Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Come on Buddy…we will not leave you behind.

Ever watch those War Movies, where the soldier gets saved by their platoon sergeant or commander. The sergeant (be it Vic Morrow or Bruce Willis) comes into the enemy line and drags the soldier out of the enemy territory and makes sure you are safe and sound. Well, that what I felt like in the last PCC ride to Ijok and Puncak Alam, I was that helpless soldier, William and Vong was my platoon Sergeant and Corporal respectively.
After an eventful long ride from Center-point to Ijok Petronas and braving the scenic palm Oil estate roads from Ijok to Puncak Alam and the dreadful climb up the "dragon back" hills of Puncak Alam, we stopped at the restaurant to quench our thirst at Kampong Subang. The stop at the restaurant was good for all the riders to cool down in more ways then one, venting their anger and disbelief at the ride Directors choice of route. I could swear that I could still remember the swearing and cursing of the riders as they face the first initial climb of Puncak Alam and then saw the rolling hills up ahead. My philosophy which I shared with Andrea that day was simple, forget the view and focus 5 feet in front of the bike, grit your teeth and pedal.

Coming out of Kampong Subang, I made a mistake of riding off on sharp cobbled stone pathway which then punctured by rear wheels. It also broke the sidewall of my tire. Though having a spare tube in my pouch, I decided against changing the tube and chose to pump the tire seeing that the air that was escaping was little. I also thought that I can survive the ride to the next petrol station, so that I can use their pump and perhaps change the tires there. Having not gone through a puncture ever in my cycling live, I got worried and kind of panicked.

But, my trusty sergeant and corporal were there to pull me and bail me out of that danger. That was PCC at its best, not leaving anyone behind. William and Vong could have chosen to leave me there as it was not a critical situation, but no, they saw my panic stricken face and chose to provide support as I chose to pump the tire eight times round before reaching Center Point. It is also disheartening those petrol stations pumps are also hopeless and does not seem to be working on Sundays.

Heartful thanks to William and Vong for rescuing me out of the Cold. Overall, still managed to rack up 106km for the day and still manage to come back to Center Point just after noon.

Statistics for the day:-
Center Point to Ijok (42 km) averaged 28.1 km/hr and
Ijok to Puncak Alam to Center Point (62km) averaged 25.1 km/hr.
Total Calories : 3109 cal

2 comments:

tryathlete said...

i haven't been on a good ride in a loooong time. man, i miss those PCC rides. maybe this sunday. where we going?

The Editor said...

I think this Sunday, PCC maybe going to Lake Garden for a Leisure ride. Most of us pergi MTB