RA's Journal: Medan, Indonesia - Day 1

Adventure Cycling for Humanity 2011 – Indonesia

Medan, Indonesia: Day 01

When I planned for this Adventure Cycling for Humanity 2011 – Indonesia, I spoke o a few experienced long distance adventure cyclists, I usually got a smile and a polite response, “good luck mate”. I knew what they wanted to tell me was, “it’s going to be tough, mate…” But I wasn’t expecting that it would be this tough! Just getting the visa extension was already difficult and now that I am already here, I am still working to try to get it sorted before I leave for my journey. So far, there’s still no good sign that I will get it. We will see what happens once I reach Padang. As for now, I will make do with whatever days I have left and see what will be the next step that I will make.

Since I have replied most of the questions sent over during the past weeks, I will settle the three I got recently. Ok! Please keep sending your question to fluidrider@gmail.com

* Please do not send me question with short / incomplete spelling as I don’t have the time to correct it.

Question 01: (Face2Face Question):

You mentioned about your $180.00 bike, you not kidding right?

Answer:

*laugh* Yes, I bought it for $180.00 at Cash Converter, Tampines. Any kind of bicycle is a short trip away from your home or a click in eBay. To me, there is no such thing as a good bike that suits you 100%. Try using a used or cheaper version and from there slowly note down what else you will be need. Start from ground up.

Question 02: (Facebook Question):

Hi Uncle Ra, I am planning to get a bicycle. Any recommendations?. I want (need) one that has a full suspension if possible and for those trail roads. Any decent one but not too expensive?

Answer:

You can browse www.togoparts.com. There you can find all sorts of full-suspension bikes. Try a few before committing to any of it.

Question 03: (FaceBook Question):

Since you’ve been into this cycling for a long time. May i know where I can find a full used suspense bike for FR/DH?

Answer:

Hi, I am not a free ride or downhill expert. But if you’re looking for a used FR/DH bike, your chances are higher if you go to www.togoparts.com

Before I start my journal, would like to share with you all something that happened back in July while I was visiting my cycling apparel sponsor, Keypower International (2XU), to collect my gear. I sat in a Chinese Muslim foodcourt, Bagus, and there seated next to me was an old man. Since I love chatting to the elderly to know about the old Singapore and much more, we got into chatting about what I do and what I was doing with a bike with load (I was training on that day). I told him exactly what I intended to do, going to Indonesia to visit villages and teaching kids to play the game of Ultimate Frisbee. After hearing that, he reached into his pocket and took this $2.00 note, handed it to me and said, “Please help me give this to the first kid that deserve this.

The $2.00 note

While servicing my bicycle this morning, I was approached by a lady with her daughter carrying a basket of boiled chicken eggs. They didn’t hassle me to buy any but asked if the bike next to me is mine and where I was heading too. Looking at her gal, I know she deserved the $2.00. After taking the picture below, I went, got the $2.00 and hand it over to her. It’s wasn’t much but I could see her appreciation. (pic: the girl with her mom) I knew now why the old man wanted me to do that – there is actually no words to describe the feeling but I made the decision to continue doing whatever I had planned to do even if my visa doesn’t get extended.

Servicing my bike before my big ride

The girl & her mom selling boiled eggs

Medan

It was really a hard trip just to get here. When I was doing my research for this adventure (getting here), it was planned to be from Penang by the sea route and that was supposed to be the most ideal and cheapest. But due to some work matters, it didn’t happen as planned. In the end, I did some minor changes on my departure method and knew to get to Medan from Singapore with a bicycle wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. What I was told by a few other world bicycle adventurers, the best is always by the slow sea route. Most airlines here are not bicycle touring friendly just yet and to see a bicycle in a box being checked-in is a new concept to many counter staff. You can see the surprised expression of one counter staff in Changi Airport when I told her it was a bicycle.

Next was getting into Medan by budget airline. There is no direct flight. Most will hop from somewhere and if you’re lucky, they pick up more people along the way and fly out to their final destination. My first choice was an ‘orange and white’ budget airline but they sounded very reluctant to take my bicycle in hence quoted me a very high price for the excess luggage. I got back into looking at other budget airlines and after checking from the few options, I locked in to the best deal – that was what I thought initially until they told me in Changi Airport that my bicycle weighed 20.9kg! I did weigh the box with the bicycle in it after packing the bike in, it weighed only 13.5kg. When I told them that, the counter staff just shrugged me off and pointed me to their “accurate weigh-in” version. Next was, when I was told the airline will charge me the excess from Singaporeto Jakarta and onwards from Jakarta to Medan. This I don’t’ understand and when I ask the counterstaff why should I pay the excess baggage twice, the response I got from her was, “so you won’t have trouble with the people in Jakarta airport”. Say what? I probed the counter check-in staff for the printed policy but they didn’t have one and told me casually, “that is how we operate”. Oh yea? Charging double for a single trip? I will remember to visit the office when I return, wait for me because when I reached Jakarta, I was told otherwise.

I love flying certain budget airlines but I don’t’ believe there is such thing as budget flight because I am sure they will find ways to get back whatever operating cost incurred to them from the other passengers or methods. That is what I think.

Editor’s note:

I completely agree with your last comment/statement brah. Especially “A” certain red and white budget airline. They make you pay for every damn thing else on top of the cheap ticket, then they resort to tricks like delaying a flight so that two flight merges to safe them cost when both their flights have low occupancy. I call them “CON AIR A”.

Everything was cool, as my ol’ bro Yunos Yusoff was there to soothe everything down. I was the last person to check-in due my excess baggage and one thing led to another. Obviously I was holding the fight and when I reached the boarding gate, I was asked to keep going in and out of the security screening as they couldn’t find where the beeping sound come from. In I go, beep… and they use the detector to find the sound. “Sir, can you walk out and in again?” So I go out, step back in and gain the detector when all over me no sound. Here I was being searched, this one airline ground crew (I am not surprised, it’s another pinoy) chasing me. “Sir, you’re the last person, can you come quickly…” I was so furious I gave her a shit load, “you want to help me tell this Ms Security Officer the idiot proof to search me?” In the end, they couldn’t find where the sound came from and let me go. Make a guess where the sounds come from if you have travelled on a bike tour before.

The day got better when I boarded the flight. I met with this cool kid. Faisal Rosobin, 10 years young from Jakarta, a Singapore Permanent Resident and studying at the Si Ling Primary School. A football/soccer player for his school team with aspirations of becoming a pilot. “If I cannot be a pilot, I will play football professionally.” He is actually traveling by himself back to Jakarta to visit his grand mother. This is not his first time traveling alone. He has been to Bangkok, Bintan, Batam and he told me this, “I wanted to go to a cold country like the USA or Europe but my mother told me no…” and he showed me his ‘Unaccompanied Minor’ tag and said, “You see this yea? I got a lot of this at my home”. Apparently this kid has also cycled from his home to Johor, home to Mandai Zoo and more. I just got myself a new cycling friend in a flight to Indonesia.

Faisol the young traveller

Instead of reading my book as usual when I am on a flight, we chatted away, Faisal shared with me about his trip alone and most of the time, he will have a hard time getting a hotel room because of his age. “One time yea, when I was in Bintan Resorts, they don’t want to give me a room. So I called my mother, and after talking to my mom, they let me have a room”. I can see his big wide smile. To me, this kid is a real adventurer. When the plane landed we gave each other a “high five” and I promised to meet him at the terminal to say hi to his auntie.

While waiting for my luggage at the conveyor belt row, Faisal saw me and ran towards me, we gave each other a “high five” again and continue chatting. He was so happy to see me again that he shared with his minder about me. We parted ways from there and no, I didn’t get to see his auntie as I was escorted away by two Airport ground baggage handling staff.

(Unaccompanied Minor can only leave the plane last with the flight crew or the pilot before handing the UM over to specified ground crew)

I think we Singaporeans know it in our hearts it’s really home when we touched down in Changi whenever we return from somewhere. It’s another story if you fly out to somewhere famous for it inconsistency, bureaucracy and officialdom of words such as, “no, this is not allowed. How do you want to settle this?” I got that many times traveling in and out of Indonesia. I am more than prepared for this when I was asked to follow the two Ground Baggage officers. The game plan was always to stay calm, collected and smile.

That’s of course if you are not carrying anything illegal. I did some appreciation where the two gentlemen brought me and from the looks of it and reading the signage, it’s where the customs and immigrations would be waiting for me. I figured they would conduct a thorough search and my worry was that my bicycle box would be ripped open. If that happened, I am screwed as I would need to get on to another terminal to board my connecting flight to Medan.

”Bapak dari Singapura ya?” One Officer asked a standard question.

“Ya betul…”

”Kesini bikin apa ini pak?” He continued.

”Makan angin, pusing pusing aje” I replied as it is. Yes I am going to the unseen sights of Indonesia.

”Oh gitu..” He smiled and gesture to me to move away from the trolley and took over pushing the trolley.

We went in straight to the custom and immigration gate, where they asked me to place all my luggage and the box on the screening belt. When that was done, I walked through the security gantry (still with the beeping sound), collected my box and the 4 panniers and I was asked to continue my way with a very clear direction to the shuttle bus.. Before I left, the two gentlemen wished me all the best and we shook hands.

That was it. I turned around to see them walk away, “what was that?” I pushed my cart back to the gate to handover my custom papers. I stood there for a little while more to absorb in on what just happened. “wow…” I whispered to myself. This is in Indonesia. Is this the sign of progress? Let me see what will happen next. I continued making my way to the shuttle bus bay, within minutes, the shuttle arrived and I was helped with my luggage. It was a little bit messy but it worked. I got to Terminal 1B (domestic airport) within ten minutes and getting all my baggage out from the shuttle was a breeze. Checking in was no hassle at all and I am in the terminal less than 10 minutes but the real Indonesia transportation organization surfaced, the boarding gate was filled to the brim. At least three flights were delayed. I couldn’t exactly nail down which destination and from which airline but it was something I was a little surprised to see. It was like in a packed stadium and what would happen if people started rushing out in an event of a fire? There wasn’t any control at all. I had 20minutes before my flight departs for Medan. What is there for me to do but push my way in. It was hard work and made worst by me being tired. Getting to the boarding gate counter, I was told the plane was on the tarmac and the ground crew was now preparing it. I was asked to wait somewhere to listen for an announcement. Thirty minutes goes by and I push my way in again to the gate, “Wait for announcement ya pak?”. Another 30 minutes gone and again I go to check, “Wait for announcement ya pak, now the plane is being prepared.”

Walking out from the boarding gate, I could feel the disappointment. In 2009, flying from Singapore to Bali, our flight was diverted here due to some technical fault. We landed around 1030am in Jakarta and when I asked what time will we would be able to continue our flight, none of the ground staff could give me an answer. Later on when I asked if we could go for our lunch, I was told better not. We waited until 1.30pm when we were told to board another plane. Sitting next to the emergency exit, we both were briefed separately on how to operate the emergency door. This was the exact conversation in English,

”WHEN the plane doing the emergency landing in the sea, you turn the handle like this” She motioned it to me.

”When?” I asked.

”Ya…” The flight crew smiled at me and walk away. I looked at my partner and she held my hand tight and said, “Is she for real?” I don’t know, maybe what she meant was “IF the airplane did an emergency landing…”

In the end, I finally heard the announcement for boarding. I hadn’t had my lunch, I was tired and at this stage, I wished I was cycling instead of flying. One thing I realized here (at least at the busy airport and Medan, people don’t actually understand the concept of queuing up. People just go forward, more like rush forward to get in to somewhere that is not going anywhere until all people boarded the plane. I took my time knowing there wasn’t any point rushing. On the plane, my seat which was right in the front row was taken by a lady. I told her that she was in the wrong seat, she pointed to me to go somewhere. What? I specifically wanted the front seat for a reason and now a lady told me to go away. Of course, I asked for the crew to get it sorted out for me, same, the flight crew was asked to find me another seat. Welcome to Indonesia. We don’t punish the whole family because of one so I take it she is one nasty Indon. I walked slowly along the aisle to look for anempty seat, saw one and took it. In front was a crying baby, left to me was a business man and right to me was a lady that got irritated from the baby wailing. “I am going to have a great flight.” I spoke softly to myself.

Departing Jakarta

In the end, I slept through the flight until we landed in Polania Airport in Medan. A small international airport, one of the three in Indonesia. I walked on the tarmac after getting of the plane and knew fully well it was not over until I got all of my luggage and the bicycle in the box.

Walking into the airport’s small arrival hall, I was greeted with the many porters hogging the trolley. I needed to hire the porter service in order to get the trolley which I wasn’t keen as I am here not to get any help as much as possible. Now the only way for me to get a trolley was to get out of the arrival hall and waited for someone to finish using their trolley.

After waiting for about twenty minutes, I got only my front two panniers and box with my bicycle. I kept waiting for my two rear panniers until the luggage handler shouted from outside, “habis…” No more baggage from the outside. What? I got my spare clothing in there, my bicycle spares and my important riding gear.

Stay calm and concentrate. I knew there was no way for other people to take luggage not belonging to them out from the hall. I scanned around the small arrival hall and saw at a corner my two black panniers. I pushed my trolley slowly and prayed that everything was still in there. I was lucky nothing was taken. I think covering the panniers with the rain cover and tightening both panniers with bungee cords helped. I got everything up on the trolley and walked out of the hall. I thought walking out from the arrival hall to get a trolley was when I got my luggage got knicked.

The sound of “Taksi Pak, taksi Pak” immediately greeted me. I just smiled and walked to one corner to wait for my Medan contact, Om Baren and Adi, both cyclists from Medan. Even standing in a corner and keeping myself low profile wasn’t easy. There would always someone observing you from far and once I settled down, a gentleman approached me trying to hustle me to buy a pair of shades. Raybans, Rudy Projects and many more. Good price and nice design but I don’t have an extra Rp200.000 to spare. I thanked the gentleman and he walked away.

All my luggage outside Polania Airport, Medan

Om Baren showed up exactly at the spot I was waiting without even me needing to tell him where I was. After a short introduction, we decided to open up the box and assemble the bike there and then. We were like basking outside the airport hall showing off our skills of assembling a bike. People just stood around us to see how it is done. Within 10 minutes, my bike was set and the panniers mounted and we were ready to go makan. I rode my bike out from the airport grounds while Om Baren and Adi escorted me on their motorbikes. The thing is if you have a local contact, they will be bring you to places usually tourist won’t get to see or eat. I had my first taste of Medan when they brought me to Jalan Polania, 15 minutes outside the airport for the famous Mee Soup Ayam and here I got my first taste of spicy Chilli Medan.

Medan's famous Mee Soup Ayam shop

After makan, we rode through the busy roads of Medan for a short introduction and, it was then that I realized the roads was not organized and a little too crowded to cycle. I know now that the rest of my cycling adventure would be very tough from here onwards.

Outside Yuki Simpang Raya - one of Medan's busy interaction

IT'S TIME FOR THE REAL DEAL!

All the training is over. The warm up stage is over and done with. The injuries should be completely healed (if not 100% healed it should be pretty much there). The time is here ... it's the for real now. The Adventure Cycling for Humanity 2011 - Indonesia is for ON!

Our dear friend, brother, slacker, etc RA is now already in the land of the Garuda (a mythical hawk/eagle/bird like creature) ready to begin his cycling expedition in Indonesia. For a start he will be cycling down the Island of Sumatera begining at the city of Medan to the port city of Bandar Lampung. This Sumateran leg of his journey should take him about 35 days and approximately 1,935km. Riding along the spine of the mountain range will really put RA's training, warm-up stage preparations to the test.

All the best bradder RA! God's Speed! Ride Safe & Have Fun!

RA's Journal: Warm Up Stage Over, The Penang Report

Last Leg of Warm Up Stage Report - Penang

Total mileage: 920km

After two solid weeks of rest, it’s now time to give the last part of warm up leg a go to see if I can do the big one – Indonesia. While in Singapore, I had the chance to tie up some loose ends, like improving the gears and, catching up with family and friends. Interestingly, I met a very warm dear friend, we haven’t spoken for a long time and meeting her was really heartwarming. She hasn’t changed one little bit and we spoke mostly about bicycle, as she being a cyclist herself knew what I would be going through. I’m glad to have met her a day before I left for this last leg of my warm up stage. I also rode with the “slackers”. Don’t be deceived by their nickname. These riders are one of the most hardcore bunch of cyclist I’ve ever known. A good mixture of mountain bikers, road racers, fixies and Slacker wannabe but they get together once or twice a week to have fun, eat and ride. They can be found on Facebook page: Wednesday Nite Riders. Go ahead, look out for them and talk to any of them. Other than that, I also rode some distance and continued with my light training as I did not want to make my injury worse. It’s all good on the preparation side and I had loads of home cooked food, especially my favorite sambal goreng prepared by my elder Sister. Thank you sis.

Before we start the ride report, as per tradition, we will answer 5 questions before the start and 5 more at the end. Please keep sending your question to fluidrider@gmail.com

The First Five Questions:

Question 01: (Face2Face Question):

Any funny moments during your training?

Answer:

One day I was on Lorong Halus in the morning for my training on the western loop segment, I saw worms, hundreds of them coming out onto the small track (old road). I always try my best to avoid rolling over these pure little creatures. There were too many and controlling my bicycle, weaving from left to right, I rode straight into a rainwater stream! *smile*

I wasn’t angry or anything, I was actually happy that I made an effort to avoid them. These are the little things that made me smile and laugh when I think of it again.

Question 02: (Face2Face Question):

You mentioned earlier about training for a year? How do you keep it fun and relevant to last a year?

Answer:

This is a very good question. For the first three months, I tried to make my training fun by riding to places I had never been before. I rode with friends and encouraged them to ride for fun with me at night (that was also how the Wednesday night rides started). Slowly I move onto riding seriously on my own and riding everywhere I go. Next, I prepared a training program lasting 3 months each. The most important thing is too take it easy. Throughout the entire 14 months or so, I kept only using two bicycles for my training. In the early stages of my training, I was on a Kona Shred, a heavy jump bike to work on my basic fitness and strength. While riding on the Kona, I kept a lookout for some other bike for my next stage of training – Phase II, something that can fit me, my style of riding and my specific cycling adventure. Your training program is very important too and you need to be very discipline tokeep up to your training program. There are a lot of distractions around us, our friends, family, work and what not. If we can balance all that, we should be ok. I try to be home by 9pm and sleep by 10pm to get up early the next morning for the early morning session.

Start with a decent bike, like your training program, ride easy the first one or two months and from there upgrade slowly basing on your needs with trial and error from your ride training experience – NOT FROM WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK WHAT SUITS YOU. As you get fitter, your bike gets better and it feels lighter. To keep your training fun and relevant, go ride at different places. Ride with different people and riders with different fitness level. Do crazy things like ride in the rain, ride early in the morning, ride overnight to test your mental, and ride with people you don’t know. Simulate your actual adventure ride. These will help you to have fun and keeping it relevant. Just a couple of weeks ago, I rode with a sixteen year old young boy following his pace. That to me is to make my training fun and relevant (and crazy)

NOTE: To me everything comes at a price. Whenever I choose to do something, I choose not to do something else. The trick is to choose wisely and spend your time doing the things that will benefit you and many others. I choose to do this for the village kids in Indonesia, so that is not so bad.

Question 03: (FaceBook Question):

Other than fitness, what other skills does one need to do such an adventure cycling?

Answer:

Just to name a few - observation skills, navigational skills, negotiation skills, on top of your riding skills. Long distance adventure cycling is not just about riding your bike long distances on and off the road, it is about riding your bike in different places, terrains, situations and sometimes weather. You’ll need to be able to handle and control your loaded bicycle in tight corner. You’ll need to be able to at least to do minor repairs. You’ll need to last at least a week cycling long distances consecutively. As for riding skills, I train my bike control and handling whenever possible riding it at the slowest speed and maneuvering it at tight corners. I set up a slalom course, ‘S’ course, riding on a plank to simulate tight roads, riding during wet weather (to also test my waterproofing system), riding it off-road and once I even rode inside a monsoon drain next to Bedok Reservoir . I ride in heavy traffic downtown regularly. I practically rode everywhere to test the limit of the bike and myself. Like riding a motorbike, checking your blind spot is very important. There are smaller skill sets one need to have to be able to ride far and over certain periods, but at the end of the day, it’s all common sense really. If you don’t have that, it’s hard to do anything else. I think I will write more separately. Let me get my 2nd leg of this adventure started, done and over.

Question 04: (Face2Face Question):

How do you prepare yourself mentally?

Answer:

There is no mental training I know that works 100%. I’ve heard how an all women Japanese Ultimate team prepared for a big tournament mentally. What they did was to visualize the game an hour before they actual played. As for me, I like to play around with my mind. For example, I would tell myself today for training I will ride 60km and when that is done, I will ride another 60km. It’s not easy but I just need to learn how to push myself as there is no one else to push me. Sometimes I change my route at the last minute, say from a flat route session to a hilly route session. It’s hard to prepare yourself mentally. Like the Japanese Women Ultimate team, I will visualize my next day’s ride based on the route map and info I got in hand.

Question 05: (FaceBook Question):

Now that you have completed cycling around Penang and in Georgetown, can you share with us how safe it was to cycle around Penang and in Georgetown? Is it advisable to cycle around Penang on a folding bicycle?

Answer:

Cycling in Penang and around Penang to me is like cycling in other parts of Malaysia or Singapore. You need to practice defensive riding. Have adequate safety features on your bicycle like side view mirrors, lights and wear something that is visible by other motorist. (a reflective vest is highly recommended) Courtesy goes a long way too. Wave your hand to say thank you whenever you’re given way or get a friendly honk. As for cycling in Georgetownitself, if you’re cycling in a big group of 6 or more, it’s nicer to cycle over the weekend when traffic is less. Try to follow the marked bicycle routes and follow the traffic law. And for extra peace of mind, plot the makan places you want to go and places you want to see and share it with the rest of your cycling friends. This will make your cycling experience more pleasant. Penang is not only Georgetown, Gurney Drive and it food, it’s more than that, it’s filled with history. You will need at least 4 days to explore Penang and about a month to really see its beauty fully. As for cycling using folding bike. Yes, I think it’s possible. Penang is much friendlier than Batam Island and less polluted. But I must tell you, be prepared for a lot of climbing.

The famous Gurney Drive Hawker Centre, but its not open

The Report - Last Warm Up Stage, Penang (12 November 2011):

I‘m done with the last stage of my warm up leg in Penang. Three days on a bicycle here brought me everywhere and there was still more for me to come back for. I will write more on that later but now, let me finished this last stage report.

Penang Day 01:

I arrived very early into Penang Island and practically rode right in the storm throughout the morning. Good thing that I am in my new rain gear (the name is so difficult to pronounce and spell I am just going to name it – Fluidrider rain jacket for now). It was crazy thinking back now. In the end, I stopped and found shelter somewhere when the lighting strikes began. After the rain subsided, I continued my journey slowly into heart of Georgetown. It was really a good feeling to be back here again. Just in June, we were here for a leisure group ride. I reached the place I was staying early by a day and I was glad I booked myself at a friendly and service oriented place, Hutton Lodge. I was soaking wet, cold and haven’t had my breakfast this morning. The duty manager for the day, Nathan sorted me out immediately. While waiting for my room, I was served double breakfast with hot coffee and orange juice–on the house. What topped that off was that I was surrounded by curious looking fellow travelers. I met a fellow Ultimate Frisbee Player from Canada, Mike. I met a Romanian couple cycling around Asia. I met a Canadian couple on their 30th Honeymoon. Apparently their daughter did once play Ultimate! (Do you know marrying a Canadian is like marrying a well behaved American? Errrr that is what I was told) I met a Swedish couple who just love Penang food that they come back once a year. Actually, it was for the weather too. Each time for a month long!

In front of Hutton Lodge, Penang

Right after breakfast, my room was ready and I quickly got the bags in and got myself cleaned. I’m not sure how long I was sleeping when I heard a knock on the door. Jeremy, the lodge F&B guy bought me a special nasi campur. I tell you, it was so delicious! Earlier on riding into Georgetown, I felt like I’m back to a place I think I might want to come back for a longer holiday. Wait, I think I’m coming back to all the places I rode through for a holiday!

I spent the afternoon riding around Georgetown. I rode into every little street in Georgetown. I’m impressed to hear stories from the locals on the places I am on. Every corner has its story. I think I spoke to every person that has a story on their face. I went back to the lodge happy and knew that my trip here wasn’t wasted. I slept early that night as I knew I had a big ride the next day.

Old look of Georgetown, Penang

Penang Day 02:

I’m still a little off from the 2 weeks break. Woke up slightly late at 7am got myself sorted and ready for the day’s training ride. Today’s riding goal was to test my fitness and my knee to see if it could take consecutive hard climbing and add some long distance pace. Why I didn’t do it in Singapore? Yes, I did in Singapore and after doing it almost daily for the last 6 months or so, I found it wasn’t that hard riding in Singapore anymore and the knee wasn’t up to 100% until I left.

This was the morning that changed the rest of my adventure planned route. I had a long telephone work meeting over breakfast. It was really very demoralizing to be talking work at this stage of the adventure. I psyched myself to take on Penang and put work temporarily aside. I left the lodge late at 9am and knew Penang was not going anywhere…I am not going to bore you with my training ride in Penang but I must tell you this – Get a friend or two (even better, more) of your cycling friends and come to Penang, at least 4 days (leave at night if you are taking the bus). First day, ride around town to acclimatize and familiarize yourself with the roads and other motorist’s behaviors. Second day, ride around Penang Island slowly and enjoy the journey, take pictures and eat whatever you think is edible. Third day, ride in Georgetown and in smaller streets. You’ll find out why I’m telling you this. Fourth day, walk around town, shop and eat. At night take the bus home. Take a bus there, fly or drive as long as you enjoy the journey.

Today is also the day I visit one of our dear friend, Ah Siong. He is our Penang vehicle mechanic. We met in June this year when we visited his workshop. Anyway, his workshop is along the way around Penang Island, so that was not a problem at all. I did some hill climbing along the way to see how well my knee could cope. Drivers here were great with cyclist. Most of the time they would slow down and follow from behind until they see an opportunity to overtake and then give a friendly honk. So, it’s really a friendly island to cycle, just like many parts of Malaysia. But that doesn’t mean you can cycle whichever way you want. Practice defensive riding all the time and be courteous to the other road users.

Ah Siong & I at his workshop

I reached Ah Siong’s workshop just before lunch, we shook hands, hugged and it felt really good to be meeting him again. I got my visit extended when he asked me to join him for a special Nasi Campur lunch. The same delicious lunch Jeremy bought me yesterday and I didn’t mind it at all. We chatted more after lunch and I promised Ah Siong to come back to Penang for a holiday when I am done with the Adventure.

Special Nasi Campur lunch at Ah Siong's workshop

Here at Ah Siong’s workshop is where I met one of Penang’s prominent gentleman. It was over a simple conversation of where I am from, where I am going with the bicycle that I got to know him. I didn’t have any idea who he was until he left.

*Due to the sensitivity of his status, I was asked not to write anything more on this encounter with him.

I said my goodbyes to Ah Siong and his fellow mechanics and continued on my way. By now it got so hot I was regretting not to be fully suited for today training ride. In the end, this wasn’t the first time I’m riding in this kind of weather so I pedaled on. No excuses.

The ride today brought me too many places that I‘ve never been when I was here the first time in a car in 1993. I can’t remember the places I’ve been too then when I was young except for Batu Feringghi. The only downside for today ride was that I wasn’t with my traveling bags and I didn’t have any option but to rush back to Georgetown before it got dark. I got back to the lodge safely and quickly got cleaned then headed out for dinner.

After the ‘work call’ this morning, I knew I needed to change my Indonesia planned route further. Not an easy thing to do. Lots of mapping and looking at the whole route and duration I have left. My entire Adventure just got tougher as each week past me by. I lost 2 weeks resting in Singapore and now just when everything was about to be on the road again, I was asked to come home. No email or internet can help me this time as I needed to be in one school physically. I love what I am doing teaching kids to play Frisbee, so no second thoughts on that. I know this will make my adventure harder as I am now about to lose another week of cycling times.

Penang Day 03:

I stayed up late last night planning my route and re-looking at the options I have left. I was bummed out but what is there for me to do. It’s my work and I need to execute that. I didn’t feel like doing anything else but ride my bike out to get some ‘fresh air’. So I took my bike out and rode along Georgetown’s smaller streets. I wasn’t sure if there was other options, and basically I was at a lost. I rode to Air Asia office to just check with them if they would fly me and my bike (if I wanted too). The branch manager gave a call to the airport operations people and I was told no good. I had to put the bike in a box. Next I rode to FireFly office. Same thing, I need to box the bicycle and hear this. FREE 20kg and the excess, would be RM40.00! My total weight is in excess of 28kg. It’s really something new, as my dealings with Singapore Airlines, I wasn’t told about the cost of excess weight.

Today was also the day I met Mr. David, a security officer at the Sir Francis Light and Anglican Church monument. He was the one that allowed me in the monument after closing hour and became my guide. We spoke for some time and as usual I asked him about the history of Georgetown. I found out Mr. David has never been out of Penang or Malaysia and for that, I extended an invitation for him to visit Singapore with his wife. The plan was I would bus it to Penang to fetch them both back to Singapore. I hope this small gesture will lead to many more good things for them.

Well, my own journey was getting tougher and sadly, unforeseen circumstances with work needed me to return to Singapore before I took off again for Medan. This time I would be flying in to Medan from Singapore (that is the best I can think of and I will need to look into that excess baggage issue). It was really hard to be making this decision, but I know this is just another bump in my adventure. I’m ok with returning home and finishing up the work and at the same time do more climbing training. I think that is all for now and I will see you people in Singapore next week before I take off again at the end of the week.

I am signing out with the next 5 questions.

The last five questions:

Question 06: (Face2Face Question):

Safety while on the road when you train and ride in Singapore. How do you take that extra precaution?

Answer:

Always plan your route the night before. Choose a route with less traffic if you plan to ride on the road. Choose an old road preferably. Before you ride, take a look at your route again and try to remember the dangerous areas, such as right turns, major road with speed limit of 70kmh. Next, make sure your family members know the route you’ll be taking or at least one cycling friend has got the planned route. Road safety wise, if you plan to ride on the road, stay on the road and if you plan to ride on the pavement (not advisable at night from personal experience) stay on the pavement. This way, other motorists know that you’re there and will stay there. I once saw a cyclist just literally jump from a pavement to the road. That is dangerous. I always choose to ride in the middle of the extreme left lane (sometimes in the bus lane). I have had no problems at all with that, as the other motorists will just use the lane next to me. Buses did the same too. I usually will raise my hand to say ‘thank you’ and I got the thumbs up sign from them. Road courtesy goes a long way and we all know it too as many of us drive.

The other is if you’re riding on the pavement and at the junction waiting for lights, please dismount. A rider was balancing on his bike and grabbing the light post when he lost balance and rode onto the road! So please, dismount and be patient.

Question 07: (Face2Face Question):

I am a leisure rider and last week I joined a group for a long distance ride locally. Being the weakest, I got left far behind. Have you experience something like that in your cycling group?

Answer:

If you know you’re weak, you shouldn’t have joined the long distance ride. But since you already did, I am sure you know now that when someone says “we are slow cyclist”, you need to ask, “how slow?”. Slow to some can be 25-30kmh. I think in a big cycling convoy, such things do happen but most importantly, the sub-group need to know the route and destination. That way it’s easier for the slower group to take their time to ride knowing where the end point will be. But if it’s your own sub-group that left you behind, then you need to ask them why it happened.

From my little experience, it’s better and easier to follow then to lead, there are so many things the leader needs to be doing. One of it is navigating and usually if I am leading, I will have a strong younger guy riding next or behind me and act as my “runner”. This way, if I am going too fast and if there is any sub-group far behind me, I can ask my younger fitter wingman to be the marker at any junction. It will be much easier if the leader briefed on the route before any ride no matter how easy and short. This way everyone can be prepared for what to expect. Information is power. Next the sweeper must be damn good at navigating too. If I am the sweeper, the main group can leave me and those who are slow far behind, and I will make sure those who fall out will catch up at the next checkpoint. Why? Because I will always ask for the route, even if there wasn’t any briefing before the start. You got to start asking, “where are we going, what are the routes we will be taking, how far, what are we eating?”

Question 08: (Face2Face Question):

Can I bicycle tour without map or GPS?

Answer:

This is a very interesting question from a lady cyclist. Yes, you can. I like the idea of stopping and asking for directions. Sometimes I do keep my GPS in the bag and just follow the many road signs or stop to ask question. It all depends on where you will be travelling on and for how long. It’s advisable to carry at least a local map. Entering into Penang Island, it was raining heavily and I kept my maps and GPS in the bag. I literally traveled following the road signs and instinct. It was truly an experience as I ended up taking shelter at an old public housing. It reminded me of a place in the movies - dark, gloomy and scary and this was in Penang. If I would to travel using the GPS, I don’t think I would have end up at the place I mentioned.

Question 09: (FaceBook Question):

I think I am in love with bicycle touring. I cycle but I don’t know how to read maps and use the GPS. Can I still bicycle tour?

Answer:

Yes, you can. Get a mate who can do that for you. In return, you do the cooking, laundry or packing. You don’t have to know all the bicycle touring skills. Sometimes it’s good to share tasking. If you’re good at navigating, by all means, step forward and lead, otherwise just follow and be thankful.

Question 10: (FaceBook Question):

You mention in your earlier blog posting that your heading in Malaysia was northeast or northwest. If I am going in to Malaysia from Singapore, should I follow Northeast or Northwest? Isn’t Malaysia to the North of Singapore?

Answer:

If you are going into Malaysia from anywhere in Singapore on your bicycle, look for the sign, ‘Woodland Road’ or ‘Woodland Checkpoint’. From my little experience, you cannot cycle using the Second Link. Once you’ve crossed the water, look for whichever sign that will lead you to your next destination (The signboards are usually green in colour). In our imperfect cycling world, the roads are not straight, hence the Northeast and Northwest heading (sometimes back down south to go up North again) Hope that helps 

RA's Journal: Indonesia Here I Come - Pre Ride Information

Adventure Cycling for Humanity 2011 – Indonesia

Pre-ride Information: Indonesia routes, stops and distance

By the time you read this, I would already be on my way to Penang to get ready and warm myself up to start the second leg of Adventure Cycling for Humanity 2011 – Indonesia. It has been a good two weeks of rest and I believe I’m now about 90% fit again.

In this pre-ride report, I will write about the Indonesia leg of my cycling adventure, the routes, the stops and the distances. This way, if any of you would like to join me at any stage for a short ride, you would have a rough guide on when and where I will be. It’s also best to follow this blog for updates, our editor has been working very hard to get this up each night, so the next time you see him in Singapore or KL, give him a hug.

Ok! As per tradition, we will answer 5 questions before we start and 5 more at the end. Please keep sending your question to fluidrider@gmail.com

The First Five Questions:

Question 01: (Face2Face Question):

Ever thought of giving up while you were riding in Malaysia?

Answer:

*laugh* Thrice! First was from Malacca to Port Dickson. I thought, “Screw it, I’m going back to Malacca to stay another night”. The initial plan was I would rest one day in Malacca but I didn’t. Second was in Seremban heading to Kuala Lumpur, also the same thought of going back to Seremban and staying for another night. Last was in Kampar, Perak heading to Ipoh. To me, anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing to do. But I managed to hold it together and tell myself that I’ve been training for this and I’m strong. So far I never thought of giving up this whole adventure. We will see how far my body and mind will take me.

Question 02: (Face2Face Question):

Will there be a guided Adventure Cycling by fluidrider and friends when this is done? And what can we expect?

Answer:

*laugh* well, there are now leisure weekly rides happening every Wednesday night – rain or shine. (FaceBook page: Wednesday Nite Riders). One of the worlds’ most well organized cycling group. It’s so leisurely, that sometimes you don’t feel like you’re cycling and I must warn you, this group is so laid back, that sometimes we will only cycle 10kmh.

Yes, we do guided Adventure Cycling in Singapore and nearby islands (Batam and Tanjung Pinang) too, mainly for corporate and social groups. There will be one when I return. It is happening on the 14th January 2012. I will post more detaisl when the date is nearer. For the guided adventure cycling, we will try to bring participants to places not many Singaporean has set foot on before. We will cycle mostly the paths less traveled. This of course can be customized towards group preferences for their cycling adventure outing.

Question 03: (FaceBook Question):

My leg starts to cramp up after riding almost every day. Any tips to ease the pain?

Answer:

I’ve seen marathon runner cramping 10-15km before the finishing line. I’ve seen mountain bikers cramping in the middle of their race. I ask this question very often,“why and how to avoid getting cramps.”

On day two of my trip, I got a cramp so bad, I thought it was because of poor pre-ride preparation – stretching and warming up. A muscle cramp is an involuntarily and forcibly contracted muscle that does not relax. Almost everyone experiences a muscle cramp at some time in their life. There are a variety of types and causes of muscle cramps. Numerous medicines can cause muscle cramps. Most muscle cramps can be stopped if the muscle can be stretched.

Can muscle cramps be prevented? Yes!

How can muscle cramp be prevented?

A good pre-ride and post ride stretching, along with an adequate warm-up and cool down, prevents cramps that are caused by vigorous pedaling (especially if yours is a fixie). The other is good hydration before your ride, during your ride and after your ride session. It is important, especially if the duration of your ride exceeds two hours or more, and replacement of lost *electrolytes (especially sodium and potassium, which are major components of perspiration) can also be helpful. Excessive ride in hot weather should be avoided if possible.

For my pre-ride hydration, I drink about 0.5 liter an hour or two before I start my day ride. (I try not to eat anything within the first hour of cycling just to keep my fuel tank going and warm) Consuming beverages with sodium and/or small amounts of salted snacks or sodium-containing foods at meal times will help to stimulate thirst and retain the consumed fluids.

During rides, I try to drink a 0.5 liter per hour, but again, this should be individualized based on body weight loss. There should be no more than 10% carbohydrate in the beverage, and 7% has generally been considered close to optimal. Carbohydrate consumption is generally recommended only after one hour of exertion.

Electrolyte repletion (sodium and potassium) can help sustain electrolyte balance during exercise. Chemically, electrolytes are substances that become ions in solution and acquire the capacity to conduct electricity. Electrolytes are present in the human body, and the balance of the electrolytes in our bodies is essential for normal function of our cells and our organs.

* From now until the end of my adventure, you can get 30% off electrolyte from Keypower International office. Mention Rahim Resad (fluidrider)

Question 04: (Face2Face Question):

Do you feel safe riding alone in Malaysia? Ever thought of getting robbed?

Answer:

*laugh* I get this question a lot. I’m not prepared for this question, next! *joking* I never thought of that really. I want to believe that people are nice everywhere I go. I was brought up not to think of such things. The places I have ridden so far are mostly villages and I feel safe to see villagers. The place I’m more cautious would be the endless oil palm plantations. I tell you one experience on this warm up leg in Malaysia. This was on the 2nd day of my trip on a Sunday, from Skudai to Pekan Nenas and I was riding northwest towards Pekan Nenas on Route No.5. I was somewhere in Pulai and this is in the middle of nowhere. The weather was perfect (read: super hot) and I saw a Chendol shop by the roadside and made a stop. I got to know the owner’s son and he became friendly and all. About 30 minutes later, he came close to me and spoke so softly to me (in malay), “bang, later when you go, be very careful, in front at the oil palm plantation, there is this group that always rob people. There are usually three of them.”

I am like, “what? In a broad daylight?!?”

I will save the story for another day. Overall, I feel safe riding in Malaysia, good roads and with motorcycle lanes. As for getting robbed, I will continue the story some other time.

Question 05: (Face2Face Question):

What stuff don’t we see in your blog, your photo album and that you seldom talk about?

Answer:

*laugh* I think there’s a lot that I didn’t have the chance to share! For example the pre- trip preparation. The hard training, planning, looking for sponsorships and many more. Also my pre-ride, stuff like getting the bike set, panniers secured, final route check, warming up, stretching and just riding the bike around to get myself ready and warm. Post ride cooling down, getting the load off from the bike, getting the bike checked. Every little hole that appears on the pannier, every loose nut on the bike is considered serious and must be attended to immediately. Yes, those are some of the behind the scene moments. There are many more which I will document it in a video at later stage of this adventure, hopefully.

Pre-Ride Information: Indonesia route and distances

Unlike my warm up leg in Malaysia, my route in Sumatra, Indonesia will be mostly mountain roads and through the vast rainforest of Sumatra. I will write more on my destinations as I go along, but for now I will share with you my major destinations, routes, the distances and my estimated time that it will take me from one main city to another.

Medan – Padang, 790km (15 days)

Padang – Bengkulu, 555km (10 days)

* the original destination is Palembang, in view of the weather and tight schedule now, it has been changed to Bengkulu

Benkulu – Bandar Lampung, 590km (10 days)

Bandar Lampung – Jakarta, 200km (05 days)

Jakarta – Bandung, 150km (05 days)

Bandung – Yogyakarta, 405km (10 days)

Yogyakarta – Surabaya, 425km (10 days)

Surabaya – Bayuwangi, 455km (10 days

Bayuwangi – Denpasar, Bali 150km (05 days)

Estimated total distance: 3265km (if I follow the MSR. Excluding the village trails)

As many will know by now, my adventure cycling can be at the mercy of the weather, terrain, roads, local info and difficulty of the whole route, so things can change, my route is just a guide and won’t be set in stone. I also want the flexibility to change my route in case if I am told of a new place / village school or I discover new places I want to visit or hear of other interesting things to see. (or avoiding trouble).

I intend to cycle to as many new places as possible and will only stop if it is necessary, like taking pictures, visiting schools, talking to locals, meals and sleeping time. Adventure Cycling for Humanity 2011 – Indonesia is about giving something to the village school kids; about me exploring; experience doing new things; exploring new places, sounds and smells; meeting interesting people and seeing other cultures. Adventure Cycling for Humanity 2011 - Indonesia isn’t a race from A to B but it’s a travelling adventure and charity by bike event, where I can learn about the places I am at and by myself.

Before ending this Medan – Padang pre-trip report, I will write a short intro of my first checkpoint – Brastagi. It’s some 70km away southwest from Medan. It’s about 1300meter above sea level (just to give you an idea of scale, Genting / Cameron Highlands is at 1800meter above sea level). It’s a hill resort town on the Karo Plateau. The town itself is like a stop between other more important places. The good thing is that the locals there do not rely on tourism to generate their economy so I am actually looking forward not to be hustled like certain touristy places! From Medan, I will be heading towards Lake Toba and begin the slow climb up into Sumatra’s mountainous spine. The road I will be on will wind its way upwards through a succession of hairpin bends for about 70km or so. Since Brastagi is my first checkpoint and I will be going up, up and up, I will take my time to acclimatize and get myself use to the roads and the motorist behaviour on the roads.

Background - Brastagi

Brastagi, or Berastagi is said to be taken from the Karo Batak words beras (rice) tagi (asking) or ‘asking for rice’. At the altitude of 1300meters, it is hard to grow rice, so the Karo Batak would descend to lower levels to barter upland crops and other products for rice. Brastagi was actually established by the Dutch as a retreat town in the 20th century up until slightly after World War 2, to cool down from the heat of the then bustling port, Medan. The Dutch from other parts of Indonesia, planters and businessmen would frequent Brastagi for a retreat. Sometime in the 1930s, it became not only a resort town but also a retirement town for the Dutch. This was not to last as the Japanese imprisoned most Europeans during World War 2 and after the war, most of the villas were burnt down during the fight for independence between the Indonesians and the East Indies.

Now, Berastagi is a quiet backpackers attraction. People go there for their two active volcanoes, Sibayak and Sinabung. The latter recently erupted in 2010. For more of Berastagi and the two volcanoes, see the link here: http://www.dharssi.org.uk/travel/indonesia/berastagi.html

To read more on Brastagi and find out how I do at this first checkpoint, follow my blog. We promise there will be regular updates. Till then, take care and always remember to love and care for one another. I am signing out with the next 5 questions.

The Last Five Questions:

Question 06: (Face2Face Question):

You mentioned somewhere that you started to train full time in June this year onwards, can tell us why full time?

Answer:

I remember in 2003, a school principal once told me, “if I teach my pupils part time, they will get part time results…” I thought the only best way to train for Indonesia is to make the training as realistic as it can be. Getting up early, preparing my bike, breakfast and set off to ride daily. Ride the way I am going to ride in Indonesia. I am not doing only Bali, I am doing from Medan to Bali and to be able to achieve that, I decided to cycle from morning to about 2pm. My work wasn’t affected at all as I sleept early to get enough rest for the daily ride, and if I had to be in school in the morning, I will ride to school and after my school session.

Question 07: (Face2Face Question):

Where is your favorite training route in Singapore and why?

Answer:

There are two training routes for me. The Eastern Loop and the Western Loop. For easy active recovery ride, I would ride on the Eastern Loop, 60 km long with a combination of flat straights and easy climbs (I am sorry I am not able to post the map here). For speed, strength and endurance training, I would be on the Western Loop. Super hardcore and I call it ‘Suicide Loop’ – combination of a series of long climbs, even when I am near the end, there will be 4 more climbs. That really puts my mental strength to the test. I like them both because one gives me an easy Active Recovery ride and the other gives me the distance and a balance of flat and climb throughout the entire 120km.

Eastern Loop, Active Recovery (60km)

IKEA Tampines – Pasir Ris – Loyang Road – Commando Camp – Old Changi Hospital – Changi Village – Changi Coastal Road – NSRCC – ECP – Fort Road – Upper East Coast Road – Siglap Hill – Kembangan – Bedok Reservoir – IKEA Tampines (60km)

Active recovery ride

Western Loop, or known as ‘Suicide Loop’ - Hardcore (120km)

IKEA Tampines – Pasir Ris Farmway – Lorong Halus – Ponggol – Jalan Kayu – Seletar Airbase – Yishun Dam – Yishum – Sembawang – Admiralty – Woodland Waterfront – Bukit Timah – Rifle Range Road – Swiss Club Road – Bukittinggi – Clementi Road – Pasir Panjang – Kent Ridge Park – Alexandra Road – Preston Hill – Alexandra Road – Telok Blangah Hill – Mount Faber (at least 5 sets) – City – Mt Sophia (at least 5 sets – Mountbatten – Siglap Hill (5 sets) – Kembangan – Bedok Reservoir – IKEA Tampines

* Finish it by lunch. Have a lunch break and repeat it again for another session. It will become your ‘suicide route’.

Question 08: (Face2Face Question):

Share with us one experience you cannot forget while training in Singapore and why?

Answer:

Whenever I do the Western Loop, just at the tail end of the route, I will be on Upper East Coast Road en-route to hit Siglap Hill. I never fail to see an old uncle pushing his tricycle there about 12-12.30pm. So one day, on a really hot day I decided to slow down and take a cruise behind the uncle and his heavily loaded cardboards on his tricycle. The first impression was, ‘karung guni’ uncle. My heart softened, I rode slowly to the right side of the handle bar (the uncle was pushing the tricycle from the left as the handle bar is long) and reach for it and started to help the uncle to push using my pedal power. It happened, just like that. We talked and from there I saw his ‘very tired’ expression. I coaxed him to take a break under the shade from the big tree along Upper East Coast Road. We spoke at length, me finding out how long he has been pushing his tricycle, from what time to what time, what his typical breakfast was like and more. What broke my heart was not what he is doing but to know he has grown son and daughters but no one ever returns home to see if he and the wife were doing alright. There are more after a few visits to his home but I will leave it at that. That is one experience until today I won’t forget. Simple thing like slowing down can lead you to something else. Until today I will remind myself to slow down, drink the coffee and chat with people more…

Question 09: (Face2Face Question):

Are you ready for the second leg?

Answer:

Mentally, I am set for this. Physically I am 90% when I wrote this report. Yes, I am ready to do this second leg. I am so ready for it.

Question 10: (Face2Face Question):

Name one person you wish could come to join you for this cycling adventure? No matter where he or she starts from…

Answer:

Anyone from the “Slackers”! And there is this one girl I know for quiet sometime now, a cyclist. She has been cycling for a while. She cycles to work, cycles to meet friends etc. We were having lunch the other day and she told me she bought a touring bicycle. That is the kind of rider I would love to see riding with me into Bali.

RA's Journal: Reflecting On The Warm-up Stage

Adventure Cycling for Humanity 2011 – Indonesia

Singapore – Ipoh Warm-up Stage Review

Before we get into this ride review. Let’s answer as many questions as possible. This way, when the cycling adventure resumes, we would have completely answered most if not all the questions sent so far. Please keep sending me questions related to Adventure Cycling for Humanity 2011 – Indonesia, either through my facebook page or via email to fluidrider@gmail.com

Today’s Question:

Question 1 (Face2Face Question):

Where was your toughest route so far?

Answer:

So far for me, the toughest was from Teluk Intan to Ipoh in the state of Perak. I can still remember how I struggled against the wind, up the hills and through the storm. I thought the distance of 95km was bearable if I wasn’t travelling with load. Yes, Teluk Intan to Ipoh was my toughest.

Second toughest I think would have to be from Seremban to Kuala Lumpur on Route No.1 (50km). I almost gave up on the climb out of Seremban, especially after my difficult 40km ride from Port Dickson to Seremban and with little sleep I managed the night before. Similar to the ride going into Ipoh, I rode in the scorching heat of Malaysia, against the wind on a flat open roads and through the storm into Kuala Lumpur’s busy traffic on a Friday. I think my real test will be in Bukit Berakit, Perak. I have not passed it yet and I am not sure if I would, considering my physical state I’m now. I would want to give it a try if I am 100% fit again. We shall see.

*As of right now, the plan is for me to do a customary ride into Pulau Pinang Island from Butterworth and wait for a day or two (depending on the availability of the vessel) before boarding the ship to Medan port.

Question 2 (Face2Face Question):

How do you plan your main route and the next day’s route?

Answer:

When I was younger, I like to stare at the world map on the wall of my school, imagining the adventures and landscapes that lie ahead. Now that I am at it, I realised planning and marking out a route can also be hard work. How do you decide where to go? The shorter and easier touristy route or the more adventurous Lonely Planet route? And what if the locals recommended the one old abandon roads which they think would be nicer and more scenic?

For the Malaysia warm-up stage, I generally plotted a general direction and destination to end each day’s ride. I prepare two routes – one northwest along the coastal road and the other northeast interior route. Base on my then physical state, I try to plot a route not longer than 100km with shorter recovery route of 40km or slightly more the following day. Of course the distance is flexible as I won’t know exactly how tough or easy the big route (100km) is until I am on it. If the big route is fairly easy, the following day’s distance might change slightly or I will go slightly deeper on the northeast route to see and search for local interesting places.

As for my main route, I would avoid riding on the main roads if possible. I would love to venture into the old villages or coastal dirt roads to see what is there. Of course, this needs a little bit more planning and research. I will usually ask the local for the history of the area I will be travelling through, the background of the place and google it to see the geography and elevation and re-plot my route accordingly. My distances and routes are flexible and can change from time to time depending what I hear from the local, the weather, my present physical and mental state of mind. I am not just cycling, I’m on a quest for some Adventure , People, Geography and History of the places I am on.

This were the routes I took from Singapore to Ipoh, Perak:

Day 02: Singapore – Pontian

Day 03: Pontian – Batu Pahat

Day 04: Batu Pahat – Muar

Day 05: Muar – Malacca

Day 06: Malacca – Port Dickson

Day 07: Port Dickson – Seremban – Kuala Lumpur

Day 08 and Day 09: Rest in Kuala Lumpur

Day 10: Kuala Lumpur – Kuala Selangor

Day 11: Kuala Selangor – Sabak Bernam, Selangor

Day 12: Sabak Bernam – Teluk Intan, Perak

Day 13: Teluk Intan – Ipoh, Perak

Day 14: Ipoh – Kuala Kangsar

Question 3 (FaceBook Question):

Along your warm-up stage route, where was the best place to ride and chill for a short cycling getaway in Malaysia?

Answer:

It depends on how long you are looking at and what is your preference - seaside cycling holiday or a city centre cycling holiday. If I would to recommend one, it would be a weekend seaside cycling gateway (Friday – Sunday) in Tanjung Bidara, Malacca. A beautiful seaside village with ample chalets and bungalows. Homestays are also plenty and cheap – RM 50, will get you the whole well kept kampong house. Give it a thought and google it for more information.

Question 4 (FaceBook Question):

How long is your break going to be before you resume your journey and from where will you start? How are you coping?

Answer:

My break will be for 2 weeks from 22 October to 5 November. I will be heading to Butterworth and resume my journey from there into Pulau Pinang. I will be resting one or two days in Pulau Pinang (depending on the vessel’s departure date and time) and do my final check before boarding the ship to Medan Port. I am coping well. Not 100% but I am good and I do really hope I will be back to 90-100% when I leave Singapore on the 5th. I’m still trying my very best to keep the flow. I am making coffee in the morning using my camping stove, making breakfast from whatever I can find in my camping pannier, eating instant noodles for lunch, making tea at 3 and cooking dinner all from whatever I can find in the camping pannier. Technically, I am still in my Adventure Cycling mode.

I will go out with friends to drink teh tarik, eat mee goreng. I am also doing a slow and easy active recovery in the mornings and other than the pain from the right knee, I am doing well so far.

Question 5 (FaceBook Question):

Name one thing you were glad you brought along with you?

Answer:

I will name two! One will be Baby Johnson cream. Into the fourth day of my ride from Malacca to Port Dickson, my face was so burnt I couldn’t touch it! At night, I found the baby lotion in my ‘spare clothing’ pannier and until today, I will apply the lotion before I sleep. The other would have to be the electrolyte that I was asked by the world’s ironman participant, Terry to carry along. I feel without it, I would have had cramps every single day.

The baby lotion

My electrolytes

The Review:

29th October 2011:

My seventh day back in Singapore - resting and recovering (R&R). I found out that my right knee (inside knee cap) was actually much worse than my ankle. I’m glad that I returned home for this short R&R. I did go out this morning on the bike, trying an easy 40km eastern loop and I am feeling good. I am not pushing it yet but come next week, I will have my rear panniers on the bike and give an easy spin on the eastern loop again. After today, I am slightly hopeful to be able to leave on the 5th of November and re-start my journey on the 6th of November. I need to be 100% fit in order to complete this huge challenge ahead of me. I had a great time coming back for this short R&R. I was out with my fellow riders cycling to the city centre to eat, eat and eat.

That is my active recovery by the way. I am putting back what I’ve lost on the Malaysia leg as I will need more of it when I am on the Indonesian mountain roads.

Since there were request for me to write a post ride report from my warming up stage. I will share the concerns I had while I was on the Malaysia warm-up leg, on what worked and what did not, I will also share some of my little experiences in preparing for this trip as well as the training stages. I will write a little on everything and I hope from these insights, you can figure out how to improve on it. I will talk on my training, fuel, gears, equipments, decision making, health and issues, and cycling safely on the roads. And as I go along, I will also try to write the next volume… this will all depend on demand. If no one asks, I will chill and ride.

* Disclaimer: Different Adventure Cyclist has different gear, equipment, style and preference. What you are reading here is my preference and please feels free to adjust it to suit your Adventure riding style, distance and to make your life a bit easier.

Planning and Training:

Planning for this adventure took me over a year. I spoke to a few adventure long distant cyclist online , read their blogs and some books of personal long distance cyclist. I did research on many countries for this adventure cycling to help me in selecting Indonesia. The few reasons that swayed me to ride through Indonesia were, I spoke their language, was familiar with their foods and customs, and I did a small pilot project to ride around Bali to teach Frisbee in the village school with two of my other coaches. I knew that Indonesia would be very tough, especially the Sumatra leg and that is why I decided to train for this Adventure Cycling. I did all my planning and research at the National Library Board HQ spending time at night after work to slowly workout the general route, distances, stops and places to go.

My training for this started in July last year (taking a year) doing it easy and riding around for fun. Getting use to handling the bicycle again wasn’t difficult after a long break of not riding it seriously. My cycling background goes all the way back to when I was 7 years young. So getting back the basics was quite straight forward. From there, I developed a training program to bring me the distance, stamina, speed and strength that I would require. I combined this with alternate working out at the park workout corner and trekking Bukit Timah hill once or twice a week.

Decision Making:

To be on a bicycle and traveling on a bicycle solo is not as easy as I thought. Well, that is exactly what I thought initially, going solo would be easier and faster. I am alone, I stop whenever I want, eat whenever and whatever I want. But in difficult situations, making decisions solo may not be always the best thing. How do I do it all by myself, making the important decisions?

It all depends on the overall perspective of your cycling adventure. When to eat? Whenever I am in need of fuel or when I am hungry. Where to stay for the night? Ideally somewhere safe and reasonably comfortable for me to have good rest (my plan was to camp along the west coast of Malaysia but this was not ideal nor safe). These were all common sense, really. If it rained heavily and the camp site was swamped with mosquitoes and there is a RM30 motel room nearby, why would you want to be camping outside and suffer the next day? Big decision making such as back tracking, changing the route at the last minute and passing lunch stops are all calculated and valid. Usually it will happen when I need to avoid trouble. Of course the biggest decision so far I had made for the warming up stage was to come back home for a short R&R. To be able to make this sort of decision, I needed to make few phone calls for a quick consultation. Usually those that I call will be someone who were experienced long distance riders and can know or feel how I am feeling. At the end of the day, I will make the final decision as I am the one that’s going to be doing this adventure and I am the one who knows best how my present body condition is.

Health Issues while on the Road:

One of the trickiest part for every Adventure Cyclist. Maintaining one’s health and staying healthy is every Adventure Cyclist and also my number one concern, and the main factor for me being able to finish this challenge. I can only do so much by sleeping enough, sleeping right, eating enough and eating right. So far I have been fortunate with the food in Malaysia, I had not had any problems. That was very important. Next, I managed to get proper rest most of the time except in Port Dickson.

The weather, the geography and the load I am carrying and the distance in Indonesia will demand a lot from my body, so taking care of myself will be my top priority. Anything small, even a small flu would affect this adventure. I trained for this accordingly and what I need now was to stay focus on the tasks. I will need to make sure I have enough rest each night, eat right, eat enough and eat good food on top of the supplements that I would be taking. The good thing is I’m familiar with Indonesian food and I love eating at the warungs. So, I am actually looking forward to this – being in Indonesia enjoying the sights and food, on top of what I will be going to be doing, promoting Ultimate Frisbee to the village schools.

*I’m also on medication – Hypertension. Not that I needed it but ever since I was prescribed that 2 years ago, I wasn’t allowed to stop taking it until today. I am ok with that since I got enough supplies to last me for 3 months.

Fuel:

When to eat? What to eat? How much to eat? I asked myself these questions a year before I started this journey. My typical morning riding 'fuel' for my 'engine' would be 4 rice balls with a little black sauce and salts to be consumed each hour and a cut fresh fruit (mostly bananas) at the check points. I've learnt to pay more attention to correct 'fuelling' for my 'engine' rather than worrying about the merits of the latest frameset, tyres or seat post. To me this is very important as I will always be on the bicycle, 8hrs a day continuously pedaling. I know this is not only a week bicycling adventure, but it would be 12 – 16 weeks of continuously cycling for 80-100 days over the mountain ranges of Sumatra, Java and some parts of Bali. To date, over 12 days of cycling out of 14 days, I have lost 12kg. I need to re-think on the way I load my fuel and load more and stop longer for proper and good meals. I would also need to sleep enough. Eat enough and eat good food.

So what is good? For fuel, I always carry with me 4-6 rice balls prepared in the morning at the first warung I see. With a little bit of salt and black soy sauce. I will have one ball per hour or whenever I feel I am in need of something down in my ‘fuel tank’. I have been practicing to load while cycling when I was training in Singapore so stopping wasn’t necessary at all if I didn’t need too but I do it with care and make sure I am in a safe zone.

My fuel

Gear and Equipments - What I brought along and why?:

My camping gear. Though I haven’t had the chance to use during the warming up stage has been tested many times here in Singapore, and for the cooking equipment, it has been with me for years (as long as I can remember, since my army days from 1988). I think in Indonesia if I was given no choice like in Malaysia, I will need to camp out. So, if push came to shove, I would find a nice cosy place where I could to set up my tent and cook up something nice. (please do send me your camping recipes).

My bicycle spares:

I will be alone 80%of the time travelling on the road. So I figured for me to be able to make it at least to another smaller town, I would need a basic bicycle repair kit. 2 spare tyres, 2 spare tubes, chain links, and all the necessary tools. All tested before, checked and approved by Uncle Teck – Song Seng Chan). So I am covered for this one.

Safety on the Road:

Its has always been my daily issue. Each day on the road is a high risk for me. Every morning before I leave to hit the road, I have a list to go through. The route, road condition, traffic, elevation and difficulty level. The more information I could get hold of and absorb the better for me to minimize the risk on the road. If possible I would try to pick a route with less traffic every time I plan my route. Main Supply Route (MSR) or roads that are heavy with traffic would be avoided. If possible, I would travel on the old Kampung roads, although it would be longer and more tiring cycling on graveled and muddy tracks. Unless there is no other choice, then only would I travel on the MSRs, and this would be where my two hand signals would comes into use. (See picture below)

Pic 01: Raise Right hand to indicate, “Watch out, I am here”

Pic 02: Slowly lower your right hand

Pic 03: Stretch out your right hand to indicate, “I need this much space”.

If possible, raise your right hand again to say, “thank you”

*Note: I was sitting in a warung (roadside stall) in Perak when a lorry driver who passed me earlier on whom I spoke too told me the hand signals above actually work. They see me on the bicycle of course but with the hand signals, they see me as an alert rider and is very serious on safety giving them with no choice but to obliged and give as much space practical.

Staying Focus:

How does one rider stay focus on the road for so long while being on the road? I asked myself this question before I started my journey. I read other long distance / adventure cyclist blogs and also did some research in the library. For me, it was to plot my route, set up check points / rest points and also to have a timeline to stop the bike, rest, load fuel and move again. Things like going into different routes for different scenery will keep you alert, stopping for a quick break will perk your body a little and from my little experience, taking pictures helps you to freshen up too. But for me, staying focus on the road is vital because any thing less would be very dangerous for my safety. Anyone who has suggestions on how I can stay focus while on a bicycle, please feel free to share with me.

What worked? (from the Warming up leg in Malaysia):

The Raleigh bike is performing the way it should be so far in Malaysia. I hope it does the same in Indonesia.

The Panniers front and rear rack are holding up well. (Thanks Seh Suan and William Toh)

The front Toppeak panniers are doing well and the design suits my packing style (Thank you Soon Bee Huat).

2XU cycling gear, perfect and I am going to get another pair as I now know 2 pairs are not enough for me to go through the Indonesia Archipelago. (Thanks Keypower International).

The cooking equipment. My trusted equipment since 1988

What Needs Improvement?:

The Shimano riding shoe needed stitching to give extra protection.

The rear panniers (I can’t remember the brand) need to be patched for extra precaution. It burst in Malaysia on the 4th day into the warming up stage.

The rainjacket needs to be replaced as the one I had got ripped riding in the Pontian storm.

My load needs to be lighten by another 4kg for me to be able to climb more comfortably (The only way I see right now is shedding my weight)

Suggestions:

If you have any suggestions for me to improve my adventure in Indonesia, or if you have information to share, please feels free to drop me an email at fluidrider@gmail.com