Zam, my Malasian biker friend, hooked me up with another biker in town. Uncle Garpor is a 63-year retired man who was eager to join me to the Cameron Highlands.
The Highlands are the highest point on the western mountain range of the country. We began at 8AM. After leaving the Ipoh, the climb started. Zam warned me ahead of time that from this point until we reached Brigchang, there would be rolling hills with no villages in between.
I was ready for the lack of villages but not the rolling hills. Actually, there wasn't much rolling at all. It just kept going up and up and up - 80 kilometers until two villages just before Brigchang.
The climbing wasn't too steep, though at the beginning, Garpor had me sucking air. He was cruising so fast and I had to use all my powers just to keep up with him. His secret was that he was locked into the low "granny" gear (or as I will now call it, the grampy gear) and he had a thin slick tire in the front, reducing street friction.
Unfortunately, the star that burns twice as bright burns twice as fast. Eventually, Garpor bonked in the middle of the climb. He wasn't prepared for the lack of villages; he only brought one bottle of water and only Snickers-style candy bars. Fortunately, I had some water, peanuts and a Cliff bar (brought by my brother on his visit) for him. This brought him back to life just enough for us to make it to an oasis another kilometer away - a roadside stand with food in the middle of nowhere.
From this point on, it was slow going. Garpor was trudging along and I stayed behind to spot him just in case.
When we finally got to a major downhill (after the 80km marker), I flew down to the hill. Up until that point, I felt as if I was going in slow motion. At the bottom, I waited for Garpor. It seemed to take longer than it should have and he explained why. A spoke blew out, causing his rear wheel to wobble and jiggle. Rotten luck! At least he was able to ride the bike without any difficulty or serious danger.
The last ten kilometers were rough for me, too. We had been on the road for almost twelve hours and my mind was fried. We rolled into Brigchang with a quick rainfall that hit its apex just as we entered the town. A stroke of good luck?!?
90 kilometers, 12 hours, one stretch of light misty rain, five minutes of heavy rain
food: roti with curry sauce, peanuts, peanuts and more peanuts, soup with veggies, soup with beef, calamari in a spicy tomato sauce
