Dr. Francis' K2 excursion, 7 October 2000

Well, Dr. Francis has been itchy about trying his hand on the new downhill trail I discovered couple of weeks ago. We haven't had many chances to ride together since his return from the Kiwiland. Anyhow, we try our best to get in touch no matter what. This I really appreciate. Compare to my other so-called cycling buddies, he is a rare breed. Other will just forget about my existence after I do not show up to their ride some time.

Anyway, I was told by Dr. Francis that some trekkers were going to be with us, and they wanted to see how we conquered the K2 slope. Also, there would be a Simpang Ampat "Chai Koay" treat, courtesy of Dr. Francis and Viper Ong. Thanks guys, you're the one! We all met at the BKE toll booth at 1600 hours. Fatt couldn't make it in the last minute because he couldn't get his assignment done at that time. Well Rubber Knight, you missed all the fun man! I was surprised to see we had three young riders with us. With their brand new GTs, they looked shy and anticipated for the coming excitement. I decided to be a sweeper. You know, we have youngsters what. Their parents would be more or less felt safe someone were with their children. We began the ride quite late. By the time we finished the social thingy and helped the youngsters to get their machines fixed, time was already 1700hours. Having not losing any precious time, we headed out to the trail!

The cement trail was wet. I was all time with the youngsters. They were so eagle to prove to their newly acquainted uncle Turbo Snail that they could manage to climb the hill. I really felt sorry for them. It was their first time doing a real MTB ride with their machines, and we brought them to one of the toughest rides in Penang! Trouble already showed after a mere 200 meters. I could see they were panting and breathing heavily after the first steep climb. Feeling that they were not fit to finish the climb at one breath, I decided to do multiple stops for them to catch their breath. I also told Dr. Francis that I would be taking care of them. Excuse lah, the hangover was still bothering me. So I decided to go easy this time!

It was quite fun to ride with them. Maybe I was new to them. They seldom ask questions. Most of the time just asked how long did they still to suffer. I kept on assuring them that they were doing fine, and I was worst than them when I first rode at K2("I couldn't even make it to the first stop!" Bullshit lah. I finished the climb!). We had more stops when I realized that the climb started took a toll on them. Actually I suffered like hell also. Multiple stops made me lazy to continue. The heavy load(chai koay!) at my sack also played a role for slowing me down. But we did have some time to social though they were shy to ask question/talk. Funny, aren't they English ed? English ed lads are supposed to be more active! Me Chinese ed, so very shy lah!("Bullshit lah, you're the most kap siao(talkative, outspoken if you wanna put it in nicer way) rider in the group!" Yeah yeah, I must admit I am a mutant!).

We finally made it to the peak after my persuasion and assurance to the kids and Yeoh's relief me from the sweeper duty. With my heart panting, I really felt like shit! I opened up my sack and threw the chai koay on table. What I really wanted at that time was a pack of ORS to supplement the lose of precious mineral from my body! We only had a brief rest at the top and decided to go down to our major show of the day-to explore the trail that I newly discovered!

I was at the front, with the young ones following me. The smallest one, became very talkative all the sudden. He started to ask me what gear should he use and how to shift his body weight during the descent etc. Another also started to talk to me like an old friend. We were the first group who reached the junction, where we would turn to the new trail. They were so impatient that they pleaded to go first. I stopped them and told them we must wait for others since they all did not know the way! It was five minutes later when Dr. Francis and few others reached the junction. The time was already late. Time was approaching 1830hours. We decided to proceed without waiting for the rest!

The ride to the foothill on the new trail was bumpier and more exciting then before! The rain really made th trail much more technical to tackle. The kids were really having fun to go down! Even all of them fell by bumping into big obstacle and did not know how to tackle them, they all came up in one piece and anticipated for another bump! Boy isn't young good? You fall down, you get up, and you fight again!

It was a fun ride. It was my slowest downhill I had ever done since I had to take care of the youngster. They were so cute and adorable that I hope I had a dozen of them at home! I really hope that we would see them again in future!

So what are we gonna do next week? Lets see what happen lah. Maybe it's time for me to show face in Penang!

Stay tuned!