6th Jan 2006, Sunday
Loska's Ride # 33
Maiden Ride 2008 + Family Picnic @ FRIM
Alhamdulillah... the Anniversary ride + Family get-together took place as planned.... After one year and 32 official rides, we are still strong in our camaraderie. Official rides? sounds so formal... actually, since Loska members hail from different places - from Rawang to Shah Alam to Cheras as well as Puchong and KL and as far as Sepang/Nilai and Senawang.. we sort of agreed loosely that any ride with five or more members would be considered as official Loska rides. Members? sounds so formal.... in actual fact we are not a bona-fide organization ~ rather a casual social group more than anything else. But don't be mistaken ~ we are mountainbikers! And anytime anyone join our ride more than once, than he would automatically be a Loskan ~ that is until he opted to be disassociated with us (rare, but it does happen...)
In celebrating our one year of brotherhood.... and as usual, after a long, heated, weary email discussions, this Anniversary Ride plus Family Outing was agreed by majority of the group. Except for Yeop and Seken, members whom earlier confirmed participation were at FRIM on that fun Sunday morning. They are Ejau + wife, Faizal + family, Shah + family, Udang + family, Faizi + son, Sabri + family, Udin + family, MatYen + family, Chemat + daughter, Wak, Zam and Amir. Three guests also joined us that day: Mubin (CheMat's neighbour), Along and Asrol (their wives are Chemat's/Faizi's colleague).
Condolences to Seken as his grandmother passed away on the same Sunday morning.... Yeop? had a last-minute thingy with the family.. :)
Episode 1: The Family Picnic
The members plus families arrived as early as 8:30am and as late as close to 10:00am.... First order of business was to stake our claim on the picnic are... very nicely done by the early birds ~ Ejau, Shah & Faizal!
Shah, Wak & MatYen stayed back at the base camp to take care of the family and the BBQ....
... ahh yesss... CheMat came true to his promise to marinade chicken for the family picnic ~ while Faizal forgot to bring the lamb-steak which he prepped the night before! Guess he was too excited with the ride after quite a long hiatus.... A good thing we have few men at the picnic area...as the kids were immediately drawn to the nearby pool of water!
Did I mention that Shah, Wak & Matyen stayed back to ake care of the BBQ? Yuppp... that they did. When the riders return for the short ride, these are what was left for the twelve people!... hehehehehhehehe....
Anyway.... its not all about the chicken BBQ... there plenty of food to go around! As ealier committed, members' potluck includes spaghetti, mee goreng, pulut panggang, roti jala, karipap (I think... as I didn't see any...hehehehe) plus drinks and other kueh-mueh. Well, CheMat complemented his BBQ with these! Stylo or what.... :)
By the time the riders return.... instead of the usual kedai kopi stop.... we were greeted with home-made cookings. I believe everyone had a really nice time that day! More so for the only only single member.... guess who?
While others grabbed their food and rejoined the other male members at the bench......
... this eligible bachelor seemed lost in his own world... hehehehe.... and you guessed it... he's our own Amir! But he's not alone though... two others were seen there at the gazeebo savouring every dish there were! Now we know.... hehehehehe...
Amir's remark... "bujang... makanlar sepuas-puasnya... kat umah bukan ada makanan camni.."
By that time the women-folks and the kids had already had their belly full - so its resting, chit-chatting and getting-to-know time amongst the wives and family members....
Udin quietly crept away to join his battalion for a meal.....
While the others continued to savour the afternoon with memorable talks and delicious food!
The group's joyful get-together were slightly affected when MatYen received a call from his doctor to inform him that his blood test taken the day before was positive of dengue infection.... MatYen opted out from the ride as he was not well since earlier in the week. After a few visits, the doctor suspected that he was infected with dengue... the blood test confirmed it. So, off he went to see the doctor just as were ending the day's event. Later that day, he was admitted to Subang Medical Centre... get well soon yen....
Episode 2: The Anniversary Ride
Although we didn't do the original route on our Maiden Ride last year... I think everyone enjoyed the trip. We didn't really discuss nor decide on which route to follow, as discussions were centred on the family event and the potlucks (and alhamdulillah that went well!). So, here goes the ride story.....
Except for MatYen and Faizi, everyone else had earlier indicated riding on this family outing day. MatYen ~ not well; Faizi ~ need to take care of his son. Ejau also indicated not riding as "basikal dah jual... takder beskal nih...", he said. By 9:30am almost everyone was ready to ride.... less CheMat whom called saying he was on the way. Faizi looked like he's an addict when everyone was on their bikes - although he brought his bike along, his son didn't allow him to go anywhere without tagging along on his trikes. Faizi - bapa mithali gitu... - introduced two new friends, Asrul (seating) and Along whom had arrived very early that day to join this Loska's ride. And as usual... the planned 9:00am rolling-wheels were delayed...hehehehe.... Can see the "bila nak kayuh ni?" expression on these two guy's + Amir's face...? :)
Zam and Udang was also a bit restless.... For Zam, mainly because he couldn't wait a minute longer to ride for the first time his newly acquired steed...... the Merida! Congrats bro!!!
While waitying for CheMat to arrive, some photoshoot here and there...
Shah pointing towards Wak while Amir smiled for the camera Shah as photographer
Udin & Faizi: "bila laaa nak start kayuh ni?"
The group decided to do the Dream Trail and return via the Rover Track (back to the Masjid) to proceed to Amir's Trail (officially this is known as 501 Track ~ refer to FRIM map). This short route is chosen due to late flag-off that morning....
The ride began around ten a.m. with eleven riders ~ Amir, Udin, Zam, Chemat, Faizal,Udang, Ejau, Asrol, Along, Mubin and of course me, Sabri.
But as we exited the tarmac into Bukit Bujang... we saw Faizi speeding from behind.... hehehehe... apparently he managed to persuade his son to stay back with the other children. The addiction of MTB..... hehehehe.... But I guess his bapa mithali qualities still prevail when he concluded the ride after reaching the Masjid ~ i.e. he didn't proceed to the Amir's Track along with the other eleven riders.
Along the Bukit Bujang trail, there were a number of fallen trees obstructing the track.... prolly the recent heavvy torrential rain has taken its toll on this Deram trail.... But, alhamdulillah its still passable....
A group photo is essential..... This one was taken just before Amir's Trail.....
Just before we concluded the ride, Chemat puncture his bikes rear tyre. I was told that at the last section of Amir's Trail, Chemat slammed his rear tyre real hard on the drain just as he exited the trail. At first he didn't want to replace the tube, but after just two minutes of pushing, he realized that its more tiring than riding... and replacing the tube was no effort at all!
Some wanted to do a full loop through Rover Track... but taking the Family Day thingy into account, I guess the decision to make this ride a shorter one was justifiable. Kudos to all the Loskan whom came and a special mention I think would be appropriate for MatYen ~ despite his not being well, he came to uplift the spirit of Loska brotherhood....
Riders: Sabri, CheMat, Faizi, Amir, Ejau, Udang, Faizal, wakil SonangWang ~ Udin & Zam, artis jemputan ~ Along + Asrol dari Perodua serta Mubin jiran CheMat (names bold are those pictured below)
Episode 3: The Conclusion
I would say this has been a successful event. Hopefully, this is the first amongst more to come.... Although none of the riders and adults joined the kids for a swim (prolly because of the public setting... and the murky water...), we had an enjoyable chit-chat-while eating session at the end of the ride. Ohh.. did I mention that Ejau also did his maiden ride on his newly acquired Scott Ransom Ltd? hehehe... congrats Ejau! Wanna see his bike? Just scroll up a bit... :)
Here some other bikes that day......
And in keeping with a somewhat Loska's practice.... just before we call it a day, Chemat bought a round of ice-cream for everyone.... children included.... :)
Episode 4: Dicovery
Well.... I mentioned earlier that the water was a bit murky and the setting was public at where we camped. Butafter everyone left, upon my children pester, I hiked atop the steps nearby to find this serene and clear waterfall...... so nice..... :)
Why is this plastic fork featured here? No reason actually... just that one of the family left this behind... so if its yours.... I'll bring it along on our next ride! Till then.... rock hard, ride free!
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