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

Huff and Puff at Cherengin Hills

Low morning clouds at the hills in front of the resort.

One of the many types of flowers found at the resort.

A tranquil place, deep amongst the lush green hills, but only an hour's drive from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. That was where my department had organised it's team building this year, at the Cherengin Hills Convention & Spa Resort, Janda Baik, Pahang.

Breakfast with a cool ambiance.

Perched on top of a hill, the resort overlooked the small village of Kampung Janda Baik. It is a somewhat medium sized resort with air conditioned clean modern rooms for stay, having adequate free WIFI, adult and kiddies swimming pools, spa and even wild forest in it's ground for jungle trekking activities. However, despite being on high ground, the temperature at the resort is much warmer compared to nearby Genting Highlands or Bukit Tinggi, to the extent a jacket is not even needed at night. The food at the resort has also limited range, only 3 main dishes, mostly traditional Malay, and a variety of snack food. But what it lacks in variety, it succeeds in taste. Except for the nasi lemak (a Malay traditional food) which I find the sambal (a component of the nasi lemak) only mediocre, other offerings were majorly superb.

Building the base of a tent strong enough to support
the weight of an adult, all within 15 minutes. 

The first day at the resort was being free and easy, followed by 2 days of collaborative activities which was tiring but weirdly fun. Well, it was team building after all. But I did not expect to go hiking in the jungle again so soon after my climb at Bukit Kutu (in a previous blog post here) :P

Jungle hiking again?!

In summary, I had a great time. Yes, I missed my wifey and kids, and even missed the annual Hari Tenaga Pengajar (translated as "Instructors Day") for PSSCPUHM (Persatuan Seni Silat Cekak Pusaka Hanafi Malaysia, a society dedicated in the teachings of a Malay traditional martial art) which I am a member of. All that, unfortunately, cannot be avoided at the moment :P

Hashtags: #cyborg #cherenginhills #jandabaik #pahang #saibog #teambuilding