A recce at Sungai Lembu, 14 October 2000
I have been bored about going to the same old trails for my weekend rides. No fun lah. Going to the same trail, especially the cemented ones, is definitely driving me nuts. Not all the trails that I have been to are really offroad type. So in order to prevent me from driving nuts, I have decided to do some recces to find new trails whenever I am free to do so. Sungai Lembu, a valley between Bukit Mertajam and Kulim looks promising. The lush greens surround the place promise possible "unexplored" singletracks, at least not explored by mountainbikers. The best of all, the place is not far away from town. If the track we plan to explore proves to be disappointing, we can always go back to BM to enjoy the delicious Pesambu or whatever they have in BM. Fatt, my highschool buddy has not been able to go with me since he has to got down to KL to attend his college buddy's wedding. Well, it doesn't mean that I will not go alone but Dr. Francis showed up in the last minute calling me if I want to recce one doubletrack at Sungai Lembu!
We started the recce quite late. By the time we arrived at the trail head, the time was already close to 5.45pm. Without wasting anytime, we fixed up our machines and all set to go!
The initial stretch of the trail was just normal doubletrack that gradually climbed to a slope. We reached a "mansion", as what Dr. Francis put it. It looked more like a normal house to me. Anyhow, the doubletrack ended at the mansion and the trail split into two singletracks. The one on the left went to someone's orchard and the entrance had been locked. The one on the right went straight into rubber estate and the trail was cemented. We decided to explore the cemented trail to see where would the trail lead us.
The ride became interesting when we encountered another branch off again. The one on the right was going all the way up while on the left was less "dramatic" as it looked merely like an undulating trail. We picked the right one again and decided to explore the left some other time.
It was steep, and the trail was slippery! I only managed to continue the first few meters, and I would have to come down and pushed. The shoes that I was wearing were not helping at all. Due to the stiff sole and the SPD cleat, I was having big trouble to get the traction I wanted to walk on the trail. Dr. Francis was already way in front and also coming down pushing his orange Mongoose. It clearly showed that the SPD shoes were not suitable for the unfamiliar trail since the rider would have to come down and walk/climb from time to time.
We finally reached to the top after 15 minutes of tedious climb. The trail ended at the mangosteen orchard. It was apparently that the trail led to a house at the top, which at present what had left was just the footprint of the house. We tried to find if there was any trail that would lead us to another end. It seemed like it was the one way street. We would have to go down at the same cement path!
It was one of the trickiest descent I had ever had. It was tricky not because the trail was very slippery. A slight careless move or a slight pressure to the front brake will send the rider flying over his bike! Because of the steep gradient, I decided to go slow instead of my usually fast descent. Maybe I was too courteous, I did not realize that I was squeezing both brake levers to the fullest! By the time I was aware of the mistake I was making, the bike was already skidded to a side. I had no way to control it. It was like a horse out of control! Next thing I knew I was already lying on the ground with few scratches on my knee and my palm. It was painful alright but nonetheless, the wounds were not going to stop me from going to Sedim on Sunday!
Dr. Francis and I agreed that we are going to go back again. We still have unfinished business with it, and we want to get it. So Fatt, next week you're free? Care to join us to recce this trail, which we think it has the thoughest climb me and Dr. Francis have ever had?
Stay tuned!