Satisfying weekend

A very satisfying weekend - 20th & 21st feb. - because I did 30km rides on two consecutive days on two new routes. The first was on Friday morning with two friends - my first ride with the two of them. The route was very scenic through some villages and includes a very steep climb that I almost could not make, but I did it and then had to stop at the top of the hill to catch my breadth. Going down was exhilirating and scary - I'd imagine if I'm a couple of decades younger I'd probably not touch the brakes.
Saturday was a solo ride going towards Kg.Naga but made a slight tour and went along the village by the river. Very shady and cool ride. Part of the route beyond the villages was not paved and had to ride slowly for lack of grip and didn't want a puncture. Saw a very nice property far from everyone else - wonder whose is it?

One boy and his bike

This boy does not know that he's on the net, but to be on the net nowadays is so easy that it's no big deal. The two of them were playing kites when I approached the boy nearest to a bike - a rather battered & well-used one. He did show an interest in my bike by asking how much does it cost? There's a  small possibility that sometime in the future he'd be surfing the web and found his picture and remembers the moment. Didn't ask what's his name though.

Muddy beaches of Kuala Perlis

At low tide, there's this mud flats that stretches out as far as the eye can see. They have put up concrete walls and rocks as a defense against the sea when the tide is high. Sea versus land, usually the sea wins, unless vast amount of money is poured in to protect the land and such projects are expensive. I'd like to see this place in say 10 years, it's going to look different I'm sure. Opposite the Putra Brasmana Hotel is a row of foodstalls sellling seafood. All of them have the same kind of menu but some attract more people than others. It's nice to enjoy the food while looking at the sun going down but the place is only about half-clean.

What's the next town?

There is now a very big IPOH sign near Simpang Pulai on the highway from KL. I don't like to see these big letters on every hilltop. Perhaps just this one is ok, but please don't put too many as if we don't know what the next town is.

Iron bridge

This iron bridge (wrought iron? cast iron?) looks like its built before the war. There are still many of these designs on the rail network and I've even seen a few on some roads. They are at the moment building the second rail track and most likely they'd build a new RC bridge beside the existing one. This design has stood the test of time - it's been in service for more than 50 years.

I'm going to miss this place.

New route today but flat all the way with the familiar paddy field view. The four coconut trees looked majestic and I just have to have a picture of it taken. Paddy fields so close to where many people live - I think it is hard to find a place like this in other parts of the country. Rode for 21km in an hour 05 minutes. Headwind going forward and headwind on the way back mostly. Here's the summary for January: total dist=279km (98 on mtb, 181 on folding bike) in 15 sessions - on average a session every other day. I think that's hard to beat for I foresee a busy February - workwise.