When at first, the hash information was posted, they said it is going to be an adventurous ride and going to be a tough one. The hares were very honest to warn us that if we do not like killer climbs and bike pushing, stay away from this hash. But their description about how scenic and beautiful the place is sort of compensate that thought for awhile, so maybe it is well worth it. After all, I have heard about Hulu Langat trails are epics! I needed the dirt and mud fest anyway…
And…
Boy was I wrong…
It was crazy…
Most of the trails were not really ride-able…
65% bike pushing, good for you if you want to train your body strength with a freaking 13.5kg bike…
Weather was hot… I ran out of water. There is a water station but I sort of accidentally ignores it…
Okay, I am going to quit whining like a bitch..
So here how is the ride went..
We arrived at Sungai Tekali, parked our car and unload our bikes. Did the usual sign up thing, adjusted my GoPro camera. Met a few familiar faces, even met riders from the BTCC road bike group, glad they have a change of flavor a little to eat mud rather than dust all the time.
Managed to catch the ladies again! Yes the hot ladies below whom I met them the last hash. They truly have my respect to ride this hash even the hares clearly stated it is going to be a tough one. Manage to snap a picture of them…
Didn’t really notice the time at that moment, but I think we started slightly late as many people arrived a little late and still preparing their bikes. As usual there is a briefing, which I can hardly catch anything as I was quite far back. And there off we go…
Briefing area, good turn out aside from the Puasa month…
Kenny Kwan giving me a smile 🙂
No clouds… that means… hot, hot and hot…
Adrian and Yishuai, still fresh…
The first section is double tracks that able to fit a large vehicle and already a small climb and then turn into a single track uphill. It sort of reminds me of PCC rides a little, with the bottleneck traffic and hiking the bike upwards. I think we were still at the below 1km mark and already there is a check. Deeper we went and the paper trail is no longer visible, so all of us have to make a u-turn. Unfortunately in this case, the trail was narrow and with the huge traffic, it took almost 1 hour for me to get back on track. It was a little frustrating and there were a lot of obstacle to go through. Fallen trees, fallen bamboos, and we also manage to see a tiny green snake. Some people actually stop to snap pictures of it. In this 1 hour traffic, I saw a lady had some very deep cut on her leg. Some commotion as well, as another lady trying to ask everyone who got a Digi line cell phone . I think she is trying to call for help, but in my mind… the better way to do it is to get her out of the jungle first, then get a good reception, whether it is a Celcom, Digi, Maxis, or u-mobile, its easier that way to get help, besides plenty of vehicles to bring her to medical help… Hope the lady is okay though…
So went pass this incident and we have to climb more uphills on some newly made single track. We come to a point where is a very dangerous descending slope. We need to actually hole a rope to get our balance, while pushing the bike down. It was a little tricky. I kind of gave up doing that, I just throw my bike down, and hike down that slope. Hey, I love my bike, but I know what my bike can stand… and no dent, no scratch anyway. Then continue on and follow by a very nice single track and flowly downhill. I think that is the best part of the ride cause the rest… its about pedal bike, push the bike, pedal a little more, then push more bike. Like I said earlier, most of the time is pushing bikes.
Bike pushing…
More bike pushing…
Fresh single tracks with long grass side by side… nice
I think this is the riders who took the scenic route… smart choice
Fast forwarding…
We did hit some tarmac and pass through small towns or villages which is very empty and quiet. Sort of like a dead town. Probably because of the Ramadhan month, most of them stay indoor. Good idea as the heat is really massive.
Hitting the tarmac for the need of recovery…
There was a big ass climb that goes on for 800 meters, which I was starting to swear in Hokkien… Mind you, if I swear in Hokkien, it’s bad. I can see the top of that climb from the bottom. Although the view is beautiful, it was ugly at the same time. Seen some riders trying to ride it, but seriously… Don’t waste the energy. Push will be ideal.
Then there was a rolling trail which is up and down, up and down… and hit tarmac, then into trails again and there is where the mud fest is. It was a slippery situation but I enjoy it after all the bike pushing.
Though I was doing long route, coming to the last 4km, we have the option to do a chicken back to the car park, I was pondering on it for 5 minutes, but with water running out, I decided to be a chicken and just take the chicken loop back. I still cover the same milleage, but skip the uphill climb, yes that’s the only difference.
To summarize it, I think the hares that plot this trail are sick man! And all they know and think of is to torture the fuck out of us. And I got to give it to them, they did a good job. I still will give my respect to them to take the time and effort to make this bash happen for us. Later while waiting for Yishuai, I had a chat with one of them, and they said they were dehydrated and super tired trying very hard to connect the dots for us the day before. Well, they did suffer to make us suffer… So we can call it even.
Enjoy torturing myself (not) and I will hereby declare this bash, ‘The hardest bash of the Year”, even though we still have like a couple of months to go…
So please enjoy the pictures that I’ve took, and video (raw)
My ride data:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/349502850