Looking Back

JUNE 2008 - summary
I started to ride on bicycles as newbie since April 1st 2008 and by the end of June 2008 I had clocked 1232km in 51-pedaling days. Averaging 23km per trip. In June I did on average of 33km per pedaling-day covering 662km from sea-level to about 1000ft ht summit.


pedaling daily-distance chart


The accumulated km count is important for me - probably because I go cycling for different reasons, not like most cyclists do - it has always been very difficult for me to answer questions when asked by fellow cyclists which "circuit" or "play ground" I normally go. I don't even know the exact location where Kiara trail is. Bukit Besi Temangan, 400km away from SKV I know la.




AHW cycling tracks around Machang in early June 2008 are shown in green.

I go pedaling to explore and see things around that I didn't normally pay much attention at or have enough time for while traveling in cars and other mode of transportation. Some places are not accessible by any motorized vehicles - not even 4WDs and off-roads motorcycles. While MTBs and ATBs always can, I mean... I can always tolak, tarik and angkat the bicycle when there are obstacles - virtually there is no hindrance to act as impediments along  pedaling way.

AHW cycling tracks around SKV in June 2008 are shown in red.


Sunday [1232th km]

SEMENYIH DAM 70km - in CCW round trip from SKV.

Pushed off from SKV with Dr. G at 0640hrs. The whole morning was cloudy - then the sky was completely overcast, the rain falling in torrents just after we had stopped for roti chanai at a Bt 14. Then we continued cycling towards Kajang in drizzle.

Done 69.1km in 3h 25m at an avg speed of 20.1km/h, dragged down by the 10km-ascend in the vicinity of Semenyih Dam - about 4km of the stretch was really steep for a beginner like me. Freewheeling on the other side of the hill towards Bt. 14 was a blessing, really enjoyable. Next time shall try going in CW direction lak.








Dr. G - my 'coach' cum the trip guide

Saturday
I was supposed to join aerobic session till the end this morning - but the new instructor was so boring. After stretching in and out for a couple of minutes I left and continued jogging for about 45minutes around TTCempaka while my other half continued and enjoyed the dance.

Nothing much to do today. I spent the whole midday sleeping until I remembered to go n buy something at KSH Bicycle with Dr. G at 1500hrs - I sped off at 1531hrs following the fastest route to TTDI in 35minutes from BBBangi. Our navigator was Garmin Nuvi.


Putrajaya CRITICAL MASS-3 update
My START-FINISH line was at Dataran Putra. I pushed off with my son around 2030hrs to join the group at the pre-determined location. After nearly 45minutes waiting for the rest to come the Critical Mass grew up to around 80 - it has been reported that the final count was nearly 100!

We started to pedal at 2150hrs - as shown below in the CCW direction.



as seen by the satellite tracking device...

About 7km to the 'finish line' the middle cluster [mostly MTBs/ATBs - hardtail and FS alike] stopped to wait for the slower siblings. The frontline superlight roadbikes had left us much earlier in the class of their own! Of course there are scores of slower roadbikes too behind us. BTW it wasn't a race.


At least four [4] proton T-bolts were spotted in a row! - they were in white, blue...

...green and another blue.

Oh yeah,.. I almost forgot. There is another orange Proton t-bolt actually- out of scene. The cyclist probably had made a u-turn. May be he preferred to pedal along the alley or on unpaved roads...he..heee.!!

The total distance covered was 25.6km. It took me 1h 18mins on T-bolt - moving average: 19.5km/h.

The ride distance and the speed was "just right" for me as I normally do between 20~30km pedaling during routine nite and pre-dawn practices.

Some took short cuts...., no matter what, it was really an enjoyable nite ride around Putrajaya. Expecting the next "critical mass" number would be doubled - i.e at least 150 cyclists to take part. For sure I'll be there, again. "Wutta wunderful nite". Nice meeting with u guyz.












Tuesday
What to do when u r confronted by dogs while cycling.

Actually most dogs, especially those make lots of barking and noises are COWARD animals. Dogs do more barking if they are in a group, each and everyone tries to sing-along the out-of-tune chorus!. But beware when it sounds like "Ghrrrrrr..." it's an aggressive one!

NEVER run! That is a display of weakness. Face the dog. If you run the dog will come after you so do not run and don't say any thing - just stay calm and walk away slowly while pushing your bike - do not start to pedal right away until u arrive at the 'safe' distance.

If the dog comes too close for comfort. Then try first to command the dog to sit or get down, speak out in all languages u know. Despite the fact the dog is aggressive, if it has been trained it will probably respond. You could even try scolding the dog like its owner would. The dog should start to falter at which point you advance a little bit and continue to repeat the commands. Advance and repeat. Eventually the dog will either run or roll over and show you his belly--both signs of submission.

I face the situation during early morning cycling - almost every time, takut pun ada gak... every time I wished I had a proper device to exterminate 'em all. As I had said before, I wanna be a dogBUSTER. And I certainly will after getting the right "instruments".

Monday
Rewinding to the past twelve weeks... it was April 1st, 2008 when I first started to ride on a bicycle [again] after leaving it for 35yrs! It wasn't an April Fool at all. This pursuit was not accidental because my absolute passion was exploring on bicycle during childhood in the surrounding where I used to live and play, and even today some 400km away from where I came from I'm still surrounded by what I like most. The only way to arrive there is on the one-manpower two-wheeler.

Since then I have been practicing seriously on an average of 4 days a week [I spent the other 3 days for resting, aerobic/jogging and swimming respectively]

Referring to the chart ...



During the first 25 cycling-day I did hardly 20km/day on average. Then from 26th day onwards I increased the intensity by 50% more, averaging approx. 30km/day [at dawn, in the evening and at night... only 4 days in a week maah, not evelee deyyy]. I arrived at the 1001th km milestone on the 47th day, i.e three days earlier than scheduled. Hence I could take breaks on the '3-day bonus'. My next pedaling will be Thursday 26th. From then onwards I shall be pedaling no less than 30km per cycling day... if the God will.

At the end of the 50-day practice [Sunday 22nd, 2008] I spoiled myself for a 117km endurance return trip to Morib with my coach - DrG, the ironman TRIATHLON.


How to categorize cycling distance?

up to 10km - warming up
10~20km - lite cycling, just to keep the old motor running
20~40km - short range level 'S' [done]
40~80km - medium range level 'M' [done]
80~120km - long range level 'L' [done]

Next Levels....
120~160km - Level 'XL' [will try only after clocking 3000km]
above 160km - Level 'XXL' [mampukah lagi aku??]


Breaking 100km Barrier - Cycling to and fro MORIB

Sunday [1118th km]

The ATBike was fully maintained yesterday. Chain, cassette and derailleur were cleaned and lubricated. A new pair of light-alloy pedals were fitted as well. I'm now ready for today's "MORIB110km"


Hopefully the weather is going to be fine - better still if there are clouds in the sky by noon. I can't bare the scorching afternoon sun, that is my only "allergy" in cycling. This time I hope I can make it... and I must.



Left BB Bangi with Dr. G just after 0635hrs towards the beach of the morning calm. After 2hr 27m pedaling  at the avg. speed of 22.3km/hr we arrived at the beach, the odometer clocked 54.79km from the starting point. It shows the time was 0916hrs. We then moved on to Pantai Kelanang, about 7km northwards along coastal road.

At 1044hrs we started our 60km journey home under the scorching Sun. Fortunately about 45minutes later it was overcast with high cloud that was thin enough at times for the sun to be seen. We had to stop every 30minutes cycling [approx. 10km] to top up our body fluids though.

After 3hr 32min leaving Pantai Kelanang we stopped over for airtebu as well as the shelter from the rain. The sky was now completely overcast, the rain falling in torrents of an icy coldness. Each of us consumed 2 glasses of the sugarcane juice during the 40minutes pitstop.

Seeping airtebu at a roadside stall on the way back while looking for shelter during a heavy shower.


myConsumptions:
2"SNICKERS" bars,
2 glasses of airtebu,
2.5 liters of pure aqua,
1 can of Milo... and
1 pc of zoom lens [broken!]

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Dr 'G' the ironman TRIATHLON...


Special thanks to my cycling coach, Dr. Mohd. Pauzi Ismail [I just call him Dr. G] - who has continuously coached me throughout the journey. C U on Monday Doc - at the usual table for the 10am tea...I'll buy u a cup or two of teh tarik, if u like...



Saturday 
Definitely no cycling today. The ATBike needs a complete maintenance after clocking 1001km. Before the new day begins, I looked out of windows and saw the setting moon. It was 15-day old with 92% remaining...looked dull and reddish already. Took the cam and shot handheld - I used the 'sunny 16-rule' for the manual exposure settings.
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Friday 
Early this morning I did another 1h 16m cycling [including stops at two places to fight against dogs] covering 26km, ticking the odometer to 986km.


Now, what I need is to pass through the first 1000th km psychological barrier. Expecting to complete the milage in the evenin'. In the final 1hr-lap I will pedal slowly, at 14km/h towards the unknown 1000th km milestone! Then on Saturday I'll take a rest and celebrate life. What am I going to do afterwards?

Meanwhile, in contrary to yesterday, today's [at midday] weather is fine with clear blue sky. Hope it stays that way till weekend. In the evening I set off towards nowhere, kept on cycling leisurely until I hit the final 14km to mark the 1000th km milestone.

As the sun was disappearing below the horizon I continued the final lap until the trip-meter indicated the preset distance of the 1000km milestone...

Azan Maghrib pun berkumandang..., aku teruskan perjalanan pulang sejauh 1 km dari sini dan tercatitlah pergatihanku telah menjangkau 1001km pada harini sebaik sahaja mentari terbenam. Semoga pada hari esok aku masih berpeluang untuk menyaksikan terbitnya mentari pagi yang terus menyinar sampai ke senja....

Thursday [960th km]
Woke up very early this morning to setup photographic gears for shooting the full moon at pre-dawn. The luck wasn't on my side though. There were thick clouds in the sky - the moon was hardly visible; biarlah bulan berbicara sendiri...

Instead of doing what had been planned, I shifted to shimanoGEAR cassette...

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...and pushed off for 21km pre-dawn pedaling before the azan suboh berkumandang. Bergatih dipagi2 yg syahdu memberi satu kenikmatan dan kepuasan yang sukar diceritakan...

Based on the statistics I'm required to go cycling for less than 3hrs within the next two days in order to hit the first 1000km target before 'qualified' to go for the 110km cycling on Sunday 22nd. I only started to pedal since a couple of month ago - still a newbie indeed, but it is not the main issue - I only consider bike as one of the tools for my exploration/travel. Never even think of entering any competition in the future.

In the afternoon the sky became so heavily overcast followed by strong winds and thunderstorm.

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The rain started to pour cats and dogs around 1600hrs. May not be possible for most outdoor activities ...other than driving car. Well, I love driving when it rains. It drizzled in the evening and completely stopped raining by 2100hrs. Took a little spin for 35minutes before calling off the day.


Wednesday [928th km]
It was almost fullmoon last nite - probably in Klang Valley and other major cities nobody cares. [even pungguks shy away these days] - except for some photographers; sometimes, somewhere...

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It rained with thunderstorms at noon. Fortunately the weather was favorable in the evening - cool and cloudy. Left home at 1815hrs for a 25km spin around Sungai Ramal and its vicinity.

Tuesday [903th km]
The weather was fine and refreshing. Early morning temperature: 23deg C - probably due to the rain overnite. Unfortunately it was weekday otherwise I might have gone for another medium range cycling trip. Had to wait till the evening...

As usual I left home around half-past-six, but in this evenin' I carried along a dSLR  with a new super zoom lens of an EFL of 140~600mm [wrt 35mm std] to capture the sun before it set. Arrived at TTCempaka just on time after Teras Jernang detour. From now onwards those photography-gears are expected to negotiate steeper slopes to the new height...hopefully.

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Monday [878th km]
One of my cars got ignition problem this morning - the engine cranked but could not be started - no spark at all. There must be something wrong with the ignition coil or the distributor or the electronic chip, or any combinations of those mentioned. Luckily the other [similar] car [which is "B.E.R" and kept for spare parts] had all those components intact. Before trouble shooting, I had to send my 3rd son to register his internship at MMU. The cars insurance and road tax needed to be renewed as well. So I had to take an emergency leave for the day.

It was raining later in the afternoon and remained cloudy till evening. Good lighting for outdoor photography though.

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ZD 70~300mm f4~5.6 ED on Oly E-500

Gone with the old 3mp camera which I had been using since I started this blog a couple of months ago - already shelved. Since yesterday I started to shoot some pics with a 'prosumer' compact digicam and an entry-level dSLR. It is yr 2003 5mp-digicam and yr 2006 8mp-dSLR respectively. The results were not too bad - hope to improve later on...

Evening
Began this week cycling lightly on main and secondary roads . Met Dr. G at one of my sunset watching spots. We adjourned at 1925hrs. Thanks for your Hi-Pressure Pump, Dr. G.

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[the latest pedaling routes are in RED - click the pic to enlarge image]

Putrajaya Wetlands

Sunday
Morning at 07:05am - The weather was perfectly good. I left home on Proton T-Bolt ATB with an old 5mp digicam [and of course the GPS tracker on my bike's handle-bar] . I started on nicely paved Laluan Basikal for the first few km's towards Putrajaya Wetlands...then cycled for 42km.

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my 2nd son on his photography assignment
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Putrajaya Wetlands and its vicinity.
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I preferred the perimeter unpaved road around the Wetlands which always remind me of my kampong road in the 60's - when I was a kid then.

mild-green and refreshing atmosphere...
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A lonely swan swam happily...


Nevertheless, we had to rush home before midday after receiving a 'surprise' call for the father's day special celebration. Well...no matter what, when and where, family is always first. My eldest son - who is currently working in Dubai always on my mind whenever I go cycling because the gloves I wear were given by him [just before leaving on the jet plane] as father's day present. May god bless u son.

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PUTRAJAYA WETLANDs - GE and GPS trackings



click on each picture to enlarge image. click anywhere outside the enlarged picture to exit




Saturday
Morning: Aerobic at BangiWALK from 0800 to 0900
and jogged around TTCempaka from 0900~0930,

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...then cycled around BBBangi, UKM and West Country till 11:30am

Evening: Continued cycling from 1830~1925

Monday~Friday
Every evening, wherever I go cycling I like to watch sunset just before returning home...
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Week ending June 15th, 2008 - SUMMARY CHART

[Weekly Cycling Distance: 160km+]

Returning Home

The two-day 150km tour around Machang suburb and villages took me about 10hrs cycling on ATB. I've planned for another tour. Previous tour was mainly to track/map uncharted old/new roads and to take pictures with a point and shoot digicam only - to figure out which route and what sort of photographic equipment for the next round of adventure deep into the heartland. Expecting for better quality pictures to be taken with suitable lenses on dSLR .






Already left Machang and returned home. I did 25km cycling in two sessions today - at dawn...


...and at dusk.
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...the evening has come, touching my memories. I could hear yellow birds making their melodies.....

Down the Memory Lane

June 1st, 2008
Memory Lane 1
My son and I went cycling about 45km down my memory lane around Machang suburbs where I used to live and play during the first 30% of my life (1955-1971) .

We pushed off from my sister's home near Machang at 6:40am towards Gelung Gajah, Wakaf Bata, Kampong China, then crossed Guillmard Bridge to Kusial, Kepat, Tebing Tinggi [Tanah Merah suburb], crossed Tebing Tinggi Bridge back to Kg China, followed old road to Kelaweh - stopped over at aunty house for tea, then continued to Kuala Sat, Sungai Bagan, Joh, Lalang Besar and finally returned to where I started this journey.




GELUNG GAJAH
Gelong Gajah is not far from my grand parents kampong [on my mom's side]- it is a very large farming and grazing area stretches over thousand of hectares. The natural vegetation around this area is quite similar to the savanna in Africa. During flood season [Nov and Dec] I used to follow my grand dad to catch fish.

Today Gelong Gajah is now well known for its hi-Q Royal Watermelons.
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WAKAF BATA
After passing through Gelung Gajah we arrived at Wakaf Bata which is located along state road [D213] connecting Machang and Tanah Merah before route #4 was completed. There is an infamous place called Padang Kelupang which cuts the road communication between the two towns during monsoon season when the nearby river, Sungai Sat overflows.

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Padang Kelupang, near Wakaf Bata
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Sungai Sat

CHEKOK KELAWEH
Next was Chekok [junction] Kelaweh. There is a shop, Kedai Halim at the junction still exists till today where I used to go watch TV shows - the only TV available in my kampong back in the 60's.

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Kedai Halim today...

I used to walk or cycle 2km from my grandparents's house [on my dad's side], who lived at Kelaweh by the banks of Kelantan River [downstream of Kampong China and upstream of Sungai Bagan]. I was in primary school  then. Only after entering secondary school I stayed with my parents across Sungai Sat at Kampong Hutan Putih - about 3km frm Machang.


KAMPONG CHINA
About one km cycling from Chekok Kelaweh we arrived at Kampong China - also known as Kampong Tanah Merah. There were many Chinese settlers [China Kampong] along Kelantan River banks. I still remember the same shop [Kedai Guan] belongs to Tan family where I used to go shoping regularly about 40 yrs ago... nothing much changed ever since except there is a new brick house next to it.

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Kedai "Guantanamerah"

The GUILLEMARD BRIDGE
We moved on along the old road, down the memory lane towards the famous Guillemard Bridge.
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The echoes of KTM train pulling through the GUILLEMARD bridge [the longest of its kind in SE Asia, and probably was built as strong as the HUMBER Bridge in the UK] brought me back to the past. This bridge was part of my life in those good 'ol days. My dad was a territory army and at some point in history he was stationed in a camp nearby. I used to cruise upstream in river boat from Kg Kelaweh to meet him regularly. I was staying with grand parents then. Even as a child I was amazed by the bridge engineering.

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The Guillemard Bridge, over Kelantan River near Kusial in Tanah Merah, Kelantan was constructed in 1920 by The Metro Carriage & Wagon, Finance Co. Ltd, Wednesbury Works, England and was completed in 1924. 

During the 2nd World War the bridge was bombed down [the scraps are still there till today]. The severely damaged bridge was rebuilt in 1948. Spanning over 600m, it was previously used by all vehicles till Feb 1988 after which a new bridge for other road transports was completed along route #4. From then on the Guillemard Bridge is exclusively for KTM only [bikes and pedestrian still can use the side passage though]


KUSIAL
Sad story of Kusial...(Utusan Malaysia)
Kemeriahan suasana di kampung Kusial lenyap dengan tiba-tiba pada tahun 1988 setelah kenderaan awam tidak lagi berulang-alik di Jambatan Guillmard di kawasan itu untuk menyeberangi Sungai Kelantan.

Jambatan Guillmard yang merupakan jambatan kereta api ditutup kepada kenderaan awam yang 'menumpang' selama ini setelah siapnya jambatan konkrit beberapa kilometer dari jambatan bailey itu. Sejak itu, kampung di pinggir jambatan itu lengang dan sunyi dan sebahagian penduduk kehilangan punca pendapatannya memasarkan hasil tani kepada pengguna laluan itu yang menunggu giliran untuk menyeberangi jambatan selorong itu.

Seorang penduduk, Zulkifli Mansor, 62, menceritakan, dulu penduduk dari kampung sekitar datang untuk memasarkan hasil tani termasuk buah-buahan di samping kuih-muih serta keperluan harian lain di satu pasar kecil di Kampung Kusial. 

''Anak-anak kampung pula ada yang menjaja dari kereta ke kereta manakala pemandu yang lama menunggu singgah seketika untuk membeli-belah atau berehat sambil berbual dengan penduduk," ujarnya.

Seorang penduduk asal Paloh Rawa, Che Mah Che Hamid, 83, yang pernah merasai sendiri kegemilangan Jambatan Guillmard itu meminta kerajaan negeri memberi nafas baru kepada produk bersejarah itu.

"Amat sayang jika selepas ini jambatan ini hanya sekadar tinggal nama dan tidak diketahui kisah sebaliknya oleh orang ramai terutamanya golongan muda. "Dulu kawasan jambatan ini amat meriah dengan tumpuan aktiviti ekonomi apabila ia menjadi satu-satunya penghubung antara Machang dan Tanah Merah.

Tinjauan Utusan Malaysia di sekitar kampung itu mendapati terdapat sisa-sisa konkrit bekas stesen kereta api, stor, kuarters pekerja dan tempat penjaga palang laluan kereta api. Sementara itu, Majlis Tindakan Pelancongan Negeri Kelantan (MTPNK) memang menyedari potensi yang terdapat pada Jambatan Guillmard bagi diangkat menjadi salah satu produk pelancongan bersejarah di negeri ini. Pengerusinya, Abdul Aziz Derashid berkata, ia akan dibincangkan secara mendalam pada mesyuarat MTPNK termasuk mengenal pasti beberapa kemudahan prasarana berhampiran yang akan turut dinaik taraf sebagai pelengkap kepada produk berkenaan.

Menurut beliau, secara dasarnya ia boleh dimasukkan ke dalam kalendar pelancongan negeri dengan menyediakan pakej tertentu sebagai pelancong untuk melawat tempat bersejarah dan menarik di negeri ini.

"Kita memang melihat potensi jambatan ini kepada salah satu produk pelancongan negeri tetapi bidang kuasa penyelenggaraannya berlaku sedikit kekeliruan sama ada ia tertakluk kepada pelancongan iaitu MTPNK atau sejarah iaitu Jabatan Warisan Negara," katanya.

Jambatan Guillmard mempunyai nilai sejarah yang cukup tinggi tetapi agak merugikan jika ia tidak dieksploitasikan dalam pelbagai bentuk dan pendekatan termasuk melalui filem. Nasib jambatan ini jelas berbeza dengan Jambatan Sungai Kwai Yai di Kanchanaburi, Thailand yang boleh dikatakan sezaman dengannya dan cukup popular dengan kisah tahanan perang Tentera Berikat yang dikerah menjadi buruh membina landasan kereta api maut Thailand - Myanmar. Hasilnya, pembikin filem Hollywood telah menerbitkan filem The Bridge of River Kwai yang menggunakan latar belakang pembinaan jambatan di Thailand itu yang sekali gus memperkenalkan daerah Kachanaburi di peta pelancongan dunia


JOH and KUALA SAT


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Small Holder at Kg Joh
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Kuala Sat Bridge


SUNGAI BAGAN Estate
My late uncle, Wan Ismail spent most of his life working here. There was a large rubber estate before converted to oil palm plantation. He started as a clerk... many yrs later he was promoted to asistant manager before finally transfered to Sungai Tong Estate as the estate manager in late 70's.

There is an island adjacent to the estate, named as Pulau Raya. It is the largest island in Kelantan River.

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I spent some time at Sungai Bagan around the place where my late uncle used to stay. While pedalling under the shade of palm trees I demonstrated to my son how to drag for a quick 90deg turn. Still learning how to master a quick 180-degree drag though.


KELAWEH and HUTAN PUTIH
These two villages are actually where I belong. Lemme tell a little story....

The story began about one-half of a century ago. I was born in Kg. Kelaweh and brought up by a loving grandmother until I was 6yrs old when I had to stay with my biological parents at Bt Melintang near Jeli to start schooling. Fortunately when I was 9yrs old my grandmother regain her 'belongging' and I was re-transfered to SK Kelaweh in std 3. At Kelaweh I stayed under one roof with many cousins - boys and girls. Every day full of joys, sometimes fightings over durian territory did occur too... otherwise just played hide and seek or fighting games. 

After my dad retired from armed forces he moved to Hutan Putih, near Machang. I stayed with my parents only after I entered 2ndry school from 1968-1971. I visited  my dying grand mom quite regularly - it is just 3km away across Sungai Sat. 

In 1972  I left Machang to continue my secondary education at Technical Institute Kuantan for two years, and  later on at SMS Penang for pre-U courses before continuing my study in UTM in 1974-1979.  

After graduation I was sent for on-the-job training somewhere far away before finally moved to SKV in the 1980 and stay there untill today. 

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June 2nd, 2008
Memory Lane 2
On day 2 we cycled almost 60km in total. We started the journey from Hutan Putih at my sister's house at 6:45am.


Along the way we passed through Pangkal Meleret, Limau Hantu, Kg Pak Roman, Paloh Rawa, Kuala Krak...
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...finally Temangan, another  place of mine and  where I left Kelantan on train to start a new life in Klang Valley back in the 70's. Today the interstate trains no logger stop there.
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The old railway station had been demolished.
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The station master house is still standing, though the paint is cracked and dried...
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...and there is an old tree that I used to play on....
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From Temangan we continued our journey along Jalan Bkt Besi then cycled up to the summit. When I was a kid I had a dream to conquer the summit on bicycle. Today [i.e about 40yrs later] I do it in style with my son after cycling more than 25km from the starting point.



It was really hard to go up there but in return we enjoyed the 2km downhill free-wheeling. The Proton T-Bolt ATB air-suspension soaks up bumps and drops very well.

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The disc brakes and knobby tyres assured excellent grips.

Those ATB/MTB kakis in Kelantan, particularly around Machang pls take this challange ya!. If you come from a long way, you can stay at my uncle's Gaharu Guesthouse so that u can start climbing up very early in the morning.

At the midway I met a couple of kampong folks [probably the immigrants from South Thailand - based on their loghat] returning home from work. I asked them whether there is still tiger roaming around. I was assured it is safe. The iron ore mining has also been reopened...


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My son was collecting samples of iron ore...
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A closer look at the ore...
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"And We sent down iron in which there lies great force and which has many uses for mankind "
( Al-Hadid 57:25 )


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May 31st, 2008
the Hidden Paradise
My son and I left our home just before dawn of May 31st - expected to arrive at our first stop before sunrise for the dawn prayer prior to climbing up to the Sunrise Summit.


As scheduled, we arrived at the sunrise summit [almost 300km away from home] just on time when another new DAY was about to begin. As the sun was rolling high, we moved to a suitable spot for the packed breakfast while enjoying the view of the unspoiled landscapes and listening to the symphony of the nature...

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Look,  a new JOURNEY had just begun.

Meanwhile, the bikes were reassembled for the highlands adventure. We then moved on two wheeler deep into the highlands jungle to a HIDDEN PARADISE.
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It started to rain in the midday. We had to stop exploring the highlands and moved on to another hidden paradise about 200km away...
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Latarek, is neither a waterfall nor rapids - it is something in between the two.

It is believed that there is an underground water passage below those rocks - look at the picture and compare the amount of water running down those rocks with the remaining which flow downstream... there must be some kind of 'leak' somewhere...it has been reported a few cases of people were missing there! Be cautious, otherwise somebody will be sent out directly to the heaven from there.



This small continental hatch-back can easily carry 2 people and up to four bikes at one time when the rear seat is folded down - something my bigger booted car cannot. A  roof carrier for the bikes is absolutely unnecessary.
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Almost everything is in the 'boot' and still have plenty of room left. Ready to go... virtually anywhere.
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