Cycling in Asia

November 13 – 2010 – Day 1

Today was the day…the first 600km AUDAX ride of the year and the very first qualifying ride for the 2011 Paris-Brest-Paris ride.    This was the second time I would be doing this ride with the first time being in November of 2009.   This year would be a bit different however…first, there would only be six riders instead of the nine we had last time.  Second, I did not have the trusty regulars for AUDAX rides with me such as Lundy, Brian or Gareth to name a few.  None the less, we started at Longhouse Centre at 0500am on Saturday morning on a ride that would take us through a number of places in Malaysia and have us home for dinner on Sunday evening…hopefully.  Today Khina, Jean-Francois, Heng Ooi Keng, Lawrence, Daniel and I would embark on what was sure to be another epic ride.

All for one, one for all.  JF who heads up AUDAX and was the ride leader firmly stated at the beginning of the ride that we would all stick together for the whole ride.  There are a number of reasons to do this with safety being one of the key considerations.  There are also a number of reasons why a group of riders don’t stay together over the course of a 600km ride too…fatigue, tiredness, skills, etc.  Anyhow we had our marching orders and we were sticking to them.  We left Longhouse and made it to the first AUDAX Checkpoint in Malaysia.  After a few corners were turned I took a glance back to note that two riders were already gone…which again is normal, but not in the first 36km of a 600km ride!  Anyhow JF took out his mobile phone in search for these riders, dedicating a whopping 5-6 minutes of search time, before declaring:  ‘ok, we ride on without them’….this was by far the quickest abandonment of the All-for-One policy he likes to think about from time to time…36km!  Needless to say we found out that Lawrence and Heng Ooi Khiang (OK) around 5km up the road as it turns out they took a wrong turn.  I was wondering about this ride now with so much left to go and our first delays so early in the day.

We all made it together to the second checkpoint which was about 80km into the ride.  After that it was smooth sailing to our first meal stop which was lunch…roti prata in Kluang for Daniel and I, and Chinese food for the rest.

The rolling hills before Kluang.

After a hearty lunch we started off on the way to Segamat.  The sun was shining brightly and of course starting to take its toll on the riders.  I was so relieved not to be doing that boring stretch we normally do to Kota Tinggi on the 300km and 400km rides.  I did not care about the heat.  The heat was manageable until you added the strong headwinds….then I cared.

Daniel was feeling strong after lunch so Khina he and I decided to break ahead a bit and capture some extra time for dinner. 

The heat and wind had upped the need for food and water. I was drinking two full bottles per 12km at one point during the day and then went 11km with no water before finding this drink stop.  We were only 240km into this ride and I was really hurting…and starting to worry.   That hurt…I would make up for this at dinner.

Now mostly every cyclist does not eat Pizza Hut and to be honest, the last time I ate Pizza Hut was during the AUDAX 600km ride in 2009.  There are not a whole lot of choices available to riders who do not like local food so you need to take what you get.  You also tend to burn through thousands of calories on these long rides so you also need to eat a ton…maybe even more than you feel like eating.  JF is a bit of a foodie so he was adverse to eating this junk food…instead he brought his own spaghetti into the Hut and sat with the gang as we hammered back some pizza and Pepsi.  This was the final real food stop before we would hit our hotel later that evening or early Sunday morning.  We had already done 286km so far this day and now we had another 140km to go before we would have a chance for a shower and a brief sleep…in the dark night on Malaysia roads.

The dark was not going to be a problem as JF insisted that people wear reflective vests or items to ensure that drivers going 120+km /hour could see them on the small windy roads we traveled on.  Both Daniel and I refused to wear them on the fashion faux pas grounds (see picture above) and because the last thing anybody needs is an extra layer of clothes in hot Malaysia.  We did however enjoy making jokes about the other riders who did wear them calling them security guards and road workers…especially when real road workers were waving at them along the way.  ‘There’s one of ours’ they must have thought.

The evening was not without any adventure though.  after 390km, we stopped for what would be our final short break before we hit the hotel.  Short breaks really meant:  refill water battles, energy supplies, stretch sorry muscles, chat, lie on ground (JF was very good at this) and then find the courage to get back on the bike.  Well it was 11pm by now and we knew that it would be 1AM by the time we got to the hotel…earliest.  Off we pushed one-by-one, slowly but surely.  JF and Khina led the way down the modest hill to get the group going again…making just enough noise to wake up some local dogs at a farm house.  Dogs love cyclists.  Anyhow Daniel and OK slipped by without incident, and by the time I was rolling by it was imperative to put my feet on my handlebars to avoid one of the three dogs running after me from biting me.  Great I thought…at least we are going down hill so I could maybe escape unless one of these dogs knocks me over.  I was gliding down the hill, closing my eyes at times in fear of what would happen if these dogs got to me.  I felt nothing, nothing, nothing and then suddenly heard a ‘ruff, ruff, ruff’ CLUNK noise behind me…I was safe, but what happened? I took a quick glance back after a small hammering forward to see Lawrence lying in the middle of the road.  The dogs got him, he was laying in the road where some crazy driver may be coming, and it was a bit on the scary side to say the least.  We all looked in awe and I was thinking the dogs were eating poor Lawrence, who was doing this ride for the first time in his life. What would we tell his family?   After a few minutes of apathetic delay, JF charged back at a whopping 12km/hour to see how things were going with Lawrence. It seemed that the dogs were cleared and that only Lawrence in his security vest lay upon the ground with his bike blinking like a Christmas tree.  Whilst the dogs did not eat them, I am sure they tried to knock him over.  Dogs 1 – Lawrence 0.  After the coast was clear we all went back to lend our All-for-One Support for Lawrence applying first aid and offering words of encouragement.  We quickly bandaged him up, named him Dawgman, and then set out on our way knowing that we needed to get to the hotel for a few hours sleep otherwise we would be exhausted. 

The last 40km or so were pretty uneventful. We were all tired (JF was actually trying to nap along the way), and we were all charged up when we hit the T-Junction at Rompin – only 2km to the hotel.  All of us thought that this was a very long 2 km not to mention that the driveway for this hotel was another 1.5km long…I actually thought it was the same dump hotel we stayed in last time and was really starting to wonder about that because that place was a real dump!  Alas we arrived and we really wanted to check in fast.

Dinner:  Shower

Desert:  Sleep for 3 hours

The room this year was much better than last – no roaches or things that were carrying Lundy’s bread across the floor- however we did have no hot water.  We were all tired so I am sure it did not matter that much.  After a refreshing three hour sleep, we got dressed and headed down to breakfast.  Once again, you need to eat a ton of food on these rides otherwise you will be lying on the ground and unable to ride.  With the extensive choices available, Daniel mustered up a fried beans-French fry-egg sandwich to start carbo loading for the day.

The quaint rooms featured noisy air conditioners, ceiling fans that sounded like helicopters, never-ending flushing toilets, and CRT TVs all for your relaxing comfort in a musty environment.

Day 2 Begins

After a short rest and some interesting food, we set off for Day 2 of this ride.  If all goes as planned (and it rarely does), we should be home in Singapore by 5pm. That would be great so I could have dinner with my wife, one of my key goals in addition to making this long ride over the weekend. It is always good to have goals on these rides, otherwise you will likely stop, get in a taxi and go home….which tempts many.  Today should be fairly easy as we only had 200km to go….so we thought.  (flashbacks from 2009?)

JF was wearing his natural smile at the beginning of the day.  He knew the pressure was on him after the debacle from last year.  Last year we were supposed to have only 180km on the second day and when we rode 15km and saw a sign that said ‘Johor Bahru – 205km’ we wanted to kill him…well at least Brian, Lundy, and I did…and I am sure there were others.  Add another 20km into Singapore and that was and extra 60km…which is a lot when you have done 435km so far and are tired and sore.  Plus who wants a 10% bonus on a 600km ride?

Anyhow we pulled out on this day from a new hotel where JF guestimated that we had approximately 205km to the border…it was 211km so he is getting better.  Anyhow we had already done 422km during the first day and we all were still in pretty decent condition.

Of course being in decent condition is a temporary thing on these rides.  Anybody who has done AUDAX rides before knows that you can be feeling great one moment, and then feel dead almost the next.  JF, who is very particular about the food he eats, knows this better than anybody. So whilst he refuses to eat the devilish Pizza Hut or KFC, he worked hard to eat enough to keep him going for the rest of the ride.   As you can see from above, JF should have had a few slices of pizza!

This petrol station where JF was napping was actually kind of funny.  There was a huge group of young guys that came ‘roaring’ in on these small motor bikes, each looking at JF as if he were dead, and they were acting like they were a bike gang.   Daniel and I were wondering if this was the local version of Hells Angels.   It was hilarious to see them revving up the engines on these bikes to impress the pretty girls who pumped the gas.  I actually think the girls were more impressed with JF and his dead impression. 

With the exception of the super hot and windy period we had on the first day,  the weather was actually very cooperative.  It was overcast on the rolling hills out of Mersing where JF, Khina and OK dropped Daniel and I.  JF loves that.  Anyhow Daniel and I were keeping our sensible steady pace to ensure we never looked like JF did in the photo above   Dawgman was behind us in search of dogs, elephants or other animals…once again reinforcing the All-for-One policy of this ride.  The rain started to come in which was refreshing at first. 

Unfortunately refreshing took a turn for the worst and the rain became hard and pounding in a matter of minutes.  The thing with the drivers in Malaysia is that apparently they look at rain as an added challenge, rather than slowing down, they keep driving insane speeds shooting huge waves of water over tired and good cyclists like us.

We persevered.  Similar to last year, we had the same number of starters as finishers.  This is truly amazing as this ride pushes all riders to their limits and is very challenging to do both mentally and physically.  The ride ended at the other side of the Singapore border where we all went our separate ways.  I hopped in a taxi to get home at a reasonable time for dinner only to learn later that Daniel (who lives in my condo) beat me home by cycling -  huge traffic accident had my taxi ride last almost an hour.  JF’s wife picked him up at the Kranji MRT station while I waited in the taxi line for a taxi with all the drunks who just finished watching the horse races at the Singapore Turf Club.  They were cool, but they smelled like beer and I wanted a beer to celebrate our ride…and fast.  Nothing came fast that weekend.

I headed out to Cafe Iguana in Singapore with Kim and Daniel to celebrate the ride.  Similar to other long rides, I had more hope than energy and I quickly ate, had a celebratory beer, and decided it was bed time.

I was super impressed by the riders.  Four were first timers for the 600km, and this ride is hard for all, so it was great to see us all start and finish together, with a whole bunch of interesting moments in between.  Thank you all.  Looking forward to starting 2011 Paris Brest Paris with all of you.

JF, thank you for organizing another epic AUDAX ride.

Logistics Nightmare.  We knew things would be slightly off this ride as almost everything that could go wrong did…and that is even before we finished one kilometer.  It all started the day before when Lundy and I planned to meet at Brewerkz for a carb loading dinner on Friday.  I was waiting with my carbonated beverage enjoying the scenery of the river that flows near the national stadium.  Lundy was in a taxi and saying ‘5 more minutes’ for around 30 minutes and was asking me to order him a beer and anything from the menu.  We did not have a lot of time because we knew we had to get up super early on Saturday morning for the ride- the AUDAX 400km.  Needless to say I finally received a call from Lundy saying ‘are you inside or outside?’  I said let me hold up my hand outside so he could see me…..time passes…hand still up, no Lundy.  Then I realized that I hear a lot of noise in the background from the phone and I asked Lundy ‘hey what Brewerkz are you at?"  ‘Clark Quay’ he replied..well that was unfortunate because I was at Brewerkz National Stadium.  Anyhow I hopped in my car and headed over to Clark Quay (which by the way is farther from both of our respective houses in Singapore)  and we managed a nice dinner.  Saturday was not much better as Lundy was late, Simon was MIA…and even I was a bit tardy..usual AUDAX early morning.

We had nine starters from Longhouse that morning.  Three of us were doing the 400km ride and the remaining six were going to do the AUDAX 300km brevet.

The ride was pretty uneventful for the first 80km. We easily went through the border, the weather was nice and cool, and we pretty well stuck together as one group to the first gas station. AUDAX rides are always interesting because they are long and sometimes people feel good/strong/weak/tired etc.  Therefore you typically get a split of the groups based on skill and feeling that day…everybody there today was a good rider however there was one guy I was not too sure about because he had a ‘David Pan-like’ back pack, beach sandals and big fenders on a brown bike.  I am not sure actually even what his name was but I know he popped off the group a number of times.  To be nice, we waited for him after lunch so that he could start with the group…within three minutes or so he was gone and I never saw him again…to be honest I still don’t know where he is…or what his name is. 

On the way into Kluang where we have lunch I started to get some serious foot expansion similar to what I had in Tour of Friendship.  I visited the local doctor to see if he had any remedy for my enlarging dawgs but he said no and gave me a small tube of Vaseline to rub all over my toes.  I am sure he said ‘toughen up’ in Malay.  Quick Indian vegetarian lunch and off we go to Kota Tinggi – a 90km super boring and steaming hot stretch of the ride.  The groups split and I decided to stick with Lundy ‘Iron Horse’, JFT and Alan Grant who also was super strong.  The heat was unbearable and this was very difficult for JFT and I.  Finally I heard the magic words from Lundy ‘oh oh, JFT is off the back’ which helped us to slow down without bruising my ego .  We pleaded for the Lundy-train to stop for a drink after 45km where I thought I was going to drop dead.  This was by far the hottest time I have ridden in Malaysia – 39 degrees Celsius- and pushing an Alan & Lundy pace was not helping at all.  We convinced the boys to slow it down a bit for the remaining 45km to Kota Tinggi which was good because I still had over 200km to go to finish the 400km.  A quick roti pratta in Kota Tinggi and off we go to Kulai…a few nice hills to wake up the legs. New friendships were sealed in Kota Tinggi (see below) as Simon and Khina planned on attacking in Kulai together.

After crushing the hills of Kulai, we hit the border back at Singapore around the 310km mark. The border crossing was very busy as people were heading to Singapore to party it up on a Saturday night.  This was the point where all the lucky guys doing the 300km would start thinking about the good things in life like real food, cold beer, sleeping etc.   For us 400km guys we still had a long way to go.   We crossed the border and immediately Bran and Lundy started talking about food – I was always talking about food this fine day – and we tried to figure out where to go to eat some good food.   We definitely did not want more Indian food as it would have been the third time that day…Brian made my day by reminding me about Jerry’s BBQ, a delightful place along the route that has US beef, great ribs, and food that is not served out of a gel pack.  When we sat down and ordered a couple of steaks from the menu when I heard more positive news:  we did not have to ride through Kranji again like I thought we did…we had a much shorter distance to go than I thought.  I can survive…well maybe.  Lundy and Brian laughed at me for thinking Kranji was still in the cards!  I was so pleased that it was not.

At Jerry’s BBQ I liked the food and I will let Lundy’s expression tell you what he thought of the food.

After dinner we headed through Ponggol and Pasir Ris to get our final stamp at the Changi 7-11.  We grabbed a couple of coffees-in-a-can to keep us awake as it was now approaching 10:30pm – past my bedtime and it was a long day.  Coffee-in-a-can is horrible.  We shot down the East Coast pathway dodging crazy rollerbladers and horrible cyclists and walkers…I knew once we hit the base of Fort Road we were almost done and would crush the ending in typical AUDAX style.

This ride was like most other AUDAX rides…epic.  I did not feel good all day and there were two times I thought about throwing in the towel..luckily the guys pulled me through the weak spots and I managed to finish along with Brian and Dave.  I am not sure how fast we going at times because my Garmin speedometer is in the shop but I am sure we were hitting 35+km/hour on Changi Coast Road…on Dave’s wheel of course.  This was challenging after more than 360km already completed.  

Great job for the first timers doing the 300km ride and of course another great 400km by the vets Brian and Dave.    Lundy will be back of course with a nicely timed business trip to coincide with either the 600km or the 1000km ride later this year.  And of course he will ride with the Singapore contingent at the 2011  PBP!

Well this was the first AUDAX rice of 2010 and the first ever for Audrey and Kim.  This was a 200km ride into Malaysia which I thought would be fairly easy given that I had just done the 600km ride a few months ago.  Well…..I thought anyway.  It was great to have Winston, Vicki,  Bransby, Kelly, Ed, David Pan, Lundy, Matt and the whole host of regulars out for this ride.

We started the day as per usual with Dave Lundberg meeting me at my place at 5am for the spin over to Longhouse where the actual ride begins.  Dave had packed all the pockets of his jersey full of his passport, food, spare bike parts, and other items however he realized that he had forgotten his camera by the time he arrived at my place.  Knowing how important photos are to Dave, we quickly sped 5km over to his place to get his camera so he could capture some pictures of the ride. This ride was going to be a good one and you need pictures for Facebook and other similar places.

Lundy and I made it to Longhouse in time and filled out our AUDAX cards.  There were a lot of familiar faces in the gang of riders and it was destined to be a good ride.   We started pedaling at 6:15am and within minutes Jean-Francois had a broken wheel.  JFT headed home with a band of riders to change his wheel and to catch up at a later time.  The group pressed on and headed to the checkpoint at Woodlands.  They later caught up to us and in some cases passed us later in the day.

After crossing into Woodlands we all regrouped at the Shell station as per usual.  Given that the group size was so big, it was inevitable that we would split into smaller groups based on speed and other factors.  The highway section is the first part of this ride which is not popular at all.  Think about speeding down a major highway that is littered with holes and other fun items and hammering at a pace of 35-40km/hour.  Add drivers who all think they are professional car racers and trucks that are massive and under repaired and you quickly raise your heart rate due to fear!  If you fall, you most likely will die.  Anyhow we all survived the stretch of highway for around 30km before we did the crazy U turn.  This U turn is across the major crazy highway and tough to navigate.  Anyhow I successfully lead around 35 riders across the highway to do the U turn only to realize that it was not part of the route that day! OOOPS.  Note to Self:  read instructions and map as each AUDAX ride can vary.  After we crossed back the dangerous highway we got back on the real route and headed up to Highway 94.  This route took us by the scenic village of Kulai on the way to the more hilly Kulai section of this ride.  Today was special…we would do the hills twice.  No problem…this is only 200km….right?

We regrouped at the Kulai hilly section where Andrew was kindly waiting and guiding straggling riders in the right direction.  This section had just been repaved so it was great for riding.  It was also a section of road where we were not fighting with big trucks and cars for space so it was a breather from the rest of the ride.

This ride was supposed to be easy however the persistent winds and blasting hot temperatures really kicked up the difficulty. This was by far the hottest day I have ever ridden in Malaysia.

Want a popsicle?

The funniest thing happened when I was waiting at the top of the hill for Kim to finish.  I had my HD video camera so I liked to get some shots of people climbing the big hills.  While filming, this guy popped out of the jungle on his motorbike and said ‘Ice Cream’?   It was blasting hot at that time and I was thinking ‘wow, where the hell did this guy come from’.  I was also thinking ‘yes, we want some ice cream’.  Rene grabbed 3 Ringgit from his wallet and bought three awesome ice cream bars for Kim, Rene and myself.  It was the best ice cream I have had.   I have never seen an ice cream guy in Malaysia let alone in the middle of the jungle!  By this time the heat was really starting to impact people and as you can see from the video below that Kim took little time in accepting and eating that ice cream

Support is massively important on these types of rides.  No matter who you are, there are always times where you can blow up and need some moral and other support (read popsicles).  Without mentioning any names (see video), some riders needed some support to make it through the grueling 200km (well actually 210km) ride.  Thanks Rene and Gareth this troubled rider made it through!

Overall it was a great way to launch the AUDAX 2010 year. While there were many groups and routes followed, everybody made it back safely and soundly.  Even those who hated the ride given the heat and wind finally felt great as we all regrouped at Longhouse around 5:30pm.  This was yet another epic ride!  Thanks.  Congrats AUDREY and KIM on crushing this ride.

Well the 2010 AUDAX series begins this weekend. Since I have been in the USA all week I have done no real riding in preparation however I have been reading a lot about some great rides in the USA and Europe on the Internet.  I know it is not really the same however it is great to see that there are loads of great movies out there about long distance cycling. The first one I bought was called Bicycle Dreams, a story about the Race Across America.  This is a 3000 mile race that needs to be finished in less than 12 days and two hours.  Sounds easy right? Well when you see the fit people in the movie dropping out you wonder how tough or easy it really is!  It reminded me of the AUDAX 600km we did in November of 2009 and how swelling body parts really added some challenge to the ride. 

This weekend’s AUDAX should be an interesting one.  We have a number of first timers including Kim and Audrey, and the ride will likely have more than 40 people.  Vicki, Ed, Kelly, Damian and a bunch of other riders will be there so it should make for a fun weekend.  For the shorter rides like the 200km rides the numbers are bigger, and they tend to decline at a rapid rate for the longest of rides.  There are a lot of hardcore riders in Singapore however and even for the 600km ride we had nine starters and finishers.   Pretty good accomplishment.

August 20

That phrase was running through my mind over 100 times yesterday (Aug 15th) as a group of 18 of us took on the AUDAX 300km brevet.   After a while however I started to think of my own version of this quotation:

Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever, death is forever. -  Jeff Paine

Wow what a day.  As always it was great to ride with such a dedicated group of riders who were embarking on a 300+km ride into Malaysia from Singapore.  AUDAX rides are always exciting and there are always interesting things that happen on these rides.  Today was Dave Lundberg’s first venture into Malaysia and also Winston’s first 300k AUDAX ride.  David Pan was also on the roster along with a number of AUDAX regulars.

It all started at 5am at the Longhouse eating house, the usual starting spot.  After a quick ride brief and registration, we all set off on what was sure to be a fun day.  The border crossing was fairly quick and in no time we were all in Johor Bahru where the real ride begins. This ride would take us to Kluang, Kota Tinggi, Kulai and then back to Singapore.

Winston and Dave – before the ride.

Back to the pain. I thought of amending Lance’s famous quote after I had hit my boundaries numerous times along various points in the ride.   I was in complete pain all day long despite taking every conceivable form of energy possible. Clif bars, gels, Gu, peanuts coffee, prata, chips, copius amounts of 100 Plus, water, Clif Blocks, etc.  Normally these things give me the necessary strength to carry out long rides.  Today was a different story however.  My thoughts of ‘sweating out’ the remnants of my cold were quickly dissolved after around 50km.  Having done long rides before, I was carefully managing my eating and drinking very carefully to ensure that I had enough supplies to last for the entire ride.  At kilometre 220 in Kota Tinggi, we stopped for roti prata to fuel us up for the last leg of the trip through Kulai. I had my regular order of prata, and had two gels to spare for the remaining kilometres. I thought I would be ok:  one gel to get me to Kulai, one gel to get me over Kulai, then an easy coast home.   Good idea, but not the way it turned out. I ended up eating both of my remaining gels just to get me to Kulai!  Kulai is a hilly finish to many of the rides we do in Malaysia and typically a place where you need some energy to get you over the big rolling hills and the ‘3 witches’, three sharp hills.   I was dead.  At kilometre 240 I was suffering and Winston took a look at me and said ‘hey are you ok?’.  I cannot even remember what my response was but the real answer was no.   We finally made it to Kulai and I was pretty well out of food and water.  Only 10 km to go until I could replenish so I grumpily pushed on.

The Roti Prata King in Kota Tinggi

We refueled at the final stop of the day and had only 50km to go to get back to our start point. Every AUDAX ride finishes where it begins which in some cases means you end up doing more than the official amount. Today’s 300km ride was actually 338km and it is amazing how hard those kilometres can be once you cross the official amount.  Overall it was a great day. I learned a lot of things such as don’t ride when you are not feeling 100%.  Thanks Gareth, Peter, Jeff and Bryan for dragging me home to Longhouse…without you guys I am sure I would be lying in some bush on the side of the road in Johor!