Question (face to face question):
How does it feel like riding into Kuala Lumpur (KL)?
Answer:
I have driven, rode a motorbike, flew on a plane, and rode on a train to KL, but riding a bicycle in is one heck of an experience, at least to me anyway. It was a great achievement, but I doubt that I would be attempting this again soon, especially via Route No.53.
* to the Singaporean riders who are adventurous, take the train to Seremban, cycle around Seremban town for a day, stay a night and then give Route No.1 from Seremban to Semenyih and back to Seremban a try. It's a good 30-40km return trip ride that's well worth the S$18.00 (Singaporean Dollar) train fare.
Day 07, Port Dickson - Seremban - Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur (128km)
Accumulated distance travelled: 559km
Like on Wednesday (12 Oct 2011) night, I didn't get a good nights sleep again. I put up for the night at the PD Motel, located some 6km outside of Port Dickson town. Rushing through the process of checking in, got the agreed price, and thinking that nothing couldn't go wrong dealing with a lady wearing a head scarf, so I didn't take a look at the room, I rushed back down to my unattended bike and brought everything up to the room. Chucking everything in the room, I headed out to get down to some work, when I was done I headed back to my room to get some rest, and it was then that I realized that I was given a room without any window. 5 mins spent in the room and I was soaking in sweat. Not being able to take it, I went to request to change to a room with a window. The lady wouldn't allow me to change, it was either stay in the current room or pay for another room. She even got a big burly guy to come tell me this.
I replied the big guy courteously with a smile, "no thank you" to another room, and told him that this motel will definitely get some recommendations. PD Motel is not the place for anyone to stay.
My day began at 0500hrs (5am Malaysian time), with the usual routine of checking and packing things, having coffee, and checking my route map again. I had a decision of either taking Route No.5 North into KL or Route No.53 which heads inland to Seremban town, then proceed on Route No.1 riding through the towns of Mantin, Beranang, Semenyih, and Kajang into Mount Kiara, KL. Having been on Route No.5 for the last 2 days it was kinda getting dull. The advantage of these B routes like Route No.5 would be less punishing and shorter. I decided on the latter route, marked it on my map and set off, it was a to be tougher and longer of the 2 routes into KL.
At 0705hrs (7.05am Malaysian time) after taking the obligatory photograph I left the crappy rip off PD Motel behind and headed back towards Port Dickson town to connect onto Route No.53, which was a 30km ride into Seremban. The route was relatively easy, winding and gradually climbs. It was relatively traffic free heading into Seremban, however a traffic jam was building up in the direction heading into Port Dickson.
Leaving Port Dickson
Approximately 20km shy of Seremban I experienced the longest traffic jam that I have ever seen in my entire life. It stretched all the way back to the Lukut - Sepang junction at Port Dickson where I had breakfast at 0800hrs (8am Malaysian time) some one hour ago. It was at this point that I crossed the district border of Port Dickson into Seremban and also where the climb began. It was a tough one indeed, the road seemed flat but I was peddling my guts out but was hardly moving. A quick stop to check the brakes on my bike (the brakes frequently gave me problems) discovered that all was good. Back on the bike I used all my strength to push my legs, but all I could get out of it was a mere 5-8kmh. I thought that this was it, "am I hitting the wall"?
The tail-end of the jam into Port Dickson
I kept pushing on despite it being very difficult, and I soon realized that it was the start of a minor climb. Every turn and every corner felt exactly the same as the last one, that's the thing with cycling, you feel every bit of the turn and climb, and that feeling stays with you for some time even when it was all over. The road ahead looked straight and flat, but it was not flat, I was actually climbing, but I only noticed that I was climbing when I hit the descending parts. The road really was deceiving.
The going in Seremban wasn't easy either, it was a hilly town. I got into Seremban at 1000hrs (10am Malaysian time), made good time. Stopped at the train station for an early lunch and watched the trains going by. Watching the trains was soothing. The RM2 (Ringgit Malaysia) ticket price made me consider sticking my bike on the train and take a relaxing train ride into KL. It was a nice thought, just having a thought like that made me feel better, and ready to do battle with the tough Route No.1 from Seremban into KL.
Seremban train station
After chatting with a local business man and the police (I try to keep the police informed of my riding schedule) I departed Seremban at 1100hrs (11am Malaysian time). The steep climbs that these route was known for hit almost immediately, approximately 3km out of Seremban on the road to Mantin. After battling for about 15mins I turned back to the my starting point at the Petronas petrol station. There I removed my compression top to lighten myself, loaded up on a banana, apple and more juice, 20mins later I made another attempt. The hills in Malaysia was alot tougher than Mount Faber in Singapore, after climbing the 3rd hill along the Mantin-Semenyih stretch, I told myself that if there was another hill I was gonna throw in the towel, head back to Seremban to spend a night there. I stopped at a safe side of the road, loaded up on more juice and banana, took a 10min break. Just when I thought it was safe to move and make the turn back, the downhill side revealed itself to me. I was smiling from ear to ear. But, with every downhill there would come 2 more up hills. This was the lesson I learnt from the past few days of riding in Malaysia. Although I was smiling it was also dreadful to see the downhill portion, this would mean another climb or 2 was ahead. On one of the downhill rides, it was so exhilarating that I didn't want to stop peddling till I reached Mantin.
My break after leaving Seremban
At noon, I made it to Mantin, with just a quick stop to top up on bananas at a fruit stall I proceeded to Beranang. This stretch of raod made me feel like I was already cycling in Bali, strange. The road here was still hilly, I pushed myself a little harder to get wind to cool myself down. Arriving Beranang I had conquered Negeri Sembilan state and I have crossed into Selangor state. No, stop in this small town that seem to be doing well, I continued riding until I reached Semenyih, were a much welcomed rain greeted meet. I made a quick stop to get my rain gear on and a quick chat with a local teacher for 5min to check directions and distance to Kajang, the next town.
At around 1500hrs (3pm Malaysian time) I made it safely to Kajang. I rode slowly around town to search for a place to grab some late lunch. I managed to find a "warung" operated by an Indonesian family, where I grabbed a simple and cheap lunch costing RM3 (Ringgit Malaysia) with a drink. A quick lunch and at 1530hrs (3.30pm Malaysian time) I moved off from Kajang after making a quick call to a KL buddy of mine, Safwan, to arrange a dinner meet up. As I rode off I was still trying to workout how I would get into KL and onto the suburb of Mont Kiara. I knew that Route No.1 would get me into KL via the KL suburb of Cheras, however, when working on a past project in Mont Kiara, the only way there was via a highway. I still headed off semi-confident that I would find my way there.
I did however, end up on the highway taking Route No.1, which merges into highway E27. Wanting to leave the highway I took the first exit which brought me to a Chinese village, which I believe it was somewhere in Cheras. It was a colourful and vibrant village, the hustle and bustle made me feel like I was on the set of a Chinese movie. Still cracking my head on how to get into KL and onto Mont Kiara I stopped to get directions from one of the villagers. I was informed that the best and shortest way into KL would be back on to the highway, the old road would take far too long. Without a choice I back tracked to highway E27. On the highway 500m before every exit there would be a sign that instructed trishaws, bicycles and tricycles to exit the highway. My translation of this was exit the highway and re-enter again for safety. After about 7 of exits and re-entries I saw the sign "E23 to Mont Kiara". I tell it ain't fun riding on the highway, even if it was a minor one.
Exiting E23 and a left turn I was finally at Mont Kiara. There was a huge grin on my face. I stopped at 1800hrs (6pm Malaysian time) right in front of the development that I was involved in 10 years ago to call David and Alison. It was a fantastic feeling to get into KL and Mont Kiara safely. Entering KL on a bicycle is one heck of an experience, which I doubt I would ever do again. When I was writing this report my mind was on how I would get out of Mont Kiara without using the highway. I needed to find and use the old road, the highway was just too risky to ride on.
Finally, at Mont Kiara with Alison
Wait for my next report to find out about my adventure exiting KL.
I would like to thank Alison and family, Safwan and family, and David for bringing me around and making me feel so welcome during my stay in KL. An awesome bunch of people.
Overall ride: hard, painful, hot and wet.
The 3 things that made me smile:
- Never giving up, even when the road ahead was "damn" tough.
- Seeing the "Mont Kiara Exit, 500m" sign.
- Meeting Alison, her son and her mom, followed by dinner with Safwan, June and David at Souled Out, Mont Kiara.
At Souled Out with Safwan, June & David
Alison's mum & son
Go Ra, you the man!
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