We had decided to go for a long weekend ride in Malaysia. As we (me, Teng, Melvin, Phil, Safri, Dave and Phil’s mate Steve) lived in Singapore, it was just a matter of packing a passport, a toothbrush and changing some dollars to ringgit… and away we could go. This time we were heading north up the main North-South Highway, towards Kuala Lumpur and the famous, 600km long, cloud-clad Gerik Loop ride.
The Gerik Loop is a famously challenging circle of biker-rated tarmac, bang in the middle of Malaysia and snaking around the fringes of the dense mountain jungle of the Cameron Highlands. It is wild country, but is also the launch pad for hours of swooping, jaw-dropping, mountain-climbing, vehicle-free, cloud-piercing and valley-racing riding the likes of which boring Euro Alpine adventure motorcyclists could never imagine. It is biking heaven defined, and we were on our way there.
On the ride up towards the Highlands, riding the three-lane highway, we cruised at about 140–160kph (85-100mph). The limit was 110kph (69mph), but we weren’t worried about getting booked. Not because we wouldn’t be stopped (we often were), but because
