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AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures
Putrajaya : Cuti-cuti 1Malaysia Ride
AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures
Putrajaya : Cuti-cuti 1Malaysia Ride
16th December 2012
Public Riding Event : around Putrajaya
Distance covered : approx 21.06km. | Level - Easy
Time : 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
Time Taken : 2hrs.
PRELUDE
Our biker buddy, Mohd. Radzi, had highlighted an up-coming public riding event organized by Cuti-cuti 1Malaysia.
This interested me very, very, very much.
Why?
Because I have not really attended a large scale public riding event. For this one the organizers claimed that there will be more than 3,500 participants.
And also because of a busy December schedule I have not been riding in group events for a few weeks now. So here we go!
I started a FaceBook event, just so that we will know who among our friends will be attending. But I had to remind them to register themselves at the proper web-site.
Hopefully, those clicking "Attending" at this FB page did realize that it was not the actual place for registration.
I was eager to meet up with my friends after a short lull.
The organizers even posted a map locating parking spaces and advised that registration will begin as early as 5:30 am on the ride day.
THE RIDE DAY
PRE-RIDE
Through our FB postings, we agreed that we should meet at the car-parks adjacent to the Monumen Alaf Baru (The Millennium Monument) at 5:30 am and then ride over to Dataran Putra to register in.
Driving towards our meeting point, I passed the Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque. It is not the main mosque for Putrajaya (that one will be the Putra Mosque); never-the-less with it's glass walls and dome-on-flat-roof supported by raking columns, it has a certain modern grandeur.
But when I reached the car-park, I was a bit disappointed as only a few of our friends were there. There were only Irene Cho, Kookkeong Fong and Rita Wong. Guess the rest had parked elsewhere or were coming later.
This the first time that I am meeting with Irene, she's one cheerful lady.
Rita's bike developed some tire-valve problems. But that problem is no big problem for our knight in shining armor, Kookkeong. With his tools and handy hands he soon fixed the problem. Irene helped by shining her bright light at the work spot.
That done, we rode over to Dataran Putra, where these pretty girls were waiting for us to register us in and hand us our goodies bags.
But first some Monkey business.
My friend Nash Abrahams had also already arrived. The fun guy that he is, we decided to fool around a bit while waiting for the event start.
Here he is posing as one of the Big Shots, with Rita as his obedient hand-maiden.
And here he is "giving a speech".
Thank goodness there were no audience, otherwise they would have fainted with their stomachs in stitches by what he had to say.
And also some Gangnam Tom-foolery on the stage.
Oops.... we better clear off before the officials come over.
Well, time to get out and mingle.
By now the crowd has started building up. They were volunteer reserves around to manage the crowd.
In the early morning light, the Prime Minister's office (Perdana Putra) stood stately tall at the background.
Other than the registration tents, there were others for first-aide, stalls selling biking accessories, food, etc.
There are actually two rides ongoing at this event.
One is the Mountain Bike Jamboree, this is a longer ride with the cyclist riding off-road up into the hills of Putrajaya. As their ride will be longer, they started first.
Well, might as well look around while waiting for our Fun Ride (road bikes, foldies) turn.
There was this Mini interestingly converted to promote the energy drink - Red Bull.
Many of us got the free drinks, after all we would be needing the energy, and also the lass handing out the drinks was as sweet as the drink! Heh! heh!
Met up with this group of cyclist who came all the way from Bandung, Indonesia.
"Malaysia Boleh!" I shouted.
"Indonesia Bolih!" they echoed.
Fair is fair, everybody is proud to represent their country in one way or another.
I was back at my bike, taking a photo of it with the Putra Mosque in the back ground, when a lady started talking to me. I looked up.
Holy Cow! It's the LADY herself - the Patron of the event, Dato' Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, Malaysia's Minister of Tourism.
Out of respect, I quickly stood up nervously. But she promptly disarmed my nervousness with a sweet smile and asked me about my bike and it's accessories
My reply sounded jittery as I was shivering in my pants, it's not everyday that this simple AhPek gets to talk to the VIPs. AND in a way I was representing all the Foldies.
THE RIDE
With that memorable episode over, we lined up for our start.
"Paaaaaaaaaht!"
To the blow of an air-horn Dato' Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, waving the Malaysian flag Jalur Gemilang, flagged us off.
WE ARE OFF!
The cool morning air, with the Putra Mosque in the background in the clear morning sky promises a good day for riding.
Riding along the main boulevard of the Core Island, we are heading towards the other end - the Dataran Gemilang.
About 2 km. down, we stopped for a impromptu re-group.
That was fast! But then this is a large group.
We continued on, passing this spitting fountain.
The Ministry of Finance, with its curve design and nice arches fronting a modern-designed glazed curtain wall.
The police were around to control the traffic so that we had a smooth and safe ride.
And they were friendly too, sportingly posing with us for a photo.
Thank you Police Di Raja Malaysia.
Further down, we made a slight turn off from the main boulevard.
Putrajaya is such a nice place to ride, it has so many beautiful buildings - like these ones near the Dataran Gemilang.
And this tall angular designed office building.
Malaysian architects are certainly a creative lot.
With another turn, we were back on the main boulevard, crossing the Seri Gemilang Bridge - the Putrajaya International Convention Centre sitting proudly on a hill ahead.
~ INTERLUDE ~
Time for a pause to look at the other people involved in the event :-
Team Indonesia - They are from Bandung, sponsored by United Bicycles of Indonesia. Flying in by Garuda Indonesia which they claim does not charge extra for bicycles that are checked in.
A young man with a striking jersey.
Fuuuuuyoh!
A young boy, waiting impatiently at the start point, seems to be bored - is it by the speeches.
A sweet young lady.
An even younger sweet, young lady.
Future racing bicyclist champions.
Father and son riding tandem.
Father and daughters - ingenious way of using a baby seat.
A Nasi Lemak seller? No, he is Mr. Asli from Taman Pertanian, Shah Alam.
Team from the newspaper, Harian Metro.
Team from My Bicycle Shop, enjoying their lunch.
The last sweeper - "All's clear everyone's in so far."
Police outrider in a cool Honda ST1300 superbike.
Guys and gals from the media.
And some interesting distraction - beautiful eye-candy in the form of the Miss Tourism International 2012 contestants. Hmmm.... Pink Ribbon supporters?
~ END OF INTERLUCE ~
Having crossed the Seri Gemilang Bridge, we are now out of the Core Island area and heading for the First Checkpoint - the Putrajaya Equestrian Park.
At the Equestrian Club, mineral water and light snacks were provided. This rest will only be for 15 minutes.
A nice banana snack to pep up one's energy.
With that short rest, we rode off from Checkpoint 1 along the last shady stretch of the ride. From now there will be hardly any shades.
It's only 9:10 am but the sun is shining strongly, thank goodness for those refreshments at the Checkpoint.
Viewing across to the core island, the office towers look even better with a lake side location.
The heat was getting to many and they took relief under the flyovers.
With the heat, some cyclist just could not make it up the slopes.
So one can't blame this little girl if she pushes her bike too.
The strain even got to the men, one here down with cramps. Luckily an ambulance was nearby.
As for myself, I did have some problems but not of the cycling type but the bowel type. So this Petronas petrol station was conveniently around for my Pit Stop. Phew!
Relieved, I continued on heading toward Checkpoint 2 and saw this guy who probably just started cycling.
He could be over-weight but at least he's making an effort to slim down and cycling is one of the best ways.
At Checkpoint 2, I met some FaceBook friends, Nfirdaüs Abdüllah and Zulkefli Yadi.
Leaving the checkpoint, I met up with this sweeper on a scrambler motorcycle.
Interesting chap, is into mountain biking, motor-crossing and even owns a bicycle shop.
Further down, I saw these guy quickly loading there bikes onto the support truck.
Must be feeling embarassed! Too bad, I caught them on camera, haha!
Hey guys! We are almost at the FINISH.
Yup, I was right as just slightly ahead was the Core Island.
And the HOME STRETCH!
Yipeeeee!
POST-RIDE
A memorable group photo in front of the Putra Mosque.
While some of us stayed back for the Lucky Draw, others cycled over to the Putrajaya Seafood Restaurant for lunch.
Operated by the Tai Thong Group, it's located at the Taman Botani and sits at the lakeside and serves pretty good halal seafood.
And we had -
Belacan Fried Rice; lightly flavored with belacan to give it a god balance with the chili.
Curry Prawns: It came with "Man Tau" buns which is dipped into the curry. Good but pity they were a bit stingy on the curry gravy - just not enough to dip the bun.
The next dish was very good, fried seafood beehoon with the prawns and squid being very fresh and the whole thing just adequately oily and not to dry.
Well, that's the end of a good ride.
One of catching up with old friends, meeting up with new ones,
One of meeting up with a VIP,
And one of riding through Putrajaya, the beautiful administrative capital of Malaysia.
Till we ride again, Selamat Jalan (Safe Journey).
You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Cycling Malaysia / Putrajaya / Cuti-cuti 1Malaysia Ride 2012
If you like this, view my other blogs at Jotaro's Blog
(comments most welcomed below. if you like this pls share via facebook or twitter)
Time : 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
Time Taken : 2hrs.
PRELUDE
This interested me very, very, very much.
Why?
Because I have not really attended a large scale public riding event. For this one the organizers claimed that there will be more than 3,500 participants.
And also because of a busy December schedule I have not been riding in group events for a few weeks now. So here we go!
Hopefully, those clicking "Attending" at this FB page did realize that it was not the actual place for registration.
I was eager to meet up with my friends after a short lull.
Distance: 21.06 km. Level: Easy
The ride will start from Dataran Putra, take us down the core island Boulevard, across to Dataran Gemilang and into the Equestrian Park for the first rest and regroup. It will then continue on through Precincts 10, 17, 16 and back to the Core Island at Precinct 18, through part of the boulevard and back to Dataran Putra.
THE RIDE DAY
PRE-RIDE
 |
| The Millennium Monument |
 |
| Irene Cho with her bike. |
This the first time that I am meeting with Irene, she's one cheerful lady.
My friend Nash Abrahams had also already arrived. The fun guy that he is, we decided to fool around a bit while waiting for the event start.
Here he is posing as one of the Big Shots, with Rita as his obedient hand-maiden.
Thank goodness there were no audience, otherwise they would have fainted with their stomachs in stitches by what he had to say.
Oops.... we better clear off before the officials come over.
By now the crowd has started building up. They were volunteer reserves around to manage the crowd.
In the early morning light, the Prime Minister's office (Perdana Putra) stood stately tall at the background.
Other than the registration tents, there were others for first-aide, stalls selling biking accessories, food, etc.
 |
| Mountain bikers lining up at the Start Point. |
One is the Mountain Bike Jamboree, this is a longer ride with the cyclist riding off-road up into the hills of Putrajaya. As their ride will be longer, they started first.
There was this Mini interestingly converted to promote the energy drink - Red Bull.
Many of us got the free drinks, after all we would be needing the energy, and also the lass handing out the drinks was as sweet as the drink! Heh! heh!
"Malaysia Boleh!" I shouted.
"Indonesia Bolih!" they echoed.
Fair is fair, everybody is proud to represent their country in one way or another.
 |
| AhPek Biker posing with YB Dato' Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen - guess who is grinning from ear to ear! |
Holy Cow! It's the LADY herself - the Patron of the event, Dato' Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, Malaysia's Minister of Tourism.
Out of respect, I quickly stood up nervously. But she promptly disarmed my nervousness with a sweet smile and asked me about my bike and it's accessories
My reply sounded jittery as I was shivering in my pants, it's not everyday that this simple AhPek gets to talk to the VIPs. AND in a way I was representing all the Foldies.
THE RIDE
To the blow of an air-horn Dato' Sri Dr. Ng Yen Yen, waving the Malaysian flag Jalur Gemilang, flagged us off.
The cool morning air, with the Putra Mosque in the background in the clear morning sky promises a good day for riding.
That was fast! But then this is a large group.
Thank you Police Di Raja Malaysia.
Putrajaya is such a nice place to ride, it has so many beautiful buildings - like these ones near the Dataran Gemilang.
Malaysian architects are certainly a creative lot.
~ INTERLUDE ~
Time for a pause to look at the other people involved in the event :-
Fuuuuuyoh!
~ END OF INTERLUCE ~
He could be over-weight but at least he's making an effort to slim down and cycling is one of the best ways.
Interesting chap, is into mountain biking, motor-crossing and even owns a bicycle shop.
Must be feeling embarassed! Too bad, I caught them on camera, haha!
Hey guys! We are almost at the FINISH.
Yipeeeee!
POST-RIDE
Operated by the Tai Thong Group, it's located at the Taman Botani and sits at the lakeside and serves pretty good halal seafood.
Belacan Fried Rice; lightly flavored with belacan to give it a god balance with the chili.
 |
| Mini Minarets of the Putra Mosque |
Well, that's the end of a good ride.
One of catching up with old friends, meeting up with new ones,
One of meeting up with a VIP,
And one of riding through Putrajaya, the beautiful administrative capital of Malaysia.
Till we ride again, Selamat Jalan (Safe Journey).
You may also like :
 |
| Kuala Lumpur : Merdeka 2012 Bike Ride |
 |
| Malacca : Peranakaan Bike-Packers Day 1 |
 |
| Penang Bike Ride 07/07/2012 : Tg Tokong - George Town |
 |
| Photo Gallery - Malaysia : Street Art of George Town, Penang |
You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Cycling Malaysia / Putrajaya / Cuti-cuti 1Malaysia Ride 2012
If you like this, view my other blogs at Jotaro's Blog
(comments most welcomed below. if you like this pls share via facebook or twitter)
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