Jack 'n' Jill Went Up The Hill

I finally join a cycling group, here in Jitra. They had been pestering me to join them for quite some times. Not that I wasn't interested, its just that I would be the only female in the group. Its not really the 'in' thing here in this small town to find a girl/lady/woman in a company of a group of men.

But after some thoughts, I said "Why not ?" as long as I know the boundaries ....

Actually they are MTB group. That's one of the reasons I decided to join them rather than the "roadies" . With my speed limit at 27km/h I think I wouldn't be left alone behind the pack because for MTBs even at 27km/h it is considered above average speed, I think.

The group has their cycling session at nite, taking the hilly route behind and around Jitra along the road of Tanah Merah to Bukit Wang and and sometimes the Guar Napai route, of which will only be around 30km. They would ride every other night without fail, subject to the weather, but still there are times when rain just cant stop them.

Ok. I m not really a strong cyclist and hills are not my usual playground. But with the group ,I have been introduced officially with this one steep hill. It was not really a proper introduction but rather more like a surprise encounter. That first night, I was cycling with only four of the group. The road was not that bad and since it was at night I couldn't really see whats in store at the front. I was coming down from a small hill and was really enjoying the descend when I started to feel some struggling pedalling. It was suddenly getting harder to push the pedal. I pushed and pushed but it was really difficult ... the boys told me to go slow, but I was not slowing, I was struggling to actually move because I had come to a halt.

"Bukit gila apa hampa bawa nih...?"

I had no choice but to unclip the pedal and get down from the bike. I had to push the bike and surrender the climbing.

The next day, out of curiousity I drove to that site of the hill to have a look and see what it was actually like.

Even the cars have to use first gear and motorbikes too have a hard time climbing this

"Masya Allah bukit ni depa nak suruh aku kayuh semalam !
Had it been daytime I wouldnt have climbed in the first place
I would have got down and walk !"

But still the look of the hill didn't scare me to try the climbing during my second session with the group. Tentulah tak boleh juga kan ... Aku bukan Aini.

During the third session, I was already praying "Ya Qawwiy, Ya Qawwiy" right from the corner before the road to the hill. And when I reached the hill, I could see the boys were already climbing. One of them stayed with me and was helping me on how to do it. I pushed and pushed with some encouragement from him

"Tekan lagi Ann, tekan kuat lagi ..."

..... I pushed and I could feel the heat building up inside my thigh and I pushed and tried to push, left and right, left and right ... and ... suddenly

eaokkkk ....eerrkkkkkk eahhhhhh ...

... BOOM ...

I fell down
(dengan penuh manja dan sopan gitu...)

together with my mentor behind who was following me closely .. We apparently had no time to unclip ! Alhamdulillah we didn't tumble down like Jack 'n' Jill.


So u see... I told you, hills are not my playground.

But secretly I hope to conquer that hill one day. Insya Allah.

Few Adjustments

There are some things which I find that need a few adjustments to my new life now in Jitra. For instance:-

1. The Distance

Its now a 23 km drive from the new house to my office when it used to be only 7 km drive all these years. So, everyday its now more than a 40km drive. Hmmmm....

2. The Tolls

If I am late (which I find almost every other day) I can just use the highway which cost me RM4 to and fro; RM1.60 for the the first toll and another RM0.40 for the second one. And for one month I d have to spend close to RM120 on toll alone. Even if I dont use the first toll (by taking another route to go out through the second toll) I still have to spend almost RM32 monthly.


Now since there's a price hike on the fuel, I am seriously thinking of other alternatives to commute to work; yes, Jamis does come to my mind ... but to cycle 46 km everyday .. oh come on, even a pro will give it a second thought.. (kan Aini kan kan kan). Going is ok.. but the coming back time would be a dread, especially after all hard (?) day at work. I might have to take the taxi for me and Jamis to go back to Jitra which will defeat the purpose since the taxi price wont be RM15 anymore (before the hike).

The other choice is the BUS. Hmm.. I can park my car near the bus station in Jitra and take the bus straight to my workplace.

The price of the "I Love Jitra" thing

Oh ya, since I have to start early to work, I cant cycle and run in the morning anymore except during the weekend. So I have now started my cycling at night; quite safe actually. I dont know about my running yet.. but I'll figure it out when I buy the spot light to attach to my body during the running.......

I Love Jitra

So, I'm getting into the third week of staying in the new house now. Actually its not exactly new in the true sense, its a second hand house which I bought from an old couple who made the house as their vacation/transit house. A semi detached house just like I always wanted, not so small and not so big. I dont think I can handle a bigger house. My priority is the windows, for the wind to go in and out; good ventilation is a must. I cant stand a house with no windows or just one or two.

I couldnt thank HIM more for making my dreams and my wishes come true. The surrounding is just nice too; fresh air, good neighbours who are not so nosy but still keeping their eyes on my every moves (haha..who wouldnt when a single lady with a racing bike moves in). Well at least they dont come around and start asking questions.

My house is not very far from the Jitra small town. You can find almost everything within a 5 - 7 minutes drive, the small mall with its own cineplex and bowling alley, Old Town cafe, Pizza Hut, KFC, and the rows of food stalls and some other small shops with reasonable price goods. And if you need to go to Alor Star, you can take the highway which is about 1km away from my place. What more could I ask...?

Alhamdulillah

And of course Jitra is nice for my cycling and running too. Like I ve said before, its quite hilly and the road's condition is not bad.

Soon a makcik with tudunng on a road bike would be normal sight here in Jitra.

Things I Learn

Ok. I know my heart beat has never touched 40bpm, the lowest was 79 of which i tried my best lying down in bed not moving an inch and trying my best not to even blink my eyes too, afraid that the blinking would erupt the beat.

and so I learned to listen to my own body instead of struggling to follow others' workout. I have to get it in my head, Aini is much younger and she s been at it for some times now. I have to accept that I cannot climb the hill like her at the moment, even though I do think that i dont have issues when coming down, and thats because my size is double her size.

and so i learned the best way to get it going without being "overtrained" and get all cranky and jeorpadize my relationship with everybody, is by doing it slow. Lower my heart rate to between 60-75% of the maximum heart beat, during the workout so that I could teach my body to burn the stored fat (of all my staple food of pastas pizza lasagna) first rather that groping for the carbo.

ok and so i learned i need not have to have a Prince to make me a good cyclist. I need to push more to pedal at higher cadence without even bouncing on the seat. A carbo frame wont help me at that.

and so I am learning how to balance my energy for running and cycling. I could run 10km a few weeks ago, but now, I'm back to walking and running and its such a torment to even run 3 km. My cycling on the other hand is getting better.


Now, perhaps some swimming would balance everything up ..........

Saturday Ride

I had a good ride yesterday even though at the last 10km I was really gasping for air ..

I started out quite early from the house, right after Subuh prayer. At first I was planning to go out as early as 5.45 am and stop by at Nora's house for the prayer before proceeding to Changloon, but then I thought I might as well start from the house rather than knocking on Nora's door when shes still in Dream Wonderland. I had done all the packing that night and so its only a matter of dressing up and putting on the make up ( kidding..make up hapanya nak kayuh basikal) and sped off to Changloon in a matter of 25 mins. I took the highway.

Alor Star is a very flat land, you wont find any hills around and we dont have that many flyovers here to try climbing. Thats why I always love cycling in Jitra because of the few small hills here and there. This time around anyways, I had Changloon in mind, thinking of climbing that hill again on the way to UUM and make a turning to go to Perlis through Pauh and go down to Kodiang before coming back to Changloon. The ride should be around 56km.

I only had one bottle of plain drinking water and a power bar. What a mistake, I should have put Gatorade instead, as I learned later in the ride.

Its only after the 5th km when I met with THAT HILL, and since I'm quite new, the climb was really a test. When I started to climb I was pedaling at almost 60rpm and when I was about to reach the top my HRM was shouting at more than 160 and the speed was at about 10-13km/h. I had to stop to at the top to make sure the heart dropped at 131 before coming down. But the climb was worth it because what a descend I had. I was going down at 51.6km/h !!! Yeehaaaaa.... Last week I only managed to get 44km/h doing the same hill.

I had to face a few small hills afterwards and more climbing before coming to the round-about in front of UUM for the turn. The returning trip from UUM was not as bad as it was now a matter of going down and I could try the big gears for a speed. Again I had to face the HILL and tortured my heart, my feet and all of my body for the second time. I was climbing at the last few meters to the top at 5-6km/h !!

I took the Changloon-Kuala Perlis highway which was about 13km from the UUM-Changloon junction and took a turn to Pauh. The ride on the highway was smooth. I was pedaling at the rate of 25-30km/h which to me is quite fast as my usual average is about 21km/h. Maybe this time around I was trying pedaling with the big gear. Pauh was nice and the road was not as bad as I had expected. I was cycling under shades of trees and it was quite refreshing, especially after coming from the scorching hot sun at the high way. It was cool and relaxing from Pauh to Kodiang but when I reached the latter the road was apparently under construction *sigh* . I did not have to suffer that much as after about 400m I then made a left turn at the famous junction of Kodiang towards Changloon again.

This road should take about 13km but I was very close to bonking. I did take a few sips during the ride and I even stopped for a half of the powerbar at one point but my energy level was very low. I saw a shabby closed old shop hut with and old rattan chair with cushion outside and decided to take a break. I finished the other half of the powerbar and just sat there watching the kampung folks going up and down. After 5mins or more I continued the ride but I was having a tough time. The road greeted me with many ups and downs, and its all about "oh no..another climb" and "ahh yes...coming down" and "oh no..another climb again..".... It was not supposed to be that bad, all are very small climbs, but since I was close to worn-out, I was crying all the way..! And there were a few kids on the road who were trying to have fun with me by pulling some rope in the middle of the road (like coming to finishing line) that I had to shout out loud "Wehhhh Hoii..! Jangan ! Jangan !! Tak mau mainnnn.. Jatuh nanti...!!" Ya, I was cranky because I was tired.

I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel, when I saw Changloon town again ! Alhamdulillah. Since I was dead beat, I didnt bother to use the proper lane, and since my car was not very far from the junction and all the cars were not speeding, I took the incoming car lane and carefully rode on the right side of the road. Yes, it was dangerous, but I took the chance.

I had never been happier to see my car again!


Dist: 58.8KM
Av : 21.7 km/h
Mx: 51.6 km/h

Heart Rate

Av: 148
Mx: 164

Cycling Is Fun

I want to go, I want to go
To the greenfileds with you baby
C'mon lets go. c'mon lets go
Wo Wo Wo

Riding on a bicycle together
We could ride forever
C'mon letes go, C'mon lets go
Wo Wo Wo

Riding on the cycling road
Everyone is having fun
Riding on the cycling road
Nobody knows our cycling road


Shonen Knife
Cycling Is Fun

Bila Aku Ke Kedai Basikal Cari Jersey, Glove dan Pam Basikal

Tuan Kedai: Kita ada banyak jenis basikal di sini...

Aku: *angguk*

Tuan Kedai: Yang ini RM2 ribu lebih ...yang ini RM1 ribu lebih....

Aku: Ohhh.. *angguk lagi*... apa beza ini dua basikal..?

Tuan Kedai: Ini mahal punya sebab body dia aluminium....

Aku: Ohh.... itu macam ka...

Aku: You ada jersey ...?

Tuan Kedai : Ada.. ada... ini jersey.. original punya...

Aku: *angguk* Glove pun you ada ka..?

Tuan Kedai: Ada.. ada... kalau mau kayuh basikal mesti mau pakai glove...

Aku: *angguk*Pam basikal..?

Tuan Kedai: Ada..ini ada dua tiga jenis...

Aku: Oh... Boleh tengok..?

Tuan Kedai: Boleh.. boleh....Cik.. nanti lu bawa anak lu mai tengok suruh dia pilih sendiri dia mau jersey mana..glove mana..jenis pam yang dia suka.......

Aku: *cis*

Perbualan Dengan Pengkayuh Basikal dan Bapanya

Aku: En Radzi, saya nak kayuh basikal ni, berapa heart rate yang ok untuk saya ?

En Radzi: You kayuh sekarang barapa ?

Aku: 141 bpm (beat per minute)

En Radzi: Eh tak payah exert teruk.. buat dalam 120-121 camtu saja...

Anak En Radzi: Hmm.. itu pun dah kira exert tu.. you buat dalam 60 ..

Aku: Hah..??? 60 ???

Anak En Radzi: Ha ahh ... 60 bpm .. kayuh relax-relax ja...

Aku: Huishhh gila lah 60... you punya resting heart rate berapa ..?

Anak En Radzi: 41 bpm

Aku : *gulp*

Kata aku pada Nora selepas hari itu:

Gila dia punya resting hear rate 41bpm.
Dia suruh aku kayuh relax 60bpm.
Kalau 60 bpm aku tak payah buat apa lah....
aku tidur saja pun dah lebih 60bpm.

Malam Pertama Dengan Jamis

Oh ya , jangan terkejut. Jamis bukanlah lelaki Jawa yang baru kukenali. Jamis adalah nama basikal baru aku. Tiada nama lain yang sesuai untuknya melainkan nama itu sahaja. Aku tidak bercadang meletak namanya sebagai Ahmad Jamis Zulkarnain. Aku rasa nama itu terlalu panjang.

Malam pertama aku membawanya balik kerumah, hujan masih turun dengan lebat. Aku menyesal kerana tidak pernah membeli baju hujan. Aku juga berfikir kalau membawa basikal sambil memegang payung, mungkin akan membahayakan kedudukan aku sebagai manusia yang masih bernyawa. Maka niat itu terpaksa aku tundukkan sedalam-dalamnya dalam benakku.

Walaupun Jamis sangat mengiurkan, aku terpaksa tidak memperdulikannya dengan memusing badan aku memandang dinding sewaktu tidur. Aku masih terfikir bagaiman cara dan waktu yang sesuai untuk aku cuba menunggang Jamis. Untuk memunggahnya membawa ke satu tempat yang lain dengan kereta, aku rasa sangatlah menyukarkan, apatah lagi aku perlu ke ofis selepas itu. Aku kemudiannya memikirkan bagaimana kalau aku menunggang Jamis pagi nanti, kerana pasti penduduk taman aku riuh tertanya-tanya siapakan gerangan orang putih (?) yang menunggang basikal begitu.

Aku tiada pilihan lain, aku bangun pukul 5 pagi tadi, terus bersiap dengan topi dan seluar khas Jamis dan terus keluar dari rumah dan menunggang Jamis dengan perasaan sungguh bahagia...........


.

Rakyat Yang Berwawasan Dan Basikal

Ok . Ok Lebih baik aku mengaku terus. Daripada aku memendam rasa seorang diri cuba menyembunyikan apa membuak di dalam diri, aku rasa aku terpkasa angkat tangan dan mengaku kepada kamu semua:-

Aku sudah beli basikal

Membeli basikal bukanlah satu fenomena baru dalam masyarakat. Malah adalah menjadi impian setiap budak kecil dan kanak-kanak untuk memiliki basikalnya sendiri. Mereka akan dihadiahkan basikal apabila lepas bersunat, lepas dapat nombor satu dalam kelas, berjaya naik ke kelas A, menang dalam lumba lari dalam guni, dan ada yang mendapat basikal apabila berjaya berpuasa sebulan penuh. Itu semua adalah sebagai insentif pembangkit semangat buat mereka.

Bila kita dewasa, jika boss puji kita, tak adalah pula boss hadiahkan basikal. Kalau kita kerja bagus dan pelanggan suka pun, tiadalah mereka menghantar satu biji basikal ke pejabat kita. Kalau kita berjasa pada ketua kampung kita sekalipun, basikal bukanlah lagi hadiah utama. Maksud aku bila kita dewasa hadiah basikal bukanlah sesuatu yang kita nantikan. Sekalipun kita telah mendapat taraf anak mithali, pada umur 30 tahun ke atas, mak dan abah tidak lagi terfikir untuk hadiah basikal pada kita.

Jadi, bila kita kepingin atau teringin banget mahu kembali ke alam sebelum kita balilgh dahulu: menaiki basikal dengan laju bersama angin menderu ke muka ..... maka kita kenalah beli sendiri basikal itu sebagai hadiah untuk diri sendiri (mungkin kerana kita merasa kita telah menjadi rakyat negara Malaysia yang berwawasan).


Ya, aku lah itu, kerana aku yakin aku adalah rakyat Malaysia yang berwawasan yang akan mengundi insya Allah pada 8hb ini, maka aku telah menghadiahkan diriku dengan sebuah basikal seperti di bawah:

Aku masih berfikir adakah aku akan ke tempat mengundi naik basikal

.