July 20, 2017
Kuala Kubu Bharu to Bukit Fraser: Incredible ride up to Fraser's Hill
We escaped from Kuala Kubu Bharu before seven o'clock this morning, still in the dark because the sun doesn't rise much before seven thirty. We were up at five o'clock so that we could be packed and have some breakfast before we left. Breakfast turned out to be a nice big plate of nasi goreng at a twenty four restaurant just down the road from our hotel. We were also loaded with water and Power100 (an isotonic drink) and some bags of peanuts because we knew there would be nowhere to buy food and drinks on the road to Bukit Fraser.
We weren't sure how we would deal with the big hill that was looming because our legs were a bit tired after yesterday's hill in the heat but everything worked out fine. The weather was pretty hot and humid when we left (twenty eight degrees - the overnight minimum - and as humid as a sauna) but cooled down the higher we climbed. We were reluctant to stop too long for birding because we didn't know how long we would take but in the end we couldn't help but stop because the forest we were riding through was ringing with bird calls. We also took numerous stops to give our legs a break on the long climb. At the end of the day we had climbed a total of 1700m and gained 1200m in elevation - the biggest climbing day we had yet had. I am so proud of how Leigh coped with the climb. She has never considered herself to be an athlete so this climb on a loaded bike was an incredible boost for her. At the end of the day, the lovely environment through which we cycled and the lack of traffic made today one of my most enjoyable rides ever.
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As we pulled into Bukit Fraser we bumped into three British birders (although the one is actually a Philipino) who were surprised we had cycled all the up to Bukit Fraser to do some birding. They had just arrived from Tamana Negari (literally, National Park) which is a wildlife area in the middle of Malaysia and would be staying at Stephen's Place, a well-known B&B in the birding fraternity, that was about three kilometers out of Bukit Fraser. We had also hoped to stay there, but of course we hadn't made and inquiries or made a booking but decided to cycle there to see if Stephen could squeeze us in. On our way to Stephen's Place, I picked up a puncture. While changing the tube, we picked up lifer, Red-tufted Barbet, a really beautiful member of an generally ugly genus. When we got to Stephen's Place, he wasn't there but the three birders we had met earlier were. We decided to hang around for an hour or two to see if Stephen would arrive, picking up more new birds in the process - Glossy Swiftlet, Black-throated Sunbird and Black-browed Barbet. By a quarter past four there was still no sign of Stephen so we headed back down to Bukit Fraser and booked in at the Shazan Inn where we got a good deal of RM450 for a three night stay including breakfast. Here we picked up another lifer in Long-tailed Sibia - Bukit Fraser has delivered wonderfully in the short time we have been here. This will probably be our only chance of higher altitude birding in Malaysia so it is good that it has been worth it already.
Today's ride: 47 km (29 miles)
Total: 3,139 km (1,949 miles)
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