Kuala Kangsar was a no-go.
The day was getting hotter and my only chance of getting a ride to Ipoh was in Sungai Siput Utara.
I made arrangements with Mr Sugu for a pick-up at the Petron station and agreed with his rates.
The Sun was up and I enjoyed some moments of a good riding weather when the cloud cover was thick.
It rained when I reached the outskirts of Sungai Siput town and when the Sun finally came out to scorch the Earth, the heat began to be unbearable.
To reach town, there is a series of undulating terrain with gradients ranging from 3 - 5% and with a heavy load, progress was rather slow..
It was too hot. I decided to take a break near an oil palm estate, some 5km away from town. A little bit of shade and a chance to rehydrate was good enough to keep me going.
And as planned, I arrived in Sungai Siput around 01:00pm. I rang up Mr Sugu to inform him about my arrival and also called my host in Ipoh: Uncle John that I should reach the railway station by 02:00pm.
The ride got delayed and by the time I packed the bike onto the chartered car, it was already mid-day.
Yogeswaran, Mr Sugu's son is a chatty guy. I indulged in a conversation with the young man and changed the rendezvous point to Tambun.
In less than 30-minutes, we arrived and I can see Uncle John waiting.
The first order of the day, was to get to the railway station. This is so that I could change my departure time to KL to an earlier slot. Originally, I planned to stay in Ipoh till mid-afternoon, but cancelled my plans due to some logistic issues.
I met Uncle John some years back in Penang. It was the Campaign For a Lane ride four years ago and ever since, I've organized some rides in Ipoh with the 70-year-old cyclist. It was an honour meeting up with him and a privilege to stay at his home.
I also got to know Uncle John better as we have plenty of time to catch up. He told me that he will be taking a trip to Medan in Sumatera, Indonesia sometime this year and wanted to explore the city.
Apart from that, Uncle John also parted with some wise words on how to cope with work -- especially in such trying times.
I felt grateful to be his guest.
Uncle John treated me to some good makan around his hometown. He's been living in Ipoh since he retired from the Tobacco industry many years ago. Some of his children are as old as me and are doing very well on their own.
To me, it's a really big thing when a man invites you to his domain as a guest. Uncle John resides in Taman Channing with Susan, his wife and is taking things pretty easy. He spends a lot of time researching for new routes for his adventures.
ROLLING OUT: Riding on the country road in Perak where traffic is light and the scene is peaceful.