Summary

Selamat Hari Raya everyone!

I haven't been updating this blog much recently so I thought I'd just put everything down in one post.

Intersate Day 3 - The Cruise into Kuantan
Having rested the day earlier, I started the day off in the front pack. It was ok for a while but when the marshall's car let us go, the speeds just went up, up, up! Senn and I were barely hanging on when all of a sudden a herd of about 20+ cows stampeded across the road. Being at the back, we had to back off and let the cows through. Senn had a near miss when the rider in front of her hit the ground. It was quite a scary experience.

We were quite glad that we lost the front pack because keeping up the speed for another 80km would have been killer. We continued on our own for a while before the next pack came to pick us up. We stayed in this pack till we got to Pekan, about 90km from the start.

After a short break, we took a leisurely ride with PK's pack, enjoying the sights along the coastal road. It was leisurely until just outside Kuantan when PK found out that Don's pack was behind us. Determined to finish ahead of Don, we cut short our rest stop in the cool confines of the Petronas station and hammered to the hotel, sprinting for every traffic light. We did get in ahead of Don, but little did we know, Don was taking it really easy that day, stopping for cendol along the way. All that effort for nothing!

Another Interstate done, here's looking forward to the next one.

Genting Ramadhan Runs/Rides
As has been tradition, the fasting month sees us back at Genting doing the night runs. There were a lot more participants this time around as the popularity of these runs is growing. On any given night, we had at least 20-30 runners, riders or walkers.

The first week, I walked but had to cut it short about 6km from the summit because my knee was in pain.

The second week I ran, but did a run/walk towards the end. Still finished the distance in about 2h40m so I was quite happy.

The third week, I rode my bike up. It was more painful than I remembered it to be. Then I found out why. From Gohtong till about 2km from the peak, I was grinding up in the wrong gear! I had three more gears to spare!

Unfortunately, there was no Fraser's midnight ride this year. Well, there was, but it rained that day so I didn't go. Oh well, maybe next year.

Hari Raya
As usual, Raya was spent in KL and the first day was quite busy. I drove more than 200km that day in and around KL. My first day had me driving from Damansara Perdana to Damansara Heights to go to the mosque and my mom's house, then to Valencia in Sungai Buloh to pick up the kids, then back to Damansara Heights to my grandmother's and auntie's house, then to PJ Section 16 to my uncle's house, then to Sungai Long to my grand-uncle's house, then back to Valencia to drop the kids back at their Atuk's house then back home. I managed to skip going to my grand-auntie's house in Ampang Jaya because I had to drop the kids off by 6pm. The best part of driving during Raya is that it is traffic free.

On the second day, my parents invited the relatives to the house. This time, there was not much driving but I was still busy playing usher, waiter and dishwasher.

After the "Open House", my parents checked into a suite at the Ritz Carlton to get away from the Raya rush. I brought the kids to stay with them on Friday night. Unfortunately for me and the kids, all the rooms were taken by my siblings, so we camped out in the den of the suite. It was quite fun staying in a hotel in KL. It made us feel like tourists!

Training Resumes
On Sunday, went for my first daytime ride in a long time. Went from Bt18 to Peres to Tekala and back to Bt18 for a planned 60k. When we got to the top of Peres, the rest of the pack decided to skip Tekala and head back to Bt18. I went on solo to Tekala to catch up with Senn, her dad and Mac who skipped Peres. It turns out the stalls at Tekala were closed so they went to a stall near Nirvana, another 4-5km away.

I met them there and we headed back. Had a good time blasting back to Bt18 from the t-junction taking turns with Senn pulling Mac back. Definitely a good ride. Can't wait to get back into training full-on.

Physio
Today (Monday) went for physio and a check-up of the wrist. Doc says wrist is fully healed and I can begin training in earnest again. Woo hoo! See you guys out there!