Kuala Mu recce, View from A Knight
By Derek aka CEO.
This god-forsaken Orang Asli village has long captivated and yet struck fear in
the hearts of many a MTBiker in the Northern region. This is probably because
the first known attempt, 3 years ago, failed quite miserably; only 3 riders out
of 16 made it before the cut-off time. The horror stories that came out were
truly horrific: “Ai yah, push until want to die, Sun so hot, run out of
water, have to buy coconut from Orang Asli,Mud so deep even Moto-X bike get stuck and
have to use 4wd to pull out.Then 4wd also got stuck, We thought we would never
come out again, They say there got many tigers, ai yah”.But the one that takes the cake
came from no less than the Penghulu of Kuala Mu himself:“Basikal?, Mana Boleh!!!,
Guna moto pun mesti henti 10 kali baru boleh sampai Kuala Mu.”Such is the nature of the beast.
But within all this talk there is the mention of the almost legendary 40km
descent, reputed to be the longest in Malaysia. Not surprisingly ,no more
attempts were made after that. Now, 3 years later, with the memory of that
descent still strong after all the pain has been forgotten, Kuala Mu came up
again. A Round Table meeting was held and the unanimous show of hands decided
that KOTRT will do a recce trip to see how tough it really is. We are
KOTRT and we eat Tough Rides for breakfast (right guys?).
A fact finding trip was done 2 weeks before the actual ride and the info we
gathered was mixed. The mandatory first stop is to pay homage to the venerable
Ah Hee, the 4wd service provider who has supported every expedition into the
area. Everyone knows about Ah Hee. Going to Kuala Mu? See Ah Hee. The man gave
us the same “ Basikal, Mana Boleh” song and dance. The thought of calling off the
whole thing was definitely floating around but this time around the ground was dry,
we picked the right time of the year for the trip, a wise move on our part in deference
to that MUD. There is mud and then there is Kuala Mu MUD. We found out that it's
not that bad; the ride starts with a totally flat 6km road ride and then a 20km
undulating timber track, just like Taman
Negara. Then the best part, a 13km
climb into the clouds followed by a 4km downhill. We estimated 6 hours to do it,
if conditions stay the same. If the rains come, stay home.
So one dark dreary Jan morning found the 20 of us gathered at Lasah, the sleepy
town where the adventure begins. We loaded our stuff into Ah Hee’s 4wd and the
spillover into Azmi’s pick up. The whole town, read 1 road, was abuzz with
excitement, Ah Hee must have passed the word around. Strutting around like the
heroes that we are, the whole group must have been quite a sight. Why, there is
even a female rider. From KL we have the KLMBH riders, Sany, Fuji, William and
Pat Brunsdon. From Butterworth we had Doc Francis, who was part of that
unfortunate first attempt, with 2 unsuspecting friends. Doc showed his pixs from
that first ride. Mud Galore, yuck, yuck, yuck. Then there were the notorious
"168" riders, the King of the Hill riders of Penang. There is no hill they cannot
conquer, in Penang. And finally there were the KOTRT riders ,out in almost full force
except for our star rider Julian. He mentioned something about having to get married
or something like that. But we have our Queen, Su Aun along, to keep the pace up. What
a splendid sight for all, fools rushing in.
It was literally raining on our parade when we pushed off at 0900 down Main
Street Lasah. But the rain was most welcomed because the next worse thing after
the mud is the heat. This track is wide open most of the way until you get near
the top by which time you would have turned into a raisin! Wanting to cover as much ground as
possible while it's cool, I led out the ride at warm up pace. Since I was carrying 6
litres of drinks and tons of food,I found the initial going tough, must be all that
adrenaline tensing up the muscle, finally we are going to meet the Beast. Su Aun riding
alongside was not doing any better loaded down with 5 litres. Good thing our Camelbaks
have double bladder capacity( Hint! Hint! ).We rode slowly waiting for the rest to come.
And came they did, like a peloton swallowing up the breakaways. Led by Pat, the
front pack past us very soon after the start of the unpaved track to Kg Keeb, Whoosh
and they were gone. I counted 4 riders ahead of me and decided to try and keep pace.
After all there I was on my week-old Blur, the most awaited bike in history, getting
beat by all those bikes. No, that will not do. Up a couple of gears on the RD. As a
reinforcement, Azmi and ST soon passed by on the Ranger shouting“ Come on Derek, don’t fall
behind, keep the KOTRT flag flying”.
Working up a good sweat, I managed to stay at the rear end of the front pack.
This is crazy I thought, we are barely 10 km into the ride and these guys are
really hauling. If there is any comfort we have a KOTRT rider up there too,
Dennis our new rising star. Let him keep the flag flying, Oldies like me are out
to have fun. This 20 km part is really enjoyable, lots of ups and downs and boy
you can really fly if you go into the ruts. With the sun nowhere to be seen, you can
say all of us were having a heck of a time, at this early stage of the ride.
All too soon, we hit Kg Keeb ( pronounced Kee ab) and whole village was out to
cheer us on. Good job on the PR Azmi/ST. This signals the end of the fun ride, we know
what lies ahead. It was also here that I noticed a couple of the hares had slowed down
and are now desperately looking for the pickup for food and water.
They are supposed to be here waiting for us! Well I have gone thru that
before that’s why I am carrying so much.( Hint! Hint! ) I took the right fork in the road,
as I was told to do and promptly ran into Azmi and
ST waiting most comfortably in a cool
spot. Further up was a beautiful river running swift and clear, how I love to jump in and
taste that water. It was a beautiful sight though after 20km of timber tracks.
The track went over a log bridge across the river and curved to the right.
Following the track around, I came face to face with the proverbial wall. So
this is where it begins, the real challenge of Kuala Mu. Unlike the climb at Pos
Mensun, this one is really rideable. You just change down to your lowest gear
and crank at low cadence, and oh, keep your head down if you don’t want to get
totally demoralized by the slope ahead. And all this I did while I keep asking
myself, WHY????
The Sun came out and shook me from this stupor, I glanced at my watch and then
my odometer. What, its only 1100 and I have already done 30km, that’s a
15km/h average. Hey, I deserve a break, was really making time back there. A nice
sweeping bamboo grove with a big shade underneath was too tempting. Hope there are
no Hsssss also with the same idea roosting there, he will have to fight me for that
spot. I made quick work of the bananas, dates and SIS Power Bar, good stuff.
After some time alone and many glances over my shoulder, I was glad to
see Azmi’s pickup and out popped his head, “ Keep the flag flying, CEO”. Up and up,
when will this slope ever end. I have seen a lot of hills and this is one of the tough
ones. Getting into serious climbing now, all mental stuff. You why they call this mental?
Ans: You got to be a mental case to want to do this. No wonder even the poor motorbikes
have to stop to cool off.
Finally I caught sight of Azmi and ST again waiting by the side with their
cameras at the ready. This must be the top. Azmi greeted me with “ Come
on Derek, Pat is only 25 minutes ahead of you, Keep the KOTRT flag
flying.” Why don’t you come a few steps nearer, turn around and I will show you where
to stick that flag and keep it flying. 25 minutes ahead, Man that guy is an animal.
Actually this is only the top of the first climb. So it's back to the grind, more mental stuff.
I encountered some muddy patches after that first ascent, especially in the low
areas. The mud is really sticky, forcing me to dismount a couple of times to
scrape off the mud sticking to my tires, brakes and forks. Should have used disc
brakes. Suddenly up ahead loomed a welcome sight, a worn out hare pushing his
bike, this picked me up and then just as quickly became a total turn off. It was
Dennis, our lead rider, KOTRT’s best hope for a strong finisher. Oh No, the
KOTRT flag had fallen. Dennis was low on water and cramping badly. I dug deep into my Camelbak
and passed him my spare water bottle. Damn, there just went half a litre. We chatted and pushed
together for a bit before I decided to part ways. Got to go at your own pace.
For some strange reason I suddenly started feeling strong, maybe it’s the weight
on my shoulder now having to be the KOTRT flag bearer. Or maybe being alone out
here pumps you up and your legs start spinning a bit faster. Carried on by this
newfound strength, the miles kept rolling by and a quick glance at the odometer
showed 39kms had gone by. Hey that almost where the Downhill section begins.
Downhill, Downhill. A group of Orang Asli appeared and they told me the promised
land is just 3 km ahead. ( Wrong! ) They also told me there is another rider just
ahead, around the bend. Hah hah, gotcha. True enough, I soon caught sight of a
bonked out 168 rider resting against his bike. I came off my bike and checked to
see if he was OK. He told me he had run out of food, I offered him some of mine
but he refused, maybe out of pride. Since he was from another cycling group, a
friendly rival, much as I wanted to, I could not just zoom off and leave him in
his miserable state. We rode and pushed together for awhile, but with my
odometer showing 42 km I decided to make one last push. Almost imperceptibly at
a large clearing, the last hill was crested and the final downhill was achieved
and I coasted into Kuala Mu. My odometer showed 46Km , total elevation gain
1300m, net elevation gain 600m. The track meandered around the Orang Asli huts
and as usual lots of friendly smiling dark faces. But I noticed those little
hands were holding the paper trail marker we were using. Colored paper must be a
rarity here, oh no got to lay down more paper.
Halim was there to greet me, “ Congratulations you are second, 4 hours 5
minutes” Wow, me, in 4 hours, that’s way, way faster than expected. The KOTRT
flag is flying high, Azmi. As expected Pat was the first to arrive, in 3 hours
40 min. Hmm, Azmi was not kidding, Pat really was 25 minutes ahead of me. I rode
to the famous waterfall and soaked in the pool together with Pat. We both agreed
that we have been very lucky, No Sun, beautiful track conditions, No Mud. We finished
comfortably with plenty of water and time in hand. A short time later Su Aun showed up,
she had cramped up at the last uphill but still managed to finish in fifth place in
4 hours 30 minutes .Her smiling face says it all, We Have Done It. The top 5 riders
finished within an hour of the leader and if I may add, 3 of them are KOTRT riders.
What followed next is covered by Fuji’s writeup. Suffice to say that while the downhill
was great, it was the conquest of the uphill leg that really made the trip most rewarding.
Everyone made it in before the cutoff time and felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment. What
a rush to finally get there. For those of you who want to take up the challenge,
KOTRT is doing the trip again. Do come along and try to beat the times we set
(uphill):
1. Male rider 3hr 40 min
2. Female rider 4hr 30 min.
3. Santa Cruz Rider 4 hr 5 min
4. Ellsworth Rider ehhh 6hr xxmin( Ini Basikal mana boleh )
5. Bullit rider ….. Better don’t say.
Suggestions for Kuala Mu Uphill ride.
1.Trail Info: This trip was blessed with the best possible conditions, Partly Sunny
and little Mud, hence we recorded very good times .Do not be misled by our times, plan on a
6 hour ride if conditions are not perfect or if you are not strong rider. If its muddy 8
hours is likely.We also brought lights. This trail can get very hot, plan on starting out
very early, before 0800. The trail itself is at least a 4wd track so it is not a technical ride, a
strong rider with little offroad skill can still do it.
2.Water : Try to be self sufficient and not rely on the support vehicle,
if any. It may not be there or called away to help a distressed rider. On this
trip we left a cache of water and bananas which got stolen from the trail. Su
Aun and myself consumed about 5 litres of water each. Its not really that heavy, you
get used to it after a while. Bring a big Camelbak and at least 4 litres of water.
3.Food:Again be self sufficient, don’t try to skimp on weight here, you may
not meet the support vehicle. And there is no food at Kuala Mu, bring your post-ride food. Dinner
will be much later. Refuel often and lightly, this is a ride where you will need to eat.
4.Bikes: Without a doubt, a full susser like the Santa Cruz
Blur J
or Superlight which can be powered uphill easily, and descend like a freeride bike to
maximize momentum for subsequent climbs . Use knobby tires for muddy descents.
5.Finally ride at your own comfortable pace, don’t be a hare.
Save yourself for the 13km climb into the clouds. Try to ride with company to
keep spirits up and wild imaginations down. Exercise some caution on the
descends, the deep ruts can bite you. This is not a place to get hurt.
Hope to see you on March 15th at Lasah.
Derek aka CEO
Photo Album is here