Broga in the mist

Some people think triathlon is just like any other sport; well let them think that; triahtletes know better. Being a triathlete requires a lot of discipline, hard work, mind over matter, force your body on to new limits etc. No morning sleep-ins, with coffee and the Sunday newspaper for this brand of people.

No, instead they wake up at 5am, have a quick breakfast (usually some energy-bar). load bikes & other gear and leave the house before the crack of dawn.
Before a long ride many are tense, especially the new-comers. But we show it by chitchatting while getting the bikes ready, bottles filled, helmets in place…

And so it went yesterday (29dec; Awal Muharram). A group of us met at Hulu Langat; ride for the day; Broga (apparently the word means ‘terror’ and I’ve heard many terror stories about his ride. A fair group of people showed: CK, AJ, Jaja, Kooky and Hubby, Amir and Norizan, Upiq, Chan JS and several ppl I hadn’t met before.

The weather around us was cloudy with a slight drizzle coming down. The mountains were shrouded in the mist. AJ checked the weather from the satellite pics on his phone and it didn’t look good. All of Pahang was covered by thick clouds and it looked there was heavy rain in store for us. Not a good day to ride a mountain-road with steep slopes. AJ decided to head home instead.
The rest decided to give it a try. Shoes clicked into place and we set off unto the road. Upiq made a headcount to ensure no-one would be left behind during the long day ahead.
The drizzle continued on the first 10km. Darren had a flat tire. We regrouped at simpang tiga to wait for him. Muscles just warming up, mind set on a hard task ahead, ready to face the first hills….
CK contacted Rashid who had ridden ahead earlier; the news was not good – heavy rain in Sg Tekala forced Rashid and Fong to retrace their tracks and head back. We absorbed the news for a moment; two of the toughest athletes among us, would we be able to conquer where they had failed…….

So, we turned back…….
Only a few followed Mr. Chan’s group up to Perez instead.

However CK had made arrangements for us to have breakfast at his friend’s house in Semenyih. So we loaded the bikes back in the car and rode in comfort to Semenyih; TOTAL CYCLING DISTANCE COVERED 23km @#**??!/{GRR

So the group of hardened athletes spend the morning having some of the best nasi lemak I’ve ever tasted at OP Khalili Khalid house. Anyone gets invited to taste Puan Salha’s cooking would be a fool to say no. After the food was greatly diminished the songbook came out and undiscovered talents among the cyclists. Still dressed in full cycling gear we had a jamming session: our host on the piano, Darren as guitarist, leadsingers CK and Rais (Kooky’s husband), back-up singers Bahri, Jaja and Kalam….
We had a lovely morning, lots of laughs, good food, good music and good friends….
(hih At least we did a 40km ride with run the previous day with Dino, Xman, AJ, Juli and Amir)
On the way back CK showed us the route we had missed (big gulp, I don’t think I’m ready for this ride yet).
During our recce we got phone-calls from home; Darimi who had been complaining about a headache a few times in the past days was crying non-stop at home.. We were caught in the middle of the route. Suddenly the beautiful scenery didn’t matter anymore. Blaming ourselves for being bad parents and not spending the day at home with them we drove back as fast as we could. We received several more distress calls; Darimi was crying so hard and Danial was convinced his head was gonna explode. In the end we called our neighbours and asked them to help by sending Darimi to HUKM. Shortly after we arrived at the A&E department in HUKM. We found our wonderful neighbors with Darimi and our maid. He wasn’t crying however. After an 1 ½ hr wait we got to see the doctor who had a good look at hi;; turns out his tonsils are badly swollen and some fluid behind one ear. So we went home with antibiotics, and no swimming for him for awhile.
Today he complained again of a headache in the afternoon but with Mama at home his acting skills are not fully appreciated; of course he got cuddles and medication –but no allowance for more drama…
It is difficult to find the right balance between some time for our own interests and giving ample attention to the kids. So, no long rides for me, but I can’t survive by just being a working mom. I need this sport to be able to breathe….

Shouldn’t be updating our blog; I got a 45page translation to complete this week. A horrible document about ship stability. Horrible because it is an area I know zilch about, so every term I have to research…..
Okay, tomorrow back to work in the hospital. Try and finish another page of the translation before I shut the PC down.

Pics to add later