West-East Presidential Ride...

"Like the ride taken on an uncharted road, life is full of sharp turns . And very often we wonder whether we would beat the odds again... "

Friday, 24 June 2011 

(Tyres ready to roll...)

Five couples and 3 single riders met at BHP gombak for the West-East Presidential ride. After breakfast, tayar golek sharp at 9.30am and we took the Karak Highway and rode through the Bentong and Raub trunk road. We stopped at pekan Sg Koyan for a short rest and a round of drinks.

(Snack break at Ringlet)

(Fuel break and a short rest)

The winding mountainous road from Sg Koyan to Ringlet is free of traffic and beautifully scenic. With the weather clear and sunny, the ride across the mountainous road was a real bliss to the mind.

(Tea and ice-cream break)

(Bharat tea plantation)

From Ringlet, on the way to Brinchang, we stopped at Bharat tea shop for some photo shots. It was Friday, so the men went to perform solat jumaat at the masjid while the ladies rested and went to pray after. We had lunch at a nearby restaurant then later continued riding and entered the North-South highway from Sg Pulai Interchange.

(Riders taking a sharp corner)

We rode north and exited at Changkat Jering Interchage and headed to Kampung Menteri, Kuala Sepetang for the famous Mee Udang at Restoran Mak Jah.

(Everyone was on the phone @ Mak Jah Restaurant)

(The famous mee udang)

It was dusk when we reached Penang bridge. The sun was at the horizon and the beautiful sunset reflecting on the clear water. After we checked-in at Bayu Emas Apartment at Batu Feringghi, we went out to have dinner at a nearby warong. Later we split from the rest of the group and strolled along Batu Feringghi night market and bought us some hard-rock cafe t-shirts.

Saturday, 25 June 2011

(A group photo before the ride)

(One of the booths at Penang Bike Week Expo)

We started to roll at 8.30am sharp and had breakfast at one nearby mamak restaurant. We decided to stop by the Sg Nibong Expo Centre to check out the Penang Bikers Week event. The stalls were not as many as when it was held in JB and we missed the flag-off for the bikers convoy. We bought some tees and pouches and later took the highway and headed to Grik through Kulim and Baling with a short stop at the roadside stall on the way for a durian and mangosteen feast.

(Durian and mangosteen feast...)

(Taking the West-East highway from Grik to Jeli)

We continued riding through the winding road of the East-West highway and stopped for lunch and solat at Pulau Banding. It started to pour when we reached Jeli. Even though it was raining heavily on the way from Jeli to Tanah Merah, we still continued riding with extra caution as there was heavy traffic and the visibility was near zero.

(Dark clouds in the sky...)

(Lunch break at Tasik Banding)

The weather was sunnier when we reached Pasir Puteh. From Jerteh we took the Tok Bali coastal road to Kuala Trengganu and stopped for drinks at a keropok lekor stall by the beach.

(Keropok lekor stall by the beach)

(Mus and Mun)

We checked-in at Sri Indah Resort at Pantai Batu Buruk just before Maghrib. We had ample time to rest and some had a dip in the swimming pool before we had dinner at a nearby Tom Yam restaurant, a short walking distance from the resort.

Sunday, 26 June 2011

(8 bikes docking for the night)

After breakfast we started our ride sharp at 10am and headed to Paka where we were joined by another biker. At Pantai Mok Nik we took a short break for drinks and mee goreng at a stall by the beach. And later we made another stop to buy keropok lekor.

(Mee goreng stop @ Pantai Mok Nik)

(A group photo @ Monica Beach)

(Bikers learning to make keropok lekor...)

In Kuantan we stopped for lunch by the river side. Many years ago the esplanade was all hussle and bussle but now it looked forlorn and run-down. We rode on and stopped for solat at Masjid Maran. It started to rain heavily when we started off again on the old trunk road. At dusk we entered the Karak highway and stopped for a Musang King durian feast. The group broke off after a dinner stop at Gombak R&R. We reached our Putramas apartment around 10.30 pm, feeling tired but happy.

(Sham and Aishah)

(Nazeli and Shamsiah)

(Din and Yati)

(Sazali and Azim)

(Keef and Nelsa)

(Fazli)

Total mileage: 1,500 km
Route taken: KL - Bentong - Raub - Sg Koyan - Ringlet - Tanah Rata - Brinchang - Simpang Pulai - Changkat Jering - Kuala Sepetang - Penang - Kulim - Baling - Grik - Banding - Jeli - Tanah Merah - Pasir Puteh - Jertih - Tok Bali - K Trengganu - Dungun - Paka - Kuantan - Maran - Karak - KL
Riders gang: Mus & Mun, Din & Yati, Sham & Aisyah, Keef & Nelsa, Nazeli & Sham, Azim, Fazli, Zali