Distance travelled : 132 km
Time taken : 6.40 hours
Alrighty! We have had our rest and we should be full of energy for our long ride today!! Today was the mother of all rolling hills! A total of 132km of it!! Looking back, I really wondered how we actually did it!! I guess it was all about persevering and being strong mentally :o)
Before we left, we asked for directions for the shortest route to Mersing but it turned out that it didn't make much of a difference whichever way we chose! It was still going to be rolling hills and of similar distances :o)
Our bikes, looking all new and clean, raring to go!!The day started bright and sunny! It was actually quite lovely cycling past Bandar Penawar and slowly getting used to riding the rolling hills ahead. I must say that the scenery along the way was beautiful and because of that, it made my riding much more exhilarating! There was a point where I was cycling alone and I just had the wind on my face and there was vast green land and clear blue skies everywhere...the feeling was amazing! A total sense of freedom!!
This was only the beginning.....
and it continued on and on....
but it was beautiful...just green and blue everywhere!!
I took this picture! Loved the clouds :o)Well, I can't say much for my partner in crime though! He was actually quite far behind me, taking pictures and when he caught up with me, he wasn't a very happy camper! He said that the sun was blazing down on his neck and back and it was really hot for him! We took a short break under the trees and had some of my raisins for an energy boost!
It was also a day where we found out that our map wasn't that accurate! You may ask why not use a gps? Well, I think it was more fun using a map and learning how to mind map and just exploring the possibilities :o) Did you also know that not many of us know how to read maps??
We stopped by a place near Mawai for lunch and it was really hot by then! We always seemed to draw attention from people wherever we went! Actually, the fault lies with our bikes...they were the attention seekers!!
But once we start asking questions and directions, people are always willing to help :o) We had an interesting conversation with this group of people who said that they rarely travelled and probably the furthest they went was Johor Bahru!! Well, I think we Malaysians should really take the time to explore our very own beautiful country! So many things to see and try!!
We also had a useful tip from a lorry driver who told us that if we needed any help along the way to Mersing, all we had to do was to flag down an empty lorry and they will definitely give us a lift! Hmm....something to note, just in case hehehe...
After resting for awhile, we bade our newfound friends goodbye and left around 3pm. It was still scorching hot and we still had about 80km more to go!! Luckily for us, the weather started to change and became a bit more cloudy soon. By then we have hit the main road with wide road shoulders and that made our riding much safer :o)
Throughout the ride, we kept getting beeps of encouragement from motorcyclists to lorry drivers and that felt good :o) It made us more resolute to reach our destination, by hook or by crook!! While riding, we came across a few strange looking fort like rocks. I was about to ask Mak to take some photos of them as they were pretty interesting. when he already did! I wonder what was the story behind them...hmm.
Strange looking fort by the road
and there's the other one....Anyway, it started to drizzle and we had to stop and put on our rain jackets before continuing on. There was lightning ahead and we thought we were going to be caught in a heavy downpour but lucky for us, it blew away from us eventually and the weather stayed cool and nice throughout the ride :o)
More winding roads ahead, baby!!Somewhere during the ride, we came across a dragon fruit stall and Mak yelled out and asked me whether I would like to have some. I said yes, that would be great! Sweating and breathless from the ride, we pulled up to the stall and had the most delicious and juicy reddish pink dragon fruit! This was the first time I have eaten a reddish pink one. Normally, the flesh was white. Apparently after eating them, it looked like I was wearing lipstick and Mak said I looked nice!! Gee, such a charmer, aren't you?? hehehe....
This was where we came from....
.... and that's where we are heading for!(and in between these two pictures was where we stopped for dragon fruit!)
Sibu island, anyone??
Yes, there's the sign but how far more????After riding for about 60km, we reached Jemaluang around 5.40pm. We had another 21km more to go but we decided to stop and have some food. Hmm....this town was a bit weird in a sense that it had some strange characters! We finished our noodles quickly and left as we didn't feel like lingering on any further!!
Even the sign looked eerie!!The last stage of our ride to Mersing still had some rolling hills but it was getting dark already. The roads were pretty deserted and only towards the last 10km were there any signs of shops. It was with a sigh of relief when we finally reached Mersing town around 7.45pm. Now, to look for a decent hotel and some food!
Phew, what a day it had been!! Yet another adventure under our belts :o)
Our well earned dinner in Mersing!!!
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