Penang Bicycle Lane Downtown - Queensbay Mall Bayan Lepas

The weather in the morning was cloudy with slight drizzle and it was looking good for a ride where I wanted to check the bicycle route from downtown to Queensbay Mall. We parked our car somewhere near Carnarvon Street and took our bikes out for the adventure.This was my first attempt with the help and information gathered from the internet we headed to look for the lane.

This is the Phase One of the Penang Bicycle Route Masterplan covering a distance of 12.5 kilometres starting from Pragin Road - Carnarvon Street intersection to Queensbay roundabout.

It was reported that the cost for this phase was RM30 million with a distinguish bridge crossing over Sg.Pinang connecting Kapal Singh Drive and the old development of Macallum.

After the bridge the path runs parallel with the river side towards Kapal Singh Drive of a newer and nicer surrounding.

The start of Karpal Singh Drive is one of the remarkable features of this east coat bicycle lane.

A beautiful promenade renamed as Karpal Singh Drive in honour of the late Mr. Karpal Singh also known as The Tiger of Jelutong.

Celebration of Our Blue Sky sculpture is one of the several sculptures found at the promenade.

At the end of the promenade at McDonald is a new food court as we were coming to the rear of the court.

It is BSP Waterfront Food Court and Market, just wondering how popular is this food court.

Somehow the smooth flow of our cycling was interrupted as we were led to travel close and along Dr. Lim Chong Eu Expressway. It is a busy road and it does not seem to be friendly at all, fortunately it is only a short stretch.

It was a great relief after a short encounter with the heavy traffic at the expressway we then found ourselves in a nice landscaped environment.

Even though there are measure to prevent motor cyclists to use the lane, there were several motorbikes we met "sharing" the lane.

Two nice running statues positioned strategically along the lane.

We love this part of the bicycle lane, the trees have already maturely grown and a perfectly shaded area for cycling.

It is definitely quiet on a weekday there wasn't any cyclists during our our ride except a few motor cyclists and a jogger.

One of the couple of bridges along this route.

The bridge at The Light Waterfront Linear Park.

A blend of old and modern features seen along the route.

Fishing boats seen under neath of the Penang Bridge. I like cycling through this huge concrete structure as it is very cooling.

Jabatan Laut Jetty nearby the huge bridge.

There are a few warong along the seaside and there was only one opened at that time. We enjoyed the sea breeze and the fresh coconuts by the seaside. It is surely a nice place to take a rest and enjoy the scenery.

A development of modern dwelling on a reclaimed land that aims to place Penang in the international scene for property investment.

Passing by Pulau Jerejak Jetty.

An interesting piece of cycling structure hidden in the lush of greenery.

The path behind the vicinity of Gold Coast Resort Condominium.

That was it, Queensbay Roundabout is just right in front and we are turning back to the city. Mission accomplished.

The connection from the rear of the high rise dwellings to the main road.

The route along Bayan Mutiara.

This is a narrow crossing and it needs improvement.

After crossing the bridge over Sg. Pinang and going below Dr. Lim Chong Eu Expressway we came to a lane with old warehouses and workshops. This stretch is heavy shaded I got a good feel when I was going through it.

Green dedicated bicycle lane connecting back to the old heritage city.

The many winding turns on the lane at Jalan Gurdwara. All in all it was a good initiative of Penang to make Penang a safe place to cycle and with a vision to create a complete cycling route throughout the island.

These are some negative elements noted at this bicycle route, such as construction debris found on the lane, thick and slippery steel cables that can easily cause a moving bicycle to slip and fall.

The missing lane that breaks the rhythm of the ride and one has to be careful when cycling at this area.

Vehicles blocking the flow in front of a warong (something that must be good & popular at the stall)

Let us hope that these areas can be improved immediately and making this route a super friendly place to cycle for all. Thumb up for Penang and we shall be back.