Self Flagellation On The Slopes of Cameron Highland

Our Route Tapah - Tanah Rata - Tapah - Kg Gajah

View Tapah - Tanah Rata - Tapah - Kg Gajah in a larger map

Facts

Cameron Highland is named after William Cameron, a British surveyor who first mapped the area in 1885. The road from Tapah to the highland was constructed in 1931 and upon completion marked the transformation of the place into a successful hill station, market gardening was a parallel development and soon after tourism picked up and today it remains a popular destination. It is the highest point in the Peninsula that can be reached by a motorcar.


Today this tourist spot can be reached by two different routes, the old road from Tapah and the new mountain class highway from Simpang Pulai. If you are driving the Simpang Pulai way is faster. The reason people go to Cameron Highland is to experience the English Summer, where day time temperature hovers around 25C. The night is chilly enough to warrant sleeping under a warm blanket. In fact it gets so chilly that morning showers can only be comfortably taken with warm waters from water heaters. It is one of the few places in Malaysia without air conditioning or even ceiling fans, the two essential items no household in the lowland would go without. The absence of the sound of the whirring of the compressors and sight of revolving blades are at first strange and then hit you that this place, merely two hours away from the tropical heat, is an island of its own climate.

Statistics

To see the profile of the bike climb from Tapah to Cameron Highland go to http://www.mapmyride.com/s/routes/view/road-cycling-map/malaysia/tapah/27124006


Another profile is at  http://www.strava.com/rides/malaysia-cameron-312733

If you want to compare another bike ride from Tapah to Cameron Highland, go to http://bikenuts.blogspot.com/2009/10/cameron-highlands-on-bike.html

My Way

This is considered a job to be done, no cyclist worth his salt would ignore Cameron Highlands. I have been cycling for the past five years and I have been to Cameron Highlands ( by motoring ) a few times and looking at it, the idea of the climb has to be translated into reality before I get too old. I have checked the boxes of the other two hills, Genting Sempah and Fraser's Hill and the third is a matter of course.



From Shah Alam we hitch a ride from Zahir who is on his way to his work in Lumut. We are dropped at Tapah where we check in into NY Hotel. It is a hotel typical of a budget hotel in any small town in Malaysia. There is a reception where you enter your name and particulars in a very largish register book and then you find your own way to your room. This hotel is very suitable as a launching place to Cameron Highland as even though the rate is low, the rooms are quite comfortable to turn in a good sleep, and the location is in Tapah town, the largest place before we hit the hills and if there are any bike issues, there are bike shops available to put them right again. We dine at a stall near the hotel, a Chinese stall quaintly manned by an Indian boy who speaks fluent Hokkien. The meal is quite heavy and to avoid indigestion we retire quite late in the night.

Checking in the hotel at Tapah. The bikes have just been assembled after the car ride from Shah Alam

In Tapah, at the foothill of the mountain, with lush vegetation and fruit plantation,  I am surprised the King of Fruit is not welcomed, particularly so at this budget hotel, or probably, the operator is thinking this is an expression of class as you will find the same prohibition in airlines and snobbish hotels in Malaysia. This is durian country and ironically the royals are mistreated.

Checking out and the time is 7.00am

The name of the hotel N Y as seen here.

Last minute check on the bike before we start riding

Tapah - Lata Iskandar, Nice & Easy

The morning after, we wake up quite early and spend some time preparing the bikes. Extra attention is paid to the brakes as we are going for hilly rides. All system are in working order and we eagerly start our ride from Tapah town in the cool morning air. We have to pass through the town center where traffic is a bit dense due to the morning rush to get to school in time. But after the town center, traffic immediately thins out and we are more or less on our own.

We stop at a stall outside Tapah for an early breakfast

It is Indian and we have tosai and roti chanai with teh tarik.

We need carbs to store in order to have sufficient energy for the climb ahead. To get this we stop at an Indian stall and load up the with sugar and extra ration of rotis.

This stop is to refill the water bottles

It is "Air Seratus" (100 Plus)

When it is time to stock our fluids we find a local convenience and fill up our bottles with mineral and carbonated water. Until here, the route is winding with a slight elevation and we are still in relaxed mode. Soon after and before reaching Lata Iskandar, the gradient gradually rises and I start to need the use of the smaller gears. I am on 20 speed with 50-34 for the front crank and it is not possible to hold on the 50 any more. Forward speed is dropping to the average of 15 kph although Mirza is still looking comfortable and hanging on the bigger front crank. I start to gradually fall behind and Mirza has to frequently stop to allow me to catch up. When we reach Lata Iskandar, which is 24 kilometers from Tapah, it is still early and the stalls are just opening up. We stop for refreshment and I have bananas in the belief that if it can help the tennis stars it will do the same for me.

Lata Iskandar 

Lata Iskandar - Ringlet, Hairpins Approaching

After Lata Iskandar, the ride is still easy. We pass a few kampongs with houses hugging the hill sides and at one time are chased by a pack of local dogs. They are doing it more out of fun, and are rather half hearted and after a few meters abandon their pursuit, their attention diverted to more interesting matters. To the cyclist, being chased by dogs are never welcomed as the sudden burst of speed are not friendly to that pump in the chest, it can get quite sticky with the overloads caused by the sudden demands for oxygenated blood.


Soon we reach the generating station, and then we ride across the bridge, I think it is Iskandar Bridge. The roads that are following the contours of the hill take a sudden transformation, hair pins start to make their appearances. If you have seen a hair pin you will know that there is a kind of U turn, you ride ahead and the road makes a turn into the direction you are coming from, except that the elevation keeps rising and you can see the road almost parallel to you down below. At this stage even the lowest gear is wanting, you keep wishing for another lower gear and there is none. The end result is you are puffing and huffing and sweat starts to drip merrily down your body. A few of these hairpins take the wind out of me and frequent stops to catch my breaths again. These stops besides giving some respite and rests are also great photo ops as seen below.

  

Mirza is at his wits end contemplating the fighting with the slopes

Another point of rest

Wild honey is sold by the local

The locals resting in the bamboo shed. Cool.

I pass out from the exertion

Ringlet - Habu, Down Hill And Flat

After the ordeals of the climb, it is a pleasure to reach the state boundary line of Perak and Pahang. From the boundary it is downhill into Ringlet and as noon is approaching, we stop for a quick lunch at a restaurant in Ringlet town. When we are in Tapah we see the signage showing it is 47 kilometers to Ringlet but in Ringlet the sign is 51 kilometers to Tapah. May be, when we climb the distance get shorter or else when we descend, it gets longer. The meal at an Indian restaurant is forgettable and our in spite of the hunger we cannot finish the rice and fried fish.


From Ringlet it is downhill into the valley of Habu where it is flat as we ride parallel to a lake. The noon temperature is most pleasant and we feel we can ride forever in this condition.

The state boundary is just before Ringlet and for the first time in the climb it is  downhill which drops into the town.

Strawberry is grown to to give an air of temperate climate in a tropical country  

We lunch at an Indian in Ringlet and the food is barely edible

Habu - Tanah Rata, Swallowed Whole And Spat Out

This is the ultimate test, six kilometers of continuous hair pins one after another. If you have watched Tour de France you will remember the climb at Alp de Huez, where spectators have the grand stand view by shuttling between 2 hair pins, although this one is on far smaller scale, may be twenty times smaller. I hate this climb as it gives no respite and totally makes me suffer. Rain starts to fall but it fails to cool my overheated body. The will power slowly drains away, the mind playing the devil's advocate to give everything up. Each revolution of the pedal digs deep into my pain threshold. There is a constant bombardment on the mind as to its sanity. I should not be here at all. I should be in a warm bed watching cycling racing on TV.


We stop at the tea shop for scones and tea, but the misery keeps piling up and we have no mood for any intake of food or fluid. The problem is by far, I cannot spin the pedals with enough speed to give momentum to move forward. I cannot spin the pedal because I am not in the physical condition of a younger man and since I am not in this condition, I am in dire need of a smaller gear ratio, but which I don't have with the present set up. The solution is either I have to be stronger or failing that, a more forgiving gear ratio such as provided by a 30 front crank.


With one kilometer remaining to go, I have nothing left inside so I get down and push my bike, but it is a sight that I am not proud of. I stop at a workshop and request a lift from the mechanic to get to Tanah Rata. We dismantle our bikes and soon after we are at Hill View Inn Hotel and after washing up and showers, we crash out and only wake up much later in the evening for dinner at a restaurant nearby.

After Habu, the hill classification is category 1 and and somewhere in the middle of the climb, Mirza has to lie down to recharge his battery

At the tea shop and all the muscles and nerves in our system are on the edge of rebellion.

One kilometer from Tanah Rata we take a lift  from the mechanic in this picture, what a shame as it spoils what would be a perfect ending for the right to brag.

We check into the Hill View Inn together with our bikes

As always, first duty is the laundry

The pretty garden of the hotel

Tomatoes are grown in the backyards. 

I would recommend this family hotel if you are in Tanah Rata, there is a lot of atmosphere and beats the sanitized and soulless establishment else where in this area.

I am told this is markisa fruit

Tanah Rata - Tapah - Kg Gajah, Salve For The Thousand Cuts

The night in Cameron Highlands is chilly and we sleep soundly under the warm blanket. I dream in after life, hell is is a place with endless bike ride uphill and stern hell keepers prod you with their sharp spears if you stop. In heaven, it must be riding on flat country sides will tail winds behind. We sleep through the morning and have a late breakfast in the hotel. Our target today is Lumut where we are to join Zahir who works there and is staying at an apartment by the sea. But we delay our departure and only leave Tanah Rata well past afternoon. It is made worse by a puncture that threatens to turn into a blow out and precious time is spent in attending the repair.



Going down hill is briefly interrupted by a climb into Ringlet and after the state boundary it is 51 kilometers of non stop down hill. Around 3 pm we reach Tapah and enquire for the possibility of lunch at the Chinese stall that we had dinner when we first arrived. I point to the noodles but decline when told that it comes with pork. Goodness me, it appears the proprietor expects me to eat the pork as I eat other meat. Sorry, I have nothing personal against eating pork, its just hard wired inside me that it is prohibited and if I can pick the reason why, its because pig and humans are closely related. You don't eat your cousins or your close friends, don't you.



From Tapah we take the main road heading towards Ipoh. The road is quite busy but there are wide shoulders to cycle on and we feel somewhat safe. There are slight elevation followed by down hills but there is no trouble at all and we really enjoy this terrain. There are found man made lakes dotting the country side, the area being ex mining land. On our right we can see the majestic dark blue of the Cameron Highlands against the soft blue sky. The sight is breath taking. The cuts suffered in the climb are soothed and forgotten.



Before Kampar we take a left and there are more lakes. On this stretch we encounter less traffic. The sky begins to look dark and threatening but only light showers fall and it increases the joy of cycling, less heat to be bothered as the showers act as a natural coolant. We pass through quaintly named town, one being called Tronoh Mine. There used to be a lot of tin mining in this part and Tronoh is sitting smack in the center of it all. But now the mines are closed down and everything is quiet and peaceful.


There are two stops, at the first I have laksa and the second Mirza says there are rat droppings in the ice. Yuck, there is no need for further investigation, suspicion is enough and we beat a hasty retreat without finishing our drinks.

It is quite dark when we reach the Ipoh Lumut main road. Traffic is not only busy but they go astoundingly fast, this stretch being of a highway standard. Even though the shoulders are wide, the creeping darkness makes us very uncomfortable about the safety of the ride, and on reaching Kampong Gajah we decide to abandon the cycling and phone for assistance which comes in the form of Zahir with his car. We pile the bicycles in to his car and finish the balance of the journey in less than an hour, which would have taken us another 3 hours by bike.



After a night in Lumut, the next day we take a bus at to Shah Alam and from the terminal ride home to our house.


Will I return to Cameron Highlands ? Yes definitely but only after I fix the triple crank on my bike.

One reason I like this place is the dining hall which overlooks a garden of flowers and full breakfast is available for a modest price

Before checking out we pose for the last time

What is a tour without flats. The main road is behind and we are attending the repairs on the slip road to a deserted hut, so it is not as reckless as it looks.

Goodbye Ringlet.

Somewhere near Tronoh Mines we stop for refills and find rat droppings in our ice.

Wonderful dinner at Lumut water front.

The last leg of the tour, at the bus terminal in Lumut where we pack our bikes into the cargo hold of the bus and reach Shah Alam later in the day.