Sedili ..... One More Time

The Magnificent Seven

After our last adventure to Sedili Besar jetty, there were some regrets as some of us did not complete the whole journey.  So after some careful planning and consideration, we decided to make it a 3 days 2 nights trip instead of 2 days 1 night.  We were to discover later that this was indeed a very wise decision.

We left Changi jetty before 2pm and arrived at Tanjung Pengelih before 3pm.

On the Ferry

Have a nap first

At Tanjung Pengelih Jetty

Tommy, one of our support vehicle, came to meet us at the Jetty.  He had earlier driven across from the causeway.  With our back packs loaded into Tommy's vehicle, we enjoyed a slow easy ride to Sungai Rengit.  We were caught by a passing shower but the sky cleared as we got closer to town.

We had an early seafood dinner, had some coffee and tea and then had an early night.

The next morning, we came down for our breakfast at 6.30am and were surprised that the coffee shop was already crowded with local uncles and aunties having breakfast.  After breakfast, we set off for Sedili at around 7.15am.

In front of hotel

One more photo before we set off

 
The morning weather was nice and cool and we were all happy with the smooth ride and also enjoyed the slight tail wind.

In no time, we had reached the round-about near Desaru.  This was our first rest stop.  With Stanly's car stocked with watermelons, bananas, 100 plus and water, we were all well replenished.

Stanly with our refreshment

Sweet and juicy watermelon....hmmmm nice

Fluid replenishment

Our bikes, resting as well

Everyone fresh and smiling

 

Second pit stop

Tommy with his car

One more watermelon stop

The watermelon is sweet and seedless

View of our bikes

Can you see the plastic wrapping on one of the bikes?

No sweat so far

We are still relax and smiling

Group photo with Tommy

Group photo with Stanly

Off we go again

At Sedili Kechil, Raymond, who just came back from Penang and had not been cycling for quite some time, suffered cramps and had to take the support vehicle to Sedili Jetty.

What is taking Raymond so long?

We are at Sedili kechil

I need to put my bike on the rack

After much fiddling with the bike rack

Putting on the bike

More fiddling

Why are they taking such a long time?

Yes, up at last!! I will be taking the car

The rest of us carried on towards Sedili Jetty.  Even Frank, who also has not been cycling much, managed to push on and reached the jetty.  This time the journey to Sedili jetty seems to be quite comfortable compared to the last time when we felt quite tired with muscle aches.  The distance from Sungai Rengit to Sedili Jetty - 80km.

At Sedili Jetty

Group photo at Sedili Jetty

With Tommy

With Stanly

The shops at Sedili Jetty

We were all happy that we managed to arrive as scheduled even though we took it easy during our ride.  We had a nice lunch of shark meat rice and seafood Hor fun and looked forward to our return journey which we thought should be not much of a problem.  All of us were in high spirits and did not realise what was to come later.

Relaxing at the restaurant

We only had lunch, not bird's nest

Shark meat with rice ..... yummy

After lunch, we headed back at around 12.30 pm.  As Frank had reached his limit, he loaded up his bike and took the vehicle.  The rest of us, including Raymond proceeded to ride back to Sungai Rengit.

Preparing to put Frank's bike on the rack

The good and easy early start did not prepare us for what was to come.  The afternoon sun was scorching hot and there was a strong head wind. At some areas, we could only manage 20 to 24 km/h.  The wind was strongest at the open fields.

Another pit stop

Very hot, need more water

The heat and the head wind soon proved too much and due to leg cramps, Raymond and Dennis had to abandon their ride and get into the support vehicle.  We were lucky to  have 2 support vehicles to help us.

I have no choice, the cramps were really bad

As can be seen by the lack of subsequent photos, all of us were tired and pushing on and no one was in the mood to take photos.  The remaining four of us were determined to complete and we plodded on together through the rolling hilly slopes.  We worked and stayed as closely a pack as possible and helped each other to continue on.

After the slopes ended, around 20km from Sungai Rengit, Raymond, Frank and Dennis, with great sporting spirit got on their bikes and cycled all the way back.

We all reached Sungai Rengit at about 5pm, an hour later than what we have originally planned.  Total distance travelled -160km. It was another great ride but it was more grueling than the last time.  The heat and the head wind made it one of the toughest ride we had.

That night, we had a sumptuous seafood dinner and had a good time sharing our day's adventure.

The next morning we had a relaxing time exploring the fishing jetty and buying some stuff before heading back to Tanjung Pengelih.

Walking to jetty

Jetty at Sungai Rengit

How come I don't see any fish?

Maybe I have to catch my own fish

Raymond, are you going out to catch fish?

All freshly baked

How many packets can we buy?

Must make sure they give me the fresh one

Back at the jetty

The four who completed

At last I made it.. very happy

Rest and relax

When are we coming back again?

Everyone of us enjoyed this trip.  We are especially thankful to Tommy and Stanly for their support. We would not have had such a successful ride without their help.   In total, we consumed 12 big bottles of 100 plus, 23 big bottles of mineral water, 2 big watermelons and countless bananas.  This excludes the electrolytes and gels that we brought personally.  You can imagine how hot the weather was.

Now what will the next adventure be ............. Mersing???

Photo credits : Dennis, Raymond and Chee Hwee

Run EZ Riders Run

You never KNOW what you can do till you try

Sports in its true definition embrace all kinds of competitive activities that involve physical effort and skill and when applied meaningfully, could be a gauge to one’s personal challenge. EZ Riders not only cycle but also indulge in other sports as well, primary for the purpose of diversion due to weather, environmental and circumstantial changes.

The Sundown Marathon provided an opportunity for some of the EZ Riders take up the challenge and to gauge our physical and mental ability besides our normal activity of cycling.  Only recently we have cycled to Sedili and Desaru for a distance of 200km and me 100km respectively, thus by participating in this marathon in the 21km and 10km run was just a mere 10% of what we did on bike. No big deal. What we actually need was some training in preparation for the marathon.

Sundown Marathon was held on the 26^th May 2012 and when the big day arrived, as early as 7.00 pm many runners assembled at the starting point. Most of this group opted for the 10km run which was supposed to start off at 10.30 pm. The 21km and the 42km run start off at 12.30 am and are expected to come in later. I, full of excitement, came and joined the crowd at about 9.30 pm and immediately soaked in the atmosphere. As I mingled around, unconsciously I was measuring myself against these runners. They came in all kinds of shapes and sizes, tall, short, fat and thin. Some of the guys and ladies were as fat as wine barrels and I said to myself, “can they run?” doubtful of their ability, whilst some were trim and fit. Then I came across some, guys and ladies who were ultra fit and that have me wondering how to keep pace with them. As I was deep in my thought, something attracted my eyes. Upon closer scrutiny, I saw that their tag was different from mine with different color and a bold 21km was emblazoned on the right side. Oh, lucky me, what a relief. My fellow running colleagues will have a problem pacing with them.

No mountain is too high to scale

Then the announcement came to assemble and be ready for the run. The crowd was huge, maybe 8000 runners or more. Finally the whistle blew and off we went. Due to the huge crowd, the going was very slow initially, virtually walking elbow to elbow. As the momentum increased, many runners were squeezing and sneaking to overtake. I did the same and overtook those who were slow. Just like the OCBC 59km cycling event, it was fun and challenging as I overtook more and more and then, right in front of me I saw the fat ones whom I mentioned earlier. How can that be ……….. hmmm maybe they managed to queue to the front before the run. They were panting and hissing away. I overtook them easily. I have much admiration for their “can do” spirit to take part in this competition in spite of their size and they were seriously trying very hard to complete the race. How I wish some of our office ladies who are enjoying a sedentary life could exit from their comfort zone and engage in some form of physical activity to lead a healthy life style.

In this marathon, I ran a very good race, the best thus far as I did not stop or walk. I just followed and synchronized myself with the flow, on and on I ran, not letting my fatigue overtake me. It was great, enjoyable and I felt rejuvenated and even sprinted at the last 100m to the finishing line. I am sure that the rest of the EZ Riders have the same kind of feelings as me. I did not, like many of them, stop even for a drink except the last drink station before the finishing line. It was a feat for me since I had my leg operation 2 years ago. During my training session I hardly manage 6km not to mention 10km. My fellow running colleagues did even better. Four guys and two ladies ran 21km under 3 hours. If 10 minutes or more were taken out due to serious bottle neck situation, the timing will be even better.

I am looking forward to the next run, maybe the Standard Chartered Marathon, anyone?

Cheers to the EZ Riders.

 

Raymond Yow

5^th June 2012

Sundown Marathon 2012

Group photo before the run

 

At the starting pen

Seven of us participated in this year's Sundown Marathon.  Raymond ran the 10 km distance while the rest of us ran the half marathon.

Met Raymond at the end of his 10km run

The timing of the run was delayed until 12.30am on the 27 May 2012.  It was the first time for all of us to run at this time of the day.  Other than Victor who has taken part in the full marathon and Boon Hiang and Karin who have taken part in the half marathon, for the rest of us, this is our first half marathon.  You can say that it is the furthest we ever ran in our lives.

Due to the change in timing, the full and half marathon started together at the same time.  This resulted in traffic jams and bottle necks.  Only after the half marathon and full marathon routes split at gardens by the bay did the traffic flow became smooth.

Although we started at such early hours, the weather was very humid.  However after running for 2 hours plus, the weather changed suddenly.  There were thunder and strong wind and soon heavy rain came pouring down.  We ran the last few kilometers in heavy rain and were all soaked through.

Overall it was a good experience for us even though there were aches and pain (even now).  We are glad that we finished the race and I must say with some decent timings.  Will we do it again?  Well some say let's go back to 10km runs but I am sure we will do it again sometime soon.  Until then maybe, just maybe, we might even be brave enough to try the full marathon.

Our Medal

 

Yes, we all beat the sunrise

Credits:  All photos taken and contributed by Dennis.

Sedili ......We finally made it!!

After one failed attempt due to extremely strong wind and much discussions and plans to try again, we finally made it to Sedili Besar jetty on 6 April 2012.

We were worried about the weather as it was raining heavily on alternate days since Monday.  However our worries were unfounded as it turned out to be a beautiful day.

Beautiful sunrise... a good sign for things to come

 

In the bum boat on the way to Tanjong Pengelih

From the jetty, we rode to Sungai Rengit, dropped our bags at the hotel and proceeded to have our breakfast.  After breakfast, we started our journey at 10.40 am towards Desaru as usual.  There were some clouds and as we proceeded further, a slight drizzle started and helped to cool down the weather.  A slight head wind made the ride a little harder but still manageable.  

Stanly cutting watermelon for us..Thank you Stanly

Stanly, our support vehicle, met us at the Desaru circus with drinks, watermelon and banana.

The watermelon sure taste sweet and juicy

After a short break, five of us decided to ride further up to Sedili while four other members decided to go into Desaru and then head back to Sungai Rengit.

The road to Sedili was quite good as there were very few vehicles.  There were a few more climbs and then the road seemed to go on and on and on.  Our thighs were starting to ache and we were hungry.  We did a bit of calculation error in terms of the distance.   We thought Sedili Besar Jetty was about 40km away from Balau but after 40 plus km, the traffic light we were looking out for to turn to the jetty was no where to be seen.  The way things looked, we didn't seem to be anywhere near the town.  Finally, when we reached Jason Bay Resort, we stopped to make a crucial decision whether we should push on or turn back.  It was already 1.30pm and we were seriously tired and hungry.  BC said that since we have come so far, we should push on or we will regret it later.  All of us agreed and we decided to push on.  It turned out to be the right decision as a few km later we reached the outskirts of the town and subsequently the traffic light that we were looking for.  We finally reached Sedili Besar Jetty at 1.54 pm.

At Sedili Besar Jetty

After taking a precious photo at the jetty with the help of a local guy, we proceeded for lunch.  We managed to find a zhi char  place which serves pretty good food.  It was during lunch that it dawned on us that we had just covered almost 100km.  Our thigh muscles were tight and aching badly and we still had to ride back to Sungai Rengit which is another 80km away.  We joked that we have to go back anyway, even if we had to crawl back.  However the idea of hitching a ride from a bus or lorry did crossed our minds.

After lunch, we began our ride back at 2.45pm.  The first 5 km was extremely tough as our thighs were aching badly.  The long flat stretch was putting a huge strain on our muscles as we had to keep pedaling.  We tried to look for counterpain or something like that for our aching muscles.  We found one shop but they did not have any and the shopkeeper's directions to another shop was a bit confusing and in the end we did not manage to get any.

Without any choice, we pressed on and tried to go as easy as possible.  After a while the aching somehow subsided and it got better.  Although a slight tail wind helped but it was getting hot as the sky cleared and the sun came out.  Ironically we were looking forward to the slopes as after the climb we could rest our legs on the down slope and gather momentum.  We tried to take more breaks but it was also a dilemma as after stopping, the muscles tend to tighten up and cause some of us to get cramps.

Another rest break with the long slope in the background

Rest break

       

Trying to look happy even though we were dead tired

Enduring muscle cramps and sore behinds, we managed to ride back to Sungai Rengit at 6.30 pm and went directly to the seafood restaurant to meet the rest for dinner.  We were all happy and relieved that we finally made it back in one piece.  We had a good dinner and shared our adventure with the rest of our team.  The total distance covered was 180km.  It was the longest ride we have ever done in a single day.

Pushing our bikes back to the hotel after dinner 'under supervision' of Raymond

The next morning, although we planned to have an easy ride to the jetty, somehow it turned out to be a race again.  Oh well, couldn't help the adrenalin rush.

Our happy team at the jetty waiting for the bum boat to take us back

This was a great and successful trip with wonderful memories.  The weather was fantastic, there is great camaraderie among the teammates and the food was fantastic.  What more can you ask for?  

Maybe just one .....When is the next ride?