From Peras to Labu?

I received a short text "We r ridin frm to PEREZ sunday 5 april. Surf http://manciocc.blogspot.com 100km 730 sharp gerak" from Abg Man. Well, I haven't been riding of late (almost two month), and to ride 100km without many miles in the legs remind me of what happen to CH a few months ago.

But then again, the lure of Perez is too much to ignore. Without the chance to scale Sempah yet, Perez remains my yardstick as I could compare this ride with the last. Try to coax the rest of the gang, but Big, Am, Megat and even CH declined due to lack of mileage, they said. I guess that will just leave me and Wari, then for this ride.

Ride day - I was late. The ride was supposed to start at 0730, and at 0725 I was still 9 km away. I contemplated using the shortcut, and meet the group somewhere in the middle, but decided to go the distance, even if I have to chase them for the first half. Luckily for me, as I ride thru the RV, I saw the group were just making their way out. Fuh!

And as luck would have it, they also decided to change their route. If not, I would be climbing Perez alone as they tackle different route. Memang nasib baik. As I catch my breath, we rode into Salak in one single line. The pace up front was furious, with Ayie, Wari, Riezal (on a single speeder some more) dictating. I tried to follow suit, but the my legs keep reminding me, what I have missed all this month.

Suddenly, I found myself in front of the peloton going up the long De Palma hill. Imagined myself charging forward not unlike George Hincapie up the Alps (as if la) riding for Discovery and Lance, just that I could only manage 27kph all the way to the top near De Palma. Riding down, letting gravity do its stuff, I hit 64kmh. At the junction, we regrouped before making our way.

We make our way to the junction towards Pekan Labu, when Ayie, Sham Dewa, Amir, Cik Puan Bola2api and me ride our way to the front and ride towards food(? what else? already?). Abg Zizan (who acts as our marshall), reminded us to stop at the Big Pumpkin, for the usual photo ops. We reached the place in no time, but apparently two sudden technical problems means Abg Man and the rest of the gang took a bit longer to arrive.

After the customary photo ops, we make our way towards Gadong Baru when another puncture, derailed the rest of the gang. The stomach rumbles louder, but it would take another 20km of riding before we will stop to eat. Once the puncture sorted out, we ride the dragonback towards Enstek, joined by Abg Zack (another marshall?) and take a shortcut to Salak for our sustenance. Apparently, the karaoke singer also doubles as the roti canai/telur/bawang maker...

After having some grub, its time to roll out with the dreaded short, sharp De Palma climb waiting. No casualty there. I decided to push on, without waiting for the others, maintaining 40kmh for as long as I can (konon2nya breakaway la ni, hehehe). I thought I can go all the way to Dengkil junction, alas my tired legs could only be flogged up til Jenderam, where I was caught by the fast approaching pursuivant .

Regrouped at the Dengkil junction, say goodbye and make my way back as I have a date with the bowling alley. Don't want to let my team mates down. Thanks to Abg Man and the rest of the guys for a great ride, looking forward to do it again...