I just completed my 300k and with that, completed the full SR series for the year.
The route itself is very nice and scenic; essentially one big mountain, plus around 100km of flat tacked on at the back. Another 200k was run concurrently with this - they simply turned back to the starting point immediately after descending, so essentially the first 67% of the route was the same.
Weather was surprisingly very good on that day, with temperatures averaging round 16C-18C during the climb (which is still relatively cold by Malaysian standards). Even the rest of the day averaged around 22C-25C which was nice and cool. The monsoon season had already arrived several days earlier, so I was expecting a very wet ride. However, most of the time I only encountered wet roads - the rain had already come and gone by the time I started riding. This was a very good thing, actually. If it had rained in during the first 200km of the ride, it would have been a lot colder at the peak and also more dangerous during the descent.
I took this picture somewhere near the peak. The sign over at the distance reads, "Cameron Valley Tea", basically one large tea plantation. It's a very popular tourist spot, with cars parked to my left and right where I took the shot (and a family patiently waiting for me to finish so that they can get pictures, lol).
There were no official controls for this route, just four towns where we had to scan our way into any of the local shops with our phones using the standard COVID-19 tracking system over here. I tried to minimize stopped time by avoiding the usual hotspots like cafes and restaurants. Instead, I made quick petrol station stops for some bread and instant noodles, and that worked out relatively well as I didn't feel hungry or tired for most of the ride. Also used Hammer Perpeteum for on-bike nutrition, Salt Sticks for electrolyte and snacked on Mentos chewy mints while on the bike, as these sweets can be easily obtained from most petrol stations.
After the descent, I did encounter a bit of rain along the remaining 100km of the route, but it was mostly a constant light drizzle instead of heavy downpour. When it wasn't raining, it was mostly overcast with very little sunshine, and that actually worked out pretty well for me. I tend to suffer and perform a lot less under the hot sun and this has helped me ride faster and finish with a new personal best time of 14:30 (moving time 12:35).
