Kuala Lumpur : World Car-free Day Ride #1 - Brickfields to Klang 22/09/2012

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Kuala Lumpur World Car-free Day Ride #1
Brickfields to Klang : 22nd September 2012

Group Bike-Packing Ride:
1) Bike Ride from YMCA, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur to Klang, Selangor
(NOTE: This blog post covers this first part of our bike-packing tour.)

World Car-free Day Ride #2 covers the following parts:
2) Train Ride from Klang to Port Klang
3) Ferry Ride from Port Klang>Pulau Ketam>Port Klang
4) Train Ride from Port Klang>Subang Jaya>Sri Setia>Sentral>KTM Station

Distance covered : approx. 30km. (Bike ride only)
Time Taken : approx. 2:30 (riding time only)
Started : 0730hrs  Ended : approx. 1800hrs (All in time, including time on Pulau Ketam)

Prelude

World Car-free Day Ride Map  (click for Map Link)

When Sam Cheong (affectionately called the Chief), of the Malaysian Foldies site and similarly named FaceBook Group posted invitations for this ride, I was very keen to join for so many reasons:
- It will be an bike-packing adventure of sorts with bike rides, train rides, boat rides and exploration of Pulau Ketam (also some riding there). Most of the previous rides I had been to were pure bike rides and lasted a morning or so, this one will last almost a whole day.
- I will be meeting Face2Face with some friends that I got to know only through FaceBook, notably the Chief.
- It will also be an educational ride as we will be riding mostly along bike lanes of the Federal Highway. Yes, we will be learning how to ride safely at the bike lanes.
- It will also be the first time that I will be visiting Pulau Ketam (I state this quite embarrassingly, seeing that I have been staying in the Klang Valley for decades!)

Sentral Station in the wee hours of the morning.

The day of the ride came and it was raining in the wee hours of the morning as I prepared to go down. There were concerns that the ride would be called off because of the rain. But   then I was surprised to see more than the registered riders present during the start.
This being World Car-free Day, many were dedicated to the theme of the day and did not drive to the start point. Some rode all the way from their house; others rode to the nearest train station, pack their bikes and took the train down to the nearby Sentral Station.

A few of us arranged to meet earlier to have breakfast together. Unfortunately, the coffee-shop with good hawker food opposite the YMCA (our start point) had closed. So we opted for the Restoran Kaveri at the back.

We went back to the YMCA compound for the scheduled 7:00am briefing by the Chief. He briefed us on the route - where the dangerous sections are, where we will have another briefing, where re-groupings will be carried out, where the bike ride will end and train ride start, etc. All rides should have such a pre-ride briefing, then all participants will be clear of what to expect and how to ride safe.


The Bike Ride - an Educational Experience

With all of us clear about the ride through the briefing, we started of towards Jalan Thambipillay and then headed toward Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad. Radzi, a strong biker acted as sweeper. The roads were wet from the morning rain, and those of us without rear mud guards received baptismal stripes at the back of our jerseys.

From there were turned of into Jalan Tun Sambanthan (formerly Jalan Brickfields) where the traffic was heavier, BUT this was not the route we will be taking to the Federal Highway biking lanes. It was a detour for some educational tips.

At the far end of Jalan Tun Sambanthan where it merges with the Federal Highway, the Chief showed us a tree trunk lying across the entrance to the bike lane. It was put there to stop bikes from entering the lane as it had been demolished. It's details like this that helps us bikers avoid such areas and detour accordingly. Imagine happily cycling there and having to turn back!

Not being able to get to the bike lane there, we turned back and headed down Jalan Tun Sambanthan. Fortunately, Sin and Kookkeong knew of an alternative route and led us on.

This route took us down the Jalan Ang Seng area of Brickfields.

Which in turn led us to an interesting path running adjacent and parallel to the elevated railway tracks.

And down some shady roads. It's a good ride!

At the far end of the shady road we finally hit the biking lane. Yellow painted drums were put across to prevent cars from accessing the lane. There were hardly any traffic on this lane here, most likely many couldn't find the access to it.

Here we stopped for another briefing, this one in more detail - 
1) To cycle single file as close to the left as possible as there will be many motor-cycles zooming past.
2) To be careful when entering the darkly-lit underpasses where many a accidents have happened.
3) Which underpasses could be flooded on account of the rain earlier in the morning.

Riding the bike lanes was interesting. We pass by many sights which we would not have appreciated while zooming pass them in our cars. Like this layers of road bridges, a new railway bridge and an old railway bridge.

Or these tall giant piers supporting the railway track more than fifty feet above us.

Cycling into this darkly-lit underpass with the oncoming glare of the open can be blinding. Vice-versa, coming in from the bright open lanes one gets momentarily blinded adjusting to a darker area. We had to be extra careful here as motorcyclists speed pass. I saw a motorcyclist almost ram into a fellow rider, his brakes screeching to slow down fast.

Out back in the open, we passed by the grandiose looking and towering Menara Telekoms.

And then Taman Jaya, one of the oldest park in Petaling Jaya. It seems so much cleaner these days. In the past, one could see debris and flotsam in it. Uughh!

Further on, near the St. Francis Xavier's Church, fellow biker Chung Tze Yang joined us. Welcome on board Yangman.

Nearing the Jalan Templer underpass, we found it blocked with the yellow hazard light on. It was flooded, and we had to use the interchange. Going on to the highway always gives me the shivers, with cars and motorcyclist zooming by. They don't realize that their rushing air as they pass close by sometimes makes us wobble - that's Science 101 : Bernoulli's Principle. The 3-foot clearance in passing cyclists can avoid this.

Siew Yung in blue & Chris in orange/white.

A little bit further, at the Seri Setia Station; Finty, Siew Yung and Chris Ng joined us. Welcome aboard.

I was surprised to see Lim Hui Min and Yong Sin Ng also joining us here too - didn't see their names in the FB Joined List. But it was a pleasant surprise, they are such a cheerful couple and always brighten up any rides they are in.

Sharing the biking lanes with the motorcycles - well, the key word is SHARE. Even if the motorcyclists don't to their part, we cyclists have to do our part to ensure safety. Ride single-file as far left as possible, give them ample room to overtake. Also, a cyclist's profile is negligible when compared to a car or even a motorcycle, so advertise you presence. Wear bright colors, put on your front & rear lights even during the day - make you & your bike stand out! That's my humble newbie opinion.

As we will be getting off the bike lane nearer to Klang town, we had a quick regroup at the Kris Monument.

We reached Klang town and exited at the Berkeley Round-about. Riding through the local streets we soon reached the Little India of Klang where we will be having a late breakfast.

Breakfast was at the scheduled Chong Kok Kopitiam, just right next to the Klang Railway Station. The place, a favorite with locals, was packed and we had to get stools to sit at a corridor adjacent to the shop.

They serve a nice and simple Malay dish called Nasi Lemak which went well with their Hainanese coffee.
What's this? Having Malay food in a Chinese coffeeshop in Little India? That's Malaysia for you - it's multiracial!

Finishing that interesting meal, we folded our bikes and packed them into our carry-on bags, crossed the road to the Klang Railway Station and were ready to proceed on to our next stage of the journey.

Here's Kookkeong with bike packed in, ready to board the train for Port Klang....
Mooooving Onnnnnn!

This end the first part of our World Car-free Day Ride.

For the next part see World Car-free Day Ride #2

Photo credits : Some of the photos in this blog are by Kookkeong Fong, Sin Tai Lim & Yee Patric. Thanks!

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Cycling Malaysia / Kuala Lumpur-Selangor / World Car-free Day Ride #1 - 22/09/2012
If you like this, view my other blogs at Jotaro's Blog
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Safety Considerations #2 - Riding Safely

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SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS #2
My Thoughts On Riding Safety

These past few days my thoughts have been on the tragic accident at the recent Penang, Malaysia Event -CFAL4 (see Safety Considerations #1 - Tragic Incident At CFAL4, Malaysia) where a cyclist died tragically.
These are my reflections as a newbie rider, perhaps I will learn more from the experienced riders when I ride more often.


My thoughts:

1. How can we all try to avoid incidents like this?
2. How should we as bikers behave when riding? Ride Safe!
3. How should we as motorist behave when driving?
4. What else can be done?


How To Avoid Incidents Like This?

Letter to the Minister by a friend of a cyclist who died in a Singapore accident.

1. Ignorance! That is always the core issue in safety. So we have to educate ourselves to ride safe and also educate others to be aware of cyclists and give them due considerations. 
2, If a cyclist in your group rides recklessly, remind them of the Penang incident, a split second error can cause injury or even death.

3. When talking to motorists, try to tell them to watch out for cyclists and give them the 3-feet buffer distance when overtaking. Of course, don't go to lengths as it will sound like preaching, take a subtle approach.



Bikers Safety

Always remember we are on two wheels - it can be fun riding but a bicycle is one of the most unstable and unbalance mode of transport. Meeting a sudden bump or pothole while riding fast can cause one to lose balance, so be alert; look at the road ahead and notice what is in front.



A. Safety Gear

1. Helmets are a must. No hemlets no ride is a good rule.

2. Gloves for long rides are helpful to take the stress off the hands.
3. Always make yourself noticable! A biker's profile when compared to a car is negligible. 

4. So advertise your presence. Wear bright colored clothes, especially for night riding. Reflective vests would be an added bonus.

5. Ensure your bikes have front and rear blinking lights which are bright and switch them on even during the day. Lights attached to the helmets will also be useful, especially if you to need to alight from you bicycle at night.
6.Shoes will protect your feet, but make sure they are comfortable and breath well. I once wore shoe that did not have adequate ventilation and end up with prickly feet after one hour's riding.

7. Tie shoe-laces outwards and away from the bicycle gears so that they do not get caught up in the gears.

8. Wear a bandana, etc. to absorb any forehead sweat. Sweat getting into the eyes can be painful and a distraction.

9. To protect from the sun, use sun-block or even arm gloves. A strong tan may look good, but could lead to future skin problems.
10. Have a first-aid kit on board.

B. Ride Safe!

1. Whenever possible ride in single file and avoid riding abreast.
2. Ride as close to the road edge as possible.
3. Avoid any sudden movements, i.e. don't swerve in and out - other motorists may not anticipate your movement.
4. Be alert - use you ears, eyes to feel your surrounding. Look out or Listen out for other traffic.
5. Don't ride too close to each other, keep a safe distance from the rider in front of you. Many an accident have happened when the front rider applied emergency brakes and the rear rider could not stop in time. A good rule of thumb is 3-5 bike lengths behind the bike in front.
6. When swinging across lanes, Ensure that the road is clear before swinging across lanes. Mirrors would be helpful, but physically turning back to look is the best. As a newbie, sometimes turn-backs caused me to ride wobbly - so practice your turn-backs.

7. If you have to stop at busy roads, try to stop at a place where there is a road shoulder. Quickly pull your bike onto the shoulder.

8. Don't stop in dark underpasses especially during the day. Coming in from the glaring sunlight, a rider will be blind when riding into these underpasses. So vice versa - when going into underpasses, go slow.
9. Remember the hand signals we learnt as learner motor-cyclists, use these as standardized signals and tell your biking buddies about it. Standardized hand signals will avoid confusion.


C. Safe Group Riding

1. Prior to the ride, have a safety briefing to ensure participants are clear on the dangerous sections of the route, and are also clear on riding safety.
2. Plan for re-grouping points and make all aware where these are.
3. For large groups, a couple of leaders, a few marshals and a couple or more sweepers will ensure an enjoyable ride. Some ride faster than others, some slower - so extra sweepers will be helpful to fold the slower riders.
4. All leaders, marshals and sweepers must know the route well.
5. For communications between them, walkie-talkies will be useful.
6. For large groups, it will be good to stop for quick re-group before turning at busy junctions. Marshals should stop other oncoming traffic for the group to quickly cross. This may inconvenience other motorist, but it would be safer than bikers sporadically crossing. 


D. Riding Routes

1. Plan ahead!
2. Whenever possible, ride at roads where there are minimum traffic. Avoid highways, busy roads, especially roads with fast traffic. Speed kills!
3. If night riding is carried out, try to ride in residential road where there traffic is minimum


E. What Else?

1. Be active in campaigning for bicycling lanes. There are many events, forums to attend. Whenever possible support such events.
2. Attend discussions/forums on riding safety.

3. Get business corporation to support/sponsor riding safety, eg road signs, advertisements.
4. Shell Malaysia organizes "Shell Traffic Games", encourage youngsters to attend such games so that they will pick up good traffic habits from a young age.
5. Push for more Government involvement in educating motorists of all age on safety.

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Reflections / Safety Considerations #2
If you like this, view my other blogs at Jotaro's Blog
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Kuala Lumpur : Ampang Yong Tau Foo Ride

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Kuala Lumpur - Ampang Yong Tau Foo Ride
Pudu to Hulu Langat Batu 14 : 20th August 2012

Medium-sized Group Ride from Pudu > Ampang > Batu 14 Hulu Langat & back.

Distance covered : 44.27km.
Starting Time : 7:40am
Time Taken : approx. 2:35:42hrs. (excluding stops)


PRELUDE

Ampang Yong Tau Foo Ride Map  (click for Map Link)

This would be an interesting and challenging ride. Interesting because we will be stopping by to eat the renown Ampang Yong Tau Foo. And challenging because it will be the first time that I will be riding two major rides almost back to back - I had just rode the Batu Arang Ride two days back and was hoping that my recovery from that ride would be fast enough for me to take on this ride. And I have taken up cycling only these past 45 days!

So when Jimmy Chow created the event Monday Ride on FaceBook and invited people to participate, I signed up and at the same time noted that many of my new biker friends were attending too!

The Ride

In addition to taking the customary photo of the ride group at the start point (Lorong Yap Hin), it was a extra happy occasion for more memorable photos to be taken. Our fellow rider, Ch'ng Kai Nie would be getting her new bike. Prior to this, she had been riding a XDS foldable bike - a heavier one at that!

A happy Kai Nie receiving her new Ori bike from Jimmy Chow to the cheers and claps of the other riders. She had patiently waited for this bike whilst riding her old one.

"See how light this bicycle is!" - the smiling proud owner lifted the bike effortlessly. The Ori bike was from Folding Bike Malaysia.

With that happy occasion fresh on our minds, we started off riding towards Jalan Yew. Malaysian flags were already put up for the forthcoming Merdeka Day. Jimmy led the way and Khaw Lye Hock elected to be the sweeper.

We reached the Pekeliling roundabout, expecting to turn to Kampung Pandan per our original posted ride route. But Jimmy led us onward towards Jalan Tun Razak instead. Hey! Why are we not following the planned route! Unclear about his plans we just followed on.

Even though Jalan Tun Razak is normally a very busy through-fare, riding during this public holiday and earlier in the morning, the road was clear and smooth.

At Jalan Tun Razak, we rode on passing some nice high rise office building. So this is why Jimmy is using this route. Kampung Pandan would not have these majestic structures.

Reaching the Tun Razak-Ampang junction we prepared to turn right into Jalan Ampang, this will lead us to our first destination, Foong Foong Ampang Yong Tau Foo for a short nice breakfast.

At Jalan Ampang, we stopped for a quick re-grouping. A concerned Jimmy doing a head-count. Ok, everybody is here, let's go!

As we reached the Jalan Ampang-Middle Ring Road 2 interchange, some riders seeking more challenge, rode up the fly-over ramps. Others continued leisurely to the junction below.

With us today were Andy and Daisy, riding their foldable Bike Friday tandem bicycle.

Soon we were off the busy main roads and riding along the roads of Ampang New Village, our first destination just round the corner.

At last, we reached Foong Foong Restaurant, renown for it's delicious Yong Tau Foo. The place was crowded with cars and push-carts stalls parked all over. Finding a place to park our bicycles was a problem.

We managed to park our bikes just at the restaurant's entrance, aligning them so as not to obstruct entry to the place. Concerned for the safety of their bikes, some folded down their handles while others just turned their bikes upside down!

Taking our seats and occupying several tables, we made our orders. Wanting to make the most of the visit here, some ordered more. Others, bearing in mind that a long ride is still ahead, just ordered enough.

Our orders came, looking delicious! I haven't had Yong Tau Foo here in ages as I live across the other side of the city. It was a memorable meal for me (see food blog - Foong Foong Ampang Yong Tau Foo).

After finishing at Foong Foong, part of the group decided to discontinue their ride with us - perhaps some came just for the Yong Tau Foo or maybe they had other rides to go to. The rest of us crossed over the road and continued on.

We rode on to the end of Jalan Ampang and turn right into Jalan Taman Putra. Sin located himself there as a Marshal to ensure that none missed this turn.

Here the road started sloping up, the leisurely part of the ride up till Ampang was over. Now begins the crunch.

Riding pass Carrefour Ampang, the residential area was beginning to thin off. We are heading into the "wild".

Further along the road, we turned left into Jalan Hulu Langat. I was most surprised that Hulu Langat and Ampang was just adjacent to each other, I guess a newbie like me have lots to pick up on cycling and also on riding routes.

The slope started getting steeper and steeper. Is this what the seasoned bikers call the Climb?

The climb was harder for tandem riders - although taking a break, it was still thumbs up from Daisy Lee.

We stopped for another quick regroup, as the more seasoned riders where way ahead.

Near to Ampang Look Out Point, I took this panoramic view the Kuala Lumpur city skyline. In the hazy sky, one can barely make out KL Tower and the Petronas Twin Towers.

When I returned to my bicycle after taking that shot, I found this curious wasp hanging on to my handle. I tried to shoo it off, but it kept on returning to the handle. It was another five minutes before it lost interest in my bike and flew off - much to my relief as I was already much behind the rest of the group.

The slope seemed never ending, we thought "round the next corner, round the next corner it will start sloping down..." But it was not, and some of us were too tired and just pushed our bikes.

Finally we reached the Ampang Look Out Point and stopped to have a good rest!

And a long, long, long invigorating drink to quench our thirst.

After that the ride was all down slope till we reach Batu 14 Hulu Langat.

At Batu 14 junction we took a right turn, crossed a small bridge (over the Langat River) into the small town.

Where we stopped at this small coffee shop, for a well-deserved rest.....

..... and drinks!

With that good rest and drinks, we went back to our parked bikes and was ready to set off on our return journey.

Batu 9 Cheras Police Station

Crossing that little bridge again we headed down Jalan Hulu Langat towards the Cheras-Kajang Highway. Somehow, the return journey was not that interesting or perhaps tiredness had set in and had worn down our excitement.

Taking the interchange at Jalan Suntex, we were soon at the Cheras Highway.

 The traffic at the Cheras Highway was heavy, after-all it was already close to noon, and we had to be extra careful. Riding single file was a must.

At the Loke Yew-Cheras round-about, we took the underpass biking lanes. I almost slammed into another biker who stopped within the tunnel for some shade. Coming in from the glare of the bright sunlight, I was almost blind inside the tunnel. From this near accident, I made a mental note to myself - don't stop at these dark spots and approach them at slow speed!

Making our way down Jalan Cheras>Jalan Sungei Besi>Jalan Pasar, we were soon back at Lorong Yap Hin. Now we know why Jimmy wanted to start at this place. When we returned, this restaurant - Restoran Siew Ngiap Fei was opened for business. It is well known for it's roast goose, duck and char siew pork.

We sat down and had a feast of Roast Goose & Duck .....

..... and Roast Char Siew Pork

..... and Curry Chicken

..... and Stewed Pig Trotters

..... and Spicy Achad Vegetable Salad

..... and simple but nice Stewed Tofu.

It was a great way to end and interesting ride.

Till we ride again Adios!

Riders

Jimmy Chow  (Leader)

Khaw Lye Hock

Kenny Wong & Sin Tai Lim

Andy Ng & Daisy Lee

Ch'ng Kai Nie

Chris Ng

Chung Tze Yang

David Ong

DrStan Lee

Eddie Tan

Elwin Chong

Gilbert Chee & Claire Kok

Kellie Itoe

Kookkeong Fong

Samuel Mui & K.W. Mui

Sam Wo

Shereen Eng

Siew Yung

Rider

Jotaro Zen
(the AhPek Biker - see FB Page)

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Cycling Malaysia / Kuala Lumpur / Ampang Yong Tau Foo Ride
If you like this, view my other blogs at Jotaro's Blog
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