Sandra Loh’s Pedalling Around the Peninsular

Some months back I came across a book at a local bookstore. The book is Sandra Loh’s Pedalling Around the Peninsular. What caught my eyes was the book cover. It’s brightly coloured with a girl on a bicycle with panniers on the back. Interesting, I thought. As I was flipping through the browsing copy and reading through some paragraphs, I found it quite interesting. A lady cyclist embarking on an adventure with a partner around the four corners of the Peninsular. As “jakun” as I was, I thought “Wow!” ; someone actually did it.

The book is highly illustrated with photos and chronicles the 37 day adventure. What started as a simple blog back in 2009; turned into a book that was published this year. You can follow Sandra’s blog here. http://sanz-bike-tour-msia.blogspot.com/

I for one don’t really read books from local authors.  But this one really clinged on to me. Perhaps maybe it was the same time I was playing with the idea of getting a new bicycle. I had been toying with the idea for years but story of the bicycle will come later.

If you are an adventurer, traveller, cyclist or someone inspiring to be one, this is a good book to start with. I made it through the book in a few days; a miracle by my standards knowing that I book hop often and usually take weeks (or months) to finish one book.

After finishing the book, I got so inspired that I actually started to look for bikes. I guess that was the final push. No more pestering from my cycling friends.

At the recent Bookfest @ Malaysia held at KLCC Convention Center, Sandra was one of the invited authors for the Meet & Greet session.

The Main Stage of Bookfest Malaysia; aptly named Avenue of Stars.
Such a rip off name from Genting.

 She shared briefly of her adventures and promoted her book. Believe it or not, I was excited like a giddy school boy meeting the real person. She is surprisingly small built; and you may wonder how this woman is able to pedal a rough 2664 km around Malaysia.

Got my copy autographed!

With the author herself, Sandra Loh.

Sandra was also there to share about the “Share Our Road” campaign to create awareness for cyclist and motorist (car drivers in general) about creating a safe environment for Malaysian cyclist. With the recent accidents and crime rates, it’s good to have an awareness of these things. Better safe than sorry.

Now after all this, you might be wondering if I’m gonna embark on such a journey. Well, time will tell. Some people are already doing it. Let’s start out slowly first. In the mean time, I highly recommend Sandra’s book for some light reading.