A Knight's Tale: Kulim Fellowship Ride with the LeTua Cycling Team
KOTRTpit view by Shamoon

“ I'm so glad I'm not riding in the hot sun like those buggers. It's so nice inside Rin's car!”
- ‘Anonymous' support driver

This was my first road ride on the mainland after a very long hiatus; the last time I rode there was last year before PCC! So it was sort of a welcome back ride for me.

The LeTua Cycling team is synonymous with professional cycling. The last major participation the team took part was the Tour De Langkawi. Though they didn’t win the event, but they were in the press consistently and are very well known in the local cycling community.

You could say it was the closest thing to riding with a professional racing team….

Anyway, back to the story.

The rendezvous point was the usual Forestry Department in Kulim (aka Jabatan Perhutanan). This time there were nine of us; six cyclists (Pang, Rin, ST, Chen, Derek and myself) and three support drivers (Dennis, Halim and Beh). Rin said to be there early to get a good parking spot. Pang decided to leave early at 6am, bringing Dennis and ST. Chen went with Rin, Beh and Halim while Derek and myself drove alone.

I left the house at 6.30am – usual story-lah; had to make some deposits…twice! However, as I was on the highway, I had the urge for a third deposit. So I rushed to the Shell pit stop at Penanti. Finding the bathroom occupied, I took-off for the main washroom – and let it rip!

Aaaaaaaah….the relief! See fook sai.

Thinking I was the last to arrive, I was surprised to see Derek, Beh, Rin, Chen and Halim at the petrol station. It seemed some of them had my ‘depositing’ disease.

Some habits are just simply contagious!

Arriving at the designated point was like a scene out of a pasar tani; it was 7.30am and there was a large crowd gathered. Unlike the pasar crowd, these were cyclists, support riders and family member who were prepping up for the ride.

Pang was the earliest – arriving at 6.45am together with ST and Dennis. The best part he was there even earlier than the organizers!

Guess what time the ride kicked-off? 8.30am! That was after a few intros and check presentation. We all could’ve slept in for another hour…sigh!

The ride, organized by MKH, was about 106km and fully escorted by the police. There were about 100+ riders who turned up for this ride. It was a hand-in-hand ride that took us from Kulim town, to Sedim, to Bukit Hijau, to Karangan, to High-tech Park, and back. So there were no ‘lacing-lacing’ episodes because the police kept all of us in check. Even Kulim Lee was carrying a whistle….

The route was really pleasant in the morning – the air in Kedah’s countryside was fresh and crisp. It was good to take in pure O2 – this state has plenty of that to offer. There were a few climbs along the way but nothing major. To me, a major climb is like the one back on Penang Island going up Tun Sardon road. However on this route, we had to watch out more for ‘land-mines’. They were littered all along the road. One wrong step and you could find yourself eating dung!

Our first drinking pit-stop was at 70km – at the Bukit Hijau recreation spot. All the support vehicles were there already waiting for us. So we dismounted from our saddles and refreshed ourselves with some cool, thirst-quenching Coke, 100plus etc.

Then suddenly, pain!

After unclipping my shoes – I felt very sharp, intense pain on both base of my feet. I couldn’t stand up. So I sat down, unclipped my shoes and poured some cold water over my feet. It was a temporary relief. However, I still couldn’t walk properly. Each step I took was like walking on glass – very sharp, intense pain. After a few steps, I decided not to continue with the remaining leg of the journey. So up went my bike onto the Rin’s bike rack and I joined the support group.

The ride back to the starting point took another one and a half hours. By that time, the afternoon sun was high up in the sky and it was really hot – well over 30 degrees celcius. It was during my ride back in the support vehicle, someone mentioned, “I’m so glad I’m not riding in the hot sun like those buggers. It’s so nice inside Rin’s car!”

By the time the riders got back to the Forestry Department, it was already 1.30pm. I could hear everyone’s stomach growling….

Then it was off for our favourite rendezvous, Nasi Kandar at Pelita Restaurant. Where the curry, rice and other tasty bits were waiting for our gastronomic appetites!

Next ride: Ipoh Fellowship Ride, 23 Mar 2008.

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