Ride 2 Valhalla 'an back...Sat 17 th June 2000!!
Before I say a few words of my wonderful experience( not 2 mention cuts & bruises...more of this later! ) riding with members of the K.L. mtbkers namely Alive, STs & others...a word of MUCHO THANKS & RIBUAN TERIMA-KASIHlah 4 taking me 2 this wonderful trail at Bukit Kiara.
Hmm...Bukit Kiara, where's this place one might ask? Well, it's situated( kalau silap sorry ya...I was never good at Geography in school anyway! ) somewhere between Sri Hartamas & Taman Tun Dr Ismail...one could have a pretty good view of this hill from the National Science Observatory in Bukit Damansara( now, this is another story! ) U have a potpourri of people who go there 4 their morning/late afternoon walks/brisk walking/running, hikers, horseback riding...aa-and of course us MTBKERS!
Anyway, we were supposed 2 b early, meeting up 4 breakfast at Devi's Corner( nice, clean makan place with reasonable pricing...by K.L. standards anyway! ). We( mua & my bradder, Sany ) cycled 2 Devi's Corner as it wasn't that far from the house...on our way there Cassie( think mtb version of Xena, warrior princess! < Grin > ) passed us by in her car, also zipping 2 DC! Some of the guys were already there, Adli@Ice-Cube our trail leader 4 the days ride, Dave, a Singaporean stationed in K.L.( lucky fella! He gets 2 ride twice every weekend! ), Thomas of the STs, two or three gwai-lows & a few others whom I really couldn't recall their names, sorry, mucho apologies. We found out later there were also others who planned 2 ride at the same place as us lead by Fuji( no, I don't think he's Japanese...perhaps just a nick-name? ) After a hearty breakfast we were getting ready 2 push off 4 the ride 2 the trail head BUT( as usual )we had 2 wait up 4 Farizul@ Princess formerly known as Tiger Hills! He was late...after mucho frantic calls 2 rush him over...he finally turned up!
On 2 the trail head which we started off by a short hike up a rocky single track path, here we all had 2 carry our bikes up. B4 I rant on...I have 2 say a word of KUDOS & THANKS 2 Patrick Brunsdon & crew 4 a job well done, maintaining & up-keeping the trails...making it ridable & "interesting" here in Bukit Kiara. Also thanks 2 him we have lot's of nick-names( all self explainatory by the name alone! ) 4 the trails, single-tracks & fire-roads that is littered/scattered all over this hill.
We were soon cycling up a single track @"pat's-egg-rest", that snaked all the way up 2 the water tank & on 2 "boulder". This is where my rear derailleur & right side crank said "hello" 2 the protuding jagged rocks! Ouch! After the climb, puffing & panting away...we descended 2 "joggers trail", a tarmac section of Kiara hill used by hikers & horseback riding alike. We rested awhile...admiring the women folk on horsebacks & even had a short photo shoot by Farizul, ever ready with his digital camera b4 taking off again on a single track up 2 the summit of "twin peaks", it was sort of an open lallang space at the top of Bukit Kiara. The ride down "twin-peaks" was fun but also a bit tricky as there were a few switchbacks( if u could call it that! ) & the occasional tree roots that could tramline u off the trail! Oh, did I also mention there was this fair bit of horse dung 2 look out 4? Well, we could kiasully report 2 the UN of our fair share of landmines that needed clearing up here! < Grin >
Well, so far there were no casaulties here...or so I thought? "Mondo kool" was the single track that took out a few of us, someone faced planted when he overlooked a hidden ditch! He managed 2 warn the rest though. Sorry, no name bashing here! Thankfully nothing serious...anyway we were soon at "pondok-2-pondok" where we were greeted by a kindly pachik who didn't seem a bit surprised 2 see us/mtbkers, probably he's seen Pat & merry bunch once too often! Well, we were soon climbing again, this time up a rather steep single track called "clenched sphincter"( not 2 sure of spelling! ) b4 reaching Penchala & on 2 "boner" up 2 the tower and...this is the part where we lost half of the group lead by Puteri( who has on occasions conveniently got "lost" when the going got tough!? ) In all fairness...perhaps there were also quite a bit of forks & junctions on this part of the trail...we continued up 2 "banana ridge" where self & Sany also( read REALLY! ) got lost & stranded, shouting out 4 the rest of the fellas...& the one & only lone lady rider, Cassie!? It was a good thing that Ice-Cube back-tracked & came looking 4 us( Terima-Kasih Adli! )...perhaps it would b wise 2 have someone wait up at trail junctions the next time? The rest of the ride down 2 the river was free of drama however...
By this time I was already dangerously running out of H2O( ...& I packed almost 100 litres of it! ) & if my legs/limbs could talk...they'd picketed, protested & gone straight home! Ice-Cube assured us this was going 2 b the last "bit" & was a "mere short" climb up this ( later as we discovered, mother of a STEEP ) fire-road b4 the trail ends back in civilization! Hmmm...I wondered if this "ride" was so "arranged"( conspired! ) by members of the Alive in reciprocation of the "scenic ride" which I took them on a few weeks ago at Paya Terubong hill when they were visiting Penang!? < Grin > ( I WAS NOT grinning back then! )
The so called short hill climb just about wiped every one of us safe 4 Ice-Cube as he was no-where 2 b seen? Wah-low eh! All I could think of then was at least we have this final part of a downhill single track descend 2 catch our breath & rest our screaming lungs on! Or so I thought! This single track had a very nice ring 2 it..." BEBOLA ROSAK"!!! U guessed it right! One mistake negotiating this trail...& u could very well deposit( or if u like "hang" ) your precious "family crown jewels" at any one of the many rubber trees & protuding branches that adorn this notorious single-track! Fyi...Ice-Cube successfully completed one particular gnarly section of a drop-off today which he had perviously attempted but failed the last few times he rode here! Kudos 2 u Ice-Cube! Syabas! Though...wish I could also say that 4 the rest of us! Dah lembek dah!
Me?? Well...I have 2 say by far this is the mother of all trails I've ridden in the Klang Valley...upstaging my previous favourite, Sg Pening-Pening at Semenyih! What else could I say Alive? I have been humbled...& the next ride would definitely have 2 b on me when u folks come up 2 Penang! More scenic panoramic rides! < Grin >
If I had unknowingly or indirectly offended anyone in my accounted write-up ride in Bukit Kiara above...hey! Chill! Kita ni kan borak-borak aje? That's "just playing/jesting" in translation 4 those who don't understand Bahasa!
Thanks 4 bearing with me!
Regards 2 all!