Selangor : Brompton Malaysia Ride May 2014

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Selangor : Brompton Malaysia Ride May 2014

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AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures

Selangor : Brompton Malaysia Ride May 2014
- The Cycling Lanes Of Shah Alam

(Photo by Swofinty)

Shah Alam : 4th May 2014

Medium Group Ride - Bukit Chahaya>Shah Alam Lake Gardens>Selangor State Mosque>Street Art Alley>Bukit Chahaya

Cycling Distance Covered : 21.17 km.
Time : 8:00 am - 10:50 am
Time Taken : approx. 2 hrs. 50 mins. (including stops for breakfast, photos & regrouping)

Route Recommendations :
1. If cycling in Shah Alam, riding on the cycling tracks of Shah Alam is a must. They are one of the better ones in Malaysia; cutting through residential areas, parks and to the city centre. Residents who work here can really cycle to work along these tracks.
2. We did not stop by long enough to appreciate the beauty of the State Mosque, spare some time there.
3. The Lake Gardens of the city is a fairly large park that comprises of a few parks joined by the cycling tracks. Here is a nice place for picnics and photography.
4. Stop by to view the street art at Section 2. It's only one street, but hopefully it leads to an emergence of more art appreciation in the city.

PRELUDE

Every few months members of the MY Brompton Malaysia FB Group meet and go riding together. It is a sort of camaraderie ride, people with the same type of bicycle (in this case the Brompton) ride together to encourage each other and enjoy the area of the ride. One off-shoot of these gatherings is that one get to exchange notes on up-grading, accessories and maintenance.

The last time I joined them was in the September 2013 Ride. That was an eye-opener ride; first was meeting with my Brompton compatriots face to face. Secondly, Pak Adib who led the ride showed a face of Putrajaya which many of us did not know exists.

This time round we will be riding in Shah Alam. Our meet up point was the Bukit Chahaya Agricultural Park. I had rode here before (... see blog) and thought "Okay, place is the same; but then it will be with a different group of friends, so why not?" But then Finty, our group leader informed that we won't be riding in the Agricultural Park but in Shah Alam city itself. Specifically, we will ride at the cycling tracks of the city. Even better!

THE RIDE!

View My Brompton Malaysia Ride May 2014 (21.17 km) in a larger map
Ride route - Bukit Cahaya>Shah Alam Lake Park>Selangor State Mosque>Street Art Alley>Bukit Cahaya

Starting from Bukit Cahaya we will ride out and cycle along the cycling lanes heading towards the Shah Alam Lake Gardens. Just before we ended the ride we dropped by the Street Art Alley.
NOTE: The route is green is on the cycling tracks.

Parking our cars at the car-park at Bukit Cahaya, we quickly unloaded and unfolded our bikes and were ready to GO!

Rita came a-riding in her sarong. Who says riding with a sarong is difficult? Ask her... she does it often.

With Eran leading us, we headed for the cycling lanes via some residential roads. It's a pity that the cycling lanes does not connect to the Bukit Cahaya Park.
Nevertheless, we were eager to ride on these lanes, wondering how they will be like. Will they be wide or just narrow paths? Will they be properly constructed or like some so called bicycle lanes which are full of pot-holes and hardly cycleable.

At the residential area of Section 4, we left the roads and are onto the cycling lanes.
Hey! They look good! Nice and even construction, no pot-holes and they even have white demarcation lines on their edges. This stretch here is of tarmac construction.

It was rather nice cycling along these lanes, large trees shade lined most of the route.

And it's not a boring straight stretch like those motorcycle lanes along the Federal Highway. The tracks meander round the the sides and rear of houses.....

... it even cut through some mini-orchards. Here the lane is of concrete construction, probably because the planting soil here is softer.

From the residential area, the tracks connect to the Shah Alam Lake Gardens.

It also connects to some other smaller parks in the area. The route is definitely varied. I was tempted to stop and have a picnic at these green, shady parks.

From the residential zones to the parks, the route took us further to the commercial hub of Shah Alam at Section 14. Here there are some high rise buildings such as the Shah Alam City Hall..

Just next to this is the Selangor State Museum. Hmmm..., this place should be worthy of a visit the next time round.

Nearby, we stopped to grab a quick but memorable group photo of ourselves...

Opposite is a nice clock tower.

Crossing the road, we headed to some shop houses to have breakfast. Oddly, the cycle tracks does not lead to these shops. Well, there is always room for improvement.

I had some roti canai basah, which was really wet as it was flooded with curry until the roti is hardly visible. I like it this way as the curry seeps into the roti and soften it. YummY!

and my ever favourite - two half-boiled eggs a good booster for cycling!

Foodie time over, we rode a little bit more on the cycling lanes passing by the beautiful Selangor State Mosque.

The striking blue dome of this mosque makes it easily recognisable.

Not too far away is the Selangor State Secretariat Building.

Passing by these nicely shaded huts at the Lake Gardens, I was most tempted to stop here for a quick picnic. But we have to continue on as the ride leaders are taking us to another destination.

The destination was a back alley at Section 2. It would have been a non-descript lane if not for the interesting street art lining the back walls of the shop houses here.

Large murals shows the creativeness of the local artists.

There's even a unique 3-D art of a classroom with desks, chairs, etc. bolted to a veritcal wall.

We spent some time here admiring the artwork and also having some fun.
Cycling up the wall? Well, that will be a feat!

This may be only one back alley of art; but hopefully it will lead to the emergence of more display of public art in Shah Alam that will breathe more life into the cultural soul of the city.
For those interested to visit this place the GPS coordinates are: 3.071130, 101.508492.

From there we headed back, riding across the bridge that spans over the NKVE.

And..... we are back at the Bukit Cahaya Agricultural Park.
It has been an remarkable ride that took us along the cycling lanes, through residential areas, parks and the commercial hub. It led us pass some iconic buildings and to a street art alley.
My perception of Shah Alam has changed, and I will definitely come riding here again.
To my Brompton mates, it was good meeting up and riding again; here's to more future rides!
Cheerio then!