It was a great ride that went really smoothly. No surprises, no struggles, just pure enjoyment and a great way to finish the year.
I was expecting a fairly long day in the saddle. An uphill ride for the most of 58+km in what appeared to be a pretty boring route. I scouted it out on Google maps and was not looking forward to the surroundings. But the combination of a sunrise ride and superb weather changed it. Golden sun rays and no rain. The kilometres flew by. I was barely keeping track of my progress.
I did not push hard and still finished faster than my planned time. The prep involving Wahoo RGT had signalled a much harder climb, but in reality the slopes were pretty tame. Mostly 3-4% and more downhills than expected.
It was good to be part of a cycling event again. The last I had was probably the NTU Bike Rally events. My last overseas sportive goes further back to 2018 in Taiwan. The DRCC KOM Challenge proceeded smoothly. It began with pretty packed starting pen but everyone rolled off orderly. Quite a number really went for it, sprinting out of the blocks. A few packs formed on the slopes. One guy was blasting music, goading the road cyclists near him as he eased up the climb on his MTB. It was fun.
Fuelling went as planned. Small breakfast, no stops. I thought I needed 2 bars and 2 gels but ended up only consuming a single bar. The organisers were really generous with food at the finish. Free lunch and unlimited drinks. I skipped the lunch as I was not feeling hungry or drained. But I took the orange Fanta for a little end-of-ride sugar boost. Check out the video below for the full experience in under three minutes.
The only downside was the journey to and from the event. A 9-10 hour coach ride each way was really draining. If I were to do it again, I would seriously considering taking a flight instead. The upside was that I got to see a lot of the Malaysian North-South Highway. It sparked some road trip ideas. Maybe some day.
This event concludes 2022. It has been a great year riding overseas. All I have left is my usual monthly 100km ride and 10km run to complete. Annual mileage is already done. Will do a year-end review soon. Till then!
