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| The beautiful waterfalls at Sungai Tebing Tinggi. Unfortunately, Mr Lim had a quick glimpse only as he took his mission to recce for food very serriously |
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| Nearby the MRSM hill |
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| Kampung Kuala Nenering |
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| Splashing time at D'Impiana Riverview Resort |
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| Splashing time at D'Impiana Riverview Resort |
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| Splashing time at D'Impiana Riverview Resort |
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| First bridge |
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| Hoarding the road with few cars |
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| Long and winding road |
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| The falls |
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| The valley |
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| The Third Bridge |
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| View of the waterfalls |
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| Mists on the road |
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| Lunch at 4.30 pm !!! |
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| Caught in rain again, 3km after our lunch stop! |
We started the morning on an easy note. Breakfast at our favourite Medan Takong before making our way to the post office which is thankfully just 400 m away. As the post office only opens at 8.30 am, we witnessed the arrival of the staffs and the set ups before we were finally received indoors.
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| 2 bikes and 1 parcel waiting at the post office |
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| Bikes were folded and secured with cable ties |
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| The bill |
We were relieved the shipment by standard mode only costs RM 66 for 2 bikes and a parcel with total weight of 33 kg. As we could not find boxes last night, we were pleasantly pleased that the post office had cable ties to secure the bikes in place and left with peace of mind.
Riding out of Gerik, we followed Route 76, passing by the hospital and the police station. At the end of town, we turned right for Route A169 before taking a left for Jalan Air Betang. Initially gleeful to be traversing past quaint villages, our ride turned challenging when we ran out of tarmac!
Kampung Air Panas brought us out of the jungle and back to civilization. Following the village road, we passed through a few kampungs before finally returning to Route 76.
Again, another climb up the MRSM hill and again another passage through Hentian R & R Selat Pagar but with a break in between, at Lawin. It was only 11 am and the stall was beginning to dish out their hot lunch dishes. While most of everyone settled for bananas and teh tarik, Claudine and VT could not resist their nasi campur. It was a good thing they ate and a bane for others who did not for our next meal was not until 4.30 pm !
At Kampung Padang Grus, we left Route 76 and turned into Kampung Sumpitan. The transition was immediate. Greeting us were dense forest and tranquil roads.
Following Route A6, we did not travel far before discovering D' Impiana Riverview Resort. Hoping to find a restaurant opened for lunch, not a soul was visible throughout our times spent inside. The weather was hot at 1 pm and the river was inviting....all hunger pangs were soon forgotten!
We spent a good half hour in the resort. Returning to our rides, our next challenge was an abomination. Little did we realize, we were riding across the Bintang mountain range!
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| The actual climb has yet to come! |
The whole climb which began from the river resort was close to 12 km with a 3 % grade hill and an elevation difference of 438 m. Some segments were between 6 to 7 % with the worst at 11 % !
Inside the labyrinth of natural jungle, the mother of all rains fell on us. It rained so hard, we could hardly open our eyes!
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| Mr Lim arriving at the bus stop |
Initially pouring, we took refuge at the bus stop outside Lenggong Poultry Farm. In fact, we were surprised there is a bus stop in the middle of no where! But when the rain persisted with no means of ends, we finally moved out but got caught in heavy deluge!
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| A few meters from this signboard is the peak at 565m |
The route peaked at 565m; at the border between the districts of Lenggong and Larut Matang dan Selama. Once in the latter district, we enjoyed a rewarding 8 km downhill glide which comes with spectacular views of waterfalls and valleys.
Arriving at the foothills, we turned right at the T junction and finally staved off our hunger pangs with kuih-muih and fried yu tiau, dipped in satay sauce. The village folks were tickled by our pickled look and while they had their tea, it was lunch for us!
The rain that had teetered off to a light drizzle returned as soon as we set off from the roadside stall. Less than 3 km later, we took another refuge at the bus stop outside Klinik Desa Kampung Masjid !
The evening was coming in fast. At 5.30 pm, we were still 45 km away from our destination. Turning left into Route A113, the 2.2 km climb at 6 % in rainy weather was very discouraging.
Joyce began to doubt her ability to finish the ride. She had almost went limp without lunch at the Bintang pass and yet another difficult climb challenged her at Kampung Masjid. As a backup, Claudine called May to standby, perhaps meeting the group midway into Taiping. This gave assurance to Joyce and she decided to test her limits.
At Kampung Banggol Nering, we turned left into Jalan Kg Jerai and followed it into Route A5's Batu Kurau. Rolling into Shell's Batu Kurau, we set up our bike lights and changed our riding style to a close peloton as dusk began to set in. Meanwhile, May's call to book dinner for the group was politely declined as we could not determine the end of our ride while Joyce's reserves to finish the ride was still strong!
We joined Route A7 at Kampung Ulu Sepetang while there was still light. Within half hour thereon, the sun made it's final dip into the horizon.
Within 10 km to the town center, we began to relax. Taking it easy, we stopped for warm teh tarik at Taman Lela's Restoran Kamunting Utara.
The ride finally ended at Taiping's Siang Malam around 8.30 pm! It was New Year's Eve and conspiring to usher in 2019, we had a quick dinner before promising to meet up again later. Disbanding, Claudine and VT rode another 5 km home with Claudine clocking an additional 9 km within her precinct just to finish her first ever Rapha Festive 500.
Ushering in the New Year at Taiping's old clock tower, we were disappointed the clock did not chime in sequence with its handles and no fireworks were lighted. However, we did enjoy a good supper at Beverly Hotel's food avenue!
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