My OperaKing Of the Mountain
Monday, October 11, 2010 3:21:09 PM
No - I haven't been crowned king of a remote, unknown hill nation 
, nor did I win the King Of the Mountain cycle competition 10.10.10. However, I did take part in the latter - and enjoyed a scenic ride from Simpang Pulai at 50m above sea level the 54 kilometers up to Cameron Highlands at 1470 meters.
I started off early Sunday morning, and after pickin Ricardo up, we headed north out of Kuala Lumpur at five in the morning. We reached Simpang Pulai 06:35, checked in, and was ready to start off at 07:30.
I must say I didn't feel too well, I spent Saturday with a hangover, and got only four hours of sleep. I skipped (proper) breakfast, and had an energy bar instead. Fortunately, the day turned out to be overcast, and not hot at all.
Heading into the first climb I saw Mark speed off, but managed to keep up for a while. However, I had no chance hanging on to the group that eventually fought for the KOM title, they were simply too fast. I was able to hang on to another, bigger group for about 20 kilometers, but had to let them go. One more rider and I kept on pacing each other for another 10 kilometers or so, until he suddenly dropped back, leaving me alone for the remaining 15 clicks. I was a long, hard ride up the mountain, and I was really happy to finish top 20 at 13th place [Sports-tracker, the heart rate monitor gave up after a few clicks, maintaining a steady 110BPM]
After regrouping with the other riders at Cafe 88, where the race finished, and waiting long enough to
start to freeze (yes, a Norwegian Viking freezing in the tropics near Equator!!!) - we got onto our bikes and headed back down the mountain. It was amazing to see all the riders still coming up the climb, smiling, waving and enjoying their (I guess) painful ride. The decent was a lot faster, but my average pulse was only 11 beats per minute lower going down than coming up [Sports-tracker]
All in all - United Cyclists of Ipoh hosted a very well organized event with a really great ride up the scenic road to Cameron Highlands. I would love to do it again
Next ride might be a mountain bike race in my own back yard - KL Mountain Bike Carnival, Oct 23-24
, nor did I win the King Of the Mountain cycle competition 10.10.10. However, I did take part in the latter - and enjoyed a scenic ride from Simpang Pulai at 50m above sea level the 54 kilometers up to Cameron Highlands at 1470 meters.I started off early Sunday morning, and after pickin Ricardo up, we headed north out of Kuala Lumpur at five in the morning. We reached Simpang Pulai 06:35, checked in, and was ready to start off at 07:30.
I must say I didn't feel too well, I spent Saturday with a hangover
, and got only four hours of sleep. I skipped (proper) breakfast, and had an energy bar instead. Fortunately, the day turned out to be overcast, and not hot at all. Heading into the first climb I saw Mark speed off, but managed to keep up for a while. However, I had no chance hanging on to the group that eventually fought for the KOM title, they were simply too fast. I was able to hang on to another, bigger group for about 20 kilometers, but had to let them go. One more rider and I kept on pacing each other for another 10 kilometers or so, until he suddenly dropped back, leaving me alone for the remaining 15 clicks. I was a long, hard ride up the mountain, and I was really happy to finish top 20 at 13th place [Sports-tracker, the heart rate monitor gave up after a few clicks, maintaining a steady 110BPM]After regrouping with the other riders at Cafe 88, where the race finished, and waiting long enough to
start to freeze (yes, a Norwegian Viking freezing in the tropics near Equator!!!) - we got onto our bikes and headed back down the mountain. It was amazing to see all the riders still coming up the climb, smiling, waving and enjoying their (I guess) painful ride. The decent was a lot faster, but my average pulse was only 11 beats per minute lower going down than coming up [Sports-tracker]All in all - United Cyclists of Ipoh hosted a very well organized event with a really great ride up the scenic road to Cameron Highlands. I would love to do it again
Next ride might be a mountain bike race in my own back yard - KL Mountain Bike Carnival, Oct 23-24
