THE 2021 Tour d’ France is set to take off on the 26th June! After the recently concluded pulsating Giro d’ Italia, an ever growing myriad of cycling fans have much to be excited about. This year’s TDF edition will have a star-studded line up of established and young upcoming riders seeking to mark individual and team stamps by capturing Stage and General Classification victories.
Nostalgic flashbacks will appear as we transpose ourselves atop the bicycle seats of each rider pedalling away on a breakaway, rising ‘off-saddle’ to climb steep mountain switchbacks and sprint against the clock at time trials.
Everyone has different story when it comes to how we became cycling aficionados. My recollections are fond memories of the day my dad removed the little ‘training wheels’ on my first bike at age 10. A sense of liberation overcame me. Relishing every opportunity given, I hopped onto my trusty steed exploring every main and dusty side road in my neighbourhood and beyond.
My first taste of the purring of a bicycle with ‘gears’ was the iconic Raleigh ‘Chopper’. It’s 3-speed gearbox made me feel like I was Ben-Hur commanding a chariot of 3 horses! It wasn’t until 1979 that I first came across a ‘live’ peloton of cyclists racing in an organised race around Dataran Merdeka and the Lake Gardens. The audio-visual spectacle of multi-coloured jerseys, gilded handlebars, leather strapped toe-clip pedals, beautifully spray-painted bike frames and the sound of mechanical shifters and derailleurs clicking away stays with me till today.
After the event, I plucked up the courage to speak to the organiser and asked him to teach me how to ride like that. Audacious - as I didn’t even own a road bike! The kind fatherly gentleman turned out to be Encik Shaharuddin Jaafar - a former Malaysian Olympics cyclist and 1965 SEAP Games gold medalist. So my journey into road bike cycling began. My mum bought me a road bike - a flaming red 10-speed steel bike (*steel is real!) and with shiny chrome gear shifters located on the down-tube, I took to training with youthful fiery passion.
Uncle Shaharuddin taught me the importance of riding in tempo, learning the energy benefits of ‘drafting’ with each cyclist taking a turn to lead and then returning to the peloton pack. Whilst I didn’t make the national team, it was exhilarating for skinny ole’ me to race with the Selangor Junior team and attend centralised training with other young riders vying for selection to the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane.
Avidly following the exploits and rivalry between cycling greats Greg Lemond, Laurent Fignon and Bernard Hinault as they chased each other up steep switchbacks on mountain passes at the Tour de France and Giro d’ Italia, I told myself that one day, like them, I would make good on my personal promise and cycle up as many of those roads as my heart and legs would allow.
Alas pedalling dreams took a back-seat after law school. It wasn’t until the summer of 2013 after making the critical decision to prioritise my physical and mental health, that those boyhood pedalling dreams get reignited. Fired up by the inspiring words of my dear friend Muzaffar who said: “If you want something you never had, you’ve got to do something you’ve never done”, I bought myself a road bike (the first of many I’m afraid!). Much to my amazement, I discovered that ergonomic engineering had advanced the modern day road bicycle to become much lighter (think feather weighted carbon frames and forks) and more efficient (electronic gear shifting and aerodynamics).
Some of my road cycling dreams to cycle up scenic French and Italian switchback roads and mountains made famous by the Tour d’France and Giro d’Italia have since come true. The experienced road-bike tour operators I signed up with tailor-made 12-14 day bike rides that provided me with sumptuous local cuisine, beautiful accommodation and fully-supported rides to and from each venue. Bike rides averaging 110km daily with support vehicles and mechanical crew ensured that eventualities such as punctures, mechanical malfunctions, beverage/fuel replenishment, medical emergencies and added clothing were easily available.
Top that with the experience of cycling with ex-pro tour riders whose personal encouragement given to even their weakest clients (the likes of me!). I pushed hard on each pedal stroke, huffing and puffing up seemingly endless switchbacks and steep gradients (ranging between 4-15%) half the time silently screaming “Shut Up legs”. With rider safety and support assured, all that was left was the immortalisation of each precious moment on and off the bike ride – critical to capturing the essence and experience of pedalling out the dream.
Each day out on a bike in France, Italy or Switzerland was pure bliss. My new daily routines were radically different from one of my regular ones of putting on bib and gown to fight an adversary in a courtroom. In exchange I found myself rising early, slinking into cycling gear – carefully laid out the night before. One’s choice of appropriate bib shorts, jersey, gloves, leg and arm warmers, overshoes, gilets or rain jackets could make the day’s riding experience either exceedingly comfortable or unbearably wretched.
Like me, I hope that each of you will one day be equally blessed to achieve your cycling dreams. Rise off being arm chair or ‘Zwift’ cyclists and experience first-hand the incomparable joys of pedalling up the pinnacle of the Beast of Provencé – Mont’ Ventoux ala’ Chris Froome, feel the buzz of triumph of conquering Alpe d’ Huez like Marco Pantani did, soak in the magnificent views atop the Col d’ Galibier and feel the cool refreshing breeze brush across your face as you glide down the amazing descents of Col de la Croix de fer, Col d’ Iseran and Passo dello Stelvio.
Trust me, you won’t regret it because “Difficult roads do lead to beautiful destinations.” - The Vibes. June 24, 2021
