The Hills Of Hulu Langat

I’ve done a few hills around Kuala Lumpur. The first time was the Putera Height which I did without much huff or puff. Then it was the Shah Alam, which started at the Federal Highway junction near the ITM Uni,  all the way up until the crest at Section 8, then left into the Bukit Cahaya and another left down the way to Bukit Mahkota.  The real test was however the Ampang Tambahan which started near Pandan Indah, then the dizzy climb towards Hulu Langat until the top at Scenic Point where the whole of KL vista opens before your eyes. This climb is definitely worth the view together with the reward of free wheeling downhill at a speed in excess of 40 KMH.

However hill climbs are best tackled with an attitude, the correct attitude. First and foremost and the most important, is self-belief, the supply of which is at the best fluctuating. On the day without it, and the day when your first thought in the mind was, Omigod, omigod…., it will be the day of failure. Your body and mind conspire to shut down at the moment you try to summon the extra energy to outlast the gradient. You see stars and your will disappears in the thin air. The only thing remaining left to do is to dump your bike on the edge of the road and next grin in defeat stupidly at the passersby. This happened on the fateful day on the climb from Hulu Langat to Semenyih. It was the brute of a slope, with no leveling at all to allow you to catch your breath. It was like climb, climb and climb all the way to eternity.

It was already 9.30 am when I arrived at Batu 9 Cheras and parked my car at the Pusat Kesihatan under the cool shade of the Flames of the Forests. The sky was overcast with a hint of rain coming and the temperature was around 80F, the ideal temperature for cycling. The original plan was to complete the Hulu Langat Semenyih circuit, on the map it looked enticingly short. In the absence of steep slopes, which did not show on the map, I should be able to complete the journey within 3 hours. Hopefully by lunch I should be back at the start. This optimistic planning proved to be fatal. The mind was already preconceived with the total time to finish and this put you in a hurried state. This resulted in being too tensed, instead of tackling the road with an open mind. 

I pushed off towards Hulu Langat town a distance of about 4KM from the car park. It was a lazy ride and the road was undulating but not steep enough for the necessity of gear changes. On the way I met a bunch of cyclists in serious training and I waved my hand at them. Some in the group waved back. When I reached the town of Hulu Langat there was a busy junction where I intended to take right towards Semenyih. I saw a few well-equipped cyclists coming from Semenyih and thought of asking them about the climbs but traffic condition did not allow any meaningful conversation. Another bad sign as it meant they were finishing where I was just starting. I was reminded of the climb on Everest where the fateful group was just about to make the final assault when they met with the group that successfully summitted already on their way down. 

There were a few rows of old shop houses in the town, looked quite ramshackled and it is one of the pictures that are disappearing fast from the scene of old towns in Malaysia. On the way before reaching the town proper there were numerous eating-places along the roadside to ensure you won’t bonk on this route. I saw people having the late breakfast of nasi lemak, roti chanai and assorted Malaysian choice at the stalls. As a person on the wrong side of gluttony, I smacked my lips and reminded myself to have a stop over on the way back.

I stopped at one of the provision shops manned by a very old Chinese man for the filling up of my water bottle. This time it was a small bottle of Hundred Plus at RM1.80, 20 Sen below usual price I usually paid at Subang Jaya, where the cost of living is among the highest in this country. After the filling up there was a slight raised bridge over a river. I think it was the  Langat River and I stopped at the crest of the bridge to take a photo of the river. The flow looked quite energetic as in the past few days it had been raining around Kuala Lumpur. From thereon the road was quite lonely and after the settlement it crept slowly up in its gradient until I reached Kampong Sungai Tekali about 4 KM away from the town. Loud music filled the air and apparently someone was preparing for a wedding and it is the custom among the Malays in this part to have non-stop music in their celebration of the matrimony. I halted for a pause and was quite amused to hear the singing on the karaoke. There were men milling around with cossettes pinned on their chest. They looked like Bangaldeshi and could be employees of the host, doubling up as receptionists.  Since it was quite early in the day I did not see any guests although there were rows of cars parked by the roadside. I paused for a while to enjoy the song but found it intolerable and decided to continue my journey.

From this kampong the road took a sudden rise and immediately I had to engage the lower gear. The road kept on rising and soon I was trying for the lowest gear but as luck would have it I was stuck in the second lowest of the front gear. No matter how hard I tried I could not engage and soon I was huffing and puffing but not making any gain in the distance. I must had been looking quite silly but thankfully this road was practically deserted. The struggle did take long and shortly after I started to see the stars. The limbs became stiff and the will slowly evaporated. No matter how forceful I tried to, my body was telling me the punishment was more than enough. At last I dismounted with the road still rising in front of me. I tried to push the bike but it was so steep even the walk made me out of breath. I stopped for the second time and after a short argument with my self, made the decision to call it a day. On the way down the freewheeling did not give me any pleasure at all. The defeat was so humiliating I simply shut my mind to the enjoyment of doing 40 KMH. It is true then, that the joy of conquest is priceless. If it is taken without sweat or not taken at all, the emptiness overwhelms all. I came home with the tail tucked behind and all the way back it was endless commiseration. Every step was painful and I was in a trance until the stop for roti chanai at the road stall where every bit of it tasted like sand.   

However like MacArthur, I returned. On a later date with Mirza, we made it to the top together and the view was worth the effort. This is the route that we cycled, a loop around Hulu Langat and the bank of Semenyih dam.

View Hills Of Hulu Langat in a larger map

At The Top Of Climb

On the Bank Of Semenyih Dam