UP CLOSE - THE BJCC TOURERS

RAZAK

True to his National Geographic bandana he wore, he knew the nooks and corners of the East Coast. Even had a stake in a fresh-fish breeding project. His motto is "Ride to Eat". Rides a 26" Dahon foldable bike similar to Zaba's.

SHAM

Our Mr Gadget. I was fascinated with his USB-driven external speaker hanged on the handle bar. Connected to his PDA, he had a medley of Hindi songs, old P Ramli songs and some hip-hops. Rides the Dahon 20" foldable bike.

ZABA

The Rambo of BJCC. Before taking up cycling, he was a gym guy. He used to pump irons. Now he pumps tyres. Rides a Dahon 26" foldable bike.

JALIL

The only non-Brooks guy in the team and now a full-fledged Brooks rider. Rides his Merida Hybrid, his first bike before upgrading to a racer. Slim and trim, the envy of other BJCC tourers.

FENDI

The most "hardworking" tourer. He had 1 puncture and 2 slow-leaks and 18 visits to the toilet. Rides a full-fledged Bianchi tourer.

BJCC GOES EAST COAST - FINAL DAY 3

Today would be the final day of the ride. It would be light and easy. 60kms to Kota Bharu would be easy meat to our strong BJCC riders. So, it was a lazy wake-up, an easy stroll for the complimentary breakfast and a no-hurry pack up.

Demong Resort is located in the Bukit Kluang enclave, a Par 3 distance to the beach. The building is hostel-like, double-story. Appeared to be popular for seminars. Located roughly 6kms from Besut town, one would not have the opportunity for any late night teh tarek at a warong. It is isolated, a retreat for holiday goers.

As we rolled our bikes for a photo shoot, the most relaxed rider would be Sham (extreme right) in his orange batek t-shirt with matching beach short and the Japanese slipper. He made the rest of us felt over-dressed for this final leg. Minus the helmet and the panniers, he could easily be mistaken for a local cycling to the pasar.

Our first destination was Tok Bali. Once in Tok Bali, we would already be in Negeri Cik Siti Wan Kembang, where budu is a staple delicacy! Look at us. We had just finished breakfast. Lunch was still 4 hours away and we could already smell Nasi Kerabu Yatis in Kota Bharu for tonight's dinner!

Leaving Besut, heading for Tok Bali we passed stalls after stalls selling keropok, either keping or lekor. It was too early for keropok and we make good progress.

From afar, the landmark at Tok Bali had to be the curved bridge spanning the river. From a small unknown fishing village, Tok Bali had been developed as a major fishing port for Kelantan and had seen growth over the years. It is also a major take-off point for holiday makers going to Pulau Perhentian. Tok Bali therefore now rivals Merang as a jetty to Pulau Perhentian.

We arrived a bit early and we could not find any warong to stop for a drink. We road to the "muka kuala" for a breathtaking view of the sea and a few photo shoots. There was an unmanned drink stall and fresh coconuts but there was no owner. We waited in vain and decided to move on.

We noticed this motorised bicycle, stored in a toilet. Whenever I see a motorised bicycle, I will remember my good friend in KL. No name mentioned, but he now owned a Surly tourer, just like mine. It was a daunting task to convert him to cycling. He had said that if ever he took up cycling, it would be on a bicycle like this one. Bu that was history. Soon, he will be a full-fledge tourer.

We said goodbye to Tok Bali and proceeded on towards Bachok, through Kampong Melawi. We stopped at a warong in Melawi where we had our drinks. For me it was "Sarsaparilla", a drink locally bottled in Kelantan. Lest you have wild ideas, it is not a carbon-copy of the alcohol laced Tequila from Mexico. It is actually Sarsi.

This drink used to be our drinks in our teenage years. The fact that it has survived the onslaught of Cokes and Pepsis, perhaps speaks volumes about Kelantanese with their own cliquish taste. It was also after this that Fendi and Jalil scooted off leaving us behind. I was wondering whether both of them had an overdose of Sarsaparilla.

They scooted off at their folly! They missed the junction to Bachok and headed straight towards Kg Gunong. We took the correct turn into Bachok, passed Pantai Irama and headed on towards Wakaf Aik.

5 kms outside Bachok, we waited for our lost brothers. We relaxed at this wakaf in a Siamese village.

Kelantan is where 1Malaysia example abound. This Siamese village is right smack in a Malay community.

A huge standing statue of Buddha can be seen from quite a distance.

If the Siamese here speak Malay, no one will bet an eyelid that they are Siamese. Don't be surprised if they too have Malay names. That's assimilation. Do they lose their identity? No! Thats 1Malaysia for you.

I still have 1 bayi classmate who speaks Kelantanese Malay. Lucky thing he is a modern bayi without turban. One would fell off the chair to hear a turbaned bayi "kecek Kelate". And I still have many close friends from my school days in Tumpat who are Chinese and Indians. We see no color, nor religion.

We waited for Fendi and Jalil to catch up then we peloton on in single file, now in a very disciplined way with yours truly leading the peloton. I already know where I will take them for lunch.

We passed Wakaf Aik, crossed the single-file rickety "Ghetok Tok Guru" in Pulau Melaka and soon in Jalan Padang Tembak, Pengkalan Chepa. We stopped for lunch at Restoran Cik Gu, a very popular lunch stop.

We were slightly past lunch time and I was worried that the famous deep-fried Ikan Keli would be gone. We looked glutton, and indeed we were! No one remembered even to take any shots of either the food or of ourselves diving into the food. Damage was a measly RM47 for 6 hungry cyclists and we had a lavish spread.

Hotel Impiana in Jalan Pengkalan Chepa was only 5 kms away and we reached our final stop in good time. With two rooms @ RM90 triple-sharing with 2 queen-size beds, we were ready to retire from our 3-day cycling.

The dinner was already decided at Restoran Yatis, that famous nasi kerabu and ayam percik restaurant. After such a heavy meal, Zaba was still craving for Durian (mabe he was pregnant!) and Razak called his contact. We were soon at the night Pasar Borong in Wakaf Che Yeh.

Following day was a relaxed day and time to pack our bikes for the trip back to KL.

Well done BJCC Tourers. Till we do it again...very soon!

BJCC GOES EAST COAST - DAY 2 (Part 2)

Rain was threatening when we got ready to leave the warong. It's a wonder that for some, inspite of the heavy stomach, the mind was still creative. Take Sham for example. He believed in travelling light on the tour. Hence he purchased the lightest bike, the cute 20inch wheel foldable Dahon bike. He also carried no raincoat. But as a Mr. Gadget, he patented a rain coat. The warong was poorer by 1 garbage bag!

Correction.

The warong was poorer by 3 garbage bags. Zaba followed suit and patented a new pannier cover for the rain. Looked like the group was scraping the barrel on this maiden cheap tour. Ha...ha...

At the lunch stop, we had covered 67kms and would have another 30 kms to Besut. The dark clouds cleared and as the sun once again bore on us, our rain-coat man quickly discarded his invention. He would otherwise be in a mobile sauna.

Next stop was Merang. I captured the Magnificent 5 of BJCC as they cycled towards the beach, itching for another stop.

Stop we did yet again. Drinks and some local puluts for tea was in order. That's the beauty of cycling. You easily burned the calories you put in.

Merang is the take-off point for holiday-makers to some of the beautiful islands of Trengganu. During my diving days, I had used the jetty to go diving in Pulau Perhentian and Pulau Redang.

Many passengers boats were moored here.

One caught my eye - SHAMIMI 1. During this trip, my youngest daughter had been on the phone with me. She was down with some ailments. Far away from home in Dublin, her dad was her "counsel". I am glad she is bubbling back on her feet. This boat is for you Mimi...er...I mean the pic is for you!

Today being a Saturday, there were hives of activities too. Passengers were arriving and leaving.

Sham and Zaba were also hunting for souvenirs to bring home - the gift to the loved ones for visa approvals for future tours.

Thereafter, we proceeded on the journey to Besut, to our second day accomodation at Demong Resort.

Another 94kms of riding, we were ready for a relaxed evening.

BJCC GOES EAST COAST - DAY 2 (Part 1)

28th Jun 2007 : Batu Rakit to Dungun


We had no intention of troubling Pak Chik Hassan for breakfast. We could just say our goodbyes and rode off and have breakfast on the road. But, Pak Chik was already in the kitchen deep-frying the keropok lekor. The jar filled with hot water for the 3-in-1 Nescafe, tea and coffee was also ready. We could not refused such hospitality.


We finished off two plates of lekor rather quickly. Good host, good cook (or at least a good "frier"). Thank you again.


As we rolled out the bikes from the garage, Fendi had another mishap. He had a flat on his rear tyre. Yesterday, he was punctured from the runs. Today his bike punctured! What luck. All these in his maiden tour. But that did not deter Fendi. Again, well done my friend.




Flat fixed, we had a parting shot at the gate of Al-Manar with the good host. We bade farewell and resumed our second day ride to Besut, leaving behind Pak Chik to continue his good deeds at Al-Manar.

Kg Penarik was our first destination stop. I had travelled this route several times and I have always been "tertarik" with Penarik - beautiful white sandy beach, blue waters, gentle breeze and swaying coconut trees.

Our first R&R was under this shady tree to top up our drinks. This location is a popular stop for all travellers. A few food stalls and a mini market serve the travellers.

We could have had our lunch here but Razak had already arranged it in Kg Gong Batu. While cooling off here, a purple coloured bus stopped and ladies in purple literally poured out of the bus. I was able to catch only the tail-end of the purple ladies alighting, otherwise it would have been a better shot. All the ladies were wearing the bus corporate color - purple.





Kg Penarik had a long coast line and a beach front with very little dwellings. So, a bungalow of this stature, facing the South China Sea would immediately catch everyone's attention. A getaway home, a retreat, whatever you called it, it would still be a dream home for everyone.



Since the gate was opened, we stole a quick shot. It's a memory we wanted to bring home to city dwellers.

Next destination, Kg Gong Batu. Razak said he had arranged lunch there, confidently telling us it was 5 kms away. We passed the 5km mark and no sign of a lunch stop. We continued on..and on...wondering and "hungering". My dear Razak, a hungry man is an angry man.


Rain was already threatening. Razak and Jalil was out of sight in front. Sham was ahead of me with Zaba and Fendi tailing me. Suddenly the sky opened up without warning. Sham immediately "konar baring" left. I followed suit. Zaba and Fendi "konar baring" right. They seeked shelter in an empty house. Sham and I seeked shelter in a warong. We did the right "konar baring"!

Since lunch was no where in sight, Sham and I coined a new song "cendol in the rain". But our hearts wept for Zaba and Fendi stranded in the empty house across the road. They saw our joy. Zaba braved the rain and crossed over. Crossing over certainly has its benefits, political or otherwise!

Zaba the cross-over tourer

Cendol anyway can't replace the lunch. After the rain subsided, we cycled on towards our elusive lunch destination.When we finally arrived at the designated warong, were we angry with Razak? NOOOO! Instantly we loved Razak. Instantly we forgave him for his poor kilometre calculation. Second day motto "ride to eat" was about to be honored again.

Laid on the table were four large size Ikan Kerapu, deep fried and sweet-soured. 2 large bowls of tomyam soup, prawns and veges. So, one bare chested and 5 fully clothed cyclists immediately went to work to wipe clean the dishes. And there were no left-overs.

Our Razak seemed to have friends everywhere too, just like Sham. No wonder, they are a great pair. A few teh tareks later, we were ready to move. We left Al-Manar with heavy hearts. We left this warong with heavy stomachs.

Day 1 - A NIGHT AT AL-MANAR

My first meeting with Pak Chik Hassan was in September 2007. His daughter, who was a participant in a training program I conducted, suggested I visit his father. From his website, I got to know what this gentleman was doing in his kampong in Batu Rakit.


I set a goal to meet him and planned it during a short solo cycling trip from Kuantan to Kota Bharu. That was my first meeting with Pak Chik Hassan, and also his wife. Such gracious host they had been. Their hospitality spiced with the keropok lekor Pagar Besi the couple served me had left an indelible mark on me. The greater impact personally was what Pak Chik Hassan had been doing for the last 15 years - setting up of Al-Manar to teach the village children English, Science and Mathematics, single-handedly. Visit his site at http://www.almanar-nuri.blogspot.com/ for some soul-searching.



We had been in touch since then. Last year, my wife and I visited them on one of our regular flights home to Kota Bharu. This time around, I e-mailed Pak Chik of my intention to pass through Al-Manar with 5 other cyclists on our way to Besut. Pak Chik invited us to spend the night in his house instead. It was an invitation hard to refuse. I had missed that opportunity once.



So, 6 BJCC cyclists arrived at the gate of Pak Chik Hassan's house to experience his bachelor's hospitality. Pak Chik had been a bachelor for almost 3 weeks since the good wife went to KL to visit the grandchildren.



Two fully furnished rooms were ready for us. After some exchange of pleasantries, we headed to the rooms to shower to ready ourselves for dinner. Earlier, as we cycled along the beach to his house, we saw a few crowded warongs and the smell of grilled fish was floating along the stretch of the road. I believed we already had a consensus where dinner would be.


However, the warongs we saw earlier timed their business in tangent with the sunset. But Pak Chik Hassan already had a restaurant in mind and we were not disappointed. We were spoilt for choice. Zaba quickly got one Ikan Merah grilled. We took Nasi Kukus and the arrays of dishes. Sadly, I could only managed to scrape the bottom of the gulai kambing. In between five of us, we had a few additional helpings of nasi kukus and extra dishes, in the pretext of carbo-loading!

Fendi, down with fever, opted to rest at the house. We "tapaued" food for him.

The afable Pak Chik Hassan, seated on my left

We cannot quarrel with Pak Chik Hassan to settle the bill. He insisted!

Back at his house, it was desert time while we chatted the night away with Pak Chik, most times listening to his wisdom on wide-ranging topics, including his favorite subject on education and his concerns for the common and simple folks.

We retreated back to the comfort of the air-conditioned rooms, satisfied with our Day 1 ride and gratified with the experience and the opportunity to visit Al-Manar.

Thank you AK Hassan!

BJCC GOES EAST COAST - DAY 1

26th Jun 2009 : Dungun to Batu Rakit


Zaba booked the Mayang Sari Resort for our one night stay in Dungun. It is a small boutique-like resort. A stone's throw away is the beachfront. The three cyclists Zaba, Sham and Razak have had the time to soak in the winds of the South China Sea and spent a full night at Mayang Sari. They arrived about 6pm a day earlier.


For Jalil, Fendi and I, we must be holding the record for the shortest stay in a hotel - checking in at 5am and checking out at 7:30 am! We had no opportunity to enjoy the ambience of this Mayang Sari Resort nor the beach front.



Our 3-day cycle tour of the East Coast begun on this day. It was the dawn of another new beginning for the 5 BJCC cyclists - Zaba, Jalil, Fendi, Razak and Sham. The only thing they have not tried is a self-supporting tour, and this was it! I was looking forward to be part of this excitement.









We were ready by 7:30 and rolled our bike to the foyer. A group photo to start this 3-day journey was a must.

6 BJCC cyclists, eager to experience the charm of the East Coast

Zaba, ARZ, Sham, Razak, Jalil, Fendi

First thing first. In cycling term, it is "carbo-loading". Put simply, our stomach needs taken care first. We cycled out of Mayang Sari. The beach front was relatively quiet. The sea was calm and the morning breeze was the right tonic for the 3 sleepy-heads. We found a warong and enjoyed the Nasi Minyak and Nasi Dagang and the hot Nesacfe and Teh Tarek.

For the first part of the ride, we took the village road that led us to Tg Jara Resort. Exiting the town, we were soon on the bridge spanning the wide river with great views. A stop before we even begun. A photoshoot on the bridge to capture the memories of this maiden tour.









In a car, one would whizzed through this bridge and missed the opportunities to capture moments like this.






And it is moments like these that put meaning to cycling tours. And moments like these are aplenty, when one is not in a hurry. It is after all, not about the destination but the journey.






Continuing on through the canopies of the kampong road, we soon reached the gates of Tg Jara Resort. Tg Jara Resort is for deep-pockets. We are on a shallow-pocket trip and hence a photo-shoot in front of the gate would suffice.









I requested the guard manning the entrance to Tg Jara Resort to take our group photo. He said he was "busy". He was sitting in the guard house, busy doing nothing. I suspected this guard must have been asked zillions of time to take shots for cheapo tourists who stayed in no star hotels but want a shot taken in front of this 4 star Tg Jara. To him, we cyclists are no different! Ha...ha... So, Jalil sacrificed his face for this shot.

We moved on and was soon on the main road, heading for Kuala Trengganu. We made good progress. The road shoulders were wide and passing traffics remained at comfortable distances. 15kms into the ride, it was time to stop at the Petronas Station to fill up the water bottles. For Fendi, it was to run to a toilet.




Fendi had a run, for the entire 3 days. He was not sure what food he took that caused the run. Nevertheless, we admired his gut and perseverance to complete his maiden tour. He hardly showed signs of fatigue despite being weakened by dehydration from the runs. At most stops he could only watch the 5 of us enjoyed our heavy meals. He had to be careful of his food intake. Syabas Fendi and thank you for your frequent stops. We enjoyed the frequent stops - at your expense!

We hardly covered another 15kms before we saw a warong selling young coconuts. Presto, we stopped again for young coconuts. "Ride to eat and drink" would be the motto for Day 1. The motto was carried over on subsequent days.






When the sun was high in the sky, we headed for a siesta by the beach in Kg Pulau Kerengga. We had to push the bikes across a rickety bridge and the sandy beach but it was well worth the efforts.

Fendi, despite the runs captured Zaba in a pose

One for the album for Fendi too

We spent about an hour at the beach, purely soaking in the wide expanse of the blue sea stretching into the horizon. Sham too posed for a memory shot with his newly acquired folding Dahon bike. This was his first long ride with the Dahon and he was very happy with the performance.

But Sham had to make way for Razak who wanted the space to sleep. This was one brave man, dozing off under a coconut tree. As an insurance man, I guessed Razak had calculated his risk well!

He must have reasoned out that only "nyor kote" or old coconuts drop. And old coconuts are not heavy. They are shrivelled and dry. Landing on Razak's well-padded tummy will not damage either the coconut or his tummy!

The not so brave ones like me chose the relative safety of the hut. Using the fishing nets as pillows, we tried to catch up on our lost sleep.

We overstayed for an hour and reluctantly have to move on. We had not covered half of the 90kms we had to cycle today to Batu Rakit. We would have Pak Chik Hassan waiting to welcome us to his house by the sea in Kg Pengkalan Maras in Batu Rakit.

One last photo shoot for the Dahon-Brooks team of Zaba, Razak and Sham. The three of them bought the Dahon folding bikes specifically for this tour. And I must add, for their future tours too!

We had out late lunch at Pantai Kelulut, again by the sea. To provide moral support to our "running" Fendi, we decided to make do with just soups - mee and meehoon. Someone though ordered 2 pieces of ikan kembong goreng tepong. The very fresh kembong and the specially made chilly sauce that came with it was superb. The poor cat meowing at us in self-pity was only left with the bones. Terrible!

I called Pak Chik Hassan to inform him of our possible late arrival. I gave him an estimated time of 5 pm. We got going, passing Marang and bypassing Kuala Trengganu and headed straight to Kg Pengkalan Maras. Rain came before we entered KT but we continued on the journey and arrived Pak Chik Hassan's house a little past 6 pm.


It was Day 1 touring experience for BJCC's 5. In the words of Fendi "Time waits for no man, toilets or no-toilets, you should pack up and ride".

BJCC Goes East Coast - Preamble

Thursday 26th June 2009

The Transnational double-decker moved off from Hentian Putra on the dot at 10pm, but an hour late from the scheduled time. As the three of us rolled our bikes to join the queue of passengers, half of the luggage compartment was filling up fast. Wouldn't you expect a bigger luggage space on a double-decker inter-state express bus? Yes? Wrong!

We had no time to swear at whoever designed this bus. We had to find space for our 3 bicycles. The shaking of his head told us that the driver had no experience in accepting bicycles, let alone 3 full-sized adult bicycles.

There was some space on the opposite side of the bus. There were some curious onlookers. We quickly moved to the other side and started dismantling the bikes. Jalil's bike frame was the first up. Fendi's bike was already packed for transport. He laid his frame flat, neatly packed in plastic. My brand-new untested Surly frame went on top of Fendi's Bianchi frame. Then we had to find space for the wheels and our panniers at those other little spaces available. We were about the last passengers to board. The air-cond was not on and we were sweating profusely from our efforts.

The cramped luggage space

Our destination? Dungun. Our reason? To join our 3 other friends who would be comfortaby tucked in bed by the time we would reach Dungun in the wee hours of Friday morning.

Guess who?

Our real reason? To complete a 3-day tour the East Coast on our bikes, from Dungun to Kota Bharu.

I had carried my bicycle on buses many times before, first time in July 2005 to Padang Besar to start on my Peninsular ride. Many times thereafter, I had transported my bike from KL Sentral to LCCT both ways for my AirAsia flights to Thailand or Indonesia. They were all single-decker buses with ample luggage space on both sides of the bus.

So, there is always something new to experience, no matter how often one does the same thing. I shall no longer ride a double-decker bus if I have my bike in tow.

One can take cat naps in a moving vehicle. Deep slumber is wishful thinking.

Well past midnight, the bus stopped at the R&R in Cherating. The sight of food stalls sent hunger messages to the body. If we had remained on the bus, the additional calory intake of hot milo and roti bakar were not necessary. It is always amusing how the body reacts at the sight of food!

At about 4 am, the bus was nearing Dungun and the bus stopped frequently for passengers to disembark at their own drop-off points. We entered the bright lights of Dungun and the bus stopped at a bus stop. Passengers alighted and we were ready to alight at the Dungun bus station. The bus rolled on. Soon the bright light gave way to the semi-lighted road. I sensed we were now on the trunk road heading towards Kuala Trengganu. I asked a girl seated behind. "Bah ni nok gi ko Kuale Teganung".

We have overshot Dungun! Our booked hotel is now roughly 5kms behind us! The driver was informed. He stopped the bus and we alighted. We were rather amused at our folly. If we had dozed off, we would be in KT when dawn breaks.

Under the street light, we assembled our bikes and pedalled back into Dungun. The cool morning breeze and the relative silence of breaking dawn was a pleasure. We could cycle straight on to Kuala Trengganu.

Fendi and Jalil ready to ride at 5am!

Seeking direction from sleepy buddies snugly in bed posed another challenge. Fendi was our communication man and Razak was giving direction from his comfy bed. "500 metres from the last junction" was, I believed Razak's instruction to Fendi. "Look out for Restoran Kapal".

1 kilometre from the junction, we saw no Restoran Kapal nor the hotel. We made a u-turn and met 2 boys on motorcycles. "Depang lagi, dekat kubur nuh" one of them said, pointing us back to the direction we came from.

We made another U-turn, cycled on and soon saw a flashing light. It was Razak, fully awoke and welcoming us. Zaba was there too and directed us to our rooms. Sham, the other buddy was soon up disturbed by the commotion. Not long after, azan Subuh filled the air. We showered, prayed and tucked in bed to catch what little sleep we could garner.

We would have a long ride day today to Pengkalan Maras, Batu Rakit.