Bike riding, I like

Went cycling with some G Club members today. This is the second time I join this group. Chin got in contact with them from the G Club forum first time around. Call us simple minded or call us crazy, which ever it was, we trusted the forum people and decided to join them for our first long ride with the group. And they turn out to be fun and decent people to be around with. We did about 126.5km on the bike at Mainland the first time, starting from Butterworth to Jawi, Serdang, Kulim, Sg. Dua, Bagan Ajam and back to Butterworth. It was so much more refreshing to do a new route compared to the usual Tg. Bungah - Titi Kerawang - Balik Pulau route I usually do on the Island. I had a lot of fun cycling that I decided to join them again for yet another long ride today.

Just like the first time, I meet up with them at jetty on the Island as early as 6.15am. The only difference today is that I joined them alone, no more Chin as company. Anyway, just like the runners I know, this bunch of cyclists are really discipline with time. I reached there at about 6.10am and they were already there, unloading bike. We took the ferry over to Mainland and started the ride at 7am.

There were 6 of us; Darren, Alan, Chia, Daniel, Peter and me :)

Today they were riding at a much faster pace then the last time. As usual, I am totally ignorant of the direction we're heading. It's full concentration on cycling alone. So if I were to lost them, I will be completely lost.

Map of the route we covered this morning. Info from Alan's GPS

We were headed to Mahang via Kulim, passed by Kulim High Tech Park. Took us 2hrs 6mins to reach Mahang from Butterworth Jetty, 60km. Mahang is a really small and ulu town, the road from Kulim to Mahang was rolling...up and down, up and down all the way. And there were very very few cars. Luv it!
(rolling hill i like, purely hills i hate)

Elevation info from Alan's GPS. One killer hill in between km 80 and 90.

At Mahang, we took a 30mins rest before turning back.

We actually took another different route when heading back, this time other than the rolling hills there's one big giant hill to climb. Alan said it's 7% gradient. Was huffing and puffing heavily, heart rate goes up to 173 at this climb.

My rolling heart rate resulting from rolling hills.
The 2 smooth curve is after a break, I stop my watch during breaks, so there was a cut off of data within that time.

At this point, the 6 of us were split into 2 groups; I was with Peter and Chia. Chia is a great cyclist, I was trying hard to keep up with him and when I did, I drafted behind him. He's a very consistent rider, so drafting behind him wasn't too stressful. During our break, he told me that he was going at about the speed of 30 to 35 and at one point, he was going at 40km/hr, which means I also did it at 40km/hr! I don't have a bike computer, so I am actually clueless how far or how fast I went. Didn't know I could go that fast, but then again, I was drafting lar... which means I don't have to overcome all those wind resistance.

After the 7% hill, we stopped at a petrol station to wait for the 2nd group. Took a really long break here as the 2nd group were no where in sight. Peter made a call to one of them, turns out Alan had a flat tire, twice!! They were finally here after almost 50mins. Changing flat tires are tough, I'm not sure if I know how to change or not. I don't even carry a spare tube with me :P

Last leg, another 1hr plus of cycling and we reached back to Butterworth. Weather was really good today. It has been really cool in the morning, and all along the sky was cloudy. However, we can feel the heat during this last part of the ride even though it's not exactly sunny. Of course hot lar, it was around 12pm in the afternoon.

Overall, we covered 127.98km according to Alan's GPS in 6hrs, including 2 breaks. We could have finished it earlier if not for the back to back flat tire. Today's ride is a good ride. Great rolling route, great company, perfect weather! Within this 6hrs, I finished 500ml of Nuun, 1litre of 100plus, 325ml of Revive, 500ml of plain water and one and a quarter bar of Power Bar.

Time summary:
02:06:19 60km Butterworth-Mahang
00:37:54 Break #1 Mahang
01:20:16 Mahang-b4 Kulim
00:49:17 Break #2 Somewhere before reaching Kulim
01:19:38 Kulim-Butterworth

Ok lar, I think I am now ready to do Ipoh Century Ride 160km in 2 more weeks. Hope I don't die.