244km Tanah Rata to Malaka

We’ve seen it all over the past few days, from the fantastic to the frustrating and even the downright frightening.

Beginnings are almost always good and the ride from the gloriously cool Cameron Highlands back down to the muggy Malaysian coastline was a joy. A winding road took us past tea estates, waterfalls and vegetable fields, on one of those downhills that eliminated any need to pedal but stayed gentle enough that we didn’t need to grip the brakes the whole time either. It must go down as one of the best descents the world has to offer.

Better sense prevailed at the bottom and we decided life was too short to ride into Kuala Lumpur. With a little help from the locals, we quickly found the bus station and then the Chinese restaurant around the corner selling tickets to the express bus.

“When does it leave?” we asked the owner, who was already writing out our tickets, even though we’d just asked if any were available.

“NOW!” came the urgent reply. The owner ushered us across the street to get all our bags off and the front wheel. “This bus isn’t going to wait for you,” we were told in a serious tone. (more…)

You saw it here first!

When we were on Langkawi Island, we met 43-year-old Alan Bate, a British cyclist who’s planning to race around the world in 170 days. If he succeeds, Alan would beat the record recently set by Mark Beaumont. Alan is hoping to start his trip in summer 2009 but first he’s looking for a sponsor - not the easiest of tasks in the current financial climate. So, if anyone out there has $20,000 to spare, get in touch. Here’s our interview with Alan, telling us about his dream to be the fastest man around the world on a bicycle.

 

 Interview with Alan Bate [10:33m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

135km Gua Musang to Tanah Rata

First, a confession. Today we were rescued by a vegetable truck. Yes, a vegetable truck. So we didn’t actually cycle all that distance. We got halfway and put up the white flag. Now that we’ve bared our souls, here’s what happened…

The day actually started quite well, with a top notch breakfast of rice, topped with a multitude of curries. Squid, chicken, mutton. Delicious! We can hear ‘eewwwww’ sounds out there at the thought of squid curry to start the day instead of cornflakes but the Malaysians do a fine squid curry and we didn’t intend to pass up a chance at another serving.

Stomachs full, we stopped at the market for emergency provisions in case we needed to camp and headed out. We knew the last part of the day would entail a few climbs but we were hoping for easier times at the beginning. It wasn’t to be and we barely got past the first junction when not one but three killer climbs presented themselves.

We weren’t even sure we were on the right road - it didn’t match our map at all - and more mountains were ahead so we stopped at a cafe for verification. “Cameron Highlands?” we said to the men sipping their tea. They burst into laughter with a look that said yes, but are you crazy? Their hands started moving in all kinds of wild up and down motions that only mean one thing: there are big hills ahead.

At least we were going the right way. “No problem,” we said confidently, smiling as we rode off. It wasn’t a problem for the first 30km or so. There was even a brief shady stretch through palm oil plantations but sometime around noon and a few dozen hills later we hit a wall. (more…)

329km Kuala Ketil to Gua Musang

“Elephant dung!”

Friedel spotted the coconut-sized balls first and we both screeched to a halt by the side of the road for a closer look. It was definitely elephant poo and it was as near as we got to the elusive giant of the jungle.

Many signs warn motorists to be careful of elephants on the East-West highway running between Malaysia’s two coasts but we didn’t see so much as a tip of a trunk emerging from the bushes. Only the elephant’s mess told us he’d been here not long ago, although whether it was the night before or a week before, we weren’t sure.

We kept our eyes peeled for elephants throughout our jungle crossing. Every rustle of the branches sent our heads swinging round, hoping to catch a glance of a grey tail going into the lush green hills but without luck. When rain forced us to camp near a mountain peak, we thought we might hear elephants during the night but our sleep in the jungle was strangely quiet, apart from the hum of the generator running the nearby mobile phone mast. (more…)

140km Georgetown to Kuala Ketil

It’s been an action packed few days, zigging and zagging all over a small corner of Malaysia with the country’s most famous bicycle tourist. Hardly anyone comes down Malaysia’s west coast without being caught by David. “I’ve got spies everywhere,” he said with a smile when we turned up at his home.

We’d heard of David the cyclist hunter and we’d also heard about his spies. Rather than risk being dragged off the main highway or from a nearby hotel, we decided to submit to voluntary kidnapping for a few days.

After all, if you have to be taken hostage, David makes it quite an agreeable form of torture. There’s no small quantity of food involved. He’s hosted nearly 200 people over the past five years and David is clearly accustomed to cyclists and their appetites. A new round of food appeared at least every two hours, with a different cuisine featuring every time. Malay. Indian. Chinese. We tried them all and used the calories to tackle the intimidating schedule David had set up for us.

Our 48-hours of fun started with a hike up Maxwell Hill, a retreat that you can only reach by navigating 90 steep switchbacks. The grade is never less than 10% - often more – and the result is a great view over the nearby city of Taiping and a refreshing climate, just what you’d expect at over 1,000 meters above sea level. Even keen cyclists aren’t so crazy to tackle something like that by bike. We took the jeep. (more…)