2.
Hindu Temple aka Temple of the Doom
7km from Kuching- Matang Hindu temple trail. Most riders ride it 3km up and then down but there is a superb trail extension that goes to the Matang Family Park.
The ride begins from the car park at Red Bridge where a short 1 km ride on the main road turns off road into MTB country. This part of the trail is rocky with a good number of short steep descends following the water pipeline for 1.5 km. It can be a little muddy when it rains. At a clearing that houses a small car park and football field, turn right and follow the slope up. This is the beginning of the 3 km (approx) climb.
It starts as a with pretty wide and smooth trail and holds a consentient gradient. There are a few places where one needs to 'throttle' up. Most of this trail is sandy with sandstone and hard exposed mud. Parts of it can be a bit technical. There can be areas that has a good offering of algae covered rocks that can be slick when wet. But the best thing about this trail is that it is completely covered in shade and is cool to ride on.
On the average riders take about half an hour to climb this 3 km (fastest record 15mins- Ah Kien). At the top there's a chance to top up drinking water from the temple. Riders often regroup and chat and then the best part of the trail follows - the downhill. It's quite possible to pick up a lot of speed over some sections as it is pretty straight. With modern full suspension bikes, just pick a line, point the bike in the desired direction and shoot. Many of the corners and switch have berms to lay your wheel for better traction. There are also a number of wooden bridges that do not offer the same grip to your tyres as the hard pack trail- exercise caution over them. The ride down will take about 6 odd minutes. Record DH time is about 5mins and many conservative riders do it in about 7 minutes.
Now about the extension: This trail runs back over the incoming trail to the climb, but instead of turning right to the main road, go straight following the pipeline. Again, because of the gradient and being at the foot of Mt. Serapi, the trail is mostly dry but this one is more technical with large pebbles covering lots of the ascends and descends. The shade of the tall trees and sound of the jungle is an experience not to be missed. Keep going until you come to the swim pools at the family park. From here take the main road back to the car park area.
Very important note: Watch out for hikers, especially around blind corners and greet them. Also watch out for loose baby heads (baby head size rocks) Do not ride downhill beyond your ability.
bikcloud Rating: Enjoyment- 8 very fun especially the 3 km DH, Technical Difficulty 7 need a lot of body English to get over rock humps and obstacles, Fitness difficulty- 8 need to be in condition to enjoy climb, Scenic - 7 quite nice and can see parts of city from temple.
3. Singgai about 15 km from Kuching (old Rainforest Cup Trail) - 15 km
loop mix country road and singletrack.
4. Sojak Trail 15 km from Kuching (off the Singai-Matang Road) 15 km
loop 80% singletrack - nice and technical
5. 5 Ton 20+ km from Kuching (off the Tondong Road) 20+ km loop mix but
with very nice technical singletrack - one of my favourite
6. Bau 45 km from Kuching - Jalan Gunung - Mountain trail connects to
Krongkong Trail the trail comprise of to and back with a loop over a
corn filed which has tight windy singletrack.
7. Benuk 40 km from Kuching - this is an
in and out trail from the Benuk Village. This is 100% singletrack with
lots of technical obstacles. Riding technical singlestrack one way and
back the other is as good as riding two different trails!
8.
Sematan 100 km from Kuching - mountain bike paradise - all types of
trails and we estimate that has to be at least 60-80 km for riding
trails with all - waterfalls, desert type killing heat, covered
singletrack, killer climbs, screaming downhills- the lot...