Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Cycling Diary - Genting Sempah 13/11/2012


Diari Kayuh Seorang Macik

Bila geng kayuh macik mula berbincang2 pasal nak berbeskal ke genting sempah, telinga macik capang je kerana hati ni sgt berminat utk mencuba.  persoalannye, mampu kah macik?  setakat yg macik ingat jalan lama genting sempah tu bukan saje berbukit bukit tapi jugak berselekuh... terbayang zaman dolu2 betapa siksanya kalau kereta tersangkut di blakang lori balak, nasib tak baik berjela2 la deretan kereta jadinye.

View of the GS highway
Mini waterfall
Beware landslides semasa musim hujan
Melalui hebahan word of mouth & platform kelab basikal shah alam (kelas) akhirnye ramai jugak riders yg ikut serta kayuhan genting sempah pada 13/11/2012.  in total rasanye melebihi 30 orang and for me yg paling best, ramai gak first timers macam macik so i felt pretty comfortable facing the unknown with others just like me.

The whole gang.
My excitement was probably what got me thru the long & winding climb.  and theres no two ways about it, if i hadnt been doing my regular rides up and down the kesas & guthrie highway, or taming the dragon in my backyard, the ride up genting sempah would have been quite horrendous.  instead it felt a lot like an outing in the park with beloved friends lol.

Macik & Genting Sempah
One thing though, the quality of the road left a lot to be desired and for roadbikes, keeping a vigilant eye over potholes, cracks, rough & mossy surfaces is a must.  it doesnt help that its also the rainy season, and descending can be a whole lot tougher than ascending, especially for begiiners like me.  sampai cramp2 la jari2 macik asyik brek2 jer.

Berkumpul sbelum konvoi ke HOA Gombak
Geng Shah Alam
Starting point - HOA Gombak 
Doa utk keberkatan
And off we go.. 
Checkpoint & regrouping
Steepest climb 
Giddiest descend
Sesungguhnye jangan la terlalu focus pd aspek mendaki, pikir2kan juga strategy utk turun.  macik rasa it takes skill plus brute strength to climb but skill plus mental strength to tackle the speed going down the slippery & winding roads.

Refueling @ R&R GS
...and recharging.
.Getting ready for the ride down.

Sebagai peringatan dan langkah keselamatan, se elok2nye servis la beskal sbelum mencuba route yg berbukit2.... believe me, you'd want your bicycle parts to be working efficientlly.  Theres also bound to be surprises on long rides so its good to have one or two support/rescue cars around.... and in our case, even the rescue car had to be rescued lol.
Rescuing the rescue car 
Hujan lebat selepas kayuhan
Alhamdulillah kayuhan macik ke genting sempah sarat dgn pengajaran  dan pengalaman.  Ia juga bertindak sebagai persediaan yg sangat sesuai untuk kayuhan macik seterusnya - Fraser's Hill here I come woot woot.

Just me, my bike & God's endless blessings

Detail Kayuhan:

Total distance - 35km
Total Time - about 2jam naik & 2jam turun (tidak termasuk break di R&R GS)
Weather - cuaca yg redup & teduh disebabkan oleh pokok2 di sepanjang jalan.
Route - Hospital Orang Asli Gombak ke R&R Genting Sempah and back
Rating - doable utk beginners yg ingin timba pengalaman mengayuh route yg hilly & winding.