Mountain Men (and Lady)

Written by Nick swallow

On the evening of Friday 30th of August, 10 brave souls set off by car and van from West Coast on a quest to climb the dizzying heights of Genting Highlands and other mountains surrounding KL. The 10 riders consisted of some national team members (Wee Liak, Pak, Samuel, Lippy, Scot) and a few other daring individuals (John Clark, Kondo, Chuan Tee, Sarah and myself).
After a long drive and an all too short night's sleep in the kind of hotel you rent by the hour we set off for our lesson in suffering!

Day One - Genting Highlands

During the short drive from the hotel to Batu Caves where we were going to ride from, the main topic of conversation was gearing - namely who's got the lowest gear. 39 x 25 seemed  to be the lowest while some had 39 x 23, but we all seemed a little unsure if this was going to be low enough. We'd heard tales of how steep the final kilometers of the climb are. Some were busy giving excuses about they were feeling sick, they hadn't been training, their bike was too heavy, they had a bad horoscope, the earth was in the wrong orbit - you get the idea!

The ride from Batu Caves to the bottom of Genting was fairly steady, except for a couple of riders, not satisfied with a 23 km long H.C. climb, deciding to attack. The wiser members of the group knew they would be paying for that later and decided to leave them to it. We all regrouped at the bottom of the climb. Up in the distance we could see the summit of the climb shrouded in clouds. The only good news was that it was cool.

For those who have never been to Genting, imagine riding from Orchard Road to Woodlands and going up and up the whole time! There are almost no flat stretches. The first 12 km is a never-ending slog up through the trees until you reach the cable car station and a short, flat part which is blessed relief. It doesn't last long though.  

After a left turn the road kicks up again. The nature of the climb changes here. It becomes a series of steep sections divided by vicious switch-backs. The gradient is very tough and it's just a matter of slogging away. The final 5 km are the hardest, the speed dropped as low as 8 kmh or 9 kmph! If you look up, you see the road zig-zagging into the distance above you, it's best to look down. The only thing that keeps you going is a stubborn pride in your head telling you to keep pushing, one pedal stroke at a time. Slowly, very slowly the meters tick by. "I love the pain! I love the pain!"

Eventually, after what seems like an eternity, you reach the final straight. "Thank you God! I can stop pedaling." About two minutes after stopping, the cold hits you. With the low cloud it was freezing up there. We got many curious looks from tourists wondering what asylum they'd let us out of. We didn't care though, we'd conquered the summit! You get a tremendous sense of achievement, like you've just done something that very few people in the world could manage. Your legs hurt but you feel great inside.

Of the 10 riders who started the climb, 8 made it to the top. Wee Liak got the polka-dot jersey, reaching the top in 1 hour 26 minutes, I came next in 1 hour 28 minutes, Lippy came in third in 1 hour 29 minutes, fourth was Pak in 1 hour 33 minutes, fifth was Samuel in 1 hour 40 minutes, sixth and seventh were Kondo and Scot finishing together in a time of 1 hour 46 minutes and the final summiteer was John in 1 hour 50 minutes. Of the other two, Sarah made it to within 7 km of the top and Chuan Tee got within 1.8 km.

After the pain comes the reward - the descent! Riding down at speeds up to 80 km in the cold temperatures is not too pleasurable though. The wise riders brought jackets, the innovative stuffed cardboard boxes up their jerseys, the tough just shivered. What took almost 2 hours to go up for some, took only 20 minutes to come down. Chuan Tee demonstrated new found descending skills, flying round corners fearlessly.

On the way down I began to feel unstoppable, I could sprint up any mountain, I could ride alongside Armstrong give him one look and then leave him for dead. My head didn't seem to realise that this invincibility was gravity induced. Reality soon came flooding back as I hit the first uphill section after the bottom, legs felt wobbly, muscles felt like jelly, bike seemed to have gained 10 kg. How pros ride up three or four of these mountains in one day, I've no idea!

Day Two - Hills around Kajang and Kawang

After dragging ourselves out of bed and having a quick breakfast, it was back into lycra and back out on the open road. It took a while for tired legs to loosen up and so we were grateful that the first few kilometers were flat. One rider started his yo-yo style attacking again, wisely ignored by the rest. We were riding on quiet roads through peaceful kampongs, the sun was out, the wind was at our backs, life was good.

Then the hills started again! No way near as hard as the day before but the first climb was a steady 10 km and followed by steep rolling hills. The scenery was spectacular. We had awe-inspiring views over valleys, ridges, waterfalls and lakes. The group soon broke up on the climbs and came back together again after the descents. Wee Liak, Lippy, Pak rode strongly and Samuel was improving steadily.

After about 100 km (including about 30 km of climbing) our legs were beginning to wave the white flag. We decided to head back to the hotel. Once on the flat though the speed began to rise and rise. Soon we were pounding along at over 40 kmh, my legs were complaining but I was enjoying it all the same. It took a stop at a coffee shop for drinks to bring a cease fire to hostilities.

Conclusion

The weekend was a great success. We achieved the aim of getting some serious climbing training done. It was great to get out onto some quiet country roads and enjoy the scenery. All the riders seemed to enjoy it and are looking forward to the next trip.

Wee Liak rode very strongly, Lippy was a real revelation, Pak did very well riding with only 39 x 23 and Samuel did well considering he has ridden little since starting his national service. It was a good performance by most of the riders, although a couple seemed to struggle with the terrain.