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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**
hah! dah ada comment box dah...
ReplyDeleteme also pancit ler. banyak rest especially on the way back to PP, after finishing all the 3 CPs :)
a very thorough account of the event, bro.
i enjoyed reading it.
I am definitely enjoying your website. You definitely have some great insight and great stories. chinese carbon rim
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