May 20th – my first long ride and what best way to do it as part of the commemoration of Intel Malaysia’s 40th anniversary Campus2Campus Cyclothon ! My total mileage since I purchased the Giant Defy was <30km! OK OK. I know that’s a damn ugly mileage.. I could easily run much more than that in a couple of days ! The problem is.. I am preparing for the SCKLM full on 24th June, so all my focus is on the training routine and I can hardly find time for a ride. Weekend’s Saturday is reserved for my long run and Sunday is for family time.. Ahhh.. but then, I think those are lame excuses.. LOL !
Alright. Back to the ride.. I am glad that it comes sooner than later.. At least it forced me to go for a long ride. The ride was from Kulim KM3 to Esplanade, then proceeded to Shinca car park Intel Penang. I woke up at 2am. Could not sleep well. Maybe it’s the same jittery feeling I had when I was preparing for my first marathon last year ! Decided to munch on some food for fueling – apple and energy bar before sitting down for the Chelsea vs Bayern Munich Champions League match (which Chelsea won by penalty kicks later on). Popped more anti-oxidants and multi-vits during that time, my usual dose of booster before some hard work-out. Reached Shinca car park at around 4.15am, with probably ~20 people lingering around. Met KC Loong who graciously helped me to setup his speedometer (old one, which he has since upgraded his to GPS) on my bike. Soon, more riders joined in and many familiar faces – both current employees and ex-Intelliers ! We took the shuttle to KM3 at around 4:50am. Had a good sleep in the shuttle. Waiting at KM3 for the race to start at 7,30am was like eternity. But it was great opportunity meeting up with fellow colleagues and old friends, and lots of photo-shooting too.
The race was flagged off at 7.30am, and brought us through the old roads of Kulim, Lunas, Sungai Dua and all the way to Bagan Ajam jetty. Did a pit stop at one of the old, deserted hall @ 25th km for some drinks and bananas. The ride was pretty smooth. Not tiring, some shades along the road but enjoyed the view riding through the plantations and kampung areas. The traffic police and RELA (as well as our own marshalls) did a darn good job in ensuring the peloton is moving along smoothly. Fazillah Harris came along and said we were causing a huge jam at the back.. but who cares.. We want to enjoy the ride.. LOL ! I tried to keep up to the front the pack and managed to stay in the front third at least.
After the 15mins or so pit stop, we were all itching to go to the jetty and Penang island. This time, I was determined to stay closer to the front and the ride was slightly more competitive in the sense there are longer stretches which allows some over-taking safely and I even had some speedwork done with Albert Wong, YK Sow, Jin Xiang and Hazardi ! Ahh.. The view of the Straits of Malacca and the Butterworth jetty was breath-taking.. Very surreal.. I guess that’s what alluring for cyclists !!
Upon reaching the jetty, everyone was queuing up patiently for the ferry to arrive. I think we ‘lost’ the most time waiting.. close to 30mins. More chit-chatting and more photos, what else.. By then, I was really sleepy. More sleepy than tired as I hv been awake since 2am. The hot sun and heat did not help either. But I was glad I had my 2 arm sleeves on (and the sunblocks), else I would have been BBQ-ed (more later on this) ! Once the ferry arrived, we were ushered into it. The lower deck was filled with blue jersey contingent and 4-5 cars as part of the entourage.
Reaching the Penang jetty at around 10am, we then rode to the Beach Street car-free zone area, right in front of the Tourism office where a huge groups of Penang riders, numbering probably 100-200 already waiting there. I managed to catch up with Veron and BW, and gulped down my energy drink. After a couple of speeches, we were ready to roll on to Shinca Intel Penang ! The 2nd flag-off was in fact earlier than the 11.20am planned. I guess the hot weather changed the organizer’s mind to continue the journey earlier instead of later. Leaving at around 10.40am, we took the route of Weld Quay à Tun Lim Chong Eu highway all the way to Red Bridge at Bayan Lepas. Riding at this time of the day, the tarmac have been heated up and you could feel the heat coming up as you rode along. No much scenery to look for along the highway but I was told later that our contingent has caused massive jam at Penang Bridge because the police blocked the Bayan Lepas-bound cars coming down from the Bridge. Great publicity for Intel nonetheless !
Overall, I had a fun for my longest ride to date. Spent a total of 2:13 riding on the bike (minus all the pit-stops, the waiting etc). total mileage : 51.88km. Not bad for a Sunday’s ride.
My key take-aways from my first long ride ?
1) Riding provides fantastic scenery along the road
2) Riding is a hazard especially if one rides solo and it’s dark
3) Protecting the skin is paramount as it can get very hot and it’s not good for the skin (think skin cancer) !
4) Hydrate hydrate hydrate !
5) It can be boring if I cannot go faster than I could
Never have I felt the camaraderie and pride of being an Intellier so intense. Happy 40th anniversary to Intel Malaysia, and many many more 40 years to come. I am really honored to be associated with such a great company and esteemed colleagues.
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