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Penang Hill with Mr Lee
Went up Penang Hill this morning with Taiwanese friend Mr Lee. Phew!!! it was real tough !
This was Mr Lee 4th ride up Penang Hill and my first.
We started off 7.30am from the entrance next to Botanical garden. As we ascended I was naive not to set the gear to the lowest and minutes later I was flat out running out of breadth ! I signalled Lee to go ahead without me and at one point wanted to cop out and make a u turn home. But after a couple of minutes struggle with my gears and trying to adjust to my son's bike(a hybrid Scotts), I somehow found some extra energy to continue, albeit at a snail pace.
I reached the top, stopping 5 times including one at 84, almost 1.5 hours later and surprised Mr Lee who was half naked enjoying himself in the cool breeze of Penang Hill.
A great ride and a great lesson learned for me. Sorry I did not take any photos of my own but here are some statistics -
5.25km to the top
833 meters altitude
Average gradient 1 in 6 (it's steep !)
Tar road all the way up
Hazards? Motorbikes
This ride was not really planned. Lee and I were chatting about the fun and struggle of riding hills when we met in Pearl Hill yesterday and during our conversation Mr Lee must have said something about Penang Hill and I just said "let's try it tomorrow !" I did not even have to time to post the notice of the ride in our site.
We may do this again next Sunday, any keen takers ???
ps: What a great coincidence that our Bukit Bendera Penang Hill train is decomissioned TODAY !! Read on...
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I know there are people who could reach the top without stopping but this will remain a big challenge for me. And if anyone who could reach the top without stopping, G Club presents a certificate? But how to verify that the person did not stop?
Should we document this ride in our Trails section? This ride could be a real gem for cyclist practising for exotic rides like the Taiwan 12,000 feet peak and Chengdu to Lhasa?
Having heard Daniel and Mr Lee talk about the trail excites me and I went up for the first time from the Botanical garden end. The climb was very steep at certain parts which can hv a gradient of about 30%. Reached the top in abt 1hr 15 minutes. Stopped 4 times (twice was forced by a zooming 4 wheel drive) and pushed uphill at 2 sections which have a 30% gradient. The ride does not only test your stamina and your riding strength but it also test your balancing skill or shifitng weight skills. Noticed that with my limited experience and probably wrong positioning of my saddle, my front tyre kept lefting off the ground at the 30% grdient. Made a mental note to shift the saddles forward to the max next trip up. On reaching the top there was a nice cooling evening air to enjoy.
The ride down was scary for me but I managed to brake all the way down very slowly and noticed a few experience riders zooming past me even at the very steep part. Your weight distribution and braking skill must be very good, otherwise somersaulting with your bike on top of you for many rounds is a real posivliites.
Verdict, real tough ride but would certainly go again. Photos at