This barely rates, but I rode my first 110k populaire yesterday. Since PBP 2015, I've ridden my bike plenty but haven't done any long rides, so I'm easing my way back in. Given how spent I was at the end, it's clear that I need to relearn some things about nutrition and pacing. But it was with a small group of good folks, so I enjoyed it.

Audax Malaysia BRM300




Last saturday, I participated in my second Audax BRM300. Recce reports from randonneurs two weeks ago reported some steep inclines, followed by rolling roads under the hot sun, so I geared up for hot weather riding: lightweight jersey, armscreens, SPF120 sunblock, plenty of water.

We started at 4:00 in the morning, dark but cool and very light traffic. Very pleasant ride through country roads, though my stomach didn't agree with something I had and I was a bit miserable for the first 50km. Found a petrol station to relieve myself but thanks to the poor facilities that my country is infamous for, I had to quickly learn the art of holding up my jersey with one hand (to avoid touching any wet and/or dirty floor/wall) while cleaning up with the other. Anti-bacterial baby wipes (which I brought in case I needed to fix or handle anything chain-related) saved the day!!!

The next 50km featured some steep climbs with very "helpful" street signage warning us of 10% grades several times before we reached the first checkpoint at approx 103.4km for rest and a quick meal. Unfortunately only one store was open and was low on food, so I didn't get much -- just some plain rice with a piece of chicken and some cucumbers. There was some spicy stuff but I avoided that considering my stomach had been complaining earlier.

The sun was out and in its full glory for the next 100km, featuring steep rolling sections and very little shelter. My stomach began acting up again and I had to make another petrol station stop, this time with proper clothes hooks on the doors! Except I then realised, my jersey doesn't have any loop behind the collar for hanging anyway, so back to the ol' hand-holding technique I just mastered this morning.

Then back into the heat -- simply quoting numbers is probably not enough: some members of my group had the idea of pouring blocks of ice down their jerseys for cooling. THAT'S how hot it was. It was an exhausting slog towards the second checkpoint at approx 187.8km. Immediately ordered a local cold, shaved ice delicacy called cendol right after stamping my brevet card.

The remaining 100+ km was mostly flat with a couple of bumps along the way. Mostly countryside scenery except for a few towns where we stopped for an early dinner at one of them, and also some heavy traffic to watch out for. I was still feeling waayyy lethargic, at least until the sun was partially down and the temperature cooled down and I felt alive again. So much more effective than any energy gel, EPO, Salbutamol or whatever!

With renewed energy I comfortably made it to the finishing point with my whole group intact at approx 22:13.

Boring video of the ride to bore you with: https://tinyurl.com/y76fkndf

On a side note, I had decided to bring my carbon Fuji Transonic instead of the usual Marechal Soul alloy bike for this ride for two reasons. Firstly because the Marechal's frame could only take 1 water bottle and, although I usually just carry the second one in my jersey pocket, but considering the weather conditions I did not want to put extra weight behind me for this ride. Also I wanted to test the fit for this bike on longer distances (yes I know, bad call, but I decided to take the risk because I wanted to decide early which bike I would bring for next month's 600K). I haven't had a professional fit with this Fuji before, and I knew I had some issues with hand pressure on this bike. I had adjusted the saddle back 5mm and lowered the seatpost 5mm to compensate for this last week and brief test rides felt better, but it looks like some more work needs to be done on this bike as the ride still left me with some pain in my hands, and a sore neck.

This was also the ride where I did not consume much on the bike itself. I brought along my usual protein bars but due to stomach problems I only ate 1 bar in the morning. I also brought 3 energy gels but did not have to use them. I had plenty of drink, from my usual N8 electrolyte drink, to Coke, Gatorade, orange juice and more at various stops.