Of being a great soul

I have always been amazed by the progress of beginners. Especially when one started with Putrajaya Critical Mass. I've always been awed on cyclists who would take cycling as easy as cycling should be. Not just in terms of being a performance rider but also to enjoy the sweet time of cycling. That's one of the great joy being with Putrajaya Critical Mass. Being only ten months old, I personally feel most of us have accomplished a lot, together taking baby steps with PCM.

But, last ride was somehow surprised me in a very curious way.

The police has "interfered" in our beloved mass ride. No violence. Only a minor interrogations to one of our favourite massers. He couldn't ride that day as he was injured from a recent hash. But he voluntarily escorted till the last guy in the mass. Nothing serious happened between the police and the escort. Thank God for that. Maybe it is not a big deal but I think one should not close one eye and let be.

What disappoint me most is - the fact Putrajaya being a bicycle city, why there are still "vague" rules to cycle in Putrajaya?

Such like the dispute between the guards at Putrajaya Mosque and Putrajaya Easy Riders.

We've received a very supportive and constructive comment from one the fellow Putrajaya Easy Riders last night. One that moved me and somehow, I believe, many of us share the same idea and opinion.

"Daoh,
Don't worry about the policemen. The next time we ride, maybe they will give us VIP escort!
PCM has promoted Putrajaya to the world. The relevant authorities should salute us for dong a great job.

What matters next in our 27th February ride is to choose the least traffic route and a better starting point. My suggestion is the Palace of Justice where it is brightly lit and there is ample open parking beside the Palace of Justice building. We can write in to Perbadanan to inform them. We do not need their approval, because it is a public place. The Dataran at the Mosque would have been ideal, but there are too many cars there on a Friday Night.

We can start at the PoP and head towards the Mosque Dataran. From there we head out to join the main internal circular road in the middle of Putrajaya via the PM's Dept and head to Alamanda and then on our outer ring road towards Pinggiran Putra and PICC and then we head back to our starting point at PoP.

This distance is about the same as our normal route. I will keep on looking for a better route as we go on, which will be longer and more importantly safe for all riders.

Some might ask why start from a place where there is no drinking hole, i.e mamak shop?

Well, we can say that since we want to ride healthy, the idea of minum sampai pagi at the mamak shop is optional. Anyway, they can go to the mamak shop after ashort rest at the finishing point and then pack their bikes. In this way, at least we can see the big group before and after the ride. Dekat mamak shop tu, kita dok tersepit dekat other vehicles. Tak nampak the Critical Mass. Lagi pun lepas kayuh kita boleh berkenalan dengan yang lain lain, instead of rushing to the mamak shop."

Azudin, Lt Kol (retired)
Putrajaya E Riders

So what do you guys think?
Should we write a letter of pemission to the police?
Should we ignore?
Should we give a try for a new meeting point?
Let us know. Putrajaya Critical Mass is ours.