Georgetown, Penang

A fast ride from Taiping led us to Butterworth where we took a ferry to the island of Penang. On the way we met the first cyclotourists, they were on their way to Kuala Lumpur from London! Off the ferry, we were launched into the bustling city of Georgetown which is a fascinating mix of old and new. It is the oldest of the British Straits colonies and many of the beautiful colonial buildings are being renovated since Georgetown was named to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2008.
We went to see some really beautiful hotels, thinking this would be an excellent place to bring a group of riders.

Penang Hill
This morning I decided to check out Penang Hill. I had read about it before and knew it was going to be hard. I started my way out of the city, after 7km I was warmed up to face the climb. Wow it really started kicking from the beginning, 20%!! I was fresh, and the compact helped. Kept a good cadence, but after a few turns, I was all sweaty, and… a sharp turn I saw a wall in front. 31 % according to the gps. My speed was now about 7km/h and I started to zig zag on this tiny one lane road trying to keep my equilibrium. 170 bpm.1km done, I didn’t know how long it was, and was already thinking of being at the top.
The easier section at 10% gave me a leg rest. Ahead I saw another steep section,it really looked like a wall. I had to stand,4k an hour,leaning all my weight on the front wheel, struggling. Tried to look at the gps, 42%, oooooh, that was painful. I had to keep up. Reached 185. Only with 1.5km covered.
I took a break, and stopped next to a bench. Caught some air before starting again. Well, I did the same process for 4km more. Stopping two more times. My legs in pain. I had done it!
On the way back, I tightened the brake cables and did the descent more like I was mountainbiking. On a turn, my front wheel started to slip away, I thought it was gravel, I was falling down. I realized I had a flat, and went straight to stop the bike. The rims where boiling. Probably that caused the flat. Changed it and made my way safe to the bottom and back to the hotel. 30km total and the job done. I had enough. I was exhausted.
Pels que coneixeu Aiguafreda, doncs, res igual. He patit pujant com mai, casi no em podía mantener sobre la bici. Parat. La mitja de 14.4%. Vamos, que ha sigut la pujada mes dura que he fet mai.