Photos

Penang Hill with Mr Lee

Went up Penang Hill this morning with Taiwanese friend Mr Lee. Phew!!! it was real tough !

This was Mr Lee 4th ride up Penang Hill and my first.

We started off 7.30am from the entrance next to Botanical garden. As we ascended I was naive not to set the gear to the lowest and minutes later I was flat out running out of breadth ! I signalled Lee to go ahead without me and at one point wanted to cop out and make a u turn home. But after a couple of minutes struggle with my gears and trying to adjust to my son's bike(a hybrid Scotts), I somehow found some extra energy to continue, albeit at a snail pace.

I reached the top, stopping 5 times including one at 84, almost 1.5 hours later and surprised Mr Lee who was half naked enjoying himself in the cool breeze of Penang Hill.

A great ride and a great lesson learned for me. Sorry I did not take any photos of my own but here are some statistics -

5.25km to the top

833 meters altitude

Average gradient 1 in 6 (it's steep !)

Tar road all the way up

Hazards? Motorbikes

This ride was not really planned. Lee and I were chatting about the fun and struggle of riding hills when we met in Pearl Hill yesterday and during our conversation Mr Lee must have said something about Penang Hill and I just said "let's try it tomorrow !" I did not even have to time to post the notice of the ride in our site.

We may do this again next Sunday, any keen takers ???

ps: What a great coincidence that our Bukit Bendera Penang Hill train is decomissioned TODAY !! Read on...

Penang bids farewell to railway

KUALA LUMPUR - AFTER years of breakdowns and stranded tourists, Malaysia's island resort of Penang bid farewell to its rickety Victorian funicular railway on Sunday.

'It's sad that we have to call it a day for the old funicular but the two kilometres of tracks are very worn out and so are the coaches,' state transportation committee head Lim Hock Seng told AFP. 'They all need replacing,' he said.

Work on the inclined railway began in 1897 but took 26 years to complete, with its first coaches made of wood and steel. Its replacement is slated to be built in around seven months and will open in October.

Mr Lim said that the railway has taken several million tourists to the summit of 830 metre high Penang hill in its 87-year existence. However, equipment failure caused it to shut down for eight months in 2003 with sporadic closures after that due to a difficulty in finding spare parts for the old system. The line was again opened in 2004 but less than a year later, tourists were trapped on the hill when a brake malfunctioned.

Mr Lim said the tourism ministry was spending over 63 million ringgit (S$26 million) to build a new system that will see air-conditioned coaches take passengers up the hill in 10 minutes compared to half an hour previously. 'The new system will also be a funicular but will hold 100 passengers instead of 60 people, and will have a lot more safety features,' he added.

He said that the new railway would be able to stop at several new points in order to allow residents who live on Penang Hill to more easily access their vegetable farms and flower gardens that dot the area. 'It's not the same as the old funicular but it will still ensure that visitors and locals can all enjoy the beauty of Penang hill,' Mr Lim said. -- AFP

dshee - Posted on 21 February 2010

I know there are people who

Submitted by dshee on Mon, 22/02/2010 - 6:20pm.

I know there are people who could reach the top without stopping but this will remain a big challenge for me. And if anyone who could reach the top without stopping, G Club presents a certificate? But how to verify that the person did not stop?

Should we document this ride in our Trails section? This ride could be a real gem for cyclist practising for exotic rides like the Taiwan 12,000 feet peak and Chengdu to Lhasa?

Penang Hill trail

Submitted by look368 on Mon, 22/02/2010 - 11:05pm.

Having heard Daniel and Mr Lee talk about the trail excites me and I went up for the first time from the Botanical garden end. The climb was very steep at certain parts which can hv a gradient of about 30%. Reached the top in abt 1hr 15 minutes. Stopped 4 times (twice was forced by a zooming 4 wheel drive) and pushed uphill at 2 sections which have a 30% gradient. The ride does not only test your stamina and your riding strength but it also test your balancing skill or shifitng weight skills. Noticed that with my limited experience and probably wrong positioning of my saddle, my front tyre kept lefting off the ground at the 30% grdient. Made a mental note to shift the saddles forward to the max next trip up. On reaching the top there was a nice cooling evening air to enjoy.

The ride down was scary for me but I managed to brake all the way down very slowly and noticed a few experience riders zooming past me even at the very steep part. Your weight distribution and braking skill must be very good, otherwise somersaulting with your bike on top of you for many rounds is a real posivliites.

Verdict, real tough ride but would certainly go again. Photos at