Last Saturday (29 Oct 2011), a one-day ride was organised to thank the good folks who were involved in our previous rides ~ the generous donors and avid supporters of our Annual Charity Rides and the Malakoff Interstate Fellowship Rides. Aptly, this outing was titled, 'Malakoff Appreciation Ride 2011'.

Some 60 cyclists from the Media Prima Cycling Team, The Star, MMC, CIMB Group, KAF Investment Bank and Malakoff's Cycling Club representatives from Kuala Lumpur, Tanjung Bin Power Plant and Lumut Power Plant were literally up at the crack of dawn for the flag off in front of the grand frontage of the Palace of Justice over in Putrajaya. 129 km later, we saw all cyclists proudly pulling in at Glory Beach Resort in Port Dickson.

Thrillingly, the usual mechanic team joined in this time as participating cyclists! It was good fun for everyone as they caught up after the last the Annual Malakoff Charity Ride which covered the distance from Lumut to Kuala Lumpur in May 2011. It was heartwarming to spot them all excitedly shaking hands and animatedly chatting until the pace car sounded the siren to indicate the start of the Ride.

Riders zipped through kampong areas, breathing in the fresh morning air of Bangi, Bukit Unggul and Nilai. Stops were made at every 20km as the backmarkers were left too far away from the peloton to be able to catch up. The sun soon shone full force as if to try to melt down the spirits of the riders. But it simply spurred all to pedal faster! It was a race to the end, it seemed, to beat the sun before it positioned itself directly over their heads!

This route was certainly not one for novices! Riders were taken on a rollercoaster ride ~ up and down through Sendayan, Rantau and Mambau. Thankfully, there was a pitstop for a filling refuel ~ kampong fare awaited all who stopped for lunch at Pasir Panjang ~ Ikan masak kicap, daging gulai kawah, turmeric-fried chicken, fresh ulam and Negeri Sembilan’s favourite, gulai masak lemak cili api.

Pulling in at the lobby of Glory Beach Resort, there were big smiles of satisfaction on the faces of those who tenaciously covered the 129km on two wheels and lasted some 7 hours under the blazing sun. Ah, meeting the challenge of difficult terrains and merciless weather. Special thanks here go out to the hardworking, alert and highly experienced marshals on motorbikes. Thank you again for keeping the ride safe and smooth for everyone.

Yusop Rashid, Head of Corporate Affairs & External Relations at Malakoff, said that the Appreciation Ride was a good avenue for Malakoff and its stakeholders to get together. Catching up over a healthy activity is always a boon.

“Cycling events such as our Annual Malakoff Charity Ride and the Malakoff Interstate Fellowship Ride is an integral part of our CSR platform, The Malakoff Community Partnerships. Without the support of our loyal donors, media friends, marshals, cyclists and the efficient support crew, consisting of our admin staff who handled logistics and feeding stations for the cyclists, we would not have able to enjoy such safe, challenging event as we had today.”

"We are both proud and humbled that the generous contributions collected throughout the Rides to date have managed to touch the lives of so many deserving folks. And we hope that our partners will continue to support us in the years ahead to ensure the continuing of efforts such as these.”

"It is truly a bonus for the Organising Committee, the marshals, the folks behind the scenes to strengthen our rapport, camaraderie and teamwork in anticipation of future partnerships. We are now especially looking forward to work on the Malakoff Interstate Fellowship Ride 2011 that will be coming up on 31 December and into the New Year.”

For the bottom of our hearts, Malakoff once again says a great big ‘THANK YOU’ to all its generous donors, faithful supporters and tireless volunteers who have been with us, championing our noble causes, year in, year out.