Janda Baik - Kenaboi - an unforgettable 74km journey of never ending torture! 21-22 July 2001

I think I must be out of my mind when I decided to join PCC's Hell On Bike #3 at Janda Baik-Kenaboi. It was a 74km never-ending torture of ups and downs. To add the situation worst, there were mud puddles in a lot of sections. Yet, having read things about Janda Baik-Kenaboi from KL Bike Hash homepage about how fantastic and how tough the ride is, I decide to give it a try. When PCC decide to do it as one of HOB series, I immediately hop in! I know I am not going to survive the ride if I go to Janda Baik with my 36 inch tummy, naah actually it is 34...:) So I bought that Red Devil from Gary's shop and planned out an intensive training schedule before it. I trained hard, yet the ride was even harder. I virtually conked out when I finally finished it!

Friday, 20 July 2001

The ride started on Saturday morning. Checking my annual leave shows that I only have one day left. If I put it on Friday, I would have ample time to drive to KL and ample rest. But I will suffer on Monday since I will have to come home after the ride. So I put the leave on Monday, which means I will have one day to rest and recovery. If I don't feel like driving after the ride, I can go shopping at the Mall in KL! So I left right after the work on Friday. That was the plan. The actual fact was that I had to settle few thing in the office before I left. That cost me dearly. I could not leave the office until six thirty in the evening. And I told James, the PCC guy that I have been keeping in touch that I would meet him at the Mall in Kuala Lumpur at nine. Immediately I rushed back home to collect my stuff, took a brief shower and had a quick change and off I went! The North South was very heavy in traffic. I could hardly maintain my driving speed at 140. In some stretch, I was lucky if I could maintain the speed at 120kph. Luckily, the sky was nice to me. There was no raining from Penang til I reached KL. James, was already at the meeting point when I finally arrived at the Mall at exactly three hours later. Without wasting any time, we headed to the nearest hawker center to fill up my stomach first!

I forgot that I would have to leave my car at Pekan 18 batu, the end point of the ride. So when James told me that I would have to go to Pekan 18 Batu with him and dumped my car there. My reaction was, "Shit it means I will not be able to hit the sack right away!". Looking at my watch, it told me time was already eleven at night. Having no choice but to follow him to end point, dumped my Daihatsu there and prayed nothing would happen to her when I picked her up on Sunday!

I finally managed to sleep after helping James to fix up the bike rack on his car and take a warm shower. The time told me it was already two at dawn. And James told me we should get up at five. Boy!

Saturday, 21 July 2001

I was so lazy to get up when my mobile's alarm sounded at exactly five in the morning. My head was pounding due to only three hours of sleep. James was still in his dreamland. I knew if I did not wake up now, James and I were going to be late at the meeting point at Genting Sempah. It seems Genting Sempah is a favorite place for KL riders to meet up when they organize a long mountain biking trip. After James picked up his two riding buddies, by the time we reached Genting Sempah, there were already people waiting here. I think we were one of the last riders arrived at the meeting point. Since the time was still early, I mean for the hawker stores, there were not many choices for breakfast. I ordered two sets of roti bakar(toast) and a cup of teh tarik kurang manis(pulled tea less sugar). Within seconds, the rotis and tea were already in my stomach. I must be hungry!

After every riders were accounted for, we proceeded to the trailhead at Janda Baik. We proceeded to the trail head using the old Bentong Freeway instead of the usual East West Highway. Along the twisting road there were fantastic views to the valley. If I were the driver, I would not have the opportunity to enjoy them! It took us about 10 minutes to reach the trailhead. Without wasting any time, I moved all my stuffs to the support vehicle and set my trusty Diamondback up. I think my bike was the most beaten by the look of it. Look at others bikes would sure make me to decide to hide my bikes away. There were so many high end bikes. M4, Bianchi, Kona...you name it! Compare to them was like comparing a Kanchil to a Ferrari. But hell, that's the engine that counts right?

We set off to the trail half an hour later. The initial 5km ride was a tarmac ride. Nothing spectacular. I was one of the riders that took the casual pace. There would be 26km of unknown in front of me. I did not want to be carried out by them halfway. Everyone zoomed pass me like there were a school of bees chasing after them. Moments later, we finally reached the actual head of the trail. James was the one who gave the briefing. According to him, there would be few climbs ahead. The first five kilometer would be very muddy. He advised to carry the bike instead of riding over since if something happen to the bike or the rider, he/she would be on his/her own as support vehicle would not be able to access to the trail! We set off to the trail after the briefing.

The trail at the start was not bad at all. But it was quite undulating. Again, I decided to take a casual pace. I was thinking maybe James was boasting about the muddy part. Yeah I did see few mud paddles but are they really threatening? With Velociraptors on my Diamondback, I found out that I had more confident to tackle the descent. It was fun to ride on the undulating trail with the fat 2.1 Velociraptor. I forgot about James' warning and rode through the mud paddle. My fun ended when there was the huge stretch of muddy trail in front. It was totally un rideable. It would be suicidal if one rode thru. But some of the riders was brave enough to ride thru. I realized what James had said before was true. Having no choice, I came down from my bike carry it over. Luckily, there was this narrow stretch at the shoulder. It was wide enough for bicycle to cycle across. Instead of carrying my bike to clear this long stretch of muddy pond, I chose to ride on the narrow stretch.

The ride became more and more interesting as I rode further into the trail. The trail started to get more and more undulating. AS I rode along, the trail suddenly became steeper and steeper. At one section, there was this Batu Kawan like slope, not very long but long enough to give normal riders like me to come down and push. I tried to clear the trail but only managed three quarter of it. If it were an on road track, I would have no problem to finish the climb! At the end of the climb, I thought it was going to be going down. I was wrong! There was more climbs ahead. My casual pace has not worked the magic but I still managed to stay on my saddle. I started to see more riders climbing from their saddles when I reached an open space, which was full of "kacang botol"!

I began to meet more riders as I proceeded. Most of the gung ho riders slowed their initial fast pace after a few climbs. It was a tiring ride as we went in further and further. The trail became more difficult to ride after we passed the kacang botol plantation. A wide doubletrack gradually narrowed down to a singletrack. Apparently, we were approaching the edge of the primary jungle.

We had our lunch break after we covered about one half of the trail. It was a short break as the time was running late. The ride after the lunch break was even more challenging. I was greeted by a gradual but long climb. Someone told me that actually we were climbing out of the valley. Again, I only managed 50% of the climb. The rest of it I would have to stop to catch some breath. By the time I was at the peak of the climb, I was alone again. Funny though, when there were riders around, I had tendency of stop and go. But when I was alone, I was so full of energy that I could clear the slope that I was not able to clear before. Was it because of my survival instinct telling me that it was not a good idea to ride alone? Anyway, as I was to do another climb again, I started to see riders stopping by to take their rest. It was very tempting for me to stop. But I had resist the temptation since time was running late. I wished I could able to reach the camp site before sun set.

I was greeted by more and more technical uphills and downhills. I had no problem with technical downhills since the Velociraptor had given me the confidence to clear the most difficult part of the descent. But the technical uphill was the problem. I wish I had a 34 cog to clear them! Man, running at 22-32 was not enough, especially seeing so many riders climbing down from their saddle! It was a conflict between good and evil. Sometimes I won, sometimes I lose.

To make the matter worst. It started to rain after I reach the official rest point after the lunch break. I did not stay there for long since the PCC guys said the campsite was not far away. I think I was already conked out 5km before reaching the campsite. The last climb was the most difficult I had had of the day. I was about to give up already and then the trail started the descent! It was a relieve for me. You know, being the only knight joining the ride, I don't want to carry the big flag telling everyone that I was the last rider reaching the campsite!

I finally reached the campsite after six hours of torture. Also, it was a relieve that I was not the last rider who arrived. I was actually just half an hour before the front pack. Not bad. Not bad at all!

Dinner was served after the last pack arrived. I was so tired to even wash and oil my bike. So I told everybody goodnight and went straight to the my sleeping bag. It was the earliest sleep(7pm!) I had had in my life!

Sunday, 21 July 2001

After 12 hours of rest(!), I struggled to get up from the not-so-cozy platform in the Hilton Janda Baik. My back was stiff like a rock due to the hard surface I was sleeping on. Maybe it is a good idea to bring camping mat with me next time I do similar trip! Everyone was already up and getting themselves ready for the ride. I was told by James(again!) that the second part of the ride was no better than the first one but more downhill incline. I did not know whether to smile or cry. I was already overwhelmed by how tough the ride was a day before, and now this bugger told me that the ride we were going to do was no better than the first one? Man I went all out on the first day, and I ended up crawling to the campsite. So I made mental note that I was going to take it easy since there was 43 kilometer more to go before we met any sign of civilization.

I went to take a quick cold bath at the stream before I cleaned the drive train of my old trusty Diamondback. Speaking of which, maybe it was psychological. But I found out that the bike handles much better with WTB Velociraptor 2.1 Kevlar. I started to regain confidence at technical downhill section. Maybe I should ask Faz to get me few pairs of Velociraptor from his friend. It is very difficult to get Kevlar thread Velociraptor in Penang now. Everyone goes for expensive tires like Hutchinsons(I hate the color!) and Panaracer(I don't like the color too!). No doubt IRC Mythos 1.95 has much less rolling resistance. They are great racing tire. I raced them on the Sedim XC race. Technical descent? I think I will stick to the old Velociraptor! Anyway, after a cold bath at the stream and finished oiling my bikes drive train, the group was already getting themselves ready for the ride of the day. There was a briefing before I went for my morning bath by James. He cautioned us that the first few kilometers would be fast descent on wire meshed trail. Lunch will be served by the stream. We were given a pack of Pasta with separated pasta source each. No meat, veggie only(shit my inner self screamed for meatball!) and packed in hard plastic lunch container. I had a bad feeling that the container will crack after I squeezed in my 3 liter bladder into the sack I was carrying.

I started the ride with the Singaporean riders. They went ahead of me. As I already decided to take it easy on the second day, by the time I finished the first climb, they were no where to be seen. The jammed rear brake further delayed my turn to take the descent. There was no brake feel when I was about to go down. Luckily, I sensed something was wrong before I bombed down. A check later revealed that the mud accumulated at the arms had jammed the whole frigging system. I could not move the arms by squeezing the lever that controls the rear brake. I would have to pour water to soften the mud before I could take the mud out. Further check also showed that the pads were already 80% worn! Man, I just got the pad replaced and they already 80% gone. So I had to adjust the play of the levels to make use of the remaining 20%. It seems like I would have to change the pads at the lunch point! By the time I finished adjusting the brakes, the other pack of riders had already showed up and started the descent. I thought it was my time to have fun on this steep slope but with the presence of riders at the middle of the slope, I decided to take it easy.

The trail was moderately dry thanks to the rain the day before. The trail was just nicely damped so that there would not be dust flying around when we rode on it. James was right. The ride was no better than the one a day before. The trail was even more undulating. But since I took it easy, at every climb I used granny gear regardless of the gradient. Of course, I span like a cartoon if I forgot to synchro with the speed. But I think I would waste less energy if I did so. The wire mesh trail was not far from the campsite. After 15 minutes of undulating ride, there was this long descent to no where. The terrain was very rough. I could see wire mesh popping out from the ground. So it was the wired mesh trail that James was talking during his morning briefing. With his warning in mind and the falls that injured my wrists, I started the descent with very much care. I could see green patches here and there. I was pretty courteous about the green patch thing. They spell trouble, and I did not want to fall and got myself hurt in this place of nowhere. Halfway down the trail, I saw a rider sitting at the side of the trail. I decided to be busybody a bit and asked him if he were okay. Apparently, his bike skidded and fell. Luckily nothing serious happened(no broken bones). Only few bruises on his arms and legs. He decided to take a break before he continued. Seeing that he was okay, I continued my journey and ever more courteous. You see, the killer part is the broken cement surface on trail. Someone tried to cement the whole stretch of the trail and did not get the job done. As the time goes on, the surface starts to wear off and the wire mesh beneath it shows up. Also, the surface becomes more and more slippery as the time goes on. So, a careless rider who slams his brake at the wrong place at the wrong time will sure get the most painful experience of his day on bike! This was what happened to that rider. I think he went down too fast, when he saw there was a hairpin turn ahead, he slammed the brakes and the bike gave way, ouch!!!

The nice and cool descent ended when we finally reached the bottom of the valley. Yeah, we were actually descent to the valley, and we had to climb out of it. My balls shrank to the size of raisin when I saw the huge slope in front of me. There was this long and unending slope that seems to go to no where! My confidence fell to the bottomless pit when I saw how far was the slope to be. Checked my watch, it said ten thirty in the morning. Okay, I still had time to tackle the slope before the merciless sun shone ahead of me, which would the hell sure melted me to the patch of goo! Anyway, again I changed to granny gear and decided to crank step by step instead of fast spin. I would waste out sooner than my usual slow pace if I fast span up. Oh yeah, I remembered James was saying the slope was 2km long and there were two of them, which Chin claimed that they were mother of all climbs! But I forgot that the trail was 90% expose to the sun. No shade! I was virtually limped under the hot scotching sun. Checked my watch again, it was only eleven in the morning, one hour before my actual stop. I finally gave up at the middle of the climb since I would need to conserve energy for the 15km ride after the trail end!

I finally reached the peak after an agonized push. It was not a pretty sight to see two rider rode pass me when I was trying my butt out to push. I think I had made a mistake by taking a very short break at the lunch point just now. I should have taken longer time to cool myself down before this god forsaken climb! Anyway, here I was, under the hot scotching sun, cursing, and hoping for a miracle that someone would stop and gave me a ride. I think I even shouted out loud to ask for miracle! At the peak of the climb, I just pour the whole bottle of the precious water on top of my head to cool me off. It was hot! It was worst than Pos Mensun climb. If someone at that juncture told me that actually it was easier than Pos Mensun, I would kick his arse down the ravine! The Singaporeans were at the peak cooling of as well. Also, they complained of the heat and curse the god forsaken climb! They decided to leave first before I could continue. They gave me a warning before they disappeared, "Gosh, another climb!" Man!

It turned out that they pulled my legs after I cooled off and continued the journey. The trail went all the way down after the resting point. I was relieved to see that. At the middle of the descent, I saw one of the Singaporean riders and pointed me to the branch off. I was asked to wait for the next rider since the branch off was not easily spotted from the descending slope. I left after I showed the next rider the branch off. It was well shaded trail. It was a blessing. My relief died out when I realized that there was another climb I had to conquer! Man what a confident blower. But the fainted vehicle sound told me that I was not far away from the trail end. So I took a deep breath and took the challenge!

It was not bad at all! The gradient and distance of the second slope are just the same as the first one. The only difference was this trail was well shaded. I could stay on the saddle longer and managed to pedal all the way up to the peak(I don't remember if I pushed or not but one thing for sure, I climbed most of the way!). The welcoming descent greeted after the seem like a timeless climb. I was greeted by the supported vehicle folks. I was told by them that I was already in Genting Peres. That means I would "only" had to cover the 15km ride to Pekan 18 batu!

There was an option to hop in the vehicle and took an easy way back to the final meeting. My legs already shpwed sign of cramp. But I decided to continue since I was the only knight in this trip! If I did not have to do that 21 km off road ride, this 15km road was just a chicken feed to me. But after that 21km ride, which I had to go in and out of valley, an easy climb became the toughest road climb I ever had. I was so weak even during the long descend to the meeting point, I had no energy left to spin the crank! I did not know how did I manage to reach the final meeting point. I really had no memory! The only thing I still remember was 5 kilometers before the meeting point, I was already at the bottom of the descend. I just clocked to see how long I still had to remain on saddle. The first 5km I managed 2 minutes for every km, which translated about 30km per hour. The momentum of the descent helped me to maintain such speed. But I slowed down to 20 when the momentum wore out. My mind was devoid of nothing but keep pace of my cranking. I was counting the spin like I was counting sheep when I could not sleep! My watch told me that I took about 2 minutes and 45 seconds to complete a kilometer, which translated 21 km/hr(approx.). The last two kilometers was the most difficult distance to cover. The road became undulating! It sux man!

I finally made it to the meeting point after 5 hours of riding from the campsite. I felt like I wanted to cry when I arrived at the meeting point. You know, I finally get my dream come true to ride on the famous Janda Baik Kenaboi trail. And let me tell you, it was not an easy trail to ride. No wonder KL Bike Hash call it the ultimate trail!

PCC had done a good job for organizing this trip. Although I was cursing all the way from trail head to the trail end, if PCC does it again I think I will be there! Well done! And don't worry knights. I carry the KOTRT flag high. I was not the one who had to be carried by support vehicle to the meeting point so don't worry!

I made it man. Although I was not one of the first few that arrived at the final meeting point, I felt like I had won Le Tour De France! I felt like I wanted to cry when I made it to Pekan 18 Batu! It is very bad that I dropped my camera to the water and lost most of the picture, or I will have more pictures to share with you. For those who decide to pull off in the last minute, you guys have missed one awesome ride! For those who have made all the trouble to travel from as far as Singapore to join this awesome ride, until next time!

Stay tuned!