touring bike needed

[photospice]

I am planning a touring trip through Malaysia but I am starting my ride in Singapore. I am hoping to rent a tour bike for 3 weeks or purchase a mid-range bike.

All of my tour gear is back in the States, so I also need bags and other cycling accessories. Best shop?

Finally, has anyone seen Shimano bike sandals for sale in Singapore? Mine are lost in storage?

thanks.

[JR8]

Welcome to the forum!

My immediate thought on this is what kind of distance are you looking to cover?

Some considerations are:

- The extreme heat, meaning riding in the early morning, taking a break, then resuming in the late afternoon.

- dangerous drivers who not might show as much respect of cyclists as you would wish.

- You'd probably have to stick to 'B roads' and to cover any point-to-point distance might be very circuitous.

- Where would you stay? Would your preferred route allow you to reach your destination lodging each day?


That's just my immediate 2C. Years ago I did two cycle tours in Europe, the first about 400, the second ... maybe 1,000, so please don't think I'm trying to put you off, far from it, you just have some careful consideration/planning to do.

Good luck!

[photospice]

Thank you for the advice. This will be my first tour outside of the states, and you bring up great considerations. Perhaps you can answer some questions for me:

What will the humidity be like? I have biked in the midwestern US in July, which is very hot and humid (temp 90 F with 75%) How will that compare to Malaysia in February?

I usually do 80-90 miles (129-144 km) in a day, but I am keeping it around 50 miles (80km) for this trip.

Also, I am looking to stay as close to the coast as possible from Singapore to Port Dickson, which looks like route 5. Traffic?

Thank you for any advice you have to offer.

[sundaymorningstaple]

http://www.malaysia.climatemps.com/

[JR8]

What will the humidity be like? I have biked in the midwestern US in July, which is very hot and humid (temp 90 F with 75%) How will that compare to Malaysia in February?

Oh yes the Mid-west in summer, I've experienced that and it can get a little over-bearing eh? I think one of the differences is that SG/MY are so much closer to the equator the sun is far more intense, both directly UV- wise, but also indirectly such that a tarmac road during the day radiates immense heat.

See if you can get the member 'Strong Eagle' to give a view on this. He is a biker (albeit a motorbiker), I expect he can tell you what hours on the local roads do to you physically.

For more precise details of MY weather in Feb you can look up historical data on the big weather sites (try weather.com, or in a national Malay site). The weather is quite different between the east and west coast of the peninsula so it is simpler and more precise for you to check your itinerary vs typical climate yourself.

I usually do 80-90 miles (129-144 km) in a day, but I am keeping it around 50 miles (80km) for this trip.

Phew, so maybe kick-off at 7am and call it a day by 11am (taking it easy)? You're probably going to be staying in some pretty flea-pit towns on your way, as there aren't big towns with international standard hotels every 50 odd miles.

Also, I am looking to stay as close to the coast as possible from Singapore to Port Dickson, which looks like route 5. Traffic? Thank you for any advice you have to offer.

That looks to be the coastal road which might be better than an expressway, but it's wiser I leave it to experts who've driven/riden these roads to comment.

However I am curious though, why Port Dickson? It is not exactly a destination of choice amongst travelers that I have met (i.e. I can't think of anyone who has visited it, never mind made it their trip destination).

p.s. I'll shake your tree again if I might? Why Port Dickson, where will you visit en route, and why those places.How important is the mere fact you're covering distance each day? Is another option doing say 25 miles a day, which would still be quite a hefty challenge in that climate?

How about getting transport from SG to Mersing, taking the ferry over to Tioman and cycling around the island. That alone is a good challenge, the ride from Genting village on the east, over to Juara on the west is through hills and jungle (natural terrain, a track not a road, BUT lots of shade all day). I met a crazy but cool Kiwi girl who ran that journey too. Then you could take a ferry get dropped off at the next coastal town there's road and continue on.

The plus is that it would still be a very real challenge and a lot more varied - boat/bike/ferry/walking with bike- but just less stressful I think. You can can little boats village-to-village right around the island. So by boat or bike you could circumnavigate it completely.

Then you could intersperse that with snorkeling or diving, and some great food. The locals are super-friendly and any traffic is benign.

Just a thought, but I do appreciate it is 'horses for courses'

[photospice]

Thank you again for the info. It's helpful. I am biking the west coast because I need to meet my husband in KL. He has a week less vacation than I, so it was the obvious choice for a meeting spot.

Plus, we will be doing some mountain biking around KL before continuing north along the west coast. We only have two weeks from KL and we need to be able to catch a train back to KL for our flight.

What do you know about the trains in Malaysia? I have not yet researched that part of our trip.

cheers.

[JR8]

Thank you again for the info. It's helpful. I am biking the west coast because I need to meet my husband in KL. He has a week less vacation than I, so it was the obvious choice for a meeting spot.

Plus, we will be doing some mountain biking around KL before continuing north along the west coast. We only have two weeks from KL and we need to be able to catch a train back to KL for our flight.

What do you know about the trains in Malaysia? I have not yet researched that part of our trip.

cheers.

Ah right. I hadn't registered that you are female, and that puts a different slant of things (IMHO).

The saying 'When in Rome do as the Roman's do' comes to mind. Put another way, I think you are most unlikely to find a local woman cycle-touring on her own through Malaysia. It is a patriarchal society, and a muslim one. Cycling alone through the back-roads ... dressed in what, shorts and a T-shirt (?) is going to draw a great deal of attention to yourself. Put it another way, in the eyes of some locals you will appear to have low morals, and they might take that as an invitation.

To understand this a bit more clearly, look up 'Close Proximity' or Khalwat on Google. I'm not suggesting for a moment you will be doing the latter, but you know how some over-zealous religious people seek to gold-plate what the various books say.

I know a Malay guy who got locked up for khalwat (on Tioman!), simply because he was in his shack with his unmarried girlfriend. Also around the mid-90s a local old-school crooner called Anita Sarawak was with her long-time Common Law husband, a member of the US band The Commodores. They were in a hotel somewhere in Malaysia as she was touring, they got raided by the 'khalwat squad' and he got locked up! All I'm saying is consider the culture in which such laws can exist.

If you still want to cycle on your own, I'd do it in a touristy place, which would probably mean one of the islands.

Happy to field any more questions, and I'd also welcome any other people who can comment on khalwat and my experiences of it.