KHTMTBE 2009... D-Day Minus 1 : I'm Rider No 806

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At Rawang R n R

March 7th, 2009. D minus one. Tomorrow will be the big day for Kulim Hi-Tech MTB Exploration (KHTMTBE) 2009. Arrived from KL circa 4.00 a.m. Met one red Honda with 2 bikes perched on its roof top earlier at Rawang R n R. Gut feeling told me that they too were on their way to Kulim. They just gave a friendly honk when they departed from Rawang R n R Petronas. (later I learned that they were riders 776 and 777. I did not manage to get acquainted with them)

My original plan to warm my legs muscle in the nearby palm estate with missus that morning busted. Weariness from the driving put me in dreamland till 11.00 a.m. Plan shifted to evening. Unfortunately, the sky dropped its load heavily...

Gloomy skies overcasting Kulim Hi-Tech Park.

We camped in my sister-in-law's house in Sungai Karangan. About 20 minutes drive to Kulim Hi-Tech. That noon, after lunch, we went to KHTP Business Center to collect the goodies. KHTP business center is a huge modern building on Jalan Hi Tech 2. Took us some spinning around since there was no address given. Luckily, I found the place not long after. Some proper visible signage could have made direction finding easier.

Pedalgear Dirtworks' booth. Seductively attracting. Nearly fell for the long riding pants.

We arrived around 2.30 p.m. Gloomy skies greeted on arrival. Not many people were there, well at least not yet. On the right of the entrance, PedalGear Dirtwork already setup their booth offering riding gears etc. I made a quick visit and checked out some nice stuff they had on display. Almost bought the long riding pants...

I was spared from the seduction by my wife tugging. In we marched into the cavernous foyer of the business center. There were many counters there. "Wow!", I thought. "Look at the extend of registration committee they have here", I was amazed. I walked to the one manned (or shall I say womanned) by some attractive looking ladies. Natural man's instinct I guess. Fortunately, again, I was spared from embarrassment by my wife who tugged and yanked at me to the right counter. It appeared that there were more than KHTMTBE happening there. and the counter I was pulled to did not have any connection at all to KHTMTB.

Number 801 pleaseee...

Immediately my vision become clearer and I came to like snapping out of a hypnotise. Headed straight to counter labeled 800 - . "Rider no 801 please", I announced to the gentleman manning the counter. He flipped some lists on his clipboard. Opened the page for where number 801 was supposed to be and...there, smack on the list was somebody else's name. Alamak! I had some registration mix up earlier and my name could have been accidentally dropped. But...the panicking was unnecessary. Scrolling down to number 806 was the name I was looking for. Phew!.

Rider number 806

The chap took a look at the name to confirm. I filled up my IC number and proudly signed. He scuffled to the back to where they kept the goodie bag and searched for mine. He came back and handed me mine. Number 806 can be seen on the half A4 size ride plate. Hurrayyyyy...Like a children receiving a toy, I excitedly opened the package to inspect the goodies. 1 bright green jersey, 1 certificate and 1 food coupon. My wife almost shriek when she saw the jersey. She had always wanted a green jersey to go with her bike. We asked whether there was any extra so that we can buy for her. To our disappointment, there was none. I had to console her for that. Kesiannnn...[on D-Day, they opened the order for the jersey and she immediately placed hers]

We took some time to mingle around saying hello and hi to fellow MTBers who were there for the registration. At about 3.00 p.m., the gloomy sky let off its belly. Heavy shower of huge droplets of water making non-stop rat-a-tat sound when it hit the polycarbonate roof of the centers car porch. The first thing that came to mind was "It's gonna be one muddy ride tomorrow...", Other fellow MTBers echo the same thought...[we were surprisingly wrong]

The rain was like a cue for my departure. I decided to check out the bicycle shops in Kulim. We drove off in the drizzling rain, to Taman Selasih. There were 2 well known bike shops located nearby - MTB Extreme also fondly known as Kedai Cikgu and Best Kal or Kedai Jamil. I'll post up a more up close story later, insyaAllah.

Never go to a bike shop if you don't intend to buy anything. Right enough. I didn't come out empty handed. A near miss collision with a RS Recon avoided. But...I managed to grab a set of white nylon braided shifter cable. Been looking for those in Klang Valley but nowhere to be found. That would look handsome on my Ogre since the hydro brake hose was already of the same color and material.

The Ogre with new shifter cable all set for action.

The rest of the evening was spent changing the cable. High time too for a cable change since the old ones were already nearing 2 years. Already stiff and sticky. Fortunately, I decided to bring my newly acquired cable cutter along. I got to use it for the first time and my, my...the cut was so easy and smooth. Work completed around 9.00 p.m. inclusive of bike prepping for tomorrow's ride. Cable changed, drivetrain tuned and lubed, tire pressure checked, plate installed. The Ogre was ready for next day's adventure. Which dragon to slay? Which damsel to rescue? Which wicked King to overthrow?

And the knight need prepping too. The Kulimus rounded up at Restoran Nasmir for a carbo loading session. The usual night out end time cut short so that everybody could catch a shut eye earlier. By 12.00, I was already in la la land letting out countless ZZZZZZZ....