The killer part was a detour towards the end of the beach area where we had to back track towards the Desaru - Pengerang junction.
This was a long climb and a straight journey towards Batu Layar beach which is roughly about 20km away.
Here, there are no stalls or shops along the way.
Its plain and bare.
lumps on the runoff beside the road shoulder.
We did pretty okay along this route which Mohd Radzi described as "!0km of terror".
Another thing was the fact that I didn't pay attention to the details on the map when I charted the route.
Seems that the terrain is undulating all the way from Kota Tinggi to Sg Rengit.
We are looking at an averag of 3.5 - 4.8% gradient.
This is no sweat when you train and since we were riding with a minimal set-up, it wasn't a real big deal...
We took full advantage of the early morning weather and progressed some 30km in two hours to reach Felda Air Tawar 5.
Spare the roadkills, dead snakes on the roadside, bumpy ride and heavy vehicle traffic, we made it as far as we could.
The first order of the day was to get something to eat.
Earlier, I bought some bananas which helped in providing energy. I hard a large Camelbak bicycle bottle which I thought, could last the entire journey.
We caught up for a nice meal at the Felda township. The Johor Lontong was simple and good. After a fulfilling meal, we proceeded towards the Senai - Desaru Highway junction.
At this point, it was like taking a stroll down memory lane.
The last time I visited Desaru was 27 years ago.
Much of the landscape here is barely recognizable.
There are a few beach resorts in the area.
We cycled to the public beach to snap a couple of photographs and resumed the ride..
I must admit that I am really unfit.
After laying off cycling for nearly a month, my stamina level is at rock bottom.
As usual, I was way at the back trying to pace myself.
We have about 80km to cover in order to reach Sungai Rengit.
And since we took the coastal route, the distance is much longer.
With the sun directly above our heads, the heat had proven to be overwhelming.
Radzi was right ahead and being nearly 10 years younger, I expect him to do really well.
But the heat got the best of him. He was waiting for me to catch up and just as I alighted from the bike, my left thigh was already having cramps.
So, I whipped out my pain relief spray and worked on it.
We had a critical decision to be made. The plan was to get off the road and find a stall to hydrate.