THE BUILD-UP
It was around teatime on December 22nd,
2017. My friends were all hot on the Festive 500 topic. Sipping my warm latte, I was feeling
a little left out. Being a mountainbiker, riding long distance, on
the tarmac and under the scorching heat of the sun, was alien concept
to me. I have never ridden more than 80km on my 11kg full
suspension 29-er in my three years as a two-wheeler. I do not own a
roadbike, hence I didn't even try to get into the conversation with
these “roadies”.
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| The Tractor |
They nicknamed it
“The Tractor”.
I wasn't really sure if their
intentions were pure, but it sounded more like a dare. The reward was
a pinkish woven badge, they added. Well, I am not a person who bows
down when my pride is at stake. So, The Tractor was about to
roll on an epic journey.
THE JOURNEY
While everyone was still hugging their
bolsters and drooling in bed at dawn of Christmas eve, we started our
journey. There were three of us; a cyclocross, a roadbike and my
Tractor. Being
the heaviest and least aero, I stayed at the back most
of the ride.
Even from the rear, following them was
taxing on my legs. My cadence was constant and forcefully high all
the time, due to our speed. My neck and back started to ache, as I
couldn't lift my head up and risk jeopardizing myself breaking from
the train. At the 85th km, I started questioning myself
on why did I even agree to this in the first place. Because of my
pride, I pedaled on. And it was hell.
Our constraint here in Penang is to
ride long distance. We are living on an island, where going on a full
round-the-island ride is only about 85km. Our roads were narrow and
busy (especially during the holidays), with no reserved bike lanes on
most parts. If we plan to do a double loop, we would be exposed to
the dangers of traffic hustle and bustle on our second round. And
bear in mind, not all drivers are friendly and considerate. Despite
the glorious hoo-haa about this Festive 500 among cyclists, we would
still not risk our lives, even if it was over a diamond studded woven
badge.
There was no glory in being run over by a 2008 model of Proton
(our national car). We just might consider if it was a Bugatti. Just
kidding!
Back on the roads, lateral foot pain
creeped in on me at the 100km mark. I had to stop. So I told my
friends I'd take a breather. They found a small flat 20km loop around
my rest area and came back to where I was.
Like it or not, the journey home was
another 25-30km. I picked myself up after my pain eased, and
soldiered on. Rode the flat loop which my friends found earlier with
lighter gears and grandma's speed.
I ended the first day with 345km to go, arrived home looking like roasted turkey.
I rested for the next two days. It was
Christmas, for god's sake!
On the second riding day, I had to do
it alone. Clocked 50km that evening wheeling my 29x2.0 rubbers towards the beach.
Nothing interesting happened. Though I have to admit I was missing my
buddies dearly, for the tough job they did shielding me from the
headwind on the first day. Thank you guys!
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| Panoramic view of Gertak Sanggul beachfront. |
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| Break of dawn line-up. |
I was a zombie on a carbon horse.
However, the strange part about the day is, once I hit the halfway
point of 250km, a tingling feel of power beckoned in me and brought me back to
life. The Tractor didn't feel so heavy and the heat wasn't bothering
me either. The whole atmosphere changed. My soul was on fire.
I took a deep breath, exhaled and
shouted outloud, “I can finish this!” My friends turned over
their shoulders, and smiled and approved. They raised their speed from then on, I
struggled catching up. They literally took my breath away, so they
deserved some scolding as we concluded the ride. 180 clicks to go
with 4 days to the new year.
Fourth and fifth riding day was easy
spinning. We cranked another 90km along the breezy coastline,
stopping for beautiful sunrise photos. Never realized the fact that I
was staying in this pretty place.
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| Clouds over Gertal Sanggul. |
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| Sunrise view overlooking the Penang second bridge. |
THE FINALE
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| Kampung Terang paddy fields. |
The decisive 15km to completion, we
went into the paddy fields and trails, experienced the lush green
surroundings and was welcomed by annoying mosquitos. Topped it off
with a 25% gradient climb. And at that moment we realized, it was the
dumbest collective decision we all ever made.
At 12.58pm local time, we concluded the
Rapha Festive 500 challenge. The suffering, the mental torture and
the willingness to barbecue ourselves under the sun over the past few
days has come to an end.
Joy, fun and enthralled is an
understatement of the whole riding experience.
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| Azim and I climbing the Tropical Fruit Farm winding roads. |
Sir Edmund Hillary once quoted, “People
do not decide to become extraordinary, they just decide to accomplish
extraordinary things.”
The Tractor has raised the bar.
And upon claiming the Festive 500 woven
badge, I dedicate my heartfelt gratitude to my friends, Azim Merican
and Faisal Abdullah who tirelessly psyched and helped me complete
this journey, together.
Thank you Rapha, for this window of experience. I'll see you guys
again next year!
--
M. Arif Alias
M. Arif Alias
Penang, Malaysia
Strava Activity Links for this entry
https://www.strava.com/activities/1332519331
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| The team proudly signifying the #Festive 500 challenge. |
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