Wasted Skinnies

On Sunday, 13 June 2010, me and usual cycling buddies were riding the beautiful trail of Wasteland at Bukit Kiara. Before that, Wasteland trail is divided in two sections, one is tight singletrack cutting along the ridges and matured rubber trees and one is an excellent series of switchbacks. These sections were divided by a stream, and the sections are (now were..) connected by a bridge which we called it skinnies.

Due to the force of nature (of course under God's decrees), the demure skinnies gave up, and to reach our destiny we had to cross the stream (more of a riverbed..) manually.

Time to flex the muscle again to rebuild the bridge, connecting the two sections that we, MTBers, love so much. Lets do it...

[Old picture, as at Feb 2009, where the skinnies acting as a bridge to connect one section to another]

[As at 13 June 2010, a broken destiny]

[My riding friends are still smiling, but look at the skinnies's log that gave way at the bottom of the picture]

2010 Firsh Hash @ Semenyih

The first KLMBH hash for 2010 was near Semenyih town. The parking place was right in front of the Semenyih 132kV substation... since I work with TNB... hehehe... :)

The place is actually around the old Kampung Sungai Lalang.

The route was slightly less than 30km of the usual mixed of palm oil estates, secondary forest trails, rubber plantations, short tarmac sections and long fire roads towards the end.

Honestly, I cannot remember much about the hash, but it was one of the best hashes I ever participated. It was that good, me and my cycling buddies will go again this weekends.

Here are some GPS screenshots info:

[The hash is near to the existing Sungai Pening-Pening trails]

[The elevation profile]

Check out the pre-hash details here.

For after-hash report, click here.

Trail Maintenance: Pure Quill & TNT

Hi guys, lets do some trail maintenance works on Pure Quill (and probably TNT) this Sunday, 24 January 2010.

Meeting place:
Taman Rimba Kiara at 8:00 - 8:15 a.m. Then I will lead you guy for a short drive to the Kg. Penchala's dead end (very near to Flinstone trail),
or
Kg. Penchala's dead end (very near to Flinstone trail) at 8:30 a.m.

Primary tools & accessories:
1. Cangkul.
2. Full finger gloves.
3. Rake.
4. Parang.
5. Some food & water for yourself till midday.
6. Some good sense of humours.
7. Mosquito repellent.

Other tools that of great help:
1. Shovel.
2. Long garden shear (preferably)
3. Whatever you want to bring..

Spread the words to others, the more that show up the merrier.

My wife will make a small barbeque with some juicy watermelon, but the end-of-work party will be at Taman Rimba Kiara.

See you guys there.

From South Africa

I was given an honour to lead our Sunday riding group with our new friend from South Africa.

Welcome to Malaysia, Alan.

The ride routes were as follows:

Taman Rimba Kiara >> Uphill tarmac >> 4K (entrance at water tank) >> 2K (halfway entrance) >> Twin Peaks >> Janie's Addiction (horse trail & old Janie's singletrack) >> Boner >> Penchala Lama >> Kampung & tarmac >> Plan C >> Wasteland >> Bar-a-kuda >> Tarmac >> Mission >> 2K (half loop) >> Tarmac >> Shiner's (entrace at halfway) >> Rock Garden (Carnival).

Time : 8:45 a.m till 12:15 p.m

Distance : ~ 17 kilometers.

Quote from Alan "The trails are excellent. They are technical. It's a very good place to learn to ride on roots."

2010 - New Year Ride

Happy New Year 2010 everyone!

Me and my usual riding buddies rode our favourite Bukit Kiara trails today. Fun!

Race Across The Sky

One of the most exciting endurance mountain bike races is the 100 miles race in Leadville, USA. Hence, the name Leadville 100.

It was won 6 times by Dave Wiens before, until Lance Armstrong won it this year (2009).

This time the race was film, and it was suitably titled as "Race Across The Sky".

Trail Maintenance 18 October 2009: Carnival

The Carnival trail (Lower Carnival) is one of most used trails in Bukit Kiara. The abuse comes both from all sorts of riders, cross country guys and downhillers, and also hikers.

Since this yearly Kuala Lumpur Mountain Bike Carnival (KLMBH) is in 6 weeks time, it is timely to do some touch up on the Carnival trail. You can also read my previous post on this matter, click here.

These were the guys who showed up this time; Adilah, Ashley, Beatrice, Derald, Hui Peng, Jason, LeeNya, Megat, Pat, Rizal, Soon, Umar, Visan, Yew Jo. As usual, Pat is the leader.

I also got a new cangkul for this trail maintenance. My old one was ageing and gave way. Read more about cangkul here.

We were divided into several small teams. Me and Megat this time are in one team. We repaired the triple terrace drop entrance by making it wider and stronger, by adding side retainer, rocks and compacted soils. We also did some rock armouring & soil compacting in between the roots that lead towards the finish line.

I also created some waterbars to divert the water away. Others had their parts and we all contributed to make the trail more rideable and more sustainable.

No photos this time. I forgot my camera... shoot me!

However, I will take some photos after this to show the results. Stay tune...

River Runs Through It

Right smack in the middle of busy and dusty of metropolitan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, lies one of the prestine and flowy trails for mountain biking.

It runs along a small river (more of a large stream...), hence the name of the trail is River Runs Through It. Due to the nature of the landscape, the trail is totally singletrack, with half of it is reinforced with the river's rocks and stones and certain sections can be pretty technical and rooty.

There are four stream crossings, which two of them are built using the rock structure to form bridges and the other two are made from local timber.

Look at the photos below... and notice the clear water.
[Photos taken using Nokia E71]

[Singletrack at the left of the photo]

[Singletrack from the top left (next to the tree) of the photo and towards the rock-align bridge]

[Singletrack from the top right of the photo and towards the timber bridge]

I rode the trail yesterday and it was a real pleasure, though it was not a long trail. Well.. so does most of the other trails in Bukit Kiara.

This is where I usually play...

The photo below (taken by Andy Dass) is a picture of me with my buddies at the Bukit Kiara's crossroad.

The crossroad is where some of the most exciting trails in Bukit Kiara starts, such as the half-technical and fast 2K trail, technical 4K trail and the famous Lung Buster Twin Peak trail. It is also a 4-way junction for the tarmac road.

[Me, holding my KHS XC604, with my buddies]

This is where I usually ride and play...

Patawi's "2fnLong" Time Trial @ Bukit Kiara

This is the second route of mountain bike time trial in Bukit Kiara. The first route was using the 2K trail.

Take a look at the map and elevation profile below, it passes several trails in Bukit Kiara and half of it is uphill i.e. lots of lung busting climb, before reaching the peak and heading down through excellent singletrack towards the Taman Tun Dr. Ismail's park.

A photo of me heading towards the end.

I suffered broken chains just after the Lung Buster trail (before the first uphill switchback). Luckily, the chains just snapped away and I also brought along with me a KMC's Missing Link. A quick reconnection and I'm off again. It does felt a little bit tight when shifting the gears.

However, by the time I finished fixing the chains, I was overtook by several riders already. My time was 39 minutes 10 seconds. First place was Ian Johnson at 25 minutes 37 seconds.

Read more at Fakawitribe.

2009 KLMBH's Epic Ride

[Image is from KLMBH]

KLMBH organises hash (mountain biking event) every last Sunday of the month. Usually, the hash distance is between 20-30km for long rides. For scenic rides, the distance is usually half the distance and nearly suitable for everyone.

The KLMBH's epic is about 50km! Although it is not more than 100km, like typical epic ride around the world, hey... this is not a race! It is a fun ride.

This year the epic ride will be on Sunday, 10 May 2009.

It will be staged somewhere in Ulu Rening and Ulu Yam.

Make sure you join me there!
For more information, go to KLMBH website.

I do not know much the trails for the epic. However, there is a good write-up by the hares (guys & gals who recce and setup the trails for the hash) about the rides in Fakawitribe.com forum. Here are the extracts:

"1. Check Point CP 1
Comment: The first chicken loop for people on a short (scenic) ride.

Description: The first section aka CP1 is relatively easy and starts with a 1.7km road section to a oil palm plantation in Ulu Yam. The terrain in CP1 is moderately undulating and nearly fully shaded. This is the quintessential Malaysian plantation cross-country ride consisting of mature trees and well manicured trails.

There is one river crossing between Ulu Yam and Ulu Tamu. The river is beautiful and scenic and is knee high most of the time. However, after a heavy rainfall, the river can be as deep as waist high in parts and fast flowing and therefore, may not be safe for unsupervised children. This is a fantastic warm up route. Come and stretch those cold muscles here and breathe the fresh air.

Distance to check point : Approx. 16.9km.
Distance from check point to Home : Approx 1.2km.
Closing time: 11:45am(TBC).

2. Check Point CP 2(Water Point)
Comment: The second chicken loop for people on an intermediate ride.

Description: The route traverses kampung roads through Kampung Genting Malek. There is also a small shop set up in front of the owner's house in Genting Malek for riders to buy drinks. This section is characterised by narrow single lane 'kampung' roads that meanders gently around small 'kebuns' and is relatively flat and shaded.

There is a short single track section in a rubber estate just before check point CP2. Riders can replenish their water here at CP2.

Distance to check point: Approx. 26.4km.
Distance from check point to Home : Approx 3.7km.
Closing time: 11:45am(TBC).

3. Check Point CP 3
Comment: HYH's favourite route in Ulu Renning and the third chicken loop.

Description: This section has been used in both the 06 hash and 08 Epic Loop 2. 6km of beautiful and shaded cross country riding through a mature oil palm estate. At the end of the ride to CP3, riders enter the village of Ulu Renning.

There is a small shop here that sells drinks and some food. Riders can take a break here to eat and have their tea break. Riders on an intermediate ride can follow the main road back to the starting point.

Distance to check point: Approx. 32.6km.
Distance from check point to Home : Approx 6km.
Closing time: 1:30pm(TBC).

4. Check Point CP 4(Water Point)
Comment: The fun starts here!

Description: Up to this point, the ride has been civilised. The fun starts here! The first section is a shaded steep and steady climb on narrow premix road. There are some very good views of Ulu Renning here before we enter into a downhill section.

The bottom of the downhill leads to a red metal bridge and riders will face the main climb on the Epic aka Hill Nos 1. The hill is steep. However, when the planets align and conditions are perfect, our stronger hares have claimed to have ridden all the way up.

The subsequent downhill will lead the riders to our second and last refill point. Check-point 4 is located in a cool and shaded riverine picnic area, frequented by the villagers. This is a good spot to take a break and fuel-up before attempting to complete the remainder of the Epic. Riders can replenish their water here at CP4.

Distance to check point: Approx. 38.5km.

5. Check Point CP 5
Comment: Continuous climb in rubber estate.

Description: The ride from CP 4 to CP5 is a continuous 5km climb albeit, on a relatively easy gradient. The trail is shaded by rubber trees and there seems to be a constant light breeze here. This is a lovely ascent, which has been used many times by the hash.

We expect only the faster riders to make the closing time and the rest will be ushered through a chicken loop back to CP 1.

Distance to check point: Approx. 42km.
Distance from check point to Home : Approx 7.5km.
Closing time: 2:30pm(TBC).

6. Check Point CP 6
Comment: ‘First Among Equals'.

Description: You are super fit and strong. After 42km of fast riding, you are still fresh and you should be. You are the uber man/woman. You laugh at how easy our monthly hashes are. You want a challenge. And so, we will throw at you more hills, more sun, another river crossing, more single track, slippery and steep gravel roads...and you say, "Bring it on!." If this fits your bill, then our final route from CP6 to CP 1 is tailor-made for you. Welcome to Valhalla my friend.

Distance to check point: Approx. 45km.
Distance from check point to Home : Approx 6.7km."

"Wasteland" - The Understated Trail

I always look forward to a bike hash at Bukit Kiara. This year is no different, and it was held on Sunday, 18 January 2009.

Rumours said that there will be new trails replacing the ones that were bulldozed to make way for the horse trails.

Note: Before you read on, this write-up is written such a way that you are familiarised with the trails name in Bukit Kiara.

After the briefing, done by Pat (the lead hare) and Huang (President of TRAKS), we are off to the tarmac climb. Not even half way, we were directed to the short-cut trail which lead to Lung Buster. Surprise it was… Lung Buster is now longer and slightly easier to climb… Yippee! However, it still made me gasping for air after that.

We then rode though the following trails:

Continue Carnival (Lung Buster) > 4K > 2K > Apollo > Tarmac climb > Horse trail (P10) > Tarmac climb > Plan C+ > Horse trail (P3) > Bar-a-kuda (very short section)

[Bridge at 4K Trail - This is the replacement bridge after the old bridge was damaged after the hash]

After the very short section of Bar-a-kuda, the hares led us to the new trail, which the name is yet to be finalized… but currently called “Wasteland”). It was tight yet flowy singletrack and was built along a ridge. Suddenly, there was a bridge… a log skinnies to be exact. After the skinnies, the singletrack continued thorough nicely arrange river stones which looked more like cobblestones. It then led us to a series of uphill switchbacks (six switchbacks I think..) before we ended up at the other side of Bar-a-kuda. Pure joy!

[Skinnies at "Wasteland"]

Then, the following trails:

Bar-a-kuda (the other side) > Lower Short > Upper Short (till the peak) > 5-junction horse trails > Horse trail (P5) > Pure Quill + > Twin Peak > Flinstones > Rock Garden (Carnival).

I must say after the long climb from Lower Short till Twin Peak, the flowy and rocky section of Flinstones and Rock Garden (Carnival) was fantastic and exhilarating.

Plus, the weather was breezy and the trails were dry!

More reading and viewing at the following links:

1. Bikehash - Forum discussion.

2. Blog - Biawaktasik - Excellent photos

Trail Maintenance 16 Nov 2008: Carnival

Nearly every trail that I deal with on trail days is Bukit Kiara’s classic, but you cannot argue the iconic status of the Carnival trail.
From the moderate climb that leads to lung-busting climbs, uphill switchbacks, fast & furious singletrack, rocky downhill switchbacks, rock garden, river drop, 3-tier downhills, no trail at Bukit Kiara has such compilation of those characters.

It is also the host for the yearly Kuala Lumpur Mountain Bike Carnival, hence the name of the trail. This year race will be on 29 and 30 November 2008.

The challenge today is trying to fix Carnival to its best.

I don’t have the number, but about 15 people showed up. The Penghulu, Pat, divided us into several work parties. Me and Johnny were given no. 10, that was a fast and rooty section towards the end of Carnival. The rest got their number and location.

Here are a few photos that I managed to snap…

[Safety briefing before the trail work. The location is at Taman Lembah Kiara]

[BEFORE: Putting some rocks to protect the trees' roots. This was just the beginning...]

[AFTER: Smooth...! Under the dirt were lots of rocks]

[Jun and Tony]

See you guys at the race...!

Safety Always Comes First

Recent development of material manipulation and crafting, the mountain bikes are getting lighter. At the same time, there are tremendous improvements in the shock technology. These two progressions promotes longer travel full suspension, hence more aggressive riding. Consequently, the freeriding and downhill riding are becoming more popular than ever.

When more people pick up freeriding and downhill riding, there are bound to be a few newbies that eager to ride more. Riding more, for new comers, can be risky. The first recorded bicycle accident is probably a collision in 1842, allegedly between Kirkpatrick McMillan, an early rider of the velocipede, and a young girl in Glasgow. The report, however, is vague and the identification disputed.

There are a few causes of accidents, but the one that I would like to discuss here is sharing of trails.

Sharing of trail means respecting each user, irrespective of their riding style. Cross country riders have the niche to climb every hills presented to them, however downhillers love gravity to do its function. One up, one down… if they share a trail, they are bound to meet at a point. The meeting point, if adrenaline is high, is probably where they collide.

The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is an excellent resource on trail system design, trail building and maintenance. They advocate that, if the trail is shared, then safety always comes first.

In Bukit Kiara, there is also a rider ethics being advocated. Again, safety always comes first.

Trail Maintenance : Bukit Kiara, 2K Trail

Sunday, 11 May 2008. The 2K trail at Bukit Kiara just got longer by roughly 150 meters, and with 4 additional log drops at the existing section (not in the picture).

The log drops are placed at strategic locations of the early part of 2K (clockwise direction) to slow the riders down, yet it provides quite an interesting challenge combined with the downward nature of the trail. The first drop is a miniature drop, even for an 80mm fork. They get progressively deeper, with the last drop of slightly less than one foot, and there is a left turn immediately after it leading to the new section.


There is a switchback that goes around a boulder, and leading to a triple-terrace descent. If you still like the saddle (ravine) at 2K, turn left after the cascade. Otherwise, go straight and pass through a small, but rocky, creek crossing. Enjoy it…

First bike see-saw in Bukit Kiara trails

As I was riding up the Twin Peaks today, I noticed a newly built ramp. Quickly, I went to check out the ramp.

When I got there... wallah... it was not a ramp, it was the first bike see-saw in Bukit Kiara trails.

Pictures of Bukit Kiara's see-saw will follow suit.

However, these are some pictures of the see-saw at trails around the world:

Bukit Kiara Trail Replacement - Pure Quill, Part II

Sunday, 7 April 2008.

The first Pure Quill trail works was good, but due to the amount of works that needs to be done, only half of the trail was digged.

So, we come again to continue what's left.

Bukit Kiara Replacement Trailworks - Pure Quill

Stay tune...

Bukit Kiara Replacement Trailworks - Plan C

The Plan C trail which connects Sri Hartamas to Bukit Kiara trail network was destroyed by the new 3 meter (plus) wide horse trail built the Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) or Kuala Lumpur City Council.

[The 3-meter + wide rotten horse trail]

There were 25 people gathered to do their parts in building the new replacement trail. After the safety briefing, the guys were divided into several groups; one to open up the path and do the finishing job, one group to clear the big stuffs like fallen trees or boulders and one group to dig and carve the trail.

Each group had their leader, but the trail master is Pat. This is also my first time being a leader for one the group. Great experience !!

Here are some the pictures taken by several of the trail crews.












According to the Pat, we managed to open up 450 meters of trail and only another 50 meters were left out.

After the hard work, me and my beloved wife Laily setup a small barbeque of Ramlee burgers, frankfurters and breads. She also pre-cooked baked chicken, simple twisted pasta and chicken & mushroom quiche. To replenish the lost water and salt from the body, the isotonic drinks and watermelons were also served.

Bukit Kiara Trail Watch by Joe Adnan

I came accross Joe Adnan's blog about the destruction of Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur. It comes with photographic evidents of the wrong and inhumane ways of "developing" such prestine green lung area.

Click here to read more about his trail watch at Bukit Kiara.