Touring Bike Setup

Cartoon of the Week

PIPR 13 - Federal Territory Day Ride

The Geng and friends came together once again for the Putrajaya InterPark Ride - series 13 which was held inconjuction with Federal Territory Day aka Hari Wilayah Persekutuan. Similar to the past Interpark Rides, the route was approx. 23km with lots of breaks inbetween, and while it may not prove a challenge to the average cyclist... the event provides excellent opportunity to meet-up with friends and make new ones...

After registration and quick snack ( provided ), the organisers lead the 700+ cyclists on a great warm-up session. VIP speeches were next, followed by singing of the NEGERAKU and finally the flag-off at 8:30am.

The weather couldn't be any better and everyone had a fantastic time. No fees ( usually RM2.50 ) was imposed this time round, the Organiser provided riders with small snacks and mineral water as well as Wilayah Persekutuan flags...

And the end of the ride, the geng broke up but 7 of us decided to go for lunch together.. at Restaurant Sinki in Dengkil, a small town in southern part of Selangor, not far from Putrajaya. This modest looking small town makan spot is renowned for being one which boast an impressive VIP clientele list of names such as Chua Soi Lek, Koh Tsu Koon, Chan Kong Choy and Michael Chong among others.. ( nope, its non-halal! )

Among its several signature dishes, we ordered Chili Fried Fish, deep fried on a mixture of soy paste, lots of chili, garlic and ginger; Deep Fried Fresh Water Prawn/Udang Galah, crispy and simply heavenly; a extremely tender and juicy Pork Knuckle with Thai sauce... ( aiyoh...writing about it is making my mouth water.. )

See what you missing.. when you don't come and join in the fun!

Boo-Yah!

Cycling on the LDP

At 6am this morning, I cycle onto the LDP ( Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong ) Highway  towards Putrajaya Precint 2 for PIPR 13-  Federal Territory Day Ride with some anticipation. It was because the last time I attempted this route with friend, he was violently knocked down by a motorbike. His injury was not too severe.. but for the minute or two when he was lying motionless on the ground... my heart stood still.

The dark, cool, calm of the morning was only disturbed by the drooning of few heavy vehicles that shared the LDP so early in the morning. Taking advantage of the little traffic, I gingerly made way thru the route ( pic below ). There are a few long long gradual uphills along the way, nothing too drastic but the fast descent with the blast of cool air in my face after each climb made the effort seem worthwhile.

In just a short hour, I had exited the LDP into Putrajaya, following a 15 minute ride to Precint 2 for the registration for PIPR13. Total distance - 28.87km only

Some may beg to differ, but in conclusion I do not recommend riding this particular stretch during normal hours.. The road along Puchong town is just too narrow during heavy traffic condition, which is most of the time. At certain busy stretches, there is virtually no road shoulder and the metal road gratings are so wide, even the MTB with their wide tyres can be caught between them.  

And so, fellow cyclists and friends... if you want to cycle this route to Putrajaya, do so at the wee hours of the morning... but hitch a ride back with a friend; I DID!

Fees for mountain biking in FRIM

The Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) has announced the new charges of all its recreational facilities and services recently, and not only specifically for mountain biking. However upon advice from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) and pending further approval from Cabinet, FRIM will revert to the previous rates.

For your information I wish to share with you the situation in FRIM. FRIM is not a public park, where the recreational facilities are for the use of the public and taken care of and maintained solely for the purpose by public funds. FRIM is a research centre but one which also opens its campus to the public such as joggers, bikers and other visitors for eco-tourism, recreational activities, environment education, meeting, wedding and other activities. A unique feature that is distinctively FRIM.

The fees and charges collected are channeled mainly towards the maintenance, upkeep and enhancement of its recreational and sports facilities. FRIM has some 70 contract staff working to help keep the campus clean. For safety and security reasons, FRIM engages the services of private security personnel and it has also installed CCTVs in sensitive areas around the campus. Apart from that, FRIM also ensures the whole of its campus area is covered by insurance to deal with any untoward incident or mishap and to safeguard the wellbeing of its visitors.

Maintaining the FRIM grounds which covers about 513 ha, ensuring safety of visitors as well as taking care that the forest remains healthy is not only costly but also very challenging. Besides the security and maintenance expenditures, FRIM also has to take into account the carrying capacity of its forest. Imposing a limit on the number of people using its various nature trails for trekking, jogging or mountain biking is crucial to enable the living systems to recover or to curb damage to its resources. Therefore, any increase in the fees serves to help us to both maintain and sustain the area.

Apart from this, FRIM has taken steps to improve its various facilities including building new toilets, providing more garbage disposal bins, repairing the pedestrian sidewalks, among others.

For mountain bikers, FRIM will undertake the following plan for 2012:

1. Identifying and opening another shorter but more challenging route for mountain biking;

2. Building shower facilities for cyclists to clean themselves and their bicycles at the waterfall area;

3. Providing bicycle parking space near the waterfall cafeteria area; and

4. Setting up a club house for mountain bikers at one of the bungalows near the FRIM Arboretum, where cyclists can meet, gather and exchange information.

With all the above considerations and plans, we hope the mountain bikers will not find any future increase in fees to be unreasonable, should there be one. We would also like to suggest that they consider getting the yearly pass of RM100, which works out to be only about RM2 per week.

Thank you for your feedback. FRIM takes all complaints and feedback from our stakeholders and clients very seriously. We also appreciate suggestions for improvement and we would like to thank you for your continued support and cooperation.

Best regards,
Norhayati Nordin
Head of Corporate Management Unit
Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM)
52109 Kepong, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Cycle of Violence

Ushering in 2012

How did we spend the countdown to 2012? Some goes out for party, some just stays at home watching TV and some of us were out for cycling at Putrajaya Inter-Park Night Ride 12 edition.

The ride was flag-off at 9pm with over 500 bikes lighted the streets and the parks of Putrajaya with blinkers and torches covering a distance of 25km.

Route Map

Chong and Rachel was interviewed live by RTM crew

Batman in sight but not on his batmobile

Bad luck struck our riders again with a rear puncture on Alicia's bike

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Cartoon of the Week

BaikBike listing

A quick statistical review reveals that most of the internet traffic to our Green Riders blog comes from BaikBike - Malaysia #1 Online Cycling Magazine hence this THANK YOU note to them for listing us under Cycling Club section.

Kota Kemuning to Bandar Botanik via Pantai Morib??

The very first ride of the year 2012 which was supposedly been a short ride from Kota Kemuning McDonalds to Bandar Botanik via Kesas organized by Rivern Yong on Jan 2, 2012.

At 7:20am, a group of 6 riders took off from USJ3/1 Padang to meet up with Rivern Yong’s group at the Toll Booth near Kota Kemuning. Rivern’s group was almost 20 riders strong ( a mix of young and old with bicycles, big and small )

Rivern's geng departing from Kota Kemuning

Riders

After a short photo session, the bicycle entourage proceeded to Rodalink at Botanik where we stopped to have breakfast.

Meeting Up

Unsatisfied with the pleasant, but short ride of a little more than 20km… the riders decided to look to another destination:- the seaside of Morid in Banting some 38km away;

While the majority decided that they were finished for the day, 12 venturesome souls decided to take up the sudden “ flash-in-the-pan” challenge. Boy, were we in for a “ superb hot “ ride!!

Rest Stops - Thank GOD for them

With riders moving at different pace, we had several rest stops every 12 – 18km to regroup. Despite the increasingly high temperature and a scorching sun, the riders persevered and finally reach Morib beach at noon for a well deserved lunch.

We Made It !!!

The quaint peaceful beach of Morib ( or Pantai Morid ) is historically noted for being one of the first landing points on the west coast for the British and Indian Army liberation forces during World War II. Allied Forces also landed on this stretch of beach in September 1945, marking the end of the Japanese Army's occupation of Malaya.

Pantai Morib

After lunch ( food was so-so only ), we decided to depart after 2:00pm with hopes that the weather and temp would be kinder…

Casualities and Victims

On the journey back, we again practice stopping every 12-18km for much appreciate breaks and reprieve for the unforgiving sun which seems to work for most, but 2 of the foldie riders who decided that they had had enough and opted for a taxi home ( lucky guys ). The rest of us ( 10 left ) bravely soldiered on till we finally reach Kota Kemuning’s McDonalds by 5pm.
 

The Survivors

The journey took us approximately 110km round-trip and we had a great time. Special Thanks to Rivern Yong for a great time and a great ride! Not forgetting to mentioned the delicous Durian Cake which he brought... 

Me and Rivern Yong

MAP

What a start to the NEW YEAR!