say "Hi", Michaelango!

Now, back to subterranean. “Subterranean” according to the world’s greatest dictionary, Wikipedia, refers to something underground.  It could also mean a song by David Bowie, Bob Dylan or Radiohead or some obscure English band.  You will never get such definitions in Oxford, Webster’s or Oxster…you get the drift.  Wiki rocks.

where the horsemen gather - GP Esso

The briefing for the enthusiastic riders

Now, I would not normally refer a cave as subterranean because to me, a cave is a hole in a mountainside.  A cave is also where ancient Chinese swordsmen typically gets trapped when an avalanche of rocks seals off the only passage out, somehow finds himself some sort of long lost secret kungfu manual of a powerful martial arts sect and blows the cave apart after mastering the moves in the manual, thereby freeing himself and commits himself to either commit the worst devilry or be the ancient Chinese version of Superman.

Riding some 500km to a cave in Ipoh to find kungfu therapy is the closest thing modern swordsmen riding iron horses can do to emulate the swordsmen of lore. Modern horsemen are also very lucky to be able to catch up on some snooze and load up on Macdonald’s midway through the tough all nighter journey up to Ipoh. I’m sure our swordsmen of lore are turning in their graves, thinking to themselves: “back in our times, we pack buns and drink lake water stored in water gourds.”  Let’s just say, we learn from experience.

The iron horse at their stables while the riders went for burgers...

Although only 300km into the journey, the weary travellers were more than delighted with their pick of hamburgers, nasi briyani and hot drinks.  After all, the build up of energy must start now as the arduous trek through the ancient cave is only a couple of hours away.

signs of riding into Ipoh!

... and into the misty mountains we go!

all the riders gather

the crew getting ready for the trek

Jo likes Dylan's nipple tape

taking our baby steps into darkness

As the misty clouds near the cave dissipates in the morning light, the level of activity heats up as we ditched our protective riding gear for one meant for crawling in dark, dank and wet spaces. The anticipation builds as we twist, turn, climb and slide our way deeper and deeper into the bowels of nature. Along the way, boys laugh at phallic statues of nature’s doing while the girls giggle. How degrading. I was very sure our trapped ancestors sat on top of them meditating while gathering enough qi to blow the cave apart.

crawling in the caves

the gremlins gather

Then, came the crawling in flooded spaces. Lacking the skills to walk through these rocks, us mere mortals can only hope to walk through in the quickest possible time. Some wise guy then thought that rolling was a pretty good idea since you won’t get bruised elbows. We concurred…and away we rolled through the cave.

3 martial arts exponents

time to get wet!

cher's opening his legs !

time to get down on all fours

big man on big steep slide

a well deserved rest at the end of the walk

By the time we were done, it was nearly 3 hours since we first stepped on.  We did not find any manuals nor did we get trapped in the cave.  Instead, we got a weird sense of satisfaction when we overcame our fear of height, tight spaces, snakes and yes, spiders, as we trekked, slide, crawled and rolled our way through the cavernous cave of Gua Tempurung.  The final treat was a cool water Jacuzzi before we greet the warm rays of the sun again.

the bikes at impiana hotel

The ride to the hotel couldn’t come sooner as lunch at the cave was starting to get set into our stomachs. But the sleep couldn’t come just yet as we scouted around for a sauna.  Alas, the hotel was in a semi state of renovations and the much anticipated spa treat did not happen but we did settle for a nice dip in the pool, basking in the glaring, glorious sun.  A much preferred contrast to the slithering in the bowels of earth earlier in the morning.

Dinner at Hotel Impiana, Ipoh, was always going to be a greatly anticipated fare for those who have been here before on Kruzer rides.  Boasting one of the better food fares in our travels, a wide range of food, desserts and drinks awaits us in a private area for the club.  The late evening saw some travelling out to Ipoh’s night markets while the rest lounge around in the hotel’s new bar.  A dreamy night ends a packed yet satisfying day once again.

Kruzer banquet!

satisfying spread of food at Hotel Impiana

energy to cover what was lost in the morning

nice legs!

sweet carbs

lounging at Impiana's bar for the evening while the rest went shopping!

The morning mist did nothing to cool the temperatures in the afternoon.  By the time we were ready to leave at 12pm, the sun was at its scorching, piercing best.  First stop, Kellie’s Castle, an anomaly sitting in the middle of Malaysia’s plantations.  Abandoned by an European settler early last century, the uncompleted show of opulence became an “attraction” of sorts for the locals. (Wiki it – you’ll find some interesting accounts there)

kellie will cringe at these models!

With the heat bearing unrelentingly on us and the motorcycles, it was prescient of Isaac to plan for a cool off at a waterfall nearby.  Snaking through dirt trails and “barely there” roads, locals were wide-eyed, staring at the convoy of foreign looking bikes invading their local haunt.  This was probably one of the rare times foreigners came on their own accord.  One quick survey of the waterfall later, the guys stripped down and jumped straight into the ice-cool waters of the waterfall.  So refreshing were the waters that we didn’t want to leave until the sun makes its descent.

As quick as the day zoomed past, we made a quick stop-over at Cliff’s in Malacca for our dinner fix.  No day can end well without a nice cool bottle of beer (Kenny’s End of Day theorem) and the hearty meal certainly topped it all off!

The Event

Screening of “Riding To The Top Of The World” is a second part of Kruzer’s intend to share riding possibilities in India. The first, OCR, was a success with the presence of Sanjeev, one of the riders in the film. As 60kph is celebrating their 9th Anniversary and they will be doing a ride, no one will be able to make it for this screening. We will arrange with 60kph to have a space in their forum for any inquiries.

This official screening is inconjunction with Kruzer’s 5th Anniversary celebrations and thus there will be a short presentation of Kruzer’s journey for the past 5 years. All present are welcome to watch this before the screening of the film. After the film, Kruzer will be celebrating its 5th Anniversary with members and guests. There will be dinner served with more experiences by Kruzer, as a club and individual will be shared. Guests coming for the sreening are most welcome to join us in our celebration. Its a good time to take a peak into Kruzer.

Riding Solo To The Top Of The World

Riding Solo… is a film about filmmaker Gaurav Jani’s solo motorcycle journey from Mumbai to one of the remotest places in the world, the Changthang Plateau in Ladakh, bordering China. As a one-man film unit, he astonishes you, filming the landscape he passes by and the people he interacts with, capturing moments of beauty, pain, love, hardship, self doubt and spiritual triumphs.

More information at http://www.dirttrackproductions.com/ridingsolo.html
Tickets

Screening : $5

Screening & Dinner : $20

please email Jocelyne at kruzerjo@yahoo.com for reservations and inquiries.

Kruzer presents the official screening of “One Crazy Ride” in Singapore inconjuction with it’s 5th anniversary celebrations.

OCR, produced by Dirt Track Productions is about a motorcycle expedition on uncharted roads across the Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh, situated in North-east India. But more than an expedition, it’s a film on friendship, camaraderie and the “never say die” attitude of five motorcyclists in the face of unforgiving terrain.

Rides like this that builds friendship and often resulting a family like relation, very much mirrors our experiences. Thus by screening this we hope to further share our interest and objectives in such films with the riding scene in Singapore.

A cast from the film may be attending the screening for Q&A after the show. There will also a cocktail reception after the screening.

Screening of OCR will be held at Sinema Old School. With a capacity of 136 pax, we will expect tickets to run out fast as its a first come first serve basis. Bookings can be made with payment. Please contact Jocelyne at 92762686 for tickets.

Screening Details

Date : 28 Nov 2009
Time : 5.30pm
Venue : Sinema, 11B Mount Sophia, Old School #B1-12 Singapore 228466
Tickets : $6 (includes cocktail reception after show)

It may sound morbid to you but I readily admit that I do. It gets my adrenaline pumping and more importantly, it reinforces the idea that I’m about to undertake a dangerous activity and I have to be careful.  Having recently ridden with relatively new riders in Malaysia, I realised that some do not think much about the dangers of being on the roads.  The over-riding mentality is to keep up with the pack (this is not necessary in Kruzer rides) and in the process ignoring other road users.  While it’s easy to pin the blame on inexperience, advanced riders also run into the dangers of complacency.  To summarise this paragraph, we just do not think enough when we’re out there.

Charlie the Monkey doesn’t think very much

Take the picture below as an example. How many times have we seen motorcyclists speed ahead in such a situation to overtake the vehicle turning left?  Would you speed ahead in these situations?  Do you think the motorcyclist should consider if the vehicle turning out may not have seen him/ her? Common sense is such a cliche word in road safety, but many do not stop and contemplate the full meaning of the word.

Picture taken from www.drivertheory.co.uk.

Knowing the dangers of riding a motorcycle is never enough and I thought I’d share an article about the “Hurt Study” which I’ve found recently.  The study focuses on factors which cause motorcycle accidents.  Although it was conducted in 1981, the summarized findings are pretty relevant in today’s context and I’ll going through 5 today (there are a total of 53).

1.  Approximately three-fourths of these motorcycle accidents involved collision with another vehicle, which was most usually a passenger automobile.

There is really nothing conclusive about this finding except to reinforce the fact that there are a lot more cars out there than motorcycles.  That these cars are fat, lazy and totally clumsy on the roads is another matter.

Seriously, you, the motorcyclist, will lose out in ANY collision with a 4 wheeled piece of metal slab.  So please, keep a healthy respect for these monsters. Even if you feel aggrieved and start to tailgate one, or dashing through a traffic light without thinking about right turning vehicles from the other side of the road, think about the scraps and mental trauma you’ll get while stunned drivers probably just need to wipe off the piss in their pants.

2. Approximately one-fourth of these motorcycle accidents were single vehicle accidents involving the motorcycle colliding with the roadway or some fixed object in the environment.

aha! You may have thought that the remaining one-fourth of accidents are due to collision with other motorcycles but you couldn’t be further from the truth.  To crash into a fixture is like walking into a bollard and bruising your private parts.

Although it sounds laughable altogether, think deeper about it.  You have just rode 500km in the last 6 hours in the heat of the afternoon sun with sweat pouring down your face. Blood in your body goes towards the stomach, eagerly gathering nutrients from the heavy lunch you had half an hour ago. With a monotonous drone of the engine, you fade into a temporary sleep of a few micro seconds……

Concentration levels in long rides are VERY hard to keep up.  Not only should one be prepared with ample rest the night before a ride, you must also be mentally prepared for it.  Although it sounds dumb to crash into a fixed object, the hurt it can cause can be fatal.

3. Vehicle failure accounted for less than 3% of these motorcycle accidents, and most of those were single vehicle accidents where control was lost due to a puncture flat.

The numbers on vehicular failure is a fantastic testimony to the engineering feats of motorcycle manufacturers and approving bodies for motorcycles.  Although not common, keeping a bike in good condition for a ride is a necessity.  I cannot imagine if your bikes stalls halfway while you are making a right turn!  You’ll be right smack in the middle of oncoming traffic!

It is even more rare to experience a puncture flat in these days with the advent of tubeless tires (remember that the survey was done in 1981). But they can still occur, especially if the tire was very worn out OR a case where a missing tire valve cap allows small rocks to get lodged into the air valve,  rapidly reducing the air pressure.

No trouble for this bike!

4.  In the single vehicle accidents, motorcycle rider error was present as the accident precipitating factor in about two-thirds of the cases, with the typical error being a slide-out and fall due to over-braking or running wide on a curve due to excess speed or under-cornering.

Strengthening my argument in Point 2, rider error IS a major problem.  After all, we are only human.  However, maturity in riding can drastically reduce such errors.  A slide-out occurs when the bike’s wheels are locked and the rider skids.  In my observations and discussions with other riders, inexperience may play a key role.  A natural reaction to any danger is to suddenly pull the brakes really hard.  Controlling a bike with the wheels being pulled back is akin to controlling a raging bull on a rodeo as your body is pulled forward while the bike is pulling backwards.  Instead, firm grip and gradual (if afforded the time) would prepare one for the stop better.

Running wide on a curve is something every Kruzer will experience at least once.  The twisties of Simpang Pulai, Fraser Hill or the Karak Highway are all fraught with hidden bends and sudden changes in turning angles. Approaching the twisties in a responsible way, ie braking to a reasonable speed, and keeping your concentration up and aiming to stay in your lane will help to ensure that this will not happen to you! There are times after running wide, where I thanked the heavens for not allowing a bus be in the opposite direction.

spot the error for this guy!!

5.  Roadway defects (pavement ridges, potholes, etc.) were the accident cause in 2% of the accidents; animal involvement was 1% of the accidents.

Contrary to popular belief, Malaysian roads are NOT always ridden with potholes. In fact, the N-S highway has been very well kept with constant re-paving and extension works to ensure all road users a pleasant ride.  That said, there are still some areas which need a massive improvement and these are the areas which we as motorcyclists must be aware of.  A personal experience I had in a Malaysian trunk road was when I suddenly realised I wasn’t on tarmac anymore and was riding on a gravel patch beside the road! It was pitch black at night and I haven’t realised that the road tapered into a single lane.

Animal involvement in accidents are rare indeed and yet in our early riding days, one of our travelling group actually hit a cow!  Luckily, the rider and pillion were fine with sprained ankles and bruises but the bike and cow was thrashed. The cow had to be killed.  In short,  be aware when you are in animal territory. It is the same on the N-S highway, although the animals tend to be the smaller types such as cats, dogs and monitor lizards. They can still cause you to lose control so think about it!

obviously, Mr Officer wasn’t paying attention

I’ll continue with the rest of the findings in days to come but I hope that as you ride, you’ll think about the things that can go wrong and act to prevent them from happening.  Knowing what can go wrong prevents you from being in that situation in the first place!

I will be glad to hear constructive stories, differing points of views and comments.  Afterall, we are all here to learn and improve.

The “Hurt Study” summarised findings can be found here!

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-Safety/Hurt-study-summary.htm

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and are not necessarily those of Kruzer.

A: where you all wanna go and eat?

B: Errr, don’t know. Anything..

C: Someplace with air-con leh…

D: ya, anything…

A: Arrgghhh!!!

OR this incident at Batu Pahat:

A: Are we going to climb up the stairs to the viewpoint?

B: Errr, anything…

A: nah, we stay here and cool down..

Rest: ok..

Ten minutes later of staring at monkeys under the shadow of a tree in a deserted carpark,

A: ehh, wanna go where to eat?

B: Errr, don’t know. Anything..

C: Someplace with air-con leh…

D: ya, anything…

A: Arrgghhh!!!

With absolutely no plans (well maybe Isaac knew we wanted to head to Pontian and Batu Pahat), no idea where we’re heading (again, except maybe Isaac), no inkling of what to have for breakfast, lunch and whatever, we just rode.

With just a rough idea on where to get lost and explore some dirt tracks, we not only burned rubber, we burned time, shed a couple of kilos from the unrelenting heat and put it back on in a spacious air-conditioned place with beers, cokes and life’s little luxuries…

Morning at GP Esso and already the rains cleared and bikers go out

RS at Pontian: A Seaside Kopitiam

all 6 musketeers Breakfast at RS in Pontian

(Left: 1/3 of Tony, terence happily slurping mee goreng, isaac examining scriptures on his paper dosai, joe waiting for his “special” order mee goreng, yours truly blowing my mee and a windswept chow)

Delicious maggi goreng with a teh tarik

Paper dosai and spit filled teh tarik

some kampong near batu pahat (tracks may not be reflected in some GPS maps)

you know the heat is getting to terence when he does this

All these food for 60RM + airconditioning to boot!

cutting the pyramid down to size!

A well deserved dessert

and a deserving beer!

I dare say, we met our objectives for this trip: Ride (yeah!) Eat (Hell yeah!) Slack (no doubt abt it). Something about this trip reminds me of those books we used to read; where you could make your choices on which way the story goes by choosing the next page you want to read. Uncertainty is certainly fun, once in a while….

Till the next ride to Cape Silk,

kenny

The day started real early today with the riders meeting at 4am. Although a trip to Tasik Chini will not take more than 6 hours, it was important that all arrived on time and be properly briefed and prepared for the ride. The trip is also made much more interesting and challenging with several new riders and a fellow photographer from Clubsnap (a local photography forum) following us for the trip. With all the basics of group riding and the route we’re taking done and dusted, off we head into the darkness of the NS highway with 11 bikes and a car..

First stop at Yong Peng

Yaohui                                                                                        Andy

Tasik Chini is Malaysia’s second largest natural lake with a sad story to tell. Once brimming with Sacred Lotuses (Nelumbo Nucifera), the 12 smaller lakes of Tasik Chini supported numerous Orang Asli settlements with a healthy fish catch and some tourist money. As we strive for balance in life, it is interesting to see in nature the seasonal rising and falling of water levels working in perfect harmony to keep the lotuses germinating and growing back to cover the lake’s surface every season.

Alas, as lotuses continued to bloom and the tourists came, the state government dammed up the lake in 1995 in an attempt to attract more tourists in the dry season where the lotuses traditionally die and allow for germination to occur. They have unwittingly caused a chain reaction of tree deaths and fish depopulation. The balance was disrupted. Although the dam was removed five years later, the damage was done and it would need many more years before the lotuses will be in full bloom and the brown waters become clear again..

Tasik Chini in the morning

As Kruzer have always been on tours which contribute to nature, it is befitting that we visited Rajan Jones once again. A champion for the lake and the native Orang Asli, Rajan operates a guesthouse amid an Orang Asli village and pays them for jobs such as looking for new trekking routes and bringing his guests out for boat trips. You will be assured to know that the money you spent on the tour stays in the village.

Rajan lighting up his lamp for dinner

Orang Asli boiling water for our tea

Orang Asli having fun by the pool

A few petrol stops, a beer stocking trip and breakfast later, we arrived in good spirits at Rajan’s Guesthouse at about 10am. By now, the unrelenting sun was peering down on us and we need our shower! But first, a walk to Rajan’s Café was on the cards as the rooms were just vacated and you know it needs to be cleaned if you saw a frog lying on your pillow. Realizing that time was short and we needed to start the scheduled trek soon, we changed and got ready for the walk. But first, a one hour, sun drenched bumpy ride to the trek start point.

the bumpy ride to the trek

Looking at the flimsy bridge we just crossed

Trekking to the waterfalls

Terapai Waterfalls was a new site which was discovered by the local Orang Asli recently when they were searching for new treks for us. Although the waterfall looked ordinary at first sight, the site was so untouched that even the fishes come up to you and nibble the dead skin off you! We were just getting sunburned without knowing it as we tried our best to scoop up the fishes and the occasional shrimp with huge pinchers. Ahh, the innocence of boys catching fishes with their bare hands…

Spa-ing

Picking up leeches for lunch

The only reason we climbed out of the water was the look of impending rain and the hot drinks. As the rain drops created a cacophony of noise in the rainforest, we trudged along, hoping to walk fast enough so that the dreaded leeches don’t have the time to latch on. But as we neared the lorry pick up point, one of the most unforgettable and dreadful things to happen started as Shamen and Mei got stung by a yellow flying insect. What happened in the next 20 minutes was probably a life changing experience for Shamen as he battled a severe allergic reaction to the sting while Mei endured strong localized pain in her arm, apart from a mentally torturous time watching Shamen lose his consciousness. As he sat in the front seat of the lorry unconscious, Rosli massaged and pounded him for a good half an hour until he came back to life…and endured a one hour bumpy drive to the clinic. As I helplessly watch from the lorry’s rear, Rosli massaged and coaxed Shamen back to breathing properly and gaining consciousness again in the lorry. All I could do was grip the wooden plank by the side of the lorry tightly, praying that my strength is passed on to Rosli as he attempted to stimulate his vital points.

It is through the higher powers up there (and Dr Rosli, of course!) that decided that Shamen could recover miraculously. Although physically weakened by the ordeal, Shamen’s condition stabilized and was sent back to our rooms for him to rest. As much as he was physically burned out, we were all equally relieved and grateful that he is still with us. The feeling of helplessness is still very strong and I was glad that Isaac felt the same way too. There was no way we would allow this to happen again and vowed to check the first aid for such matters. We were just glad this lesson was not permanently paid for…

Dinner time!

Food at Rajan’s has always been great. It is not the presentation or rarity of food that attracts us, but rather, the simple home cooked fare that his wife whips up for us whenever we are there reminds me of the wonderful food my mum cooks in her greasy kitchen. The dinner was made even better after I came back from sending food up to Shamen and Mei! I would think that I’m the first human being in the world to have a bunch of bananas as my birthday cake, such was the crazy creative ideas the Kruzers can come up with…and to top it all up, it came filled with 29 candles. My sincere thanks to all!

banana cake for monkey’s birthday

The simple but yummy fare

With dinner behind us, there was only one thing left to do in such a quiet, secluded place: beer and chit-chat. As we talked the night away, the night got noisier with snores, occasional laughter and the loud whispering of leaves as the winds of the early morning blew….

A day of riding awaits as we got ready to move off at noon. Breakfast was again simple but satisfying but this year, we got no demonstration of the fire making skills of Rajan Jones nor a boat ride around Chini. He does seem a little more tired than we last saw him two years ago. Age and the deteriorating state of Tasik Chini must have taken its toll on him. At least I know he’s still providing odd jobs for the Orang Aslis. He has been their guardian angel for the past two decades.

Today’s route was to be slightly altered so as to allow some playtime on the beach. That said, the twisties we had on the return leg was all I could ask for after 4 barren months of straight, mind numbing expressways. As they say, pictures paint a thousand words. And this will surely save me some….

Kruzers by the beach

Heading on to the beach!

the fine soft sand

Sean picked up his bike before we posed for pictures can rush to help him

chillin’ by the beach

Tracks

A fine dinner spread of fish and meat at Kluang topped off a particularly warm ride. We were all only too glad that it’s a Sunday the next day….

In the final analysis, it was an enjoyable weekend. All I remembered for the next day (Sunday), was the aches, pains, sunburns and the god damned tiredness..and after checking around on Monday, I’m glad to report I wasn’t the only one. And we all agreed on one thing: this trip certainly taught everyone of us a little something new..

Till the next ride!

all pics are taken by Racheal, Jocelyne, Timothy, Isaac and Mei

During AGM, we’ve announced some news:

- Auto conversion to Life-time Ordinary Membership after 5 yrs of continued membership subscription

- Redemption of your KliK points for 2009 Trips or mechandise

The committee will finalize the details soon

Create Your Custom Message

We are heading to Lake Chini for our next overnight ride. Its time to go back to basics. For those who needs introduction to Lake Chini, google it! :) We have quite a bit of pictures as well as a video on it. (http://www.kruzer.sg/2007/10/kruzer-seeks-rajan-jones-oct-2007/)

Here are the initial details.

Date : 10/11 April 2009
Ride Schedule : Start from GP Esso early Friday(10/4) morning and return late Saturday(11/4) night. Detailed schedule will be up soon.

http://kruzer.org.sg/forums/index.php?showtopic=307

Date : 14th March 2009
Time : 3pm – 5pm
Venue : 11B Mt Sophia, Old School #B1-10/11 Singapore 228466

Please indicate presence so that we can cater for refreshments. Thanks!