Midliferide: Malaysia

Distance: <330km Time: 7hrs Stops: 5 stops lessons learnt: 1) Route 5 is a horrible ride. 2) My maximum threshold for riding in difficult circumstances is about 5 hours. Then it becomes torturous. 5) I ride hunched over and tensed up like I am doing 230km/h around knee-down curves. I am doing a max of 80km/h. I need to improve my posture. So I watched the sunset last night sunset at avillion admiral cove then had a lovely sleep with the balcony doors open and just the fan on. I was high up enough not to have to worry about mosquitoes. Woke up at 0730 to this daybreak over the marina and was on the road by 0900, after savoring my last hotel buffet breakfast PT local delights. Today it was nasi goreng kampung and capati with dhal. I've decided to head home. Partly because there's nowhere feasible to stop between here and home unless I took an interior route and tried to stay on the edge of Taman Negara. Was not too impressed by the hotel selections, so gave it a pass. Decided ...

Distance: <360km Time: 7.5 hours Stops: Countless, mostly for directional checks Lessons learnt: 1) Malaysian signboard are crap, unless you know where you're going 2) Road names and route numbers will change with no apparent warning, even Google Maps and commercial cartographers will be wrong 3) There's still some beautiful stretches of road out there. 4) There's more roadkill along newly built roads. The animals don't understand cars yet. What a day, what a day! The hardest one yet, although I will be considered a road trip pansy by most riders. But it was a fantastic experience, and to top it off, here I sit, blogging at you: view from avillion admiral cove, port dickson I set the alarm this morning for the first time. Since I was on the east coast, I wanted to try and catch the sunrise. Since I've been asleep every night by 2230hrs and not waking up til 0730, I thought a 0650 alarm would be a small price to pay. I recall watching my first sunrise. The year wa...

Distance: <100km Time: 1.5 hours riding time Lessons learnt: 1) the march of progress destroys sweet memories and most of the environment 2) I do like my luxuries in life, so backpacker accommodation is definitely out This is where I sit writing today. What more could one ask for? view of the South China Sea from the Legend resort Had a reasonably good breakfast at the hotel, full of the most essential nutrients. Carbohydrates, fat, sugar and caffeine. Headed out at 9am after saying goodbye to the river view with Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" playing in my head. Thinking of old Willie, I recalled a recent cover he'd done with his daughter Paula. She has a great voice, but Willie's was pure marijuana-laced honey. It's a pity the lyrics he'll always be remembered for is, "to all the girls who shared my life, who now are someone else's wives". Needless to say I spent the next 30 minutes alternately singing in Willie's and Julio'...

Distance: <300km Time taken: 5.5 hours, easy riding, 4 stops Lesson(s) learnt: 1) trying to write a post in blogger on the iPad is excruciating. Let's see if Blogo works better. 2) when riding, you can smell roadkill some distance away, allowing time for evasive maneuvers. Not so with cow patties near a farm, where everything smells the same. 3) those small, light brown male monkeys have disproportionately large reproductive organs. Why would something that small need such a huge appendage? So we parted ways at about 9:15 this morning, the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider" playing in my head. I was looking to ride through both Sedilis (Kechil and Besar) before joining Route 3 about 50km from Mersing. Easy enough. Leave Sand & Sandals, right at the roundabout towards Tg. Balau, straight at the next roundabout, and keep going. There's one traffic light that you'll get to in Sedili (Kechil, I think). Straight through and keep going til you get to a t-junct...

Distance: <105km Destination: Sand & Sandals Resort and Spa Time taken: 1:30, easy riding and a stop for tailbone relief Lesson(s) learnt: drivers tend to overtake even if there is an oncoming motorbike. There were at least three instances when I was passed by oncoming traffic in my lane . Generally harmless, unless something goes awry and there is no hard shoulder. To all Malaysian bikers, I apologize. I can't be certain, but I imagine there was a time or two when I was one of these drivers. I am most of the way through Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels, and I have to say I have been partly inspired by him. I am doing the no plan part, but traveling with just a toothbrush and an expired passport could prove to be a little bit..... smelly. I settled for the minimalist approach, which is going to result in some reusing. So here's me, with no saddlebags or touring seat, ready to ride off. First stop is Desaru, where the family and I will spend two nig...