I think from now on, before I write my journal email, I will reply a question each day. Yes, it can only be one as I need to get on with post riding chores, like unpacking and checking my bike, sorting out photos, write my journal email, and some "alone time" just to reflect on my day's riding so that I can ride better the next day.
Please bear in mind that I've had a full and hard day of riding. So, apologies in advance again, if my answers don't make sense.
Question:
What is the difference between driving or flying to your destination as compared to cycling there?
Answer:
Babes and Guys! My preferred mode of transport to any destination would of course be drive or fly, but a bicycle adventure is something that you can only do maybe once in your lifetime. Driving and flying would definitely get me to my destination faster, however, there will be alot of things that may be missed along the way. Like today for example, out of nowhere I saw many beautiful Malaysian original atap (is that what it's called) houses. I have never seen these before on my countless drive up and down the Malaysian North South Highway.I enjoyed and was able to stop at places which I felt had some history or story behind it. Although it takes me longer to get to my destination, but cycling allows me to see more things in my lifetime.
Day 03: Pontian Besar - Batu Pahat (76km):
Distance covered todate: 192km
The ride today was a tough and probably the longest 76km ride of my life. I had a good rest last night, but my mind was constantly on a certain someone faraway from me now. I felt good although a tad tired when I woke up. The morning greeted me with a massive thunderstorm at 0600hrs (6am Malaysian time), I didn't get back to sleep as I wanted to leave Pontian Besar early with the aim of getting to Muar, Johor, Malaysia today (Can someone please call me and shout at me to take my time? I am obsessed to recover the one day that I lost when I decided to leave Singapore a day later). After packing my panniers (bicycle tour bags, for those who's gonna ask me what are panniers), I checked my bike. There was a small creaking sound coming from the front pannier rack. The check revealed that there was a loose nut and a problem with my saddle height which caused me to pull the muscle of my right thigh. Tightening the loose nut solved the creaking problem, and adjusting the saddle height down a few millimeters made it comfortable.
Time check: 0800hrs (8am Malaysian time) and the rain was still pouring down. What else to do but some Yoga (Thanks June Koh) and a cat nap to rest.
Time check: 0830hrs (8.30am Malaysian time) and the rain hasn't stopped. I was ready to get on with it, so I got down to loading my bike with rain covers on all the panniers, put on my rain gear and headed off, but not before a quick coffee at the coffee shop opposite the hotel (Alif 24hr coffee shop - hey we have that in Singapore too).
Time check: 0900hrs (9am Malaysian time), the rain looked like stopping so I took the opportunity to move off. However, 7km out of Pontian Besar the thunderstorm got worse and so I had to quickly find shelter. This came from a place called "Pontian Roti" (Pontian Bread), which wasn't your everyday kind of bakery. Pontian Roti supplies breads of all kinds to hospitals and prisons in Johor. The owner Mr. Johari was very kind to give me a personal tour of his bakery.
My bakery rain shelter
What a fantastic rain shelter
Mr. Johari, owner of Pontian Roti
Time check: 10:00hrs (10am Malaysian time), I had to get going if I wanted to catch up on the lost day to make it to Muar. Rain gear on again and I was off riding into the heavy rain. The storm made my going tough, the rain was like small stones hitting my face, I thought that I would never make it to Batu Pahat. With the hard rain I took an early rest stop 10km out of Pontian at Sanglang (about 45km from Batu Pahat), at a "warung" (Malay for stall). I had a great break chatting a while with a cyclist that had also sheltered at the stall. Setting off again at 1200hrs (12noon Malaysian time) I stopped for a quick lunch at Rengit at around 1215hrs (12.15pm Malaysian time) for their well known "Nasi Ayam" (Chicken Rice). If you do get to Rengit give "Nasi Ayam Pak Ali" (Pak Ali used to work in a restaurant in Singapore many years ago) or "Nasi Ayam Rengit" a try, was a good lunch.
The other purposes of this trip through Peninsular Malaysia besides warming up and training for the Indonesian leg of Adventure Cycling for Humanity, it was also about meeting people, learning about the history of the areas and the geography. So, I try to stop as often as I can without affecting my daily targets too much, to chat and meet as many people as possible along the way. Doing this gets addictive, I'm already hooked just after 2 days of doing this. Whilst still in Rengit I got to meet Harun, a young entrepreneur, who treated me to bananas. Harun also used to work in Singapore, at the Simpang Bedok Spize Restaurant. After earning and saving up enough money, he headed back to his kampong (Malay for village) to chill, relax and take a slower pace of life by starting his own small fruits business. I left Harun's stall at 1400hrs (2pm Malaysian time), with Harun telling me to take it easy and enjoy my ride.
Harun, the fruit businessman
A point which I forgot to highlight was the superb road and traffic conditons from Pekan Nenas, Pontian right up to Rengit. The "motorcycle lane" throughout this stretch of road made me feel like a kid again, smiling and singing as I rode my bicycle on the motorcycle lane. Even, where there was no motorcycle lane, the vehicles on the road gave me enough space to ride safely. I felt that Malaysian drivers respected bicycle touring.
Back to my day, my heart suddenly skip a beat when I saw the Senggarang sign. The words of warning/advice from the fellow cyclist I met earlier in the day came back to me, "S-bends and rolling hills, just when you think you are done with them, there are more, one after another, they keep coming". Those hills that I faced in Pulai a day ago were well spaced out, I had time to catch my breathe and curse again before the next one came up. The ones at Senggarang hits you one after another without hardly letting up, you had no time to curse let alone catch a breathe. When the bends and hills were done, the last 7km before Batu Pahat almost ...... never mind. Lets just say it was along stretch of climbing, I had to tell myself that it was ok, the down hill part is coming, but NO! it was just up and up.
The big climb before Batu Pahat
Time check: 1700hrs (5pm Malaysian time), I entered Batu Pahat, Johor completely drained and knackered. It was time to call it a day and rest up for the day. The consolation was, Batu Pahat was one of the most beautiful town that I have seen in Malaysia and in particular Johor. Very well organized compared to Mersing, Desaru or Kota Tinggi in Johor. I rode around town to meet my local contact who managed to arrange accommodation for me at a budget hotel without internet connection. This is the reason that my day 03 journal is late. But if you are ever in Batu Pahat, do not miss the Briyani rice and Asam Pedas, a must try, absolutely "Sedap" (Malay for delicious).
My break at Dataran Batu Pahat... thinking of my darling
It was another great day of riding and training. The 3 things that made me smile today were:
- The moment I saw the Batu Pahat sign, I knew my training and riding today was a success.
- Cycling safely on the motorcycle lane, while vehicles gave space when there was no lane.
- Got cheers from school kids, "Selamat Berjaya" (Malay that means All The Best), whilst some cycled with me for about 4 to 5km.
The fantastic motorcycle lane
my cheer squad
GoRaGo!!
ReplyDeleteShirz come hv coffee with me...
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