PENANG TO HATYAI (243 KM) - With Triathlon Penang Group (FINAL)

It has been a hectic week since our ultramarathon ride on Labour day and finally could find time to put ink on paper. The ride started with the triathlon group mooting the idea of doing an extra long ride after their last one 6 months ago from Penang to Hatyai via Kayu Hitam a distance of about 200 Km. The route via Padang Besar was chosen finally because their last experience via the Kayu Hitam route was quite unpleasant having to put up with narrow road and speeding traffic esp big lorries and trucks which use the main highway to get to Hatyai. They were also caught in a rain and dust and upon reaching Hatyai were all covered with soots and grimes.

12 of us started off from our meeting place at the Penang Ferry terminal and Nicholas joining us from somewhere near BORR. For all 13 of us it is the first time we are cycling 240 plus Km in a single day. I started from my hospital and I had a good time laughing when my attendants who were taking care of my bike while I parked my car asked me where I am cycling to and I replied; " Nak, kayuh ke Hatyai ??" Sort of remind me of my boss from Mumbai (Bombay in the old days), when he was studying in London in the 60's, he will be reminded by his parents to hurry because he may missed the bus leaving for London from Bombay.

We are supposed to catch the first ferry to BW and start pedalling at 630 am. I was at the rendezous spot sharp at 515 am but unfortunaetly it was raining quite heavily and guys were stranded all over the place. We finally get going with the 2nd Ferry and could only start pedalling at 7 plus. It was a cool start through Borr and heading towards Gurun where we supposed to stop for breakfast at 9 am. Our agreed speed is an average of 30 Kph.We were delighted to arrived 1/2 hour early at about 830 am

We had some Koay Teow beef soup and lots of 100 plus and refill having emptied both my water bottles and the next refill will be about 60 km away. I am delighted to meet a friend Mr Tan who was spotting our COME RIDE WITH CM  t- shirt. Had a small chat with him. He was riding with the wife as part of their morning routine.

From Gurun to somewhere near the outskirt of Alor Setar, it was quite a pleasant ride as the sun is still low. Upon arriving at our refilling station i,e Petronas Station, it is almost noon and the we are beginning to feel the heat. Ah Guan, the oldest rider among us at 60+ start a very clever way to protect himself from the tropical heat. While we are dabbing sunblock all over, he drape this "good Morning" tpwel over his head and just had a good "shower" will his helmet , jersey and everything on. Soon all of us were following suit with showering with our riding helmet on and wetting our jersey and pant to cool down.

From Alor Setar to Kangar 70 Km, we had a series of tyre punctures and spokes broken. These delayed our journey by at least on hour plus. Ah Guan had the first spoke broken and he had to ride on until almost near Kangar where our support bus catch up with us and luckily we had 2 spare rims in the bus.

The road from alor setar to Kangar was very pleasant to ride. There wide Motorcycle lane which also double up as bicycle lane and it was pretty quiet despite it being a long weekend public holiday. It is undulating with slopes of about 5 to 10* which are excellent for road riding and going downhill was a breeze. I am very happy with the group teamwork.The drafting was perfect and the leader was 'authoritative' who will not hesitate to @@#&^%?>" if we did not toe the line. We were averaging 28 to 35 kph but reaching almost 40 plus on downhill. I am glad my calf muscles are holding on despite the heat. My main worry is muscle cramps. It was a relief to see our support bus passing and the prospect of a good lunch at Kangar which we hope to reach before 1.30 pm. The afternoon sun is getting unbearable when we stopped at traffic lights and we are all douching ourselves with our water bottle.

JUst before reaching Kangar my speedometer read 170 Km. I am breaking my own record of 175 Km when I rode from Beijing to the Great Wall. From now on, it will be unfamiliar territory for my endurance but thanks to Pearl Hill I was pleasantly surprised this old engine is holding on quite well and coping with the much younger riders.

After a good lunch and a good splash ( we were all soaking well from helmet to pants) We literally bathe with the nearby tap to cool down. Temperature could have reached 38*C or even 40*C.

The last Malaysian stretch from Kangar to Padang Besar is only about 33 Km, an hour ride. We budgeted about 1 1/2 hour as there are a few steep ascent and the sceneries supposed to be quite good on this stretch but alas, I was paying more attention on the buttock in front to make sure i dont overlap his wheel. We were drafitng quite near to each other. My only view is...........TEST PILOT  for the whole journey!!! AS you can see it is quite an ascent.

Some where along this stretch when going on a steep ascent, Ah Loon's chain got stucked and he tumbled. Fortunately there was no serious injury and 5 of us hv already reached the summit while he was still at the foothill. So while the other 6 or 7 guys slogged to free his chain which eventually, they have to break  and rejoined, we had a 45 minutes nap under the shade of a huge flame of the forest!!! We had another spoke broken along this stretch. It could be the heat and the distance. We are clocking in almost 200 Km on reaching Padang Besar.

We were  supposed to just meet my old fren(patient) whom I hv called earlier and stop at Padang Besar for water refilling turned out to be an almost 45 minutes tea and snacks stop at my good friend house.Although in a hurry to get to our destination before dark, we could not turn down his hospitality. We had nice Thai mango, snacks, beehoon and of course lots and lots of 100 plus and water plus refilling.

We left Chow Yi's house at Padang Besar and cleared custom, it is almost 4 pm. We have 2 other riders joining us at Padang Besar on MTB having travelled in th bus all the way from Penang. From Padang Besar to Hatyai is about 55 Km and we are planning to stop near Sadao for our final water stop. I was imagine we would go slow from here as all 13 of us have gone beyond our furthest distance on a single day but I was wronged. As if possessed by some unfathomable Thai spirit, the leader of the pack sprint of right from the Thai custom to Sadao at about 40 Kph. The whole peloton struggled and pant to keep in pace and to make things worse this Thai stretch are very hilly and it stretches for miles at times. We could only catch our breath and rest our fatigue leg muslce to start again on another uphill. After what seems like 45 to an hour agony trying to keep up the sprint, we reached Sadao water stop. I expecte the captain to *&^^%$$ for the sprint but everyone was on endorphine high and the prospect of another 30 Km ride to destintation boosted the team's spirit

The final 30 Km was a dash to the finishing line. It is a free for all. Those stragglers and fatigue riders formed a peloton at the back and the 4 or 5 with reserved energy formed the forward speeding peloton. I was trying to keep up but upon entering the city limit it is too dangerous to ride fast and gladly we reunite to form a single peloton again and ride to town.

WE slow down to less than 30 kph and finally we reached the hotel almost 7 pm.

My tripmeter reads 243 Km and after 8 hours of cycling time, 12 hours on the road, average speed of 31kph, almost 9000 plus calories burnt, more than 20 bottles of 100 plus, 5 packets of power gel, numeorus bottles of mineral water and sumptous breakfast and lunch, we finally reached our destination.

For more photos go to http://www.pbb.com.my/comment/reply/937