Sunday, November 11, 2012

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...






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