Aduuih...penat

I did a 50.6 km ride this morning.

With some friends, we cycled from Bt. 18 in Hulu Langat to Nuang and back. Then from Bt. 18 to the junction to Kuala Kelawang/Tekala Dam. Instead of going to Tekala waterfall as we had earlier planned, we decided to climb up the hills to Genting Peras (most of us call Genting Perez) which is situated at the border of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

It has been a long while since my last long distance ride. For the last few months I have been regularly cycling up the Genting Sempah trail from Hospital Orang Asli in Gombak. The whole trip will be about 32km; about one hour of climbing and another 15 - 20 minutes going down hill.

This morning's ride was a big test to my mental strength. I was contemplating of racing back down hill many many times during the climb. It was not my first time climbing up Perez; but the mental block was too much for me to push myself. Finally I just gave up with about another 50 - 80 meters to the summit. (isk...isks...what a shame!)

50 or 80 meters may not be far if you imagine a 100 meters race situation. But in this case, the summit is about two corners upwards with a killing gradient and punishing heat from the morning sun didn't help.

On my way down I had this funny feeling that my front tyre will blow up. So I just try to glide downhill steadily instead of trying to clock the fastest speed possible.

True enough, about 2km after I reached the bottom of the hill, the front tyre really flat out. Stopped to change for a new tube with the help of a colleague and rode back to the place where we parked our cars. And the last 8km ride was like one of the longest ride in my life when your legs just refused to pedal anymore.

Thanks to Abg Kamat who played the sweeper role patiently all the way.

The summit is located at the border of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

This picture was taken during one of my earlier ride to Genting Perez. See....I was there before. That yellow bike is my beloved T-Sprint.