LAKE PRINCESS (TASIK PUTERI) MTB FUN RIDE 041112

Minor as it might have been based on the number of participants who were there at the gathering, still, it was another mountain bike jamboree for me, no less. The trail could have been just about 27 kms plus and short of the '30 kms plus plus' promised by the organizers or the usual 40 plus plus like in most other jamborees, but, it was a ride that I personally wouldn't like to forget. For me, it's another mountain biking event that I wish to keep record of. After all, it's one activity where not many of my type are involved with. And as for the trail, short as it might have been, the quality of the ride certainly was not. It was a ride well worth the fee that I had paid for and time that I had spent on.

Minor as I have said, still the number of participants that Saturday was large. More than 400 mountain bikers were there at the gathering. Such a response isn't uncommon during mountain bike jamborees. There have been many other mountain bike jamborees before this where each had attracted more than a thousand bikers. It's a healthy development and certainly a healthy thing to be happening. The more we love for the active lifestyle as opposed to one sedentary, the better it is for all of us and for the whole country.

But how many of us are really aware that there is an active level of mountain biking activities going on in our midst? I suspect not many really do. This is based on the usual response I get from most people around me whenever such a topic is raised. Unless you are into mountain biking yourself or have friends who do, chances are you wouldn't know save perhaps, some of those events officially organised by sporting bodies or organizations  and reported by the media. Mountain biking is so active that you get mountain bike rides being organized via jamborees almost weekly and sometimes, with more than one jamboree running over the same day or successively on Saturday and Sunday. That's how active it is. And as for the response from bikers over these jamborees, their participation in each jamboree, as I said earlier, usually runs into the hundreds. It is observed that interest in the activity among Malaysians too is also increasing.

However, unlike some other more popular sports, things seem to appear quieter on the mountain biking front. Mountain biking unlike road cycling is a relatively new sport in this country. Moreover, these mountain biking jamborees that I have been referring to are mainly organized by informal or voluntary mountain biking clubs or organisations --  if I may call them that --that largely target 'weekend warriors' or bikers seeking fun or adventure over the weekends although a few of the participants may be made up of bikers with some competitive or professional standing. Because these events are run by casual organizations, their activities are not so well publicised by the local media although there now exists a number of publications providing news or information on the activity. Realising that interest in the activity is now growing and the potential economic gains that could be obtained from circulating such news and information, the number of these publications is also seen to be increasing.

So what had made the Lake Princess ride such an experience for me when the trail was only about 27 kms long? After all, anything forty or even slightly more is not likely to make me cringe or burn me to a frazzle.

It's quite understandable if a ride is hard because the trail is long and rough but, it's different when it is short and not so rough but yet hard. I suppose such a ride may not be easy to forget.  That was the kind of ride I thought I had at the Tasik Puteri MTB Fun Ride that Saturday. Short as the trail might have been, it made it up with the challenge it posed to me. Although fun ride was not completely a misnomer, it was also a ride that turned out to be frustratingly challenging, at least for me,  all because of the the rain which has been nettling us daily the past couple of weeks.

Except for some stiff gradients and obstacles such as ditches and a running stream  which had forced bikers to dismount and push or carry their bikes across, the trail was on the whole, a rideable one if not for the rain that had turned it into one slithery stretch that forced many a biker to dismount and push their bike. The current wet season which started about two months ago had turned the trail into one slippery and laborious ordeal for anyone attempting to pedal over it. It reminds me of the ride I had during the night jamboree in Malacca.. Although a strong and fit biker could still probably remain in the saddle for much of the ride even while ascending the hills, it could only be possible if no one was ahead of him who could slow him down and interfere with his pedaling ; otherwise, he would likely lose his momentum which would make it difficult for him to maintain his speed and balance and continue pedaling. The loss of traction on an already slippery trail caused by the mud sticking to the wheels had made it difficult for many to pedal up the slopes and maintain momentum even while on some flats forcing them to dismount at certain stretches and push their bikes. I suppose any mountain bike jamboree organised during this monsoon season is more likely to turn into one slippery experience for everybody. That was what it turned out to be during the fun ride at Tasik Puteri.

But it was a beautiful trail at the jamboree ride at Tasik Puteri with long flowing hills with gentle slopes that any good biker would be able to manage if not for its slithery surface. With a few hundred bikers riding over it, the trail turned into one slippery experience for many. Pushing your bike up these hills too became one arduous and  exhausting exercise. One's mental strength and endurance was
certainly needed under such circumstance to help see them up or through.

But then being someone hooked on mountain biking, riding during the wet season on a slippery trail can turn out to be a case of love-hate relationship with the activity. As I have once said, there are still those who can still find meaning, fun as well as pleasure in whatever they love to do despite the difficulty and the challenge they face. For me, it was a frusratingly enjoyable ride and an unpleasant pleasant experience, if I could use the oxymora.

There will be at least another two if not three jamborees for me come December next month; one jamboree in Bentong, Pahang on the 9th and another in Putrajaya on the 16th. I intend to participate in both. And, if there is one closing jamboree at the end of this year (I believe there is), I plan to participate in that one too, insya Allah.

But then, there's also my plan for a fishing trip the same month. The spanish macks are reported to be usually biting in December and I am not about to miss the chance of landing some for the pots despite the monsoon season. Aren't they delicious fish! They make for good bar-b-ques too. So, it's gonna be fishing versus cycling for me this December if these two loves of mine happen to clash.

Wonder which one should it be...

BURUNG HANTU (NIGHT OWL) MTB JAMBOREE 201112

It appears that night mountain bike jamboree is becoming more enticing than daytime jamboree. I could justify this by the number of bikers who took part in last Saturday's night jamboree in Air Keroh, Malacca. 2500 bikers were there at Dataran Sejarah Air Keroh to participate in the jamboree. Last year, the same jamboree attracted close to 2000 bikers. The number of bikers in Air Keroh last Saturday night was exceptionally large; in fact, larger than the number of bikers that had participated in any one of the daytime jamborees that I had attended so far.

The jamboree (ride) was flagged off at about 8.30 pm and lasted until the early hours of Sunday morning. It was a 45-km ride, so I was told later. Somehow, I didn't care to find out how long the trail was that night. Judging by the time it took me to complete the ride and by the pace I was going, I reckon it was a 45-km ride or thereabouts. Trying to keep track of my ride via my cyclometer at night would not be a wise thing to do. Such an effort, I thought, was also unnecessary since I had already made up my mind as to how I would like to go about riding the trail that night well before I started. What was important to me, I thought, was for me to take on the challenge and enjoy the ride and complete it the way I wanted  so long as I did not end up becoming the last rider to cross the finish line. That, I believe, is important since it would tell me where I stood in terms of my fitness and my endurance. For health's sake, I do not wish to be biologically 64. I don't mind being chronologically 64 since it's something that I can't change. But, I could be biologically 46 or less if I made an effort to be one. Being biologically younger means I would still remain strong and physically independent. This would mean that I could go on biking for a few, if not many more years; something that I would love to do if I could. Moreover, there were 2500 bikers riding the trail that night and I just had to be careful about the way I rode lest any loss of focus or concentration on my part could result in some adverse or unpleasant outcomes  for which it would only be wise for me to avoid.

Just after that last jamboree in Sg Buaya, it looked like I was set to go for another one the next weekend. But somehow, the response from E.T.Riders for the jamboree was rather low and I decided to drop the idea. Only four bikers from E.T.Riders finally turned up for the event (UPM MTB Fete 2012). Perhaps, any jamboree organized too close to KL might not be viewed upon as an attractive option by some since much of the area surrounding  the federal territory has been subjected to human exploitation and development. The trail may not be as attractive as perhaps,one organized in a jamboree further away from it. So, after quite a lapse following the Sungai Buaya jamboree, I was naturally looking forward to this night jamboree in Malacca which the organizers dubbed 'Burung Hantu' or the 'Night Owl'.

But Burung Hantu 2012 was not my first night jamboree. I participated  in the same jamboree organized at about the same time last year although held at a different venue. We had a good night ride last year and this time I expected the same thing from the organizers. It did not surprise me that the jamboree this time had attracted 2500 bikers from all over the country including some from overseas. I believe those who had participated in this same jamboree previously must have been happy with the trail and the way the jamboree was organized that they decided to come back again for another one this year. Good words too must have spread around and so more bikers had decided to turn up to join in the fun.

And as I had expected, I wasn't disappointed this second time although some participants were not too happy with some of the arrangements made by the organizers following completion of the ride. But as for the trail and the manner the ride was organized, I am happy with what that had been put in place despite the huge number of bikers participating in the jamboree. The whole ride was well controlled despite doing it in the dark and on a trail 45 kms long which included some long stretches of offroad tracks and single paths apart from the usual share of tarmac one would normally expect in a jamboree.

The organizers had decided to draw up a trail rideable to everyone which catered to the needs of the seasoned and the less seasoned bikers alike. A trail too tough or too rough could prove hazardous to beginners and the less skilful riders more so at night. We were served with a trail that was not too tough nor too easy which most of us could handle even at night yet one that could still push our heart and our endurance to their maximal limits. But still I would say, it was far from being an easy trail more so the single track that made up one third or more of the overall trail length. Though we were lucky it didn't rain that night, some sections of the trail still remained wet and slippery made so by the rain that fell almost daily several days before the ride. Riding on this narrow and slippery single track was a real test of our skill as well as our concentration and proved to be no easy task, at least for me. It's like treading a fine line which calls for a rider's full concentration and control lest they would get their bikes out of line and land into some hazardous situations. This happened to me several times during the ride. The already slithery nature of the single track was made more slippery by the several hundred riders ahead of me. Several times during the course of negotiating some sections of the single track, I almost lost control of the bike and was on the verge of falling off it. Only my quick reflex plus perhaps a bit of my skill and experience had prevented me from falling off my machine. Still, I did fall off the bike once although I managed to clip out the pedals in time to avoid a more serious fall.

As for the obstacles one could expect to encounter while riding, these too were not many nor were they too stern. Except for some pits on the track which had been well marked and their presence forewarned, there were no really serious obstacles that could cause considerable congestion or delay to the riders. There were some ditches  found running across the trail but these too were easily managed. While some hills the riders encountered during the early part of the ride did slow them down a bit, but this was not for long since the hills were not too long nor too steep.

I hope to be able to participate in another Burung Hantu next year. Maybe the organizers may want to consider scheduling the event a little earlier next year so we could avoid the rainy season. Sure it's still possible to ride in the rain or on a wet trail at night, but rain or too much of it could make it impossible for the event to achieve its real purpose: that of allowing riders to enjoy their ride at night and to do so in the safest manner possible. After all, Burubg Hantu is a jamboree and not a race. Furthermore, not all of us who participated in the 2012 Burung Hantu are seasoned and highly skilful bikers.The trail could still be made challenging even without the rain.

Am I now champing at the bit for another mountain biking adventure? You bet! Even this morning I could not resist the temptation to get in the saddle for a quick ride. I had thought of going out for a ride sometime after noon but the urge to cycle just could not be held back and so I went out pedaling in the morning instead. And now I am wondering if I should go out again for another quickie this afternoon (ride, I mean...haha!). But I will let it pass for now. If the urge does come back nudging me for another one, I will see how it goes. After all, didn't I say time is now on my side although I do get the feeling that as I age, it seems to pick up speed and goes faster than when I was younger. And what if I do really become the odd man out one of these days? Well, it doesn't matter. I will still continue to ride even if I have to do it alone.

Another mountain biking adventure is coming this 10th November in Sungai Buaya -- again. But the organizers have promised us a different trail this time. I hope to be able to be there with other members of E.T.Riders. Maybe, I should attempt to push myself harder this time to find out how far I could really go. It would be great if I could do better than what I managed to do the last couple of jamborees. This chronological and biological age thing really arouses my interest. In the name of healthy living and for health's sake, I am keen to find out how far I could go to keep myself biologically strong and healthy while chronological age can continue to catch up on me. At this stage of my life, I am all for healthy living and a healthy lifestyle.

Wouldn't it be great if we could  all continue to remain physically strong and independent for as long as we live?

SBCC MTB JAMBOREE ROUND 5, 230912

So E.T.Riders and I went to the SBCC MTB jamboree in Bandar Baru Sg Buaya last Sunday. It was a ride we had been waiting for. The last MTB jamboree we went to was sometime last July, just about a week before the fasting month began. There were no jamborees organized during Ramadan nor during the festive month that followed although this did not keep the avid bikers away from their bikes. For them, biking still went on as usual despite the fasting and the celebration.

I am delighted that a large number of bikers from my own fraternity had joined in the jamboree this time. Close to 30 bikers from E.T.Riders were there to participate. Certainly this large number is telling me something about the state of the activity in my own locality if not the whole country. Close to 1300 mountain bikers from all over Selangor and from other states were there in Sg Buaya last Sunday. This however, isn't a record figure. I have participated in a jamboree that had attracted more than 2000 bikers. All this stands to show that mountain biking as a sport is slowly but surely gaining popularity in this country.

Being keen mountain bikers that we are, we just had to be there for the jamboree early lest we might miss the boat. As I said earlier, we have always been champing or chomping at the bit when it comes to mountain biking. So, we were there in Sg Buaya well before the event was supposed to start. And since there's that outdoorsman streak in all of us, we pitched our tents out in the open to rest up the night before the event. I have always been an outdoorsman and I believe this streak in me has been partly responsible for contributing to my pursuit of mountain biking.

So we rode the jamboree trail the next morning: a  36- km course of tarmac and offroad tracks. The off-road portion of the trail includes oil palm tracks, sealed and unsealed tracks through some thinly populated and unpopulated areas and rough single paths in uncultivated areas. The off-road  tracks were strewn with the usual hazards: rocks, dead tree branches, roots and ruts. We were lucky though that the SBCC rocks were not too large, the roots too protruding and the ruts too deep. Athough the general topography is relatively hilly, the hills fortunately aren't as big and steep as some that I had encountered in earlier jamborees. Though there are obstacles along the way, these too are not too stiff to cause us serious delay. Still, my take is, although the trail wasn't as hard as some that  I had ridden in previous jamborees, it was more than enough to make the whole ride an adrenaline and heart pumping affair.

The SBCC trail was all in all, a fairly manageable trail even for someone my age.  At the pace that I decided to take on the trail which included some stops along the way for photographs and for fluid and bananas to re-energize plus walking the bike over some hills, I still didn't do too badly considering the position I managed to secure in the overall standing. Although it was just a jamboree and not a race, participants were still given positions on arrival at the finish line.

With the level of exertion that I applied during the ride, the trail did not push me to my maximal limit. I could feel the reserve of energy that was still left in me that I could use if I needed to. I could tell this through comparison with other trails I had ridden in previous jamborees. But still, the SBCC trail is a beautiful balanced trail which is neither too hard nor too easy. It has all the elements one would look for in mountain biking. I love the single trails particularly those stretches that run through some grass-grown patches in the uncultivated areas. They are beautiful and a joy to ride on. The rain over the previous day had also caused some parts of the trails to turn slithery more so after having been ridden by riders ahead of you. These slithery sections posed an additional challenge to the bikers.

So, if the trail wasn't that hard, how did I fare then?

I would like to look at it more as a way of gauging my own personal level of fitness and endurance than for trying to compare it with others. Moreover, those who were not ahead of me to the finish line could have been so for some or their own good reasons and not for their lack of fitness or stamina. Be that as it should, I wish to put it on record that I wasn't too far behind to the finish line. There were more than 700 bikers who were behind me. With the level of physical exertion that was applied during the ride, I wasn't yet stretched to my maximal limit. This is something that I must be thankful for taking into consideration that I was also the most senior participant in the jamboree -- again, for the fourth time. In earlier jamborees, my performance had been about the same.

So, what does this mean to me then?

Ever since I got into biking, I have come to realize that the sport isn't just for the young but also for someone like me. I didn't start mountain biking until I was sixty. As I mentioned somewhere before, I participated in my first mountain bike jamboree when I was sixty-one and I am still jamboreeing-- if I may use the word -- now at sixty four. So, if you happen to be sixty and feel that you are too old to try something new like mountain biking, maybe you should reconsider your stand. As senior citizens, I can't see why we cannot continue to be athletic and in reasonably good shape for a long time. La Lanne always comes to my mind.

Well, I guess I am not the type who sits around much. Isn't life about movement as some say?

So, I hope to continue to pursue this healthy lifestyle with passion for as long as I can. Like some choose to do, I want to spend the rest of my life in the fast lane -- on a bike.

CHAMPING AT THE BIT

                                          
Some bikers from E.T.Riders have turned nocturnally active lately. They have been riding at night regularly since last couple of weeks. They had of course, ridden at night before and even gone offroad sometimes. But, such rides then were few and far between.

It all began last Ramadan when they started riding at night since they couldn't do so during the day because it happened to be the fasting month. Since then, they have continued to ride regularly at night usually during weekends. Not many would want to consider riding the heart-hammering Bukit Dinding at night previously, but now, the hill seems to have become their regular destination during these rides besides the city and its suburbs.

It's uncertain how long these night rides are going to last, but I suspect they are likely to go on for quite a while yet judging by the manner their mood seems to show. Even right now while I am trying to piece this story together, they are out on another night ride. These bikers are those you would expect to see in most of the bike outings organized by the group. They are the keen members of E.T.Riders who probably spend quite a bit of their time through the day thinking about bikes. Just like a horse champing at the bit raring to go, they are probably champing at theirs eager to ride .

That's what it appears to be; so it is, at least for me. But that just happens to be part of what I feel to be my zest for living and for doing what I love to do i.e. biking. Life in retirement has been one of discovery for me. I never had the luxury of time before to notice much the many things around me. Today, I am glad that I have been encouraged to take that step outside myself to know more about who I really am, what I love to do and am capable of doing. I am happy to experience this new phase of life; one that is different from the life that I once lived for almost thirty-six years.  Much of it then was work and responsibilities and most times, at the expense of my own and my family's.

But then, that was the way it was for many of us who did the same thing for a living. Today however, I feel good waking up each morning feeling different and realizing how more wonderful life is which has so much still to offer that I should be thankful for. Time, I feel, is now more on my side and biking I believe, has partly contributed to my present optimistic state of mind. Mountain biking has not only endowed me with the good health and high spirit that I now enjoy, it also reminds me of the need to always count my blessings. It is also about loving and enjoying what I do and that, I believe, is one great feeling for anyone to experience.

My next mountain bike jamboree will be this coming Sunday in Sungai Buaya, Rawang, Selangor. I understand close to thirty bikers from E.T. Riders will be there to participate in the jamboree, the largest number of participants from our group to join in a jamboree so far. More than a thousand mountain bikers will be there. Nothing like seeing a large crowd of eager mountain bikers anxiously waiting at the start line ready to go. It's the challenge and the potential experience of going through the trail that keeps you feeling anxious yet excited. But then, I guess, only bikers would understand.

In the mean time, I have been keeping myself physically busy with my daily workouts. To plug in the gap whilst waiting for the next jamboree to come, I have been riding my usual trails around the neighbourhood and in Kemensah and FRIM.  And, as I mentioned, there have been a couple of night rides with E.T. Riders up Bukit Dinding and around the city and its suburbs to round off the activities.

Biking has become my main physical preoccupation at the moment. Ever since I got myself into biking and after realizing that too much walking (while playing golf, that is) and jogging are bad for my knees especially at my age, I have more or less given up these two activities although I still keep in touch with golf once in a while for social purposes. And now, I am happy to know that there is someone who happens to be 78 in this world today who still goes mountain biking including the competitive kind and winning prizes to boot! That, I think, is just one wonderful and most encouraging point to note.

You never know how far and how long more you could go. I pray that life will continue to remain wonderful, healthy and exciting.

I really am champing at the bit -- for more.

THE ODD MAN OUT?

Seven members of E.T.Riders and I decided to ride the FRIM trail yesterday. It had been quite sometime since we last rode the trail together. Somehow, my status as a senior member of the biking community surfaced unexpectedly during the ride. However, it was raised more as a topic for small talk than one of genuine curiousity.

Interestingly though, there have been three mountain bike jamborees lately in which I had been declared the most senior participant among all participants. The last one that I went to saw no other participant above sixty. The closest was a fifty- niner and he was the sole fifty-nine.There was one jamboree before this where there was one participant who was sixty-eight years old, but I am uncertain whether he participates in jamborees regularly as I do..

In my biking group, I happen to be the oldest. I am the only member who is past sixty and so is the odd one out in terms of age. The rest are quadragenarians and below. The youngest among them are just tweens. I have waited for almost three years now for someone my age to join me but there has been none so far.

There have been many other jamborees before these. I have been participating in mountain bike jamborees since 2010 but have yet to meet one participant who is older than me and who participates in jamborees regularly. When I rode my first mountain bike jamboree, I was sixty-one years young.

I believe there must be some bikers out there my age or older who are keenly involved with the activity. Their number, however, may be small and their existence far apart. It isn't about me trying to crow over what I do; it's just curiousity on my part to know what the situation really is. Maybe I would feel much more comfortable if I knew and would place me in a better position to promote this exciting and healthy lifestyle among members of my generation.

The members of my biking group do not seem to treat me like the odd one out though despite my age. I believe my presence is welcomed since I have always been included in all the activities that they have so far organized. It's only age that seems to separate me from the rest of the group. As for my ability to fit in and keep up with them, that has never been an issue. Even at my age, I am still able to cope with what they do. When they decided to climb Fraser's Hill and later Cameron Highland some months back, I went along with them and managed to climb the two hills just as well as they did. So it has been with all other rides.

While I can see quite a number of quinquagenarians still actively participating in mountain bike jamborees, their number too seems to get smaller as their age gets older. Maybe it's because many of us are raised with the idea that when we hit 50, we should relax and take it easy. Since vision, hearing, bones, balance are all poorer among seniors than in a younger person, many feel that they should avoid sports where there is a risk of collision with others or with stationary objects. Or, could it be that the small number of seniors involved with the activity is due to mountain biking being a relatively new sport among Malaysians. The young are more likely to get attracted to it than the older citizens. Hence, the small number of seniors seen involved with the activity. The younger bikers who have been attracted to or are hooked on the activity are likely to continue to ride perhaps into their fifties and sixties. By then, we will probably see more sexagenarians or even septuagenarians involved with mountain biking activity. Even my own involvement has been one of coincidence. If it wasn't because of the injury and advice from the doctor, I too might not have got involved with mountain biking as I now do.

I feel that mountain biking is one activity that I can still cope with; at least with the kind that I, and many others that I know, do. Anything extreme, however, may not be suitable and should be left to the young or the pros. There's no need for you to take risks nor go for the rough kind of mountain biking just because it is called so. You can always do it your way and at your own pace. It's a pretty safe sport if you do it within your capabilities. You need not jump or hop  if you can't or don't want to. You can always push or carry your bike instead. It's all part of the mountain biking way.

But you do need to be the outdoor type a bit. If you love the physical challenge, the natural environment, the smell of fresh air and the lure of the verdant hills, then mountain biking may just be the right kind of sport or activity for you. But above all that, you must believe in and love what you do in order to enjoy doing what you do. For seniors like us who are retired from active working life, it's the inertia that may prove difficult to beat; i.e. the choice between exerting ourselves physically or remaining at home with that cup of tea playing with the cat or grandchildren or watching the telly. However, you need to familiarize yourself with the activity and develop the basic skills and the stamina required to enable you to do it. But that is not really so difficult to do. It only requires some practice and a bit of googling to acquaint yourself with this rewarding activity. Or, you can always learn the techniques and skill directly from those who have been doing it. Safety is paramount and this too can be learned easily.

I also realise that mountain biking is one activity that can help to improve your fitness and cardiovascular health most effectively. The fitter you are, the less your heart contracts thus saving heartbeats. Through regular biking, your ambient and resting heart rates can drop substantially and when extended over a lifetime, this can equate to many millions of heart beats saved. The heart that needs to work less for you is surely good for you. Mountain biking is not only one effective way for you to achieve that, but one that could prove exciting and challenging too.

I may be the odd man out in age and may not be a spring chicken anymore. But, I am no old cock either. I like to subscribe to the wisdom that sees changes brought about by aging not as deficiencies but as just differences. That way, it makes me feel younger, stronger, and healthier.

So, it's still a case of me being able to crow at my age the crow 'cock-a-doodle-doo': what they can do, I can do it too.

What more can I ask for except to say that I am really so humbly cock-a-hoop about it all and pray that I will continue to remain so for as long as He allows me to.

So 'Heli Pad' anyone? Or, shall I see you in Sungai Buaya this 23rd September?