Thailand Cross Border Road Trip - 6 Nov 2018

Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredge Guided Tour

Entrance fee for adult is RM10/adult. 

Kellie’s Castle

Songkhla Old Town Gate

How has cycling changed my life

I bought my bike on 23 June 2018. 

The next day, I joined my first group ride for 50km. I had pain in my elbow and butt for I did not have padded pants. The elbow pain was considered normal for newbies as our bodies adjust to prolonged cycling. 

4 months after, I got addicted and my brain cells were polluted with bicycles, knowledge and events about it. It is just the beginning and it could last a lifetime. Friendships and comrades built, new experiences that gave me thrills. The feeling of wind blowing past my face while rolling is exhilarating. The risks adds on to it. Multiple grandfather stories told and shared during each ride sessions will just fill ones heart content. The worst nightmare would be to suffer a fall and break something. It will be torturous to wait for recovery . Oh, didn't i mention that we work harder to feed our upgrades. It is never enough.

my usual commute to work and to the stadium which we work out every Wednesday

Possibilities are endless. With the growing crowd of biking enthusiasts in Malaysia, it opens up new market segment of combining biking and tourism products. Being a travel agent myself, my mind spins with ideas of running specialized biking tours local and overseas. To jump start, Malaysia, Taiwan or Switzerland will be my target destination. 

a photo showing the touring bag installed for long distance touring over multiple days

Fitness wise, combining biking, swimming and running into my fitness routine, I was able to further reduce my body weight by 2kg. Using the clipless shoe has enabled me to further use my core muscles . The motion of lifting up the paddle during a spin , I could feel my core muscles working. The position of the body hunching forward to achieve better power transfer has also worked up the tummy muscles. As a result, my tummy has shrunk considerably in two months and I found myself satisfied with smaller portion of meals. 

GPS Watch Review: Xiaomi Amazfit

30 September 2018:
I am currently using Xiaomi Amazfit GPS tracking watch. I bought it in Feb 2018 as my first GPS watch because it was affordable, priced at RM619.
I used it for about 3 weeks and it stared giving me problem. The batteries was working fine until out of no where, it started draining 10% per hour. I went to the service centre is Lowyat Plaza and returned it for a week so they could check.
They later replaced a new watch for me. It worked fine but the same problem started coming back 3 weeks after I activated the watch. Somehow, on certain days, it would drain, at 10% per hour. The batteries performance was not reliable. I decided to just let it be.
Now it is functioning well. The batteries would last for about 2 days at full charge. Until recently, I had a vertical line across the screen.

Ahh... 一分钱， 一分货。
This watch is good enough for newbie like me. I would not recommend getting it to save yourself the trouble of repeat visits to the service centre. Go for reliable brands like Garmin or Suunto.
Apparently the watch has one year warranty and I will be sending it back to the service centre in Amcorp Mall Petaling Jaya. The service centre is located at 10th floor, accessible from the mall via a lift behind Watson's.


The entire process lasted for about 30 minutes. They looked at my watch and agreed to replace with a new one. No further questions asked.
So now I am testing again on the new watch to see if the same problem arise again. Will update more.

with my new watch

First Tri Training

27 September 2018: All staff not around, partner taking care of office, bike in the office so decided to try my first Tri training. Swim 700m, bike 20km, run 5km. Did the first two but did not manage to run due to time constraints. 

Swam at Pusat Akuatik Shah Alam because they are open all day (unlike Matsushita pool, only open from 5pm). 

indoor pool

outdoor pool

The transition was slow, as I needed to unload my bike from the car, put on its front wheel, putting on a t shirt, short pants, socks and clipless shoe. I made a stop at the toilet before that. 

I took off towards the bicycle lanes which I have been wanting to try out for a while. The lanes only covered a small part of the city. It was bumpy and I could not ride fast. Though it provided safety as it is separated from the main traffic. Beware of poth holes too as some drain covers were stolen by irresponsible thieves. 

bicycle lane separated from the road

blue coloured lanes together with the road

I tried cycling up the hill in front of UITM, though not very long but provided good training. I didn't plan any routes so I just roll wherever the road takes me, and ended up at Federal Highway. I took the motorcycle lane but was blocked off by the LRT3 constructions..I turn back into Shah Alam via Sirim and continued with the bicycle lanes towards section 2, 9, and back to the pool. A call came in and I had to head back to the office and could not complete my run training. 

Shimano Lekas Highway Ride, 18 August 2018

It was my first cycling event. While my husband was down with a fractured arm and chicken pox, I took his bib and went in his place. I had never cycled 78km before, the furthest I went was 50km at Kesas Highway. 

The ride was scheduled to start at 8.30pm after flagging off the 120km category. We gathered at Econsave Bukit Rimau at around 5pm and took off using SKVE towards Kajang. 

I bought my packed dinner. The drive was long with heavy traffic. When we reached there and found a spot to park by the factory area, it was a thrilling feeling. The lack of sleep did not help. My heart was racing as I barely find enough time to eat my dinner and assemble my bike, put on the bib and stickers and roll out to the starting point. 

Many riders had already gathered here, the beautiful sun was setting and spirits were high. I lost touch with my friends who were on the 120km category, and was alone throughout the ride. 

Not having a go pro and a newbie, it didn't cross my mind to take any photos along the ride. I remembered going up the toughest slope (King of Mountain), a girl who fell because another rider decided to stop cycling in the middle of the road (hope she is ok), and the fast riders buzzing passed while I rode slowly. My front derailleur would shift the chains up at times, which I later learn that I could have done it manually by hand (and time to visit the bike doctor). 

I took me 4 hours to complete the ride. I made it home after mid night. It was a great experience. I observed and learnt from other bikers on many aspects of cycling especially on safety and security while cycling. I.e. the head lights and tail lights are a must during night rides. 

The down hill ride was fast and thrilling, hitting about 40km per hour, you gotta hold on tight to the bar are fast bikes are sensitive to any minor movements or navigation. 

Third Ride to Tadom Hill Resort

23 September 2018:
Roll off at 7.15am. Today was a special day where we will meet cyclist from NST C Cycle Challenge as some of our usual routes are the race routes.
We took a different route to the ending of Jalan Kampung Seri Cheeding, which is home to the aboriginals (orang asli or orang asal). We wanted to try Jalan Kemat but most of it is still off road and not suitable for road bikes. Along this stretch of road, there are several hills good for hill training, like a dragon back.

We headed back to the BOH plantation and took a stop for breakfast at one of the small eateries along the road. We saw a batch of fun ride cyclist passing through. It was interesting looking at them, dressed in different gears and fittings.


As it was our first time looking for routes to Tadom Hill Resort, we took a few stops to check on the map. For the ease of other cyclist, feel free to use this route that we went today.
From the main road, we took a turn onto an off road, missed the junction and ended up at the back of the hill. But that was good because the view was better from the back.

Tadom Hill Resort is a resort with the hill at the background and it's signature lake. Initial impression lead me thinking that this resort is situated on a hill. But there was no uphill riding when we got there. It is a resort ideal for team building with facilities such as ATV rides, sand volleyball ball court, kayaks, a tree house (for kids below 6 years old), bamboo kayaks etc.

The other facilities include toilets, discussion hall (open air), tree house by the lake (for tarzan wannabes to hang on the ropes and jump into the water), a deck for docking and swimming, life jackets.

The accommodation provided are built with inspirations from the architecture of the Orang Asli. I never realized that in the district of Banting is home to so many tribes of Orang Asli. A little study online revealed that Suku Temuan are the tribes that lives around Kampung Bukit Cheeding and Tadom Hill.

To read more about Suku Temuan, here you go https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temuan_people







The feeling of group riding is great, discovering new places and riding along new routes, getting to know the tiny details of the routes (like where got poth holes, dogs and even cows). It creates great memories, pump up fitness and best of all, it's free.
#greentrekkers #cycling #groupriding #euphoric

Clipless Shoe Hunt

23 September 2018, Saturday: 

First stop: Bicycle Block, Bandar Saujana Putra. Small shop with lots to see. Checked Shimano RP5 but no size, tried the mountain bike shoe but too big. 

Second stop: Swee Long bicycle shop, Dengkil. 

Size 38, too small >.< But at RM210/pair, a fair price. 

Fair price but no size at Swee Long, Dengkil

combo price at Bicycle Block

Ming Thai bicycle shop, Kota Kemuning: Going to try these ones at Ming Thai this Thursday. Their stock is in HQ at Kota Damansara. Ain't they pretty? 

GS Bikers: went there on Tuesday evening and met with Gary, tried on Lake and Shimano SH-XC51R. Love the colour of Shimano, comfortable fitting and felt like it could last me 15 years. Gary was helpful in giving advise. He changed the pedals for me and put my bike on the trainer so I could take my time to practice and catch the feel of clipping in and out. He also advised on servicing the bike and adjusted and tighten a few screws. I decided to settle down with this pair (sorry Ming Thai, but thank you for responding to my enquiries on Facebook). 

I was thrilled to have my first pair. I went home and couldn't sleep much that night. As soon as I woke up, I pushed my bike out and gave it a ride. I was afraid of falling, wondered if I will have a same fate as my husband. But it wasn't bad at all as long as we remember to unclip before stopping. 

Here is a summary of points to remember when having your first pair of clipless shoe:-

1. Get a new pair. It gives you a chance to learn from the shop owner or shop keeper who will be more than willing to teach you on how to use them properly. Buying second hand ain't wrong, but do have an experienced biking friend to guide you through the learning process

2. Try it on to ensure a perfect fit

3. Prices are generally higher for lighter models. For me, I don't mind the weight and would prefer to pay less since I am a newbie. Besides, the weight will train my leg muscles harder. 

4. If a trainer is made available, get on it and practice cycling, clipping in and out. Get the feel of the position of the feet, as well as the feel of clicking in and out. It should come second to nature and you should keep your eyes on the road and not focusing too much on the feet position. 

5. Practice on flat road and slow speed to build confidence and when you are ready, head on to the road.

6. Learn to clip off your left foot if your country drives on the right. As you are more prone to stop on the left side of the road while waiting at traffic lights. 

7. Learn how to fall naturally , as falling can happen even though we already gotten used to the shoes

Cycling with the shoe became easier and lighter. I took up the courage to bring my bike and shoe out onto the roads the same day.