West Malaysia loop ride

Now that we are going onto the fifth instalment of the West Malaysia Loop Ride, it is becoming a little more difficult to find a route that would continue to offer a fresh experience for the gang. I have entertained a few alternatives in planning this year’s route, even the possibility of venturing outside of West Malaysia (would it still be a WMLR then?) but am really pleased that I did not need to go any further than this beautiful peninsula.

Interestingly, this route ended up being the shortest one so far in terms of distance (about 1500km)…but the longest one overall in terms of the number of days it would take to complete – seven days instead of the usual six. This loop continues to cover many states: Johor, Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka. So here is how it looks like.

This route will have four major legs. We start, as usual, in Woodlands, crossing over to Johor Bahru and heading up north on Route 3. The first leg will end somewhere between Paka and Kuala Terengganu. This will be a good day of riding some familiar roads for the gang to give everyone time to both relax and get reacquainted with each others’ style of riding.

The second leg will take us on an unfamiliar road that promises to be both scenic and exciting. This leg will take us across the peninsula cutting through the beautiful Tasik Kenyir and onwards towards Gua Musang. This would also be the first time in this ride that the gang will experience the beautiful mountains of West Malaysia. From Gua Musang, the route takes us up to one of the most scenic highlands of the peninsula – the Cameron Highlands – ending at the relaxing small town of Tanah Rata.

The third leg will take us south on yet another unfamiliar set of roads. Most people going up to and down from the Cameron Highlands do so from Tapah or Pulai Jaya along Route 1. Instead, the gang will venture down via the south eastern route that heads towards Raub. From there, the leg meanders up towards Bukit Fraser and down towards the town of Rawang just outside the beautiful city of Kuala Lumpur.

The final leg will take us all the way south towards home. This route will take us on yet another road that can best be described as a beautiful collection of corners…I just hope it is still accessible as the last time we had to negotiate a major barrier to get there. The gang will eventually get onto Route 5 and head all the way towards Gelang Patah. This leg may sound a bit like the route that we have taken before but there are surprises in store along the way that will keep it fresh…while at the same time keeping most of it familiar so the gang have the space to reflect on the journey that has taken place over the past week.

So that is the route for this year…at least for now. I can’t wait to get started!!!