The thing about mountain biking is that you can’t just throw your bike down and give up. This might be because there are no cabs in the forest… But if you’re lucky there might be the random pick up truck which you can bribe the driver to ferry your sorry ass (and bike) out.

Today’s Semenyih trail damn nearly killed me. As usual there were many uphills which I couldn’t find the momentum to cycle up (I foresee bulkier arms from all the pushing), many downhills which were bumpy and uneven (I went splat at one point from going too fast)- but Francis and Joe were unsure of the trail so we had to lug our bikes up then back down as the rest of the trail was impossible to ride :(

AND the stupid rubber plantation was infested with MOSQUITOES! John came well equipped with a mosquito coil which he hung at the back of his saddle… he managed to ward off most of the mosquitoes (which turned to US instead) with the risk of burning his bum hahaha. Us unequipped people had to rely on mosquito repellent spray instead :( The amount of mosquitoes at the trail was crazy- stop for a second and a SWARM would attack you.

Francis and Joe headed onwards in search of the right trail but the rest of us were tired of the plantation, so we took off towards the gravel. Our next destination- the waterfall!! :D

Uh oh without Francis in the pack, the guys had to take turns babysitting me… John stayed with me for a bit but I waved him on as it was a straight road- and he gave me a thumbs up sign and pedaled off :( Ok Jm, since there’s nobody here to see your embarrassing spills, move damnit! So I cycled faster. And tipped over a couple of times… There was a point when I realised that I was all alone in the silence, save for a couple of owl hoots and a sudden rustle of the bush- scary! But I reached the guys in the end and they were sweet enough to tell me they didn’t wait too long- just five minutes… or maybe ten.

Me eating a banana haha after emerging from the estate, hence the look of pain

Leong still looking so fresh how does he do it!

Anyway, more pedaling and hellew icy cold water! Some of the guys jumped in and started washing themselves with the water (which was murky btw)… you don’t know what has been in there ok! Initially I only wanted to get my feet wet… but while I wading over to the rocks I slipped on a mossy surface and fell right into the water :( :( I honestly thought that I fractured my ass then :( :(

Not that clean… apparently the waterfall at Batu Dam’s crystal clear

Squee!

The very nice and patient Jeff, John

The water numbed my toes hee (the rock I fell on numbed my butt)

Spot the gear!

Boys

Then it was time to head back. Met Francis and Joe on the way out (poor things missed the waterfall) and I fell behind with Francis while the rest zoomed off. Slow and steady (as sad as it sounds that’s what I always say to make myself feel better) but on the way I did learn more about the gears, braking and control from Francis. Then as we were reaching the meeting point, the thought of the promised steamed fish (explanatory photos later) made me speed up. That’s where the burst of energy came from, Frans!

See the fingers at the side? The boys clapped when I came in SO NICE I don’t deserve the encouragement T_______T

I couldn’t slide to the front ’cause my shorts got caught at the saddle hahaha

My motivation

Semenyih Steamed Fish!

:( :( :(

Full reso photos here.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 20th, 2008 at 6:54 pm and is filed under putting mettle to pedal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.