Selangor : Tanjong Sepat Treks Day 3

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Selangor : Tanjong Sepat Treks Day 3

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AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures

Selangor : Tanjong Sepat Treks Day 3

: A Bike-Packing Adventure

The mangrove swamps of Tg Sepat (Photo by Robert)

Day 3 - Tanjong Sepat to USJ : 10th August 2013

Small Group Ride - Tanjong Sepat>Banting>Jenjarom>UEP Subang Jaya

Cycling Distance Covered : 75.4 km.
Time : 9:15 am - 3:45 pm
Time Taken : approx. 6 hrs. 30 mins. (including stops for lunch, rest, photo shoots, etc.)

Route Recommendations :
1. Expect cross-winds along the coastal roads.
2. The coastal roads afford little shade, so do cover up to avoid sunburn.
3. The mangrove swamps just out of Tanjong Sepat are quite picturesque.
4. When cycling along the motor-cycle lanes of the KESAS highway, do try to ride as far left as possible as motorcycles will come zooming by.

This is Part 3 of a 3 part blog, click on following to go to other pages :
- Tanjong Sepat Treks Day 1
- Tanjong Sepat Treks Day 2

PRELUDE

Two days earlier we had arrived at Tanjong Sepat after a close to 80km. ride from USJ (... see Tanjong Sepat Treks Day 1) .

The previous day we took a day trip to Bagan Lalang and then onwards to Sungai Pelek for lunch...

... and returned to Tanjong Sepat to admire a beautiful sunset (... see Tanjong Sepat Treks Day 2).

THE RIDE - Day 3 (Tanjong Sepat to UEP Subang Jaya)

Tanjong Sepat to UEP Subang Jaya Ride Map (click for Map Link)

Ride Route : Tanjong Sepat>Banting>Jenjarom>UEP Subang Jaya.

After two days & two nights of fun with wonderful friends it was time to return.

Goooood Morning!
It's beautiful dawn in Tanjong Sepat one of blue skies with the the orange tinge of the sunrise slowly creeping to wake us up.
Time to get ready and ride again!

With a tinge of sadness, we rode off from the Ganofarm Homestay. Was it because the place has kept us well; or was it because our biking camaraderie will be ending today? Probably it was a mix of both.

Seeing that it is going to be a long ride back and that we will be needing to burn more carbs, Andrew took us over to the nearby Yikee for a heavier breakfast. Yikee sells an interesting seafood version of Bak Kut Teh.

L-R : Kellie, Andrew, Chris, Shereen, Hui Min, Wai Keat, Crystal & Kim.

The nine of us (Siew Yung had followed Robert back the previous evening) really enjoyed this unique Bak Kut Teh.

"Bak Kut Teh" literally means Pork Bone Soup, so it was an irony when the first dish came. It was a fish soup - no meat at all; did I taste a hint of pork there, perhaps they use pork stock to make the soup before adding the fish. Still it was unique and nice.

The next dish that came was the whopper - it had slices of fish, loads of prawns AND SOME FATTY PORK!
The seafood added a flavor of the sea to the combo, it's the local version of surf & turf.

While waiting for the food to come, a few of us popped over to buy some of the renown Tanjong Sepat home-made fish balls & fish cakes from one cottage "factory". A word of advice : buy fish balls from these cottage industry places and not from the vendors near the market. Those from the market do not use good fish and also don't use filtered water which gives them the odd smell of the acrid water.

9:15 am - On this clear morning with clear blue skies, we rode of from Tanjong Sepat it will be a beautiful day to ride.

Robert had given us a tip of an interesting place that he saw on his drive up here the previous day - some mangrove swamps just a few kilometres out from Tanjong Sepat just past Kampong Batu Laut.

It is indeed a fascinating place; the dead mangrove trees sticking out from the sea made gave the place a mysterious aura.
Mysterious or not, these mangrove swamps protected much of these coast land during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; taking the brunt of the incoming waves.

The bright jerseys of Shereen & Kellie adding color to the mangrove swamp.

The unmoving trees being swept by the incoming breakers indeed did have a surrealistic air, not unlike a scene from a Alfred Hitchcock suspense movie.

10:05 am - Passing by the Batu Laut police station.

Just before Morib town we made a left turn into Jalan Tali Air.

At the lean-to shed at this junction we took a short break. Some just rested while others, contacted their friends on their smartphones - even now, the return to our mundane daily lives is slowly sneaking back.

A little bit further on, we passed by this cactus farm; I wonder what these cacti are harvested for? Some beauty products?
(Update: Ken, a friend of mine informed me that these are dragon fruit trees, and he is right ... see photos from the net.)

We are still near the sea, the coastal headwind blowing strong against us.
Oh-oh... do those look like rain clouds, let's hope the weather holds and no rain comes.

11:10 - Arrived at Banting town. We are averaging a fairly good speed of 15km/hr.

We only had a quick toilet break at Banting and headed straight on for Jenjarom.

Lunch were simple noodles followed by some good Goreng Pisang; huge ones made from the giant Pisang Tanduk.

After Jenjarom, rode mostly along the kampong roads.

Cutting through Kapmpong Batu 7, we made our way to ...

... Kota Kemuning and from there headed down to the KESAS highway at the Jalan Bukit Kemuning junction.

Cycling along the KESAS motorcylcling lane, we were were soon back at USJ 8
- and it's the end of a wonderful 3-days adventure with a group of beautiful people.

Many thanks to my friends who made this ride a memorable one.
L-R : Kellie, Shereen, Chris, Kim, Wai Keat, Crystal, Siew Yung, Hui Min, me, Andrew, Robert & Ian (who's not in the photo as he was taking it).