BBB Famili Ria Ride # 2 - LTM Scenic

Aug 17th, 2008. Saturday. It's school holiday again. I promised my sons, Faris (9) and Farhan (7), to take them cycling after depriving them of such,due to school and tution commitments. Even Fadlan (3), was very excited about the ride since he got another child seat installed for him.

No better place to return to than my home turf, Ladang Tuan Mee. Bandar Tasik Puteri Bicycle Brigade (BBB) is also expanding. More wives and children are joining the rides, besides occasional newcomers. Last month we had our inaugural Famili Ria ride. Response was good. 26 riders comprising of several families. From dad to mom to children. Some children were as young as 3 years old riding in child seat. Such warrants for another Famili Ria outing. Hence, the second Famili Ria ride was held.

Several families were there. All gathered and ready to go by 0830. We were late because I had to divert to UIA to drop off my eldest son for his PMR seminar. 0915 we rolled.

I took the task of chauffeuring the little prince. He was his usual chirpy self. Ummu took over the task of handling the camera. Shots here are by her.

Farhan was very excited and all pumped-up. Faris' 24" 18 speed steel bike was his ride. Heavy, but that didn't hamper his spirit. He had been holding his desire to ride LTM again after quite some time.

Alongside big bad Wolf

From the parking area, we headed for block 6, then turned right leaving the comfort of tarmac to gravel road. Bright sun showered the exposed passage. Gently flowing down before turning left into a moderate climb that later leveled out. Our presence were greeted by a herd of startled cattle which later startled us back when there were showing signs of stampeding towards us. Fortunately, the lead cow made a turn and the herd headed away from us.

Heading for the trailhead

After a near brush with the cattle, we came to the trail head. A slope climb that would take us into the shady palm estate. I would normally pedal up without much trouble. But the excess baggage I was carrying made me feel like the front wheel could lift off any time. Better not risk that...

Safer bet to go up the slope	Mam and Farhan
My 9 year old Faris	3 year old Fadlan in the comfort of the child seat

Children's antics...

After the break, we moved on. Undulating double track estate dirt road then converged with a wider road that was actually part of the main tributary. We were supposed to hit the inner, more challenging trail but considering the fact that we have young riders tagging along who would have difficulty negotiating it, we opted for a much simpler route that met with a tarmac road.

The tarmac passed by the workers quarters then the nursery where young palms were nursed before they are transferred to the proper plot. The nursery marked the end of tarmac and back to narrower but still double track trail. The traffic traversing the Jalan Sg Buloh - Kuala Selangor can be seen on our left. Trail came back to undulating estate trail then a long slo mo climb. Farhan was galloping here and there enjoying the ride that he had longed for. We, being old worried parents, at first kept a close watch on him with very frequent reminder for him to "watch out", "don't go too fast", "pull the brake". He must be bored by us. Realization dawned upon me when I realized that he could do better when we let him off on his own. I told my wife that and she concurred the same observation. So, we grit our teeth and spared him the boring parental nagging. And he did better after that. Sheeesshhhh...boring old parents huh? Sometimes...you just have to have a bit of faith and the courage to let go.

The families...
Front from left - Mam, Azeem, Faris
Second row from left - Wolf, Along, Naza, Lis (Lis' daughter is right behind him)
3rd row from left - Farhan, Fadlan, Me, Quiyah

To our surprise, Farhan cleared the slo mo long ascent. The faith and freedom given had heightened his spirit. The slo mo ascent then turned into fast long exposed downhill. I had to pass the joy since I was chauffering.

	Slo mo limo downhill
Farhan riding his heart out	Fadlan with his own kinda enjoyment

We came back under shade after the downhill where we took a short break. Earlier, I received a call from the "elite" group who were trailing us after having fun at the terraces section. A good breather while Farhan refused to let the time passed by just like that.

Elitist approaching

All set to carry on

Time was almost 11.00 when we continued on. Return to base. The swaying and rocking of the bike was like patting Fadlan. He was near dozing when we reached base. All in all, an enjoyable family outing. Thank you BBBs...