Awesome friends giving me my first cycling lessons at Guthrie Corridor Expressway

Last Saturday (8 June) was an unforgettable day for me. It was a day filled with excitement with many firsts in my cycling experience:



  • first time cycling at Guthrie Corridor Expressway
  • first time cycling with running shorts for such long distance
  • first time wearing cycling shirt (borrowed) and using cycling gloves (borrowed) at cycling
  • longest cycling ride in Malaysia 
  • longest cycling ride with a road bike (never cycled a road bike prior to HASA)
  • first time cycling with my beloved colleagues and friends Kok Ghee, Jason Ling, Albert Wong and Kok Ghee's wife Kassy.



    •
    6:30 am start-off at  my friend's Bukit Jelutong house

    Beautiful shot by Kok Ghee - a cool morning with cool weather at Bukit Jelutong

    The scene was quite comical when I arrived at my friend's house at 6:30 am. :) 

    Everyone was looking so cool and professional - wearing cycling shirt and cycling shorts, gloves and "professional carbon" road bike, EXCEPT me!! :) 

    I came down from my car with my Adidas King of the Road 2011 running vest and running shorts. And my HASA new road bike is the cheapest bike amongst all the bicycles.

    My dear friend Kok Ghee was so generous and thoughtful. He quickly went inside his house and got me his S-size cycling vest for me to wear, and also a pair of cycling gloves. I guess he didn't want me to embarrass them on the road later.  But he said that I would have felt cold from the cool weather during cycling. :) Which is the truth?Only he knows. lol! But I was really appreciative of his kindness.


    Kok Ghee, his wife Kassy, Jason and Albert were so friendly, patient, and selfless in getting me feel comfortable with them as a first timer. Jason even thought me how to put the bike in the car boot as his car is same as mine. And Albert even helped me to zip up my cycling vest as I was a bit blur blur on how to wear for the first time. :)

    Comical scene, right? :)


    Kok Ghee's House to Guthrie Corridor Expressway's Half Point (20.21 km)
    First 20.21 km cycling ride. I only manage 2:46 min per km. A rather slow ride as I was just trying to get used to my new road bike and also I was braking all the way in every downhill due to my fear of falling (trauma)! 

    We rode off from Kok Ghee's house and I stayed as the last cyclist because I was just trying to get used to riding a road bike.

    But it was very nice of Kok Ghee and Jason to stay back trying to guide me and teach me along the way. 

    I was riding very slow because I was unfamiliar with the place and I wasn't comfortable with changing gear yet.

    And whenever I saw a downhill slope, I got very scared.

    What did I do? 

    I stopped pedaling and braked my bike all the way down the slope trying to slow down my bike. 

    My fear and phobia of falling resulted from an almost fatal bicycle accident during childhood time in Langkawi had paralyzed me! The "traumatic" experience is still vividly appearing in my memory whenever I ride a bicycle even after so many years. I couldn't shake it off my head whenever I cycle. Sigh!

    Going uphill, I felt more comfortable. But when it got to going downhill, I felt so helpless. 

    This lasted the whole 20.21 km.

    But besides the fear and trying my best to know my HASA road bike better, I truly enjoyed the cool weather, quiet bike lane of Guthrie Corridor Expressway and awesome company of friends who were trying their best to make me comfortable with my first long distance road bike cycling with them.

    We took a pit stop at one of the Guthrie Corridor Expressway's rest area, 20.21 km from our starting point.

    I was so excited (yet cautious) about the first 20.21 km ride. 

    The moment we stopped for a short break before making u turn, I couldn't stop myself from taking some wefies, selfies  and photos with the great company. :)



    I love this photo! Taken with my Samsung S7 Edge! Aint we colorful? my cycling vest is actually Kok Ghee's. Thanks to him for making me look like a real cyclist. lol!

    Awesome shot by Jason Ling with his iPhone. 

    Another nice shot!
    First bike: Kassy's: Second bike: my HASA; 3rd bike: Kok Ghee's; 4th bike: Albert's'; 5th bike: Jason's

    Another awesome shot of 5 of us!! Yippiee!! we are so bright and happy!!

    Say peace!! Cycling shorts, running shoes on a bicycle with borrowed cycling shirt and borrowed cycling gloves. lol!!! Funny combination!! But at least I looked half professional cyclist! lol! 

    Better take a photo of my in half cycling attire! Race occasion for me as my war drobe is all running vests and shorts..



    Guthrie Corridor Expressway's Half Point U-Turn back to Bukit Jelutong's mamak stall near my friend's house (26.89 km)

    After making u-turn to the other side of Guthrie Corridor Expressway, it took us 26.89 km to be back. Good 47 km distance in total!

    During this second part of the cycling, my butt started to feel the pain - a result of no proper padded cycling shorts or no proper padded saddle. lol!!! 

    Well - I actually still felt ok. May be I had a higher tolerance of pain due to full marathon training. lol!

    Anyway, I kept telling myself that my butt was already split in half as is. And I shouldn't be bothered by the butt pain! No big deal! :) The worst that could happen would be to see my own butt split into another half - making it a quarterly-split butt. hahahaha!

    Putting jokes aside, I would say that this second half of the cycling journey made me feel much more confident about cycling and felt much more in control especially going downhill. Great thanks to Kok Ghee for his persistence in teaching me on tips and techniques in shifting the gear.

    I started to ride slightly faster as I got more comfortable with gear shifting and behavior of my road bike HASA.

    I have learned many great cycling lessons from my dear friends. 

    But the GREATEST lesson I have ever learned from them (especially Kok Ghee) on my first day out with them would be: Tips and techniques on how to change gear while riding.


    Rule of Thumb for me (an idiot in cycling):
    (Please pardon my non-technical term.. still learning on the names and terminologies of bicycles parts. :))

    1. Focus on rear wheel's gear changing for now. 
    2. When going uphill, press the outer "gear switch" click to increase cadence which would make going uphill easier.
    3. When going downhill, press the inner "gear switch" click to decrease the cadence which would provide better "grip" of the ground and better control of the bike.
    4. Don't "pedal air" which is very inefficient.



    Roti Canai Time after 47 km enjoyable, exciting bicycle ride with great friends
    Selfie at the mamak stall after 47 km bicycle ride. Happy happy happy!

    How could we end a great 47 km cycling ride without a proper carbo loading and some catch-ups?

    I should celebrate my longest ever maiden ride!! :)

    So Kok Ghee brought us to his favorite mamak stall at Bukit Jelutong. And judging from what he, Albert and Jason ordered, I would think that ROTI BAWANG is awesome!!! :) Jason also tapau back for his family!!! haha!

    I didn't know about it and I ordered myself ROTI TELUR because I wanted some protein for muscle recovery. I didn't take any power gel for the 47 km ride. :)

    Roti telur was super duper nice! And not so oily too! But I would love to try roti bawang the next time I ride with them again!!

    I really hope to make this into my weekly Saturday morning ride as I start to prepare to face up to my greatest challenge of all times in September. 

    Additionally, I truly enjoyed the cycling route using the motorbike lane at Guthrie Corridor Expressway. I felt safe. I felt it was a good place for me to practice my self. I felt that the distance was long enough for me to train endurance.

    I did ask Kok Ghee to bring me one day to cover up to 70 km at least once before September. And he promised me to arrange for such distance. I am excited and looking forward to that day to come! :)

    Meanwhile, I also double and triple checked on my butt after 2 days (with a 32 km run on the following day after cycling). I m happy to let you all know that my butt is still in half, and not in quarter. So I'm good. :) haha!

    But I shall buy myself a pair of cycling pants / tri-pants and a pair of gloves before the next ride.

    I look forward to learning more cycling skills from great friends in my next ride!! Yippie!! Can't wait! 

    Jason said he wanted to take a more handsome photo without the helmet!! So here it's... another shot! lol!

    Albert, Kok Ghee, Jason and I were waiting for Roti Bawang and Roti Canai..... hungry!!!

    yum yum!! very very nice roti telur! Next time I must try roti bawang enjoyed by the rest in this photo.

    Written on 206.06.21