We just completed an epic Coast to Coast Malaysia 444km in June 2026.
(take note there is a coast to coast Malaysia bike and run event, both are managed by the same organiser)
This might be my toughest adventure in 2026.
Coast to Coast Malaysia is a three-day event, covering 444km and 5800m elevation. You will cycle from Lumut (Perak) to Terengganu.
It sounds daunting but those who cycle regularly should be confident.
I might recommend that you join some Audax rides (200, 300km) to build your endurance and expectations first.
-Event is split over three days
-You do not have to cycle with huge panniers, as day bags can be deposited
-Event starts and ends at 0700 and 1900 respectively. There are no cutoff time checkpoints. This event is not a KOM nor race.
-There are no overnight cycling, so no need to pack extra lights or hydration/nutrition (cycling overnight in pitch-dark plantations require extra nerves too)
-Dinner and accommodation are included in the package
-The only thing Singapore-based cyclists find tough, would be the elevations. Mount Faber loops can only help so much, but to climb 40km non-stop up Cameron Highlands require patience and endurance (just roll up slowly at own comfort cadence)
Cycling with friends and suffering together, definitely makes the event more memorable and FUN! (we are Not Normal)
-All in, including airfares, we spent less than $800 for 5D4N. (Coast to Coast Malaysia event starts from RM900)
If you love endurance rides, you can level up with Big Hills (BRM 200,400, 600km (12,000m elevation and 40hours cutoff) , or Peninsular Divide (1500km, 20,000m elevation)!
In Asia, many will climb Cameron Highlands, Doi Inthanon before attempting Wuling. (Wuling is at least twice the effort of Cameron Highlands)
Day 1-Lumut to Cameron Highlands (140km, 2000m+ elevation)
Day 2-Cameron Highlands to Gua Musang (100km, 2000m+ elevation)
Day 3-Gua Musang to Terengganu (200km, 1400m+ elevation)
Refer to the link below for our photo album and IG story of 3 Day event. https://www.facebook.com/20531316728/posts/10154009990506729
Day 0
Day 0 IG Story
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Our group of four flew from Singapore to Ipoh airport. Our 5th member is based in KL. (L-R John, Alli, Chewy and myself)
John (JACC) and Alli (Cannondale and Malaysia group) are my regular cycling kakis. Chewy only joins me for crazy rides (Read about our Taiwan 四極燈塔 620km)
Bike boxes will follow Lalamove lorry to Lumut. Cyclists will Grab6. We did not have time to explore Ipoh town’s famous good food and white coffee.
x 
First time using Lalamove’s service in Malaysia. I will share more about the logistics in the last paragraph of this post.
Lumut is 90km away from Ipoh airport. Assembled our bikes, collected our race packs and enjoy a small breeze along the coast.
Marina Island (and our hotel or chalet) is opposite Pangkor Island.
Gary drove us 20km out to Sitiawan for Fuzhou dinner (Restoran Ing Hua).
Gary is our defacto “host”, and he would continue to feed us with Malaysia’s best food and experience though our adventure. Thanks!
Delicious fish maw and red wine mee sua (红糟面线).
Unfortunately the famous 光饼 (something like pepper bun) was already closed. You can visit other Sitiawan good food from my previous road trip in 2022.
Final check for bike before we rest for the day.
Day 1 Lumut to Cameron Highlands
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Almost DNF, as I encountered cramps on both legs after climbing 10km. Read on.
30 pax roll off from Marina Island.
Breakfast is in order, traditional old school Fuzhou noodle and wanton. Yummy.
This green drink 小麦草 is too healthy for me. I no need detox.
Introducing our 6th member Veron (third from left). We adopted her and click straightaway. Bubbly and strong, glad to have her in our team. (Her original partner DNS :p )
Detour to Silverlake (before Ipoh). Looks like an upmarket spot for shopping or coffee? But super quiet on a weekday.
The ride itself is packed with adventures, but I will always remember the detours and food explorations!
The journey is always more FUN than the destination!
Pop by Kellie’s Castle.
Delightful Hakka lunch, before our climb.
Although map will indicate a steady 40km incline, closer inspections reveal some dips and rolls, and some crazy gradients of 12% and 21% ! (can someone confirm?)
The weather decided to throw a curveball. We anticipated rainy season in Pahang, but we did not anticipate a STORM! (or landslides).
It was a cold 13 or 14 degrees when we were soaked for 3 to 4 hours.
Hamstring and quads locked up on both legs at around 10km. I must have over exerted (or overestimated my own capability). I thought I have abundant electrolyte but the heat proved me wrong 🙂
I could not even dismount, and the twitchings were super irritating and uncomfortable. I was more disappointed that I might DNF, rather than fearful about some cramps or rain.
Anyway, Ray (one of the organisers) passed me a vinegar vial and the cure was immediate! I could cycle again. Every 5km, I take one more shot.
Fyi, I seldom encounter cramps, so this was a good learning lesson for me.
Three hours, slow climb, but I MADE IT!
Introducing “水力速”, the magical vinegar vial which alleviates my cramps. Works similar to Crampfix, but less sour. Thank you!
As our cohort climbs up, our Whatsapp group warns each other about landslides, road blockage and even fallen trees!
EPIC! (check our Day 1 IG reel link above for MILO waterfall!)
Ride is tough, but remember to take some photos. Remind myself of the misery and never give up attitude.
I took 3 hours to scale 30km in the rain. Miserable and tired, but super proud of new milestone. I push myself beyond my comfort level today.
I came back stronger on Day 2 and 3 after a good rest.
Day 2 Cameron Highlands to Gua Musang
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It will be downhill for the first 30km. You will hear your ears pop (equalisation).
You can easily roll down hills at 70kmh, and there are no hairpins. But there are a lot of pot holes! And the first 10km has many uneven road segments.
First, take a group photo with the flower (Rafflesia) at Lojing. This is the border between Pahang and Kelantan.
A rain coat would be enough to counter cold downhill chills. Gilet is optional.
Gary is also our photography director. We attended his photography bootcamp with tea plantations and 雲海 in the background.
Stylo right 🙂
Durian season, and Musang prices are dirt cheap (Rm30 for one basket!)
On hindsight, I find Day 2’s Gua Musang segment tougher. Your legs are already jelly from Day one’s Cameron Highlands.
Although Gua Musang is only 100km, it has many rolling mountains (yes Mountains, not Hills). The total elevation is higher than Day 1.
Gua Musang is famous for limestones (same like Ipoh).
Enjoyed our Nasi Kukus lunch (Irdina) before we checkin to our villa. Guilty and crunchy chicken thigh, well deserved.
Cyclists badge of honour.
Durian Hill Villa. This is about 1.5km from town, we might recommend accommodation nearer to town.
Fyi, Gua Musang is a small town, there are no massage and no Grab cabs.
Day 3 Gua Musang to Terengganu
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Day 3 last day of our adventure. Will this be our recovery ride after two days of climbs?
There is 200km to go from Gua Musang to Besut (Terengganu). The original route is via iconic Lake Kenyir, but we heard ongoing road works make roads less safe.
Day 3 was uneventful, I only remembered the heat and endless road works.
Finally, we got to find some char siew 🙂
Visited Moscow Mosque (due to the Red Square look-alike domes). (GoogleMap streetview still shows old incomplete wip mosque from 2015!)
We have covered 190km, 10km more to go. This must be the best cendol from our trip 🙂
Well Done team. Six of us completed our adventure safe and sound (only one puncture). Proud of our achievements!
As Alli mentioned, from strangers to friends, we bond over hardships and jokes. We call ourselves #notNormal too :p
To be honest, it is quite hard to find like-minded folks who love endurance rides, and who can gel. Love the company!
Celebratory dinner at Fairfield Marriott. Thank you Toto, Ray and team, for the wonderful event.
Bye Terengganu, Bye Gary.
(See you again 2027?)
We Grab and lorry to Terengganu airport.
Logistics & additional tips
1) Our logistics involved flying from Singapore to Ipoh, and Grab to Lumut. Sample itinerary in image below (price is estimated)
The plan sounds easy, but there are always extra considerations when we chuck along our bike boxes.
The risks are REAL! We prefer to pay more for a piece of mind, but we cannot afford to lose (or delay) our bikes before the event.
No bike no ride! Simple.
2)Which airlines can accommodate our bike boxes?
What is their policy for oversize or odd-share luggage? Any penalty? (Many airlines will quote no-excess beyond xx cm for LxBxH, but our bike boxes always exceed.
3)If budget air, do we need to top up check-in luggage space?
If transfers are needed (eg Terengganu-KLIA-SG), do we need to offload and load our bike boxes to another flight? or is the transfer seamless and automatic?
3a)We took MAS (Malaysian Airline) for the return trip. And they clarified that any MAS start/end connecting flights need not offload any checked luggages. (this statement is correct as on July 2026)
4)How do we transport our bike boxes from airport to Lumut start point?
We engaged Lalamove (or another vendor), but are they trustworthy? Our bikes are expensive, and will they arrive for our event?
4a)Is a large van (maybe max 3, 4 boxes) or lorry enough? A 10 feet (or one-tonne) lorry can easily transport 8-10 bike boxes.
Rough measurements of four bike boxes.
4b)For Malaysia East Coast (ie Kelantan, Terengganu and Kuantan), Lalamove does not have coverage! Although they promote their service in their app, but no driver accepted our order for three days. We needed to transfer our bike box from Hotel to Terengganu airport.
5)In worst case, everyone would need to book an individual Grab6 to reach the airport. Again, we are not sure whether there are enough Grabs in Terengganu to accommodate our team of four.
6)When we try to book alternate (backup) transport options (lorry or bus) from Terengganu, many do not have option for 0500 pickup! (too early)
7)Our original Ipoh to Lumut private driver increased our fees (extra RM200 per car) at the last minute. (It was a blessing we converted to Grab 6, convenience, comfort and savings).
7a) The original plan was two pax per MPV (including bike boxes).
8)Many vendors advertise themselves on Tiktok or IG, but 9 out of 10 are based out of KL! (and not Terengganu). Thus they will conveniently charge you extra, or simply reject your business. Waste our time and efforts trying to engage their service.
I reached out to at least six transport vendors for the return leg from Terengganu. Not easy to find and engage a reliable vendor. (even the hotel’s transport person failed to get back to me on time).
All these to and fro communications took up valuable time and created unnecessary anxiety.
This is not a complaint, but just to HIGHLIGHT the limitations of transport along East Coast, so manage your expectations.
9)The final shortlisted vendor lorry quotation was RM700 for a 90km ride. This is x3 times the price for our Ipoh to Lumut Lalamove. (but we have little other alternatives).
10)Fyi, if you choose Grab6 or private hire, take note Toyota Innova (MPV) can only accommodate one bike box and one passenger. Only Hyundai Staria can accommodate two pax and two bike boxes (Alphard or Hilux can only squeeze one box)
11) I always recommend friends to take Grab6 instead of normal 4 seaters. Slightly more expensive, but we split and become more affordable. I ever encountered a Proton Saga (with worn suspension) from KLIA to KL city center! Since that bouncy experience, I always pay a little bit more for comfort 🙂
There are many unknowns out there, just cross your fingers and have a Plan B, C.
12) There are 4 routes up to Cameron Highlands.
i)Simpang Pulai (Ipoh). Many will base at Ipoh, food heaven. This is the most friendly and popular route. Plenty of shoulders and relatively wider lanes. Slopes are lesser than the others (?)
ii) Tapah or Sungei Koyan is the second most popular route. Tougher elevation compared to Ipoh.
iii)Sungai Koyan (or Raub). Both ii) & iii) needs to go through Ringlet, Tanah Rata before submit at Brinchang. Ringlet to Brinchang is a short 20km, but 75% of the elevations and switchbacks are here!
You will have narrow lanes and heavier traffic too. I DNF at Ringlet back in 2026 Jan. We had conquer Frasers and started from Raub (Frasers climb blog url)
iv)Gua Musang to Brinchang would HIT a Wall (last 20 to 30km). This is the Toughest route. To make it worse, hydration or water points (warung) are rare along this 100km stretch. There are no petrol stations in the mountains.
(Note. All routes up Cameron Highlands will have plenty of climbs and cursing. Some routes tougher. Please correct me if my understanding is wrong)
13)I was a covid cyclist, and first venture across Woodlands custom May 2022. Since then, I have covered many corners of Malaysia. (Hint, Malaysia is x400 bigger than Singapore!) The Orange markers are WIP, and x4 Black are Thailand customs.
14)More details about Coast to Coast Malaysia can be found on their website.
https://raceroster.com/events/2026/118442/coast-2-coast-interstate-ride-2026
15)Do pop by my Titiwangsa experience too, we cycled from Jeli to Gerik (no elephants)
16)Photos and IG story of Coast to Coast Malaysia is in link (photo) below.
ps.. I hope the above summary would be helpful to plan your 2027 Coast to Coast Malaysia suffering ride. I guarantee it will be memorable 🙂
