Mountain biking Mt Kinabalu |
 Sha on a ridge trail near the Desa Dairy farm, which was quickly being blanketed by mist. |
Sha spotted the potential for mountain biking in the rolling foothills of Mount Kinabalu about 4 years ago while on a trip to the summit. For this trip, we decided to explore the mountain biking potential of the valleys in which the towns of Kundasang and Bundu Tuhan were located.
Because time was limited, we took a taxi (RM50) from Kota Kinabalu for the 90-kilometre trip to Kundasang. We stayed at a guesthouse belonging to my brother's partner, the facilities of which were basic: no running water and no electricity. The guesthouse was located off the main road, on the top of hill about 1.5 kilometres up a steep 4wd track.
But the location of the guesthouse afforded breathtaking views of the granitic majesty of Mount Kinabalu (the highest mountain in Malaysia), as well as a commanding vista of the Kundasang valley.
The view of Mount Kinabalu from the guesthouse. On the left you can just about see the sealed road that leads to the Desa Dairy farm, which is the bright green plateau above the road. The higher, dull green, plateau is the Kinabalu golf course.
On the first day, we explored the 4wd track that went past the guesthouse. This trail topped out at 1600m (about 5,200ft, quite breathless for sea-level dwellers like us) and led to a small farm at the back of the Rose Garden Inn. From here, we cycled uphill on the main road, heading towards the National Park HQ.
Sha, blocking the camera's view of a glorious sunset on the Bundu Tuhan track.
Close to the HQ was Bundu Tuhan. We turned left here onto a small lane that led to a town perched on a ridge overlooking the valley. Just before reaching the town, we turned left again onto a 4wd track that hugged the contour of the hills.
The day before, we were adjusting Sha's SRP titanium cantilever brakes and I had overtightened the pad mounting bolt, leading to sickening cracking sound. Our worst fears were realised when we discovered that the nut into which the bolt screws had cracked. So no front brakes.
Steep downhill. And no front brakes.
No joke.
Fortunately, "Sifu" Sha is an adaptable kinda guy and didn't find fault with my ham-fistedness. Instead, he adapted his riding style to the now-equipped-only-with-rear-brakes KHS Team that he rode. As usual, this was accompanied with lengthy speeches on riding technique, balance and bike control. I dutifully took notes.
Therefore, it was with much excitement that we rode this off-road section; as for myself, I was in constant anticipation, as ever having the camera ready to record any flesh wounds for possible submission into medical journals, or better yet, rotten.com.
It was dark by the time we were back at the guesthouse (now nicknamed the Grand Kinabalu View Motel). Sha had a bath in the open in the drizzle and in the dark using rainwater that had been collected in a large tank. I decided that the discomfort of being cold outweighed the discomfort of being dirty, and so went to bed smelly.
Sha cycling past the unlikely pastoral setting of the dairy farm.
The next day, we cycled on the main road to the town of Ranau, 16km away, downhill, where we thought we might be able to get a pair of replacement cantilevers for Sha's bike.
After about 5 minutes (during which we covered the entire town), we found a corner hardware/sundry shop that also sold mountain bikes. With a little persuasion of the monetary kind, we got its owner to sell us pair of no-name cantilevers for RM35. I managed to fit the brakes, but not before having to shorten the bolts with a hacksaw and filing the ends down.
Deed done, we procured the services of a van to send us back to Kundasang. From here, we took a sealed road that led uphill to a plateau where the Desa Dairy farm was located. This road, broken in places, proved a bloody steep climb, steeper perhaps that the road from Tringkap to Brinchang in Cameron Highlands, for example. The kway teow that we had consumed for lunch made persistent attempts to reappear in semi-digested form.
At the top, we were to treated to a scene untypical of Malaysia: alfalfa grass, whitewashed fences and heifer cows, I think they're called. We took the obligatory tour of the facilities, marvelled at the compactness of the machine that packaged the milk into the Tetrapak cartons, and gulped down a carton of chocolate milk each before making our merry way again.
Sha, ever the obliging subject, deep in thought, no doubt wondering what the chocolate milk will do to his digestive system, and relishing the prospect of another rain-lashed excursion with a shovel to attend to the delicate matter of personal hygene.
The cows were lined up 12 at a time in two rows, and hooked up to the nyonyot-machines, which sucked the milk out of them. Udderly fascinating. Though tempted, Sha declined to personally test the efficacy of the machine.
We got onto a ridge trail immediately opposite the turn-off to Desa Dairy. As we cycled along, a mist blanketed us. The trial petered out into a footpath, and led through farmland that had been left fallow. It started raining. After much bashing through the undergrowth (and taking an endo over a hidden log) we came out on a really rough 4wd track which led downhill, deep into the Kundasang valley.
The rain came rolling in as we bashed our way through fallow farm land.
THIS, we thought, was what we came here for. It was one of those fast rocky and gravelly descents in the driving rain that make your eyes tear from the exhilaration. It seemed to go on forever, until at last we came upon a junction at which was located a provision shop. We ascertained that the right turn was the one that led back to the main road to Ranau, and proceeded to bomb down the track. Shortly thereafter, Sha had a puncture, caused by a valve stem that had ripped out of the tube. Light was fading fast. By the time the tube was replaced, it was too dark to see the hair on your arm (well it would have been too dark to see the hair on our arms had we not been wearing our waterproofs).
There was still some illumination from the darkening sky, and we were anxious to make use of this to cover as much of the downhill as possible. Sha had brought his Cateye light. I find that narrow-beam lights provide insufficiently wide illumination and constrains my night vision, and so relied instead on the fading daylight and my peripheral vision, giving cause for much additional excitement.
Sunset over the South China Sea, at a beach about 20 minutes South of Kota Kinabalu. Sun, sea, sand and mountain biking: paradise?
The descent ended at a metal bridge which crossed the raging river at the bottom of the valley. A granny-ring climb later, we emerged at the Ranau main road, about 7 or 8 kilometres away from the Grand Kinabalu View Motel. We got some duct-tape out, and taped my Pelican Mitylight to my handlebars. So illuminated, we proceeded to slog up the hill in the driving rain.
We passed a lighted guesthouse, and almost gave in to the temptation of a hot bath until Sha reminded that we only had the wet clothes which we were in. So no choice lah! The 4wd track, which had been so enjoyable as a descent, was now slick because of the rain and proved impossible to ride in the dark. It was a miserable time, folks, having to push your bike (which incidentally got heavier as mud accumulated on the tyres) uphill in the rain at 5000ft.
It was about 9.30pm by the time I got to the guesthouse. Sha came in about half an hour later, after deciding to evacuate his bowels in the relative comfort of the Rose Garden Inn below. I made do with a shovel and a hole in the ground, and decided to have a bath in the open. I have never been colder in Malaysia in my life, far surpassing the time when we bathed in Tok Chik's house in Brinchang after having been caught in the rain in an abortive attempt to cycle to Gua Musang from Cameron Highlands.
The next day, we biked down from Kundasang to KK on the main road, reaching speeds of 70km/h.
The main road to KK was not downhill all the way, but also had some biggish climbs, including this one, which went on for about 8 kilometres.
Further information
- Books: National Parks of Malaysia, Briggs; Globetrotter's guide to Kinabalu National park
- Eats: the Fairy Garden Inn (slightly downhill from the National Park HQ in the direction of Ranau) has superb food.
- Tour: If you want it all done for you, check out Borneo Action Adventure Centre and Borneo Travel, which organises mountain biking tours in Sarawak.
- Local info: According to owner of the hardware store, there is apparently an off-road downhill from Kg Kaui that parallels the main road to KK.
- Tantalising road sign: Also on the main road to KK, we spotted an 4wd track marked "Ranau Bypass", which suggests potential for a mondo off-road downhill.
- Costs: a 4-day return air ticket from KL to KK costs RM699 (at the time of writing). A 3-day ticket costs RM200 more.
