Kuala Lumpur : Kemensah Bike Ride 2012/09/01

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Kuala Lumpur - Kemensah Ride
Wangsa Maju to Kemensah : 1st September 2012

Ride from Carrefour Wangsa Maju >  Zoo Negara > Kemensah (all in Kuala Lumpur) & back.

Distance covered : 50.80km.
Starting Time : 7:30am
Time Taken : 6:30hrs.


PRELUDE

Kemensah Ride Map  (click for Map Link)

 I was a bit hesitant in joining this ride as the day before I would have been riding the Merdeka Ride, and had put a Maybe on the FaceBook invitation list. But Rivern, the leader of My Cyclist Friends, who had planned this ride had made me co-host. He had also convinced me that the Merdeka ride, although interesting, would be more of a leisurely, social ride. So another ride one day after that should not be a problem even for a newbie like me. So I changed my Maybe to Going! And I am glad that I did - for this is one of the more challenging ride for me to date.

Rivern had also previously mentioned about extending a ride similar to the Setiawangsa Ride, but to go uphill to Kemensah instead of going down to Lake Titiwangsa. Kookkeong Foong planned out the route, and test rode this route with his son (Yakumo Chie) two days earlier. So this is it!

We met up at Carrefour in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur.

The Management of the complex had graciously allowed us to park our cars in the building's covered car-park. So with confidence of our vehicles safety, we unloaded our bikes and prepared for the ride.

The Ride

We took the cursory photo of the group and was soon riding off toward the rear of the building and heading to Jalan Wangsa Perdana 1.

The early morning chill and the green roads made our start invigorating.

There were many traffic lights in the area, but these red-light stops make for good photo opportunities.

We are now heading for Aeon Jusco at AU2, Wangsa Maju.

Aeon Jusco was just round the corner.

But getting in was a problem. At this early hour the place was not opened yet, and the entry boom gate was low & there was no gap to pass through except under it. It was BICYCLE LIMBO ROCK!

But we did manage to get in and grab this group photo.

We rode to the food court behind Aeon, parked our bikes and were ready for breakfast. This place was where we met up for the Setiawangsa Ride, then it was closed for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The place was packed and we joined the long queue at the Nasi Lemak stall.

And we could see why, the food being sold simply looks delicious and smelt good too!

This Nasi Lemak looks good doesn't it? With Fried Eggs, Fried Chicken, Mutton Curry, sliced cucumber salad and hot sambal to go with it.

My Cyclist Friends sitting down and enjoying our food. Kwan giving a discerning smirk - is that an approval nod for the food?

We were joined by our pussy cat friend, the friend Alex made with during our Setiawangsa Ride. It was happier today, as the place was full of people eating and there were scraps for it to eat too!

With warm stomachs, we were soon riding up the gentle slopes toward Puncak Setiawangsa, which became steeper and steeper as we got closer and closer.

Nash who was running late and did not join us at the start point, kept calling us - letting us know that he was en-route and eager to know where he could meet us. Here Kookkeong is telling him where to meet us, i.e. at the mid-point.

We soon reached Puncak Setiawangsa. The view from here was outstanding, so this is what Nash & me missed during the Setiawangsa Ride earlier.

So we parked our bikes here, took a short breather.....

..... And took a group picture here too.

The houses overlooking this scenic vista was grand, and soooo were the bikers passing by there.

Whooshing down the slope that we climbed earlier.

Passing by the narrower roads of AU3 area, having to be careful as the traffic was getting heavier and the road condition wasn't too good - many potholes to avoid.

Thumbs Up! For a good ride and also....

..... a peace sign by Kimmiskie Lim, a thorn among roses. Oops! I mean a rose among thorns - the one and only lady biker riding with us today. Cheers!

For an early lunch we stopped at our regular haunt, Restoran Wang Chuang. This place was roughly the mid-point of our ride. And we found Nash waiting patiently for us here.

While most of us were getting ready to eat.....

..... others were forming new and interesting friendships.

Ok. Time to hit the road again, this time with an addtional rider - Nash Abraham.

Going under the LDP Highway flyover to get to the other side of our ride - the Taman Melawati & Kemensah area.

Riding the nice, cool & shady roads leading up to the Klang Gates.

And then at the Klang Gates - well most of us were there. Kiminskie, Nash and me got a bit lost, took a wrong turn and ended up climbing some very steep slopes at the residential area and met the rest at a junction coming down - the three of us were too tired to ride up to the Gates.

Riding along the roads of Taman Melawati heading for Zoo Negara, Malaysia

We took an active group photo at the entrance of Zoo Negara. Here, we also stopped for a short breather, topping up our water before making the climb up to Kemensah. The Climb!

The route in the Kemensah area is even shadier than the Klang Gates approach road. But the condition of roads there was in dis-repair with many pot-holes. It was a rough ride on my Dahon Dash.

But it was a worthwhile bumpy ride, as we passed by scenic rustic kampong houses...

..... and some nice waterfalls where children were enjoying themselves. Nice place to take a dip & cool off, the next time we ride here have to bring along our swim suits!

But as we got closer to the Kemensah Camp, the roads really got steep. Some of us couldn't hack it (yours truly here included) and got down to push our bikes up the steeper slopes. This was the surprise and challenge that Kookkeong had set for us.

And somehow we did manage - ride, push. sweat, panting - to reach our destination. Cheers to that! This reminds me of Miley Cyrus's song The Climb!

It had been a long ride to reach our final destination, and we were happy to be riding back downhill towards the Zoo.

Exhausted, many of us were glad when we chanced upon this coconut water stall. What a relieve to stop here for a rest and for the refreshing coconut water.

Many of us were bushed, the ride wasn't exactly long but the last two sections - riding up to Klang Gates and the up again to Kemensah - was taxing to many who were not used to riding up such slopes. Our tiredness was expressed while we were resting at the coconut stall.

With that rest and boost, we made our way back crossing under the LDP again back to the Wangsa Maju area.

Crossing over we were soon back at Carrefour, our tired faces now turned into satisfied smiles of having completed a good and challenging ride.

The Riders

Rivern Yong

Kookkeong Fong

Mui KW & Samuel Mui

Wee Kiat Hun

Wee Jr.

Ian Foo

Jason Lim

Kenny Wong

Kimmiskie Lim

Kwan Mun Fah

Nash Abraham

Jotaro Zen

(the AhPek Biker)

Credits: Some of the photos used in this blog are by Kookkeong Fong & Kwan Mun Fah.


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