Kuala Lumpur Car Free Morning

Held on the first and third Sundays of every month, the Kuala Lumpur (KL) Car Free Morning event is a 2 hour-long ordeal that takes place in the heart of the bustling metropolis, allowing participants to take in the sights of the city from a unique perspective. More information can be found on their Facebook page and website.

The event kicks off at 7am but all participants, especially newcomers are encouraged to arrive earlier, say 15 minutes to half an hour, so as to not encounter parking problems.

The main sponsor, the OCBC Bank group provides bicycles for rent which can be obtained at the base of the OCBC building (Menara OCBC) which is about 400m away from Dataran Merdeka (refer to the image below as a guide). However, one should make it a point to come early as there are a limited number of bicycles available. They have just recently increased their bicycle count by 30 from the previous 110, bringing the total to a respectable 140 bicycles, all of which are free and available on a first-come-first-serve basis. 

The entire route (picture below) will take you past various iconic landmarks, the Petronas Twin Towers, the Hard Rock Hotel Kuala Lumpur, the Kuala Lumpur tower (albeit you have to go a little off route for this one), Dataran Merdeka (Merdeka Square) with the Royal Selangor Club House behind it to name a few.

The event starts off in front of the DBKL (Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur/ Kuala Lumpur City Hall) building located on Jalan Raja Laut and is kicked off by a speech from someone who I'm guessing is a City Hall official (not 100% sure) accompanied by a short musical piece by a local marching band as well as a few horse-drawn carriages to make the atmosphere that bit more interesting. 

The entire route is closed off very well, with policemen being stationed at key junctions so as to deter any potential cars or motorcycles from entering the closed circuit.

Participants, ranging from casual cyclists and runners to competitive wheelchair-bound athletes can be seen flooding the streets, taking in the sights and sounds while getting a good morning's worth of exercise.

Up until now, I've only gone twice due to scheduling constraints but I've enjoyed both times. Being able to coast down KL roads that are normally jam packed with cars is definitely a uniquely freeing experience, especially for urbanites who inch to and from work everyday in our infamous traffic jams.

There are a couple of food trucks that operate on the stretch of road in front of the Merdeka Square field while the numerous mamak stores (Indian Muslim restaurants - think Naan bread and Roti with curry) and kopitiams (traditional coffee shops) along the route are open and ready to welcome customers.

On both my rides, my friends and I stopped at a Chinese kopitiam called Yat Kee, which apparently is well known for their pork chop with gravy and roti babi (pork bread for lack of a better translation). Of course this place is definitely not on the halal list of things to eat, but in the event you are a connoisseur of porcine delicacies, you may find yourself enjoying this pit stop. The store has been around since before Malaysia attained it's independence from the British and has become a sort of heritage site to the locals. For RM15 (approximately $3.75 according to current exchange rates), you'll get a pretty filling plate of pork chop in a flood of gravy with baked potatoes and some bits of corn, peas and carrots. I've yet to try the roti babi though as I was stuffed after having the pork chop but I'll definitely give it a try the next time I stop by.

Lut Kee Kopitiam - Pork Chop for breakfast. RM15.

The 2 hour long ride/breakfast excursion typically ends with the police gradually guiding the participants towards the DBKL building as it is the official end point of the event.

All in all, I would confidently recommend packing your bicycle into your car and waking up a couple of hours earlier on the next event day so as to experience the city from a different perspective whilst keeping healthy at the same time. Or take the LRT to the Masjid James station and walk a couple of meters to the OCBC building to rent a bike; I'd recommend bringing a friend along too as they have quite a number of tandem bikes available for rent, did I mention they're FREE :D ?

Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave any questions or comments you may have in the comment section below. Until next time!