Miri Ride and Food Tour 30th May 2015 / 2nd June 2015

30th May 2015 MIRI Race to Airport:-

Day 1.
   Alarm goes off screaming at 0400 hours. On a Saturday. Took a deep breath and shook the confusion off. Here we go. First day for the Miri ride. The race to the airport begins for 13 riders. All 13 will be heading off towards KLIA from all directions. Some by car. Some by train.Others by coach. Kenny wanted to cycle there but was stopped by Alberto.

   " Don't do that Kenny. You can ride all you want in Miri. But, if you start riding from Subang. You will get kicked off the plane even before you board it. Getting kicked by 12 riders on a Saturday morning is not something you want. The old goats will not let you board. Be patient. I will come pick you up. We go together. " warned Albert gently. Poor Kenny's shoulders dropped.

   Wisely thought out beforehand, we decided to separate into two groups for safety reasons. The group will fly off to Miri split between Air Asia and MAS flights respectively. If one plane runs out of fuel midway, we will rest easy knowing PCC is somewhat represented in Miri for the ride. Even if we are a few riders short. It's a must show one way or the other. No other ways about it. Received only 178 messages on Whatsapp between 0600 hours and 00720 hours. Not too bad. Nobody overslept or went off to Subang airport.

Feeding time.

   First party arrived safely in Miri at 0945. Waited for the bikes to come out and out the gate we went. We were received by the future CEO of Rimbunan himself. Arther was present with his assistant that looked vaguely like a sun roasted Krankster. The assistant wanted to perform the local tribal welcome dance. I showed him my steaming cup of coffee. Assistant wisely stopped. Wise man this is.

Bowl number 1.

   Like obedient goats, we were driven off to the hotel and given directions to the feeding pen which was a short distances walk away. We were instructed to graze on our own for the moment. Arther and his assistant took off to collect the second batch of rider flying in with MAS. ETA 1045 hours. Subject to the plane having sufficient fuel. We could only hope.

Bowl number 3.

   Our resident glutton Dotty, went on the rampage as soon as we sat down at CAFE 28. I was in fear. Dotty started frothing at the mouth. Hanz took out his CO2 canister. PeteW started sweating. Somehow, we manage to eat bits of whatever that fell off from Dotty's plate. Hanz had to be restrained from using his CO2 canister.
   Dotty finally calmed down after polishing off the third bowl of noodles. My heart rate came down. PeteW stopped sweating. All is good now. For the moment at least. We will need to manage this better at the next feeding session. Having a starving zombie like creature within the group is turning out to be more challenging than we thought. God help us all.
   Within the hour, the second batch of goats was delivered to the hotel. The plane did have sufficient fuel after all. That meant the cost cutting measure being executed by MAS does not include putting in less fuel into their planes. Just less stewardess in tight kebayas per flight. How unfair.

PCC goats.

   Hotel rooms designated and all the goats were herded into their respective rooms after lunch. Ride was timed to begin at 1500 hours later.

   1500 came and off we went for our first ride in Miri. The trail was 20km long. Expect some bits of sun and lotsa dry loose soil we were told. Riders from Miri and Brunei were already assembled at the start point as we arrive. Ride leader for the day was Vincent.

Roasting time.

   Ride begins. Rode out onto Kampung road for a couple of clicks. Nice,serene and lotsa waving to the local village kids. Then we came to the off road bit. Almost like riding in Tasik Biru this is. Sandy and grassy for about 5 clicks. The entire group gathered at the base of the climb. Now the real punishment begins.


   Slow roast. Just like the pork we saw laid out earlier at the start point. Riding at 4 noon on an open trail is really an enjoyment if you like pretending you are a roast lamb on the charcoal pit. Relentless. The sun just wouldn't stay away. It was 10 clicks of gradual climb. Up and up we cranked. Kenny started foaming. One rider even managed to kick his crank off entirely from his bike. Alex started babbling something in Hakka. Dotty began using her fat reserve. Up and up we went.

More roasting.

  My mind went into screen saver mode for the next hour. Less painful that way. That's the only way you can  manage watching steam hissing off the rider's ass in front of you. Very painful indeed. The trail was open, hot and scorching. Ride leader was grinning like a goat.

   Finally, we connected back into the village. Waited a bit for Alberto and Judy to return before we packed up and headed off towards the hotel for a quick shower and catch DotM for dinner.
   Dinner was hosted at Pasau Boat Club by DotM. Free flowing local ferns and chicken wings. Yummy. Plenty beer served. Alex continued babbling in Hakka. More beer and lotsa mingling around within the riders. Spoke to a few riders from Brunei. Found out that Brunei also has some interesting trails to hammer out. Note to explore Brunei.

Amy and her dance.

   Watched a real and proper welcome dance performed by Amy. Krankster wanted to perform his version. Showed him the unopened can of Heineken i held in hand. Knocked the can on the table. Krankster realized quickly his head is most likely softer than the teak table. Wisely sat down and allowed Amy finish her graceful dance.
More chit chat and mingling around. The locals are painfully polite and soft spoken. Had much fun talking to them. More beer and more Hakka from Alex. Jesse fainted. CH melted.

Drunk goats.

   Then it was time to head back to our goat pen. Waved good bye to the guys and headed back.
   Was a wonderful first day. Good food. Wonderful host. Excellent riding. Nice clean bed to knock out on. Can barely wait for day 2 to begin.
   Sleep came easily and quickly.....