Ever been to a bash and wondered, where the did all these nice singletracks come from? How about wondering what does one need to do to set up a bash? Or did you at least even wonder who in the world are these hares? This is an article in a series documenting my experience as a newbie hare, which I wrote as an answer to all those questions that I myself wondered about.
Full listing of Memoirs of a newbie hare
So you've assembled a bunch of hares,
all eager beaver and ready to do some bushwhacking. You'd expect them
to jump onto their steel/aluminium/carbon/titanium steed at your
command and ride off in search of wonderful trails worthy of a bash,
don't you? Unfortunately they have to cool down a bit, since the next
step is what I call the conceptualization phase. This is where the
hares will have to sit down and think about where would be a good
location to set up a bash. Yes, I know this is boring and you're
wasting daylight sitting down and doing all this brainwork. I can
assure you it is a necessary step since you can only cover so much
ground by riding without a direction or purpose. This process could
take 5 minutes, or it could take a few hours, or even days. It could be
done formally during a brainstorming session, or casually as you live
your everyday life. Copious amount of liquids and food may be consumed
in the process, but that is the sacrifice the hares will have to take
in the line of duty.
So are you settled down and comfy yet? So lets start the ball rolling by figuring out how to select an area to set up a bash.
Where can we go to play?
So
a bash has to be set up outdoors, that's a given fact. Based on that
fact you would think that the hares are spoiled for choice. Actually
that's not true because its not easy to find a location that has the
right mixture of trails that would fit the needs of a good bash.
Whether you're a new hare or an experienced one, there would be times
when you'll be scratching your head trying to figure out where's the
next bash is going to be. So what is a poor hare to do in this
predicament?
A good place to start solving this riddle is to
know yourself. No, you don't have to go put on a pair of thighs and do
yoga and search for enlightenment. One rule to follow in setting up a
bash is that the hares themselves should enjoy riding the route. This
is the basic principle that has been passed down to me, which I try to
remember when setting up a bash. So based on this rule a hare will have
to figure out what kind of trails he (or she) enjoy riding and try to
find a location that has all the right conditions. As an example, let
me try to list out what I think would be the requirements of a good
bash.
- It has to have a variety of terrains - In general its not much fun if the area is flat. A good mix of technical sections, climbs, and downhills would make it a nice ride.
- The trail has
a good mix of vegetation - Open areas are not much fun. Too much palm
oil or rubber estates is also not much fun. Finding a good mix is key.
- Good scenery - Having scenic vistas at the top of long climbs makes me forget what I've just gone through.
Know your preferences - I like riding under the shade, so I like to chose an area that has shaded trails
So
now I know what I like, so how do I choose an area for the next bash?
The next step is to list out what you think would be the criteria that
could be used in identifying possible bash locations, based on what you
have previously defined. Below is a list that I have based on my
requirements above.
- A mixture of terrain type - If you
look at a map and see that an area is flat, chances are that it won't
make a nice place to ride. However don't take my word for it, you might
want to check it out for yourself and be surprised.
- Has a
high probability to have trails based on area details - A dense forest
reserve normally doesn't have any trails, but having a few villages
around the area increases the chance of finding trails that you can
ride. Having any type of commercial farming in an area also is a good
indication that you will find some trails. Setting a bash in the middle
of KL would be out of the question of course.
- Good
accessibility - The starting point could be reached easily by vehicle.
Places requiring 4x4 is of course out of the question.
- Has
adequate distance for a bash - Small pockets of forest would not have
sufficient trails to complete a bash. However it is a different matter
if you can connect these small pockets together to make a complete
loop. A small pocket of forest in the middle of a developed area is
also a bad candidate for a bash, unless of course you're talking about
Kiara.
The above list is my own, and another hare
might have a different criteria. As you can see, this might explain why
you get a different experience for every bash. One hare's playground
might be another hare's garbage dump, for one bash you'll get torturing
climbs while another have nice scenic trails. It is up to the
individual to define these criteria.
So now consider yourself
enlightened, and you did it without doing any meditation! Now how do
you find a place that has all of the above requirements once you've
defined them?
To infinity, and beyond!
So what did our
forefathers do when they wanted to ride before there were any
established trails? They explored of course. No bush is too thick, nor
a hill too high to explore. Due to this, we now have established
mountain biking trails such as Kiara, Bukit Cermin, and Batu Dam (don't
forget to thank these guys the next you bump into them on the trails).
We can now happily conclude that exploration is one way we can find
areas to set up a bash, and we should not be afraid to explore.
We
have the method but the question now is where to explore? Below I've
listed some of the ways to find out where you can explore.
Is that a trail I just saw? Johnny testing out a possible trail.
One
thing you'll notice when you hang out with experienced hares is that
they always have an eye out for possible trails. Be it driving along
the highway, looking at hiking photos or just hanging out with the guys
drinking teh tarik. Out of the sudden they will point out that there's
a trail in the bushes that you didn't even notice exists before. This
is a useful skill to have for a hare, and I try to keep my eyes peeled
for possible trails when I travel. You'll be amazed at what you can
find by being aware of your surroundings. Be mindful to keep one eye on
the road though, since making yourself a part of the scenery won't
contribute much to our agenda.
At times there would be whispers
in the wind hinting of possible trails in a farway land, at least
within the borders of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. No way KLMBH would set
a bash in Middle-earth, no matter how nice the singletracks are said to
be in the Shire. And no, these whispers are not from some nubile forest
elves enchanting you to come and play in the woods (you would have
noticed that I had a bit too much of J.R.R. Tolkien recently). You'll
hear these whispers when you talk to the right people, such as the
orang asli, locals or people you meet anywhere at anytime.
Consider
this scenario: You could be riding on a well know trail and stopped to
chat with the locals. They might casually mention that they they just
came back from a neighboring village, and conveniently omitted the part
that its through one of the best singletracks in the area because none
of the locals ever though about it that way. It is up to you then to
catch these nuances and dig deeper to find out more.
Another
way to find new lands is the old fashion way of scoping out maps. Maps
contains a wealth of information if you know how to decipher them. For
example, topo maps can show you which area are flat and which area has
some nice hills. Maps that incorporate sattelite imagery like Google
Maps/Earth can also show you possible trails and the type of vegetation
in an area. All this of course would require you to be a geek with some
technical knowledge, but it has its rewards if you travel this path. Be
careful not to spend too much time looking over the maps, people might
think you're plotting to take over the world or something.
Technology is your friend - making use of Google Earth to check out possible bash areas.
So
you've gone through all this and still fail to find a place to set up a
bash, what do you do? There's always the next option, reuse and recycle.
Reuse and recycle
Once
you've been in the scene for a while, you will have ridden or helped
set a number of bashes already. I'm sure everyone is guilty of riding
these routes a number of times again after the bash because it was such
a joy to ride. Over time by doing this you would have a wealth of
information on where is good place to ride, and of course where it is
not nice to ride. This would be a good source to decide on a good place
to set a bash. You can rearrange the route, expand from the original
trail or explore new areas not covered by the previous bash. There's
more ways than one to reuse a location, and its up to you to realize it.
Walking the talk
So now you have an idea of where you can set up a bash worthy of the "Bash of the year" award. All you need to do now is to explore the area and figure out if its up to expectations. You didn't think you can set up a bash by just sitting on your sofa, can you? This would be covered in the next section, the Recce.
by Riza Shaharudin
