A Short Epic Trip

Epic Jam - 3hours

Epic Kiara MTB Rides - Short one on Fri, Long one on Saturday, Explorer mode on Sun

Epic Chicken Overload - KFC on Fri, Nand0's on Sat (I had Ramly's Special Chicken Cheese Burger on Friday too)

The whole idea for the first of many (to come) epic Kiara weekend started out with our new NiteRider Buddy, Kiara Boy. I've heard so much about Kiara from those who went there, and was raring to go ride at least once there. And so, with the long weekend coming up, why not? So, with bikes in the tow, WL and I was out in KL on the long 3-day weekend to conquer Kiara.

We started out on Friday morning, and got into our first Epic event = the Epic 3 hour jam at the SecondLink. We were moving at about 1km/hr but luckily we had a 2 movies to keep us entertained (Red Bull Rampage and RED). After the customs, things were moving great and we had a short stopover at Ayer Keroh for the A&W there.

Arrived in KL about 2 hours later than initially expected. With the GPS (bike unit), navigate to the hotel, checked in, prepped up and finally met up with Kiara Boy, for our first ride in Kiara. haha... so onz to get on the bike after the long journey down.. and no... we would not wait any longer...

Kiara, was.. just... awesome :). I've not been riding long, but the place is just FUN. OK, a bit of killer upslopes (actually, a lot of killer upslopes), but the course was just technical enough to make the ride every bit exciting. Most of the downslopes were manageable (even for me), but there were some (like triple trenches) which were still out of my league. It was really amazing to see the guys zip down those slopes, though :)

We went through some of the routes, 2k, magic carpet, a bit of lungbuster (in reverse), mission, and some more that I can't remember, before calling it a day when night came about. First intro to Kiara, and I'm smitten. Here's the next awesome thing about Kiara: there's free toilet, shower and bike washing facilities at the carpark. Apparently, the facilities were built using money pulled together by the community. I 'heart' this place.

Kiara Boy had family dinner that night, so it was up to me and WL to look for food ourselves. We ended up at TTDI nearby, and were elated when we saw a Ramly burger stall. But hey, Ramly is for supper right... hehe.. there was KFC opposite Ramly's, and to prove that the Msia KFC is different from the SG one, we had KFC for dinner. After tt, we tapau-ed Ramly and headed back for rest and movie.

The next morning started at 7am. We met up with Kiara Boy and his bunch of regular rider friends in Kiara for the ride. This was going to be the long one. The first stretch itself was a upslope ride on the tarmac into Magic Carpet. After Magic Carpet, we would meet up with another 2 friends of Kiara Boy. My memory here is fuzzy as we zipped from one trail to another. I still couldn't manage all the upslopes and had to push for most of them. The guys were really good and I liked to see the way they ride, and the lines they take. A few crashes here and there, and I endo-ed once on a drop. No biggie injuries though, will live to ride again.

After about 4 hours, we've finished. I was exhausted. My whole body was aching, but the adrenaline was still running high. We cleaned up (bikes and self) and headed over to the mamak for lunch. With our stomachs filled, we made a short stop at the KSH bike shop nearby, and then back to the hotel to rest a bit.

That evening was reserved for climbing at Camp5. After about a week of not hitting the walls, it was good to climb again. We met some Singaporeans there too, who were down for the holidays. Dinner was at Nando's... the home of Peri Peri chicken.. extra hot and spicy is always good. I bought an emergency light (comes with a whistle) from Allsports KL, and after that it was back to the hotel for another movie and rest.

Sunday started later at about 8+. Had a bit to eat in the morning, and off to the trails again for our last ride. This time, we went exploring on our own as the local guys were not riding. We got lost a lot of times, went on reverse only to turn back after a while a few times, but we did managed to find the 'sungai' trail. I can fully understand after riding and pushing through it, why Kiara Boy said that trail was... well.. require balls of steel. Wilson rode most of it ('xcept for the first drop) and as usual.. *clap clap clap* :). We finished about 12, washed up, and headed back to the hotel to clean up and check out.

We had local fare for lunch at TTDI before heading back to SG. A short stopover at A&W again and we finally reached SG at 7+pm in the evening. Twas the short epic trip had ended, but truly an epic trip it was. Kiara was really enjoyable, and the company I had made it even more memorable. Now... I just can't wait to get out riding again.. getting better and better, so that when I am at Kiara again, I'll walk less, and ride more.

Trudge on...

PS : will upload the vids later, when I've successfully converted it.

Found this!!

Me in the Health IT Summit this year... :)

http://www.mohh.com.sg/his-2010.html

Kinda miss my old look sometimes.. oh well..

Trudge on..

A weekend that almost went wrong...

Last weekend was strange (maybe cos it was Halloweens.. hmm). Things that was planned went off and things that was not planned went great. The original scheme of the grand plan was to go to KL on Saturday, climb a bit at Batu Caves and then head up to Genting for the GTB on Sunday. So here’s what happened:

1. It started to rain at BC.. no climbing
2. BK ran a fever at Genting… no run
3. Had a good long needed rest in Awana… been planning to have a chillaxing hotel holiday for months now
4. Went down early to BC.. managed 3 lead climbs, the 28m was :) :).. Thanks EQ-san
5. Met new crazy friends… some I’ve only known on Facebook… fantastic!

Trudge on, my friends..

"That" feeling..

You know, "that" feeling... The feeling that makes your heart go faster, you get a bit more restless, and you keep wondering if what you're feeling is really something more than what you think it is (sorry, this has no reference to any romantic inclination, whatsoever...).

Been doing a bit more of night trail riding nowadays, and there are times when I get that feeling. There are certain parts of the trail that "feels" very strong to me that makes me to only want to go faster and get out of there. Maybe it's just my imagination, and I thought I was the only one who felt this, but when I talked to WJ yesterday about it, I was surprised that he felt the same way at the exact same spots too. For eg, in our recent ride, there was a part when I was leading that I suddenly had the strong urge to make sure that the person behind me was really supposed to be the person behind me, and I shouted to make sure that he really was the person behind me. WJ did the same thing too a few nights before when we were riding together, at the exact same spot, in the exact same direction we were riding.

Well, that doesn't mean the night rides will stop. Will continue to explore new places to ride as night trail riding is fun, and well, more fun than day time riding at times. Maybe I'll just install an airhorn or a bell, to be on the safer side, and bring a GPS system to prevent from getting lost.. and more spare batteries and lamps, so I'll never be in the dark. Hmm.. and maybe a cross, garlic, holy water... etc.. my bag will probably weigh a ton by then..

Well, it's going to be Oct 31st again soon, and .... Happy Halloween, everybody!!Get out, wear a costume, act crazy, go watch a scary movie.. just have a scaaary weekend y'all!

Till the next ride, Scare on...

New Book!

Lunch time reading...

Read on....!!

Searching for the Lost Climb.. (and bolts.. and anchors.. )

Two weekends ago, I was given a chance to participate in a climbing recce trip by EA-san to Ipoh. A few years back, Mammut and Camp5 were invited to set up a natural climbing area at the back of "The Lost World of Tambun", and ever since then, this area has been visited by many climbers from all around the world. Well, me, missing home and parents and all, decided to follow EA-san on this trip, and well, just to have fun too.

There were 4 of us on this trip, EA-san, AS, YK and me. We took the night bus from GoldenMile Tower (Konsortium) to Ipoh and arrived at Medan Gopeng at about 6am in the morning. I called Dad, who picked us up and brought us all home to freshen up first.

Arrived!!

The guys unpacked some of their stuff and so, we're all set for Ipoh dim sum breakfast and the recce climb.

Sunway City in Tambun is quite a new housing/ business area although its been here the past few years. To get to the walls, one has to pay the entrance fees to the theme park (there is another way, though). We went there early in the morning to recce the area and arrived at the theme park at about 9am. As the park only opens at 11am (bummer..) we tried asking the staff if they can issue us the tickets earlier for us to enter. As usual, they dillied and dallied here and there, "trying" to look like they were busy. Oh well.. wait and wait. Luckily, not too long after that, one of the park's supervisor came out of his office. We asked for his help, and immediately he asked his staff to help us get in. Finally!! We can go CLIMB!

OK, so we all got tagged, coughed out the dough (RM41... PM me for more details ;) ;) ...) and followed the staff to the climbing walls. It was way at the back of the park, and was accessible through a locked gate. Lo and behold, the "Needle" was there. Hmm.. it wasn't as tall as I imagined it to be, buuut.. nevertheless.. it was tall. Alright, time to get prepared and set up the gears, but more importantly, get the mosquito coils burning. This area was infested with them.

Mosquito coils to the rescue~~

AS went to recce the routes with the simple topo maps that we had from the Internet. OK, let's start with something simple, a 5c named "Triathlon". AS lead the way up easily and got the rope set. This become out warm-up route.

The next route was "Nasi Kuning", a 6A route. This one was a bit tricky, as the bolts were a bit loose. AS tightened it on the way up, and well.. Sunway should pay us for maintenance. I went up the "Triathlon" first to warm up, then to try lead climbing, I went up again. First, with a top rope tied in, and finally, the moment of truth came, and I lead up without the top rope. It was super fun and scary at the same time!!! The exhilarating feeling of climbing, yet the scary feeling of falling without a safeguard. I loved it!!! After that, I gave "Nasi Kuning" a top rope try and I was super sweaty by the time I got down.

Up the 'Yellow Rice'

With the sun coming in, we decided to do the "Needle" next. The easiest route 5c (30m), aptly named "Taik Kera" was tucked in between the "Needle" and the wall behind. To get to the route, we had to climb up a rocky and slippery slope. Here comes the confusion, the bolts were hard to see. The first bolt was quite high for this route, and so we were quite doubtful of its grading. Nevertheless, AS and EA-san prepped to tackle this wall.

Using the tree as an anchor

The climb to the first bolt was... scary. The wall was hollow and we were not sure where the route leads to. AS continued up, one bolt at a time, till halfway through. He came down, and so it was ES-san's turn. EA-san was "raring" to go.. hmm.. sorta.. well, anyways, he tied in, got all the runners, and started up. (Btw, my first lead belaying too!!) .. and.. one by one (literally) he got all the runners in and reach the TOP!!! yay!!! We have conquered the "Taik Kera";) ;)!! I lowered EA-san down, and at the bottom, we had an interesting review of the route, esp at the top.

Just getting in the first bolt... so high!

YK up next, and EA-san will belay him. AS went recce-ing around and wanted to check out the other routes. There was a 4b (30m high??!!) called "Roots and Berries" next to the fence. It looked easy enough from below, but looks waaaay high to be a 4b.. hmm, the map says 20m.. was the map wrong. Nevermind, my time to try leading again. I tie in, got enough runners, and start out. The first bolt was high, and I was worried. Slowly, slowly, ok... managed to get the first one in. Here was where everything turned downhill. I managed to put the second one in, but as I was trying to get to the third one, I fell and scraped my shin over the ledge... ouch... skin out... bleeding.. I asked to be lowered. AS went to get the Medikit for me.. and I was still .. OUCH!!. ok ok.. tahan tahan. Lucky my MTB injuries from 2 weeks before (at the exact same spot) healed liao, if not the scrape would have been worse. OK... fixed myself up, but think that there will be no more leading for me this trip. Oh well... EA-san came by, and said that the 4b route was typo-ed on the map. It was switched with the 5c next to it. Damn....

Me on my second lead before the fall..

OK, so YK and EA-san continued to climb at the new routes, and AS and I went to clean up the "Needle" area. I gave "Taik Kera" a try, but wasn't able to go up high. AS went up once more and managed to reach the top. Time to clean up and rejoin the other guys.

AS lead the next climb on "Low Battery" and this one was easy except for one crux. After the guys tried a few more climbs on the last two routes, everyone was tired and beat. Time to call it a day and hit the hot springs. We all packed up, tried not to smell the rope (and me, of the 3 guys), and were all set to go. Before leaving, we recce-ed the area a bit better, found the 9a "Clockwork Orange" and met up with the supervisor again (not on purpose).

Recce-ing the area

AS with the 9a

Group shot with "the Needle" behind us (the supervisor in red)

YK and EA-san went for a dip in the Hot Spring. I didn't want to with my injury, and AS forgot to bring shorts. After that, a nice shower and we're all clean again!!

At the Hot Spring

Bro came and picked us up from Tambun. Mum and Dad were hungry, and well.. when one is new to Ipoh, there can only be one place to eat dinner -Lou Wong Nga Choy Kay and Hor Fun!! (and the guys didn't believe me at first that Taugeh is an entire dish itself!!!) ..

Converted Believers!!

We had a hearty dinner and ended the night with a drive around Ipoh and a stop at Old Town Kopitiam. Was dead by the time we reached home and went to zzz almost immediately.

The trip turned out to be all good fun. I had a chance at Lead Climbing and Belaying and I got to go home. It's time to keep practising and get better at it. My shin wound is almost healed now, and luckily no fracture. Now I miss home again... oh well... till the next trip home..

Climb on!!

Of Leading, Repairing, Rolling and Going down stairs..

In about last week, I've:

1) tried Lead Climbing in Tambun

2) learned how to do trail repairs

3) rolled in a kayak (x4 times actually)

4) go down flights of stairs on my MTB

Other discoveries:

1) Duoderms are amazing dressing

2) Coban works ok too... but duoderms are better

3) A new MTB helmet... super cool looking

Trudge on...