Here is the day one report from Team RAB riders Heather and RA..... enjoy their story..... QH-BCM
Day 1: Sunday, 21 April 2013
KK-Beaufort - 97km
Heather:
At 6:15 Rahim gently tried to wake me but my eye lids wouldn’t stay open. A few lazy days on Pulau Pangkor spoiled my early morning habits. In my half waking state I couldn’t believe the day was finally here to begin Ride Around Borneo. Dragging my lethargic body and heavy limbs out of bed I began moving very slowly. Having taken care of most of my packing the night before I was grateful I didn’t need any mental faculties to prepare my bike.
The boys running the guest house had been up late thoroughly enjoying themselves with drinking games, so no one was around to unlock the office with our bikes. They stirred just as we brought out all our luggage. As soon as the bikes were loaded, Alex Voo arrived to accompany us part way. He took our photo at the gate and we were off.
If Kota Kinabalu sees much morning traffic it doesn’t begin until well after 7am. We headed out of town, past the airport to a market for breakfast. Nourished and caffeinated we continued on the highway. The ride was smooth and flat with many photo stops. The three of us played leap frog- one rider racing ahead to take photos of the others as they passed, then the next leader gaining some distance to do the same. When we turned to scenery shots different things caught our eyes. I went for birds, flowers, and houses. Alex was into construction and railway equipment. Ra was into landscapes shots. I was happy thinking of the variety of perspective our followers would see through our various lenses.
Heather, please do send me those lovely photos you took and going to take so that it can be shared with our followers.... QH-BCM
It was a pleasant warm morning that brought us to Papar for our first rest stop. At the roundabout, waiting for everyone to come together I got alot of friendly waves, a few gentle honks, and some flying kisses. Being Sunday the Kopitiam was run by the whole family, from Grandparents to Aunties and pre-teen girls. Not something I’m accustomed to seeing in the west. We commented on how lucky we were with the weather and loaded up to continue.
A few kilometres down the road it began to sprinkle. The intensity of rain grew and being well ahead of schedule we sought shelter. Alex chose to turn back at this point, so we wished him a safe journey knowing he would be joining us again in Tawau, or maybe greeting us on our return to KK. Rahim and I continued a bit and the rain became even stronger. I spotted a cafe and turned back to check with Ra about his preference to continue or rest and he was already pointing at the cafe. We sat through alternating waves of torrents and light rains thinking it would eventually pass. After two hours and two rounds of hot drinks we decided to carry on.
Wet clothes gave me a chill so I set out quickly to warm myself up. Ra took his time able to continue shooting with his waterproof camera, so we were separated for a short while. We rode into Beaufort together and had some rojak before finding a warm hotel with a hot shower. I promptly fell asleep while Ra jumped on facebook. Now, with a belly full of nasi goring (fried rice)I’m ready to call it a night. Hope we see more sun tomorrow!
RA:
“Do you want to start Ride Around Borneo tomorrow?” I remembered asking Heather, when I got back from the bathroom.
I didn’t sleep well the last 2 nights at Borneo Beach House, some guest were watching the television until the early hours of the morning. Besides that, the stay at Borneo Beach House was great. The boys’ hospitality was superb. We got dinner cooked for us on Friday and Saturday nights, simple but yummy meals.
We got all our stuff down by 6.50 am and was ready for the start of RAB. It was really a simple affair. Heather and I took one look at each other and inside I softly said, “Here we go teammate”. Her smiled signal that she was ready. Alex took a few shots of us at the start point and we, Team RAB rode off with me leading and Heather not far behind. About 10km out, we stop for our first coffee break. A great start! I needed coffee for all my systems to function. I did manage to walk around the market next to the coffee shop to check out the locals, bought some Malay kueh (cakes/snacks), and took some photos before heading to join Heather and Alex for coffee. I was happy.
Next stop, Papar, about 25km away. So far our ride has been good. With nice people on a Sunday morning giving us the thumbs up and friendly honking. I even witnessed how a big lorry slowed down behind Heather and waited for the other side to be clear before overtaking. A very considerate action.
Getting in to Papar wasn’t as straight forward, at least for a Sunday morning. Simon Sandi lied to us. He told us it was flat all the way! Not true, Simon! Man, the second climb was, “smack up yo!” I almost dismounted my bike to push. But all in the spirit of cycling I kept going and promised to write this small piece just for Simon Sandi. Anyway, we all made it to Papar as happy as the bird Heather and I saw high up on the tree in the middle of our first climb.
Whilst having our coffee at the corner coffee shop at Papar, we saw the dark clouds rolling in. The immediate thing on my mind was to get moving before the rain came. As anticipated the rain came just 10 km out Papar. We didn’t expect to the rain get heavier but we did encouraged Alex Voo (RAB Local Liason/Co-ordinationg Officer) to turn back. He did, leaving Heather and I to ride on, and less than 2 km away, the big angry rains came. Heather at the front turn back to me and immediately I gave her the turnaround sign (read: turn around, I saw a chicken wing shop). We got 3 boiled eggs, paid for by a fine gentleman, 4 hot drinks and a simple vegie with white rice, and spent two hours at the coffee shop. Heather managed to get the laptop out and to do some writing.
At 2.30pm, we made the decision to get going in order for us to reach Beaufort by 4pm. The rain was still falling but we have no other choice but to carry on. Riding in the rain reminds me of my younger days, so I didn’t actually mind. I rode slow and steady, and tried scanning for outstanding scenery or subjects to shoot. Heather was way ahead of me. I didn’t mind either, as we had already established where to stop, how long to wait and all the SOP of Team Riding.
I caught up with Heather at the last 12km mark before Beaufort, and handed her a packet of Papaya which I bought earlier, about 5km back.
We rode into Beaufort together and the first thing on our minds were, get soya bean drinks, with the Indian Rojak being a bonus. Found a reasonable price hotel in the little town of Beaufort. I was happy with our first day’s performance and no doubt, Ride Around Borneo will get tougher. We are going to do this one day at a time.
Well done guys.... QH-BCM
If Kota Kinabalu sees much morning traffic it doesn’t begin until well after 7am. We headed out of town, past the airport to a market for breakfast. Nourished and caffeinated we continued on the highway. The ride was smooth and flat with many photo stops. The three of us played leap frog- one rider racing ahead to take photos of the others as they passed, then the next leader gaining some distance to do the same. When we turned to scenery shots different things caught our eyes. I went for birds, flowers, and houses. Alex was into construction and railway equipment. Ra was into landscapes shots. I was happy thinking of the variety of perspective our followers would see through our various lenses.
A few kilometres down the road it began to sprinkle. The intensity of rain grew and being well ahead of schedule we sought shelter. Alex chose to turn back at this point, so we wished him a safe journey knowing he would be joining us again in Tawau, or maybe greeting us on our return to KK. Rahim and I continued a bit and the rain became even stronger. I spotted a cafe and turned back to check with Ra about his preference to continue or rest and he was already pointing at the cafe. We sat through alternating waves of torrents and light rains thinking it would eventually pass. After two hours and two rounds of hot drinks we decided to carry on.
Wet clothes gave me a chill so I set out quickly to warm myself up. Ra took his time able to continue shooting with his waterproof camera, so we were separated for a short while. We rode into Beaufort together and had some rojak before finding a warm hotel with a hot shower. I promptly fell asleep while Ra jumped on facebook. Now, with a belly full of nasi goring (fried rice)I’m ready to call it a night. Hope we see more sun tomorrow!
RA:
“Do you want to start Ride Around Borneo tomorrow?” I remembered asking Heather, when I got back from the bathroom.
I didn’t sleep well the last 2 nights at Borneo Beach House, some guest were watching the television until the early hours of the morning. Besides that, the stay at Borneo Beach House was great. The boys’ hospitality was superb. We got dinner cooked for us on Friday and Saturday nights, simple but yummy meals.
We got all our stuff down by 6.50 am and was ready for the start of RAB. It was really a simple affair. Heather and I took one look at each other and inside I softly said, “Here we go teammate”. Her smiled signal that she was ready. Alex took a few shots of us at the start point and we, Team RAB rode off with me leading and Heather not far behind. About 10km out, we stop for our first coffee break. A great start! I needed coffee for all my systems to function. I did manage to walk around the market next to the coffee shop to check out the locals, bought some Malay kueh (cakes/snacks), and took some photos before heading to join Heather and Alex for coffee. I was happy.
Next stop, Papar, about 25km away. So far our ride has been good. With nice people on a Sunday morning giving us the thumbs up and friendly honking. I even witnessed how a big lorry slowed down behind Heather and waited for the other side to be clear before overtaking. A very considerate action.
Getting in to Papar wasn’t as straight forward, at least for a Sunday morning. Simon Sandi lied to us. He told us it was flat all the way! Not true, Simon! Man, the second climb was, “smack up yo!” I almost dismounted my bike to push. But all in the spirit of cycling I kept going and promised to write this small piece just for Simon Sandi. Anyway, we all made it to Papar as happy as the bird Heather and I saw high up on the tree in the middle of our first climb.
Whilst having our coffee at the corner coffee shop at Papar, we saw the dark clouds rolling in. The immediate thing on my mind was to get moving before the rain came. As anticipated the rain came just 10 km out Papar. We didn’t expect to the rain get heavier but we did encouraged Alex Voo (RAB Local Liason/Co-ordinationg Officer) to turn back. He did, leaving Heather and I to ride on, and less than 2 km away, the big angry rains came. Heather at the front turn back to me and immediately I gave her the turnaround sign (read: turn around, I saw a chicken wing shop). We got 3 boiled eggs, paid for by a fine gentleman, 4 hot drinks and a simple vegie with white rice, and spent two hours at the coffee shop. Heather managed to get the laptop out and to do some writing.
At 2.30pm, we made the decision to get going in order for us to reach Beaufort by 4pm. The rain was still falling but we have no other choice but to carry on. Riding in the rain reminds me of my younger days, so I didn’t actually mind. I rode slow and steady, and tried scanning for outstanding scenery or subjects to shoot. Heather was way ahead of me. I didn’t mind either, as we had already established where to stop, how long to wait and all the SOP of Team Riding.
I caught up with Heather at the last 12km mark before Beaufort, and handed her a packet of Papaya which I bought earlier, about 5km back.
We rode into Beaufort together and the first thing on our minds were, get soya bean drinks, with the Indian Rojak being a bonus. Found a reasonable price hotel in the little town of Beaufort. I was happy with our first day’s performance and no doubt, Ride Around Borneo will get tougher. We are going to do this one day at a time.
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