The Malaysian Foldie 20, July/Aug 2015 | Page 8

I woke up at 06:00am.

The Kelty Bug Bivvy did it's job by keeping those pesky sandflies and gnats away. If they gnaw on your skin, it will itch all night long.

Not a good situation for a dinosaur like me who need at least three hours of deep-sleep.

Everything went well as planned and the Kelty gear were a good investment!

I managed to get some snooze and the insulated sleeping mat helped a lot. And so is my Thermarest pillow that provided some plush cushioning.

With my petzl Myo XP headlamp and the Black Diamond Orbit lantern, I began to pack the Kelty Bug Bivvy into it's stuff sack.

I had enough time to wash my Snowpeak Ozen solo folding table and all the other titanium utensils before I packed them up.

My only beef was the rain water and dew collected on the tarp. All I can do was to roll it up and shove it into the stuff sack and pray for the best.

By daybreak, all my gear was packed into the Ortlieb Backroller Classic panniers. The Rackpack 24 was also packed to the brim.

Two days of soiled clothing and wet gear added to the weight.

I met Suzali who went to perform his early prayers and thanked him for wonderful time and great leadership.

While I was setting up my gear, Kak Raha came by and took a snapshot of me with the bike. Then, Abang Din came up to me and asked if he could ride along. I guess he wasn't in the mood to wait for the rest and decided that it was best to break camp and take advantage of the early morning for it's fresh air..

I said goodbye to the rest of the guys and started to move my bike out to the entrance of Lata Kekabu.

Abang Din and his family followed suit and began to cycle out into the main road.

It was an easy roll and as they made their way to the route towards Kuala Kangsar, I stopped by the park's signboard to snap a picture. Take nothing but photos. Leave no trace..

From Lata Kekabu, it was a slow roll and climb towards the Raja Nazrin bridge.

We stopped at a stall to get some breakfast. It was Abang Din's treat.

He complained about his wheel skewers being too soft, causing the chain to drop several times.

I told him that it is wise to upgrade to a pair of heavy-duty skewers - especially on a touring bike.

The Surly Long Haul Trucker that he rode can go places. Me, I am just happy with my Warrior as it yielded virtually zero-downtime on this trip.

After breakfast, we pushed on towards Kuala Kangsar.