Sunday Riders, Nov 23, 2008

We almost did not make it. After a half day of Futsal on Saturday every inch of my muscles were aching. Had Acong hinted any kind of excuse I would have said yes. But neither of us would want to commit the first move I guess. Also, maybe, it was going to be our first ride together after a long time.

As I was early, I warmed up by cycling around the housing estate. It took me awhile but I was ready when Acong came out at 0659. We immediately cruised down towards Bangi Lama and took the same route I took last week to Putrajaya. This time I was a little bit ready and we reached Taman Warisan at 0845. I thought everyone was still on their way but they were actually already cycling the boulevard. They were Abedib, Alif, Kol and Shahrin and on Kol’s direction Acong and I cycled to meet them halfway. That was it for both of us in Putrajaya. We backtracked and had a light breakfast at Taman Warisan’s eateries. During breakfast Kol and Alif shared with us the gory details of their ride the day before at the Horse trail. Hearing their description and stories I could see Acong’s face was eager to try it. I felt the same and we looked at each other agreeing silently. We had tackled the back to back three phases climb at UKM and this one is another one we want to conquer.

Around 1000 we said goodbye to one another and head for home. For both of us home me another 30km ride and we decided to take the same route I took last week as well. Meaning another assault of the mean climb at Sg Merab MKT before screaming down to Sek Teknik Sepang. This time I was prepared for it and with Acong around pushed me up a little bit.

We were home safely around 1100 and the end of another satisfying ride for me.

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The Wetland, Putrajaya, Nov 9, 2008

After just a third outing since my long layoff I was really pushing it a bit too early too far over the weekend. I cycled from home to the Putra Jaya Wetland to join my Sunday Riders buddies to cycle around the Wetland and after that to cycle back home. Getting there I rode about 20 km, 12.5KM around the Wetland and 20KM ride home. More or less it was a 50-60KM ride for me. I did this mostly alone and I nearly paid for it. At the end of the ride home my leg started to tense and I knew instantly cramp was developing on my right leg. I eased up, relaxed and drank a lot of water as I inched closer home. I was more glad than my wife when finally I reached home. She remarked ‘Sampai juga my husband home’. Of course she was skeptical that I did. Glad as I was it was still no consolation for missing Mar’s recital. She was already mopping upstairs when I asked about her. But I was saved as I was not the main reason but because she did not win anything. I straight away went up to be a father and finally the promise of High School Musical 3 consoled her.

I took off from home a bit early than before. However since the days are breaking early these days it was already bright. I was supposed to be at the Wetland around 0800 and it was 0700 when I set off. A good one hour but I was not like I was so speeding top speed to Putra Jaya was out of the question. Further more the route was a long winding and hilly one. No matter which one I pick I could not avoid these two characteristics. I picked a decent speed as I came out onto the main road via Bangi Lama towards BB Bangi. My chosen route was Bangi, Teras Jernang, Jalan Abu Bakar Baginda, Jalan Haji Yusof (Sg Merab), Jalan Aman, Jalan Ayer Hitam (Kg Bakar Baginda) and enter Putra Jaya through Gate 1. Taking Jalan P14, Lebuh Perdana Timur, Bulatan Persiaran Sultan Sallahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah and Persiaran Persekutuan. Getting to Teras Jernang was not a problem as I was used to it already but getting out of the hilly Sg Merab was a worry to me as I was not that fit to make the continuous hill run. When I got there I just gritted my teeth and screamed down first before tackling my first long climb. It was still a bit early and not many cars on the road enabled me to push harder and faster up. I was a bit relieved when I got to the top. The second downhill was really a screamer downhill. I let lose and let the momentum to carry me up the next climb. At the top at the MPI junction was the halfway point for me so I stopped to take some liquid and check on my time. It was 0726 and it was a decent time. I had half an hour to go to get to the Wetland so I continued immediately down Sg Merab road towards Kg Bakar Baginda. The climb there was equally long but the gradient was not as steep as before. I do not know about other riders but I really hate this kind of climb as its get to my nerve sometimes. One way to prevent that is for me to look down and paddle hard. Knowing time was not on my side I concentrated my sight to the line on the tarmac and just pushed hard.

Mostly the tarmac in Putra Jaya is new and proper but Section 14 and the surrounding area were still under going development. Although I could gain some speed I was weary of pot holes as the last thing I wanted was to double up on the road. I maintained a decent speed to cross the Lebuh Perdana Timur. Though I was a bit tired I felt sort of liberated when the wind broke on my faces. The sunlight getting through sort of magnify Alamanda on my left. This feeling stuck with me until I reached the Bulatan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah when I hope a smooth ride to the Wetland Boating centre. Unless you are cycling you would know that the big bulatan clockwise is actually an incline. It was not obvious that is why only cyclist, rather a tired cyclist, would notice it. I immediately felt it and lowered down the gear one notch. Knowing I was in time I relax to enjoy the environment to the maximum. Although my leg demanded a relieve the mind is so powerful to divert my attention to Botany Garden on my left. In general due to the open spaces, hard surfaces as well as limited greeneries Putra Jaya is still a hot place. The lakes and the wetland were supposed to bring equilibrium for the area but I guess the bare open spaces are still far too big.

Most of the Sunday riders were already at the Boating Centre with their bikes ready when I got there. 70% of the riders were new faces to me and I introduced myself. Abedib introduced me to Shahrin whom by the look of it a regular and experience cyclist. Nik was the last to arrive and as soon as he was settled at about 0825 we rolled off with Ahmad Taufik Jamil as lead rider. I stayed at the back, not because I was the sweeper, but I wanted to have a relax ride and to take photos at the same time. One of the main reasons why I cycled from home was that so I could enjoy the Wetland a bit more without worrying about pushing myself for a good workout. So I stayed back through most of the ride. We started on a gravel road at a slow pace, I guess, so that everyone is conditioned to the ride. We passed under our first bridge soon enough and immediately after I saw a flock of stocks in the water closed to the bank. I immediately stopped to take few shots. It turned out not too bad. I quickly joined the others after that. The group eventually broke into three groups. The leaders, second group comprises of the majority not too far behind and then followed by Alif and I at the back. The group in the middle comprises mostly by newcomers and they were pacing themselves to make sure they could catch up and maintain a decent distance with the leaders. I was riding with my eyes darting everywhere trying to find something to photograph. Because of that I lost my sense of place and found it difficult to place us within the big scheme of thing within the wetland.

I saw the rest were waiting ahead of us with a lose rock crossing on our left. Since I could see the path straight ahead I thought they were resting and stopping for a photography session. But we were ready to move on Taufik said we were crossing and we had to carry our bike across. I heard somebody said, ‘Are you serious?’ I was still busy snapping at the surrounding as I was fascinated by the manmade wetland. My friend Atak is responsible for that. When everyone crossed we were off again and at this point I heard somebody for the first time asked, ‘Jauh ke lagi?’ Obviously and indication that some of them were tired already. Consciously now I stayed at the back waiting on the last person to catch up. At that point the path was really inviting for speed. Conscious that I would be cycling another 20 KM home through a hilly terrain I resisted the temptation. I slowed down further thinking someone was still at the back and I didn’t realize that Doc Azmi was already in front. So I was left too far behind and that prompted me to kick the pedal hard. So I was speeding anyway and joined Abedib, Alif and Nik. By then we were on a smooth path already and looking across the lake I could see the Boating Centre indicating we were almost home. So I decided to go ahead and sped until we reached a barricade when the portion of the wetland being ‘renovated’. We had top get down and walk our bike across the barricade. I took tome to take a photo of the ‘kapal korek’ and a lone crane in the middle of the wetland. The barricade also meant the end of our ride around the wetland. The rest of the group was already waiting on the main road to take the shortcut back to the boating centre.

I knew I was already late for Mar’s commencement but I thought I could still at least make it to her performance so when on the road I decided to speed on the motorcycle track instead of the walkway. However at the end of the track I had to rejoin the others on the path and that instance I decided to jump over. The decision to do that was right but I made mistake in the execution because I misjudged my condition. I was a bit tired already and I pulled the handle a bit low when I jumped and the front tyre stuck on the pavement. With that the momentum threw me over the bike and I somersaulted on the ground. In one movement the momentum also carried me to stand straight away. I knew I was not hurt and my camera was ok. So I checked the bike first. Laughing at myself I picked the bike up and rode down to where we started off.

After a bit of rest and saying goodbye everyone I took the road home. While riding around the wetland I was already thinking about the easiest and fastest route home. I was actually kidding myself as there was no easy route home. But I thought, although I had to do a few climbing, the Sekolah Teknik, Jenderam route was the fastest. The first challenge was to tackle the long incline. I put the gear on low and paddled patiently up. The bonus at the top was a long downhill until almost the turn towards. Sg Merab MKT. But I felt the long downhill came to soon when I had to tackle the three continuous steep climb. I managed the first one find but the second climb was draining me until almost at the top I knew my limit that day. I got down a rest for awhile next to the futsal court near by before I walked the bike to the top. I was lucky as I was pushed up by the momentum to the top of the third climb and the rest was almost all downhill to the Sekolah Teknik Sepang. After that it was almost a flat ride for home but I was still far away from home.

The first time I felt my right muscle tightened when I was already halfway on the Jenderam Bangi road. Since it was my first experience I thought nothing of it especially when the pain was gone when I just continued to paddle. Losing a lot body fluid I decided to stop at Sg Buah’s rest area to rest for awhile. After a bottle of 100 plus and few minutes I was ready to ride all the way home. The decision to stop was correct as I was a bit fresh after that but I was still tired. I pushed home slowly admitting at that point in time I was not going to make it for Mar’s commencement. Although she was ok when I said to her that I may not be able to see her perform I still would like to be there for her.

I finally forced my way up the last climb home. Halfway I felt my tight muscle tightening and cramp materialized. I was not sure when the last time I had a cramp was but that day I just got down from the bike and walked the bike up the climb and when I was ok at the top cycle slowly home.

Busy Weekend, Oct 25-27, 2008

It was a very busy three-day weekend for me. Open houses, wedding, and whatever left of our Syawal celebration. However three things that I want to write about.

After at least five months I have decided to seriously rekindle my love for cycling. I said seriously because it was like chipsmore biscuit since the last few months. This time my health was the main factor to my conviction to be consistent. Incidentally, a group of my ex-school buddies planned an outing of slow and easy ride in Putrajya on Sunday which was good start for me. So as early as 0715 I was already at the Putrajaya boulevard waiting for the group to arrive. Yeah, I was that eager. I had all my gears ready when the only lady rider in the group arrived followed by Abedib, Saifuddin, Nadim, Dr Azmi and the rest of the gang. Half of the group was Dr Azmi’s friend and they were doctors. So we joked that we had doctors at hand if anything happen to any of us. Of course I was teased for riding a dusty Trek . After the ceremonial photo taking we set off with Saifuddin as the lead. He took us along the lake and slowly we moved towards the PICC. It was a fun enjoyable ride at first but slowly I felt I need to test my fitness level and as soon as we neared the PICC Bridge I stepped up and sped off towards the PICC. The climbing was not that hard but I knew I would be panting if it was the Bukit Mahkota climb. Still it was a good workout. As I reached the top I looked behind and only Nadim, Shaifuddin and Dr Azmi in sight. I told Nadim I had to go off first as my family will be coming that night and I need to do few things. With that I screamed down with Shaifuddin in pursuit behind me. Shaifuddin stopped at the bridge to wait for others but I sped towards the Putra mosque. I was panting half way through there and not wanting to break anything I eased a bit and maintain a decent speed. When I got to the Putra mosque I straight away put my bike inside the Ranger and waited for somebody to arrive so that I could go off. I knew they would be going for our ceremonial the tarik after the ride so I thank Abedib and those arrived after him and left the place. So next week it will be the Wetland for us. I could not wait. Maybe I’ll just cycle there.

Shaifuddin and Abedib talking bicycle

Shaifuddin and his RM20K Ducati

Nadim ready to roll

The second main event for me was that night my family was coming to visit which mean a feast was on the card. Coincidentally ‘the would be’ chef in the house was planning a do for his friends so I told him to prepare a feast for 30 people. It was one of the memorable nights for me as everyone was having a good time. The family started to arrive as early as 2000. Soon our house was buzzing with all sorts of activities as people started to eat and talk to one another. The chef assistant was super busy at the grill. My only regret for the night was I bought a token of a lamb that I thought not many people would like. How wrong I was. If I’d bought a whole lamb also would not be enough that night. The second lesson learned for the night was my own realization as to the reason why it was so difficult for me to renovate the house. I knew then that the garden was perfect for night family barbecue.

The third and the last over the weekend was the PT Majlis Makan Malam Ramah Mesra. This year the event was organized by Jln 3/1, 3/2 and 3/8 and it was at the corner of Jalan 3/8. As instructed I arrived with a full suit of baju melayu. Comparatively the number of people turned up this year was less and it was understandable due to the last weekend of Syawal and Deepavali.

On The Train, Aug 30, 2007

I rushed out of the office at 5 minutes to 1800 and I was late already as I intended to leave the office exactly at 1730. I was lucky the train arrived as I did at the station and second time lucky to get a seat. I expected the train to be packed with Malaysian going out for the Merdeka eve celebration. The same reason why I was rushing home today but not so much of the Merdeka eve but more because of the fireworks competition at Putrajaya. Tonight is the last competition night and team Japan will be lighting the sky. To top it of I had bought three tickets for good view at PICC.

The cost, the hassle and the wait more than paid for by just this one shot.

Fireworks, Aug 22, 2007

Kak Cik, Baqir and myself left for Putrajaya via Bangi Lama around 2030. I knew that there would be a lot of people there already but I was surprise I got in around PICC fairly easy and part along the road just around the first ring going up PICC. By chance it was a good spot as we had only to walk a bit down to a decent viewing area. As it was our first time we did not know what to expect and not sure whether the spot we picked was a good one to capture the fireworks. We gambled at the edge of a bank over looking an irrigation and Gemilang Bridges. I though it was a good spot as the bridge gave me a nice foreground as a frame. I setup my tripod and waited. At around 2130 teasers fireworks were fired up at the interval of five minutes. This, apart from milking the appetite of the spectators, gave photographers to adjust our shot. I got a sense that my spot was not the best and I scouted a new one. Satisfying myself I decided to remain there for the first few burst before moving to a new site.

Five minutes to 2200 all the lights around the bridge and our area were turned off signaling the coming of the actual fireworks. It came slowly like a dancer dancing lights next to the Gemilang Bridge followed by one or two bursts of a big one. After a few shot I found out I was right about the spot being not suitable and quickly asked everyone to move to the second spot that I have identified before and there we stayed for the entire 20 minutes duration of the show. Just on sentence, it was magnificent.

Walking back towards our car after the show I knew I would come back again on Aug 24, 30, 31, Sept 1 and 2. I would want to try a variety of locations

Flora Parade, Putrajaya, Jan 27, 2007

It was 15 minutes after 0700 when I parked the Ranger at the usual place where we parked whenever we were at Putrajaya Boulevard for the Merdeka Parade. The parade was scheduled to start at 0800 and by my standard we were late.As expected there weren’t many vehicles parked at the place and in fact I was expecting less crowd compared to the Merdeka Parade. Kak Cik and I walked the Boulevard towards the Palace of Justice and with a camera each we shot at will at whatever we fancied. I was searching for the shot but sadly until the end I could not get any, at least one that I really can be proud off. I guess it was not that I was losing my edge but more of getting myself familiar with my new Nikon.

I was right the parade merry people were less but decent in numbers. The other difference was there wasn’t any barrier put up by the organizer to separate us from the procession. Whatever it is Malaysian sense of timing was the order of the day yet again when the parade started way beyond 0800. The delay partly contributed by the unnecessary speeches compounded by a politician who could not give a decent speech.

As it was a Flora Parade it started with a colorful dance and we became photographers more that parade revelers. Crowd started to build up behind us while we were waiting for the parade to start. Behaving like a true Malaysia crowd most of them started to push everyone in front forward and many actually just simply squeezed themselves through inconsiderately trying to get a better view. I only managed to be patient for a while as once I could not a decent shot I became and behave like a true photographer albeit without an official photographer’s tag. I told Kak Cik to stay where she was and jumped over the crowd to join the parade to take photos. Obviously my act was not being taken lightly by the RELA personnel maintaining orders. They were doing it from different perspective I must add, not to the benefit of us watching and enjoying the parade but more just to make sure we were behind certain invisible line. I knew it was their job but adding few brains into it would make it more palatable for all. Some of us may not be professional or official photographers but we know our stuff no less and some decency and leniency from the menders would be good. At one instance, getting fed up with their continuous instruction, I just walk to the middle of the parade and started shooting. For number of times the menders faces kept coming into my view finder. Didn’t they know I could see the floats coming? I was not the stupid to be squashed by them.

Coming back to the parade I was actually a bit disappointed with it as nothing really different or spectacular about it. Just about 14 floats passing by separated by almost the same number of marching bands. In the end all was not lost for me as the flowers and colors changed my mood.

The parade ended almost on schedule and by that time the crowd got thinner as the heat and not so interesting floats got to most of them. Kak Cik and I of course patiently waited till the end. I took around 200 shots that day and still could not satisfy me.

We walked back towards the exhibition area with the crowd and as I was walking I could see a cameraman with a newsman was interviewing somebody. I did not think much of it until the newsman turned around and pointing at our direction. I was very sure he was pointing at someone behind us but I was wrong. He came straight at me introduced themselves as from TV3 and started to ask me a question. They actually wanted my comments of whether Putrajaya is a good tourist site and they wanted me to answer in a specific way. I immediately felt that they had their own agenda. I did not ask what program they were taping for but I just answered the way I want it to be answered. As I said I did not asked what program it was and until now I am still wondering.