RIDING FOR LIFE

RFL flagged off on the 4th of June from Kota Bharu, and ends at a Welcome Rally in Singapore on the 10th of June. About 900km along the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia was covered in 7 days.

The stronger riders took part in the 'Super Challenge' which started 3 days earlier in Penang. This idea was borne out of the complaints of several riders from the '99 ride which had complained about the lack of hills and challenge.

THE SUPERCHALLENGE

3 days
Day 1 (Friday) : Penang to Gerik (or Grik)
Day 2 (Saturday) : Gerik to Tanah Merah, 179km
Day 3 (Sunday) : Tanah Merah to Kota Bahru, 60km

The challenge here lies in the fact that riders would have to cross the mountains that make up the backbone of Peninsular Malaysia, and that there is a 180km stretch in between of almost pure hills and no hotels. Mostly in the sun. Not all the riders who did RFL took part in the Super Challenge, only about 10 (out of 25-30?) mad cyclists.

The hills on the first day were quite bad but it is the hills on the second day that most remember (err..or try to forget?). Very briefly, it can be summarized into 5 hours of almost continuous up hills and an exhilarating hour down. There were two main peaks we had to cross, the second being the higher at 3000+ feet.

We started in the wee hours (7+, 8am) where the air was still cool and misty - it almost felt as if we were cycling into the cloud level. The hills were not steep, but they go on for kilometers. Before the sun rose, I felt strong and that I could go on (almost) forever. The first peak isn't too high and soon (about 9+), we started a quick descent and crossed this beautiful lake that separated the two peaks. Then, it started to get really hot as we struggled our way up the second peak. There was virtually no cloud cover (clear blue skies all the way, beautiful if I wasn't cursing) and very sparse shade from the roadside vegetation. Those on mountain bikes and recumbents were spinning away, while I was grinding torturously up at 8-10kph, on my lowest gear (39x23), at 40rpm. Never have I cycled so slowly for so long... I'm surprised I did not fall over and my pride was relieved that I did not have to push my bike...

We eventually reached the summit at around 12:30, and after drinking in the view, and of course a round of picture-taking, we got to the fun part. Descending. At speeds from 40 to 70kph. The recumbents claim to clock up to 80kph, but the maximum I achieved is only 65kph, probably because I'm the lightest rider in the group. Shucks. The turns were wide and we need not apply our brakes at all. We descended for about an hour (there were a few flat and small up hills, but it was mainly down), and this has to be the first time a group of cyclists can complain they descended downhill until they were tired of it! My arms were aching from maintaining an aerodynamic position! We covered about 50km (almost a third of that day's distance) in that hour.

The rest of the day was pretty flat after that. We were just counting down the distance to the hotel, and as expected, the mood that night was extremely jubilant and festive.

THE MAIN EVENT

Daily distances and route to be added...when I get down to it but suffice to say, every day was over 100km.

I do not know about the rest of the Super Challengers, but I started the actual charity ride aching and tired. My quads were terribly sore, my shoulders was wound up as tightly as a bow and I was plagued by minor saddle sores. All these woes resulted from the second day of the Super Challenge, but I did not regret it at all.

The first four days were thankfully quite flat. And hot. Swelteringly hot. Though it did rain heavily towards the end of the fourth day. The pace was decent and steady at about 26-30kph; many of us were recuperating.

On the fifth day, Friday, we started to cut inland, towards Johor and the terrain became more hilly. For some unknown reason, the pace also picked up to a brisk 30-35kph. At some points in the afternoon, I recalled panting along and drafting the group at 36, 37kph! While the previous days were hot and flat and windy, now it became cloudy, with rolling hills and still windy.

The route on the sixth day, Saturday, was also hilly. Contrary to the briefing we received in the morning, the hills were steeper and longer than those from the previous day. Still, most of us didn't mind - the hills were fun. The mood on Saturday, as we head from Kluang to Johor Bharu, was eager and slightly competitive as we were nearing the end of our journey. Of course, the fact that the JB Hyatt was waiting for us was also a strong motivator