FELLOWSHIP NIGHT on the 16th October for all cylclists to meet up esp since we have a lot of outstation people. It will be free of charge with free drinks courtesy from our patron at a swanky place. Stay tune to find out more...............

4th SEPTEMBER, 10.25pm

Campaign for A Lane's Penang Round Island Ride is fully subscribed.

For those of you who miss this ride, we hope you could register early next year. Due to the overwhelming response we have to increase to 2000 from the initial planned 1500 and our final figure comes up to 2015 because even though the online registration was programmed to stop at 2000,however the credit card processing centre kept accepting the payment until we prompted them. The remaining 28 + 15 = 43 places were snapped up within 10 minutes. Rest assure we have studied the safety aspect and are quite certain that the round island event can be safely conducted with 2000 cyclists. With this high figure we hope to convince the authority esp now that the CM  is coming to ride with us and we shall all "demand" for  bicycle lanes on the morning of 17th of October and get our message across to the authorities.

The bicycle signposts which were erected last year from Gurney drive to Teluk Bahang (to and fro) shall be continued this year from Teluk Bahang to Pulau Betong near the mosque (to and fro) and eventually we hope to have these bicycle signposted around the island. This is merely the 1st phase and of course the 2nd and final phase of having actual physical bicycle lanes either dedicated or otherwise will be the final objective. All the doomsayers and pessimists will say no way it can be done. Well, never try you never know. My favourite quote from Lao Tze; " A journey of a thousand li starts with a single step"

The G Club is extremely happy that the bicycle power is now flexing its muscle and hopefully with the more active Penang based clubs such as KOTRT, PCLA, LAKSAMANA cycling club etc, we could achieve more for the safety of the cyclists and institue better understanding of road sharing concept among motorists

2nd SEPTEMBER, 2 00 PM

Following yesterday's meeting, the total number of registration currently stands at about 1970 and there are only about 30 places left for the round island which we will open for registration on 3rd September, at 10 am. Pls note that registration for these limited slots are only available online. The final total for the round island will stand at 2000 and the system will then lock out.

Giant Bicycle Representative Vivian was also at our meeting and she has agreed to provide more goodies for lucky draws and also participating in this event in a GIANT way. 2500 recycleable bags to put your stuff when you come collect your Jerseys/ t shirts will be provided by Giant bicycle and they will also be sponsoring a GIANT starting balloon arch which cost about Rm 25, 000 to make on the day.

In view of the high number of out of state cyclists and also request for certificates esp Maraza who lamented that he had joined many round island event since 20 yrs ago but has yet to have a certificate and he will frame it and hang it in his office, we have decided to give out finisher certificates and our in house designer Eng Cheong has already got one which will be unique to Penang Round Island Ride. Stay tune to view the certificate template once it is ready.

There will be 3 water stations for the round island cyclists i.e at Batu Maung stretch, Sg Rusa before commencing the climb and finally Batu Ferringhi in front of Golden SAnd Resort. Of course at the base i.e Esplanade there will be free flow of Suntonic isotonic drinks to quench your thirst.

We have also finalised the Grand Prize. It will be a SCOTT bike worth at least 3000 ringgit.

8th AUGUST, 6 00pm

Following our latest meeting, it was decided that the Round Island participants be reviewed to 2000 due to the overhelming response. As the number stands at 1860 now, it will eventually reached a max of 2000 considering a number of complimentaries rides issued to sponsors and a stack of registration forms to be tabulated. Our Club Captain Ronnie Tan has issued a temporary stoppage to all registration online or otherwise pending a final count in our next meeting on the 1st of September. For those who still want to register please stay tune. We guess the grand total now stands at 1930. For the remanining 70 places, registration maybe reopen but only online. Our webmaster, Daniel Shee and Eng Cheong will set the maximum number at 2000 after which the registration's link will be automatically stopped.

We have to increase our safety measures including getting more RELA s to help out in the event and revising the logistic at our next meeting. SAFETY IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE. ALL RIDErS MUST OBSERVE TRAFFIC RULES as this is not a closed ride meaning you will be riding along normal Sunday traffic albeit less but still dangerous if you do not respect traffic laws. Please refer below for tips on traffics.

In view of the large number, we would also like to stress that punctuality will be observed. Please collect your T shirt, Jerseys, riding numbers at the stipulated place and time and report to your appropriate stations at the appointed time.

The tagline NO HELMET NO RIDE is practise in this event.

11th AUGUST, 1130 PM

Following today's meeting, we will be engaging the Radio Signal Unit to monitor radio communication throughout the event route. Radio operators  (ham radios) will be situated along the route esp the round island route to monitor the situation. In case of any mishap needing emergency attention, they will contact base station at Esplanade (a tent will be provided for them) who in turn will direct the attention of the necessary department esp the St John's Ambulance and their mobile team.

Other good news are; UNO nutrional products have agreed to sponsors 10 ACTIVE ONE nutrional drinks for lucky draws and KTM superbike will be giving away 10 t- shirts as lucky draw and Golden Sand Resorts will be giving room vouchers.

The registration for the round island ride has also reached our maximum number (almost 1300) and we have also decided to stop registrations at bicycle shops pending further notice from today. However the 20 Km fun rides are still availabe for registration. We will need to review our numbers, financial and most importantly the SAFETY aspect as to ensure that the cyclists are comfortable and have an enjoyable time without compromising on qualities.

2th AUGUST, 2010, 2 pm

Following our 10th August meeting, we have received official letter from the CM office confirming that the Chief Minister will come to ride with us for the Round Island! He will arrive at 645 am and ride along with the Round Island 80 Km category at 7.00 am. Well.............he would love to cycle with us the whole 80 Km but unfortunately he has a plane to catch at 815 am. Hence, he will ride will us from the Esplanade (Padang Kota) to Weld Quay which is about a kilometre away and wave us off from there. Well if this is not good enough surprise and good news, this maybe. We have almost managed to get a sponsor for CM's bike on that day and rest assure it will be fit for a CM to ride and this bike will be the GRAND PRIZE for the event. So IF you won the lucky draw you may have a CM BIKE. We may persuade him to autograph the bike.

We are also please to announce that besides Golden Sand Resort who has taken the initiative to write to us to sponsor a water station, others like UNO nutrition and Blackmores nutritional products will also be fullfiling their Community Service Responsibility by sponsoring their products. KTM superbike has also expressed their interest to put up their tent and bring in a few superbikes for us to drool over!!!

Stay tune for further update next week......................

5thAugust, 2010, 9 00pm

Following our 3rd August meeting, we have confirmed that we will be deploying professional videographers from Lee Video (3 video cameras) and a batallions of photographers headed by Charmain Ang who will document every if possible every cyclists in their most dramatic "Lance Amstrong" pose. So do not try to take your own photos while riding.

For the Fun Ride, update on the Straits Quay@Seri Tanjung Pinang water station, we will not only have drinks but also finger food for the participants and this water station will be solely run by E&O staffs. We are indeed grateful for their participation and hopefully they will continue to sponsor this water station in future.

As for the Round Island Ride, we are happy to announce that Golden Sand Resorts will be extending their participation by sponsoring a water station. We do hope they will include in some nutritious food preferably fruits for our cyclists. The Rotary Club of Tg Bungah is managing the water station portfolio as well as the coordination of the safety aspect of the ride in particular the deployment of our 160 RELA personnels. They will be putting up another water station for the round island at Sg Rusa near Balik PUlau. The G Club will try to supply some Balik Pulau bananas fresh from the orchards on that day.

28 July, 2010,  9 00 pm

Following our weekly combined G club and the Rotary club meeting yesterday a few updates are available. Below is our deluxe bento lunch box for the event.

This sumptous lunch is costing us Rm10 per pack (ordered in excess of 1500 sets to get the cost down) and I doubt if you could buy it at this price from any shop outside. Again this is heavily subsidized courtesy from CIMB FOUNDATION. We have 10 sets for food tasting and all of us agreed that it taste a lot better than our last year menu. I for one particularly like the sweet & sour lemon sea bass fish fillet although some of our committee members preferred the braised mince chicken kapitan with potato.

We have also managed to secure lucky draw prizes, 2 verbally confirmed ;  
1) DAHON FOLDABLE BIKE  2) POLYGON BIKE. We are in the midst of negotiating for a super grand lucky draw. This will be announced once it is confirmed.

Stay tune for further updates on this.............................

22nd July 2010, Thursday, 9.20 pm

Following our latest conjoint meeting with the Rotary Club of Tanjong Bungah and the G Club Penang Cyclists, we have agreed to source for the same Bento lunch supplier as of last year. The lunch will be provided to all participants and it will be as delicious as last years'. We have also confirmed our jersey supplier for a round island riders and hopefully more participants will find this jersey classier. The cost of the jersey and the bento lunch has already exceeded the registration fee of RM 50. We have to thanks our Main sponsor the CIMB FOUNDATION for its generosity in subsiding this event in the spirit of promoting cycling and promoting cycling lane in Penang. For our water stations we have one confirmed sponsors at the Straits Quay @ Seri Tanjung Pinang. For the round island, we hope to have 2 water stations at Sg Rusa and Teluk Bahang. We have budget for bananas besides the usual drinks at the water stations.

14 July, 2010, Wednesday, 5.30pm

Still remember one of the major cycling event in 2009, themed “Campaign For A Lane: Ride with the Chief Minister”?  The event was oversubscribed and we were pleased that it progressed successfully. Thanks to our Chief Minister, sponsors and all participants for their supports and contributions.  

This year on the 17th. October, 2010, GClub's now-annual cycling event themed "Campaign For A Lane - 2nd Edition (2010)" is finally here !

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