Discovery on 2 Wheels

One of the many ways to discover Bintulu apart from using a boat and 4WD is by cycling. The above picture is how I looked this morning, and coincidentally, how my nephew looks when he cycles! :-)

After trying out 6.5 km marathon in Dec 2010, I decided to check out cycling. My friends who are avid runners, divers and cyclers, who join triathalons for fun (I'm not joking!) where they have to run, cycle and then swim at the sea, organized a ''family'' trip from Bintulu riverfront to Kampung Jepak (Jepak Village). There was Su, his wife Oshin, their adorable son Irfan, myself, Husni and Juwan.

Since I don't have a bike and the necessary gear, I borrowed it from our mutual friend Naza.

To get to Kg Jepak, we had to take a boat to cross the river. It was quite an experience riding this boat-cum-mini ferry where it transports people, motorcyclists and cyclists.

The road that we took was the trunk road which would lead to the Bintulu airport. We cycled through basically Iban villages where I learned how to identify their long houses and families. Some families were blasting loud music- still celebrating the arrival of 2011. I could see that many Sarawakian families were still poor or hard core poor from the conditions of their long houses.

We saw storks, hornbills, exotic lizards, and ...exotic slugs. The scenery and weather was lovely.

At the 17th km, we stopped for fresh coconut and drank it right from the fruit. Somehow, I managed to get grease on my pants and my sleeves so I looked like a grease monkey.

Overall, we cycled for 34 km in 4 hours including stops, and boat rides.

Going on this cycling trip reverts my thoughts on the Western evangelists who preach Christianity by cycling from longhouse to longhouse in Bintulu. They wear black ties, white shirt and black pants. They are paid generously to spread the word and convert non-Muslims in Sarawak.

Would I cycle to preach Islam?

It's not just about the exercize, but I realize more about the plight of the general Sarawakian and also the Muslim communities.