Ride Report #7: Second ride to nowhere - within Penang

Having completed the first ride to nowhere last week, we planned for another and we had more members joining. This time round we have Barney, Mookie, William, Nik, myself and someone new to the group, Aidil.

Same meeting point and we were discussing about 'jatuh bodoh', loosely translated as silly falling. It is when the rider looses control of the bike while it is stationary and is tipped over. While sharing stories on when and how each of us experienced this at one time or another, William arrived and he almost 'jatuh bodoh' while coming to a halt. Another incident was when we were preparing to leave Aidil almost 'jatuh bodoh' while getting on his bike and from that point onwards, we agreed to ban this topic for the rest of the ride.

Waiting for the arrival of William

The ride plan was the same as last week. Meet at Caltex and head up to Teluk Bahang dam. It was an uneventful ride there and was surprised to see that there were so many cyclist at the dam.

Our bikes were the only motorised vehicle at the dam

Since we left early this morning, most of the us were feeling hungry and decided to ride down to the nearest breakfast shop which was the Belimbing Cafe. Since the Roti Jala Giant is advertised on their cafe board, I decided to give it a try along with their roti canai. Enjoyed both the dishes and it was enough to get me through till teatime.

While having breakfast, we discussed on our next destination and since Mookie did not manage to try the R nine T last week, we decided to head over to Auto Bavaria again to test the R nine T and hopefully the F850GS. William had to head home so he accompanied us half way on route to Auto Bavaria and went his separate way. While waiting for the Gary to arrive and prepare the bikes, we had a little look around and fooled around on the display bikes.

Goofing around session while waiting for Gary

I was a bit disappointed when Gary arrived and informed that the F 850GS was loaned out to a client who sent  his bike in for service. He offered me to test ride the R 1250GS and the F 900R but I told him I have already tested those bikes. The only bike left was the G 310R.

The G 310R ready and waiting

It was a short test ride as Mookie had a curfew so we headed through city traffic towards the expressway to test the bikes and back to the showroom. Click here for the first ride review of the G 310R.

After returning the bikes and saying our goodbyes, it was still too early for Barney and me to return home so I decided to accompany him to for his 'temple' run. We headed to the same place as last week and I was on guard duty for the bikes.

What does one do while on guard duty? Take photos of the bikes of course

 

After the temple break, we proceeded to the expressway again to let the bikes loose. We went through town to the Batu Uban turn off point to the expressway but before we could do anything else there was a road block and as Barney was in front of me, the policeman stopped and talked to him awhile before turning to smile at me and waved us by. 

 

Once we got the go ahead it was like the green light you see before the any race. Barney just took off at speeds of about 180km/h like he was possessed by the spirit of Marc Marquez and since I did not know what has gotten into him, I tried to catch up. He finally pulled over by the shoulder of the expressway and informed me of the conversation between him and the policeman. The policeman asked where we were heading as we were still in lockdown, we were not allowed on the bridge unless we had the letters from our employers and the police. Barney told him we were just going to the petrol station up ahead to refuel our bikes then head home. The policeman told Barney to go fast as he wants to hear the sound of the Street Triple. I am guessing the policeman is also a avid rider but has no chance to ride since the CMCO and being on duty. 

 

After that short talk with Barney, we were contemplating to head further south but thinking that we might have to pass by the same checkpoint with the same policeman on duty later, we decided to not tempt fate and decided to call it a day. On the way back, I was feeling a bit adventurous so instead of taking a direct route back, I decided to quench my thirst of curiosity and explored a path which I was always curious about.

 

It was a back road which led me to the Penang Bodhi Heart Sanctuary and the road to Mount Erksine which takes me back home. There was a sign at the heart sanctuary which would look good with the Vulcan parked in front of it but my plan was thawed by 2 angry turkeys. I was just minding my own business waiting for cars and bikes to pass as it was a one lane dirt road and these 2 turkeys just came as me aggressively trying to peck at my pants and shoes. I decided not to try my luck and left the place as soon as possible. It was a shame I did not manage to record how aggressive those turkeys were. I will come back during Christmas and make a dish out of them. I carried on and saw this archway.

Made sure there were no angry animals around before stopping to take a quick photo before continuing with the exploration and heading home.

 

 Relive video for the ride

Remember to ride safe, be vigilant and keep the rubber side down