Finally, after a dry spell of not riding for 2 consecutive weeks, I am back! No explanation or reasons need be given for the absence. The main thing now is Bicycling Malaysia is back on its feet again!

And now folks…back to today’s mountain biking trail! A last minute decision after meeting up with another die-hard and dedicated mountain biker the night before, Sanny managed to convinced me to join in today’s ride. With two (2) of his Penang friends’, how can I turn down the invitation – a ‘kiasu’ syndrome where we locals must show them Northern folks that we are really serious mountain bikers!

The night before seemed threatening when the cold wind started blowing away at almost midnight. In my mind I was already telling myself that this is a great chance to have another ‘no-ride’ affair again! True enough, the rain was pouring very heavily when I got up to prepare for the ride. At 07:15am, here I was, telling myself that this is another of a ‘Do’ or ‘Sleep’ situation! But as I had said before: Rain or shine, the ride must go on! And a promise made must be kept, right?

Maybe it’s been too long since we last rode here as I could feel the toll on my energy being slowly and painfully swept away! Bukit Cahaya has been transformed into a trail that almost looked so very different. It is very obvious that today’s trail had not been used for a very long time. Sadly, the initial part was almost unrecognizable as most of the interesting ground had already been bulldozed. Judging by the landscaping work that’s being done, it is fearful that this beautiful hill will be turned into another posh hilltop residential area real soon!

The ride up the hill was slippery and this makes it worst on the way down! And I really regretted having put on my new pair of John Luck cycling shoes today as the mud really got to it mercilessly! Thank goodness the shoes were very comfortable to wear and comparable to any of the other much more expensive cycling shoes. This was indeed a very good buy available at the Bike Pro Centre.

None of us were spared the whippings and lashings from the long weeds and all the overgrown grass. To make it even more interesting if not technical, we had to carry our bikes over fallen tree trunks many times. And we had to discipline ourselves never to open our mouth either! The flying mud and loose debris coming up from the front of our wheel were not too welcomed!

Derek and Allyn was starting to comment that we locals are all out to kill them in this trail! If only they knew, we really had no idea that the trail would be transformed into such a terribly technical one. It all adds up, the clearing of the land, the mud, the wet and slippery ground created a combination which made my ‘welcome back’ ride most memorable. The sun was beginning to come out high up in the sky. And slowly, piece by piece Derek was starting to do the strip tease! First it was his cycling jersey. Next was followed by his long downhill paddings. We were wondering when he will be taking his pants!

The downhill was a real bonus and compliment to Derek who expertly tackled all of it. The best and loveliest part must be the trail where we were all engulfed in white tall weeds, all around us. It was really so beautiful that Dave and Derek like little children had to have a go at it again, through the long lovely white weeds!

A word of warning from Sanny, to be extra careful towards the end of the ride where he claimed many riders had their share of crashes! Unfortunately he did not tell us that the end of the ride was still a long ride away. So after riding quite a distance, I was beginning to wonder where was the warning crash site. And thinking that we must have passed it already, I decided to go for it right at the end of the downhill.

What a shocker it was for me when just after I had let go of everything including my gripping of the brakes , as I picked up speed during the nice steep downhill, there it was right in front of me! Two (2) very deep holes, enough to swallow up the front of my wheel appeared out of nowhere! As I went into the first one, I already knew there was no way that I can avoid the second. The somersaulting in the air must have been quite a sight for Sanny and Dave who were already at the base waiting for the rest of us. Luckily, not much damage except for a bruised left thigh and a bloody elbow, it could have been worst. And once again, thanks to my cycling helmet, my head was spared the impact as I could see a little dent at the rear end of the helmet!

It was indeed a good ride and a great fellowship with Derek and Allyn, our two (2) new friends from Penang. Hopefully, we can have more of this inter-state gathering of riders again. Well, it looks like tomorrow’s ride is off for me now – not with a bruised and aching thigh! And a still wet and bloody left elbow!

This brings me to having to think seriously about how this site could be run in future. Having been on a lone crusade for the site for the past 2 years is no easy task. What happens if I am away or if I am not able to ride? There will be no articles to publish, no write-ups, no news! So I have come up with an idea where all you lovely folks can chip in the fun, and help make Bicycling Malaysia site an ever growing and active one! If any of you feel like writing, expressing your thoughts on your biking experiences, please feel free to send your thoughts in. It will be posted up for everyone to read. You can be the star for the week? Most people if not everyone, is afraid to write articles that will be made public – this I know. So my advice is this; do not worry too much about what the end product would look like .. the thrill and spills may all be there but not in their proper language. As long as it is original then it’s ok. And as long as there is no offensive or defaming write-ups of course. So, any volunteers out there?

Until the next ride ...