would stretch. We both packed lightweight
vented, armoured textile jackets, kevlar jeans
plus summer gloves (two pairs), shorty boots,
helmets, back protectors and waterproof over-
trousers and jacket. It proved to be well suited
to the conditions. Leathers, even vented ones,
would have been unbearable in the heat. And as
it turned out, our luck held and we never needed
the waterproofs as we only encountered one
light shower on the road although some of the
evening downpours were pretty epic. Thankfully,
we were off the road by then. This is a deliberate
tactic by the MMG guys as the heavy rain usually
comes later in the day so they try to finish the
days ride by 4:00-5:00pm.
The run to Melaka on that first day set the tone
for the rest of the tour. Riding stints were on
average about an hour, which was plenty long
enough as the heat and dehydration can creep
up on you very quickly if you don’t stop to refresh
regularly. On reflection, a Camelbak would’ve
been a handy addition to our gear, although
there was never a point where we felt that we
should’ve stopped earlier for a break.
The morning stop would usually be at a roadside
café where hot or iced tea, water and energy
drinks were always available (and cheap), and
the drinks would be accompanied by a plate of
roti canai, (a lightly fried fresh flatbread) with a
couple of savoury dips as accompaniment.
The first day’s ride was a great introduction
to riding in Malaysia and we rolled into Melaka
around 5:30pm and headed straight for the hotel,
which was pre-booked and paid for as part of
the MMG package. This one, like all of the others
that we stayed in whilst on tour were perfectly
serviceable and were probably equivalent to
4-star when new, but had aged into a pleasant
3.5-star quality. In the evening, Faizal and Zahed
took us out to a local restaurant for some
excellent local street food at a night market
close to where fishing boats docked.
ALWAYS
N BREAKS
HING
ROUTE
KIWI RIDER 37