Miri Ride Ride Report Day 2...

Day 2.

Feeding time.

   Manta came knocking on the door. Thinking i overslept by an hour, i jumped out of bed only to find out it was only 0800 hours. Seems the sun comes up much earlier in the east. It was bright and sunny like noon. Still groggy from last night drinking session with CT, CH and Doc Raymond. I crawled to the loo for water. That was all i could hope for. Cold water to knock some sense into me. Quick shower and i was ready in no time.

Marudi Kuey Teow.

   The van was already in the lobby waiting for us to go for breakfast. Our designated driver was this nice chap called Dennis. Like all Mirians, polite and soft spoken to a fault. Drove us to this nice little cafe called Waterfront Cafe, facing the sea where our host DotM was waiting. Got off and lined up for the table. We were clearly instructed by Mother Hen to just sit and not ask anything. She will manage it. Some finger waving and pointing to the cafe cook. More hand signals and something spoken to the tone of " Hurry up and stop staring the half breed Mat Salleh speaking Hakka.." Chop chop...Hush hush. Hurry up. Serve them starving goats something.

   Dotty raised her hand. Got an evil eye. Learn quickly to keep quiet. Alex continued saying something in Hakka. Yong looked lost. CT visited the toilet for the third time. CH wiped his head. Jesse asked something. Somebody farted a reply. Arther grinned. Manta nodded. Judy does what she does best, smile and patiently waited for breakfast. CT stood up again.

Bike shop of course..

   Breakfast was this peculiar looking dish that is called "Kuey Tiow Marudi". Fried and prepared like our usual Fried Kuey Tiow but instead of the regular flat noodles used. This looked like tiny pieces of fish cakes. Gingerly took a bite and was pleasantly surprised. It tasted really good. Coffee was served in between. Most everyone had the Marudi Kuey Tiow. Done with breakfast and off we went. Bike shop is next. Yeayyy...
   We were driven to Nick's shop in town. Seems it's normal practice here to hang around the bike shop on a Sunday morning instead of going riding. Most odd we thought. We are used to doing early Sunday morning rides. But it's totally the reverse here. Go bike shop on Sunday morning to bum for free breakfast with Nick. Hang around till lunch. Then bum Nick for lunch. More hanging around in Nick's place. Wait till lunch is properly digested. Head home at 1 noon for a quick snooze. Then wake up and prepare for the ride proper which starts at 1500 hours. That's the Mirian way. Choi! would enjoy this i suspect. Knowing how that bugger is always waking up late for our rides.

   The entire herd went upstairs for bike ogling and fondling. Spent a good 2 hours fondling and sniffing all the bikes Nick had in the shop before someone came to his senses and suggested having cendol probably makes more sense that sniffing Kenda tyres. So we waited for CT to complete his 7th toilet visit before going down the shop in a single file. Cendol it is then. CT clenched his butt. PeteW winced at the sight of it. Jesse asked something again. Somebody said ok. Up the bus we went.


   First cendol stall was closed for Sunday. Arther however, came to the rescue and managed to get the other cendol shop to open for our pleasure. It is good having someone with muscle in town. Arrived at the quaint little stall hidden behind a row of old pre-war buildings.

Feeding session 2.

   Cendol is served either with milk or coconut milk here. Rojak was also ordered. Dotty started foaming again. Hanz tried grabbing his CO2 canister, found a soya sauce bottle instead. CT smiled and headed to the toilet. No one bothered asking anymore. Jesse remains confused. CH melted. In no time, all the cendol and rojak was polished off. Arther grabbed the bill. Never in my life have i paid RM116 for cendol and rojak before. I wanted to faint. I know now how CT feels most of the time. Yep. I wanted to shit it all out.
   All i could do was shake my head and cringe. Art smiled.
   Back to the hotel now.
   That was actually your lunch boys. Now go get ready for the 1500 hour ride. It will be a 28km ride today. Huge hill to climb. Expect more roasting. Thank god for last night's beer, i was still numb and dazed. Not aware of that threat.

Kampung Bakam .

   Dennis came in time for the pick up and the entire herd was loaded and led to the roast site. Kampung Bakam. A peaceful little kampung by the sea with lotsa sandy beaches. Our start point. Ride leader today would be Doc Raymond. Riders from Miri and Brunei were all ready when we arrived. Quickly got ready and waited for the ride to commence. Doc said something. I heard nothing. Off we went.
   10km of nice kampung road. Under canopy. I had Duncan for company. He is a Scott working in Brunei. One of the regular riders. Told me how much he enjoys the trails. I can't help but nod in agreement. We trod along till we came to the clearing.
   The bald hill stood right in front of us.

Botak Hill.

   Looking at a barren hill with a 300 meter elevation at 4 in the afternoon is indeed a heart stopping sight to behold. Never have my knees quivered so much, such since puberty. We are really gonna get roasted this time. The frontrunners looked like ants from where i stood. Duncan grinned. I picked up a stick. Duncan took off. Wise man that fella.
   Doc came from the back. Looked at me and pointed his chin up the hill. I stared at my feet. This must be how a lamb feels like at the slaughter house when the butcher walks in.

Botak...

   For the next hour. Everything was a blur of sand, stone and sweat pouring out of everywhere. Riders were sizzling all over. Dotty looked almost like a suckling pig. Jesse was waving at something. Manta kept touching his chest searching for his loose heart. Alex actually stopped talking for 15 minutes. CT held on to CH's hands for comfort. Riding uphill with hot air blowing up your ass is a very confusing sensation.

Our host waiting for our arrival.

   Single track downhill was never more welcomed at the peak. Rocky loose rocks all over. Off we went bombing down the trail.
   CH decided he wanted to find out how hard his bald head was against the rock. Somehow changed his mind at the last minute. Decided to use his elbows to stop the bike instead of the brakes. CT got upset at the sight of it. Thought he also wanted part of the attention and rode off the next cliff face. Landed on his ass and lost his breath for a couple of minutes. Got his 6 seconds of glory and fame. This got PeteW really annoyed. PeteW went one up on both of them. Smashed his nuts against the headstem. Sat and groaned by the trailside for a good 10 minutes. PeteW won the contest hands down. In my book at least. Brave man that is.

Amy setting up stall.

Krankster's bottle carrier.

   By then, sun was already setting. With Alex and Kenny both puncturing their wheels. Doc decided it was probably best that we cut the ride short and head back towards the cars. Uneventful from then on. Rode in 5 foot tall grass for a bit before emerging at the kampung for the tarmac run towards the car.
   Arrived at the car and found DotM waiting with iced beer and freshly grilled satay. Wonderful host this is. Almost wanted to give her a hug and a kiss. Gave Manta the evil eye and held him back. Everyone had their share of drinks and chips before heading off to the public toilet for a quick change of clothes.
   Then it was off to dinner and time to call an end to today's ride. As usual, DotM led us to this park with a restaurant serving hot chinese food. More beer and food.

Bliss..... Our view at the end of the ride.

   Crashed out upon reaching the hotel.