The cyclists pose at KM 0 in front of Sabah Tourism Board office in Kota Kinabalu.
KOTA KINABALU: Bicycle tour is popular in countries such as Thailand and Taiwan but has yet to gain popularity here.
A tour covering Borneo Island can potentially become a new tourism product to attract those who enjoy long distance leisure riding and discovering local landscape.
A group of professionals from Sabah and Sarawak discovered just this when they initiated a ride totaling up of 1,385km starting from Kuching and ending in Kota Kinabalu for a period of two weeks.
When met at the end of their tour at Sabah Tourism Board office, the group leader, Patrick Chang, said they were able to see the real atmosphere of neighboring Sarawak and Brunei as well as get first-hand experience of the lifestyle and traditions of local communities living there.
“We were greeted by friendly locals along the way who, upon hearing our story, sponsored us refreshments,” he said.
Patrick said cyclists get self satisfaction to be able to complete the longest road linking two East Malaysian state capitals and passing Brunei in between.
The Pan Borneo highway is the longest highway on Borneo island.
“There have been enquiries on bicycle touring. Sabah Tourism is promoting this in all market segments and hopes operators can look into touring trans Borneo for longer staying visitors,” chairman of Sabah Tourism Board, Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said when welcoming the group.