CRUISIN'
Ride review
we don't want to run the risk
of hurting ourselves.
And before we knew it, we reached Lanchang, a small town with only two rows of shoplots.
I found a nice makan stall here and suggested to the team that this is where we eat.
The bill came up to RM76 for the entire group and I must say that the fresh lime juice is the best I've had in a long time!
We had a well-deserved break in Lanchang and just before we took off, the stall owner asked for a picture to be taken.
This cosy little place serves a decent fare and I cannot dispute the pricing.
From Lanchang, we have another 17km to clear.
The final push to Sin Poh farm in Karak is about 17km.
Rather than backtracking, the fastest way to get there is by riding along the KL - Kuantan road.
This course is paved with danger.
Passing trucks and trailers posed a real problem.
To the uninitiated, its a ride through hell.
One of the guys were actually grumbling about the danger of riding this route.
But that the way it is.
I've cycled on many Federal roads and there's nothing lacking in the dangers that lurks ahead.
From Lanchang, we rode past a few villages.
I can see on my EDGE800 that there are three bridges to cross along the way.
With the Sun directly above our heads, timing became a crucial thing in completing the ride.
If we had taken the same way we rode in, I don't think we would be able to get back to Sim Poh Farm before dark.
So, like it or not, the KL - Kuantan road is the only choice we had.
This course is paved with an undulating terrain.
The gradient is between 3 - 5% and on certain sections, there were enough hills to actually roll.
By allowing inertia to do the job, energy is conserved.
After crossing the second bridge, we managed to cycle some 15km on the road.
Right ahead, there was a BHP petrol station where we took a rest.
Ah Pan was very concerned about his teenage friend and I can clearly see that his downhill bike had really slowed him down..
Riding the offroad section behind the Bentong Community College
The landmark to lookout for is the Bentong Community college.
We have cycled for more than 67km and the new bridge linking Karak to Sungai Semantan was a welcoming sight.
The team was elated when we rode towards the farm area.
From this section, there is a 2km offroad course to complete..
We reached the farm at 3:45pm.
The entire day was spent on the road.
The first thing we did, was to clean up the bikes.
Farmer Wong has a water jet compressor and this made it a breeze to clean the bikes before we packed them back into the
car.
We spent some time at the farm and were given a tour of the growing plots.
Wong is accepting an award later this month for his effort from the state Department of Agriculture.
As for me, paying a visit to my farmer friend is a norm.
To the rest, it was an eye-opening experience.
With some good riding prospects in Karak, we will check out some new tracks in the future..
Much of what that lies ahead was mainly unknown.
I for one, am glad to have tried out the kampung roads in Sertik that leads to Felda Lakum and Bukit Damar.
The Elephant sanctuary itself, was an experience to behold.
I don't think there are many folding bike cyclists who have tried this route.
get from Karak to Kuala Gandah.
On the whole, the ride was incident-free.
The timing alone, was perfect.
Angela Tan had suggested a longer lunch break to compensate for the heat during mid-day.
Other than that, no else complained as the ride was meant for more experienced cyclists.
There's no way for a beginner to ride on such a tough course, but in the months to come, I will design an easier route for
newbies to ride the Sin Poh farm.