Cycling in Asia

Normally KOM refers to the 'King of the Mountain' and the title is bestowed on riders who are the first to climb to the top of the big climbs in a cycling stage race.  Today however the KOM really means Killed on the Mountain!  This was by far the hardest climb I have ever experienced!  With more than 50km of climbing, 160km distance and a maximum gradient of 42%, only a few select super-athletes made it up this monster mountain without stopping. 

Winston Cervantes is a nice gentlemen who I ride with in Singapore. He is very dedicated, riding a few times per week, sometimes as early as 445am in the morning.  Anybody who knows Winston knows he is a very soft spoken fellow who is pleasant to be with during our social rides.  Today I saw a different side of Winston that was unhinged by the climb we did.  When we climb in Singapore Winston is normally ripping up the hill and sometimes I call him a goat because he can climb mountains with ease.  Remembering that Singapore is a fairly flat place, we don't have much exposure to real mountains and it is precisely that reason why we came on this Hill Training Camp in Bali.   So we set off very early at 630am to start our 160km ride to the 'Munduk Climb' which has been touted by some as the 'toughest climb in Asia'.  For the past day-and-a-half, our coach Mike, and our host Neil, have been terrifying the group with stories of riders who did not make it, had to walk sections of this climb, and with tales of steep gradients that would make most goats cry!  The stories got so bad that I actually started thinking that these guys were really full of it and that they had been completely overblowing this to get our anxiety levels up and ensure that we rested well before the big day.  Actually, 160km ride with more than 50km of climbing is a big day.  Confusion was high as the facts seem to change by the minute (there is 1 climb, 2 climbs, 40km, 35km, etc).  After pushing off we rode very conservatively pushing an average speed of probably 21km/h... which is very slow.  Nobody was feeling like tearing off because we were all keeping our energy to make the monster climb later in the day.  As we rode along I really started thinking of many cliches I know such as 'there is nothing to fear but fear itself'. Repeating this and other positive messages would equip me with th strength I needed to get up that hill....no matter what.  Despite our best efforts to strategize how to successfully make this climb, all the plans went to hell as we had to deal with a much tougher climb than expected.  Winston also revealed a whole new side of his personality which involved some interesting comments and potentially tears (it was raining but not that much).

Some excerpts from the climb 

Car from behind to Winston:  Beep Beep
Winston to driver:  Shut Up

Dog ahead barking at Winston:  Ruff Ruff
Winston to dog:  F*** Off

Inspirational Message from Jeff to Paul and Lachlin:  If we rest during the easy parts like this, and knock off the steep parts like we just did, then we should be able to make this climb.   (this turned out to be wrong as I found out two minutes later)

At one of our recovery points on Munduk -
Winston:    Whose idea was this trip anyhow? - this is where I think I saw tears
Jeff:    Yours!

So while only a few select super-athletes actually completed the climb without stopping, we all managed to finish up at the summit and enjoyed a well deserved plate of rice and some hot  lemonade before making our descent.  I won't mention names on who made it without stopping and who did not, however I congratulate all the riders for a massive accomplishment.  I however need to get new cleats for my shoes as I admit I wanted to experience some of Munduk on my feet!

Psyched Up and Ready to Climb Munduk

Ever since I have had my new Garmin computer I live and die by gradient numbers. I asked Mike a number of times about the gradients of this climb hoping to catch a glimmer of insight into what it would be like.  Here is the ride of Munduk http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6222349

Look of Apprehension Before Munduk Climb

Mike Leading the Group - He was wearing black that day and I am not sure if there was a message in his selection of outfit!