BRM 600 - My Take on The Whole Journey (Part 2)

Final Day of BRM 600!

Its 23 September 2017, and the cyclist left around 7.30am... dad was partly nervous and partly disturbed by the noisy sounds the kids made; kids who happen to be staying at the same hotel whilst on their school trip, woke up around 5.00 am. Me, being a light sleeper, I heard every sound he was making while he wanted to get ready for his ride.

Zharif, still under his blanket, for which I'm sure isn't really asleep, jump right up when dad asked him to re-fill all the water bottles. Now, if anybody knows my little brother, waking up super early for something is not his best trait, but for the sake of dad, and other cyclist, he did it without complaint. I am super proud of him. 

Mom, Zharif and I left earlier then Aida, Kak Ngah Azreen, Ezeqiel and Alffee. It was such a great idea to let the babies sleep a bit, so that they won't get cranky for the day we have ahead of us. The first car, left for 7-eleven to buy all the necessary supplies the cyclist need when we're going to meet them next.

Checkpoint 4, was at KFC Sitiawan. We drove from Taiping to Sitiawan, following the route that were given on the que sheet. But, I somehow made a wrong turn somewhere and ended up not seeing any cyclist along the way. My heart sank a bit, because I didn't get to see the cyclist on the way to Sitiawan. I continued on anyway to the next checkpoint and arrived around 9.30am. We were earlier then the scheduled arrival of the cyclist this time around, but we were in a constant worry because we dont know where the cyclist were at that time. Waiting, in a constant agony is really not good for your health. It tends to make you eat more to fill that void in the pit of your stomach.

Finally, dad and Aliff arrived at 10.30am but Farhan was still nowhere to be seen. So, the worry is still not over. Luckily, we didnt have to wait long because Farhan arrived about 10 minutes after that. One good news came, and most probably the best news for the cyclist ever received for this event. They were suppose to cycle an additional 40 km, due to the fact that one of the bridge, connecting the cyclist to then end point was under major repairing works. The bridge was unsafe for use of heavy vehicles, but the committee decided on that day that the cyclist can use the bridge, if the cyclist were willing to cycle on the bridge at their own risks. After finding out on how badly damaged, the bridge was, it still made more sense to just cross the bridge, then taking that extra 40 km. It'll save the cyclist 2 hours. I was pretty sure, that Dad, Farhan & Aliff were going to shed a tear when hearing the news. Its a true testament of the hardships they all had to go through in order to get to that finish line.

At exactly, 11.30am, the 2nd car arrived, just in time before the cyclist proceed to the finish line. By then, they had about 180km of cycling to do, and they had about 12 hours to complete it. I had no doubt in my mind, that they are going to finish this, maybe with time to spare. We went back in to KFC to have our meals before we proceed to the Kuala Selangor. We had to take the longer route, because of the bridge closure. But, I think, I drove faster than I usually did because we ended up at the same point with the cyclist even when I had to drive that extra 40km. (haha) 

It was scorching hot by now, and I know, that the cyclist would probably be tired. The safety car, can't follow the cyclist, but we can meet them at the checkpoints. This was when they were probably stopping more than usual because according to my calculations (yes, i can actually calculate where they should be at what time) they were not going as fast as they were going before. We head straight for the hotel, to rest a bit before proceeding to McDonalds Kuala Selangor where the finishing line would be.

By our calculations, we expected the cyclist to arrive around 8.00 - 8.30pm, which is still way ahead of the official cut-off time, 11.00pm. But, we were afraid somehow the cyclist had a last minute boost, so we went to the McD, around 7.00pm to standby. at 7.50pm, Dad n Aliff arrived at the finishing line. Ezeqiel and Alffee were cheering the cyclist on arrival, and the rest of us was busy congratulating and taking videos to commemorate this priceless moments. Shortly after that, around 8.10pm, Farhan arrived in style (fashionably late as always), and at that very moment, I felt a sense of relief that they are all here and in one piece. Hugs were exchanged, tears were flowing to celebrate the hard work that we all had put in for the past one month.

Now, what I have learnt from all of this, 

Some can say that I am a pretty experienced driver (thats just because I have been driving since I was 17.) but, due to my illness, I haven't been driving as much as I was before. Let alone, driving in a small country road, with lorries 3 times the size of our car. It will be a lie, if I said that I wasn't scared sh*tless. But, like most things, its good scared. I now know, that I am capable of driving for 2 days, while still keeping my focus. Tired, can't begin to describe what I was feeling, even today, when it has been 2 days since. But, I am now confident, as long as I know my limit, I can still do all sorts of crazy things. Through all the sakit hati, the bengang, the sedih, I know I can take away from all this is the fact that I spent this time with my family, and all those negative feelings were gone the moment they cross the finish line. I can now say, it was all worth it!

Here's a love letter to everybody involved :-

To the cyclist, you guys are champs. Not everybody can do what you guys did, and some would say that you guys are crazy, and lets face it, you guys truly are, it never stopped you from pursuing it. 

Dad, you are probably the nuttiest 57 year-old-man ever walked the earth, but, your determination and your courage and your hardwork defies your age. You should be a role-model to youths out there that the stigma of an old man not being able to do these physical challenges can be thrown out the door. 

Aliff, thank you, I know that you love to do this. I can see your passion in cycling, but thank you for always being there for my dad through all these craziness. (I think I need to find another word by now) I hope that you still continue to be patient, because I know, this is not the END. There's still more to come.

Farhan, I salute you the most. I know, you don't have the passion for cycling let alone cycling long distance for somebody else. I know, you did this for Dad, when you can't let him do this by himself because you are worried for his safety. Nobody, can deny that you are superman now. The way you bounce back from not finishing the 400km, to actually completing 600km with 4 hours to spare, its not short of amazing. Thank you for your sacrifice, I could never do what you did for our Dad, and for that, I am forever grateful.

Ibu, when I say, I did this for dad, while this is true, I mostly did this for you. I know, how worried you must be, but there is no way that we can stop dad from doing what he wants. Like the saying, if you can beat them, join them right? So lets worry together in the car, those who worry together, stay together.

Zharif, thank you for being the trooper that you always are. I cant have done this if it weren't for you. I know I can always depend on you to load stuff and carry stuff, practically all the heavy lifting was all up to you. Thank you for being such a good sport through all the mistakes we made through this journey. I also hope, that you learn a lot from these experience, as much as I have.

Kak Ngah, what can I say. I know, we werent as close when we were kids. But of all the good things that has come through this journey, is that it brought us closer than ever before. I feel like I do have a big sister, where I can share so many things. Thank you for being patient going through this. I will forever carry the moments we have shared and continue to share in the future. Forever will I remember Alffee singing along in the car with all of us.

Aida, I know, how tired you must be after your trip and then having to drive all by yourself to be there for Farhan. Its a sacrifice, not all wives are willing to do. But, you married into this crazy family, and you have no choice, but to be crazy as well. haha. Ezeqiel, is in training to be crazy like the rest of us, and I think he's going to be alright. He managed to enjoy the trip with his beloved allfee-car, eventhough he was going through a fever. The things we do for tokDad~

Uda, I know, you wanted to be there with all of us. But the fact that you were there at the finishing line, made it all much sweeter. We were complete at the finish line where we shared that last moment together. Now, uda can take over from me for the next event. :p

So, that's it from me guys, sorry its so long, but I had to jot down every memory I have of this event. You guys are also a trooper for getting to the end of this post!!