...Jack's Tour of Pain 2010...: Day 1: Ipoh – Cameron Highlands (Brinchang) (~90km)

We left my home at about 7.30am and made a short 10km journey to Simpang Pulai where the new road to Cameron Highland starts. From the turn off, we start to feel the terrain after about 8kms in…..we were treated to a 6-8% gradient all of a sudden for about 2km….it took us by surprise. So needless to say, take 5 soon after that. We saw a group of 4-5 local Malays going up pretty fast while we were resting.

From that point on the gradient stood anything between 2-7%....it was not as bad as it seems but the climbs were long. To get to Kg Raja, we would have climbed to 1450m and then dropped to 1250m before going up again to 1600+m at Gunung Brinchang….thats 70km of climbing.

We stopped as and when we felt like it, and we were quite happy to see a food/drink stall somewhere around the 50km mark. We loaded up our water bottles, had a nice plate of goreng pisang and keledek. The Malay cycling group was there as well. They do this once a month apparently but this is mostly as far as they go…we told them about our destination to Brinchang and they did not give us much hope. They told us the next 20+km will be the same as before but the last 8km-10km consist of requires a hard climb before reaching the top where the Equatorial Hotel is (never knew there was a hotel right up there!)

From them on, same climbs…..some faux flats (they are really cruel) and had to stop for a drink and food as Ben started to feel crampy on his thighs. We descended down 200+m to Kg. Raja…..I’ve never been to this town before…it looks quite bustling with lots of trucks and vans around but I’m not quite sure what the buzz all about…..we just carried on our journey pass the town and right at the fringe is the 8km climb to Equatorial…It hits you fast and you know it. It’s a constant 6-9% climb….this is quite tough after climbing for over 60 clicks!

1km into the climb I heard a yell from the back! Gotta stop as cramps have gotten the best of Ben’s legs! It started to drizzle a bit too so we put on our jackets and pushed on. I was so glad to reach the Equatorial….it signals downhill from there on to Brinchang town! Along the way, there was a massive traffic jam….a stream of cars and mpvs going up the mountain to what appears to be a large market of local produce…strawberries, cherry tomatoes, maize, variety of green stuff etc. Quite crowded actually and I did find this rather surprising, especially this high up in the mountain!

We settled at the Pasadena-Rosa Hotel (room RM120 per night) at Brinchang and were glad we did so quickly because once we checked in, it started to pour outside! It’s not nice to be in the rain at 1600m! Chilly weather to walk around town though.

Had a good dinner, a foot massage, and more dinner, some snacks and world cup.