#antara gapi

Trail Description:

Long - The distance will be 15KM with 600M elevation and 3 checks, of which 2 of the checks will be combined with short.

Short - The distance will be 13KM with 500M elevation and 2 checks. The short will split with long at KM10 and joining back with long at KM13. Do follow the signage and paper.

Both long and short will have river crossings so be prepared to get your feet wet. Both rides are NOT suitable for kids.

What to Bring:

Due to the short length of the ride, please do not underestimate your water and food. We recommend you to bring an absolute minimum of 2 litres of water as most of the sections are open palm oil access roads and can be very hot under the sun. Chain lube is necessary to re-lube after the river crossings and always bring spares just in case.

For those who are not familiar with KLMBH's activity, I will give a short brief, based on what I understand from the short time spent riding with them.

KLMBH is a motley crew of like-minded mountain bikers who likes to hang out together on a monthly basis, have a bike hash (or 'bash' for short) through pristine secondary forest around Klang Valley, and then hang out to have drinks and chat afterwards. Apologies if my understanding is inaccurate.

Based on what I read on their website, the description of past rides seems to be leisurely, and just enjoy the ride. And based on Bash #282's description, the ride will be short - 15km, with 600m of elevation. Seems like i missed the '600m elevation' part, or maybe i treat it with reckless abandon. And I am about to be unpleasantly surprised.

I came to the venue quite early, around 7am. No one's there. True to the ride's relaxed nature, people come at their own pace. Well, it's my 1st time joining, so it's better to come earlier.

Once everyone had gathered, a short briefing is given, and off we go. The ride starts kind of mellow, and then we are presented with the first hill. Nope, it's not a hill. To most of us, it's a MOUNTAIN. The steep gradient, the laboring climb, and then more climbs, and more, and more... and when I think it's almost done, there are more climbs. And then more.

Until we reached a crossroad - the first check. At that point, my 1st litre of mineral water has already depleted, and I opened 2 cans of 100plus, emptied it into my camelbak and took the 1st long-ish downhill.

And it's a tough downhill. Very dry, bumpy, and as my tires are pumped rock hard to somewhat ease the rolling resistance on the climbs, it is counterproductive on the descents. Even on a full suspension bike, my rear tires skitters and loses grip. But that may be because I used to be mollycoddled by Minion DHR II at the back all these while, these XC-centric Schwalbe Black Jack is not as grippy.

And boy, the sun that day... sweltering HOT. And the sawitduro singletracks doesn't really offer much in terms of natural shade, especially on the long, loose, and oh-so-steep inclines.

After the long, arduous climb, when I *may* have reached the peak, I stopped and took a second to enjoy what nature has to offer in terms of view. And the view is just magical.

Chejo Johan Shadzli started quite late, and after I have finished maybe 4-5 kilometers of the climb, he came past me, pedaling uphill like it was NOTHING, when I am trying to find the very last ounce of strength to PUSH the bike up the steep, 15-ish gradient. This guy is uber strong... Extremely fast uphills, and goes like stink when the hill points downward. I'd say Chejo is definitely one of the fastest riders i have ridden with, if not the fastest.

And while i did try to match Chejo's pace, my HRM shows 180+bpm. I should let Chejo pedal at his pace, as attempting to follow his pace might get me into prolonged VO2 state, and that may cause muscle cramps or other detrimental conditions to present itself.

During the climb, I had the opportunity to chat with IIANM Les, a member of The Usual Suspects (sorry if i get this wrong), and he mentioned that most of the bashes KLMBH organizes are unlike this, oftentimes the ride is leisurely and just to enjoy nature. I'll take his word on it, and will join again.

Towards the end, after a long and brake-fading downhill, there is a fork in the road - the right one is marked as 'short', and the left one is for the long, which extends the ride for another 2 kilometers of climb, with 100m of elevation change. Sorry, no more. Enough punishment of the day, i am DONE.

The way out is the same way as the route going in, and I'm absolutely hammered by the end of the ride. Anyone who enjoys this, is either a very good rider, absolutely loves bicycle, or just plain masochistic. For me, it's punishing, but a good day in the saddle, nonetheless.

Will join KLMBH for their next ride, and I am contemplating signing up for membership also. We'll see.

Thanks for reading, and apologies for any inaccuracies, or missed details.