Ulu Yam Ride

I defied the wicked flu bugs in my body, and mid-night disruptions courtesy of Lucas, to make it out of bed to head of to FRIM to 'lead' my first ever PCC ride. Much water, Vit C tablets and gargling with salt water seemed to have almost eliminated my throat problem, but I still woke tired and with a raw feeling in my windpipe. However I had been looking forward to this ride since it was planned a couple of weeks ago, and was determined to make it.

I met Ah Fook just up the hill from Carrefour and we made our way to FRIM. This was where my "leader"ship was tested, and failed, as we headed into FRIM whilst everyone else was already waiting opposite FRIM! I announced the days route and regroup points and we headed off back towards Batu Caves.

Federer 5-5 Gonzales (First Set of Aussie Open Final) - GO GONZO!! FEDERER IS BORING!!

At Batu Caves we had to negotiate our way through a huge traffic jam and masses of Hindu devotees who I think must have been pre-Thaipusam activities. Lots of shaved heads, flowers, incense, praying by the river, walking bands etc...

At the short sharp climb at the Batu Dam the P2K boys flew by, with a sprinting James Bak hot on their tails.

The group was fairly well fragmented by the time we got into the valley, and I struggled along in gears 1-3 with Ah Fook. My legs felt empty and I seriously began to think I'd get to the top of the main climb and turn back. Somehow I slowly crept to the summit and met the rest of the gang. I ate half my PowerBar and chose to continue down to Ulu Yam. The descent was fantastic as always, and I clocked up a max. speed of 76kph!

In Ulu Yam the "leader" couldn't find the stall he'd last visited 10 years ago, so we headed back a bit and found somewhere with 100 Plus, water and nasi lemak - just what the doc. ordered!

The group here was..Sean Chang, Gunther, Patsy Yap, Ah Fook, an ex-Selangor rider and some others - sorry names forgotten or not known!! I ate some rice and 1/4 of my PowerBar to fill my legs. Feeling ok by now but definitely not 100%.

As we headed back up the hill I has a nice chat with Sean Chang before he dropped me. I managed to get to the top without too much trouble and enjoyed cruising back to the dam with Patsy & Ah Fook. I had a bit of a scare as I casually tried to extract the final 1/4 of my Powerbar from it's wrapper whilst sitting-up on the bike (no hands) at 40kph. The bars started wobbling violently but luckily I managed to get my hands on them before my front wheel flipped round. I would have been flying through the air if I hadn't!!

Apart from passing a Chinese Lion and Band doing their thing (Cultural Experience#2 of the day), the ride home was uneventful. Mileage - 97km.