The Sunday’s ride route was Putrajaya. The original ride plan was to ride on the SKVE towards Cyberjaya through the B15 road up until the Putrajaya exit. From here we were supposed to ride through the Persiaran Selatan’s road passing through Desa Pinggiran Putra, climbing the Bukit Wawasan (nickname "The Dreaded Hill" - Bukit Malang) until the Lebuh Perdana Timur exit, heading towards the Diplomatic Precinct.
Since some of us need to get home before 11am, we had to revised the plan to the “Chicken Route”. Instead of cycling to the B15, we cut it short by taking the Putrajaya’s Persiaran Utara and on to the Persiaran Timur, PICC, Dataran Putra and the final destination was the Diplomatic Precinct.
Hazy and Gloomy Morning
It was dark and gloomy Sunday morning. Since Zaha had clearly put it, “if it ain’t raining it ain’t gonna get called off”, I’d assume everybody would understand the drill. The haze made it worst. You could smell the burnt smoke scent in the air. It was so bad that you could see the Sun like an orange in the sky.
I had to cycled solo from the 1st RV point because I started a bit late. One of the things in life that man couldn’t put on hold is the last minute nature’s call. I wouldn’t want to ride with a grumpy stomach.
The 1st Flat
Form the 1st RV Point, I cycled at the speed of 30-33 Km/H, hoping to be able to catch up with the Najib, Zam or Azmi. As I was climbing the Sungai Ramal’s flyover, I saw a guy clad in cycling jersey waving a yellow cloth on the roadside. The guy was Najib, trying to flag the traffics to slow down. Apparently Zam had a flat on the narrow flyover’s road shoulder.
We continued riding to the 2nd RV Point near the LLM’s Petronas station where Azami and Zaha had arrived earlier.
After a brief chat and quick breakfast, we started the ride via old road passing through KLIUC and UNITEN. Along the way we go honked by cars while they screamed “Bersih!”. I knew this would happen when I saw Azmi put on his Tour De France yellow jersey. First, the yellow flag that Najib found on the roadside and then this. It sure was an interesting day to get honked for the wrong reason.
The 2nd Flat
While climbing the Persiaran Utara’s hill, Zam had another flat. This was a major turn down for him and the rest of the team. The stoppage time was far longer than the first one. It was the same tire that got the flat so we need to carefully check the tire just to make sure that it’s clean (from shrapnel) and the rim was okay.
Things you should now about Flats
Flat tires can be divided into four groups. Please note that you must periodically check you tires for cracks, signa of wear and tear, swelling and other abnormalities. Healthy tires = safe and enjoyable rides.
The Slow Leaks
Slow leaks take sometime before tires go flat. The tire will need to be pumped up more often than it should. It is normal for a tube to lose air over a period of weeks. This doesn't necessarily mean that there is anything wrong with them.
If you use high-pressure tires, you should check the pressure at least once per week.
Other reasons for slow leak are valve leakage, factory defects and internal abrasion on metal parts, which can be prevented by having the spoke ends properly, covered with the rim-tape.
Since most tubes leak over time hence it’s a good practice to change your tubes at least once a year.
Punctures
Punctures are usually caused by running over sharp things which poke a hole through the tire and into the tube such as glass slivers, thorns, nails, bits of wire or other small, sharp objects.
The typical puncture puts a small hole in the tire. To fix it you need to patch (If you have the time) or replace the inner tube. It’s important that you don’t forget to check and remove the sharp objects from the tire before you put the tube back into the tire.
Pinch Cuts
Pinch Cuts usually happens when you ran your bicycle into stones, curbs, or sharp edges of holes in the road surface. The inner tube can get pinched between the rock and the rim. Pinch cuts usually put two small holes in the tube. This type of damage is sometimes called a "snake bite" because the two holes look like the wound made by the fangs of a snake.
Again, you can either patch or replace the tube.
Blowouts
Blowouts are sudden losses of air, usually accompanied by a loud BANG! When this happened it’s game over, time to call the support car or your missus. This happens when there’s too much pressure on the tube. Please check and adhere to the min and max tube pressure before you pump it.
The Geli-Geli Ride (Really casual ride in the park)
Zam had a punctured tire earlier on and a pinch cut at Putrajaya. After toiling for about 30 minutes trying to get the tire sorted out, we finally got back on our bikes. Since we’ve lost so much time, we decided to cut the ride short by heading straight to the Diplomatic Precinct.
Well thing like this happens all the time during rides. I guess we just had one of those “unlucky” days. It brought everybody down especially Zam. We rode casually back home after a short break at the Diplomatic Precinct.
Short ride but a long day....
Abayo.
Video 1:Descending from the Putrajaya Exit towards the Persiaran Utara near the new IOI Resort's golf course
The Sunday’s ride route was Putrajaya. The original ride plan was to ride on the SKVE towards Cyberjaya through the B15 road up until the Putrajaya exit. From here we were supposed to ride through the Persiaran Selatan’s road passing through Desa Pinggiran Putra, climbing the Bukit Wawasan (nickname "The Dreaded Hill" - Bukit Malang) until the Lebuh Perdana Timur exit, heading towards the Diplomatic Precinct. 
2 comments:
ngam2 sampai rumah baru hujan aritu, nasib tak pusing precint kan
Ada hikmah dia bila tayar Zam besar puncit...
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