The weather was already hot and sunny when we met at the Sabah Society Headquarters at 7am, Saturday, August 14, 2010 for our cycling trip around Kota Belud. The very professional “Fieldskills” team, led by Simon Amos showed us a map of our route and briefed us on what to expect. We all drove to Kota Belud, meeting in the more remote area of Kuala Abai where we were joined by the lorry carrying our bikes. These were unloaded, and then specially fitted to each rider’s body size. These off-road bikes were in excellent condition and dream-like to ride, and it wasn’t too difficult to learn how to shift to the most comfortable gear. With a backdrop of curious cattle looking on, we posed with our bikes and the Sabah Society Golden Jubilee Banner and then set out on our adventure. We were well taken care of by Fieldskills, with one of Simon’s men riding ahead to scout the road and one bringing up the rear. A second truck followed along at a comfortable distance behind us, carrying a large cooler with our lunches inside, and plenty of extra water. It was also reassuring to know that the truck was there to care for anyone who might be tired or injured.
It only took a short while to get the feel of our bikes and then a sense of exhilaration began to set in as we peddled along—a feeling of freedom that suddenly arrives when one begins an adventure. We soon reached a long, undeveloped beach coastline called Pantai Emas. It’s an amazingly vast beach with lovely views back on jungle-covered islands.
We paused for photos and then rode on to a picturesque wooden kedai where we had some refreshing drinks. 
Fortified, we continued on down narrow, leafy lanes until we suddenly were met by quite a daunting, narrow suspension bridge leading over the brown river and down into a banana plantation. One by one we managed to carefully traverse this bridge, and then Simon showed us “how it’s done” by riding his bike over the bridge and quite quickly down the steep wooden ramp leading to the plantation, coming to a very abrupt halt before us. Impressive! From here we wound our way on a thin, dirt track through a maze of trees and a few rural dwellings until we once more came to a tarmac road. All along the way people greeted us cheerfully and made us feel welcome.
After riding for awhile on the smooth tarmac, our stomachs reminded us that we had been exercising quite steadily and were beginning to feel peckish. We found a lovely picnic spot near another suspension bridge over the river. The area we selected was actually the property of a nearby house, and they happily gave us permission to eat there. An interesting selection of foods was produced by the group and quiet descended as we enjoyed our lunches while listening to the sounds of the birds in the trees in the garden and near the river. I think we would have been happy to have napped for awhile, but we packed up and climbed back on our bikes, noticing now that our bike seats were a bit harder than we had remembered!
It had become very hot indeed as a storm was building in the direction of Mt Kinabalu, and the sky began to darken. By now we were so hot that we all welcomed the rainstorm, which quite soaked us, cooled us, and made us laugh as we careened through puddles and mud. The storm didn’t last long, and was just a drizzle as we peddled back to our waiting vehicles. We were lucky that there were only a few minor injuries, though it remains to be seen how long it will take us to recuperate—we went much further than we had originally thought. The trip was supposed to be approx. 21k, but turned out to measure (by GPS) approx 30k. We all were proud of our efforts and agreed that cycling around Kota Belud is a pretty excellent way to spend a Saturday!
