Can't believe what I was doing on CNY eve - the Gertak Sanggul ride!

It was a hot Friday afternoon when most of my friends have “siu kang” (Hokkien for stop work) and did some final preparations for the coming New Year. Some, like me, were preparing to go out for our lovely rides. Suddenly,......

“Peter, come here please and help mom do this....”

“Peter, I need you to shift the furniture for me, can or not?”

Mom has been asking me for help to prep for tomorrow’s reunion dinner, while I was getting ready to go to town. How could I refuse my mother, an old woman? A son has got to help his mother, who is frail enough not to move heavy furniture and only two hands to cook in the kitchen. I have had an earlier appointment with Chin Aik to discuss a bike and to purchase it. Fortunately, preparations were simple and underway. Firstly, the setting up of the dinner table needed two people. I roped in the maid. Dinner utensils were placed restaurant style with two medium-sized steamboat pots fixed up to accommodate twelve adults, of which four of them were octogenarians, two septuagenarians, four where life is just about to begin for them and two in their 30s. Chairs were in the form of plastic stools to economize on space. Extension wires cords were carefully distributed to start up the steamboat pots.

Duty done, I wrapped up things and took my T-Bolt for my last ride. Traffic was heavy at 5pm with last minute shopping by many Chinese people preparing for the New Year. Out of ten cars, 9.8 will be Chinese on the roads. Anyway, there are more Chinese than other races in Penang than any other state in Malaysia and to speak for itself is unsurprising. To the envy of many motorcyclists, I whizzed in and out without difficulty in getting to the front of each junction. This is perhaps the best advantage for cyclist but still dangerous on open roads. Courier riders in New York City have proven the ultimate vehicle to move about through heavy traffic still is the MTB. What took many minutes, would only take half the time to travel from point A to B. So I was glad I went to Chin Aik with my last sing-song with my T-Bolt.

Arriving at the bike shop, Mr Ng (the taukeh, aka Chin Aik as he is more popularly known by cyclists) greeted me with a smile. His assistant was putting up red cloth over the entrance of his shop. The bright red “ang chai” with entrails running down the sides of the entrance illuminates the dull settings of the walls. I was already feeling the New Year mood.  

The cockerel crowed again and again after 5am on Saturday. It was time for me to shut my Nokia alarm and woke up to a slightly warm morning. There was no breeze to be felt and temperature stood at a surprising 29 degrees Celcius. I quickly got into a cold shower and came out. Breakfast was quick but heavy; a bowl of quick cooking oats and two slices of bread.

I was on my way to Bayan Lepas to meet Daniel and Darren opposite the Shell Station at Sungai Tiram. Proudly astriding my new Scale 40, I pedalled at my normal effort pace. Had there been a bicycle cop, I would be ‘fined’ for speeding. The Cateye showed 30kph. “Must be the bike...” I said to myself. It took me less than half hour to reach my meeting point. What an effort! Daniel and Darren came in 8 minutes later and we continued our journey to Gertak Sanggul roundabout. I had no difficulty in climbing slope along the way anymore. The Scale 40 is a very light bike and did many record times for me along the way.

“Uncle, I have decided to look at the Scale 40. Can please give me good price, ah?” I uttered in Hokkien. Probably this statement made him happy to serve me.

Two months ago I was at the shop looking at Scott bikes and they were a beauty; smooth, bright, pure (in terms of the white paint) and demure but tough. Two weeks ago, I was discussing the size and the price of the Scale 50 with Uncle, Ah Keat and some of G-Club members, asking their professional and invaluable experienced opinions. I gathered valuable information from the guys and left home to do further research on the various bikes. The Internet provided me with loads of other technical information which I had no idea off. But still I took the trouble to learn.

“What the heck is front and rear hub, H’stem, BB-set, headset, etc., etc...?” as I went thru the technical terms of a bike’s component, scratching my scalp. I have not even heard of aluminium frame which could be butted ... by a goat? Simple terms like derailleur, shifters, crankset, etc., etc, does not sound Greek to me and could digest them easily. G-club Captain spoke to me over the phone a number of times to choose carefully and do not rush to buy. I guess more haste; less speed would be THE advice by Captain. My contemplation on a Scott Scale 50 bike was imminent as my budget had provided for me. Visits to Chin Aik’s gave me a better hindsight of the bike and I proceeded to discuss with Uncle. He told me the 50 is a good bike within my budget but just to put in a little extra dough, I will have better components which could be found at the highest range of the Scale model, the 40. I took the advice with a pinch of salt. After all, Captain’s advice was still fresh in my mind, DO NOT RUSH!

I continue to do further research on the 40 and the price difference would be about a grand plus on top of my budget. A little extra dough, the Uncle said. It’s not like an extra RM400 but three times more! Was he kidding me or what???  I had further feedback from friends that it’s good to have a bike with good components now rather than to upgrade it later. I may have to spend more when I upgrade later if I were to buy the Scale 50 now. Economics come to play - cash now is worth more than cash in future. Based on this theory, I called Captain and asked him for his final advise. I made up my decision.

Smiling at me, Uncle took out the ready-to-ride Scale 40 and started explaining to me how to handle the bike. Uncle served me well that day and was very helpful. I bid a melancholic adieu to my T-Bolt of three years and advertised it for sale. Proudly owning the Scale 40, I tested the new bike for the first time and found that I was leaning too low. But I took it alright and cycled home. Kinetic power was easily transformed into inertia. With one push on the paddle, the bike surged forward. Like Romeo, I immediately fell in love with Juliet, my new Scale 40. A week earlier in the G-Club forum, Captain informed riders that there will be a ride at Gertak Sanggul on the morning eve of CNY, pushing off at 7:30am. The usual meeting place was at the roundabout where Rapid Penang interchanges. I did not hesitate to sign up the course and was looking forward to test the new bike off road.

Upon reaching the Gertak Sanggul rendezvous point, we met many “friendly” four-legged friends. They were barking and chasing each and every cyclist that passed them. I thought they were giving me escort to the roundabout but they kept coming closer to me. Showing off their teeth means they mean business as I have encroached into their territory. No, I did not cycle faster as you might think but I just went on a normal cruise mode and whistled to them. Surprisingly, they bugged out and left me alone. The other riders pedalled as fast as they could and had the protective canines chased after them. Anyway, that’s a warm-up for the cyclists before we start our climb.

“Can’t believe what I am doing here on the morning eve of Chinese New Year.” Getting self-tortured and feeling the sore sensation growing in both my quadriceps muscles as lactic acid began its process with each and every effort pedalling uphill, just as we entered the cement trail. The villages there may have thought these bunch of cyclist are either have nothing much to do or just want to enjoy while suffering pain to go up the hill. To be branded as a sado-masochist in this context, I must agree with the villagers should they think we were that!

The trail was uneven with many potholes along the way. The cement paths were spoilt due to heavy rain months ago and with constant commuting by motorbikes, the paths may have begun to chip away. Rain water gushing down worsened the tracks which had some parts of the trail being eroded. Efforts should be taken to patch up the larger holes as the narrow trail could be dangerous for us cyclists to manoeuvre. But that’s the thrill of riding off-road. As we progressed, the main bunch broke into two as the faster and more experienced cyclists went ahead. The slower ones took our time and enjoying every breath of the fresh cool atmosphere. I could feel the cool air passing through every passage of my trachea whenever I inhaled deeply.

We found ourselves regrouped at an opening. Stench filled the air when one of us rolled on a pile of poop. He had some difficulty getting it off but not to worry. As we went along, the dirt would eventually remove the poop on his tires very naturally. The group appointed Daniel to lead the trail and we were like a bunch of St Nick’s home guys leading each other, blind leading the blind. We took the wrong route as a result and was lost for a while.

“Gostan, gostan...” shouted one of the front riders. (Actually asking us to go astern.) Our actions were very immediate as we turned around and headed back to the opening because on the ground, there were many red ants which some of them had made their way up our shoes and legs. One cyclist told the group that we should be seeing the coast along the way while we rode the trail. There was a split that we missed at the durian plantation. One by one, we rode back and met up at the split junction. Without wasting much time, the faster riders took off with the slower ones trailing behind. It was an enjoyable ride during the first few minutes as the terrain was forgiving with ups and downs. Later as we traversed deeper into the jungle, the terrain was punishing and I was quickly exhausted. I found it difficult to control my new bike and always ended up at the side of the trail. A sudden knock on my 40 would mean a great heartache for me. Barely 24 hours, my new toy suffered an ‘injury’? No way! Shifting down the gears, I thought it would have been easier to negotiate the trail. I was wrong. I even had some wheelies done but at the wrong place and time. One wrong move, I could have ended downhill. So I decided at certain points, I would push my bike slowly uphill to avoid stones, boulders, big tree roots and uneven trail. Twenty minutes later I found myself stopping to take a breather. I noticed that I stopped to take more breather as I progressed further as the terrain was really testing my endurance and my mental health. Eventually, the sweeper passed by me and advised me to take it easy and go on when I am ready.

After getting lots of oxygen into my bloodstream, I continued riding and found myself riding alone in the jungle. Sifu stopped at a nearby durian plantation to locate any back-enders. I was the last and was glad and relieved to have seen Sifu and another two riders taking long breaks. I could feel the palpitations of my heart as I have not experience that since my athletics days. 200 beats per minute (bpm) was nothing during those days. At 160bpm now, I would steady myself and not to overstrain. It’s not a joke for a game of mind over matter activity then. I took my 25 year old mind to read my 43 year old body at the same wave length. I only proceeded only when my young mind changed to match my mid-aged body. The ride after that was so much better as there were no strain in my legs, arms, butts and abdominal muscles. Passing by Daniel, where he stood count on cyclists was a good sight as he had consistently given me encouragement to take it easy and enjoy the ride whenever we cycled together. I finally reached a junction with a breathtaking view of the banana plantation. We rested a while before making our descent. Three guys decided to turn around and headed back home while the rest continued on. We were reminded again on the dangers we would face should we fail to control our descending speed. There were at least five hairpins we have to negotiate - the 180 degree turns. The experts zipped down with ease as they disappeared within seconds when they turned their bikes downwards.

The fear of falling was imminent in my mind as I could still feel the excruciating pain during the “Ride With CM” fall which left my skin and flesh lacerated and abrased. I squeezed both brake pedals tightly and slowly release them. The momentum of rushing downwards was immediate as the gravity began its work. The screeching sounds from my new fore and aft disc brakes grew louder as the callipers gripped tightly against the disc plates, stopping the bike from speeding downwards. Speed was 20kph without pedalling. Top speed was only 26kph and I dared not travel faster than that. Manoeuvring the hairpins was not a challenge anymore as I took precautions and heeded Raymond, Daniel and Captain’s advices earlier. I also had lots of faith in my new two wheeler and it served me well during the downhill. It was all over in less than 10 minutes, descending from about 200m above sea level to ground base. The handling of the Scott Scale 40 was simply fantastic from start of journey from home till the end of the downhill. We regrouped at Pulau Betong coffee shop and many of us were left disappointed as there was no food to be served, only drinks. I quickly bought two buns and filled my empty tummy with hot Milo. Many were seen drinking cold isotonic beverages to replace their lost body salts. Stingray, Lazyrider and Susumu San arrived minutes later to join us in liquidizing our “dried-up” bodies.

We splited into two groups after a long 20 minute water break. Susumu San, Stingray, Lazyrider and I decided to take the easy way back; a slow and easy ride to Teluk Kumbar. The rest decided to challenge the uphill at the banana plantation, putting their mind over matter to test, again! We bid them adieu and wished them Happy New Year. So the four bikerteers coolly rode off towards Teluk Kumbar. After about one kilometre from Pondok Upeh junction, I had to take another short break after climbing up the slope, the road leading to Bukit Genting. The trail riding has taken a huge toll of my leg muscles and I was easily tired out. Susumu San, who became the sweeper stopped together with me and kept me company. The hardy sexagenarian Japanese is an inspiration of fitness to the newbies and to those who find hill climbing a chore. Lazyrider and Stingray were 50 metres ahead of us when they noticed that we have stopped.

We continued after a short break and I took lead. As I neared Bukit Genting, Stingray told me to wait up for Lazyrider. Susumu San and I halted and waited under the shade at about 10:30am. The sky was blue and clear while the sun was flexing its powers, emanating hot piercing heat through our skins as it tanned us on our exposed limbs. Stingray appeared in a few moments and told us that Lazyrider finally call it quits after feeling exhausted himself and headed towards Balik Pulau town. So, the three of us rode home easy using Sg Ara to return home. We had one last break at Sg Ara coffee shop near The Carpet (famous among MTB riders during weekends). There we met some Carpet bikers who were also having their pit stop. We rode back using Relau-Bkt Jambul complex-elevated highway-Batu Uban-Gelugor-Island Glades route. One by one, we peeled away returning to our homes. First was Stingray when he broke away to turn left to Island Glades. We bid adieu and Happy New Year greetings to him. Next was me. Susumu San greeted me farewell as I turned left into Persiaran Besi.

“Hi-ho Silver, away....”(Lone Ranger tune starts). I managed to take a glimpse of Susumu San as he began his journey home. The Lone Ranger rides home again.....

Cateye results of whole journey of posh66 –

Total distance covered: 63.10km

Total time taken: 3hrs 41 min

Total calories burned: 875.6kJ