Mr MoBICs Petronas Refinery MTB Jamboree - 25/07/2009

I know....it's kinda late for me to update this....but heck....better late than never right?...hehehe

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I reached Melaka at 12 midnight...alone...Akmal, Reza and EG had arrived somewhere in the afternoon...initial plan was to stay at a cheap hotel for the night before the event next day but luckily Akmal's cousin Adlee was generous enough to let us spend the night at his house at Batu Berendam...Thanks bro!

After freshen up a bit, I tucked in somewhere before 1 am. Woke up at 6 am...and after a few minutes wait, it was my turn to use the bathroom....and then after solat, all 4 of us geared up and started our journey to Pantai Puteri, Melaka....

EG's Perdana...with 3 bikes perched on top...nice....

The event site was about 15-20km away from Batu Berendam....and since I was driving alone.....I turned on the CD as loud as I could and sang my heart out...haha....trying to create a mood for the day...I guess..=p

Group photo....err...where's my front wheel?



gearing up...



my lucky number for the day...117...out of...err....ntah?




light breakfast before the ride....avoid taking the spicy stuff ler dey?


Reached Pantai Puteri at 7.30 am...there's still time for registration and a quick bite....and after a while, the event starts off at 8.10 am. I was riding leisurely in mid pack alongside Reza....Akmal and EG had gone further up front...

The first few kilometres were a breeze....didn't even break a sweat....hehe..(righttt.....)…that was until we reached the off road section....first few km off road was okay...surprisingly..there were many uphills..and not so many downhills...it's not what I anticipated...=p

Faced my first and only difficulties after a few hills....maybe I was over confident that I could go on riding uphill without stopping...or maybe my breathing techniques were incorrect...I had to stop mid way during one hill climb as I was seeing blank and about to passed out....really....luckily EG was around and helped me to recover and after taking about 15 minutes break, we started riding again...much slowly this time....

I tried as much to conserve energy as the journey was still long...I have no intention to DNF....since I was ok, EG left me and went on to catch up with Akmal...I paired with Reza the whole journey right till the end.

The trail condition was not as bad as I thought it's gonna be...unlike Seri Alam's, the trail there were cleaner...and more easily rideable...the only thing that I hate was the never ending up hills (one after another)...with so few downhill...haha....


I've learnt my lesson and was able to control my breathing more properly....as should be...I've lost precious time due to the earlier blunder and had to ride consistently to get to the 1st check point on time or else I'd be disqualified...

Made it to the 1st check point in nick of time…..I was quite relieved actually….I guess in this kinda situation, your determination counts most….you tend to push yourself to the limit to get to the objectives…in my case, the check points….after taking a few minutes rest, we continued our journey to the next objectives, check point two….

me and Reza...at check point 1

After a while, we reached the 1st water check point. Me and Reza took a longer rest compared to Akmal and EG. They decided to take a short breather before starts riding again with another PG Gereker rider.

1st water check point...there's EG on the left..

Me and Reza left the check point about 10 minutes after Akmal and EG. We knew that we couldn’t catch up with them…knowing that both of them had experience riding off road events before this….so this 48km ride should be a piece of cake for them…haha..



hike..hike..hike...



pedal..pedal..pedal..to the metal....hehe


one hill after another...arghhhhh!!!!

Riding at a steady pace, me and Reza reached the second check point and soon after that (after much difficulty, being lost and Reza suffering a brake problem) reached the 2nd water check point. We took a 10 minutes break before starts riding again. According to the event marshals, only about 60++ participants had reached their check point, meaning that half of the participants had DNFed….which also means that I, Reza and few of the riders there were in the last pack.


After about 2 or 3 km riding, we reached the 3rd check point somewhere before 12 noon. By this time, there were only 6 riders left including me and Reza. Two of them were riding upfront, leaving us at the back.

Reza and me as well as the other 2 riders went on riding….at a steady pace…though we were really tired due to the journey and the mid day heat, we continued riding anyway, as there were no other alternatives to reach the final destination, Pantai Puteri which was about 15 km away.
The ride back to the RV point was quite easy actually; riding on flat road…the only obstacle was how strong our determination and the unbearable heat….


I finally reached the final check point at about 1:30 pm…which makes my time on road about 5 hours. .Akmal and EG had reached the place about 15 – 20 minutes prior to me and Reza’s.

me...reaching the finish line...with style.....hahaha....

After signing out, both of us receives a medal, a participation certificate and some souvenirs. It felt great….despite being completely exhausted...there’s complete satisfaction….indescribable….beyond words….haha….

Reza : got me self a medal...yay!

me: a blank cert?after 48km you gave me a blank cert?

guy in green: dey?look in the paper bag la moron!


We all left Pantai Puteri after having lunch, courtesy from the organizers. Reached Adlee’s place to freshen up and after bidding farewell, left for home at 4pm. I was alone again, Akmal, EG and Reza decided to rest a while more before leaving for JB….me….I prefer to wonder around Melaka town first…hehe….

Reached JB around 10 pm….went to Kg Melayu to pick up my new 2010 brake set from Che Leng before heading home….hehe

Well…overall I can say that it has been a meaningful journey….gained a lot of experience too….but I guess I need more exposure to prepare myself for another ride like this….probably more off road rides to sharpen my skills and more on road rides to build my endurance?...guess so…

So..till my next riding log….ride on guys….ride safe….=)

**pics courtesy from Akmal Hizam**

RTW 01/08/2009

Yup....that's right!....I RTW yesterday....inspired by Akmal, I've been wanting to do that for quite some time now...finally did it yesterday....

Though I was quite tired due to the NR I participated the night earlier, I was determined to complete the feat...I started riding at 6:40am...with my front and rear blinkers switched on, I ride thru the neighbourhood towards Jalan Tampoi...not too many cars that morning...Saturday....most people would still be in their beds...while some had an early morning....either to go to the mosque or to work..like me....=)

The trip was a pleasant one....and refreshing too...with cool morning air...instead of mid day heat....or cold nights with polluted air from exhaust fumes....=p

It wasn't all too tiring...and before I knew it, I've reached the junction of Jalan Tampoi and Tebrau Highway in about 20 minutes...take note that I was riding leisurely....no excessive use of strength to increase speed as I decided not to strain myself too much..don't want to get all tired as I need to face the auditors again today....sigh.....=p

There were less vehicles accomoditing the highway that morning....maybe because it was Saturday...on weekdays, I'm sure by that time, the road would be packed with cars...

I rode on and stayed to the left, trying not to take much space for fearing busses or lorries that might take up the left lane..riding consistantly around 20-25km/h...the only time that I'm forced to stop was when attempting to cross the road in front of the Army Camp at Pandan....after which I turned in to Ponderosa and head straight to my destination, Taman Molek....

Reached office at 07:20am....which makes my time on road approximitely 40 minutes...it was still early...enough time for me to take a quick shower, change to my work attire and go for breakfast next door...I guess it was okay for my first try.....can be improved further.....well...that was my early assumption....and it's about to change during the trip back home....=p

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It was 5:05pm...time to head back home...I took the same route...from office, thru Ponderosa...had to stop at the nearby Petronas to replenish my water bottle with 100Plus...I continued riding afterwards at a very slow pace...and before long, I reached the Tebrau Highway again and there I encountered my first obstacles of the day.....the road was packed with fast passing vehicles....I thought to myself...."this gonna be a bit tricky...how the heck am I supposed to cross the road?"....and so I kept on riding while trying to figure out ways to safely cross the road...this time, I have to carefully manouver my bike to the leftest as possible as those cars, busses and even lorries were driving fast..even at the slow lane....compared to the trip that morning....it was dusty, hot and the air was filled with exhaust fumes.......hehe...reminds me of the good ol' days (when I used to ride motorcycles to work)....finally as I was reaching the Jalan Tampoi junction, the road was getting a bit more narrower....and I don't think that I could squeezed thru the left lane anymore...let alone crossing the busy road to get to the other side....so I took a detour..and turned left towards Taman Seri Amar...that would cost me an extra 5 minutes...I rode uphill and turned right after passing the Police Station...beside the highway, there is an overhead crossing for pedastrian...and so I climbed up the steps, carrying my bike on my shoulder...crossed the road and starts riding again, this time thru Kampung Melayu before I reached Jalan Tampoi again....I estimated that I've lost some 15 minutes starting from the time I turned in to Taman Seri Amar....but there were just no way for me to cross the road and I just thought that safety comes first....

I went on riding until I reached Kg Ungku Mohsin where I had to take another detour due to a construction work on the road after the traffic light which heads towards Kempas-Larkin junction. I rode on cautiously as I could see stray dogs everywhere.....luckily they ignored me and went on to their business and I safely reach Larkin in less than 10 minutes....from there, I rode on straight home....

I reached home at 5:55pm....exhausted....and quite out of breath....my time on road was 50 minutes...an additional 10 minutes from the morning trip to work..but with all the detours and difficulties....I guess I was riding a bit faster...I guess....

I achieved my goal for the RTW trip....but decided not to do it again....well maybe....too much hassle during the trip back home...and not to mention that I've to leave my bike outside the office premise during working hour due to strict company policy...have to leave my bike chained to a stepping ladder at the back of the office...though the back gate was locked....I just don't feel secure enough...

There's no way I could RTW during weekdays...traffic is too heavy at the Tebrau Highway....too dangerous....not worth risking my life for it...I wonder how Saiful endured the danger every time he joined the NR....he would ride to the RV point from Taman Daya using the same route....hmmmm....

Well...I guess that'll be my first and last attempt for RTW....if I were to repeat it, I'll make sure that my wife will have to pick me up after work...hahaha......as if.....=p