BROTHERLY RIDE TO MINANGKABAU COUNTRYSIDE

I solo cycled the Minangkabau countryside in Sumatera back in Nov 2007. Then, I sang the all-time classic Minang song "Ayam den Lopeh".

This time around, I will add another song made famous by The Hollies in 1969 - HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER. Yes, this time around, it will be duo cycling with my younger brother MAHMOOD. That's the "healthier" and taller one in the colorful garb in the pic below! By the way, I only envy his height, not his waistline.

The lyrics of this once famous song go like this, with my comments

The road is long, with many a winding turn

From Bukit Tinggi, we'll do the famous Kelok 44 (44 sharp winding turns)down to Danau Maninjau

That leads us to who, knows where, who knows where

Who? Bapak Hamka! He was born in Danau Maninjau

But I'm strong, strong enough to carry him

Hmm...I'm not sure whether I can carry him. Take a look at the pic again!

He ain't heavy, he's my brother

He is heavy, he's my brother

So on we go

Yes, we have roughly 600 kms to cover

His welfare is my concern

Well, as the older brother, gotta look after the younger bro la

No burden is he to bear

No burden at all. We will share cost...ha..ha..

We'll get there

Insyallah

And I know, he woud not encumber me

Insyallah

He ain't heavy, he's my brother

I've said it earlier, he is heavy.................

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We had ridden together on several occassions. During our high-powered motorbiking days, we did KL - Golden Triangle ride in 1969. When I quit motorbiking, we both began cycling. Together we had cycled Hadyai - Kota Bahru in 2002 and did Bentong - Kota Bharu 2 years ago. He lived in Kota Bharu. So, seperated by the Main Range we did our own cycling activities.

So Padang, here we come - 24th July to 31st July