Sunday 23 December 2007

Bukit Mahkota Trail in Kajang

Bukit Mahkota Trail in Kajang at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:Share GPS tracks

Basically a nice non-technical Oil Palm Estate trail with minor climbs and nice long downhills! There are several natural jump points that can be improved. But since this is a private estate, not a good idea to start modifying. Very strange, there were hardly any mosquitoes! LOL.

Trip Stats:

Duration:
1 hour, 43 minutes
Length: 6.9 km
Vertical up: 436.9 m
Vertical down: 429.2 m
Average speed: 4 km/h

Photos:

The Geeks:

  • Sri Naga
  • Joe
  • Jack

Monday 10 December 2007

What I learned about jumping in Kiara

When I got up there... looking at the tracks and ramps what popped in to my mind was "not today! I am not fit enough, my bike not suitable and all...

After a while... after sitting and mingling with a few guys there. And also jack telling about his jump and all.. i said to myself ".....what the heck just go down the trails and see what happens..."

So I went down I skipped the 1st ramp. Its wooden made. looks like a half-done bridge... and the landing also doesn't look good to me. I then picked up speed come to the next ramp. This one actually leading to another trail which I don't know where to. Skipped it. Then the next ramp... without thinking I just jump! Dunno if it was a good land but i can feel I was in the air for a moment. Quite high I think. It felt good. Damn! I did the same for the next few. I was really close to orgasm (symbolic only)... I wanted to go on but no more ramps.

I decided to go back up for another round or so. Jack and Naga is still up there. Dunno where rest were...maybe they have gone down. I just thought maybe this time can jump higher and faster. On the way up I overheard these other guys. I supposed seniors of Kiara, advising some other newbies "engkau kena tarik sikit.. bila dah naik tu jgn lean forward and bla...bla..bla" without realizing it actually lingers in my head. Which after that happened to be poison to my jumps. I fell! I don't wanna care about the pain and wounds yet. Just not yet. I must go again. I just went back up and tried again and fell again. "Hmmmm.... nevermind. Try again" At that time I can feel my neck starting to get stiffed...and painful.

I wanted to try again but I suddenly realized that I still have my handle bar-end fixed and its pointing upwards... "O man... that was a very damn stupid and silly of me!! its so dangerous. I could get serious injury from it poking into my face or chest!!" So I called it a day. On the way down I kept thnking what was wrong with the 2nd and 3rd attempt.... I then realized that in the 2nd and 3rd atempt I was not natural.. not going with the flow. I was trying to think and trying to remember and do what those seniors were advising the newbies.

So I guess with this lesson learned I should be able to jump successfully next round!! (without the bar-end la..)

Saturday 8 December 2007

I Did It! I Jumped The Jumps in Bukit Kiara!!!

After watching the videos from Naga's album, it scared the shit out of me! LOL!!!

I think Joe The Oracle will be posting the trail tracks and information later. In the meantime, see Naga's photo album or you can read my blog post, I Did It! I Jumped The Jumps in Bukit Kiara!!!

Saturday 1 December 2007

Wildgeeks Does Kiara

Map of Kiara Trails

It’s a fine day to bike. Yes another weekend another ride. This time only 2 geeks can make it for the ride, Seri Naga and Henry. We decide to do Kiara this time and meet up at the TTDI guard house entrance.

Our ride started at 9.30am, all the way up to the water pump house and tried part of the 4K trail. After reaching the cross road we decided to explore another trail which later we found out to be part of the 2K trail. A good downhill ride with a lot of switchback. We did not do the entire loop and come back to the cross road again and we met up with 2 downhill riders Wan and Rizal. Wan is the dude who build the Great Wall of Kiara and Rizal is one of the top 5 Downhill riders in Malaysia.


Wan-this dude built the Great Wall of Kiara

Rizal-Damm he is fast!

Check out Rizal’s video : http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Mvlj7O7u-uI

We joined Wan and Rizal on the ascend to the Twin Towers trail. This is where the downhill dudes do their jumping and all sorts of stunts. Rizal showed us how he tackle some cool jumps and also demonstrate how to jump on a ramp. Man he is real fast. We spend nearly 30 minutes watching Rizal did jump after jump. Apparently this is how they practice and perfected their jumps.


Rizal attempting a jump

Rizal jumping off the wooden ramp


After watching how the downhill dudes do their thingie, we headed back. The downhill ride on the Twin Peaks trail is superb with heaps of jumping ramps. After reaching back to the cross road, we met up with another rider Kah Foo. He took us to the complete 2K trail. Another superb downhill ride all the way with a lot of switchback. We also did the Carnival trail on the way back with Kah Foo and ended our ride in the TTDI park at the bike wash area.


Henry after falling somewhere at The Carnival trail


The downhill ride here is much longer than Bukit Cermin. Overall there are more stuff to explore here compared to Bukit Cermin and you also have more riders here which can be helpful when asking for directions or in case you get lost in the middle of the trail. I have been riding in Kiara at least 7 times already and still haven’t explored 70% of the trail here.

Overall a must for every geek to at least try out Kiara once in their riding lifetime. It’s also a good training ground to increase one’s stamina and riding skills.

Very Satisfied Geeks:

  • Seri Naga
  • Henry

Monday 26 November 2007

2nd Bukit Cermin Hash - 24 Nov 2007

Bukit Cermin Downhill Trails at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:Share GPS tracks

It was a perfect day for cycling. The sky was cloudy, which was not bad considering it provided shades from the blazing sun. The fact that it did not rain the day before also heightened our anticipation that the trail was gonna be in good condition. Yes, it was indeed a perfect day for a good ride.

Almost all the geeks arrived at the foothill of Bukit Cermin by 8:00 am. Bukit Cermin veteran (2nd time) John aka Rooster and George aka Iron Man leads the way. The first kilometer was uphill all the way until we reached the 2nd tower (DIGI) located near an Indian Temple. Overall, the uphill ride (or push) was tolerable because the trail was in good condition and that some part of it cement/tar trail.

It was uphill all the way in beginning.

I must admit, initially I was kinda disappointed with the trail as it did not look scenic at the beginning, and I personally do not like to ride on a cement trail. No kick! However, after we passed by the DIGI tower, things began to look more optimistic. Immediately after the DIGI tower, we were greeted by a 6-7 feet downhill slope. Now this was more of my kinda liking. The trail now consisted of off-road trail surrounded by rubber trees.


The first deep slope attempted by John.

There were a few forks and turns, and we all decided to explore the trail but all leading to dead ends. The trails here kinda reminded me of the Bukit Kiara trails. Heaps of single tracks and all surrounded by rubber trees. Even the smell was like Bukit Kiara with the stinking latex smell. But of course we were lucky as it didn't rained the day before and so no mozzies sucking out our precious blood. So we all decided to turn and follow back the trail which Iron Man and Rooster went on their first hash about a month ago.

The trail here looked like Kiara and even smells like Kiara.

On our way back, we managed to bumped into 2 fellow riders. One of them was Hisham, the person who created most of the downhill trails here in Bukit Cermin. It was at this point that Hisham showed us the way to the downhill trails.... Sweet!

Hisham - This dude was the one who created the trails here. RESPECT!

Hisham took us through the remaining of the trails consisting of a lot of steep downhill rides, which can be a bit technical for newbies like us. However, Hisham's effortless decent down these trails gave some of us a boost of confidence to tackle these steep downhill ride. There have been a few accidents or near-accidents during this ride. One was Iron Man's near-fall but he saved himself by hugging on to a tree (Hindustan film style). See video below.


Iron Man - A romantic moment with the Rubber Tree.

There was also a wooden ramp made by Hisham and his friends. Seri Naga aka 5K decided to give it a try at jumping off the ramp. After summoning all his courage, he made 3 attempts but …. CHICKENED OUT each time when he was about to reach the ramp. Heh… heh…!


Seri Naga - Chickened out in the last minute.

After the ramp, we all come across a wooden bridge. Looked easy enough to cross and Rooster was the first geek to try to cross it. Unlike Iron Man, who was lucky enough to be saved by hugging on to a rubber tree, our dear John (Rooster) was not so lucky and fell almost 7-10 feet down the gorge. Luckily he was unhurt. Apparently he tried to cling on to a tree when he fell but could not reach it. This incident made the other geeks more cautious when crossing the bridge and we all decided to push our bikes instead of riding over it.


John - After the fall.

After the bridge, there was some cool downhill rides all the way until the end when we caught up with the 2 downhill dudes. One of them was Apai and he was kind enough to demonstrate to us on how to jump a steep slope. His first attempt was successful but Apai was not satisfied and decided to go for a 2nd attempt. This time he went too fast and lost control of his bike and crashed into a tree. The crash was quite hard and it knocked Apai out for a few seconds. Luckily no serious injuries (that was what we all thought) and he was back on his feet after 10-15 minutes or so.

Apai first jump attempt.
Apai almost knock out after hitting the tree.

Apai - Almost knocked out after a head-on collision with a tree.
While Apai was catching his breath he let us try out his downhill bike (at least RM10K). Seri Naga gave it a try (3 tries to be exact) and it was totally awesome. Jumping from a downhill bike definitely felt a lot more different and you get more control on the bike due to its weight and handle bar size.

Overall, Bukit cermin was a great ride. The uphill was not that hard and ridable for a fit rider. The downhills were a bit steep and it is advisable, to be handled by a relatively experience rider. This trail was an alternative to Kiara, which may be too technical and crowded on the weekends. Bukit Cermin is a must for downhill enthusiast!

Videos and Photos
Here are some statistics:

Duration: 2 hours, 48 minutes

Length: 3.8 km

Vertical up: 413.4 m

Vertical down: 423.9 m

Average speed: 1.4 km/h

The Uninjured Geeks who survived this ride:
  • George
  • Weng Hoe
  • John
  • Edwin
  • Henry
  • Seri Naga

Thursday 15 November 2007

Air Keroh Bike Hash

Melaka Hash at Air Keroh at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail: GPS Travel Community

Wanting to explore a bike hash location adjacent to Puteri Resort Air Keroh, our journey begins at 7.00am from Kuala Lumpur. We arrive at Melaka town at about 9.00am for a quick breakfast before reaching our bike hash location at 9.30am.

All set to go in speedy 10 mins preparation before we discover a puncture in George's bike back wheel. Luckily we have our Gunner Jack who has most experience in changing the tubes to the rescue (he's changed many times on his bike...) . Entering the hash site requires us to pass through some undeveloped bungalow land plots and a small opening among the rubber trees brings us to a mozzie war zone!

We hope to take some pictures during our hash but the mozzies were the king of the territory there. Mostly the trail is very ridable with challenging mud puddles, uphills and downhills along the way. Being adventurous, we tried to wander to discover some of the uncharted waters which brings us to a discovery of an alternative entrance.

Overall a great and enjoyable ride and view where the terrain is not too extreme and well suited for a bike hash.

Videos and Photos

Here are some statistics:

Duration: 2 hours, 18 minutes, 25 seconds

Length: 11.8 km

Vertical up: 530.2 m

Vertical down:
521 m

Average speed:
5.1 km/h

Top speed: 41.1 km/h


The Satisfied Geeks!

  • Joe
  • George
  • Jack
  • Friday 9 November 2007

    Bukit Cermin in Putra Heights

    Summary:

    Mountain Biking in Bukit Cermin, Putra Heights at EveryTrail

    Map created by EveryTrail: GPS, Photos & Geotagging!

    This is the geeks' first trip to Bukit Cermin. Recommended by a bike shop owner, we decided to explore the trails there. The Bukit Cermin trails are along palm oil/rubber estate roads and some single track downhills.

    Mosquito repellent is a MUST there! These mozzies attack in swarms!!!! You can literally see the swarm chasing after you.

    In spite of the mosquitoes, it is definitely worth many revisits! But I dun think I will do it during a rainy day again unless you are into mud pies... LOL.

    Videos and Photos:
    Duration:1 hours, 42 minutes

    Length:
    6.8 km

    Vertical up:
    479.7 m

    Vertical down:
    485 m

    Average speed:4 km/h

    Top Speed:
    41.9 km/h

    The rain soaked geeks:
    • George
    • John
    • Jack

    Monday 5 November 2007

    Return to Batu Dam

    Summary:
    This time the hash was made in reverse and it really made the ride pleasant and enjoyable! Everyone had a good work out and I had a nice puncture... :-)



     
    Videos and Photos:

    Length:
    18.6 km

    Top Speed:
    53.4 km/h

    The Stoned Geeks:
    • George
    • Azril
    • Izani
    • Henry
    • Naga
    • Micol
    • Ken Wei
    • John
    • Jack
    • Edwin

    Sunday 4 November 2007

    Raya @ Ranger's House

    The geeks were invited to Ranger's house for a Raya makan after our hash on 27th Oct 2007. We did a light hash as there were only 4 of us as most people are either busy, outstation or ffk at the last minute. Henry, Ironman, Medic and Smokie are the only one whom made it that morning. Btw, Medic, where are the hash pix you took?

    After the usual FRIM's Steriod Hills ride, we proceeded to Ampang for makan at Ranger's house. Delicious Kedah Laksa, Lemang, Rendang Chicken, Fried Kerepek, etc. was waiting for us there! Its was truly delicious and good plus generous Ranger keep feeding us with more stuff even after our meal as we are sitting down to chit chat.

    Here are some fantastic and drooling photos of the yummies that the rest of you missed!






    Thanks Ranger for inviting again!

    Tuesday 23 October 2007

    Pangkor Round Island Road Ride

    Pangkor Round Island Road Ride at EveryTrail

    Map created by EveryTrail: GPS, Photos & Geotagging!

    During an R & D Meeting in Pangkor, the geeks took time out to do a round island road ride to explore the island.

    Videos and GPS Embedded Photos:
    Duration:
    2 hours, 31 minutes, 19 seconds

    Length:

    17.7 km

    Vertical up:

    1166.1 m

    Vertical down:

    1173.3 m

    Average speed:

    7 km/h

    The Road Riding Geeks:
    • Joe
    • George
    • Jack
    • KC
    • Viji

    Wednesday 17 October 2007

    Hari Raya Ride to KL

    View the Hari Raya Ride to KL Trail at EveryTrail.com

    Map created by EveryTrail: GPS, Photos & Geotagging!

    On the 3rd day of Hari Raya. Some of the Wild Geeks took an easy ride to KL from Sri Petaling. We started off at 7:00am on Monday and finished almost 3 hours later. Of course, we had to stop by the famous Foochow Fishball Noodle place near Jalan Pasar for breakfast and teh tarik in Brickfields... :-)

    We took the new elevated KL-Putrajaya highway. The highway is not opened to the public yet as it is still under construction. All in all, a most exciting and fun ride!

    Videos and GPS Embedded Photos:
    Duration:
    2 hours, 51 minutes, 25 seconds

    Length:

    25 km

    Vertical up:

    815.7 m

    Vertical down:

    824.8 m

    Average speed:

    8.8 km/h

    The Early Bird Geeks:
    • Joe
    • George
    • Jack

    Tuesday 16 October 2007

    Sg. Pening Pening - Dizzy River?

    Location:
    Sg. Pening Pening, Kajang.

    Map:


    Summary:
    A really fantastic ride in Sg. Pening Pening with many climbs and long extensive downhills. Definitely must return there!



    Ouch! Henry displaying his injuries after he crashed and landed on his chest and arms. That's gonna take at least a week to recover!

    Total Distance Traveled:
    15.12 km

    Top Speed:
    44.5 km/h

    Videos and GPS Embedded Photos:
    The "Pening" Geeks:
    • Henry
    • Sri Naga
    • Edwin
    • Jack

    Tuesday 18 September 2007

    MTB Trail Seekers

    "Where to this Saturday?" This is what everyone asked every week. Well, last week, I thought of doing something different. I looked through the maps provided by Malsingmaps (thank you MalsingMaps... :-) to look for MTB tracks, hash or bash.

    I identified a few from the maps, that I thought we should explore to see if these trails were in cycle-able conditions or not. They were:
    • Bukit Cahaya (Not the one everyone referred to in Taman Pertanian Malaysia)
    • Puncak Perdana
    • Empangan Subang
    • Ijok
    • Bkt Langong (Rawang)
    I printed a copy of each of the maps and showed it to the geeks on Saturday, the day of our hash. We met up at the Rumah Ku restaurant, but it was closed during the Puasa month. So we adjourned to one of the coffee shop in Jalan Bahagia, we called "London Fried Rice" coffee shop. During breakfast, we unanimously decided to go to the Bukit Cahaya trails next to Kayangan Heights.


    Malsingmaps' map of the Bukit Cahaya Trail.

    When we reached Bukit Cahaya, we were disappointed. The trails as indicated in the maps had given way to housing developments. So we decided to move on to the next trail, the Puncak Perdana Trail.

    Driving along the Puncak Alam road, we could not locate the start of the trail as indicated in the map. So we decided to move on to the next one on the list, the Empangan Subang trails.


    Malsingmaps' map of the Empangan Subang Trail.

    After driving along Jalan Seri Jaya, we could not locate the trail either. Joe the Oracle managed to consult his GPS device and we managed to locate what was an entrance to a house as the start of the trail. We believed that the trails were long gone and that the maps needed updating... LOL.

    After spending the better part of the morning searching for trails, we decided to give up on our search and to head for the Rubber Research Institute for some cycling time!

    On our way out, we managed to spot the entrance to the Puncak Perdana trails... or so we thought... :-) So we doubled back and parked in the car park next to UiTM.

    At that point we were just dying to get out and ride.... LOL.


    Malsingmaps's map of the Puncak Perdana Trail.

    We set out from the UiTM car park and rode to the "entrance" of the trail, which lead to a steep hill with loose rocks making it a difficult climb.

    Overall, the Puncak Perdana trail was littered with land slide covering parts of the trail. The trail had turned into a cow herding trail with cow dung deposits along it. At certain parts, there were blue coloured spent shotgun shells. Also, we discovered that half of the land area designated as Puncak Perdana had been converted into a residential development project.


    Google Maps' satellite view of Puncak Perdana.

    As Iron Man George kept pointing out, Daniel the Bull's housing estate had cannibalised more than half of Puncak Perdana! It so happens, Daniel bought a double storey house there... LOL...

    Further along the way, we encountered dead ends upon dead ends. We tried to cut through the brushes and undergrowths unsuccessfully using tree branches as "hatchet". The undergrowths were thick and has completely covered and hidden the trail. The trail was a "botak" trail. We were cycling directly under the hot sun. The ride took a lot out of us and after unsuccessfully trying to find any ridable trail, we decided that we had enough and decided to head back.

    I don't think we will ever head back to the Puncak Perdana trail again... LOL. As for the Bukit Langong trail in Rawang and the Ijok Trail, we will explore them another time. The next time, we will bring along several hatchets... LOL...

    Total Distance Traveled:
    6.01 km

    Top Speed:
    0.0 km/h

    Videos and GPS Embedded Photos:
    Sun burnt Geeks:
    • George
    • Ken Wei
    • Joe
    • Sri Naga
    • Jack

    Thursday 13 September 2007

    Lubuk Tedung - Kuala Sleh Ride

    Location:
    Lubuk Tedung – Kuala Sleh

    Summary:
    A call to one mountain biker acquaintance, Mr Zaidi (aka Mr Beskal) and what do you know me and Henry got an invitation to cycle to Lubuk Tedung / Kuala Sleh. I have no idea where this place is but Zaidi told us to wait at Zoo Negara entrance at 8pm. Apparently there is this forum ‘Jom Kayuh’ and someone is organizing a ride there.

    We arrived at the Zoo Negara entrance around 8 am and met up with Rahmat who will be the hare for today’s ride. We were joined by another 10 riders later and we started cycling around 8.45am toward Kampung Kemensah.

    To summarize the intensity of the ride, I would rate this the toughest trail I have ever encountered. The beginning of the trail consist of a lot of steep climbs and the trail condition is full of gutters and muddy pits. So one must expect to come of out this trail with mud stuck on the wheels. I would say at least 35% of the ride consist of pushing due to the trail conditions. One fellow rider, Ong from Fakawi Tribe teach me and Henry some trail maintenance by digging a drain to drain out water from the mud puddle. Not that fun riding with too much water splashing your eyes :-)

    However the ride was worth it considering the scenic jungle scene with tall forest canopy providing the cooling shade. On the middle of the trail we rest at a place with a big tree (N 03°15.109’ , E 101°47.749’).

    The other half of the ride is much easier with some good down hills which some can be quite technical. We have a few fall and it was probably in one of this fall Henry lost his speedometer. There are at least 3 stream crossing that we have to make before we reach a river which I think is call Sg Sleh. A very scenic river , deep enough to dive into and the surrounding area is suitable for camping.


    After a good rest in the scenic river, we try to check out an old railway track but the trail leading there has been overgrown and not accessible by bikes so we turned back and rode all the way back from where we started.


    Overall I would rate this the best and hardest trail I have ever been to. We started our ride around 8.45am and only reach back to civilization around 3 pm. This is also my longest ride so far. This trail is well worth the effort but I won’t recommend this trail for newbie as it’s very tough. To rate it in terms of difficulty, I would say it’s like riding Steriod hill in FRIM 3 times.


    Total Distance Traveled:
    Unknown but estimate to be around 15-20km back and forth.
    (Henry lost his odometer while my GPS can’t receive the signal in the thick forest canopy)

    Top Speed:
    Unknown

    Two very worn out wildgeeks:

    • Henry
    • Seri Naga
    • and 10 other riders from Jom Kayuh forum

    Monday 27 August 2007

    Return to Rubber Research Institute (RRI) to Donate Blood

    Location:
    Rubber Research Institute, Sungai Buloh

    Map:


    Summary:


    It must have been because of the Ghost Festival. Otherwise, it would not have been just Henry, me and buzzing vampires on this hash.

    In fact, it was supposed to be a joy ride to Serendah, inevitably Iron Man had to "fong fei kei (ffk)" (a Cantonese slang referring to an action of not being able to fulfill what one said or promised), which started a chain reaction of "ffk".

    To top it off, the morning started off raining and it seemed to promise more rain for the rest of the day. We breakfasted in Rumah Ku at Kelana Square waiting for those who were supposed to go for the hash to turn up. After we received the "ffk" SMS replies, we headed out for RRI.

    Thankfully, it did not rain as promised... :-) We headed out and hit the trails going nice and easy. The trails in RRI were wide and all dirt and rocks. Essentially, it was a very easy going ride. Basically, we took the opportunity to explore almost all the trails and forks.

    For me, the high point was a very nice downhill that just felt too short, even though it was about 2km long. We like it so much that we went another round.

    By then we had done about 20km and donated about a pint of blood to the vampires of RRI. We decided to explore the other side of RRI (across the road from where we parked), where the RRI staff quarters were. Personally, I was looking for a nice place to have a drink and talk cock after a terrific ride.

    All in all it was a fantastic ride. RRI is the perfect place for MTB newbies. The next time I am headed there, I will make sure that I bring PLENTY of mosquitoes repellent!!!

    Total Distance Traveled:
    21.74 km

    Top Speed:
    38.7 km/h

    Videos and GPS Embedded Photos:
    Blood sucked in RRI:
    • Henry
    • Jack

    Sunday 19 August 2007

    A Festival of Ghost and Mountain Bikers in Klang Gates

    Location:
    Klang Gates Dam, Kg. Kemensah , Ulu Gombak

    Map:









    Summary:
    According to ancient Chinese belief, in this Chinese lunar month, the hell gates are opened and ghosts are permitted a month of freedom on the realm of the mortals.



    In one way or another, everyone is a little superstitious. But sometimes a series of circumstances and incidents will feed those superstitions... LOL.

    On the morning of the hash, I woke up late. Then, when I got out to the highway, I realized that I was wearing my slippers instead of my shoes. It was definitely not a good idea to go mountain bike hashing on the trails with just my pair of "power" slippers. Against better judgment, I decided do exactly just that.

    Next, on the highway, there was a big accident with a "Gen 2" turtled (btw, this is the second time in a month that I came across a turtled Gen 2, coincidence? Hmm... faulty design or driver error?) Anyway, the Gen 2 reminded me of that tragic bus accident last week. I remembered my colleagues telling me, "The accident happened on the first day of the Ghost Festival. The ghosts are out and have already claimed 21 lives!"

    I had already forgotten about the Gen 2 accident by the time I arrived at the meeting point behind Zoo Negara. All the Wild Geeks were ready and we set off to find a parking place to get ready to start our hash.

    Since 5K has been to Klang Gates Dam before, he lead everyone into the trails, providing everyone with useful tips and directions.

    Also, on this hash, we had two new members joining the Wild Geeks, Weng Hoe and Edwin Yap. Edwin quickly made a reputation for himself 1.2km into the trails. He demonstrated to all the graceful art of falling down from a brand new Trek 4300 Disc on a rocky downhill. Lucky for him, his Trek helmet and Trek gloves prevented serious injuries... LOL He suffered minor injuries on his right leg and some minor cuts on his arms.

    Edwin was up and ready to roll when Iron Man called for Micol the designated medic, to come and have a look at Edwin. Things turned for the worse when Edwin felt faint and had to lie down. He certainly looked as pale as a ghost... LOL. We had to raise his legs to make the blood circulate back to his upper body and head. After about 15 minutes, the Fall Guy got up and we went on out way.

    During that incident, I could not help it but to think about the ghost festival. I did not want to bring it up with the geeks, as I do not want to alarm anyone with superstitious thoughts... LOL.

    Before I forget, I should mentioned that while Micol was treating Edwin, we all thought that with utmost care, Ken Wei was kind enough to use a piece of cloth to fan Edwin, thereby ensuring that Edwin gets enough air to recover from his dizzy spell. Upon closer examination, we noticed that Ken Wei was actually fanning himself... LOL... which earned him the nick, Fan Boy!!!

    As we continued, little did we know that the Fall Guy's fall was certainly not the last... LOL.

    The trails on this hash were totally not wet and non treacherous. The ride consisted of mainly minor uphills and perhaps one challenging uphill. As usual, the sceneries were fantastic. In general, I would classify this hash as a level 3 on a scale of 1 to 10, with level 10 being impossible to cycle.

    Having said that, we had geeks falling off their bikes left and right... LOL, with the Iron Man leading the pack in the number of falls, reinforcing the validity of his nick, the "Iron Man" LOL. Lets put it this way, my camera was always ready whenever I knew Iron Man was coming downhill. Thankfully, my eager anticipation was disappointed.

    Needless to say, I rolled on the grass a few times over as well... :-) Henry and John had their fair share of slip sliding and "pok kai-ing" respectively.

    I had been to every hashing of the Wild Geeks and never had I seen so many geeks falling off their bikes, so much so that I wanted to sing the song, "London Bridge is falling down..." Reminded of the Gen 2 incident that morning, I cannot but concluded that the ghosts were really out there creating havoc and mischief on the geeks... LOL.

    Thankfully no one were seriously injured on this "ghostly" ride, and all ended well. All the same I think we should let the next hash be after the Ghost Festival month.

    Total Distance Traveled:
    8.04 km

    Top Speed:
    30.5 km/h (Anyone else recorded better than Seri Naga on this for this trip?)

    Videos and GPS Embedded Photos:
    Pumped with Steriods :
    • Edwin (Tau Foo Fa aka Fall Guy)
    • George (Iron Man)
    • Henry
    • Jack (Scribe)
    • John (Rooster)
    • Ken Wei (Fan Boy)
    • Micol (Scrub)
    • Sri Naga (5K)
    • Weng Hoe

    Saturday 11 August 2007

    FRIM - The Rover and The Steriod

    Location:
    Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kepong.

    Map:


    Summary:
    With Sri Naga's past experience in FRIM, this hash was more organised... meaning we knew where to go, supposedly... LOL.

    This time around, we had Sri Naga, Daniel, Chris, Kevin, Joe and myself. Also, there were no tire puncture and no Astronomy 101 lessons... LOL..

    Chris and Kevin were totally newbies to off-road hashing on mountain bikes.... so this was their first time getting a pounding on their ass... :-D As Kevin was a rally driver, he was no stranger to off-road racing and physically more fit. Chris was out of shape and will need a few more hashes like this to get him into gear... LOL...

    The hash was made up of some very memorable uphills and downhills. The initial long uphill stretch in the Rover Trail was a surprise for a number of us. We had to push part of the way up, as the pace was not set correctly.

    The second uphill, noted as the Steroid climb, was much more steeper but not as long as the uphill in the beginning of the trails. With proper pacing, one can easily take the uphill without any problem.

    I wished my bike had full suspension during the downhill... LOL.. The downhill trail was rocky with hardened clay making my bike bounced all over the place... HAhaha... I could not go full speed without losing control of my bike... LOL...

    All in all, it was an excellent ride without any injury or breakdown. And as usual, right after a good ride, you are left wanting more... right or not Naga? LOL...

    Total Distance Traveled:
    13.7 km

    Top Speed:
    45.0 km/h (Anyone else recorded better than this for this trip?)

    Videos and GPS Embedded Photos:

    Pumped with Steriods :
    • Chris
    • Daniel (The Bull)
    • Jack (The Scribe)
    • Joe (The Oracle)
    • Kevin
    • Sri Naga (5K)

    Sunday 5 August 2007

    A Cicak, An Incident and A Few Good Men

    Location:Sofia Jane, Kg. Kemensah

    Map:

    Summary:
    On this Sofia Jane hash, we had invited Peng Nam the Cicak to joined us. This was his first time going on an MTB hash. Actually, Cicak was "tricked" into going on this hash... LOL.

    He had thought that we were going jungle trekking, that is, until he saw my mountain bike at the back of my pickup... LOL... I met up with Cicak and George at Joe's house to borrow Joe's bike for Cicak the King Scout to use on the hash... :-)

    We took off from Joe's house at about 8:00am and left for the rendezvous point in front of Zoo Negara.

    That morning in the rush, George had forgotten to bring along his helmet. It's always like that... the thing that you really needed the most that day, you forget to bring... LOL

    We met up with Azril and Izaini in front of the Zoo and drove up together to meet Henry and Sri Naga further up on the way to Kemensah Heights.

    The hash was only 4.5km long with minor hill climbs and downhills. As usual, potholes and crevices on the trail, made the climb and the downhill difficult and slow.

    Overall the trail was wet and muddy. We won't have it any other way... :-)

    Our objective was to reach the Sofia Jane Waterfall. The reason the trail and waterfall was called Sofia Jane, was because she shot a film there. At least that was what the local said. Anyway, Henry and Sri Naga had cycled along this trail before and they were quite familar with the condition of the trail.



    Cicak the King Scout was severely out of shape... LOL. We had to make several stops to let him catch his breaths as we made our way up the trail. At one point, it was just him and me, with the rest of the guys way ahead... LOL... Heck, we never left anyone behind and we were not going to start... :)

    Before long, we reached a clearing with a fork in the trail. One leading to the waterfall and the other to Ulu Langat. Sri Naga and Henry warned us that it was better if we left our bikes and trekked down to the falls, which was only about 1 km away. But the warning came a tad late as Azril the Ranger and Izaini the Hulk had left and cycled down to the waterfall... ouch!!!

    The trail leading to the waterfall was really bad. There was no way to cycle all the way down. In any case, we reached the waterfalls and some of the guys decided to take a dip in the icy cold stream.

    One thing lead to another, Cicak slipped and fell while holding on to Iron Man's camera to take a photo of something. Next thing you know, Iron Man got up from his dip in the stream to go help Cicak (or to save his camera... LOL). He contemplated whether to crawl or walk over to Cicak. He decided the latter and paid for it in BLOOD!!!

    I had not been paying attention to what was going on. I had been trying to get a GPS fix on my phone to take some geotagged photos. Next thing I knew, I heard the guys calling me and I looked up to see George holding one hand to the back of his head with blood trickling down the side of his head down his neck.

    I went over and took a look at the 1 and a half inch gash at the back of Iron Man's head. The bleeding was pretty bad. The first thing I thought of was to stop the bleeding. I struggled to open my backpack to look for the first aid kit, and found only some spare tires and a spanner. (I had thought that John had passed me everything we bought for just such an emergency during the Lata Kijang hash.) Meanwhile, Henry had brought out his first aid kit and Cicak helped to dispense the bandages. I cleaned the wound as best I could and Henry then poured a powdery substance, which Henry said was some Chinese medicine that will stop bleeding. I held the hair away from the wound so that Henry could apply the powder.

    After applying the powder, I placed the bandages on top of the wound and we used Henry's bandanna to tie around Iron Man's head. Just then Azril the ranger came up from below the waterfalls and was shocked to find us surrounding George.

    Very quickly, Azril took out his wonder drug, the cigarette... LOL, and applied it to George's wound and George to hold on to it until the bleeding stopped. As soon as the bleeding stopped, we tied the bandanna tightly around George's head again. Btw, he looked really cool!!! Like Rambo only... LOL...

    True to his nick, the Iron Man felt better and we left the waterfall to trek out. The downhill back along the trail was totally amazing. Common sense dictated that we slowed down, foolhardiness prevailed and it was an adrenaline filled downhill for me... LOL.

    The Iron Man was the first out of the trail. He was already ready with his camera taking picture of all the geeks coming out.

    We then adjourned to our cars, packed up and went to a place for rojak and cendol... LOL...

    After the postmortem, I took George and Peng Nam to look for a clinic... we went through 3 clinics in the Ampang area (all of which were either closed or the doctors were taking a "siesta" and unavailable ) before deciding to go to a clinic in front of Bukit Bintang Plaza on top of KFC. Turns out to be an excellent choice.

    The treatment of George the Iron Man is well documented in several videos. Some of you squeamish type might want to avoid watching those videos... LOL.

    Have you ever heard an Iron Man scream before?

    Total Distance Traveled:
    4.5 km

    Top Speed:
    29.2 km/h (Anyone else recorded better than this for this trip?)

    Videos and GPS Embedded Photos:
    A Few Good Men and A Cicak:

    Wednesday 1 August 2007

    Lata Kijang and the Eleven Wild Geeks

    Location:
    Lata Kijang, Negri Sembilan

    Map:


    Summary:
    This hash was relatively easy with some minor climbs and downhills. More than half of the trail was on tarmac than off-road. The primary objective of the hash was to reach the campsite, and for those who wanted to, could take the rest of the way to the Lata Kijang falls.

    Overall, I find the trail not particularly challenging and left most of us wanting more... :-) This trail is excellent for first timers though. In any case, if you love cycling, you should give this trail a try.

    Btw, the scenery was beautiful and the "orang kampung" very friendly. If not for the lorries and 4WD using the road, the place was extremely quiet and pristine.

    Total Distance Traveled:
    24.1 km

    Top Speed:
    49.2 km (Anyone else recorded better than this for this trip?)

    Trail Information:
    http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=3495

    Videos and GPS Embedded Photos:
    The Eleven Geeks who went Wild:

    Sunday 22 July 2007

    FRIM - Part 3 - The Rubber Tube, The Stars and A Birthday

    With a tire puncture, I could not cycle out of the "range rover" trail. Azril and Joe were kind enough to walked out with me. I told them that if we can fix the bike, we will go back in again... as I was reluctant to finish the day like that.

    However, Azril the Ranger said that normally in a forest, if something like this happens, it could mean that something was telling us not to continue on the trip any more... LOL. Man... I wish he hadn't said that. Pantang!!! Now no one wants to go back to the trail...even if we can fix the puncture... LOL

    After walking for about 1.5 km, we came back to the FRIM entrance. I asked the guard if he knew where I could fix a puncture. He told us to turn right pointing to the nearest junction, that there was a motorbike repair shop. We thank him and continued about 100 meters out to the junction.

    We searched for quite a bit before finding the repair shop on the main street next to the stalls where we had breakfast in the morning. Check out the location on Google Earth and photo here. You will not believe what happened next.

    What was supposed to be a simple fix for a puncture turned out to be an education in Astronomy.... LOL.



    As it turn out, Mr. Pang of Pang Motor, is the current president of the Star Finder Astronomical Society. What started out as a simple question of, "Who built that Hubble Telescope model hanging in front of his shop?" turns out to be a lecture in Astronomy... LOL.

    Mr. Pang, who owns 3 huge telescopes, was eager to explain to us, the uninitiated, the ins and the outs of star gazing with a telescope and reading the star charts. He would also like to extend an invitation to all who are interested in Astronomy to visit their society website and all are welcomed to join as members.

    Between fixing my puncture and tending to his other customers, he explained about the alignment of the planets and how long we have to wait to view some of the stellar phenomenon.

    He also had an interest to build and fire water powered rockets, which he and his friends made.



    We had an opportunity to try out the telescope.



    Mr. Pang fixing the puncture using sanding, patch and glue.



    Mr Pang also wrote for an Astronomy Magazine... now tell me you all expected this all along... that we would meet up with an Astronomer while fixing a puncture... HAhahah... Even Joe the Oracle could not have foretold this... LOL...



    Finally, the hole in the rubber tube was patched and ready to be inserted back into the tire.



    Another look at the telescope showing the hollow inside the telescope body.



    I told Mr. Pang that I will be putting all these videos I took on the Wide Geeks's blog. He requested that I took some photo and video of his shop front with a banner promoting the society, of which I gladly obliged... :-)



    Azril told us that he will not be joining us when we get back to FRIM for a second hash. Since this was his birthday and the time was just after noon, he had to spend some quality time with the wife and family. Joe and I completely agreed but just before we could leave, Mr, Pang took out some stereoscopic photos to show to us... :-) I could see that Azril was in a hurry, but he politely stayed to view the photos... LOL. The photos were cool!

    After Azril had left, Joe and I decided that we would cycle on the tarmac roads, due to the "pantang" of the land rover trails... LOL.



    When we headed into FRIM the second time, seems all the cyclist are leaving. Check out that Kancil with the bike racks lah... cool or not??? LOL...



    We continued down the road and practically cycled to all the available tarmac roads. We came upon some nice places and FRIM staff quarters. Check out the location on Google Earth and photo here.



    More tarmacs... :-)



    At this point we climbed a slope and ended up somewhere around the Malaysia Nature Society. There was no more tarmac road ahead. So, I took a chance and cycled to a dirt path next to some camp ground while Joe consulted the GPS.



    Joe came up and we decided to risk the "pantang" and go in search of a trail heading to Sungai Buloh... throwing caution to the wind... LOL. Check out the location on Google Earth and photo here.



    We rode along the trail among the lush greeneries. The feeling of excitement was back. Riding into the unknown... LOL... We came across a nice waterfall cutting below the trail into the ravine next to us.



    Easy ride as we moved along...



    It was a easy ride... until we reached this stretch, which was downhill and the trail was filled with crevices made by water gushing down during a heavy rain.



    Continuing along the downhill, we came across some caretakers of the forest cutting and trimming the grass and vegetation along the side of the trail.



    Further up the trail, we met up with Henry and Jason. I asked them for direction to get an idea of where we were. Also, I told them that we were newbies to MTB and invited them to join us in our next hashing trip if they were interested. We exchanged contacts and I promised to email them the information to the next Wild Geeks hashing adventure. COol!



    We continued cycling and were surprised to find a fantastic view of FRIM, some lakes in a park and the surrounding residential area. We cycled for a short while and found the clearing that Henry had told us about. If we take the right, we will be heading towards Sungai Buloh and if we turn left, it was supposed to take us back to the main road, which we passed by that morning on our way to FRIM in my pick-up.

    So we turned left and found out that the road lead to some construction site. While Joe consulted his GPS, I rode up the slope to get a better view. When I reached the top, I could see the lakes, and the road seemed to be leading down to them. Unless I rode down, I could not see if the road was actually connected to the lakes were or not.

    So I rode back down and told Joe about what I saw. Meanwhile, Joe had consulted the GPS and discovered that we had passed the turning to the lakes earlier. So we doubled back until we found the small tiny trail leading steeply downhill to the lakes!!! And from the lakes to the main road!!! Wah liao eh! Check out the location on Google Earth and photo here.



    We made it safely down that steep slope. Phew! To a certain extent, it was more treacherous than the ones in Batu Dam. Imagine there are trees in the middle of the path??? Hehehe... and I was pumping my brakes and trying to sit as far back in the seat as possible, but my child seat kept getting in the way... LOL. I could not take any video nor photo of that stretch as I was too excited to be thinking about it. In any case, my pants was torn and we all arrive safely. Maybe Joe can comment on his part of the ride here later... LOL.



    After circumventing the lake we got back out on the main road leading back to the main entrance of FRIM. Check out the location on Google Earth and photo here.

    This marked the end of our FRIM hashing. It is definitely a place to revisit.

    Bike Review - Malaysia's very own hybrid 3 seaters

    We have heard of tandem bikes and its problem, but a Malaysian inventor have just came out with a hybrid 3 seater bike! This bike only requires 1 person to pedal and control the bike while the rest (one in front and one at the back) are purely passenger.

    To make riding easy, its designed to be a single speed bike, plus an additional modern design carriage basket in front. It features 2 saddles for comfort riding will the third seat is a smart 2-in-1 concept seat, meaning it can be used as a seat, as well as additional storage.

    As the bike is meant for 3 passengers, it is not expected to travel at high speed, therefore no disc brakes are required and this will definitely help make the bike available to family of all levels in world. Wheel size have also been reduced to make it more economical to replace and maintain.

    The head of R&D, Mr.Tang tells us that this bike model will be marketed as J3000 and will be available sometime next year as the prototype are still being tested at its R&D facilities in an undisclosed location somewhere in Jinjang, Kuala Lumpur.

    Below is a pix of the current prototype and we can't wait to see it on the road.

    FRIM - Part 2 - The Rubber Tube, The Stars and A Birthday

    Saturday 21st of July 2007, the alarm woke me up at 6:15am to tell me that it was time for great a hashing day. The early morning air was crisp and fresh after a heavy downpour the night before. I had spent the night updating the Wild Geeks blog on our last trip to Batu Dam. Man... Google video needs some major usability upgrade! In the admin screen, a simple thumbnail of the video would be nice.

    Anyway, the day started off with me forgetting to bring my brand new helmet, which I was really anticipating to wear on this FRIM hash. The next thing I forgot was my speedometer cum odometer, which was a bummer as I needed it to keep to keep track of our distance cycled. Luckily I did not forget to pick up Joe or all hell would break loose... LOL...

    And so I picked up Joe from Sri Petaling and we arrived at FRIM at about 8:25am via Jalan Kuching. There were plenty of parking spaces in a chinese temple across the street from the road turning into the FRIM emtrance gate. There we met up with Azril and we all had "roti chanai" for breakfast. Btw, we had never been to FRIM before so we did not know where the trails were and had no idea where to start. Check out the location on Google Earth and photo here.



    As soon as Joe paid for entrance fee of RM 1.00 each (if you drive your car in, it will cost you RM 5.00), we rode through the gate with Azril leading the way, Joe capturing our trails using his GPS and as usual, I was shooting video and taking GPS embedded photos to mark our location in Google Earth later... LOL...



    Since none of us had ever been to FRIM, we needed to find out where the trails were.



    From these videos, you can see that there were a lot of traffic going in and out of the road leading into the institute.



    After cycling for a short while, Azril spotted an information map and decided to refer to it for directions. Check out the location on Google Earth and photo here.




    With much analysis and consultation with the stars, we had a direction... LOL. We decided to go find the "land rover trail".



    When we finally found the trail, it turned out to be a hiking trail, but we went for it anyway. After a stretch, with Joe fending the mosquitoes, the trails ended abruptly. Check out the location on Google Earth and photo here.



    Azril proposed that we started climbing. He believed that the land rover trail was just up the climb! And he was right at that... except for the fact that it was another hiking trail... LOL.



    The land rover trail seemed elusive! After Joe's battle with some mosquitoes we took off again.



    The surface of this trail was "rooted" with slippery and damp tree roots criss-crossing the route, which makes a smooth ride impossible. There was no grip when the tires went over the uneven root, causing the tires to slide along the exposed roots. I was quite concern about damaging the roots with the pedal of my bike, so I walked by bike through.



    You can see that walking the bike through the trail with one hand holding my Dopod shooting video was not exactly a breeze... :-) So pardon me for the shaky video footage... LOL...



    The videos also showed the trees growing straight upwards. The wet and damp leaves should had been a paradise for leeches. Surprisingly, there were none that I could find. Believe me, I was on a look out for leeches... :-)



    After a short while, we came crossed a bridge spanning across a steep gorge. On the other side, we could either turn left or right. This time, the decision was made for us... we could only turn left as there were some people cutting trees on the other side.



    Our friend Joe was too busy fending off mosquitoes again. After Joe and Azril's comparison of their "smoking" bodies, we went on our quest for the land rover trails again. This trail was uphill and hardly visible as a trail. There was a big fallen branch blocking the way and we had to go round it. Before we knew it... we had to carry our bikes and climbed a steep slope to a road, which we hoped was the elusive land rover trail.



    Success at last. It is the land rover trail. Another decision time, left or right? After Joe's consultation with the stars, we decided to head right.



    It was pretty easy from here on as the trail was a dirt road used by land rovers... LOL... What's better than a nice downhill to ward off mosquitoes and cool ourselves? LOL... I could think of a dozen reasons... HAhAHA...



    And then all of s sudden, we ended up on a tarmac road. It seemed we had found the beginning of the land rover trail... LOL. There was a nice tarmac road leading up to this "elusive" trail... LOL. So, after a discussion and consultation with Joe the Oracle, we decided to ride back into the land rover trail.



    With Azril leading the way, the geeks followed. Before long, we came to another fork in the trail. Joe the Oracle was consulted again to determine the location. He brought out his divination machina and the decision was made.... LOL. Check out the location on Google Earth and photo here.



    After the decision of which fork to take was made, the Oracle demanded a price for his professional services... the fee was to ensure that he was fully protected from mosquitoes. So Azril the Ranger had no choice but to perform a sacred ritual, the Baptism of Tobacco, on Joe the Oracle.



    As we were ready to head out on the right fork of the land rover trail, I discovered that the stars alignment was not favourable to me... I had a puncture on my front tire. What a blow! As none of us have any equipment to fix a tire puncture, we had to turn back and forget the hash... it was indeed a sad day... :-(

    To be continued in:
    FRIM - Part 3 - The Rubber Tube, The Stars and A Birthday

    FRIM - Part 1 - The Rubber Tube, The Stars and A Birthday

    Location:
    Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) near Kepong and Batu Caves.

    Map:

    Compliments of Joe

    Total Distance Traveled:
    11.1 km

    Cycling Time:
    01:07 hours

    Stop Time:
    02:01 hours

    Trail Information:
    http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=3295

    GPS Embedded Photos on Google Earth: http://www.panoramio.com/user/595543/tags/FRIM
    (Unfortunately the satellite images provided by Google Earth is not very good.)

    Saturday 21 July 2007

    Batu Dam - Part 4 - Leeches, Bikers and a Cold Hard Trail

    Further into the trail, Azril and I arrived at a beautiful bamboo grove. The others had gone way ahead. We had to stop to take some photos and to record the GPS location. Check out the location on Google Earth and photo here.

    Finally, we got on our way and caught up with the others. The trail after the bamboo grove was a long steep uphill and at certain parts not ridable at all. As we continued, Azril's bike's rear wheel came off alignment and we needed to stop to fix the alignment.

    We continued uphill and was rewarded with a nice downhill. Then we came upon some make-shift log bridge and decided to stop. But someone was missing... we were quite concern... not about the person... but more concern about the expensive bike... LOL...

    After John and the rest caught up, we continued along the trail. The next incident was caused by a loose gear shifter on George's bike.

    After fixing George's gear shifter problem, we continued downhill. The downhill was fast and furious... hard on the brakes and we had to really work the bike to make sure we made it through in one piece. But it was difficult as the path was full of crevices and rocks.

    It was exhilarating! The trail opened up to a sandy road. But there was a VERY steep turn to reach the road. And that was where George lost control and plunged into the bushes... LOL. I am sorry... but it was hilarious! I think George deserve the name, "Iron Man" from here on... he is a "made" man... LOL... Luckily, George wore a helmet... in fact he was the only one that wore a helmet...

    In any case, it served to remind us to get a helmet before our next hashing trip... LOL... After George recovered from the fall, he found himself bleeding... not because of the fall but because of leeches... :-)

    After getting our bearings, we continued towards the northern tip of the dam. Just before reaching the main road, we came across a resort called Riverstone Eco Resort. Check out the location on Google Earth and photo here.


    We chatted with some of the workers at the resort and decided to take a break.


    After about 30 minutes break, we got onto the main road and rode along the highway circumventing the dam lake. We were now at three quarter way around the lake.

    Riding on the road was no fun and rather dangerous with all the traffics! The gate to the dam, our final destination! The last guy have to close the gate... LOL... and it wasn't me... LOL...

    Our goal! Finally, we rode on top of the dam! What a sight to behold! Finally, we made a circle around Batu Dam!!!! It was a great feeling... until... John was attacked by an Octopus!!!! Everyone getting ready to pack up and go home... but not me... I had to check out some kampung chickens... LOL..

    The final thing left to be done was to pack up and to make sure that nothing was left behind... not even a scrap of paper... :-) As you can see, packing three bikes in the back of George's pickup was no easy task... :-)

    I believe all of us felt that the Batu Dam hash we just did, was extremely fun and enormously satisfying. We were and are still very new to Mountain Biking, and we have a lot of lessons to learn, especially about safety and first aids. We must give thanks that no one was injured or harmed in this trip.

    Since this Batu Dam hash, a few of us have bought helmets and the club will be arranging for first aid kits. If nothing else, our next trip will be more prepared in terms of safety.