#287 - 99.9 MTB Jamboree

 

 

 

Hey there stranger! I was busy procrastinating and planning

on how to come back to my blog ... and I thought what better

way than to tell you guys how the 99.9 MTB Jamboree went.

 

Funny name, isn't it? 99.9 ? Anyway, the organizers' promised

that the course will be made up of 99.9% canopy trail. Nice!

Also, they promised 99.9% no chicken ... not sure what they

meant by that since lunch provided came with chicken.

I interpret it as the course is easy such that there is no need

for a 'chicken line' 99.9% of the time.

  

And so! My friends practiced in Lorong Asrama, went for long

road rides while me on the other hand cycled to the Marina Barrage

on to Kallang Wave and back home most of the time. Hehehe I hope

I wove my excuse seamlessly in that statement.

Finally, the day came. But of course before we get to Masai

I will have to give props to 'The Man' Alan of AlanMark Bike

Transport. Alan was on time (4:30AM !) on race day. This surprised

me because even the bus drivers we engage from Malaysia during

our past races are seldom on time. Every thing that we needed to do

was done very smoothly. He did his research well before he fetched

us and the GPS coordinates of our destination was already on his

phone. In fact, we reached our destination in record time.

It was still dark when we got to Masai!

 

As a result of us getting to the race site early, we got to

the front row of the starting grid. We could have literally

started on the front row but we didn't want to be seen as

'eager beavers' and so we settled for the second row. That means

we left the front row open even if we were first to come to

the grid.  .... and then we had to wait for close to 2 hours

... tick tock tick tock.

We got to Masai so early that the marshalls were not yet at their
designated posts.

I didn't know this at the time I took this pic but the
trail to the right is where we will be climbing from on the
 way to the finish line.

We started just to the left side of this football field

 

At first I thought the racers will be around a hundred only but

people started pouring in. TKL who was registered for Batu Pahat

Jamboree was there to my surprise (and he finished in 20th place!).

BYX mechanic (sorry, I didn't get his name) was there and we

were chatting away. He mentioned that it seems many fast riders

were not present. I agreed and said that he may well take

first place (wink wink).

 

Everything became lively when the National Anthem was sung.

Later on a group of ladies went to the stage and did some aerobic

exercises which was supposed to be mimicked by the cyclists.

I think this was a good idea since some of us have been just

standing there for more than an hour ... and so I followed their

movements (that is, I danced).

 

My friends who are all anti-social just stared at me and

slowly walked away so as not to be identified with me.

They only came back when the count down to the Race start

started. Yes! We started from a football field! There was no

5km of road sprint towards the trail head. Looks like the organizers

were serious with providing 99.9% of off-road trails. Everybody

hurtled towards the right to an unpaved pebbly 'road'

and within a few meters we turned left and the

canopy trail started.

In the end, there were more than 600 cyclists.

From left : Paolo (Bolo), Efren (Alfred), BYX mechanic (who
eventually came 1st) and me (who can't fit into my race kit)

That was the good part. The bad part was that I can't remember

much of what happened since the whole course looked the same.

I remembered the water crossing where most people waded

in waist deep water. I stopped and looked at where all the people

were going and there was general pandemonium. I managed to snap

a few pictures and then put away my phone quickly for fear of

dropping it into the water. I approached the part where people

were wading in knee deep water ... I waded in and I can't remember

how my bike got into the opposite bank. I think the other racers

were helping me carry my bike and pulling me up! Thanks a lot guys!

 

Next that I remember was that whenever there is loonnggg uphill,

the checkpoint will definitely be at the end of the climb. This is

good for the organizers because the cyclists are going sooo slow

that they can just take their time attaching the stickers to our

race numbers. Hehehe also due to the climbing part, there are always

lots of cyclists sitting at the check point which is very well stocked

with water and bananas. They give out the water bottles unopened.

You don't even have to open them. Just gulp it all down.

 

Lastly, I remembered one of the organizers PUSHING ME UP

a climb! I must have looked like I was dying for him to come and

push me ;-). 

 

Even getting out of the stream was not easy.
I crossed to the left of these guys.



Pic from 99.9 MTB Jamboree FB site.
Deck saw a big catfish and instinctively tried to catch it.



Pic from 99.9 MTB Jamboree FB site.
Efren (Alfred) on the way to the first checkpoint.

Although I am unable to recount most of the trails don't get
the impression that this is a bad course. In fact I find it to
be very good. Next time I come here, I will make sure that I 
am fit as this is the kind of trail where you can just open up
and let it rip!  The lunch provided was delicious. There were
lots of places where you can wash your bike. There were places
where you can take a bath. What more can I ask? This place is
perfect.  .... and when 1PM came, ever dependable Alan came
back for us and sent us back to Singapore.

 

That was 99.9 MTB Jamboree and I think they have really fulfilled
their promise. The organizers did a great job and I hope they
do it again next year.

 

 



#286 - Kota Tinggi MTB Challenge 2014



 

First jamboree of the year for me and my friends.

First time wearing the all new team kit as well :-)

 

pic grabbed from Pinkz Ladyz FB page

 

 

pic grabbed from CycloMotion's FB page

 

 

pic grabbed from Kitty Sue's FB page

 

 

 

It's been a few months since I last joined a jamboree.

It's getting harder and harder to prepare for these

jamborees especially when you have other activities

like DragonBoat and Outrigger Canoe paddling.

 

It's a good thing that Podium Louie (Finisher #6

in Women's Cat) is always there to take care of

Registrations, Deck is now ever dependable to

get us a bus which will fetch us from Novena,

drive us to the race site and back again to Novena,

Efren takes care of designing all Team insignia's

and race kits. All that's left for me and my other

teammates are just to pay the requisite fees and

cooperate with minimum fuss ;-)

 

Ok, so for this race, we cut it quite close by

arriving at the race site with only 20 minutes before

the flag-off. I blame this on us forgetting that there's

usually some kind of traffic jam going to JB on

Saturday mornings. Yes! I think most Malaysian

jamborees that we're scheduled to attend will be

held on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday.

 

Anyway, I didn't have much practice and so

I listened attentively to the race DJ (he's the usual

skinny guy with the goatee) so that I won't

have any 'surprises'.

 

The race DJ mentioned that the sticker checkpoint

will come first BEFORE the water point. He is very

specific that these two points will be separate. This

is odd as last 2 years, all jamborees combine the

'sticker' checkpoints with the water/food checkpoints.

By the way, I have this fixation with the water

points because it was a very very hot day last

Saturday and I wouldn't want to get dehydrated.

 

And so off we went! I would like to say that

this route is very nice because there is very little

road section. We started on grass and we immediately

went to the loose gravel section. Hehehe it is in one

of these loose gravel sections that our team Ace,

Randy Vega took a spill very early in the race.

Me? I didn't practice so, just finishing this

race without getting beat up is my main priority.

 

At the start people have lots of energy and

most want to overtake everybody else. Hence, I

just let everybody go. I am quite sure I will

overtake most of them later on once the

cramps set in.

 

Anyway, unlike what the DJ said, the water

point came first! I took some water and doused

myself on the head and the back. After a

few clicks more, the sticker checkpoint came.

Nowadays, the Malaysian volunteers have really

gotten to a point where you don't have to stop

and yet when you get out of the checkpoint

you will surely have a sticker, a bottle of water

and a banana stuck in one of your jersey 

pockets. Well done guys!

 

... and then after a few clicks more, I saw

another water point! So it seems that the

organizers have realized beforehand that people

may just faint from the heat and so ADDED

a water point before the actual one.

That is a very nice gesture on the part of the

organizers !

 

En route to checkpoint #2, I arrived at

a place that looks like Butterfly Trail ! You will

definitely know who is from Singapore because

(I kid you not) lots of people were heard whooping

with glee .... until .... I (we all) found out that the

singletrack is just going UPHILL !!! and so

the long, slow slog started. This is the part

where you start to question what were you

doing on that place when you can be sleeping

at home. Anyway, the checkpoint is where the

climb finished.

 

Now going to checkpoint #3, this route is

characterised by a very long climb. I mean

checkpoint #3 itself is located at the highest point

in that area. But even before you get to that steep

climb, it felt like we have already been climbing

for ages !

 

After I finally got to the highest point, that is

checkpoint #3, I doused myself with a full bottle of

water, ate two bananas and admired the scenery.

Too bad I didn't bring a camera.

 

After looking at the 360 degree scenery for

a while I started to go down ... and met Podium

Louie on the way up ! It turned out she got lost

and was cycling for 2km before she realized she

was lost. How she got lost, I don't know. There

were times when I was also alone at the trail but

the trail was well marked and not for a moment

did I get lost. Of course, it meant that I had to slow

down whenever there's a fork at the road and check

where the trail markings are.

 

After that climb to checkpoint #3 (from here on

to be referred as UPHELL), everything was smooth

sailing.

 

Lastly, I noticed this before in other jamborees

but am only going to mention now : at the finish line,

there is a fire engine that pumps water up over the

coming finishers offering a welcome respite from

the heat.

 

After I have exchanged war stories with my

friends, we all took our free lunch made up of rice,

soup, chicken and some pineapples as dessert.

 

Sigh, it is really nice to attend these Malaysian

MTB Jamborees. If not only for the fact that I

hate waking up sooo early, I would go there

every week.  

 

 

 

 



 

 



#274 - Wacycles Jamboree 2013

My teammates were all wearing the Tropang Putikan jersey
while Deck (behind in red) & I (in white) decided not to wear
it because we were not in shape - picture taken from Gou Gou Li's
FB account

NoLights Louie receiving the 7th place award
for Women's Category barefoot because her shoes
were still wet from the river crossing -
Pic from Kay Nakashima's FB account

 

 

Me! On a climb - pic from Kay Nakashima's FB account

 

This is the first race of the year for me and what
a race it was! The trail was fun fun FUN! The Wacycles
crew put the 'single' in the singletrack!

 

Start to CP1
Our group came to the race site around 7AM. We shared
the bus with the Husay group. Jason of Husay group has
done a sweet deal for us. He managed to get a bus from
Malaysia to cross over to Sg, stop at Tampines MRT, Ang
Mo Kio MRT and Sembawang MRT to pick us all up and then
ferry us to and back from the race! It was a very welcome
change. Imagine, no need to pedal under the hot sun while
going head to head with fast motorcycles.

 

So after assembling our bikes and making sure that we
all have our own race necessities (e.g. gels, water bottles,
multi tools, etc.), we all lined up under the blue inflatable
'Giant' arch. The cyclists will be released in waves. Those
who registered and said that they can finish the race within
2 hours will be released first. Followed by those who said
they can finish within 3 hours, so on so forth.

 

We were released at 8AM. IronMan Randy was in the front of
the pack and he said that he was able to keep up with the
fast guys for exactly 10 seconds (hehehehe). After 10 seconds
those guys dropped him like a bad habit.

 

I decided to be realistic and just let everyone go. Deck
slowly gapped me. NoLights Louie overtook me and came up
behind Deck. In a few moments they got lost in the horizon.
Me on the other hand got overtaken by a lady in a section that
was going downhill. I remembered her vividly because when she
hit some sand on the road, she started swerving and almost
lost control of her bike. I cycled faaarrr faaarrr away from
her to the left because I don't want to run over her when
she falls. Good thing she didn't fall. After that, I overtook
her and didn't see her anymore. But I was wondering how come
there are roads in Malaysia with deep sand?

 

Ok, we're still in the road section going to the trail head.
This road section was very long and then it started to point
up. I was just doing my mindless pedalling technique then
lo and behold I saw NoLights Louie trying to gap Deck ...
I was reeling them in though. I caught up with them on the
crest of the climb and said 'Hi'.

 

The road pointed down and now we are finally going into the
trail. The trail designer has this 'funny' sense of humor as
the first thing he made us do is climb this ridiculously steep
hill. I climbed 2/3rds of the way and then pushed a 1/3rd of
the way since I was thnking EVEN if I climb that, then what?
My heartrate would be taching up to 150% and then what do I do?
Deck was pushing too and when he got up, he climbed on his
bike and that was the last I saw of him because what followed
next was a rooty downhill.

 

I climbed on my bike with lots of hesitation because the DH
section was rooty and there were lots of people following just
one 'rideable' line. The guy in front of me endoed ! He got up quickly
and said 'I'm ok! I'm ok!' BUT I had to avoid him and I went
to the left side where all the walkers were... and so I walked.
While walking, I saw NoLights Louie come down along the rideable
line to my right ... the trail is still pointing down but there
were lesser people now. I hopped on my bike and was able to overtake
Louie on the way down ... and that was the last I saw of her.

 

Anyway, the trail now is as what you would expect of Malaysia
Jamboree trails. They are all fireroad (jeep trails?) BUT for
some reason, these fireroads are a bit on the narrow side.

It was all fireroad all the way to CP1.

 

CP1 to CP2
One word = Singletrack !
Can you imagine that? I don't have the exact length but almost
all of the trails from CP1 to CP2 is SINGLETRACK! That is what? 10km?
It was the best part of this jamboree! The singletrack was sooo
narrow that I find twigs on my brake levers. I thought I was
already lost because I couldn't believe that a singletrack could
go onnnnn and onnnnn and onnnn. Imagine a trail that is narrower
than what we have in Sg ... the best I can come up with is make
Scorpion Trail narrower, then throw in some roots BUT NOT as gnarly as
ButterFly Trail then when you can imagine this, now imagine that
this trail goes for 10km! Heaven!

 

Anyway, it was after one of the climbs here when I first started
to feel the cramps coming. I stopped one of the riders behind me
and asked for a Yoko-yoko.

 

CP2 to CP3
This section of the jamboree is just like Singapore's Woodcutter
Trail :-( Sigh ... While biking in this section, I wanted to cry
tears of joy. It reminds me sooo much of Woodcutter Trail
which I last visited in April last year. Sniff sniff.

 

I was in this mood while going up a section of the trail and
following one of the riders wearing '46' orange/yellow jersey.
When he got to the crest of the climb, he shouted something
back at me. I on the other hand did not hear what he said ...but
I prepared myself before I reached the crest. There must be something
there that made him shout. True enough, you can't see it from below
(duh), once you get to the top, the first thing that will greet you
is a gap!!! I quickly pulled my handlebar up! Safe!

 

My savior was still looking back and he wasn't pedalling fast.
He pointed to something behind me and shouted something again.
It turned out there was another rider behind me ... who did not
hear what the guy in '46' jersey was shouting ... and so the
rider behind me endoed. The guy wearing '46' jersey shook his head,
sighed, and then we both sprinted.

 

Next thing I remember is that I was thinking to myself that this
guy in '46' jersey is not gapping me. I think I can take him hehehe.
I waited for a place to pass and then there was this very very big
mudpool which took up the width of the trail we were on. I saw that
he is going for the left edge of the mud pool. I thought why avoid
mud? This is MTB. That is just mud. If I go straight into the mud
pool then I can overtake him. ... and so I went straight. Sigh.

 
Now I know why he didn't go straight. My front wheel got sucked
in the mud up to my fork stanchion! You read it right. Up to the
fork stanchion. Good thing I didn't fly ahead of my bike. I got off
my bike and had a difficult time pulling my bike out of the mud.
Heck, I had a difficult time pulling my foot out of the mud without
leaving my shoes in there. So bye bye '46' jersey.

 

CP3 to Desert Hut
I'll explain the Desert Hut thing later. The thing is, experience
tells me that once you reach the last CheckPoint, it should be
smooth sailing from there.

 

But the trail designer must really have a weird sense of humor
because he meade us do looonnnggg climbs, river crossings and there
were still singletrack in this portion of the jamboree!

 

It was while on the crest of one these singletrack climbs that
I went and stopped Silas from MTB Brothers and asked him for a
Yoko-yoko. He said he has some kind of spray instead. I used the
spray ... I think it was some kind of Ice spray. I thought that
should take care of my cramps up to the finish line. I told Silas
to go ahead while I wait for the spray to take effect.

It was around this time that my hands started feeling numb and
so I put the compression setting of my fork to totally open.
Later on I stopped again to adjust my fork's rebound to a
faster setting.

 

By this point, I was just trudging along ... and then I saw the
Desert Hut. There shouldn't be any checkpoints by now. But the
guys from Wacycles must have known that after all those climbs
and whatnot from CP3, letting us cycle through the 'Desert' was
inhumane. So there was this hut where the Wacycles crew were passing
along bottles of water just so we can survive the last 1 km.

 

Finish Line
I was already near the finish line when one kid decided to overtake
me ... he was pushing a 44-11 gearing. I was thinking to myself
what is this kid doing? That gear is too heavy. See, he is not
making progress. He is still very near me ... and then I think
the kid's Turbo kicked in and he left me before I can say 'huh?'.

All the races last year, I was still hammering until up to the
finish line but this race I was just like a cycling zombie

ambling along.

    

I crossed the finish line and I was a bit lost. I was expecting
a medal to be handed to me ... but instead the finish line crew
just put a pink sticker on my race tag? That was it? Then I thought
'What medal? Didn't I tell myself that I shouldn't be expecting one
since I didn't practice much!' ... Ok, so I cycled slowly towards
my friends. Another friend of mine TKL joined us and it was from
him that I learned that there were to be NO finisher MEDALS for
this race! Awwwwwww !!!!!

 

Conclusion

1. I said it before and I'll say it again the Wacycles Jamboree
trail was FUN FUN FUN !!!

 

2. No matter how convoluted the singletrack was, I never got
lost. The trail was very well marked.

 

3. The Desert hut was a nice addition to Checkpoints 1,2 and 3

 

4. There were places in the trail where there were lots of
loose pebbles. The bad part is that these places were almost
all downhill. I think lots of accidents happened on race day.
In my group alone, there were 2 who came back with skinned knees.

 

5. No medals?! Why? I know that part of the reason is that
because of the timed run, everybody's timing must first be
taken before the positions can be determined. But there should
at least be finisher medals, right?

 

6. Since there were no medals, there were supposed to be
certificates showing our timing. I think we can kiss this
goodbye as well. How are we going to collect the certificates
when we're in Singapore?

 

7. We had to clean our bikes before we could load them up
to our bus back to Singapore .... but there were no cleaning
points available. We cleaned our bikes in the big pond at the
race site.

 

So 3 good points and 4 bad points ... I really wanted to 'like'
this race. I'll say it again, the trail was very nice and the
organizing was top notch. In fact, I can do away with the medals.
It's not like I was number 11 (only top 10 were given medals).
However, point #4 above is really bad. Whenever I see those
loose pebbles, I imagine what's going to happen if I go down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



#266 - MTB XC Jamborees

Rochelle and me at Zheng Hwa Park last Sunday.
Pic taken by Cheryl of PPSg Girls

I haven't been blogging as much as I would like to and

there are two reasons for that ... three actually if you count

laziness.

 

Anyway, Reason #1 being that if you noticed last year,

Nusa Iskandar Jamboree was held on February. Followed

next by Kip Mart Jamboree and WACycles. This year I

did not hear of any Nusa Iskandar Jamboree or KIP Mart

Jamboree ... and WACycles Jamboree will only be on June.

So nothing to look forward to ... me and most of my friends

have neglected 'training'.

 

Reason #2 is related to Reason #1. Since there are no

jamborees, I went back to dragonboat paddling. So my

focus nowadays is training for dragonboat. Not so much

on mountain bikes.

 

Anyway, finally the jamborees have begun trickling

in. Yong Peng in mid-May. Plentong is end-May and

WACycles is end-June.

 

I don't think I will be ready for Yong Peng seeing my

endurance is back to zero now. Plentong ... now if you

go to their FB page/invite, I read some one said that we

should take note that this is not a jamboree. It is an EPIC

ride! Why does that make me nervous. I have heard/read

of numerous river crossings and bike portages on the past

versions of this Epic ride. I wonder if the organizers have

'tamed down' the route this ride will take or is it as tough

as ever?

 

Most probably, I will go to WaCycles Jamboree as it

is very near Singapore. So if you  have been slowly turning

into a potato ... it's already 2013! Go get your training

sorted and done. <== actually, I'm talking to myself ;-) 

 

 

No dates on this flyer but their FB page says
the Epic Ride is on 26th May 2013

Flyer for WaCycles Jamboree

Flyer for Yong Peng Jamboree

 

 

 

 

 

 



#260 - BP Giant Jamboree

You know you've been a fixture in Malaysia Jamborees when
the DJ recognizes you already. - pic from Cycling Malaysia

One of the hills of Batu Pahat in the background
- pic from AirTime Mark

Batu Pahat on a sleepy Saturday afternoon.

A condemned shop house in Batu Pahat.

As has become the custom among my team mates,
whenever the travel time from Shell JB to a
particular race site in Malaysia reaches two hours,

we decide to go on a Saturday, stay at a nearby hotel

and show up at the race site on Sunday feeling fresh.

 

Well that's the ideal scenario. But what happens
normally is that you can't sleep on an unfamiliar
bed ... and when you are finally drifting to sleep
your roommate starts to snore ... and then your other
roommate (3 to a room) starts to join in the snoring.

 

Ok! Now that my excuse is out of the way, here is what
happened at the Giant BP MTB Jamboree in Batu Pahat :

 

We requested the Landmark Hotel in Batu Pahat to serve
the buffet breakfast at 6:30AM so that we can check out
at 7AM. So after eating our breakfast, we all piled up
into the bus. There were only 12 of us and so our bikes
also got their own seats. I guess nobody among my group
will ever put our bikes into the side compartment of the
bus anymore as BadLuck Kid Ryan lost his front wheel

when the side compartment door opened on it's own...

while on the highway ... and we only discovered it

was open in Batu Pahat!

 

All manner of camera equipment was shoved into Ryan's
face as he won't be racing without a front wheel (unless
he wheelies for the whole race). Lots of requests were
also made on when to shoot, the best angle, etc.

 

With the camera equipment all sorted out, everybody rushed
to the starting line and we met lots of familiar faces from
Singapore. There are around 1300+ racers on the starting
line. So lots of jostling for position was happening. We were
quite far off from the starting line and so I didn't hear what
the announcer said this time.... All I know was lots of people
were whooping and we were off !

 

Or so I thought. We were stopped at the starting line and the
organizers stopped NoLights Louie on account of being a girl
and also Enrico on account of being old hehehehe. The race
organizers wanted the Open Cat participants to go first.

 
One organizer saw Ironman Randy and decided that he looked
to old to be in the Open Cat and stopped him. Randy had the
presence of mind to point to his Race number (blue in color)
showing that he indeed is young enough to go with us.
 

 

 

Me! 30 minutes before the race start. Note new jersey and
Kali helmet - pic from Efren

Start !
...and now we are really off! Later on my friends Fast Pao
and CrestPursuit Owen told me that we were going at around
50kph on the road leading to the trail. I didn't know my speed
at that time because I took out my speedometer since I get
nervous when I see the speed creeping upwards of 40kph. Nyahaha
now that I can't see my speed, I managed to stick with my
friends! I also didn't see any accidents on the road this time.
Maybe because I reached the trail head in record time? But I
did see two guys on a TANDEM bike!!! Crazy guys. I also saw
two guys on cyclocross bikes wearing checkered shirts !

 

At the start of the first climb, I can still see my friends.
I told myself that I will never ever dismount and so I persevered.
I lowered my head and spun my granny gear. Near the top, I
shifted up to my 2nd ring. When I was about to crest the climb,
I shifted to my big ring hoping that when the ground levels,
I will be in a position to sprint and leave the pack behind
... and then when I pedalled, I was pedalling air ... my chain
fell outside the big ring !!!! Grrrrr !!!! I went to the right side
of the trail and fixed my chain.

 

After fixing my chain I just sort of went with the flow ... that
is until I got to the second climb. The second climb started
easy and so I approached it on my big ring. A third of the way and
I went to my second ring. At the half way mark, I went to the
granny ring .... and then I was pedalling air again! My chain dropped
again! Argghhhh... this time I had to push my bike up. Sigh
that should be it. It's not my day.

CrestPursuit Owen being pursued by Bal
- pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

IronMan Randy - pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

Soooo many people pushing their bikes.
See how small the people are at the bottom
of the climb? This gives you an idea of how long
the climb is - pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

CheckPoint 1

Lots of climb happened before we even reached CheckPoint 1.
There was another longish climb where I was doing ok but then
the guy in front of me suddenly stopped and dropped while clutching
his right calf : cramps! So no choice for me but to push the bike up.
On the way up, I saw one of those guys I was chasing at the Millipede
Jamboree talking to his team mate (same jersey). Imagine that? They
were talking while lots of people were overtaking them?! I took a
cue from them and decided to pee at the top of the climb hehehehe.

 

Anyway, when I finally got to CheckPoint 1, I told myself the race
is "over" for me. No point going all out. I will stop, eat bananas,
drink lots of water and take a rest. But as I approached the Checkpoint,
one of the marshalls quickly came over me and put a sticker on my
race number and said "GO!!!". Huh? Ok! So I snatched a bottle of
water from another marshall and sprinted out of CheckPoint 1.

 
That has got to be a record for me. Zero seconds wasted. I didn't
stop at all. The thing is I sprinted right smack into a very very
long climb. Sigh. Here we go again. By this time, I am already
spinning like a zombie. I think this is what roadies call the
"mindless pedalling" technique. However, in jamborees with lots
of participants, you can't really spin mindlessly. Imagine : you
are climbing using your granny gear. The climb is steep such that
your chest is already glued to your stem. The climb is very long too.
You can see from photographs of the race how "small" the people are
at the start of the climb. Also, there is someone in front of you,
who is going to collapse any time soon. There is someone behind you.
There is someone pushing his bike on your left. There is someone
on your right as well. My friend Bal, said he can't even spit or
clear his nose because he will definitely hit some one hehehehe.

 

CheckPoint 2
How I got to CheckPoint 2 was a mystery to me. I just know that
after CheckPoint 1, I managed to clear all the other climbs.
Again, when I was approaching CheckPoint 2, I told myself that I
will stop, eat a banana, drink lots of water and eat my first GU
Roctane. But again, the marshalls have other plans for me! As I
was approaching CheckPoint 2, one of the marshalls again stuck
a sticker on my race number and said "GO!!!!". Me being conditioned
to start pedalling whenever I hear "Go!", did just that! I sprinted
again after snatching a bottle of water from another race marshall.

 

Around this point I was wondering when the "Technical" Section will
come. There normally is a "Technical" singletrack in these Jamborees.
There was also a short road section here and I was wondering if that
is already the "U-turn" point? Normally, the race starts and ends at
the same place. The u-turn point is a short road section which leads
to the trail that leads back to the start/finish line.

 

CheckPoint 3
While I was pondering these mysteries, I saw CheckPoint 3 looming.
I gritted my teeth (really!) and told myself : this time, I will
ignore those marshalls when they say "Go!". Again, the marshalls
didn't wait for me to stop to stick the sticker saying I cleared
CheckPoint 3 and said "Go!". Hehehehe I was ready for them this
time, I slowly inched my way to the left side of the trail and
let some cartons of bottled water stop my bike. The girl near the
carton must have thought I was going to collapse and quickly gave
me an opened water bottle. I took out my GU Roctane and swallowed
it slowwwlly while sipping water as if it was wine hehehehe.

 

I cycled slowly after that and I looked around and told myself that
FINALLY (!!!) the racers seemed to have spaced out. There were a
few of us only and we were on a road section. In the past jamborees,
the racers space out even before we reach CheckPoint 2. This is the
first jamboree that I attended where the racers are all packed even
when we were already in CheckPoint 3. Now, there are fewer of us and
we were on the road, I can use my mindless pedalling technique ...
but not yet! I realised that even when we were on the roads, these
roads where all still uphill! You can still see people pushing their
bikes on the left side of the road. There were very few of us
(at the most 5?) who were pedalling. I think the only thing that
stopped me from pushing my bike is my ego. All the while that I was
using my granny (on the road?!), I was telling myself : this can't
be worse than Vigilante Drive right?!!  

 

While I was having this thoughts to myself, I saw a wondrous thing!
I saw in front of me that the road went vertical and there were
cyclists that were going up that vertical road very fast without
pedalling. It's just like a scene from the movie Inception. As I was

approaching it, a cyclist flew by my right side ....Oh, so, that's how it

is done. I sprinted and didn't put a finger on my brake levers. The speed
was scary fast but I did manage to climb that vertical road without
pedalling. Later on, Fast Pao said that his GPS registered his speed
at that section as 68kph!

NoLights Louie got 11th position in the
Women's Cat - pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

More people pushing their bikes - pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

Anton - Highest placed guy in my team (#72) ...
and he was using a Giant Reign and flat pedals!
- pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

Fast Pao still smiling - pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

Now that seems to be the last of the exciting stuff. I was looking
for the entrance of the trail leading back to the start/finish line.
I was also pedalling mindlessly now. I was just looking at my race
number and checking it if the marshalls really did stick the stickers
properly ... I was also looking at the text "CP3" ... CP3 ... how
come there's nothing more after CP3? I lifted my head and saw from
a distance this "small" policeman directing traffic and there were
vehicles going from left to right ... CP3 ... then no more ... CP3!!!

 

Finish Line
Oh Sh*t! CP3 is the last checkpoint! I am actually going to the
start/finish line NOW!!!! Argghhhh!!! My enthusiasm and energy was
renewed and I remembered all those road rides I did in Coastal
and Mandai Road. I pedalled furiously and managed to overtake lots
and lots of weary cyclists. I entered the compound where the
start/finish line was and I was still hammering it. A cyclist smiled
and gave way to me. I signalled that he can draft me. He raised his
two hands and shook his head. He spoke in Malay. I think he is
saying that he's got nothing left in the tank. I managed to overtake
easily 12 more people inside the compound.

 

I was given a medal saying I finished 408th in the Giant BP
Jamboree and my friends all shouted at me from their vantage point.
I was too weak to eat or watch the lucky draw but it was still
a very enjoyable experience.

 

The Giant BP Jamboree was the hardest race I have

joined to date. Lots of people were comparing this race

to Nusa-Iskandar Jamboree. Judging from what I heard,

it seems the climbs are more difficult in the Giant Jamboree

BUT it was a very hot day when the Nusa Iskandar Jamboree

was held. Also, the Giant Jamboree was NOT 45km as advertised.

Lots of Cateyes and Garmins were compared and we all agreed

that the total distance was just around 30KM. Now compare this

with the Nusa Iskandar Jamboree which was around 68KM!

 

Anyway, I'm just comparing the two Jamborees just to

gauge myself whether I could survive a Jamboree harder

than the Giant Jamboree ... and it seems that the honest

answer is NO. So, I need to throw more $$$ at my bike

to lighten it.... either that or I need to train more ...

Whoever heard of training to get faster ???

 

As for the goodie bag! The dryfit shirt that came with the

goodie bag is quite nice indeed. They also gave a water bottle

which is always a welcome and useful item :-)

 

 

This was taken at around 4PM in Pontian where we took
our 'lunch'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



#257 - Millipede MTB Jamboree

Me at the finish line of the Millipede MTB Jamboree
- pic courtesy of Kennt Ho

Top 3 are from Singapore... but I don't know their names. My friends
came in at #9 - Ng Kim Kwee and #10 - Nick McHugh
- pic courtesy of Kennt Ho

#9 Ng KK from Singapore
- pic courtesy of Kennt Ho

#10 - Kiwi Nick McHugh
- pic courtesy of Kennt Ho

The food was great!
- pic courtesy of Sam the Mailman

#275 - Tabs
- pic courtesy of Kennt Ho

I rode with these guys for much of the race ... but couldn't
keep up in the end :-(
- pic courtesy of Kennt Ho

Brother Louie enjoying the trail
- pic courtesy of David Kew

Don't tell me you don't know this guy?
CrestPursuit Owen had a flat which messed up his race.
- pic courtesy of Derek Kew

Now why didn't I think of doing this? Actually, when I got here
there were organizers at the bridge shouting for us to sloowww down.
There must have been many endos/spills here?
- pic courtesy of Derek Kew

 

Me! At the last checkpoint... and that is not a smile.
That's a grimace. I was feeling the onset of cramps.
- pic courtesy of ReyToots

That was a very nice race ! ... and that is the summary of the
Millipede MTB Jamboree that I attended last Sunday (16th Sept 2012).

 

Ooppss! Of course, I'll tell the details.

I'll spare the account of how we got there as the Millipede Jamboree
starting / finishing point was quite near to JB Shell. To be exact,
it was supposed to be only 16km from JB Shell ... which made me

 wonder how the bus driver got lost ... first time that happened.

Since the jamboree was quite near Singapore, it was no surprise

that there were lots of cyclists from Singapore who went for this

Jamboree. The Filipino contingent alone numbered around 70 cyclists.

In all I think there were around 600+ cyclists who participated in the race.

We don't see this kind of numbers in Singapore but Malaysian organizers
see this as the norm and so the registration and collection of
goodie bags and race numbers went smoothly.

 

One other nice thing is that the organizers decided to give out
a towel among the give aways in the goodie bag. A very useful thing
to have.

  

And so, after the Malaysian National Anthem, we were all released
and everybody pedalled furiously to get to the trail head. The announcer
did mention that we need to cover 2km of road first before we enter
the trail.

 

As usual, while on the road, I kept looking at my speedometer. The road
was flat (unlike Muar which was going down hill a bit) but I can feel
that we were going faster than normal. I saw I was going at 40kph and
of course, as always, I got nervous because this is a mass start. I
feathered the brakes a little until I got to 36kph. As I said the road
section was just 2km but even before we reached the trail head, I saw
some one already took a spill ?! Arrggghhh that's why I always keep
saying inside my head 'ride safe, ride safe, ride safe'.

 

We entered the trail and the first thing that greeted me was that
on my right, IronMan Randy was off his bike and was looking at

something on his rear wheel. That sucks, he normally is in the top 100

but it now looks like very early on and he has a mechanical failure.

 

Apparently, Sugar Rush Rey also pinched flat very near the entrance.
I just didn't see him. Also, first time racer Tabs was bumped
by another bike from behind sending her flying like Supergirl. Again,
I didn't see this. It was actually Sugar Rush Rey who told me this when
he caught up with me before the 3rd Checkpoint.

  

But I did see another girl lying on the left side of the trail. Some guys
were off their bikes and attending to her. She had long hair, was wearing
black jersey and SIDI shoes. You might ask why I remember so much detail?
The thing is she reminded me of Tabs and so I made sure that was not Tabs.
Tabs also has long hair, was also in black jersey and was also wearing SIDIs.
Anyway, since the girl was already being attended to by around 5 other cyclists
I continued riding.

  

I cycled until I reached this singletrack and then, as expected, people
started to bunch up. I think there were some people who decided to walk
the short downhill section leading to this steep climb. I decided to spin
on low gear and just waited for my turn while half pedalling half balancing.
It was finally my turn and I went down the section and didn't bother to
touch my brakes hoping to get some momentum for the impending steep uphill.

I reached the First CheckPoint and did not stop to dowse myself with water
or to get some rest. I was even moving a bit when one of the organizers punched
a hole on my race number to signify that I passed by the First CheckPoint.
This turned out to be a good strategy since I left behind some of those
who were 'chasing' me. I also didn't need water to pour on my head as I
brought my own waterbottle filled with water just for that reason.

  

There were lots of singletrack at this stage. There was a time when I
noticed there some guys who were coming from a different trail and yet
were 'merging' with me on the trail I'm on. Hmmmm ... I wonder which trail
was longer? The one I'm on or the one they came from?

 

Also, by this time, I have already realised that I should let go of my
brakes even if the downhill parts of the trail were rocky or rutty because
definitely it will be followed by an uphill section.

 

I saw my friend Gerald who was looking good for a first timer. I cycled
along side him for a while and he told me that just in front of us,
maybe 4 riders ahead, is my other friend Tabs. I told Gerald to follow
me and we'll try to catch up with Tabs. I caught up with Tabs on a downhill
section that turns to the right. I decided not to announce my presence
as she might lose concentration. I passed her and saw that I was pulling
away from her. ... and then Sugar Rush Rey came from behind. He told me
that he got a flat tire and when he finished fixing it, he was the absolutely
last rider. There was nobody else but him and the sweeper motorcycle.
He said he got lost a few times and the motorcycle rider would tell him to
go left or right. It was here that he told me that Tabs got rear ended
and took a spill. After that he said bye bye and took off ... ahhhh
apparently everything is effortless when you're on a carbon 29er hardtail.

   

After a few minutes, I heard Tabs say "Hey, Monjie!".
Huh? She's behind me? We exchanged war stories while pedalling and

 this was when we finally saw the Second CheckPoint.

 

I reached the Second CheckPoint and here I took a cup of hundred plus.
I started pedalling with Tabs and Gerald behind me. A little girl told
me that I was #274. So Tabs was #275 and Gerald #276.

Here also I realised I was more or less cycling with the same bunch of
people. Apart from my friends, there was this small woman dressed in a
downhill jersey, riding on an AM bike and using flat pedals. She is
definitely from Singapore. I always see her in Butterfly Trail back in
the day. There was another girl wearing a white and yellow jersey.
She was using a Hardtail equipped with a Lefty fork. There was a guy,
who I think is also a Singaporean, who was on a Full Sus 29er (Specialized
I think?). Lastly, there was a Malay guy wearing a Yellow and Orange
jersey who was on a Hardtail.

 

I realised I lost Tabs and Gerald by this time and from out of the blue
it was ReyToots from PadyakPinoy who was chasing me. ReyToots and I reached
the third checkpoint and he dismounted from his bike and took a picture of
me. Me on the other hand was already noticing the early stages of having
cramps. So I took out my YokoYoko and proceeded to apply it on both my
legs. I also took a banana and 2 cups of 100+ ... this was my longest stop
and I noticed the guys and girls I was riding with took off much earlier
than me. I told myself, nevermind, next should be all flat. I would catch
them.... and so when I started cycling again, one of the organizers said
"Go all out! You only have 8km to the finish line !" .

 

I took off like a scalded rabbit ! ... and stopped after 3 pedal strokes

because I'm going to cramp! Hehehehe I pedalled like an on-off switch.

This means, maybe 10 strokes hard pedal and when I feel the cramp

coming, I just coast...

 

Meanwhile my riding 'buddies' were nowhere to be found.

I thought to myself that now is the time to splash water on myself

and go all out. I reached for my waterbottle on the downtube of

my frame and ... felt nothing but air ??!! I looked down and

saw that my waterbottle was gone. Sigh...  

 

A guy in blue jersey overtook me just before we got to the road section.

He was on a hardtail so I was thinking "Aha! Drafting opportunity!".

I saw the girl on the AM bike, the girl with the Lefty fork,

the guy on the Specialized and the guy wearing the yellow/orange

getting smaller and smaller on the horizon.

I hope the guy I was drafting would be fast... But no... he was also
wasted already :(  He was just going at 16-18kph. I overtook him and
I went at 25kph, I signalled for him to draft me but either he didn't
understand my signal or he was already really too tired to follow.

 

In short, I didn't catch-up with those guys I was riding with for
majority of the race. I reached the finish line and the organizers
said I got #249 ! Hehehehe nice! I thought I was going to stay at #274.
They gave me a bronze medal with #249 engraved at the back and I was
surprised when they took my picture with the Millipede 'poster' as a
backdrop.

 

A very very good race indeed from the Organizers of the Millipede jamboree.
The trail was nice. The weather cooperated and stayed overcast. The
FOOD was nice! The lucky draw prizes were nice. The atmosphere was festive.
Everything about this race was nice. If I had to nitpick, my only
complaint was that there were only 2 toilets which is really insufficient
considering that there were around 600+ racers. But as I said, that was
not such a big issue and we will definitely be coming back for the next
edition of the Millipede MTB Jamboree next year!