As noon drew closer, we rode to the Ipoh stadium where a bicycle distributor had set up shop to display their ware.
The Sun was directly above our heads as everyone were seen to be pretty worn out from the 30km ride around Ipoh.
To me, it was a splendid introduction to the greater Ipoh.
I guess that everyone has their very own perspective about their hometown and the guys from the Ipoh Foldies had taken great efforts to promote their cycling routes.. Something very commendable.
Humility is a trait that sets apart small town people from the big city dweller.
Here in Ipoh, the good folks are eager to learn and honest about their intentions.
We are humbled before a group of young people who showed great enthusiasm to socialize through bicycling and improve with new skills.
I experienced this in Ipoh with the Ipoh Foldies group at the KBS centre in Ipoh Stadium.
At the KBS centre, we were treated to a hearty meal.
It's nasi campur kampung style and everyone have had a great time filling up. Especially after a ride in the hot Sun, the good folks have worked up a good appetite.
After the meals, the Muslim participants performed their mid-day prayers.
Then, we set up the classroom with a projector to carry out a slide presentation.
My topic: "Folding bike for beginners" was first.
I presented a 30-minute talk on everything folding bikes.
The crowd were nicely settled-in as I began my lecture.
Later, it was Mohd Radzi's turn.
He shared his touring experience in Sumatera.
Mohd Radzi's slide show had captured the crowd's imagination.
Some of them were merely talking about cycling outside Ipoh and paid full attention to the first-time touring foldie's foray into Eastern Sumatera.
Mohd Radzi shared about his experience cycling from Dumai to Pekanbaru.
After the talk, Azam took over the floor to conduct a lucky draw.
A few cyclists who came for a daytrip had to leave as they have booked a passage home with the 5pm ETS service.
One of the guys was kind enough to send a cyclist to the train station because it started to rain.
Johnny Ng's turn was up with basic bike tuning and maintenance.
He took two bikes and tuned it to show the crowd on the importance of maintaining their bikes for long-term usage.
The attentive crowd were drawn to Johnny's skills on tuning the bikes and also gave it a try to feel the difference.
After Johnny had concluded his talk, we drew again for the lucky draw session and handed away prizes sponsored by Le Run Industries and Guan Chow bikes of Perak.Johnny Ng also contributed some prizes via My Bicycle Shop.
The last session was conducted by a former national cyclist, but we couldn't stay because of our accommodation issues.
We had to ride over to Fair Park to check-in at the hotel which was fully booked by some state hockey players who came for a tournament at the Stadium Azlan Shah.
Some of the participant had thanked us for sharing our knowledge and said that they had enjoyed the presentation.
With little daylight left, what's left to do, is to head to our hotel room to freshen up and later join the Ipoh Foldies for a barbecue session at night.
On the whole, the Ipoh Foldie Open Day experience was awesome. We made friends and shared experiences and hope to keep up with such events in the future.