100th Bike Hash - Teratak Tekala
By Small Toe.
It was Bash annual function in November 2002 when the KOTRT crew heard
about the 100th BASH in Ulu Langat. The crew quickly got excited about it,
and as usual started "influencing" the rest of the Penang riders to come
along. The influencing worked! Gary, Sup, Rin, ST, Azmi, Derek, The Queen
and myself made it for the ride. Even some of the non-riding wives came along
to take advantage of the Mega Sale happening in KL that month.
We arrived at the trailhead just pass 9am, with the weather
slightly overcast, but without any threat of a heavy downpour.... it was
just cool!. We were greeted by over 50 cars and easily 100+ riders, all
preparing for the rides. It was really exciting to see so many over-grown
kids who enjoy "forest-pain". KOTRT crew was prepared for any pain that day
and decided to go with the gameplan to take it easy, enjoy the scenery and
most importantly, ride "hand-in-hand"....which we did (well kind off).
After the usual Bash briefing and mug presentation, we were off...to Nirvana.
The first stage of the ride took us over some pretty flat terrain, along
the banks of some fish ponds. It was great for warm-up and to get
acquainted with other riders..especially with the "other" species :-) After
15 minutes of leisure riding, we hit a tarmac. "Oh man!"; we couldn't help
but thought of long boring tarmac roads on our knobies, which only Uncle
Derek enjoys. Our prayers were answered, Uncle Derek was disappointed; we hit
dirt road again after only 10 minutes on the tarmac..phew!
The second stage was where Penang riders "shine"...ahem...long steep
climbs with partially cemented surface. As the KOTRT crew climbed, we
encouraged others who were pushing their bikes or resting on the sides to
press on...but errrr.. there were instances we were yelling out to them,
"Pls clear the path!! I can't stop on the slope!" The climb took us to
a plateau surrounded by rubber trees. Derek, The Queen, ST and myself
arrived the top first among the KOTRT crew. It was nice and cool, and so we
decided to have a rest while waiting for the other Knights. Also, it has some
great vegetation that acted as natural barriers for us to take a
leak....ahh...
Once all the Knights were gathered, we all went down the hill together.
Our effort climbing earlier was paid off. The 3rd stage downhill was
simply awesome. Single track with some tight hairpins. The only thing
that frustrate me on the decent was the constant contact of my rear tire
with Gary's front 2.5 tires...he was merciless on my tiny 1.85 Richey
:-( Several decent was really technical and required some real courage,
and there were some which simply provided us some laughter as we "admire"
the various techniques riders used to break a fall...heheh...even El Hefe
and Jinx provided us some hilarious moments in midst of tireness..thx
guys.
The downhill take us to another plateau which overlooked Nirvana. It was
a spectacular view of some ranges and ahem..some cemeteries. This
plateau took us to yet another downhill. This stage 4 downhill was a wide
double track, non-canopied, with very very loose sand and tiny pebbles. It
took us all the way down to the refueling station (20km mark of the total 30
km ride). We were glad to see Jo with his Ranger waiting for us...but
alas, all supplies sudah habis! Thankfully, our experience (or rather
our Kiasu-ness;-) made us carry sufficient water and food supply for the
entire ride.
We rested for a while at the refueling station before proceeding to the
last stretch. Stage 5 started with a short climb over an open terrain where
the sun was starting to have an impact on our very tired bodies. After
10 minutes of riding, we encountered the first (and only) river
crossing. Again, the kiasu-ness in us shone brightly; most of us KOTRT sat at
the river bank to remove our shoes and socks before crossing the
river. Although this process took some time, it was worth it....our toes
where dry and comfortable for the remaining of the ride. Sup and Gary
however, broke all traditions and attempted to ride across the river (with
their shoes on!). Mother nature was too strong for them that
afternoon...they got their toes wet.
Stage 6 was up what we called, "The Dessert Hill". The scene at the hill was
most discouraging; it was unsheltered with sun rays piecing thru
our Camelback, loose ground with little or no traction, riders pushing
their bikes with their heads down, some even laying on the ground begging for
food and water....for a moment it felt like a war zone! Thankfully everyone
made it up. The very last stage was a downhill with totally opposite scenery
to the Dessert Hill. We going down a single-track for what felt like
"forever" (in actual, it was at least 15 minutes long) thru this thick
vegetation all over us; on top, our left, our right and even down below. It
was just green everywhere!!! Once we piece out of the green, we found
ourselves right where our cars were parked!
ST, Chew and myself completed the ride at 3:30pm. And at 4pm, the
whole KOTRT crew were seen emerging out of the thick
forest, TOGETHER..Hand-in-Hand. It was truly an adventure for us all. The
entire 6 hours+ of riding was packed with a variety of riding conditions
and challenges. Only one word can sum it all up: Awesome!
Small Toe
Photo link is here