Here's an update on the KL Car Free Day that went on yesterday morning......
A day before I was about to head down to KL, I was encouraged by Gus Ghani (the guy who was so kindly promoting for me) to bring my panniers along for the event. I was reluctant to do so at first because that would mean setting up my rack again....which meant me fiddling with it again after a long time...hmmm
Well, eventually, I bought into the idea and decided to set up my rack and boy, did I have a "fun" time! But surprisingly, it didn't take me that long to set it but I had a minor problem with one side that needed cable ties instead of bolts and nuts but it was easily settled by my friend, Chin :)
And then, I got a sudden inspiration to print stickers of my book cover to paste it onto my panniers, as part of my marketing strategy....luckily, my printer friend managed to print out 2 stickers for me in a jiffy and i stuck them onto my beloved Ortlieb panniers....sorry Ortlieb, had to cover your brand for a short while!
Have a look and of course, I had to bring my bicycle and paniers to the seaside to have some promotional photos!
Taa daa....my bicycle, helmet and panniers by the beach!
Hmm....simple advertising :)
On the event day, which was on 7th Dec, 2014....I woke up early and eager to get to the venue because I wasn't familiar with the roads of KL anymore. Gus had already given me clear directions to the carpark but trust me to get them mixed up! I had to call Gus for directions again but still it was a bit confusing because I had already past the turning! Sigh! In the end, Gus had to end the call and he told me to try to find a parking somewhere along the way.....
Luckily, it was still early and the roads were very quiet.....so after some turns and stopping to ask an early jogger for directions, I finally made ti to the designated carpark where I was supposed to meet up with Gus but of course, there had to be a running event at that very same place!
So I had to park along the roadside. Good thing I came early! Informed Gus about the running event and he was running late! So we decided to meet at the start line.
I saddled up my panniers, which was loaded with my books, onto my bicycle and rode down to the starting point. The crowd was slowly growing but nobody I knew was insight.....
Then, one guy came up to me and asked whether I was Sandra and I said 'Yes" He introduced himself as Lim and he asked if he could have a photo with me :)
Well, little did I know that he and his friends would help me out during the short ride....my rack gave way as we were heading towards the Petronas Twin Towers and I lost a screw! It must have been all that rattling from Kuantan to KL in my car that
the screws got loosen....and in all the excitement, I forgot to carry my tools with me! Great!
Now what??
Luckily for me, Lim and his friends came to my rescue! We pushed my bicycle to the side and they began fixing up my rack again. One of them decided to take out one of his unused screws from his bicycle and it fitted perfectly! Phew!!
And they tightened up my rack and it was so much sturdier now!Thanks a million guys!
My heroes!! (Lim, second from left)
I finally met up with Gus in front of Petronas Twin Towers! Somehow, we seemed to have missed each other at the starting line! Anyway, good thing he stopped there as there were some cyclists who wanted to have a go at his ELLIPTIGO. Check out his special bicycle.......
Gus with his ELLIPTIGO! :)
Lim and his friends decided to cycle on while I waited for Gus. We took some photos in front of the Twin Towers and there, I met an avid cyclist Jotaro Yen. He came over to say hi and decided to get a copy of my book then and there! Wow...my first sale for the morning! :)
My first customer, Jotaro Yen :)
After spending some time in front of the Twin Towers, Gus and I rode to the finish line which wasn't very far. Soon, people started to gather around us because of ELLIPTIGO! Then, some cyclists came up to me to say hello and I also managed to sell some of my books then! Thanks guys for all the support!
Book signing session! :)
Met up with Jeffrey Lim, the guy who so patiently came up with a map
for cycling around KL area! Kudos for his amazing work!
Ok, one for the road :)
Soon, the event ended about 9am and the crowd slowly dispersed and cars were now allowed back on the roads again. As Gus and me were cycling back to our cars, we stopped to say exchange farewells when a runner suddenly stopped and asked Gus about his ELLIPTIGO. This lead to Gus promoting me and my book and we eventually found out that the guy was on his own solo tour to the islands of Malaysia! Small world!
We let him have a look at my book and he wanted to get a copy! But we had to follow him to his finish line because he didn't have any cash with him (he was actually taking part in the same running event that morning).
So we rode to the finish line and waited for him to come by.
While waiting for him, another runner came up to me and asked if I was the girl who rode around Malaysia! Wow! Really?? His girlfriend Dion, was fascinated with my journey and they wanted to get a copy of my book!! Crazy or what??
So in the end, I managed to sell another 2 books unexpectedly and what's most rewarding is that they really wanted to read about my journey!!
Thank you all for your support!!
(Left to right - Zulkifly's wife, Zulkifly, Dion & Hujan)
Boy! What a great morning! I followed Gus to his car and thanked him for all his great help before heading to my car. Gus told me it would be easy navigating through the roads around Lake Gardens......
Errr......
Yup, you guessed right.......I got lost the minute I left Gus!! It took me about 30 minutes (and many hills in between!) to finally find my way back to my car!!
But it's all good......I had a great morning, did some workout (when cycling up those hills!), sold some books and met old and new friends along the way!!Life is good! :)
Well. until my next update....have a great week ahead! :)
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