Kuala Lumpur : OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2013

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Kuala Lumpur - OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2013
Inner Kuala Lumpur City : 20th January 2013

Public Event Ride : KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Centre)>Jalan Raja Chulan>Jalan Tun Perak>Jalan Parlimen>Jalan Tun Ismail>Jalan Kuching>Jalan Sultan Ismail>Jalan Tengku Abdul Rahman>Jalan Dang Wangi>Jalan Ampang>KLCC (per lap of 12.1 km.)

Distance covered : 12.1 km. X 4 laps = 48.4 km.
Time : 6:45 am - 8:45 am
Time Taken : 2:16 hrs. (including 2 short stops for photos)

 Note : for a better mood click here to run the Chariots of Fire theme Song. It will open in another window, click this tab to return here.

PRELUDE

When the Overseas Chinese Banking Corportation (OCBC) touted their event OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2013, many were keen to join in, including yours truly
I have joined several public events before, but they were mainly fun & social rides - riding at a casual pace with friends and also making new friends.
But this one is different, this one is an international event with foreigners taking part too. It will be a competitive ride with the more serious bikers taking this as a race, especially in the Challenge category which I will be joining.

The OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2013 Ride Jersey

So the cycling community were all hyped up and many registered for the event.
But why join the Challenge when there is no hope of winning against the faster road bikers.
Well, it's because of the jersey  The foldie category only offered a T-shirt, and for another RM40 additional registration fees I would be getting the jersey.
Yes... the AhPek Biker is also a bit of a kedekut, stingy in ways Heh. Heh!

The Friday prior to the event, Sin, Nash, Wee, Kookkeong & me went to collect our jerseys & goodies at The Intermark. The goodies came in a mini-duffle bag but not much was in it - jersey, rider's number tags, timing chip and some discount vouchers.

"Man-Crocodile" or Buaya coming up from the lake.

We rode from Taman Tasik Titiwangsa and then continue on to Taman Tasik Ampang Hilir after doing our collection. Being fun fellows we had some comic relief at the lake at Ampang Hilir.

Or acting as marine commandos!

So the night before, like many of the other participants, I prepared myself & my bike for the following day's event. Stuck rider's number tags to my riding helmet, jersey & bike.

Tied on the timing chip to the front fork (this will auto-track my riding time, but more on this later).

The Challenge Ride starts pretty early at 6:15 am, so I will have to wake up by 4:00 am.
I dunk down two cans of Tiger Beer to help me sleep earlier.
Sorry, this is an odd habit of mine. I am a night owl and tend to sleep late.

Wee & me having breakfast at Pelita

On the morning of the ride, I parked my car at Jalan U Thant. Together with JK Khoo, I rode over to Pelita Nasi Kandar where we met more friends and had an earlier breakfast before riding over to KLCC for the start.

OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2013 Ride Map  (click for Map Link)

The ride route will take us from KLCC(Kuala Lumpur City Centre)>Jalan Raja Chulan>Jalan Tun Perak>Jalan Parlimen>Jalan Tun Ismail>Jalan Kuching>Jalan Sultan Ismail>Jalan Tengku Abdul Rahman>Jalan Dang Wangi>Jalan Ampang>KLCC (per lap of 12.1 km.)
Most of the route will be relatively flat except for a short stretch along Jalan Tun Ismail.
For the Challenge Category, it will be four laps around the route.

THE RIDE

THIS IS IT!
We were all ready, tense and eager to start-off.
At close to 6:45 am the horn blared out; we rolled off and started pedaling furiously.

The moment we started we rode over these black sensor pads, they sense the signal from our timing chips and will keep track of our riding time.

Riders starting of at Jalan P. Ramlee

I will be riding four laps in the Challenge Category. My plans was to ride as fast (but of course safely too) as I could for the first three laps. For the fourth lap, I will ride slower so as to be able to take photos; and it will be brighter then so the photos hopefully will turn out clearer.

Me with Yong Sin & Mohd. Radzi after my first lap

Completing the first lap in 25 minutes (that's impressive for an old dog like me!), I made a quick stop to quench my thirst and take some photos.

During the 2nd lap, at Jalan Parlimen, I made a quick stop to grab some photos - with the cyclists against a nice background, it was too tempting not to stop & take some shots *smiles*.

The cyclists on racers were really going fast, shouting "Left! Left!" at the slower ones to make way for them.
But did they mean they are coming from the left or that we are to keep left to give way, a bit of confusion there.

Even with that short photo stop, I was able to complete the 2nd lap in 30 minutes.
Not as fast as those racers, but still on track.

In the brighter sunlight, the Petronas Twin Towers can be seen towering over us - it was once the tallest building in the world.

Cycling along Jalan P Ramlee with the Shangri La Hotel in the background

The safety of the cyclists were well taken care off with temporary bright orange cones demarcating the riding route. Other vehicles were barred from entering the route.

At the turn off from Jalan P Ramlee to Jalan Raja Chulan.
Further down at Jalan Raja Chulan, there was a wet stretch caused by a leaking water pipe. This was a hazard area and a few cyclist fell and injured themselves here.

Along Jalan Tun Perak at the Masjid Jamek Monorail Station, with the monorail track & station above.

At Jalan Parlimen with the Bank Negara Malaysia (National Bank of Malaysia) buildings at the background.

A cyclist friend, it's my last lap now and I rode slower to take more photos.

Another cyclist friend.

At the U-turn at Jalan Parlimen, a volunteer cheered us on.

There was a bit of clash of events. Another event, a walking one, was also using this area.
Unfortunately some of the walkers were walking along the road instead of the five-foot way.

Jordan Chan, a new friend.

At the junction of Jalan Sultan Salahhudin & Jalan Dato Onn, distinct with the bright red bungalow there.

Just after this, we hit the slopes at Jalan Tun Ismail.

But my friends, including Jordan, took on these slopes quite well.

Cycling slow up the slopes has its advantage.
Along here I met another new friend, Melody, from Hong Kong.

At the end of Jalan Tun Ismail, we were back to the flats, cycling adjacent to The Mall shopping mall and the Putra World Trade Centre.

Five minutes later, riding pass the Tune Hotel of Air Asia at Jalan Tengku Abdul Rahman.

Along Jalan Dang Wangi, the sun has now come out shining brightly.

I looked at my rear view mirror, Jordan is still with me - he is doing rather well.

And we are back along shady Jalan Ampang.

Made another new friend her..... Oops! I mean "here".

At Jalan P Ramlee, almost at the finish, a nice arch has already been put up in anticipation of the coming Chinese New Year.

Encouraged, I was racing for the finish - so was my friend here but we still cordially waved at each other.

Yahoo! The Finishing Line.
(Note : those dark strips at the bottom are sensor pads to time the riders finishing time.)

VICTORY!!!

The AhPek Biker has done it.

The medallion that I received - something to be treasured.
My overall placing was #95 for Category H (that's for AhPeks) with a nett time of 2:16:21.


POST-RIDE

Going back to have a look at the finishing line, I noticed that there are three columns for finished riders to go through. Riders are given an isotonic drink, then their medal and then their timing chips removed.

Saw my friend Ch'ng Kai Nie there.

and this cute lady cyclist from London.

It was a time to celebrate with old friends - here with our Kaki Foldies group.

And new friends - Enc. Suza of Kemaman with his family.

Nash making new friends too.

They are from a fairly large team.

We left the KLCC area and went to the nearby Restoran Selera Ampang, Wisma Central for lunch...

... where we found good curries ...

... and made some more new friends there.

The Green team from Geng Jaha9.

The Singapore team from Habitat For Humanity cause.
Many cyclists are active in promoting preserving the environment, it's something close to their hearts as cycling is a very "natural" act.

With the good food & good friends, we chatted, joked, traded cycling stories.....
What an good end to the event OCBC Cycle Malaysia 2013.

Till the next ride,
Ride Well Ride Safe.

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