Scenic ride in Bukit Gambir, 23 April 2000
" A ride from Farlim, on cement trail up to Bkt Gambir and down the offroad Trail (you'll love this downhill) to Bkt Jambul road, then short road ride to Sg Ara and ride up on cement trail to transmission tower to Jln Tun Sardon (road to Balik Pulau) and downhill back to Paya Terubong for MAKAN. A moderate climb with very scenic view at the peak of Bukit Gambir. Total ride time : approx 2.5hrs. Diff : 5." Scenic? Yes. Fun Downhill? Of course! Moderate climb? Err... I think it was more like moderately tough! I was told by ST that we were going to ride with Gary's kid rider group so the ride will not be tough. "Moderate ride up to Bukit Gambir!", "No tough climb!", "You are going to smoke the kids at down hill!" ... With the assurance given, I still smelled something fishy going on. Maybe the kids from Gary's group were a wolf covered with sheep skin? Hmm... Anyway, since I have never been to Bukit Gambir before, I decided to give it a try. Hearing all the good stuffs about Bukit Gambir, i.e. easy climb, scenic view, kiss ass downhill trail etc, it really made me itchy to slam my trustworthy Diamandback on that trail! We would be meeting Gary at the plateau of Bukit Gambir since they would be coming up from the other side of the hill.
We the uncle riders gathered at ST's house at 0730 hours. Oon, Kenny and the rest did not show up since Oon was in intensive training for the coming Sukma and others were busy preparing themselves for the coming school exam. Including me, there were only five of us to baby-sit the Gray's group. We started right away after I fixed up my bike since no one would be joining us(Fatt was doing his duty as a faithful son to his parents by bringing them yum char). There was a short ride tarmac ride before we hit the trailhead. Don't know why, ST kept on insisting that I had been to Bukit Gambir before. I was puzzled since I had never been there. Maybe I rode with him in his dream? Hmm...
The climb was on cement pavement, and it was slippery. To make it worst, I climbed with a worn rear tire! To be frank, the climb was not tough if I had a new rear tire, which I bought couple of weeks ago but I was too lazy to change it. My rear wheel kept on spinning without pushing the bike forward. I ended up pushing the bike more than I paddled her up. The situation became worst at the last section of cement pavement before reaching the part that we would all require to push! The rear wheel just spun freely even with a slight press on my pedal. I finally gave up and pushed the bike all the way!
We were the first group to reach the plateau. The Gary's group was still on their way from Bukit Jambul. While waiting for Gary's group, I had a chance to look around the plateau. It was a big wide bare land that was apparently an abandoned site for something. I could see the land was ripped of vegetation and tree not by nature. Though there was no visible corrosion going on, it would be an eye sore to naturalists or someone who loved nature. Sometimes I wonder when would Penagites be environmentally conscious about uncontrolled development of their homeland.
Anyway, Gary group finally showed up after my 10 minute day dreaming about the environmental impact thingy. There were about 10 kids running around! Boy look at their size and the bike they were riding! It sure reminded me of my childhood time when I first rode a 23 inch gentlemen bike, which was heavy like a tank! Speaking of which, maybe you guys were not aware that the front suspension was not a new thing. I saw a 50 year old gentlemen bike with a head shock like front suspension!
The down hill from the plateau to Jalan Bukit Jambul was as promise, exhilarating! There were bumps and pot holes everywhere. I had to be very careful when went down due to the bumpy trail. The holes was big enough to trap the wheels so I would have to be extra careful not to fall into the traps. Maybe the kids thought uncle don't play. They showed impatient when they saw me carefully tackling the difficult descent, which was full of loose rocks and pit holes. "Uncle, go faster lar!" I was thinking to let them go first and smoked them later but I changed my mind after I saw them going down the same section. Of course, without any mercy, I smoked them! Uncle don't play? It all depends kido!
We decided to continue our ride after we all descended to the trail head at Bukit Jambul. There would be a ride in a farmer trail in Sungai Ara, which was about 10 minutes ride from the trailhead. The kids decided to join us too. It was very much like a climb in Batu Kawan except it was longer and more hills to get thru. I made a mistake by following Ah Hwa. This was my time to Sungai Ara so I had no idea what would I race at front. The moderate climb at the beginning gave me a false assurance that the rest of the ride would be as not energy taxing, which I had to pay back dearly later!
It was not as easy as I thought after our first pit stop. The kids were so eager to overtake me and Ah Hwa that they just didn't care to keep their own pace! I think this is normal for anyone who first got involved into mountainbiking. I didn't keep my own pace as well when I first rode in Sungai Lembu, where I went flattened out just after few meters of climbing! This was exactly the case for the kids who overtook us. They went flat out at steep climb! I kept my own pace since there were still unknowns in front of me.
The climb was longer than I thought! I was relieved when I hit a junction. On my right was a downhill to a housing estate that I thought was Farlim. Instead, I had to continue the climb! We hadn't reached the trail head yet! With no one to be seen but only me and Ah Hwa, I had no choice but to continue paddling. The climb seemed endless, one after one. Especially under hot morning sun and the rest were still far away! We finally reached the end of the climb when I was about give up. It was one of the toughest climbs I had had! It was not like the climb was horrible. It was long!
This was one hell of the ride. Not much down hill fun as what I did in Ulu Mahang. The long climb on cement farmer trail was not new to me but it was the first time I managed to finish it without pushing. A great achievement? Lets see if I could do the same at K5, then I would say I have conquered my another fear! We did our makan in 1997 after everyone regrouped and went back to Farlim. Gary's group would have to cycle back to Bukit Jambul via Batu Ferringhi road. I really felt pity for them!
Stay Tuned!