Cycling Weekend in Kuala Kubu Bharu, Selangor, Malaysia
More fondly known as KKB to the locals, Kuala Kubu Bharu is the district capital of Hulu Selangor, and is a favourite stopover for many cyclists who want to conquer the infamous nearby climb to Fraser’s Hill, or to visit the Chilling River for the weekend.
It was a typical Cycling Plus Malaysia assignment: find a nice location, plot a reasonable route and plan a quick getaway there. Having covered all the main cycling haunts within and nearby the larger Klang Valley area and several out of state locations, we were at the stage of scratching our heads yet again. Several possibilities were considered and tossed out, and we eventually decided to finally head to Kuala Kubu Bahru for a local route feature.
It was a weekend affair this time around, with the self-imposed challenge of ditching our cars completely and getting there purely by bike. Equipped with several Marin bikes thanks to the good folks at Marin Bikes Malaysia, we knew this would be a very different ride than our normal gran fondo cycling road trips. With Marin’s motto of “Made For Fun” in our minds, we set out to do exactly that. The target destination would be The Sticks, a popular glamping spot a short ride away from KKB town.
Getting to kuala kubu bharu
After hearing the cautionary tale of our friends who cycle through the hilly Ulu Yam route that leads to KKB, we opted to make this trip less of a sufferfest and more of a relaxed ride. While most cyclists get a secret thrill out of pushing themselves to cycle up every neighbourhood hill climb, it wasn’t our idea of a nice Saturday morning with bikes weighing a tad heavier than our own set of wheels. Particularly since we were riding with a day and night’s worth of clothes and other essentials.
The solution? Train and bike, which sort of defeated the non motorised transport rule, though we reasoned that we were at least not touching the steering wheel at all save for the drive to our rendezvous point in TTDI. The good news is that KKB has its own designated KTM Komuter train station not too far from town but a decent distance from our accommodation, so we would still be doing a fair bit of cycling.
The Komuter line stretches along the main route to KKB, and gave us the ability to hop on and off and continue along the road somewhat parallel to the train tracks itself. After much discussion, our group made a decision to disembark at the Serendah Komuter station, which was just nice - not too close but not too far. From Serendah to KKB the route is a single lane trunk road on most parts, and was not too busy despite it being a weekend.
Due to some construction/upgrading/who-knows-what works, we could not board the train from within Kuala Lumpur itself. Parking at a friend’s house in TTDI, we cycled to the nearest Komuter station in Kepong instead. The route we took would cut through Sg Penchala and Desa Park City before reaching the Kepong station. Once there we purchased our Komuter Link cards - not to be confused with Touch N Go which is a widely used cashless payment option used nationwide.
Both the Komuter Link and Touch N Go cards function the same way using preloaded cash value to pay for your fare at the turnstile. However, the word we’ve received is that the TNG payment system has since been rolled out at all Komuter stations in the country. A number of our cyclist friends have also taken the train out with their bikes for the weekend, but our advice is to be prepared for any eventuality when using the same method of getting around the country.
We boarded the final coach (first or last for passenger cyclists), since these are the designated carriages that have a bit more space for our bikes. Within half an hour we’d arrived in Serendah, after a heated debate over whether or not we’d indulge in the extra challenge of riding up to Fraser’s to earn our weekend treat at The Sticks. Upon arrival the jury was still out, and we delayed the decision until we arrived at our accommodation and could unload our overnight bags.
From Serendah Komuter station to our destination it was mostly a straight route, with only a deviation upon reaching the small town of Rasa. While there are no insane hills to climb until after KKB town, the road leading up to it isn’t exactly flat, with some rolling inclines and enough elevation on some fairly long stretches to provide a nice challenge for our group. 30km from Serendah station we’d finally reached KKB, which was just in time for lunch.
Kuala Kubu Bharu, a cyclist favourite
A colonial-era town with many heritage buildings and its own unique history stretching back more than a hundred years, as well as some good eating spots, there’s nothing not to like about Kuala Kubu Bharu. Located on the foothill of the famous Titiwangsa Mountain Range, KKB is a vital water catchment area for the state of Selangor, but began life as a mining colony in the 18th century.
For history buffs, the town actually has a pretty tragic but interesting past. The name Kuala Kubu Bharu itself gives a hint, ‘bharu’ translating to ‘new’ in English. The original town was built further down south, at the confluence of two main tributaries of the Selangor River. It once had a fortress built by warring Sultans, hence the name Kuala Kubu (confluence + fort).
In 1883 a heavy downpour led to massive flooding after a dam broke, killing 33 people including the District's Magistrate and Tax Collector Officer, Cecil Ranking. Locals attribute the tragedy to Cecil’s shooting of a white crocodile, said to be the river guardian of the area. A Buddhist temple and a mosque are one of the few buildings left in the old town, now called Ampang Pechah. The area was prone to flooding in general, and eventually it was moved to where it stands today.
Kuala Kubu Bharu was subsequently made the administrative centre of Hulu Selangor district in 1931, and there are many relics from its past that can be found for the intrepid explorer. This includes the grave where Cecil Ranking’s hand was interred, all that was left of him after the great flooding. The sleepy town is a pleasant place to spend a quiet afternoon, with its traditional and quaint shophouses.
As I mentioned, cyclists have been a regular sight here on weekends, and we weren’t the only ones there. Famished after our early journey, we stopped there to eat lunch and cool down. While the morning drizzle meant overcast conditions and barely any sun, we couldn’t resist a quick cendol stop. We later moved to the local mamak restaurant for a light meal, bearing in mind that we still had approximately 14km left to climb to The Sticks.
The remaining stretch to our accommodation was the most challenging with our extra weight, with a fair bit of climbing to do before reaching our first checkpoint. The road was winding but came with a wide shoulder, making it safe for us cyclists to make our way up. Approximately 5km from town, the roadside location for the stop that marked the halfway point of our climb offered a breathtaking view of the Selangor River dam.
As we continued on, the road gave us some respite in the form of rolling inclines, as the asphalt narrowed and we were met with jungle on either side. A bridge crossing the Selangor River told us we’d reached Pertak, and were quite close to The Sticks. At this point all talk of continuing up to Fraser’s Hill had quieted down, even though we’d done a third of the distance to the clocktower. Upon checking into our glamping huts a heavy downpour began, quelling any lingering thoughts our group had of leaving the premises by bike or otherwise.
The Sticks
The rain would last for hours, providing our group a forced break as we retreated to our rooms to rest after the morning ride. This was as far as it would get to camping without giving up our creature comforts like a dry bed, a socket to recharge our phones and devices, as well as a hot shower - even if it was shared bathroom facilities that required a walk down the path through the trees to the mess hall.
The prolonged rain meant a nap was in order, and we missed the cut-off time for the famed tea of fried bananas but were definitely in time for dinner. It was a delicious spread of steaming barbecue, and we sat down for drinks afterwards to chat until our eyes grew heavy. The Sticks is right next to a river, and you can hear the sound of the gushing water and all manner of insects singing throughout the night.
For long stays, The Sticks offers a wide range of activities. Regular yoga retreats are held there, while there are five guided jungle treks for hikers, including excursions to Bukit Kutu and an old mine. Paragliding is available from April to September when the weather permits, while you can also opt for white water rafting if you’re there during the right season. If you’re more inclined to laze around and recharge, there are board games at the common area, which has enough seating to accommodate groups of people.
Saved by the KTM Komuter
On our final day we reluctantly left The Sticks with breakfast in our bellies, making a quick stop at the bridge in Pertak for some last minute photos by the river. We mostly cruised down the remaining 13km back to Kuala Kubu Bharu town, with some minor climbs along the way to break the monotony. After yesterday’s thunderstorm that lasted several hours into the evening, the day of our departure threatened to be a ride in classic Malaysian heat.
With the sun bearing down on us we whizzed past town, only coming to a stop when we encountered another stall selling cendol and a variety of Malaysian kuih, including pisang goreng and keropok lekor. Saying a silent prayer to the local availability of food at all times of the day, we sat down for a nibble for a brief escape from the scorching temperatures with a bowl of cendol or ABC shaved ice each.
From there it was another 2.5km downhill to the KTM Komuter station. No one was interested in riding too far considering the hot weather meant some pretty unbearable cycling along the roads with no tree cover whatsoever. We boarded the train at the KKB station as planned, embarking at Kepong station and riding the final 9km back to our starting point in TTDI. At a local mamak restaurant nearby, we caught up with some friends for a late lunch and to talk about another excursion that would stretch up to Fraser’s Hill, before heading to our respective homes.
*Special thanks to the folks at The Sticks for accommodating our group, Marin Bikes Malaysia and Topeak Malaysia for hooking us up with the bikes and gear for this trip, as well as Hafiz Jelir, Nik Adam Ahmad and Zahir Zaini who made it a fun weekend and helped contribute photos for our write up.
