JB Arts Festival - The Ride

The first ride event for me since I moved to JB. its a fun ride, in conjunction with the Johor Bahru Arts festival. The ride was organised by "Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Johor Bahru Selatan" or the name of their group, Ronda Riadah. Most members are police personnel, which reminds me during my time when I was at Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya. But that was then. This is now. Back on point. I registered for the event via online, and my name was listed under number 634. as the day when I went to collect my goodies, the list has changed and my number was shifted to 639. Accordingly I was listed at number 639, but bad news, someone else have collected the goodies. The police personnel tries to remedy the mistake and got me my new number, 0897. Ok then. as for me, its not an issue. As long as I can ride, fine by me. The lucky draw is something that I'm not normally looking forward to. 

As early as 0530hrs, my wife wake me up for my morning ride. Since I have prepared and pre-arranged everything last night, so it was a smooth morning for me. Start my ride from UDA around 0600hrs. I took the coastal route to Buit Timbalan. Did not see any riders except me on route. Arriving at Bukit Timbalan around 0630hrs,still nobody's around so decided to go for breakfast. As usual, half boiled eggs, roti bakar and nescafe tarik. Other riders, mainly from Ronda Riadah group joning in the table, had small chats with them.

The flag off was at 0845hrs. I would estimate around 2000 riders present. Quite a big crowd, but not to worry as the organisor was well experienced and with full logistic strength.It is a fun ride, so everybody had fun. the route was changed, but I like the new route. The organisor had in mind that the planned route had too many hills as this would cause the platoon to break. well, the idea was good and it worked.   

Dataran Merdeka JB was the pit stop. Riders was supplied with mineral water and banana, the essential food for riders. After a quick briefing, the riders was flag off again. Its good to see that the riding community in JB has grown big, hopefully the trend stays.
Reaching back at Bukit Timbalan, took my luch pack and enjoy a quite meal. Did not stayed for the lucky draw, as I had to cycle back to UDA. Lucky draws is always not my cup of tea. A good ride is normally what I'll be looking forward. Cycling back to UDA, I decided to take a different route. The Straits View, a bit hilly, but again, I want to enjoy the coastal view from uphill. Arriving at UDA, relaxed for a while and rest for the day. In conclusion, It Was FUN. YEH BEBEH

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And finally, the actual route on event day. According to Bahri, my old friend from school who is now an avid rider said that the organisor changed the route because they do not want the main group to get separated. The previous route was a but hilly and may cause the group to split up. A wise decision which proven effecttive. The group remain unseparated throughout the route. a bif applause to the organisor.