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Saturday, April 4, 2009

On Cloud Nine Pt. 2 - "V009" actually made 9th!!!


That's right, folks. I was "upgraded" to 9th!

Damn the organizers, or praise 'em, rather? - because the official race classification came in almost a week later!

Slackers.

This is something akin to what happened to Jarno Trulli in the opening F1 season on the same day as my race. Lewis Hamilton was eventually disqualified from his third placing and Trulli bumped up to third from fourth.

Apparently legendary Pat "Pig Pen" Brunsdon (V012) and "Ironman" supremo Wan Shahidan (V019) had jumped the gun. In Pat's and Wan Shahidan's case, there were so gung ho on starting (a bit like being kiasu laa) that they started off at the first flag-off in the Open Class.

They were supposed to start off with us, about 10 minutes after the Open flag-off. It was a bit chaotic I suppose since there are hundreds of us jammed on that small lane waiting for the Pajero to lead us on a rolling start. The Pajero had some dudes in the rear holding a huge Selangor flag ready to "drop it". So these two decided to trail the Open pack I guess, thinking the Vet class race was going to be on a slightly different and shorter route. In Pat's case the marshalls made him go on the longer Open Class route (see note above), Buy why Wan Shahidan was positioned 18th I wouldn't know. He must have committed a bigger sin like failing to pass a checkpoint (shortcut?) or something when he actually had the fastest time.

In any event I'm a happy puppy.

Like everything else in life, we should play by the rules and hope to "get lucky" sometimes.

14 comments:

Pak Idrus said...

Hey, it look like that you got yourself a lucky number there. I have always believe that the number 9 is a lucky number. Wah! look like the first place is within grasp.

Have a nice day.

zara said...

Congrats again, Sir! Cun pulak with ur no V009! :)

Pak Zawi said...

Bro MS,
Wow you are so fit now that you can be in the top ten. At your age a Top Ten finish in such a large field of younger and stronger competitors means the top of the world. I guess you must have reduced your smoking alot to attain such fitness level.
Where is Pak Adib?

Anonymous said...

I am so proud of you old fart!

Salt N Turmeric said...

Upgraded to 9th place some more! *clap* *clap*!

Iv been looking to get a bike for some time but due to my height it is rather difficult. lol. (Im not even joking)

p.s. cud u pls give me ur email add?

Mat Salo said...

Pak Idrus,

Hmmm, now you got me thinking. Race number 9, position 9, year 2009...

Lucky? Yes Sir, certainly for me luck is everything. According to Chinese calendar, Obama who is also an Ox like me, '09 is supposed to be our lucky year. But I find that very hard to believe because you know how the state of the economy is, eh?

Thanks for your vote of confidence, but seriously, I was only able to get in top ten because many teams didn't enter. Pak Adib is a case in point. Imagine if his group had turned up? I'll be lucky to be in the top 20!

====================

Zara,

Memang betul no. 9 tu cun. Believe it or not, only AFTER I posted the "On Cloud Nine" post I realized, eh, even the title got a nine in there... baik bukan 666. Nanti orang kata setan pulak, he he. Thanks.

====================

Pak Zawi,

Sir, truth be told, I was in fact one of the youngest competitors in the Veteran 45-above class. So your sentence should read: "... Top Ten finish in such a large field of OLDER (not younger, Bang) and stronger (yang ini benar) competitors..."

The real terer guys Bang are people macam yang dapat nombor 2 tuh, Mej (B) Ahmad Jaafar IC dia read '50 or '51 pangkal nya.

Imagine that Bang, almost 60 tapi fitness of a 25 year old!

====================

Mish,

Thanks for being proud of an old fart with multiple personal scruples and moral disorders. Ha ha.

====================

Farina,

Ada lah my email add. on my blog page. Anyway it's madsalos[at]g mail. Eh, Santa Cruz (hand built in Santa Cruz, CA) like the one I rode makes women- specific frames in small sizes laa. And so do other brands like GT, Giant etc. You know what? That bike I rode in the XC race isn't mine, it's my better half's!

Salt N Turmeric said...

Oh semalam we finally bought a bike for me! Cheap cheap one only. Cannot afford the expensive one. But i immediately felt comfy riding it so thts a good sign. Micahel dah almost give up sbb we'v been going in and out of stores for years and once even bought one only to return it on the same day. lol.

mamadou said...

Hello brother!

9th place. Why so bother about the figure, what I admire you that you have finished to the final cross line. Congratulations

Apa Kau Nak said...

Waduh, waduhhh! 9 is a supercantik number bro. respek la. what a motivation! Congratz again. :)

p/s: thanks for the support on my ink business. may the biz prosper (and i can write as I wish when I wish without worrying abt the bills ;)

Anonymous said...

Some of the names on the finish list brought back very fond memories: Major Jaafar, Pat and Farizul. And to thin Farizul was just 5 mins behind Pat. That guy has come a long way!

But you held your own in this crowd, bro. Good for you!

But when Bicycle Planet ran races,(back when dinosaurs roamed the earth) we prided ourselves in being able to get accurate Official Results out by 30 mins of the end of the race. Just ask Major Jaafar, Pat or Farizul. Then again, we had a UCI Class A International Mountain Bike Commissaire on the team.

Anonymous said...

Mat Salo,

Did you know that Faizal Abdul Aziz MCKK'76-80 has passed on in London last week Thursday 2nd April'09.

Mat Salo said...

Pak Mamadou, ada d di Kota D kah? Nanti kan saya coba nelpon. Bener Pak, yang penting kita basa komplit... Makasih atas komentar nya ya Pak?

===================

Bro Bangkai of Ex-Bicycle Planet, bro' did you do the one in Kajang, '98 or '98 too? That was my first XC race. And didcha know I I've known Farizul since he was Form 5 in St. John's? Small world, eh?

====================

Bro' Anon,

I knew about it soon after. It was already posted in the comments section of my previous post, bro'. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Bro

I do recall doing a race in Semenyih in or around the time you mentioned. As I recall the course had a mean 15-foot drop-off and a purpose built downhill course.

Did you know that that race was the first ever in Malaysia where ALL the marshals were CPR trained? We were there a week earlier to train every one of them in CPR and first aid.

Mat Salo said...

Bro' Bangkai! Yes the one in the kampong in Semenyih. Yes, that was the first time a major Downhill race was organized. I was very impressed bro'.

But the XC track was a killer for a first timer like me. Farizul was stick-thin then on his Canondale (his ride now is a Santa Cruz Blur), and believe it or not, sadly, I was about what I am now. At least I didn't get any worse... I believed Farizul podiumed. I remember it was the XXL category, ha ha. I was 80 kg, Farizul was 60, 65 tops. He should've been in the Open Class...

But it was a great event, bro'. I think I came in 8th or something and there were hampers for even the Top Ten.