#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.  

 

 

 

 



 

 



#278 - Quick and Dirty Mini XC Race

Friday, Jan 31st is Chinese New Year in Singapore.

Those who have been living in Singapore for some

time now know that lots of commercial establishments

(even hawker centres) are closed for a few days. 

So what can we do when faced with this kind

of predicament? Hehehehe hold an XC Race maybe?

... and that is exactly what Owen of CrestPursuit

and the rest of PadyakPinoy SG thought so.

This is a very informal race. It was unsupported

and unsanctioned. You may even think of it as a

'timed' group ride and you get lots of beer

afterwards ;-) Hup Leong bike shop also donated

some items for the raffle draw :-)

The venue was supposed to be the Tampines Bike

Park where the Youth Olympics for XC was held

BUT of course later on it was announced that that

place would be closed for CNY as well. So the race

was held at the back where the Moonscape

and Kidneys are situated.

Anyway, I went to Tampines to join in the

heckling hehehe. When I got there, the Race Committee

told me that I am not too late and I can still join!

Huh?! No no no not today. I told them my wife

just told me to buy a bottle of vinegar and

that I just lost my way.

At that point, Owen of CrestPursuit and John

of Hup Leong was leading the racers on a 'neutral lap'.

This neutral lap will show the racers the complete loop.

I sat down at the Race Committee's hut and exchanged

"hi"s and "hello"s to people I only see in Malaysian

Jamborees.  After a few minutes, all the racers came

and lined up at the starting line. Owen mentioned that they

need more marshalls and the Race Committee

immediately volunteered me to be one of the marshalls.

There goes my heckling plans.

Owen explaining the rules : no biting, no headbutts, no hitting below the belt, etc.
- pic by Louie Aribon

The Race Committee

Start of the race !

The racers were divided into Beginners' and

Masters' Categories. I think Beginners would include

those who have not raced in Singapore and Malaysia yet.

Masters Cat didn't have anything to do with age.

If you've raced before, then you'll be grouped here.

I didn't see the actual start but it seems there was

a delay because Nick McHugh had a puncture and

Owen had to lend him a wheel. Anyway, after that,

the race started and the pack went on to the forest

and then they had to go to the Kidney (not sure which

one, lower or upper?), then they went towards my

marshalling point and then went towards the

ex-Moonscape part, went down towards the hut and

that would be 1 lap.

Beginners had to do 3 laps and Masters had to

do 4 laps. The first lap leaders were Anton and Bal.

After the 2nd lap, it was Bal leading by a margin of 10

seconds from Nick. At the 3rd lap, Bal was still leading but

Nick was already glued to his rear tire. At the fourth lap,

it was already Nick who was leading, followed 

by Darren (mechanic of Bike Haus 6th Ave) then followed by

Bal who I think hit the proverbial 'wall'.

First lap

 After the race, I immediately got down from my
marshalling point and did a lap of the race loop.
The forest area is nice and dry. The Kidneys are
nice and flowy too. Sigh... too bad this place

had to go to make way for some new development.

Overall nice guy Nick McHugh of PadyakPinoy SG won the race

The top ten. Notice the different team jerseys? PadyakPinoy SG,
Tropang Putikan, Lagalag and MTB Brothers are all represented

Me ! - wearing RED . It's Chinese new Year :-)

#238 - KIP Mart MTB Jamboree 2012



Twas the day before race day ...
pics from our group's FB page

     

Saturday, the day before the 'race' and I struggled

to do ... nothing! I was expecting to suffer tomorrow
and so I made sure I conserved each and every calorie
that I could. I slept early the night before and I
slept 2 hours in the afternoon.

Some of my friends cycled 60km to their hotel in Masai.
From their pictures in FB, it looked like they had fun.
But it also looked like they all have sworn an oath to let
things that 'happened in Masai, stay in Masai'.

... and so, while my other friends were enjoying their
overnight stay in Masai, Deck, Efren and I stayed wide
awake at night partly due to race jitters and partly
because we were scared that we can't wake up in time for
our ride (thanks to Enrico) to the Cause Way.

4AM finally came and so the four of us went to Woodlands,
crossed to JB and waited at Shell for our ride to the
race site. It was there at JB Shell that Roadie Rio
joined us. Also, waiting at JB Shell was an eye opener.
There were sooo many racers from Singapore who made
their 'pit stop' there and it made me wonder if half
of Singapore's mountain bikers will be racing today.

The starting line at around 8:10AM. Race start is 8:30AM.

Hehehe Roadie Rio is missing in this pic. He said he
has learned his lesson and he went to the front.

The race catered to every one. I saw a few kids in the trail.

met some guys from Attitude Bikes

Our journey to the race site was quite smooth. There were

already a lot of people when we showed up and a few of

the eager ones were already staking out their place at

the starting line! We on the other hand were waiting for

our 'Team Captain' Fast Paolo as we don't have our race

numbers yet. Fast Paolo showed up with 15 minutes to spare

and everything was sorted quickly. However, the rest of

our friends haven't showed up yet. I told them to get a

massage and drink a bottle of beer to help them relax so

that they could sleep soundly instead of lying wide awake

on unfamiliar hotel beds but the one bottle of beer must

have turned out into a party ! But finally they showed

while the Malaysian National Anthem was being played.

After the National Anthem, the announcer told all racers

NOT to overtake the pace car (apparently, there were very

eager and fast cyclists who have done that in the past)

and after that announcement, the race was on!



Despair !
pic from Ronald's FB page



Rico on his way to #57th in the race
pic courtesy of An Sun-gard (KiP MOUNTAIN BIKE JAMBOREE 2012)



There was plenty of ice cold water, 100+ and bananas in the CheckPoints
pic courtesy of An Sun-gard (KiP MOUNTAIN BIKE JAMBOREE 2012)



Me!
pic courtesy of An Sun-gard (KiP MOUNTAIN BIKE JAMBOREE 2012)



 Roadie Rio pulled a veteran move on us as he didn't line up

at the end of the peloton. He was somewhere in front. All

of us led by Fast Pao, IronMan Randy, Ryan, Deck, Efren and

Enrico were weaving in and out of the peloton. It was 2km

from the start to the trail head and so the strategy was get

as near to the front as possible before we entered the trails.

When we entered the trail, the peloton was greeted by TWO CARS

going the opposite direction, one at the right of the trail

and the other on the left. There was no choice but to slow down

and it was here that we all got separated. Once we cleared

those cars, we went to a very fast and surprisingly slippery

downhill section (later on our friends said it rained hard the

day before). Braking was tricky because I thought we will be

racing on dry, hardpacked dirt and so my tires were pumped up

quite hard. Whenever I pull my brakes, the rear of my bike

fish-tailed. ... and while I was contemplating how difficult

these conditions will be, I saw one cyclist lying on the middle

of the track. He was unconscious and he had blood on his face.

He was being attended to by another cyclist (NoLights Louie

told me that she later saw the cyclist seating at the side of

the trail, he regained consciousness but he looked dazed).

I hope that guy is ok.

Well, when I saw that accident, I slowed down a bit and told

myself to just complete the race. I don't want to end up with

an accident and judging from my past endo record,

I do need to be careful.

But all caution went out of the window when I saw my
friend Bal's jersey going very fast away from me! I gave

chase but I couldn't catch up with him.

One of my ride buddies, Ronald announced his presence

behind me by showing the front end of his Yeti 575 to

me a few times. Beside me was a rider from Attitude Bikes

(I think) who was on a Specialized Enduro (I think. I'm sure

he wasn't on a Nicolai). It was like this up to the

first checkpoint.

After the first checkpoint, I rode alone for a while and then

I saw Bal's jersey again. I tried to go beside him but the

race route took us into a singletrack... and this singletrack

is really just for one bike at a time. You couldn't go at

the edges because there are trees on both sides of the trail

... and so I had to patiently follow the pace of the leading

guy. Once out of the singletrack, I finally caught up with Bal.

I caught up with him at a hike-a-bike section and the first

thing that we both did after clearing the section was to pee

at the side of the trail LOL.

I rode with Bal up to the seemingly never-ending rollercoaster

road ride. This is the stage where I saw the first walkers.

After the road ride, we turned right into the trail again.

Once I went into the trail I started riding with a guy who

is using my dream frame : Titanium Helix frame by Lysnkey.

I asked him where he got his frame. He told me he got it from

Singapore. I asked if he is from Singapore. He said yes and

whether I am from Singapore also. Hehehehe funny making these

light conversations while racing inside a jungle in Malaysia.

I rode with him for quite some time because it seemed

to me that since he and I were alone and both were from the

same place and it looks like we're on the same pace then

maybe we should 'help' to 'pull' each other.

All this, however, changed when I saw this green jersey in front

of me. The green jersey looked like the jersey worn by my other

friend IronMan Randy! So I said 'Aha! My friends are all very

near now!' and so with renewed strength I tried to get near

Randy ... then I noticed something... This guy seemed to be

struggling ... Is this Randy? Sigh when I finally got to the guy,

it was not my friend. I rode from that point to CheckPoint 4

alone.

From the race blogspot, I know that after checkpoint #4, it should

only be 3Km to the finish. Since it was just 3Km I told myself to

just go all out hehehehe but after 3Km on my Cateye there was still

no finish line (Later on NoLights Louie told me there was a sign

at CP4 that that is the 40Km mark and NOT 42Km)... The thing is

I can feel my right leg starting to cramp ! ... and then I saw it!

We all had to cross a muddy field before we get to the finish line.

I started spinning slowly, trying but miserably failing to make my

bike go on a straigth line.

After what must have been the longest muddy route that I have

cycled on, we went by road again back to Kip Mart. The organizers

were all signalling for us to sloowww down as the race should be

over for us. I went to the finish line (finish queue?) where only

one cyclist can go one at a time. I think I was 5th or 6th on that

line and I saw the first guy was being handed a gold medal. Oh,

Goody! I'll get a gold medal! So I drank the rest of my water

and poured some on my head and got off my bike. I waved to all

my friends who were already there and when it was finally my

turn to be handed a medal ... the organizers gave me a silver one!!!

Huh?! But the front guy was given a gold?! I was given the lunch

voucher and sent on my way to have lunch ... I wanted to ask

'have you really ran out of gold medals?! I just slowed down a bit

because I was gonna cramp, you know? can I exchange the

lunch voucher for a gold medal instead? '

NYAHAHAHAHAHA



Me with IronMan Randy showing the gold medal
he got for coming in #66.
Background is Fast Pao who was #93.



NoLights Louie came in as #3 in the Women's Cat.
Too bad the price money was cancelled by the organizers.

We were wondering how we are going to take this bike home
if ever we won in the lucky draw.

Roadie Rio didn't ride a MountainBike for 6 months and took
#76. Ryan (in red) took #60.

You can get your bike cleaned after the race for just 2RM.

The 2012 version of KIP Mart MTB Jamboree is
my first race/jamboree in Malaysia. Actually, I raced once in
Singapore in 2009 but it was stopped due to rain/lightning.
So I think it wouldn't be wrong if I say this was my
first race.

As a participant all I was expecting was that the trail
should at least be well marked so that I wouldn't get
lost. However, the organizers didn't just post arrow
signs on the trees, they also scattered confetti on the
trails. So when you can't see confettis, most probably
you are lost.

The CheckPoint was also well stocked with ice
cold water, 100+ and bananas. You don't even have to
pick up the nourishment you need. The officials hand
the water bottle to you unopened. You just need to
drink. If you give them your water bottle they refill
it for you while you drink from another container.

There were race officials directing traffic when you
cross a road. You literally really just need to pedal.
The organizers have taken care of everything for the
participants.

Not just that! In the end when my friends approached
the organizers because they had a change of plans
and don't have a return ride to the SG/JB Border,
the organizers brought my friends there in 2 vehicles
and they were refused to accept payment!

I think I will make this race a yearly pilgrimage.
As for my friends ... there are already talks about
a race coming up in May again in Malaysia.