The Avathar: BM Jamboree

I could sleep well last night ( 10th October 09) and got up at 4.00am and lied on bed while watching the time go by till 5.00am and got up to get ready, packing the things that I need for my first Jamboree. I guess most of the team members also could not sleep well except for Yazid who was knocked off yesterday after his company event! We met as usual at Dinas and I was the first to be there followed by Yazid, Arthur, Idris, Tee and Suffian. We loaded our bikes onto Idris 4x2 pickup truck and headed towards Mengkuang Dam. Once we reached the road heading towards the Dam, we realized that the traffic was heavy hence Idris had to move inch by inch to reach the Dam.
All of us were excited about this jamboree as this is the very first for the Sungai Ara Bike Pusher Gang (SABP) as this has been a dream for Suffian for a long time and we would like to acknowledge his effort on this! There was an ocean of riders along the road some doing warm up or preparing for the jamboree. We saddled in our bikes and headed towards the starting line, boy there were some few hundred bikers already ahead of us . We were leading the pack from the backline as it was impossible to move to the starting line and as if we need to! We took this opportunity to snap as many photographs as possible at the starting line.
The siren was blown and all hell broke loose with bikers making themselves to be among the lead, we tried to follow the crowd and the early morning view of the dam was breathtaking! Our joy ride was short lived as we came to the foothill and could not cycle further and all of us pushed our bikes. We heard Arthur saying to Tee that he’ll stick to him and to that we all said we’ll bet that won’t last a minute and to our prediction as usual he broke away from the group and disappeared among the other bikers. I was talking to the other riders while pushing the bike going up the hill. It was merely impossible to go any faster as every one of the bikers were pushing their bike till we reach the first peak and the group begin to break on a ride now. It was downhill ride for while and we headed towards the main road which took us towards the second hill and as usual the regular push for while and ride till we come to the third red earth hill. I pushed as usual and by now none of the other team members were insight! I was among other bikers and made it to the top and started to paddle. I was riding till I saw Tee and Yazid pushing their bike s and heard Tee asking for chain cutter, I could not helped but move on and asked everyone on sights if they have a cutter even the Marshalls, none had any and I felt sorry for both of them.
I continued to cycle knowing that the rest of the team members were ahead of me, it was a familiar trail as we have been there last week to try out the trail! Reached the first Pitt Stop and collected the sticker and moved to the second one as well. During the descend going downhill at the rubber plantation as the trail was both steep and rugged with the trees roots protruding out the earth which caused a bottleneck by the slow moving bikers. Suddenly the rider before me stopped and I tried to avoid him but applied more pressure on my brakes which cause the back tires to flipped over which in turn tossed me out of my saddle. I could see the earth moving below me with my head going first, I realized that if I did not do something I may go head on which may turn out to be not a good idea. I turned my body thus allowing the body to hit the earth rather than my head and had some minor bruises on my head, leg and knees but I picked up and continued the journey. Suffian overtook me just before the under pass near the Shell station as he was moving fast, this guys is a power house!
It was challenging ride after the rubber trees as it was a new route for me yet I continued into an unknown territory following the rest of the bikers. The distance between the second pit stop and the third was indeed a long distance as I was wondering when it will ever come in sight. The number of streams that we need to go over was between 4-5 and at each and every one it was filled with soggy dirty mud and it made us difficult to cross over . While I crossed the first stream, I caught my left leg in the water and later my right leg in the mud somewhere else! We even needed to carry our bikes over the steams at times and we formed human chain to help each other to get over the stream and the one with planks was out of this world. Some bikers slipped and fell in the mud stream and I can’t remember how many times I skidded while riding or even while pushing my bike. Met Idris and we both pushed the bike for a while till I lost sight of him later and at another hill at the electric cable tower I met Arthur and we pushed for a while but parted way then. I continued my ride till the third and forth pit stop to collect my sticker. Just after crossing the main road leading into the palm trees we saw few ladies with boxes of 100 plus and mineral water and thought it to be the third pit stop but came to know that she was selling it! Must been a brisk business as she was greeted by many thirsty riders and I came to know from Tee that he ordered three cans just to quench his thirst! Three cans..mmm!
The final stretch was real killer with narrow path overlooking the dam where most of the riders need to push or even carry our bikes. If we miss our footing we’ll be over the steep cliff or even land into the dam which can be detrimental. It was difficult for all the riders as many were pushing downhill till the road leading to the dam came in sight. Finally at last the sight of the finishing line audible as the speaker from the starting line tent was blaring and it was a relive to hear that this painful agonizing ride is finally coming to an end! It was a fantastic feeling coming to the cross line and I was greeted by suffian and Yazid who made it to the finishing line ahead of me. I wondered when did Yazid overtook me? I came in number 391 which was a great surprise for me, yet it was indeed a pleasant surprise. I felt both relief and accomplished to complete my very first Jamboree! We waited for the rest of the team to finish the race as one by one came through and we sat down chatting exchanging our experiences throughout the ride over lunch to which Suffian mentioned that he was not hungry but after taking the first mouthful he claimed to be very hungry now. Must be his taste buds influencing his stomach!
Arthur was the one with a whole lot to tell us of his fortunes or rather misfortunes ; his tire punctured first, later both his tires and also his chain converter dropped off. We were wondering only a man of this courage could continue the ride under such conditions. Bravo Arthur or is it King Arthur! That’s nothing compared to Yazid who rode without any bicycle chain and managed it to the finishing line! We were worried about Tee as we could not see him so I tried calling him but his phone was out of range or coverage and as usual he was helping people along the way and that is the reason why he was late to the finishing line. He and Idris are two good people with good heart in helping people and I am glad that you guys are in our team! Overall it was satisfying ride to all of us as we got the finishing medal to show off! We took many photos to cherish our accomplishment and it was worth all the pain that we went through! Will we do it again, you bet we will!