New Straits Times

THE MILES

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Puncak Alam, to Puncak AlamSimpan­g Tiga Jeram to Kuala Selangor-Batu Arang and back.

The father-daughter team has been cycling 160km every two days as part of their training for the challenge since they registered last month.

“It is not our first time, but the Puncak Alam ‘Dragon’s Back’ is a killer, so we are not taking this ride lightly. Nobody (doing the 160km) should.

“I’ve been piling up miles as part of my preparatio­n.

“I think the (205km) ride I did in Kundasang, Sabah, last week and the one we are doing in Langkawi a week before the C-Cycle Challenge will get us ready for the big day,” said Ahirudin, a former Business Times editor at the New Straits Times.

Ahirine said though she and her father were not restricted to any specific diet, they consumed food that was high in protein to build muscle and recover fast in case of injury.

She caught the cycling bug late last year after watching her father get ready for his rides every morning.

“I was more interested in motorcycle­s. I developed an interest in bicycling after studying his daily routine. I believe my father is more than prepared, but I had to slow down a little on my training since I had a fall last weekend. I hope to recover and get back to training soon,” she said.

Ahirudin, who has been cycling since young, said this sport combined working out, with travelling and sightseein­g.

Since January last year, he had been cycling further and faster.

He plans to cycle from here to London, the United Kingdom, and then to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

“So, on the world map, I can draw a straight line from Kuala Lumpur and London and say ‘I have done it on two wheels’,” he said, adding that the fact that his daughter wanted to do it with him, motivated him.

“It (cycling) is something you can do, even competitiv­ely, at 15 or 55 or 105, like Robert Marchand of France,” he said.

The team has its own hashtag, #abahandbay­bee for followers and the public to see their action on the streets.

“I can’t ride against the young ones, but I hope to finish the century. It will be a meaningful 160km for me personally, because I was with the NST for more than 20 years and would not want to disappoint,” he said.

 ?? PIC BY ASYRAF HAMZAH ?? Cycling enthusiast Datuk Ahirudin Attan (front), or Rocky Bru, and his friends training at Damansara Heights for the NST C-Cycle Challenge which will be held on May 21.
PIC BY ASYRAF HAMZAH Cycling enthusiast Datuk Ahirudin Attan (front), or Rocky Bru, and his friends training at Damansara Heights for the NST C-Cycle Challenge which will be held on May 21.
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