My Solo 100K Loop
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To keep in good cycling condition, it is important to cycle regularly and when you feel your condition is good enough it is important to have it tested and measured. One standard I hold as universal is the solo 100K.To the enthusiast and the advanced it is not a major but we talking of differing leagues. Compared to them, I have to ask for heavy discounts. I am a recreational cyclist not a competitive one and the benchmark of 100k in a day is a bar that I look at with seriousness. As I have said it is done only when I feel good.
On one of the days that I wake up feeling light and cheery, I prepare my bike for a long and lengthy ride. Brakes and tires are checked for the state of working conditions. Essential items like pump, puncture kit, tire levers, allen keys and water bottles are lined up and and secured on board. I start riding intending to make a circuit as in the map above by heading toward Klang. Sunday morning traffic is minimal and soon I reach the climb along the Federal Highway, opposite the Uitm. It is about a kilometer uphill and is quite a test for the sleeping muscles, which wake up on reaching the top when the heart beat is poked to to up and running. Going downhill after the top, I hit 50KPH on the odometer.
I ride through Klang town and is extra careful to get the right junction to Kapar as the wrong turn can easily lead to the highway to Port Klang to the west, which I had done once in the past. Along the old road parallel to the main road, the cycling is easy as there are less traffic. I soon make a stop for breakfast and on resuming the journey the time is already 10.30 am. The sun is becoming intense and the need for rehydration starts to be felt.
After Kapar there is a strong headwind which cools you down a bit but at the same time slows down the progress. The drop into smaller gear is necessary to overcome the resistance caused by the wind. By around 12.00 noon I reach the junction at Bukit Rotan and after considering the heat that is building up, I change the idea to lunch in Kuala Selangor and instead take a right turn towards Ijok so that I can finish the run earlier than planned.
I stop for shade and drink at a stall but after 1 hour I get restless and convince myself that the noon sun is bearable. Heading towards Ijok there is a tailwind. It is enjoyable as far as you can endure the heat, and average speed is 30 kph. Reaching the town of Ijok the need for a respite from the stifling air, makes me stop at an eating place. I am not hungry and just load up on the iced drink. Even under the shade of the stall, the heat is palpable. The stall owner tries to sell an energy drink, good for hot weather, so he claims, but the price is too much for a bottle of water that looks suspiciously similar to other bottled drinking water, so I politely decline.
Waiting for 15 minutes for the afternoon blaze to subside feels so pointless and at 1.30pm and I start to move again to submit to the hammering of the tropical sun. The air is still and muggy as I slog on. There are newly planted palm trees along the way with monsoon drains lining the road, filled with aquatic plants, and I can sometimes see water life in between. It is lonely and hardly there is any traffic. After 40 minutes I start feeling defeated and take a rest at a roadside stall. Again I gulped down iced drinks, this time of many varieties including one called coconut jelly. The stall is shaded by trees and I find some respite from the heat and decide to stay longer.
I don't habitually smoke, but now I make and exception and bum a clove cigarette from the son of the stall owner. May be, the combination of the exhaustion and dehydration, makes the drag a pleasure. My apologies to the those trying to stop smoking for spoiling your party. The next half an hour is spent listening to the local gossips, like the one about the shotgun wedding and I nod in faked interest. A few cars stop and everyone goes for the iced drinks. It is that hot.
There is another stop near the junction to Meru. The stall is bigger and there are more choices of drinks. I am not feeling tired but the heat is becoming unbearable and so, I linger a bit longer and have my lunch of laksa. It is now 3.00 pm. Shah Alam is merely 15 kms away and should not be any problem. But the road from here goes straight up into the air and it is a problem. Exerting on the pedal under the mid afternoon sun makes my heart beat goes extremely north. The body starts to overheat and I splash water from the bidon over my head to cool it. The climb is followed by down hill and the road keeps rising and falling for endless time, so it feels.
Before reaching the housing estate of Sunway Kayangan, the road goes through a forest . There are a lot of illegal rubbish dumps by the road side and this spoils the beautiful scenery I am cycling through. Even though there are warning signs prohibiting this practice it looks like not many are heeding. This is sad as the forest will not able to absorb the punishment without changing for the worse. I hope something is done to address the pollution before it is too late.
The long climbs begin to take its toll on me and soon I think of giving up by calling for a rescue. I stop under a shade at the roadside to rest my weary muscles and phone for transport. However the person I call cannot locate my position and after futilely giving the plan, I decide to brave it out and what luck it is as the climb ahead turns out to be the last. Soon I reach the junction of Guthrie Highway and from here it is flat rides all the way home to Kemuning Utama, although at the last stretch, for a few kilometers I am in a zombie state.
The total distance is 112 kilometers and since I am my own examiner I take the liberty by overlooking the total time taken, and give me an overall pass with distinction in tenacity and will power.
I ride through Klang town and is extra careful to get the right junction to Kapar as the wrong turn can easily lead to the highway to Port Klang to the west, which I had done once in the past. Along the old road parallel to the main road, the cycling is easy as there are less traffic. I soon make a stop for breakfast and on resuming the journey the time is already 10.30 am. The sun is becoming intense and the need for rehydration starts to be felt.
After Kapar there is a strong headwind which cools you down a bit but at the same time slows down the progress. The drop into smaller gear is necessary to overcome the resistance caused by the wind. By around 12.00 noon I reach the junction at Bukit Rotan and after considering the heat that is building up, I change the idea to lunch in Kuala Selangor and instead take a right turn towards Ijok so that I can finish the run earlier than planned.
I stop for shade and drink at a stall but after 1 hour I get restless and convince myself that the noon sun is bearable. Heading towards Ijok there is a tailwind. It is enjoyable as far as you can endure the heat, and average speed is 30 kph. Reaching the town of Ijok the need for a respite from the stifling air, makes me stop at an eating place. I am not hungry and just load up on the iced drink. Even under the shade of the stall, the heat is palpable. The stall owner tries to sell an energy drink, good for hot weather, so he claims, but the price is too much for a bottle of water that looks suspiciously similar to other bottled drinking water, so I politely decline.
Waiting for 15 minutes for the afternoon blaze to subside feels so pointless and at 1.30pm and I start to move again to submit to the hammering of the tropical sun. The air is still and muggy as I slog on. There are newly planted palm trees along the way with monsoon drains lining the road, filled with aquatic plants, and I can sometimes see water life in between. It is lonely and hardly there is any traffic. After 40 minutes I start feeling defeated and take a rest at a roadside stall. Again I gulped down iced drinks, this time of many varieties including one called coconut jelly. The stall is shaded by trees and I find some respite from the heat and decide to stay longer.
I don't habitually smoke, but now I make and exception and bum a clove cigarette from the son of the stall owner. May be, the combination of the exhaustion and dehydration, makes the drag a pleasure. My apologies to the those trying to stop smoking for spoiling your party. The next half an hour is spent listening to the local gossips, like the one about the shotgun wedding and I nod in faked interest. A few cars stop and everyone goes for the iced drinks. It is that hot.
There is another stop near the junction to Meru. The stall is bigger and there are more choices of drinks. I am not feeling tired but the heat is becoming unbearable and so, I linger a bit longer and have my lunch of laksa. It is now 3.00 pm. Shah Alam is merely 15 kms away and should not be any problem. But the road from here goes straight up into the air and it is a problem. Exerting on the pedal under the mid afternoon sun makes my heart beat goes extremely north. The body starts to overheat and I splash water from the bidon over my head to cool it. The climb is followed by down hill and the road keeps rising and falling for endless time, so it feels.
Before reaching the housing estate of Sunway Kayangan, the road goes through a forest . There are a lot of illegal rubbish dumps by the road side and this spoils the beautiful scenery I am cycling through. Even though there are warning signs prohibiting this practice it looks like not many are heeding. This is sad as the forest will not able to absorb the punishment without changing for the worse. I hope something is done to address the pollution before it is too late.
The long climbs begin to take its toll on me and soon I think of giving up by calling for a rescue. I stop under a shade at the roadside to rest my weary muscles and phone for transport. However the person I call cannot locate my position and after futilely giving the plan, I decide to brave it out and what luck it is as the climb ahead turns out to be the last. Soon I reach the junction of Guthrie Highway and from here it is flat rides all the way home to Kemuning Utama, although at the last stretch, for a few kilometers I am in a zombie state.
The total distance is 112 kilometers and since I am my own examiner I take the liberty by overlooking the total time taken, and give me an overall pass with distinction in tenacity and will power.
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| Starting out in the morning. I oversleep and miss the planned starting time of 7.00 am, instead it is now 9.00 am, two hours of delay, a factor contributing to the frying under the afternoon sun. |
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| Very interesting wind vanes in Kapar |
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| Past Kapar and variety of farms are seen. This is a cane plantation |
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| When I die I, bury me under this shady tree. What an afterlife it would be. Shades from the hot sun and singing birds for company. Better still, let me come back as the tree, swaying in the breeze and and worshipped by the denizens resting underneath my roots. |
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| Heading towards Ijok with the Main Range looming in the distance. |
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| After Ijok, along the Batu Arang Road, new housing estates are coming up |
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| Another cemetery, this time a Chinese one. It is the day of worship and the area is given a clean makeover. |
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| Uitm campus |
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| The road start to rise and fall after Puncak Alam |
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| Roadkill |
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| The climb in the afternoon is a killer unless you are well conditioned, and not to be attempted without prior practice. |
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| The Zombie, after being baked, roasted, grilled and fried by the sun. |
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