Left Top : Team Sixxis 2 (Ling Legstong, Giddyap and Ronnie)

Right Top : Team Sixxis 1 and 2 "Ra-Ra" pre-race ritual.

Team Sixxis 1 (Colin, Swee Haw and Beykha)

The Race

The fateful weekend came and we happily started making our way up to KL on that lovely Saturday morning. We arrived at the Summit gym and did all our checks and attended the briefing. It wasn't a good story and all of us were a little apprehensive about what to expect the next day as all we heard was CLIMBS and more CLIMBS and more CLIMBS. Gulp.......

Anyways, we had a hearty Hokkien Mee (the black black kind) dinner and proceeded to the rooms for our final preparation and race briefing. We then had a good rest before making our way to the race site on that lovely Sunday morning.

We arrived bright and early and the weather was perfect, with clouds shading the scorching sun and we prayed for the nice weather to hold. We then proceeded to set up our bikes and suddenly all of us found so much problems with our bikes. I guess we made the mistake of not doing a proper check on our bikes prior to race day and thus the mad rush at the end to try to fix everything. And poor Swee Haw, being the bike expert there, had to keep answering our calls for help and helped us to fix up our bike problems. Think the poor guy was totally knackered by the time he's done with us and the race hasn't even started yet. Our apologies on that! On behalf of our team, thanks for all your help! We really appreciate that.  

We then tried to gulp down the  
miserable chicken rice lunch  
served before us and thereafter,  
tried to listen to the never-ending  
speech by the Guest of Honour  
and suddenly, we're told to line  
up a the Start Line.

It was quite an exciting moment  
as we all have been waiting for  
a long time for this. The  
vrrrrooooming of the trail motorbikes added to the excitement of it all. And before we know it, the horn sounded, the Guest of Honour flagged us and off we go charging on our bikes!!!

Point - CP1

Bike from Basecamp

1.00 - 2:11 pm

(1 hr 11 min)

Ronnie’s Account  

Right : Map of CP1 to CP3 

A Virgin Mountainbiker’s Nightmare …

At the race briefing when we saw the amount of Mtn biking involved, members of team Sixxis were smiling like Cheshire cats especially the Penang Mtn Bike Jamboree veterans. I remembered one of them describing about their epic ride up The Penang Hill, well this is one epic ride none of us will ever forget … Hee ! Hee! Hee!.

The start was like any Mtn Bike race start with the riders lining the start line waiting for the VIP to flag us off….wait a minute everyone sure wasn’t dressed like one, they wore climbing harness with masses of Carabiniers hanging all over them, most had backpacks on and some even with climbing poles and we know of one “ladies” team who had 2 camelbaks filled with I am sure, foul tasting concoction of Power stuff. (turned out to be pretty nice girls after all, well at least 2 of them!!!)

Bang off we went !!!!

Oh! Oh!,  something is wrong, there are 6 riders without any of the gear !!!!! Team Sixxis I and II.. all the way !!!! (I will leave that to Reb)  

Shit !!!! just as we turned the corner, and when I was entertaining thoughts of a nice easy ride around rubber plantation, the first of my many nightmares faced me. Low and behold we have to cross a stream and this sure is a hell lot wider and flowing a lot faster than the Ghim Moh longkang. I positively detest riding and running in wet shoes !!!!. 

After that it was pretty uneventful and we were making pretty good time, besides the Mat Commandos and the Semi Pro Team (those are the ones which everyone points to and they have done about every adventure race in town ) we were next. Pretty good for a bunch of rookies and me who can count with one hand the number of times I mountain biked this year. Thanks to  Giddyap for his concern who kept asking “Ronnie are you OK ???”  “Yap, I am fine”

Then we met the “Oh No!” hills. These are logging trails that are meant for elephants not mountain bikes. The downhill was so steep that we had to brake or walk in my case all the way down, but I am sure most of the teams ahead of us were flying down (including Swee Haw if we were not blocking his way !!).

That was also when we met the first of the race casualty (one of the Mat Commandos) and he was at the bottom of the hill groaning in pain and the impact of his crash was so great that his bike broke into two !!!!.  (But the “witch” reported that no permanent injuries were suffered by the participants but failed to report about the permanent psychological scars caused by her evil laughter!)

When there are downhills there are “Oh No!“ not another hill.  And that was when Colin the navigator went into delirium again telling us that we are near the CP and was sure that there are no more hills and then “Oh No” and “Oh No” and “Oh No not another”   you get the picture….. Finally Check Point 1…What only 1…. 

P1 – CP2

Bike to Obstacle Course and back to Basecamp

2.11 - 3:35:02 pm

(1 hr 24 mins)

Ronnie’s Account  

And the Triathlete concludes …

Base camp ! Obstacle course !!!! Army training finally put to good use. No Sweat! 

Time to find a Phone Booth and change into “Super____” Where is our gear ??? Wait Ling needs to go to the toilet, behind the car, “NO….!”…. ……

Never again!!!IronnieNg

P2 – CP3

Bike from Basecamp to Trekking CP

4:48:24 pm

(1 hr 13 mins)

Colin’s Account  

Right : Swee Haw smiles at us through his disposable camera lens and we flex much of our muscles to smile back!!

Right : Ronnie grabbing at Beykha's behind... but watch out.. for she's not call "Horse Leg" (Beykha) for nuthin'

Near Right : Beykha and (who's that?) follow behind after the exhausting road up the friggin' hill

Far Right : Giddyap arrives to the cheering masses

Mont Ventoux….NOT!  But close…….

And we’re off on the biking leg to checkpoint 3.  It’s about a third of the way up to the gap at Fraser’s.  Rebecca, Ling, Swee Hau and Ronnie make a “bolt” out the gate of the camp, with Yap and myself following…..

Wait, water stand…isotonic drink …..

Couple of swigs of Excel, last remaining bites of that oh-so-delicious Born energy bar, and Yap and I are not far behind the others!

Not exactly very thrilled about the bike segments, especially this evil looking one up the road to Fraser’s.  It’s been half a year since I have subjected my bum and thighs to such torture.  And having just pushed, pedaled and willed by bike for the last two hours, I fear the retribution “they” might inflict upon me.

Turning on to the main road my worst fears come true.  Starting to feel the lactic acid build up in the thighs. 

Ah….what the heck….will try to power myself through and hope for the better. 

Ronnie and Yap gallantly take up the front to provide some drafting benefit for the rest of us.  Though, I have doubts if it truly is beneficial considering the “moderate” speeds we are cruising at.  Anyhow, I’m tucked in second from the back, with Rebecca in front of me and Swee Hau bringing up the rear.

Thighs are burning, power on.

Swig some isotonic from Camelbak….very nice….

And Murphy strikes.  Well, actually, was my fault for taking my eyes off the front bike for a second.  My front wheel overextends by a good 10cm past Rebecca’s rear, we make contact for like 3 seconds and I hit the tarmac. 

Check for cars dumbass…..

Instinctively I turn around to look out for traffic.  God was smiling on me today.  Not my day to be roadkill.

I’m none the worse from the fall, just couple of scratches and yeah ….cramps in thighs.  But we take the moment to load up on salts, slap on some muscle rub and we’re on the road again.  

At this point, we have lost contact with other teams.  Too slow for the fast ones, and well just staying clear of the back-enders.

Soon, we take a turn and are heading out of town and up the long, lonely road to Fraser’s. 

Thighs burning, power on.

Fortunately, the roads are nicely paved.  Cars whiz by.  Some sound their horns in support, or irritation, I don’t know; not that I care either.  Wonder when those salt pills will start taking effect again coz not sure I have that many muscles to toggle back and forth on before all of them give up on me.  6 months of non-use and my biking muscles are screaming in defiance.  A camera crew drives up and does their thing. 

Damn…smiling can be pretty tiring as well ya know. 

The crew takes off down the road.

We start making wise-cracks, chatting.  It helps take my mind off the tightness in my legs.  Having six in the group instead of three certainly makes for good conversation.  However, soon I’m having some trouble powering past the cramps and good ole Swee Hau gives me a timely boost.  Not a time to have too much pride…haha….   Anyhow, superman…err…. I mean….Swee Hau then takes off down the road, way ahead of everyone….to take a photo. 

God ain’t fair.  

Soon we see the camera crew again. They want to take a shot of our bike wheels zooming past the camera.  Yeah, I’m going so slow the camera can probably count the spokes on my wheels.  What the heck.  They get their shot, we carry on.  Must say that the weather is pretty kind on us.  The heat is there but not totally unbearable.

The road doesn’t end, it just winds and curves; mocking us as we round each bend.  My thighs are tight, my butt hurts like hell and my shoulders are burning.  This is my personal Mont Ventoux. 

A car drives up to give some encouragement.  Nice people.  Too bad, I barely have energy for a smile.  

Talk to you guys another day perhaps.  Now leave me alone.  

The girls, however, obviously had some fun tips to share with the lady in the car.  It drives alongside them for a while.

We aren’t even halfway through the race and I’m already regretting it.  Should be a record quick time to feel this way.  Maybe this time I’ll try to remember the pain and agony before I nod in silly agreement when they ask me to join another adventure race again.  But then again, we never learn do we?

Legstrong Ling starts to feel the weight of her very heavy-looking pack; it’s weighing down on her back and hindering her breathing. 

Wonder what she puts in there…two of everything? 

My mind is willing but my flesh is weak, can’t possibly help much but have a possible solution in mind (grin).

“Swee Hau”

And superman comes over to give Ling a helping hand with the pack.  She starts to breathe much easier.

A race official’s car drives towards us in the opposite direction.  More cheers and claps of encouragement.  They shout that checkpoint 3 is only 2km down the road.  That will be the last time I’ll listen to the liars around me.  (But I really did think we were reaching the downhills the last time!  Really!!)

It clearly isn’t just 2km.  As the crow flies perhaps….but definitely not by road.  Still it creeps up on us.  As we round that last corner, we see the cheering masses (ok, it was like maybe 15 people) but heck, was sure happy to see them.   

We do a quick check in at checkpoint 4 and help ourselves to some drinks. Time to drop our bikes, slip into those climbing harnesses and head into the jungles. If they had necks, my thighs would have nodded in agreement. 

 – CP4

Bike Drop, Trekking to Waterfall and MYSTERY TEST 1

5:36:01 pm

(48 mins)

Ling’s Account  

Right : Overhead "after that uphill climb, wonder what Legstrong has to smile about?"

Cramping Tigers, Wheezing Dragons

If we hadn’t acquired our mundane team names, Sixxis 1and 2 (coined by yours truly… yawn), it would have been
an upbeat “Cramping Tigers, Wheezing Dragons”, the brainchild of Colin, our
“Cramping King”! And I would have been crowned “Wheezing Queen” if Swee Haw hadn’t spoilt my chances with offers of
first class concierge services along the way. It was too good to refuse, at the expense of my clinching that pageant title!

And so, 6 pairs of tired legs eventually touched solid ground, giving the 6 pairs of used and abused pedals beneath a short breather. Everyone was disposing of annoying particles from their soiled shoes, while Giddiyap and I un-cleated and slipped into our respective squiggly clean Salomons and Nike Airs!!! Heh heh heh!!! Looking back, lugging 2 pairs of shoes was really worth all that excess weight…although I had Swee Haw, the Gurkha-trained Camel, much to thank for this.

We entered the dense forest amidst the cheers of the “masses”. 2 familiar faces shouted words of encouragement. Alex and Joyce, fellow-adventure mates, had wheeled alongside us in their vehicles during the earlier biking leg for a driver to biker chat! They were on their way to Fraser’s for a weekend stay – for them, no torture, pure leisure. We were to be greeted by them again at the Gap, where they rendered much assistance in replenishing some of our camelpaks with isotonic cocktails!!! Thanks you guys!!!

Like bunny rabbits in oversized orange life-jackets (and not the leaping, roaring tigers we envisioned ourselves to be), we hopped over branching roots in a relatively flat single-trail, occasionally traversing segments of a long crystal clear running river.

Several teams in the lead flashed past us on their return route, STILL running fiercely as if the start gun had just been fired. In comparison, we were on Auto-stroll, taking micro-rests where we could! Is this really a race?!?!?

Too soon had Ronnie remarked “now, Colin seems to be moving along pretty fast” - Colin suddenly suffered another onset of “Attack of the Cramps, Part II”! Sixxis 2 moved on ahead to avoid any potential bottleneck at the next checkpoint, while Sixxis 1 rubbed more miniature packets of BORN muscle-up into those traumatized muscles!

Hopping along, we finally came upon….(drumroll)….our very own “Stairway to Heaven”…or Hell! (ka-chang)!!! Just what we needed! Thank goodness we had only ourselves, our backpacks, three lungs and four hearts to haul up the incline. If the organizers had been any more the Dr Evils they already were, they would have insisted we drag our bikes up as well….which reminds me, the torture chambers of our first Gombak Eco-X-Capade and the Penang Jambouree’s were far more cruel in comparison!

Undeterred, I took micro-steps…whilst Ronnie and Giddiyap took macro ones! I knew the HDB climbing practices which I missed would come to some good use!

After reaching the peak, we negotiated more steep downhill steps, then trudged across a gushing stream to CP4….and MYSTERY TEST 1.

A volunteer from each team had to swim across the deeper waters to the bottom of the mini-waterfall, climb up a wobbly ladder rung by rung, touch the bottle which hung from or above the topmost rung, plunge into the waters from that height, and swim back.

Ronnie bravely took the bold step! Seconds later, Sixxis 1 arrived and Swee Haw followed suit!!! After frolicking in the waters, the heros joined us in a short trek to my favourite station – the Tyrolean Traverse!!!

5 4 – CP5

MYSTERY TEST 1, Tyrolean Traverse, Fixed Ropes and Trekking, Rope Climb

5.36.01 - 7.03.36 pm

(1 hr 27 mins)

Ling’s Account

Dodge, Dodge, Dodge in the Jungle!!! Watch out for that tr@#&^(!^!!!!

For the benefit of those of us who still don’t understand what a Tyrolena Traverse means, look at the picture on the bottom left for simple illustration purposes only!!! Each of us (i.e. Climber A) had to secure ourselves to the rope and traverse from the West Side to the East Side,  over running waters metres below, to get to where Climber B is! Of course West and East by no means represents the direction which we had swung…no navigation was required, so who the hell cares in which direction we did a tarzan!!!

Anyway, I will spare you the details of the equipment which carried us across – if we could even see them! My carabiniers hooked to my harness at my waist were not within sight nor reach as my giant lifejacket packed me up good like a Michelin Wo-Man! Suffice to know the organizers did a great job assisting us in clipping in our belays and bidding us safe journey to the dark side!

Wheeeeeeeee! Zipping across was exhilarating! I managed to scrape past a protruding tree trunk in the nik of time before securing myself on the East Side.

Colin also whizzed by effortlessly, like the “Whizzing Dragon” that he might have been called!!!

Becks glided smoothly past midway but lost momentum at rope’s
slack, stopping short only a few metres away from the anchorman
on the East Side. She attempted several times to pull herself backwards from her sagging position, but to no avail. Her arms were tired. The sling around her waist was too long – it was not taut enough to support her upright! She hung onto a tree trunk for dear life, looking desperate! Colin, I and another marshall offered the tree hugger a branch to guide her in! But the situation still looked bleak!

Meanwhile, the eyes on Ronnie’s back were on strike! After getting much reassurance from the West Side anchormen to gloss over that tree trunk standing suspiciously still on the East Side, Ronnie confidently took the plunge backwards, swinging …..swinging…swinging….”Ron Ron, Ron of the Jungle, watch out for that………. …treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Alamak! The tree came alive and grabbed Ronnie! The impact of this tree banger against the obstacle gave out a loud “thug” sound, but being made out of harder mettle, Ronnie survived to tell the tale!!! Quote Ronnie after the race “I still have nightmares of that "woman" Yuen Lee and her evil laugh. I swore I heard her going Hee! Hee!

Hee! when I smashed into the tree during the Tyrollian traverse..... she also probably hates "triathletes!!!"

And speak of the devil herself, Yuen Li arrives on the scene and takes full control of the situation! Calmly but firmly instructing Becks to hang onto the branch, Sooper Heroine, Yuen Li, pulled Becks in slowly and passed the baton to the anchorman on an upper tier, who then tarik-ed Becks to safety!!! A de ja vu-ing experience, Becks? Hmmm……

Giddiyap also experienced a sagging twin line entanglement but his suspension in midair was short and sweet in comparison. 

Somehow, I missed Swee Haw’s death-defying stunts – maybe he just leaped across the giant trench?!?!?

Anyways, I suspect the whole ordeal was captured by AXN so…tune in to the real life episode, coming to a cable TV near you!

The next station was just as exciting –Fixed Ropes, followed by an abseil down a waterfall! Flashbacks…. our Holland Grove longkang training…eh? But no newater source below…and…definitely not something you should attempt with flowery pink slippers!!!

Ronnie cautiously approached the abseiling start point. To get there, you had to place 100% trust in your carabiniers and the ropes that held it. The anchorman helped secure his equipment, and off he went. I ended up arguing in the air when the anchorman insisted my prussic cord be tied above my figure of 8. This is no joking matter, and I also insisted I do it the way I had practiced! With much fumbling, I managed to reposition the prussic, and wheeeeeeeeeeeee…there I go again, careening down into the bubbling waters below!

And so one by one, the Sixxis pseudo- commandos slid into the gravity pull, using our feet to push off against the slippery rocks.

Poor Becks endured another embarrassing moment when her prussick went AWOL on her - not being used to handling it with her left hand above her 8-figure (and I dun mean her body shape). She was eventually unleashed by her second rescuer!!!

Sotong me missed the kit kat moment as we were busy wolfing down our BORN muesli and other energy bars and gel….and posing for the cameraman, Swee Haw. The disposable camera was kindly donated by Yu Seung aka Pain, but the photos may never be processed as we later learnt the camera was not H2O-proof!!! Duh!!!

It was also at this moment that we knew we were technically ranked 3^rd and 4^th for the Mixed Teams Category, as they closed these CPs after us! We were all grins, and started to relax a little.

With a new leash of power, 6 energizer rabbits were guided by Colin, our chief navigator, back to CP5 as the daylight faded.

We discussed strategies of forfeiting the upcoming ropes section – visions of us ascending up a two storey high bridge using a knotted rope (even though belayed) was daunting!!! Upon arrival of CP5, we were told…10 minutes per person who walks? Not so bad. Nodding in agreement, we relented….even Swee Haw, who could have done it 5 times over for each of us if he wanted to!

After a unanimous decision, we turned and headed towards CP5. Apparently, last minute rule changes added more than 30 minutes in our report cards…the 2^nd person who walks the bridge had 15 minutes deducted, and the 3^rd, 20…or something to that effect – the numbers added were  progressively more!!!!

Becks was truly vexed and demanded a refund of points! After much discussion, we eventually succumbed to the new laws. We could not afford to waste any more time flexing our vocal chords! So, chop chop it was. Mother Hen hurried her little chicks along and off we go again on the saddle for the long and winding road!

 – CP6

Bike up Fraser’s Hill

7.03.36 - 9.06 pm

(2 hr 3 mins)

Colin’s Account  

Are those real or imaginary stars I see?

Darkness is fast approaching as we emerge onto the road again.  Shed the harnesses, shed the life jackets, and back on the bike again.  Damn.

Rebecca, Ling and Ronnie make a move up the road first.  Swee Hau and Yap are getting their lights figured out so I hop on my bike and take off after the girls and Ronnie first.  The cool night air is a much welcome respite from the earlier heat.  Definitely feel much better on the bike as I finally catch up with the front “pack”.  We are soon joined by Swee Hau and Yap.

Soon its dark, save for our headlights and flashing rear lights.  We move silently along the road.  My butt now joins the voices of displeasure. 

We pass curve after bend, bend after curve.  A mini-debate starts on how much distance we have covered and how long we should take to reach up the gap.  Yap says two hours.  I say not soon enough.  The gradient now decides to join in the torture. 

Wonder what happens when I reach the lowest gear….

The road marker reads 110.

A couple of us are starting to feel the strain of the day’s work.  We take a couple of short breaks along the way.  Drink breaks, pee breaks, whatever, much needed rest in my book.  Ronnie draws our attention to the beautiful stars in the sky above us.  I try to catch up on some micro-sleep.  Probably good that the darkness is hiding the pain etched in our faces!

There really are countless numbers of stars in the sky; wonder if most of them are just the imaginary ones circling around my head.

We carry on.  The road marker reads 101km.

Ling assumes her mantle of ‘Legstrong”; leading the charge up Frasers.  I just try to keep pace with them.  At this point, you pretty much turn the brain off and numb yourself to the effort.  This ride is turning out longer than the previous.  We are already behind our planned pace and we estimate that we should be able to reach up the gap in two hours.  I try to convince myself that this would be the toughest biking portion for the race.  I could do with the non-biking segments thereafter.  I rise out of my seat to ease those butt pains.  Sigh….

I notice that we are cheating on the curves more.  With every bend, we swing closer to the median.

The road marker reads 97.

Every curve, every bend starts to look exactly the same. 

Is this our two hundred and thirty fourth bend? 

Cars now go by on their way down the hill.  Wonder what goes through their mind when they see six bikers cranking their way up the hill.

The road marker reads 96. 

We see lights above and ahead.  Not just any car light.  It is stationary and is definitely brighter.  Could this be our “food oasis”?  The organizers did promise hot food and drinks for those who reached up to the gap before 11pm and it was barely 9pm.

Giddiyap starts his breakaway.  Wonder if it’s the food calling him.  We all get the hint and speed up after him.  The road sign says 1000m to the gap (or something to that effect).  We crank faster. 

Cheers.  Claps.  Lights, camera……action.  They have been waiting for us.  The lights of the coffeeshop beckon, like an oasis appearing out between those swaying coconut trees (try to imagine).  I can almost smell the fried noodles and kway teow.  Gratefully, we make our way to the bike drop-off point.  I’ve got a wide smile on my face…heck..everyone’s grinning away.  Maybe it’s the cameras, maybe it’s the people, maybe it’s having finished with that climb.  It has to be the FOOD.  

6 - CP7

Trekking to 1^st Hulu CP

9.06 - 10:26 pm

(1 hr 20 mins)  

Mud Bath on Twin Peaks

Char kway teow…….curry vegetables…….hot tea and coffee……..we were in heaven.  But all good things had to come to an end, and none so more abruptly then our brief hiatus at the “oasis” coffeeshop on Fraser’s.  As always, good ole mother hen “Rebecca” sought to herd us out of the warm confines of the shop towards the cold dark, rainy night and the hike awaiting us. 

After what seemed like ages topping up water, making final visits to the loo and putting our gear back on, the “magnificent six” waved goodbye to civilization (at least temporarily) and rushed headlong into the jungles (actually it was more like dragging ass up the slopes…but…it’s our story after all ain’t it).

Time check then was close to 9.30pm.  The cut-off timing down the hill was 1.am.  So we figured based on the organizer’s estimate of 2 hours for this trek; we could emerge from this trek with half an hour to zoom down the “road of a million switchbacks” in half an hour.  (We have since learnt that the organizers are closet masochists and do not subscribe to similar measures of time as us earthlings.) 

We should have heeded the early warning signs; 50 metres into the trek and we “smartly” squeezed ourselves past this barrier along the trail only to be greeted by flashlights and shouting behind us from where we left.  It seems that we were headed the wrong way.  Geez…is that what the barrier was supposed to indicate?! 

The objective of the trek was to head for2 checkpoints on two different peaks and then head back out along the same path.  The trail was mostly (99.99%) single trek, through tropical rainforest, up several steep, very steep climbs and what was supposed to be a 2-hour trek transpired into a 4-hour ordeal.  As if the trail wasn’t tough enough in the dark (we all had headlamps on) with low-hanging branches, slippery roots and thorn vines lurking in the dark, the heavens opened about half an hour into the trek, and we found ourselves struggling to get proper footholds.  Did I also mention that it was COLD!  But it is also times like these that you are ever thankful for the team mates around who keep up the banter and at least help prevent you from slipping into the “zombified” zone. 

We pass several more mens teams on their way back out and they gave us indications of how “near” we were to the next checkpoint.  (Again I say this race probably had the largest percentage of people with a warped sense of time!) 

After what seemed like ages, we made it to the second peak.  At that time we had already missed the cut-off, but then again, we still had to get out of this God-forsaken jungle!  So we hauled ass back out…..

As luck would have it, the heaven’s truly opened and we treated ourselves to a rollercoaster mud slide.  We crashed into trees, bumped over roots, held on to whatever tree-parts we could find and slid down the slopes.  And I thought climbing up was tiring.  I could have sworn though, that on many occasions, Swee Hau seemed to be wearing this broad grin as he slid down the slopes with reckless abandon. 

Maybe it was a blessing that we couldn’t see ourselves as we emerged coz I am really sure we would have scared away even the dogs.  People say that mud baths are good for the complexion, unfortunately, ours were on the wrong “cheeks”! J

It was 2.30am.  We had missed the cut-off. 

We were tired. 

We were muddy. 

We were cold. 

Such fun…….

10 – CP 11

Bike Down

Frasier’s Hill

2.26 – 3:54 am

(1 hr 28 mins)

CP11 – Finish Line

Bike to Basecamp

Approx 5am

Ling’s Account  

What goes up must come down!!!

“Cold” can’t even begin to describe the winter we were experiencing at 2 am in the morning at the top of the famous Fraser’s Hill!!! The Ironman (who was in the same sleeveless shirt since 12 hours before) generously volunteered his jacket to frozen goods Becks, who rushed off almost immediately as if to catch the early morning train. Little did she know that 10 minutes or so into the downhill, she would turn around to complete darkness, save for the strange shadows of the night!!!

Meanwhile, Giddiyap accompanied me back to CP 10 in search of my Fox gloves which disappeared almost suddenly…I soon realized they became a chameleon against the muddy floor!  A kind marshall donated to me a pair of nice, white and clean, and very dry gloves (the sort construction workers use)….and stuffed tissue paper into the holes in my helmet to restrict heat loss emanating from my steaming head. “da da da da dank yr.yr.yr..you” I said.

We soon joined the others on the longest downhill trip of our lives! Colin remarked “Popsicles, anyone?” referring to us 6, of course. Occasionally, we would hear Swee Haw shout “k…k….cooooooooooollllld”…at 10-minute intervals, and the supportive back-up chorus would join in with all sorts of teeth chattering noises! Back-pedalling gave no warm comfort, and we wanted to give up along the way…..but hang on, how can you surrender on a downhill?

As my eye lids started to droop, I tried my best to keep from falling into an irreversible state of reverie……..when Becks shouted for Ronnie to “watch out!!!”. Ronnie missed the obstacle by the skin of his teeth, which continued to chatter uncontrollably.

Eventually, we arrived at CP11, only to be greeted by marshalls operating under candlelight, urging us to press on to the next CP for more climbing and THE BIG ASS HILL. Almost unanimously, we said “NO FRIGGIN WAY”, even though upon hindsight, some of us masochistic ones may have considered taking the suicidal path to doom!

While Becks and I signed in at our last CP, Swee Haw was scratching his head, wondering why we even bothered! The men in the team then placed their hands over the engine of a nearby stationary car – they looked very much like hobos in a backstreet alley warming their hands over a burning fire.

Then….we bumped again into the Bond sisters and their Amazonian fellow mate. They did not meet the cut-off time and was waiting to be ferried back to basecamp. They had no use for the windbreakers they had so laboriously carried with them throughout the race, and offered them to us. I think anyone looking at us in that state would take pity on us. With garbage bags, courtesy again of this all-lady team, Ronnie was able to tailor a scare-crow outfit which shielded him the rest of the way! Hey, Halloween party’s over!!!

But thanks a gazillion times to you ladies!!! You were our only hope!!!

The 6 zombinoids rolled on auto-run all the way back to basecamp! We felt the temperature rising slightly and were able to thaw a little. Upon arrival through the pearly gates of Heaven, we looked in disbelief as some of the “chiong” teams took the final obstacle course to completion!!!

The guys, accustomed to army treatment, hit the “cold” showers immediately while we ladies waited for the comfort or a real bathroom!

I took a short snooze on the dining room bench before my legs were sufficiently awake to search for the rest!

After locating Becks and tramp-ing around together with abrasions between our legs, we failed to find our teammates and Giddiyap, who was to be our chauffeur back to civilization – aka Marriot Hotel! The 2 grubby girls then succumbed to the little bed space on the floor of the main hall and knocked out instantaneously!!!

Sunrise 1 hour later, we found out Ronnie and Giddiyap were camouflaged snoozin’ in their vehicles! We bade everyone farewell and hitched a ride from Giddiyap back to the hotel. Some people threw a couple of disapproving stares at us when we tried to slip in unnoticed through the side door. But we eventually managed to crawl into our rooms without creating much of a scene!

Thereafter, we attacked the showers and probably choked up the hotel’s drainage system after peeling off the mud-layered Kueh Lapis stuck to our skin!!!

It was Beck’s birthday that morning and she wanted to look fresh when she meets with her guy friends after the ordeal – funny how we ladies were out there in the thick of action and the men were busy shopping?!?!?!? Hmmmm…..another ordinary day in our lives, I guess!

Anyway, seconds after hitting the comfy beds, we started making zzzzs like there’s no tomorrow. Can’t remember what we dreamt about…probably of more torturous races to come!

Or maybe just Yuen Li’s evil laughter!!!

Muah ha ha ha ha…..muah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…..

TOTAL TIME TAKEN

= Approx 16 hrs

(Woo hoo!)