The Jejak Sisiran 1 - Taman Wawasan Lakeside Loop

At the starting point at Putra
Square (which is actually
circular shaped), next to
the Putra Mosque (shown).

It was a day with an overcast sky. I had doubts whether it would rain if I went for it. Risking a wet journey, I armed myself with a small foldable umbrella, packed in a small blue bag hung between the bicycle's handle bars, and then took my chances with nature.

The basis for this relatively 90% flat 11.2 km loop was obtained from a website here. Within the hour after knowing about it, I departed from a car park (my bike was stored in the car) near my MIL's (Mother-In-Law) place at 3:54pm. Fortunately, it only lightly drizzled for about 5 minutes before the rain subsided. And the weather stayed cloudy for the rest of the journey. A splendid setting for a pleasantly cool afternoon bicycle trip.

At first, I did not know the route encompasses a smaller trail named Jejak Sisiran 1. I only found out about the name when I stumbled upon a signboard with a map. A good thing since I now knew what to look for, especially for the bird sanctuary. Still, though to a lesser degree compared to Taman Wawasan (from my previous journey posted here), there were not many people at Jejak Sisiran 1. I would be riding completely alone for several hundreds of meters before encountering a single person. And that is around 5pm on a normal weekend without neighbouring public holidays. So again, for lady bikers, please do not cycle alone.

My entire 15.7 km journey inclusive of from my MIL's place. One can start the 11.2 km Jejak Sisiran 1 - Taman Wawasan lakeside loop from Putra Square, keeping the lake on the right hand-side.

The signboard found stating
the name Jejak Sisiran 1.

The loop can also sometimes be quite wet with shallow puddles scattered here and there. Not to the extent of having to use a mountain bike with good off-road wheels, but you can get your feet wet especially after a downpour . A slight drainage problem I guess. However, the views on the trail were spectacular and drowns all other shortcomings. The trail also is well shaded with trees, a must for those long hot evening bike rides, but in my case it was unnecessary since the weather at the time was perfectly fine.

I ended my journey about 3 hours later, reaching the car park near my MIL's place at 7:13pm. Yup, a bit late from my target 6:45pm, but I was having such a good time enjoying the scenes and snapping photos. Hmm. Maybe I should start off earlier, maybe slightly before 3pm :P

So for those who want to attempt the Jejak Sisiran 1 - Taman Wawasan lakeside loop, you can start from Putra Square, keeping the lake on your right hand-side. You can also start the other way round (the lake on the left hand-side), but then you will have to go through a fairly steep climb at Taman Wawasan if you do so. Anyway, good luck and enjoy the views! In the mean time, please enjoy my photos taken during the journey :)

On the way to the Jejak Sisiran 1 - Taman Wawasan lakeside loop.

The start of the loop, going down to the shoreline.

You can go down to the shoreline using these sloped paths.
But I rather just carry my bicycle down the stairs.

Very nice pathway following the shoreline.

A faraway view of the Putra Bride supporting the Persiaran Perdana road.

A nice quite time by the lakeside.

Jambatan Seri Bakti (translated as Seri Bakti Bridge) in the background.

Jambatan Seri Bakti, a bridge with an ambience of tranquility.

The water side.

An artificial dam to preserve the lake housing the bird
sanctuary. One can observe that the lake is quite deep.

A serene landscape.

A Zen kind of place.

Some of the unique buildings
encountered during the journey. 

Old mangrove trees at certain parts of the trail. 

Some of the islands as sanctuary for birds.

Further up the lake.

Some of the many trees shading the trail.

Alamanda shopping centre, the lakeside is void of people.

Beautiful overhead designs by the lake.

Ooh! I could not resist. Must give it a go. The last
time I was on this thing was several years ago.

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

Many more fully working exercise contraptions on the trail. Looks new too.

The nearest one can get by land to one of those bird island sanctuaries.

Mind your head. I barely missed the low signboard,
and I am not considered as a tall person.

Beautiful low hanging clouds.

View of Taman Wawasan across the lake, from Jambatan
Seri Bakti (translated as "Seri Bakti Bridge").

One of JPA's (Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam) (translated as
"Public Service Department") offices in the background.

Nearing the end of the Jejak Sisiran 1 - Taman Wawasan lakeside loop.

View from on top of Putra Bridge supporting Persiaran Perdana road.

At the rim of the Putra Square. In the background
is the Prime Minister's Office building.

View from Jambatan Seri Perdana (translated
as "Seri Perdana Bridge") on the way home.

Hashtags: #bicycle #bicycleroutes #bike #cyborg #cycling #cyclingroutes #jejaksisiran #jejaksisiran1 #foldablebike #foldie #foldingbicycle #foldingbike #putrajaya #routes #saibog #tamanwawasn #xds #xdsfa20

Bringing In The Broken Beast

The black and white motorbike
with the broken handle post. The
motorbike's head is not aligned
with the front wheel.

Found in the parking lot, with a broken neck. Whoever did it may initially attempted a "kidnap", and after failing humiliatingly, vent their frustration by breaking the neck. What kind of weirdo wants to steal a low-classed motorbike such as a Modenas CT110 anyway (thus the humiliation) where there are much pricier Hondas and Yamahas around?

With the handle post broken, I could not readily push it to the nearest motorbike shop for repairs. Calling for a lorry service would also be quite expensive. I also had a red Modenas Kriss motorbike which I fixed and then used as a temporary replacement. So the black and white beast was left there in the damp parking lot, day after day after day, quietly waiting for it's time. More of a gamble actually, since leaving the motorbike for long periods of time would entice thieves to steal parts such as the wheels.

The red motorbike being fixed as a temporary
replacement forthe black and white motorbike.

43 days later, the window of opportunity came. I drove my car from home at 10pm with the aim when reaching the motorbike around 11pm parked at Wisma Cosway, the 10pm traffic exiting the Kuala Lumpur city would have subsided. All was according to plan. However, I did not anticipate how difficult it was to push the motorbike with a broken handle post. The motorbike had to be leaned on my right thigh and pushed along with one hand on the motorbike's head while the other hand holding the back seat handle to stabilize the motorbike. Although the journey was 2.4 km, with the motorbike weighing 100kg, it was no easy feat.

The 2.4 km journey from Wisma
Cosway to the nearest motorbike
workshop which I know.

Stopping roughly every 10 minutes totally soaked in sweat, I attracted several passerby motorists who stopped to ask and even offer assistance to push my damaged vehicle using their own motorbike via their feet. But without being able to balance the busted motorbike due to the shattered handle post, I had no choice but to politely decline all their offers. To make matters worse, 2 over friendly motorbikers offered assistance by making a sudden move blocking my path during a downhill decent; forcing me to adruptly stop and resulted in the my motorbike's neck being ripped wide open. Sheesh. So I had to improvise using my wheel lock bar to steer the motorbike's front wheel. However, within 100m of my destination, I got a surprise help from a couple who insisted they helped me; so together we pushed the broken white and black beast in the final leg of the journey.

The black and white motorbike with the neck
ripped wide open.

At 12:30am, an hour and a half later from starting the journey, I at last reached my destination - a small motorbike workshop on an island surrounded by roads. After parking the motorbike infront of the shop, I walked the 2.4 km jouney back to the car parked at Wisma Cosway. The next morning, I had a mechanic take a look at the damaged motorbike, and the motorbike was completely repaired a day later.

The ripped neck, up close.

Hmm. Thinking back, ever since I bought the black and white motorbike 3 years ago, it was often in need of major repairs. Yes, the Modenas brand is somewhat cheap, and they even lied about the fuel tank capacity of this particular product on their website (stating it has a 5.2L fuel capacity - the main reason why I bought the motorbike, and later found out to great dismay, it was only 4.0L). But the my red motorbike of the same brand but older model, has only seen the workshop less then 10 times for minor repairs and only twice for major repairs in its entire currently 15 years of service. An obvious sign of the diminishing quality of products from Modenas. That being said, the black and white motorbike will be the last product I buy from them.

Hmm. Since my black and white motorbike and I are somehow tak serasi (translated as not harmonious), I plan to sell it in the near future and maybe use the money gained to buy a Brompton bicycle. Well, I already have the red motorbike, right? :D

Hashtags: #ct110 #cyborg #broken #kriss #modenas #modenasct110 #modenaskriss #motorbike #motorcycle #saibog

Crawling Home From Cherengin Hills

My backpack and my XDS FA-20 bicycle
in my room at Cherengin Hills.

The driver could not stop. No place to stop, he said. He eventually did, but only after overshooting 3.5 km away from my initially planned drop off point at Plaza Tol Gombak. Sheesh :P

I was on a return trip from a team building event at Cherengin Hills, Janda Baik, Pahang (covered in a previous post here). It was compulsory to go to the event by bus from the office. Since the return journey would pass through the Plaza Tol Gombak which was much nearer to my home then the office, I brought my XDS FA-20 bicycle along so that I may cycle from the plaza to my home should the bus be able to stop there. Oh well. At least the bus stopped still within the Gombak district.

Resting by the road side.

Cycling home from the new drop off point covers a total distance of 8.5 km. Uphill. Yes, with different gradients and at some parts even downhill slopes, but on average, still an uphill crawl. My XDS bike could not take the strain with my combined weight and backpack, and the front wheel's Quando hub creaked profusely. The XDS FA-20 bicycle carrying limit of 100kg as advertised? I would say 75kg is a more realistic figure :P

After an hour of turmoil, I surprised my wife by quietly standing at my house's front doorway, totally drenched in sweat. Look at the bright side. It was obviously a damn good workout :)

Hashtags: #bicycle #bike #cominghome #cyborg #cycling #foldablebike #foldie #foldingbicycle #foldingbike #goinghome #saibog #xds #xdsfa20