Penang Hill

I couldn't leave Georgetown without trying the climb to Penang Hill again. Last year I read about it and tried it. Blog entry 2011. I knew what was coming, 5 km with ramps at 35%. 16% average.
I didn't take the Felt, used Debbie's Orbea instead, with a compact 34 in the front, 28 in the back.

I tried to make it earlier, but it was already 11am. At least it rained last night and it's a bit cloudy. I left the busy streets of Georgetown behind and went by the botanical gardens.

Passed by the open barrier to the climb, the steep grade arrives quickly, 30%. No more gears. Standing up and giving everything to go 4-5km/h.

In the first 300meters, memories start coming from last year, realizing it's harder than I'd wanted it to be. There are marks every hundred meters, which change very slowly. By km1, I start to fade down and think about going home.

After a few minutes to take a breath, I keep going up. Some hikers cheer me on. One says, oh you must have a triple...huh...i wish!

1 hour later I am at the top!

Riding in Penang

Today reminded me of the days Jordi and I have gone out from Girona to explore alternatives and new rides. The conversation goes something like this, ¨Look! This is new, we never did that before. Where does this paved trail go? Oh, the pavement has ended…¨ If we’re lucky, the path is in good condition. If not, it turns into a hard mountainbike trail, with mud, plants…but it pays off if we find a good connection. Those are the days we may end up doing 3hrs and 35km of riding, destroying our legs. 

That was today. I left Georgetown. I wanted to climb up to a reservoir and try to reach the other end of the island. The map showed a road, or a trail with a different color than the other roads. Other riders said it could be done on a mountainbike… The first climb was hard, but having done Penang Hill before, I would call it medium hard. Once at the top, the road is what one may dream of when thinking about riding in the jungle. This is what the real experience in Malaysia should be.

The plains by the sea in the southeastern part of the island were also nice, and I took a few small roads through banana and palm trees, and rice fields.

I stopped for some fried noodles and iced coffee (kopi’o ais) to recover and consider the way back. Option 1: the direct easy way. Option 2: checking more options. Of course I take the second choice…

Debbie and I went for a ride and got a bit lost in the mountains. Needed a breath in some steep parts. A guy came by in a mountain bike and we followed him to the next town. The cemented path we went on was amazing and we had difficulties to follow him. At the bottom he bought us a drink and showed our way back to Georgetown just before dusk. The kindness of malays