Pedaling Around Penang (Part 1)

In the second quarter of 2016, I had some business to attend to in Penang for about 3 weeks. I took this opportunity to bring along my bicycle with me as I had never cycled in Penang before and had always wanted to try out their cycling lanes.

For those of you who don't know, Penang is located on the northwest coast of Malaysia and is a thriving tourist destination. Geographically speaking, the state consists of two parts, the island and the mainland half, both separated by the Strait of Malacca and connected by 2 bridges, the Penang Bridge (also know as the first Penang Bridge) as well as the relatively new Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Bridge (a.k.a the second bridge), which has a length of 24 km (15 miles) and holds the title of the longest bridge in South East Asia which was previously held by the first bridge with it's length of 13.5 km (8.4 miles).

Over the years, the cycling community has grown steadily in Penang due to a growing interest in the sport as well as an alternate means of transport on the ever-congested island. The state government poured millions into the construction of the present cycling lane which connects Komtar at it's northern end to Queensbay Mall at it's southern end with extension works currently on-going. Following the soon-to-be-completed extension, cyclists will able to potentially go as far as the new bridge and Penangites in the southern parts of the island will be able to access the central and northern parts via the cycling lane.

As far as I know, this is the most ambitious endeavor yet in Malaysian history with regards to making cycling a practical and safe means of day to day commuting. However, my time in Penang wasn't spent completely restricted to the cycling lane alone as certain points of interest required pedal on regular roads. So, here is a rough guide to cycling in Penang as seen through my eyes as well as a few points of interest.

Starting from the northern most part of my adventure, the Teluk Bahang Dam is located in Teluk Bahang, less than a kilometer down the road from the Penang Butterfly Farm and a little further from the Penang Escape outdoor theme park. The dam was completed in 1999, has a height of 58.5 meters and a length of 685 meters. It is frequently used as a venue for international dragon boat races. Unfortunately none were going on at the time I visited.

Picture taken from Google Maps

A few kilometers down south from the dam in Batu Feringghi is the iconic Hard Rock Hotel of Penang. This wasn't my first time at the hotel but I only stopped to take a couple of pictures of the outside and never went in as there was no where to properly park my bicycle and I didn't want to risk leaving my bicycle unattended. The lobby and beach areas of the hotel are open to the public and there are parking spots allocated to the public so all are welcome.

Picture taken from the Hard Rock Hotel website

Picture taken from the Hard Rock Hotel website

Picture taken from Google Maps

As you continue your ride southbound from the Hard Rock Hotel, you'll come upon a small stretch of beach called Pantai Miami (Miami Beach). Now, from all the internet research I've done, the name for the beach was apparently coined from the fact that, for a great number of years, the beach went unnamed and was relatively unknown. So, to remedy this, the state government decided to spice up the beach and named it after the world-famous Miami Beach in Florida. Following the rename, a high-end gated community was developed across the road from the beach and was aptly named Miami Bay to further establish the name.

Picture taken from Google Maps

There were no water-sport businesses operating along the beach at the time I rode by unlike the other more popular beaches along Feringghi, however the quiet and tranquil nature of the beach itself is an attraction of its own, making it quite an ideal spot to stop by and snap a picture or two.

Just beside the stretch of beach is a cafe, the Miami Beachfront Cafe, that was still under construction in April of 2016 and I'm not sure if it's completed yet. Need to check it out the next time I go cycling in Penang.

Beautiful ocean view from just outside the under-construction cafe

The outside of the aforementioned cafe

The same cafe

As you head further south, after about 5 kilometers or so, you will eventually stumble upon a beautiful mosque on the left side of the road. Masjid Terapung (The Floating Mosque) supported by stilts, sits on the bay of Tanjung Bungah and was the first mosque in Malaysia to have been built in the sea. Ever since its conception, numerous other 'floating mosques' have sprouted up across the country, most noteable ones being in Terengganu, Perlis and Kota Kinabalu.

Picture taken from www.penang-traveltips.com

As you continue your journey eastwards along Jalan Tanjung Bungah (Tanjung Bungah Road), you'll find yourself on Jalan Tajung Tokong. Along this road, you will encounter a Tesco hypermarket on your left. Take a left turn at the most immediate junction after the Tesco and continue straight. Eventually, you will come across Straits Quay.

Picture taken from www.straits-quay.com

Marketed as Penang's first seafront retail marina, Straits Quay is a wonderful place to visit just to unwind and get away from the hustle and bustle of Penang traffic and just take in the sights and sounds of the sea. There is a boradwalk that stretches for about half a kilometer along the coast, reminiscent of the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong with the city skyscrapers in the background across the pond, just lacking a Bruce Lee statue or two.

Eventually, as you continue your journey down south along the coast line, you'll come across the northern end of Gurney Drive. It is a popular seafront promenade among both tourists and locals and named after Sir Henry Gurney, the then British High Commissioner of Malaya in 1952 following his assassination at the hands of the Malayan Communist Party during the Malayan Emergency.

A stroll down the sidewalk at night will treat one to the sound of waves crashing upon the seafront with a cooling sea breeze keeping you company. Gurney Drive hosts some of the more higher end condominiums on the island, various hotels as well as 2 very popular shopping malls, the Gurney Plaza mall and the Paragon mall. It is also famous for the collection of hawker stalls located at it's northern end, just next to the roundabout with the fountain.

The aforementioned hawker stalls.

There is currently land reclamation works underway along Gurney Drive to, in the future, construct what is currently being dubbed Gurney Wharf 'Park on the Sea' project by the state government. Gurney Wharf will potentially be a massive recreational waterfront front project with various food stalls, gardens and coastal groves akin to that of the Sydney Waterfront in Australia. The overall cost of the project will be borne by both the state government as well as the Eastern and Oriental Bhd group and is expected to be around RM 1billion (approximately $250 million). Vehicular and pedestrian activities will not be interrupted by ongoing construction, so no reason not to pay Gurney Drive a visit the next time you're in town.

The ever bustling traffic along Gurney Drive

And that's about it for part 1. This post has taken me quite awhile to write due to distractions, commitments as well as work on other posts. In fact, this has been a draft for close to 2 months now. Which is why I thought it would be best to publish this 'Penang ride' of mine in 3 parts instead of one long post. Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3!

Pedalling Across Malaysia - Preparations

Hello! My name is Benjamin Choo, I'm 24 years old this year. I'm a medical graduate currently awaiting placement in government service. In January of 2017, I plan to embark on a solo ride across the country, from the northern tip of Perlis in Padang Besar, right down to Johor Bahru in Johor. At the moment, I'm expecting to complete the journey within 10 to 14 days. I can't give out too many details yet for precautionary safety reasons but I will continue to update this blog with my progress up until the day of, what I think will likely be, the most epic ride I'll ever embark on in my life. Yay?

This ride has been a dream of mine for quite awhile now. Medical school took up the bulk of the past 6 years of my life, so many missed family trips, gatherings, adventures and experiences. I've always had an enthusiasm towards bikes, leading a healthy life as well as a bit of adventure. It's not so hard to imagine then that I would want to go on such a trip with what limited amount of free time I have on my hands at the moment. 

In the mean time, I will continue my preparations up until the day of my departure, which mainly consist of regular amounts of daily cycling (I'm doing about 10 - 15 hours a week now) with regular doses of jogging and swimming, route planning, lodging details, equipment gathering and other bits and pieces. However, all this planning isn't going to get me far if I don't have the necessary funds and equipment for it. Which is why I'm writing this post, rather shamelessly if I might add, to request for any form of sponsorship possible. Whether in the form of donations (not necessarily RM2.6b) or actual physical equipment down to biscuits I can munch on during the ride, anything and

everything will be greatly appreciated and will go far in helping me achieve this little dream of mine.

At the moment, this is what I have so far:

• 1 bicycle that's in pretty good shape
• 1 helmet
• 1 pair of cycling shorts
• 1 pair of cycling shoes
• 1 rucksack to carry everything in
• 1 saddle bag
• 1 multitool + chain breaker (to fix a potential broken chain) - Thank you Desmond, Edward and Carmen.
• 1 set of tyre levers (to change a flat tyre)
• 1 mini-pump
• 2 500ml water bottles
• 1 bicycle lock
• Front light (plus additional equipment) - Thank you Aunty Peng!
• Some chain links (to mend a broken chain)
• Financial aid - Thank you Mr Edmund Lim and other anonymous donors!

Equipment still needed:

• A few spare tyre tubes
• A spare chain
• 2 tyres

Additional useful but non-essential equipment:

• An extra pair of cycling shorts 
• A rain jacket 
• A back light
• Energy bars/gels/electrolyte drinks
• A pair of cycling gloves
• A bell
• Anything else which you may think is useful

And that's about it. Feel free to contact me via this email (benchoo92@gmail.com) or leave a comment down below and I'll get back to you. Again, any form of sponsorship would to mean a great deal to me and will definitely be helping me out next year. Thank you for reading!

Top 6 Tips When Cycling in a Group/Peloton

Cycling is a sport unlike any other, the wind in your face as you speed down hills north of 60k/h, or suffer up 45 degree climbs on that last cassette, all without the noisy rumblings of any gas-guzzling motorised aid. It is also a sport in which the term 'the more the merrier' applies to and very aptly as well if I may add. The sense of teamwork as your peloton blazes down the highway, eating up the kilometers with graceful stride or the sense of healthy competition and a little frustration as you try to keep up with the wheel in front of you so you don't get dropped by the group. And with the ever growing interest of cycling in Malaysia, more and more cycling groups are being established every day with group rides organised weekly, especially by local bike stores; the Specialized Concept Store in Petaling Jaya and Treknology (Trek Bicycles) in Kota Damansara organise weekend rides along the Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE). Regardless of your predicament, it can't be argued that riding in a group brings it's own unique sense of enjoyment. However, as with any leisurely pleasure, one should know how to enjoy it responsibly. So, here's my top 5 list of tips when it comes to riding in a group.

Don't be late
Among the many ways to make a bad first impression, being late is arguably close to the top of the list and riding in a group is no exception. Be courteous and respectful towards your fellow riders and understand that their time is precious too. Punctuality is especially more important when riding in a group as groups tend to plan to cover long distances during their rides and long distances equal large amounts of time spent in the saddle. An decent hour of running may equal a respectable 10 km to 15 km but only a mere 30 km for a cyclist. So you can imagine how long a weekend century or 100 km ride might take, taking into account the occasional rest stop and the post-ride nasi lemak breakfast.

Malaysians are infamously known for their satirical 'Malaysian Time' but in my honest opinion, it's a terrible excuse for being inconsiderate about others and my blood boils ever so slightly whenever I have the misfortune of dealing with such people. So, a good tip would be to be certain about the meet up point, determine via Google Maps or Waze or any other reliable GPS app the duration of travel from your house to the said meet up point, and allow yourself an extra 15 minutes or so in the event unforeseen circumstances arise. Pack your bicycle and other necessary equipment into your car the night before and get a good amount of sleep so as to be able to wake up fresh and on time. Let's put a stop to inconsiderate tardiness.

Know how to signal
Just because our bicycles don't come with built in indicator lights like our cars or motorcycles, that doesn't mean we have no means of signaling other road users, especially other cyclists, and forewarning them about what we're about to do next, thus making us more predictable to them as well as safer. Our own 2 hands are all we need. Even though there are lists of different cycling-related signage out there to learn, here is a brief list of the most used by groups on our roads based on personal experience (Images taken from Road Cycling UK):

Signaling to turn:


Slowing down:

Stopping


Oncoming hazard (objects usually on the left side of the road as that's the side we ride on, so point towards the right like so):


Pothole/other road irregularities (point to the potential danger on the road):


Move up or come through:


Thank you:

In the event you're passing a cyclist, please be mindful of the rules of the road as they apply to us too. This means only over taking on the right. An additional safety measure which can be taken is letting the cyclist in front of you know that you're passing by shouting out 'on your right' or by ringing a bell if you have one.



Go easy on the brakes
Drafting is perhaps unique to the sport of cycling. Essentially, it is the process of aligning yourself behind a rider so as take advantage of his or her slipstream, thus reducing the overall drag that's placed on us. In other words, you won't have to deal with the brunt of the air resistance ahead. This effect is even more noticeable in headwinds. When you're resting behind the wheel of the rider in font of you, you be'll be putting out less effort, 30% less theoretically speaking, to maintain a particular speed than compared to riding at the front or riding one your own. While this all seems nice, one of the most daunting lessons a cyclist will ever learn when cycling in a group for the first time is staying off the brakes while one's front wheel is within inches from the wheel of the rider in front. Plus, the fact you'll going at speeds upwards of 30 km/h won't be doing you any favors.

While emergency braking is definitely warranted in certain situations, most of the time however, if you ever find yourself going a little too fast when in a group, all you really have to do is stop pedaling. Once you've adjusted your speed, you'll find that braking would've been an unnecessary and potentially dangerous overcompensation. Of course, I'm not saying you'll never have to use your brakes when in a group. In fact, it is generally frowned upon to be cycling with both hands on the tops of the handle bar when in a group as your hands are far from the brakes. But, most of the time, minute adjustments in speed can be made by simply not pedaling.

Once you've mastered this little skill, you'll become a more predictable rider, which translates to a safer riding experience for both you and your fellow companions.

Service your bicycle
Nothing screams annoying like a squeaking bicycle. And as discomforting as it is for you to bare with, it's not at all easier for your fellow compatriots who want nothing more than to drop you as soon as possible. Not only that, a poorly maintained bike is going to cost you more in the long run as far as maintenance and riding pleasure go. So it's good to service your bike regularly, not only for group rides but riding in general. Fret not, I'm not expecting you to swap out your chain, bearings, cables and what not everytime you're about to embark on a group ride, but just spend a good 15 minutes to look over your bike from top to bottom and make sure everything is in working order. Here's a brief list of what I usually go through a day before a group ride:

• I'll usually assess the chain and gears first, if they're filthy and full of gunk, I'll give my bike a wash from top to bottom along with some degreaser for the chain and gears, followed by a fresh new application of chain lube.
• Break levers and shifters - check to see if they're in working order
• Break pads - check to see if they're worn out or have bits of debris in them which may need removing
• Wheels - check to see if they spin buttery smooth when lifted off the ground and given a spin
• Tyres - are they at their optimal pressures?
• Bottom bracket - if I'm experiencing unwanted noise coming from the bottom bracket (BB), I'll remove my cranks, clean out the BB and apply some fresh new grease, which usually sorts the problem out.
• Pedals - squeaking may originate from pedals which haven't been serviced for a while
• Equipment - ensure all lights and tools you're bringing along on your ride are in working order

Ensure your tyres have no surprises waiting for you

Be prepared
In essence, it's always advisable to be prepared for your ride by going over a map or a set of directions given to you by a group member or ride organiser, especially if you're riding a particular route for the first time. Inquire about road condition, rendezvous points or rest stops, as well as what their protocol is in the event you can't keep up with the group. This way, if you were to get lost or suffer a mechanical problem and you're on your own, you maybe able to call for help if you have a phone with you or make your way back to the starting point on your own.

Try not to get lost

Apart from that, bring along additional food and drink with you in the event your ride is going to take you an excess of 2 hours and always remember to have something light to eat before your ride, a banana or energy bar would be good choices. Regardless of how pleasant the company your share or the view along your route are, your ride is going to be far from enjoyable if you're lightheaded, drowsy, irritable and plain lacking energy from hypoglycaemia.

Have a decent meal before going out on a long ride

Next, ensure your tools and spares are all accounted for and in working order. Nothing like being stranded 50km from the nearest town due to a puncture, only to find you forgot to pack a spare tube or patches. If you're interested, here's my top 5 list of things to have with you when cycling, which should pretty much fit the bill. 

Apart from that, ensure any and all lights you maybe using are in working order and have a decent charge left in their batteries if you expect to be riding out before dawn or until after dusk. Our roads aren't exactly worldclass and neither are our road users. So don't be another road-accident fatality statistic. 

Be nice and have fun

Some may say this isn't so much a tip as it is common sense, but I stand by my point. I don't quite know what it is about Asian culture and our disinterest in socializing with others, but we as Malaysians are no exception to this. When we're put into a new situation, we tend to think so much about ourselves and how we're going to fit in that we forget about the other human beings around us. Relationships and bonds aren't built in an instant . So learn to step out of your comfort zone if you're the type of person who's even mildly introverted and talk to the other riders you meet. A "Good morning!" here or a "How are you?" there combined with a couple of "Have you eaten yet?"s in between (we're Malaysians aren't we?) will most certainly take you a long way. It will convey approachability and concern about others as well as expand your circle of friends.

Specialized Concept Store weekly Saturday grouprides - myself at the far left

It will also make other more inclined to look out for you when you're riding, making sure you're ok and checking on you from time to time. They may even work with you in the event both of you get dropped, allowing you to form a little team of your own and take turns drafting behind each other and hence, going faster too. Not only that, you may get to know of other cycling-related events through your mates that you may not have heard of that might interest you; equipment sales, other group rides, upcoming races, trouble shooting tips, etc.

And last but by no means least, have some fun! You may treat it as a competition if you'd like, but group rides are more of a means of socializing and bonding over a common interest. So use it as a means to enjoy yourself, improve your cycling, make new acquaintances, expand your knowledge, get healthier and blow off some steam from a long week's worth of work.

That's it for this post guys. As always, leave any and all comments of questions you may have in the comment section down below and I'll try my best to reply. Thank you for reading!