Young & Dangerous Tour 2023 Part 2
Young & Dangerous is the first gravel race spanning the two states of Penang and Kedah in Northern Malaysia, offering fantastic views of the rural Sungai Muda area. The race was held in 2023 and 2024, before taking a break the following year when Northbound Gravel Grinder took over as the only race in northern Malaysia for 2025.
This is Part 2 of our tour from Tanjung Malim to Sungai Petani, where we combine cycling and taking the KTM Komuter train to travel up north to the Young & Dangerous Gravel Race venue over five days. Our chosen route saw us riding out the front door to the KTM Kuala Lumpur station to take the KTM Komuter to Tanjung Malim, the starting point of our cycling journey. We rode from Tanjung Malim to Padang Rengas, where we took the KTM Komuter Utara to Taiping, then continued riding to Nibong Tebal and took another KTM Komuter Utara train to Butterworth. The final stretch saw us ride into Sungai Petani and the race village itself.
Stage 1: Tanjung Malim to Simpang Pulai - 119km, 488m elevation
Stage 2: Simpang Pulai to Kuala Kangsar - 90km, 522m elevation
Stage 3: Kuala Kangsar to Padang Rengas - 15km, 50m elevation
Stage 4: Taiping to Nibong Tebal - 78km, 46m elevation
Stage 5: Butterworth to Sungai Petani - 41km, 34m elevation
Head back to Young & Dangerous Tour 2023 Part 1 to read more about the first half of the journey from KL to Tanjung Malim, and the ride from Tanjung Malim to Kuala Kangsar.
Stage 3: Kuala Kangsar to Padang Rengas
Start Kuala Kangsar
Finish Padang Rengas
Distance 15 km
Climbing 50 m
Grade Easy
Kuala Kangsar is often eclipsed by Ipoh in terms of popularity when it comes to tourism destinations in Perak, despite being the royal town of the state. As the location for the Sultan’s official residence, it has been Perak's royal seat since the 18th century. It is one of four towns that play a role in Perak's complex succession system, and is where the first Conference of Rulers of the Federated Malay States, the Durbar, was held in 1897. It is best known for its grand old palace, Istana Iskandariah, which was built on a knoll at Bukit Chandan on the left bank of Sungai Perak, upstream from Hilir Perak on the site of the former palace. Arriving from the plantation road straight at the gates of the old palace was definitely an amazing way to end the day of hard riding that involved a lot of climbing!
One of the other notable buildings beside the palace is the Kuala Kangsar mosque designed by Arthur Benison Hubback, who was also responsible for the design of the Ipoh railway station and the Kuala Lumpur railway station. The mosque was completed in 1917, with construction disrupted more than once by an elephant fight and the First World War in Europe. Right next door is the equally beautiful Al-Ghufran Royal Mausoleum, built in 1915 in the Moghul style similar to that of the Taj Mahal in India. These are just a few examples of the elaborately decorated buildings and mansions from the colonial era, and other architectural gems that date back to more than a hundred years. The town also has the iconic Straits Settlements Chinese shophouses we see in all historic towns in Malaysia.
But what gives the town character is its vibrant shophouse life, remnants that remain after the tin mining era of Malaya ended while Ipoh and Taiping eclipsed Kuala Kangsar as centres of trade. Some shophouses in the old quarters have been modernised or taken over by modern day businesses, but some independent merchants still stubbornly exist in between. Some now sell traditional items as souvenirs mainly for visiting tourists, instead of as daily home essentials like before. The old quarters are by the riverside where a food court is also located - the perfect spot for brunch after checking out from our riverside resort. An ice cold cendol pulut was a perfect way to start our exceptionally relaxed day.
It was an extremely hot day too, so halfway through our ride to the Padang Rengas KTM Komuter station we stopped again for a small lunch of mac and cheese and icy drinks. The ride was an extremely short one by tour standards, reflected in our leisurely pace to take in the last views of Kuala Kangsar as we slowly made our way out of the town. Before too long we’d reached Padang Rengas station, where we would board our train to avoid a nasty climb on a trunk road - with no road shoulder - right next to the PLUS Highway that made me question my life’s choices. The climb wasn’t too terribly strenuous but a quarry at the base of the climb meant the stretch was heavily used by fairly large trailers.
We reached Taiping in time for a massive rainstorm, after which we rolled into town and made a quick bike shop visit before checking into our lake side hotel. Dinner was a quick one nearby before we tucked in for the night. The next day would be a longer ride and an early start was obviously preferable.
Stage 4: Taiping to Nibong Tebal
Start Taiping
Finish Nibong Tebal
Distance 78 km
Climbing 46 m
Grade Easy/Medium
The night before our Taiping departure we got news that some friends were also in town, heading up to the very same location and race we were going to as well. This wasn’t surprising, since a major event outside of the Klang Valley would definitely spark a mass migration of cyclists. Young & Dangerous being the first race in northern Malaysia at the time, definitely qualified for such a scenario. Boru Mccullagh (then on his Mind Mapping world tour) and Kalif Ismail (a fellow cyclist from Kuala Lumpur) were staying at the hotel next door, so we opted to have breakfast with them before kickstarting day 4 together. And one doesn’t visit Taiping without two things: seeing the lake gardens and eating chicken chop, so heritage eat Yut Sun was the obvious choice.
Once breakfast was done we rode out of Taiping, with Boru taking the lead right from the get-go. After it became apparent that he was rushing to get to Penang Island for a change of bike there, we pulled out at a petrol station and sent them word that we’d see them in Alor Setar. Even with our distance for the day we weren’t about to hasten our pace, as we knew we could reach mainland Penang before it got dark without any issues. We didn’t want to miss our planned scenic detour from the main trunk road to revisit one of our favourite stretches to ride, while northern Perak also has lovely wide open views of paddy fields, a precursor to the even more scenic landscapes of Penang and Kedah further up north.
From Taiping we cycled northwest towards the fishing town of Simpang Ampat, where we took the turn off towards the western coastline. This route took us through Kuala Gula and Kuala Kurau, a long and lonely stretch of road with nothing much on either side other than paddy fields and palm oil plantations. Combined with the some serious headwinds, this stretch was the perfect location for us to just take our brains off and enjoy the rhythm of the road as we pedalled silently together in sync, both immersed in our own thoughts. If you’re lucky, there’s bird watching to be done here too, thanks to the road’s proximity to the Kuala Gula Bird Sanctuary. Eventually we reached the bridge that crosses over the mouth of the Kurau River from Bagan Seberang to Kuala Kurau, after which we make a sharp left turn to head to a fishing town for lunch.
A gentle drizzle welcomed us as we reached Ban Pecah later, softening the blow of the headwinds that always hit this stretch. With the coastal views on our left and paddy fields on our right, there wasn’t much to complain about as we continued north towards Nibong Tebal. By now we’d already crossed the state border from Perak into Penang, and a bridge crossing the Kerian River signalled our upcoming arrival to Nibong Tebal. Firefly Jetty Cafe - where firefly boat cruises along the river are on offer - presented the perfect teatime stop for us, before riding to the Nibong Tebal KTM Station to take the Komuter train towards Butterworth. It is obviously possible to ride directly into Penang like we’ve done several times before, but this would be a less than pleasant stretch through exceedingly busy industrial and commercial areas.
In less than an hour we had reached Penang Central Station in Butterworth, from which it was a short distance away to our hotel for the night. After a much needed shower, we made our way to town for a nasi kandar dinner, one of the things we look forward to the most in Penang. Nasi Kandar Jamal Mohamed is possible our favourite restaurant on mainland Penang, or more popularly known by its original name - Nasi Kandar Bawah Pokok Ketapang. Many people will argue over which nasi kandar joint is best, but as a half Penangite thanks to my dad’s side of the family tree, I would consider my choice a legitimate one over many other KLites who flock to Penang whenever there is a long weekend or public holiday. Once our annual pilgrimage was achieved, we were ready to hit the sack.
Stage 5: Butterworth to Sungai Petani
Start Butterworth
Finish Sungai Petani
Distance 41 km
Climbing 34 m
Grade Easy/Medium
The final day of our Young & Dangerous 2023 Tour would be the shortest distance (save for the day we took the train from Padang Rengas to Taiping) and we took our time to head out that morning. After all, the landscape was flat (mostly) and the views were wide - we’d finally reached the northern Malaysia famous for the sprawling paddy fields! We canceled a plan to backtrack and eat breakfast at the same nasi kandar restaurant we had the night before, choosing to head upwards towards Kampung Penaga instead. A local roti canai spot looked somewhat overrun by the villagers, so we kept going further until we reached Padang Tembusu and found a similar watering hole without the crowd and long waiting time. We’d also gotten word that a group of our friends were nearby, so it was the perfect location for a bite to eat.
Hunger appeased, we rendezvoused with our friends from KL - Nafis, Roshidi, Reggie, Bruce and Suhaidi - at Kampung Agong for another drink. It turned out to be a lengthy stop which gave us the opportunity to do a bit of exploring the self styled countryside “Agro Themed Park” - which for lack of better words is pretty much your fantasy idyllic kampung surrounded by paddy fields. It was a resort of sorts, and we’re glad we had the chance to visit. Bruce offered a spot in the car for our bags, and after a brief internal conflict we both unloaded our bikes for the final stretch into Kedah. It would turn out to be a good idea because it was a brisk ride with the gang, since the rest of them were on fresh legs having just ridden over from Penang Island or driven up from KL.
From Penaga we cut a route east away from the western coast and further inland, riding towards the Merdeka Bridge that crosses over Sungai Muda and the Penang-Kedah state border. By Tikam Batu we had a bit of rolling terrain to climb through, but made it to Kampung Pinang Tunggal in time to have a lunch of nasi campur nearby and cool down at the race village afterwards. It was a bittersweet ending to the tour, but we made the best of it by doing some exploration after the race proper, before eventually heading back to KL. How we got back home with our bikes in their travel cases - posted ahead of time and awaiting us at the hotel - is a story for another day!
If you missed the first half of the journey, head back to Young & Dangerous Tour 2023 Part 1 to read more about how we took the KTM Komuter train from Kuala Lumpur to Tanjung Malim, and cycled from Tanjung Malim to Kuala Kangsar.
