Biker's Block

Murphy says...

2009-04-01T10:04:00.004+08:00

When something goes wrong, everything else can and will go wrong with it. Murphy really had a grudge against me yesterday.

Got home from work around 6:30, weather was great, dry and all. Superb conditions for a night ride. So immediately, I started prepping my bike, only to realize that the bottom bracket seemed tight and wasn't spinning freely. Tried lubing the gaps a little here and there, but still no luck. Starting to panic, I grabbed all my other gear together in a frenzy and headed out to KSH to see if they could help fix the problem. Traffic was pretty bad, and it took me at least half an hour if not more to get there...

At KSH, Lim fusses around with it, etc, and finally got it working again. Turns out it was overtightened just a tad too much... But i suspect that some grit might've gotten in between the arm and bearings too. So anyway, that was all well and fine and I got to the car to get ready.

Getting my gear together, i realized that I'd left my helmet and gloves at home!!! Geez... But then Shang kindly offered to go home to get his spare helmet for me, and so off he went. Phew... When he got back, i whipped out my lights to attach onto the helmet... only to realize that i'd left the battery pack at home! Crap. So much for all that trouble just to end up with a battery pack short. Murphy, I'll get you yet...

And it was a dry night last night too... :(

Setting your sights.

2009-03-27T14:31:00.003+08:00

Training has always been a bit of a drag for me. I remember the first ever major race I did was the AXN Adventure race about what, 4 years ago? Gosh, its been that long? Back then, I still remember that I was actually motivated enough to get out there and do some running as training. Since then, there's been a few other races, and each time i get lazier and lazier.

Well, there's the XTerra coming up in June and all, so that should be reason enough for me to start getting off my butt and train! Managed to get a team together now, so we're doing the Relay (PHEW!!) instead of the solo. I can't imagine having to do a 1.5km swim, 28km offroad ride and then 8km trail run. Not in my current condition and 2 months left to train anyway... So anyway, this is good cos Cheryl will do the swim, Cyril will run and I'll just manage the team. Yea right, I've got the longest distance to go, so the pressure's on!!

Will have to try and get more mileage on the bike asap. Stay tuned.

Ramblings after a long break.

2009-03-18T14:13:00.004+08:00

It's been quite a while since my last post. Been busy. Been lazy. Been biking. Been lazy. Been working. Been lazy. See the pattern here?

Nothing new on the bike-front. Fitness is still going up and down. Did a Sat ride out at Broga few weeks back, covered 31kms or so. Felt like crap but finished it feeling good cos I finished it in good shape. Following Sat was another long-ish ride at Kemensah. Dunno how long it was, but it was long enough to make me feel like crap again. But the downhills at Kemensah were superb, with the last stretch of down that seemed to go on forever, it just makes the climbs worth it. Felt like easily about 10 mins if not more of fast and reckless downhills, and at 1 point, with 4 of us bombing down in close, single file formation (me being the 4th in line), the dried leaves were swirling about on both sides almost like in a vortex!! Anyway... the point of all that is that some of the fitness came back again after those 2 rides, and i felt much better at Kiara... for about a week. Last Sat was good, confidence and fitness getting me going and all. Then we did a ride Sun afternoon, and i felt like crap again. Worse still, got witnesses some more! Worse than worse, witnesses were my cousin Jay and his friends... *sigh* So much for reputation and face...

Well, at least this is still the early part of the year, and there's a few races coming up. The Selangor MTB race is one that sounds pretty promising. Then, in the more extreme sense is the much talked about and exciting offroad Tri, the Xterra series. Check out the calendar for 7th June 2009, its finally coming to M'sia!! 1.5km swim, 28km mtb and finally 8km trail run. Sounds like a lot of pain, but it sounds do-able. Of course, on the keyboard everything IS do-able.

Tues night rides are slow with takers, with the regulars being James, Megat and myself. Not everyone's cup of tea, i can imagine, but one never knows till they try. What better way to squeeze in some exercise on a weekday than doing a night ride to release all that work stress?

Well, here's to more rides to come...

30mm and a world of difference!

2008-11-25T09:27:00.007+08:00

Who says shorter is not better?? :-P

I recently got to know of a new shop in Tmn Tun, namely AG Suspension, which is run by a couple of downhillers, Zure and Hong Chun. They are a very service oriented shop (Hooray!! About time too, don't you think?) for bikes, more specifically for servicing Fox forks and shocks. Spoke to Zure (aka Champion) a few times, and made an appointment to see him.

I dropped off my old Fox Vanilla (an '03 model, i believe it is) to be serviced, and it was done in almost a day. This was the first Fox fork I've ever owned, and is capable of running up to 125mm of travel, but I've had the spacer removed to run it at 100mm, which is the recommended for crosscountry riding anyway (actually 80mm is the ideal, but i'm a wuss). But after using it for a couple of years, the seals had started to leak and the stanchion where the preload spring sits in was making a 'clunking' noise everytime you shook it. None of the local bike shops could fix it, not without sending it to Fox in S'pore anyway. As it ended up, I bought another Vanilla instead, this time an '06 model, which runs up to 130mm and is adjustable down to 100 or 80mm as well. However, this time I decided to leave it at 130mm, and have been riding it for at least the past year or so.

At 130mm, the front is raised slightly higher, hence it absolutely sucks when climbing. However, bombing downhill is a breeze, as the position of it puts you more level to the ground, and hence the front doesn't seem to 'dip' as much when going downhill. Going back now to 100mm, the change was very obvious and instantaneous. First ride going up the tarmac at Kiara, it already felt less tiring. Offroad climbs also felt easier with less travel up front. The downhills didn't feel that bad, i just have to remember to slide back off the saddle more (to shift my weight back), that's all. I wonder why I stuck to 130mm for so long!!

As of the last ride I did on Sunday afternoon (the trails were absolutely great then, by the way...) the fork felt kinda weird. Checking it again, I realized that it was not using up its full travel. To be more precise, only 50% of travel seems to be used. I'd already set the preload to the softest, i.e. letting it sag as much as possible, but the max travel was still the same. Something's just not right, so am gonna send it back to them this week and see if they can figure out what the problem is...

Now, having said all that, it still doesn't mean that I can go faster on the uphills. Fitness is still at less than desired level, which means... it still sucks big time!! Need more saddle time for sure. Oh well, another To Do for 2009's resolutions. :P

Unveiling the DirT...

2008-11-12T16:43:00.005+08:00

I've had about 3-4 rides on the hub now, and so far so good. I think I will even go so far as to say that it feels smoother than the XTRs. Comparing the engagement, however, the XTR is more responsive, and its gonna be a few more rides yet before I get used to the slight 'slack' as soon as I step on the pedals to power up the wheel. And the XTR was a quieter hub too, compared to the solid clicking that this makes. Then again, that doesn't really matter as its unlikely that I'll be stealthy enough to sneak up on someone without my hub giving me away.

Enough ranting and raving, a picture tells a thousand words. A few pictures, however... :)

240S. Is that even a brand?

It's not as wretched as it sounds.

Gotta remember to wipe off those darn fingerprints.

Got you curious yet as to what make it is? Here we go...

DT Swiss 240S. Swiss precision and all that jazz. You could almost hear it tick.

Dax's recommendation seems to be right on. However, only time will tell if it'll hold up to a 'heavycore' rider like myself. Stay tuned...

HUBba, HUBba... :)

2008-11-11T10:07:00.017+08:00

I finally got it sorted out. As posted earlier in 'Busted!', I finally couldn't stand it anymore, as the extra resistance coming from the borrowed wheel really bugged me. Maybe not physically but mentally it was slowing me down. :P

So... I went out and got me something to replace it. The XTR will still be sent in for warranty claims, and lets see how that turns out. Hopefully they'll replace it with a new one or something, but dunno how long it'll take. That's why I decided on getting something else. Photos as below, to whet your appetite... :) Any guesses?

Wretched system??

Looks like... ??

Sounds like... ?? :)

Ahhh... the mystery... Its not super bling, but its functional, I can tell you that. And of course, it seem more solidly built than some others I have seen. Test ridden it a couple of times already, and it feels pretty good, rolling resistance seems less, and more importantly, I can finally bike without having that nagging feeling of the wheel slowing me down. But then again... now I don't have an excuse for being slow. Darn...

On speaking too soon...

2008-11-05T10:54:00.005+08:00

... and learning to keep my big mouth shut! I should not have mentioned anything about the dry weather and all. Been pouring everyday since Sunday, and from the looks of it, the REAL monsoon has finally arrived. So that means no ride. No ride means no fun. No fun makes me a grumpy person. Oh heck, might just go ride in the wet anyway! :P

Been catching up on my friend, Mike Khor's blog, and it made me think back of the Taiping to KL ride that I did back in May this year. Touring the countryside on a bike is really quite a lot of fun. Thinking further back to when I started reading about bike touring on Tzuo Hann's adventures, it makes me itch for another adventure. The touring part is fun. Getting to know people, seeing the peaceful and tranquil countryside at a slow pace, trying out new food everyday, not knowing what lies ahead of you, where you're going to put up for the night, etc. It all makes for a great adventure. It would've been nice to join Mike on his Hanoi/Laos trip, but 3 weeks was a bit too long for me to get away. Anyway its almost the monsoon season now, so no point being on the road just to get drenched. I can do that biking in Kiara anyway! :P Guess I'll just let that thought fester in me for a while...

Busted!!

2008-11-03T09:06:00.003+08:00

As the alarm clock went off in the unearthly hours of Sat, i crawled out of bed wondering if it was worth dragging myself out of bed that morning. As I got to Mike's place to park, one by one the guys showed up. By the time we'd reached the crossroads, we had at least 7 riders already. Weather was great, albeit a little humid, but great nonetheless. Trails were dry and fast, totally superb conditions.

When we started cranking up Twin Peaks, I was wondering how come i felt more tired than usual. Just before reaching the little shrine up top, it totally felt like Twin Peaks had gotten steeper since i last rode it. Legs were cranking and lungs were bursting, but the bike was just sluggishly dragging itself on. Finally I gave up and pushed the last 3 metres up to the shrine. Only then did I realize that the rear wheel was locked as I tried to drag it up! Tried to spin it, but it would barely move without any significant strength put into it. Turns out my rear hub was busted!!

I couldn't believe it. Less than 11 months old, my XTR hub had already given up on me? So maybe all that advice they told me about losing some weight might have some truth indeed... *sigh* Then JP comes along and said that he had the same problem with his XTR hub as well, and it seemed like a similar problem that I was having. Well, had no choice but to let the bike ride me instead as I headed back down to the car and wait for KSH to open for business.

Turns out it was the same problem that JP had. The guys at KSH were reluctant to open it up to check, as they didn't want to void the warranty, and hence decided to send it back to Shimano directly. They offered me a McMahone hub instead for a cheaper price, which I flatly refused. Thus they ended up loaning me an old wheelset that looked like it was older than me. Oh well, better than nothing. At least the bike is still rideable for now...

I don't know how long the warranty claim will take, but i'm kinda thinking of getting a new pair of hubs already. But have not decided what to get as yet... Any suggestions?

What's nice and dry, and allows you to go at breakneck speeds?

2008-10-31T09:36:00.004+08:00

Kiara, when its not raining. :)

Its been a really dry week, what with the incessant downpours for the last few weeks. Trails that were wet and sticky are now dry as can be, and about as fun as it can get. Wed evening I managed to get away for a quick ride with Shang, Soon and MikeP. We started at about 6:15pm or so, and before we knew it, it was almost dark by 6:45 already. So there we were, zooming in and out of Apollo, blasting around the switchbacks, sweeping and leaning into the corners as much as I dared to. I was left with no choice, as Shang was chasing Soon and I on the downhills! The reckless downhill left me exhilarated and pumped up. Its been a while since we did that. So at 6:45 we head out via the Equestrian club to get back into Plan C, which wasn't the brightest of things to do, no pun intended. By the time we hit Boulder, it was almost too dark to see already. Again came out the AyUp lights, which provided enough light for all 4 of us to bike out safely to the road.

Yesterday night is my usual night ride with Pat and gang. 6 riders in all, crazy or just plain dumb, you decide. Took off at 8pm sharp, going in via Plan C+ as usual, then stopping briefly to check out the landslide at the connection to Bar-A-Kuda. Totally washed out. So much so that it was kinda scary to even try to think of jumping across it. Back up and over via Boulder, SnL, and they decided to go up Twin Peaks and down Around the Mountain, Flintstones. If Flintstones/Rock Garden isn't scary enough by day, by night it was... technical, so to speak. By the time we hit Chunder Junction, i was totally winded. And these guys are fast, so I was really struggling to keep up. As we made our way down 2k and Apollo, we bumped into a group of hikers and bikers who were at the triple terrace drop before Apollo. Dunno what they were doing, but we went past them anyway. The beer after the ride was refreshing, not to mention abundant.

Back to work today, can't wait for tomorrow's ride again. Not much time left in the dry weather before the monsoon kicks back in again. Alvin also informed me yesterday that they (Adrian & Brenda) are riding Sat evening... Hmm... Tempting. 2 rides in a day? Well, we'll have to see about that.

A cup of tea. Boh tea, to be exact. (Caution: Another long read!)

2008-10-21T16:57:00.017+08:00

Well, not that the ride was a cup of tea, but a cup of tea after that ride would’ve been absolute bliss. Especially after seeing all those tea plantations around the rolling hills surrounding you for hours on end. As 51 suckers took off from the Batu 49 bus stop at 9:30am, I was thinking to myself, “What a beautiful day to be out biking”. And it was, really, as the sun held up all day long till late evening, with intermittent light drizzles in between to cool us off.

The PCC MUDD ride, they call it. Mountainbike till U Drop Dead. And they weren’t kidding too. James Yap is the resident expert on the trails in the area, so naturally he was the head honcho. As we gathered around for the briefing, he simply said to us: “Ride down to the school at Pos Terisu and regroup there. Go!” Wow, that must’ve been the shortest briefing ever. At the school, he showed us his high tech and environmentally friendly way of marking the junctions with toilet paper (its great cos after using it you can still reuse it to mark the trails with!), and told us that the next point we were supposed to regroup at was dubbed the ‘Big River’, for a river crossing. If the name doesn’t give you a hint of what’s ahead, this video will.

1st river crossing:

It looks almost as if we should have brought our rafts for white water rafting instead! I’d say the rapids were easily a grade 3-4, for sure. The sound of the water gushing through the 30-40 feet wide river was just absolutely deafening and not to mention intimidating as well. As 51 riders slowly pulled up to the river, scouts were sent ahead to look for an alternative crossing. News came back of an Orang Asli (OA) suspension bridge ahead. “Hmm…” I thought to myself. “Suspension bridge?? Built by OA??? This I gotta see.”

There were no surprises there, the bridge was built out of bamboo, and suspended across the river on a few low hanging branches of a big tree. There were 3 sections to it, each about 4-5 bamboos wide, with a low railing on the side for you to hold on to. It was tough enough that we had to climb a tree to start with, then attempt to balance ourselves while carrying our bikes over the 1^st section. The connection to the 2^nd bridge section was interrupted by a branch that was about waist high, as that was what the bridge sections were lashed on to. Climb over the branch with the bike, get to the 3^rd section, and only then you’re home free on the other bank. On some parts of the bridge the bamboo had dried out and was a little brittle, so everytime someone took a step and it produced a loud ‘crack’, people froze in fear. Oh, did I mention that the bridge was hanging about 10 feet above the river, and the gushing sound of water flowing did nothing to allay the fear of falling off the rickety suspension bridge? Terence (our Kadazandusun ranger) did the manly thing and started coming back about halfway across the bridge to assist other bikers by grabbing their bikes and pulling it across first, leaving the riders free to use both hands to balance themselves. I think that made a difference for many, as bikes and bamboo suspension bridges over a raging river don’t quite go together at all.

Here is a video taken by James at the bamboo bridge crossing. (thanks James!)

Finally, after approximately 2 hours or so, the last of the bikes and riders were safely across, and we were on our way again. This time it was an absolutely beautiful singletrack, headed downhill most of the way. The next RV point, according to James, was at the ‘Metal Bridge’.

The Metal Bridge:

Blasting through the singletrack somewhat tired and hungry already from the earlier bridge crossing efforts, I somehow managed to hang on and emerge out of the trail with a wide grin on my face, as that was definitely worth crossing the bamboo bridge for. The grin turned into a confused look as I saw everyone grouped up again up front, by the river (again), looking around for guidance. As James came blasting out of the trail, you could almost see the look of disbelief in his face. He then proceeded to spend the next 10 minutes standing on a rock, with an equally hard expression on his face, caught in a staring match with the river. None dared disturb him in that lull. When he turned around to walk up, I asked timidly, “Where’s the metal bridge supposed to be?” He points to the middle of the river, where the rapids were gathering the current at its strongest, and said only 1 word: “Submerged.”. Looks of disbelief went around and murmurs of drowning the leader started buzzing around amongst the bikers (Ok, I made up that part about drowning the leader, but it just sounds more dramatic).

Bridge is there alright... submerged on the right of the guy in blue.

Thus, the council of ‘wise men’ (a.k.a. everyone) gathered around, trying to find ways of crossing the river (again!!). Ideas of using ropes (there wasn’t enough rope), turning around all the way back to the end point (which meant crossing the bamboo bridge again!!), using a bamboo as a safety line (who’s gonna hold it steady??) were thrown about, with the tension rising in the meantime. Meanwhile, a little OA fella hobbles along, and proceeds to cross the river. He takes off his slippers and gingerly feels his way in the water and starts weaving a path across the river, walking against the current as if he was in calm waters. As he took the final step to reach the other side of the river, all the ‘OB’ (Orang Bandar lah…) broke out in claps and cheers. He made it look like a walk in the park. At least there’s some hope…

Inspired by the OA, a gung ho biker decided he was going to try it. “I don’t care! I’m not going back the way we came! I’m gonna do it! That guy did it wat…”, he says as he lashed his shoes to his bike and got ready to lift up his bike. James our fearless leader uttered another monosyllable… “NO”. And all were silent.

Moments passed, and some were taking the opportunity to wash their bikes, grab a quick lunch, have a snooze, grab a beer, play some pool, etc. (you get the idea), and after some hand signal communications with the OA across the river, someone was sent a little further downstream to the OA kampung to get more of his friends over to help. 5 more OA came along to see what was going on, and after some quick discussions, a plan was formed.

As the 6 OA spread themselves across the river to form a line, some heroic bikers filled in the gaps to help the others get across. It was truly a muhibbah moment, watching everybody pitching in to help each other across. Just as well we didn’t attempt the crossing on our own, as our (overdeveloped) biking thighs and calves proved to be a wider surface and hence bigger resistance against the current, and many times, riders were struggling to simply stand upright in the raging river. Some were doing the 'Superman' pose as they held on with both hands for dear life to the bamboo 'safety' pole while the current swept their feet out from under them.

Another video from James showing how difficult the crossing was, even with the help of the OA.

The OA kids turned out in numbers too, sitting themselves on the rocks to watch these silly OB adults fumbling and flailing about in the river while their brothers or dads strolled across leisurely. It must’ve been a treat for them kids I think, what with 51 OBs entertaining them, each with different styles of swaying and slipping in the river. Had it not been for the OA, God knows how many of the 51 riders would’ve found themselves in Taman Negara or worse still, across the Kelantan border instead. Well, at least if you can find your bike then, Taman Negara is still a nice place to ride.

Hope:

Wasting another about 1.5 hours or so here, we were finally across with our bikes and equipment. Thanking the OA profusely while they thanked us profusely too (they were paid well, why do you think?), we proceeded on our journey. From here, it was a nice ride out through Kampung Terakit, with the OA kids smiling and waving to us, while some bolder ones waited by the side of the road to be swiped… a high five swipe on the hand that is. After crossing another metal bridge (thankfully this time James was right about it), the climbs started. Some sections were tarred, while other sections were cemented, but regardless, the climbs were just relentless.

Climbs, climbs and more climbs...

As we headed towards Kampung Teji, we emerged out onto a really nice and quiet highway. Many took a moment to stop and admire a rainbow which was shining through the light drizzle. “There’s hope at the end of the rainbow!!”, a biker remarked. I was thinking to myself, “Yea, but both ends of the rainbow aren’t anywhere near where we’re headed to, dude!” The long road was a nice change to the terrain. It was smooth and flowing, up until it ended abruptly in gravel and mud not very long after. No wonder there weren’t any cars on that road!

As I rolled back offroad again, I started looking for the (toilet) paper trail, and I found a couple of sorry looking pieces of toilet paper and as well as the cardboard roll that marked the end of it. Great, James ran out of TP... what, he had to take a dump along the way and used it all up already?? From there on I had to follow the tyre tracks the best I could, and it went on till it reached what I believe is Kampung Mensun. In the distance I saw a bus parked by the side, and I was thinking of how thoughtful the organizers were to send in a bus for the latecomers… Sadly I was wrong.

Instead, I met a stoic looking James at the next junction that turns off to head to Kampung Boh. He was worried the last group of riders together with the sweepers might miss this junction, but at the same time he wanted to head back to the Boh estate asap to get the 4wds mobilized to pickup the riders, as it was close to 6:30pm already. I volunteered to stay on and gather the lost sheep (which was a good excuse for me to take a break anyway), and since I had my AyUp bike lights with me anyway, why not?

Survival of the fittest:

Just about 7:15pm or so, the last group of 7 shows up, with a few of them looking like they were about to zone out. We regrouped and shared out whatever food we had, including Adrian’s roti canai (I’m still wondering where he got it from, unless he found time to make it along the way?), and only to find that half a minute down the road there was a trucker/logger’s canteen serving food and drinks where we picked up another rider. By about 7:45pm, and after 9 heartwarming cups of hot Milo, we proceeded to soldier on back to the end, with fearless Patrick leading the pack. Well Patrick had no choice, he was the only one who’d ridden through that way before!

No one else had a light on them, and it was too dark to ride with only 1 set of lights among us, hence we had no choice but to push our bikes for the remainder of the trail. Along the way, some of us zoned out, some blanked out, while others were just plain zombies. We trudged on and stumbled in the semi darkness for about almost 4 hours or so I think, till all of a sudden we emerged out at a clearing where there was a shed big enough to accommodate all of us. Everyone dropped their bikes and within seconds, phones were buzzing with incoming messages and missed calls. You know you're near civilization when there is handphone coverage!!

Rescue came in the form of 3 vehicle pickups less than an hour later, and it was only then we discovered that only a handful of riders managed to cycle back all the way back up to the MNS, with a Danish guy (Morten I believe his name was) and Dan (hope I got it right) among them, who got some vehicles mobilized (even before James reached back) to pick up the other riders who were groping about in the dark. Most of the other riders got picked up along the way from 8pm onwards and the vehicles were going back and forth till we called, and hence we were the last to be rescued.

All in all, it was a total epic. It wasn't easy going, but it was still quite an enjoyable experience I must say. Maybe 'misadventure' might be a better word for it. Would I ride it again? Not right now, I won’t. Ask me again in a month or so, maybe I will. Also, the fact that my AyUp lights proved their worth (waterproof, 6 hour battery, lightweight) made me feel better for splurging so much on them. As for you James, don’t worry you’ve still got friends. Thanks for organizing it, it was definitely a memorable one!

And for the rest of the TClan who came along, its always fun to be in your company. Shang, Azlina, Terence, Amy, Soon, Adilah, Yew Jo, Beatrice, Mo and Ben, you guys rock!! Wwooooo!

Photos from the ride available here.

Courtesy of Ben, here's the route and also the elevation profile:

MIA, but BIA (Back In Action)... for now...

2008-09-23T14:24:00.004+08:00

It certainly has been a while. A mixture of laziness, work and personal stuff kinda got in the way, and somehow it just hasn't quite motivated me enough to get back on track.

Fitness in the last few months has been fluctuating. Was feeling pretty good and strong in the weeks after the Taiping to KL ride, and been cranking up those hills somewhat with ease. Up till about July or so I think. I think my level of activity has dropped, as in the Taiping-KL ride was a constant 120++ kms every day, and whether i like it or not, I still had to do it. But since then, it was back to my usual biking schedule, i.e. Sat morning ride (approx 20kms), and short, weekday ventures into the trails (usually <10kms). Then to top it off, I succumbed to a 4 day fever stint, which left my fitness at close to nothing, and after which, getting back on the bike again made me feel like a total newbie.

So, for now, this is just to say (and to remind myself) that I am back in action, and will try to write more frequently.

Make that a close-to-perfect week!

2008-06-15T23:52:00.009+08:00

Well, my wish for a nice, dry Sat ride came true. Even better, the trails were in perfect condition, if ever there's such a thing. Not too wet to be muddy and not too dry to make a sandy, slippery top surface. About 12 Clanners showed up for the ride, and all seemed to be in good form. Despite my making a detour back down the hill to use the toilet for a major emergency, the rest made their way out to Kampung, while I biked back up the hill and took 2K, then Plan C out to meet them at Devi's in Hartamas. Had breakfast, then took Plan C back in again, and did the rest of the usual routes to end...

In total, I clocked about 23.6 kms on my meter. Pretty darn good for a Sat ride...

Anyway, went for another ride Sunday evening, bumped into JT at the crossroads, and covered about 10kms in total. So, that was Tues, Wed, Thur, Sat and Sunday. Now, if that ain't a great week, I don't know what is.

Thighs are aching now. Haven't had that for a while now. Last time they ached was from the Taiping to KL ride, but prior to that, its been a while since I felt them ache just from mountain biking alone... I'm not complaining, mind you!

A good week.

2008-06-13T14:01:00.004+08:00

My definition of a good week? Biked on Tues, Wed and Thurs evenings, rest today, then usual ride on Sat morning again with friends. To top that off, weather has been pretty ok so far, trails were dry enough to ride. If it doesn't rain anytime today, resulting in dry trails to ride on for tomorrow's Sat ride, now THAT would be close to a perfect week for biking.

Wanted to do a slow, relaxed ride yesterday evening. As I entered Twin Peaks, I bumped into a jogger. He casually asks where I was headed and decides to follow, just to have some company. I was obviously expecting him to go faster than me on the uphills and maybe the flats, but to add insult to injury, he grabbed the back of my saddle to give me a boost up the beginning uphill of Twin Peaks. *GRUMBLE* *GRUMBLE* *GRUMBLE* Oh well, I showed him who's boss at the downhills though... And then he proceeds to overtake me on the flats to come out ahead of me at the crossroads again. Great going Stan! Beaten by a jogger! Well, I think its because I biked on Tues and Wed evening too, that's why I wasn't as strong... Yea, that's gotta be it!

YEA, RRRRIIIGGGGHHHHTTTTT!! Gotta step up on the training now!! Well, I'll give it a rest today though. Yesterday's ride up Twin Peaks really killed me. Damn joggers...

So far, so good.

2008-06-12T09:36:00.003+08:00

What with the unpredictable weather these days, I've been lucky to be able to squeeze in a couple of evening rides this week so far. Yesterday and day before were late starts, i.e. about 6'ish, and just comprised of a couple of small loops around Kiara. Good thing my lights are small enough to bring around without feeling too cumbersome, they've come in handy on these late evening rides as I make my way out of the trails to the park at around 730 to 745pm.

Fitness is still at a desirable level, climbing hills still leaves me breathless most of the time. Definitely need more practice to even get it up to a comfortable level. Running might help, except I'm too lazy to run, and besides, biking is always more fun!

Despite the late night showers, the trails held up pretty well last couple of days. Due to the strong sun during the day, most parts of the trail are fairly dry and very rideable. And, from what I hear from a couple of other bikers, the DBKL contractors are back in action with their excavators again. God knows what they're up to this time...

If all goes well, i might try and squeeze in another short ride this evening, but will have to finish early as I've got dinner with friends at 730. I'm sure they won't mind me showing up with muddy legs and clothes... Its only dinner... :)

Still recovering?

2008-06-09T09:41:00.002+08:00

Its been just past a week since the long ride. Friday evening I managed to get away for a quick ride with the Pilot and Ter (who incidentally was getting married the next day!!), but somehow the ride didn't seem as good as it should've been. I'm beginning to wonder if that 300+kms put in had any effect at all, or did all the extra food negate all the so called 'improvements' that were supposed to be there?

Pilot reckons that it was because I hadn't fully recovered, but after chatting with a couple of other friends, i realized that it was possibly because we decided to stick with the stupid Pilot and bike uphill on 'Shriners' to join to Twin Peaks, at the start of the ride. Likely I hadn't warmed up enough yet, and hence it killed me for the rest of the ride.

Come Sat morning I was a little wary of my fitness level, but it turned out to be quite alright. Covered only about 15+kms of trails in total, but it was pretty intense all the same. The Boss and I were chasing each other down, trying to keep up with one another, and I think we did quite ok. So maybe it was the lack of warming up before tackling Shriner's that caused all that drama. Geez, that'll teach me to listen to a really fit biker about going up Shriner's at the start of the ride. Am I still recovering? I don't think so, but not like it matters, cos judging from Sat's ride, i've only gained that little bit more of fitness only. REALLY need to ride more, no 2 ways about it!! :)

There's the upcoming 'Epic Hash' at the end of June, and that's about 45kms of riding offroad. That should be good enough motivation to get my behind working hard on the saddle again...

"Home" again.

2008-06-04T10:39:00.006+08:00

What with the adventure of riding from Taiping to KL over, I guess things are back to normal now. On Sunday night i managed to find time to dismantle the rack off the bike, give it (the bike) a good wash, and put it to bed clean.

Come Monday evening, the itch was getting stronger and stronger. On the pretext of doing a 'recovery ride', I managed to get home just before 6pm, swapped out the slicks for the knobbly tyres, and started riding Kiara at about 6:30. Just did a short loop of 2k down to Apollo, and while the trails were a little wet, it still felt like pure bliss.

The rear tyre kicked back, skidded and slid over the wet roots and rocks, but I was ready for it. The cold, wet leaves brushed my arms and legs as I rode past them, flicking waterdrops everywhere and leaving me slightly wet, but that was ok. The earlier rain had made the trails very rideable, as it was damp on the surface, and there was no loose top layer of sand to slide off from. Yet it wasn't wet enough to be muddy. Blasted my way out from Apollo to the road, and as I proceeded to pedal back up the road, I couldn't help but think to myself, "Damn, that was fun!".
Expecting to be out late, I brought along my AyUp lights, and they proved useful, as I was still making my way out to the park at about 7:30. Took Shriner's trail out to Carnival and then all the way out to the park, and was grinning like a chesire cat by the time I exited at the park in the semi darkness of the beginning of nightfall.

I missed the trails more than I thought. 3 days of riding on the road just didn't bring out as much enjoyment and satisfaction than that 1 hour in Kiara. Not that there's anything wrong with riding on the road, and not especially since it was for charity and all. Just that technical offroad riding seems to sit better with me. Well, at least it makes me feel more "at home".

Completed!! A million bucks raised??

2008-06-02T23:20:00.014+08:00

Well, more like rm10,000 to be exact...

3 days of biking, 361kms, and a very sore bum later, we made it home! It was a great ride, what with the great company and no untoward accidents, and of course, the final objective of rm10,000 collected for the National Cancer Society of Malaysia. Photos of the trip can be viewed here.

Day 1: 102.9km (route travelled highlighted in yellow), Taiping to Teluk Rubiah

Met up for breakfast at a foodcourt in Taiping to dig into the 1st ever 'Chee Cheong Fun' stall in Taiping. Thereafter, we had to do a customary visit to the Lake Gardens for a group photo before heading off. Starting a little late, we tried to make up for lost time by going fast, but we ended up taking a short 'detour' for a scenic ride, which added approximately 8km more to our ride before we joined up with the main group again. About 30-40km into the ride, my bum started to ache. I attribute that to the lack of saddle time prior to the ride.

We made a few stops along the way for cold drinks, food, snacks, etc (including resting our bums), and ended our day at Teluk Rubiah at approximately 4+pm. While the rest set up camp at the beach, Mike, Cheryl, Cyril and myself managed to find a nice, big room to share, and we had a comfortable night's sleep at least.

Day 2: 133.4km (route travelled highlighted in yellow), Teluk Rubiah to Sekinchan

Waking up at 6am and doing some stretching revealed some stiff legs and joints. Still, we had to push on. Getting back on the bike again, we started off towards Sekinchan. The early morning air was clean and crisp, with a slight tinge of salt in the air... till we hit the main road where all the trucks and cars were zooming by us. Oh well, at least we got to enjoy about half an hour of it while it lasted.

The roads were just about as straight as can be, sometimes you can see the road going on straight till it drops off the horizon, and the main thing about this trip is that, the going is very flat. Save for a few occasional slight uphills, it was otherwise quite monotonous. So it was lots of spinning spinning and spinning. The only thing we could do to break the monotony was to draft lots. Keeping your mind on the bike in front of you, maintaining the speed, then switching over occasionally to fight the headwinds, etc. Today we hit our fastest speed yet, I think. At some point, Mike and I were averaging about 30km/h with both of us drafting each other. It was good fun, keeps you on your toes while keeping your mind active.

As we were near Low's hometown, which was nearby Sabak Bernam, he brought us to a restaurant for a good lunch. And 7 courses is definitely a good lunch by any standards! Geez, how were we gonna move after lunch, in the hot sun? So Low ups the game by bringing us to his parent's home/shop where we were fed with some very good Hainanese coffee and tea. Amazing stuff, Low, and many thanks!!

Just about 15 to 20kms from reaching Sekinchan, it starts drizzling. So out came all the rain gear and it didn't let up till after we reached Sekinchan. Managed to find rooms at the Harbor View Hotel, and the hotel was kind enough to let us roll our bikes in to be stored in a back room. All of us were drenched from the rain, and all everyone wanted was just to have a hot shower and nice, clean bed. Drying out our clothes and stuff was a bit of a challenge, with the lack of a balcony, so we made do with what we could, and managed to dry out most stuff pretty well by morning anyway.

And it was here in Sekinchan that an amazing thing happened. Wandering around town, looking for dinner, we were clueless where to go. So I just randomly walked into a Chinese medicine store to ask this lady for recommendations. Tzuo Hann somehow, walked in after me and soon as the lady saw Tzuo Hann with his 'Duke - Class of 07' Tshirt on, so she asked if he knew her son, Kok Yew. From there on, my question on "Where to eat?" seemed unimportant anymore. Never mind the other 20+ hungry people who are looking for food, just go ahead, and catch up dude... Anyway, some good came out of that, cos Tzuo Hann's friend Kok Yew shows up with his dad at the restaurant, and his dad not only recommended some very nice dishes, but also paid for dinner as well!! How about that to end a long day of riding?

Day 3: 124.6km (route travelled highlighted in yellow), Sekinchan to Bukit Jalil Stadium

*sigh* Another day to go... Getting the tired legs warmed up took a little longer than expected. Sore butts and stiff legs aren't quite a good combination especially in the mornings. But on the brighter side, we were on our last day, and we had less ground to cover today, or so we thought!!
Well, the mood seemed lighter today, and everyone was a bit more relaxed, as we rolled into Kapar, then subsequently into Klang in time for lunch. My friend Yish met us on the way to lead us to the best BKT shop in town. He'd also dropped off a crate of 100plus in the morning at the shop so we could all have ice cold drinks to freshen ourselves up when we reached. Then the icing on the cake was when Yish offered to pay for lunch. Thanks a million Yish!!

Following lunch, was the long, sleepy ride out to Kesas, with Yish leading us out of Klang town via some shortcuts and a scenic ride past the palace. Getting on Kesas was good, cos that meant that we were so much closer to our final destination. Fast forward a couple of hours later under the hot sun and battling headwinds, we found ourselves near the stadium at about close to 5pm. Yin's parents lived around the corner, and had arranged beforehand for his dad to get some beer for all, so we chilled out there till it was almost 6.

Then the call came... The Health Minister was at the stadium, waiting for us to arrive!! So it was a mad rush as we weaved our way in and out of traffic leading into the stadium, making the Mat Rempits look like little kids as we battled the cars that were gridlocked. Nothing was gonna stop us now. We got to the stadium in 1 piece and took our places and before you know it, we were doing a 'lap of honour' with a few hundred, if not thousands clapping and cheering us on.

As we rode around and waved and smiled, it made me feel like the ride was worth more than rm10,000. It was worth the butt aches, sunburns, and aching legs/joints. It was worth riding on some of the narrow road shoulders only to have the lorries zoom past within cms of your life. It was worth the sweat we poured out. It was worth a million bucks to me.

Still awake, and packing

2008-05-28T01:29:00.005+08:00

Its 1:30am and I think I've just about finished with my packing. Or so I think. There's always that last minute item that you find as you walk about the house. Got the panniers packed with clothes, gear, etc. Bike is ready to go, or as ready as it can be. Couple of small adjustments could be made to make it a more comfy ride, e.g. higher stem and riser bars, but I'm not gonna splurge more $$ on it now, so it will just have to do.

The bike almost protests as I lug it out of the workshop into the living room for a photo. "Camera shy", it says. Looks nothing like its former glory now, but it was necessary.

Well, by the end of the week it'll be back to your oldself. No, not me, i meant my bike.

Ok, almost done now. If i stop typing i think it might help. Let's hope i've got everything I need. Will try to update when i'm on the road, we'll see.

Post ride preparations

2008-05-25T23:40:00.004+08:00

3 more days to get to Taiping, 4 more to start the ride, 6 to finish it all. No, I'm not keeping track of time. Just nervous that's all. Did a 40+ km ride last Tues with Mike K on the Guthrie Hwy, was quite decent, i must say. Had a bit of a sore bum, but otherwise quite alright. Then again, that was only 40km. Think we completed that in about what was it, 2 hours plus? If I wasn't worried before, I'm shaking right now.

Well, the game plan as discussed with Mike is that we'll do early starts to the day. 6:30 or so, if possible, try to avoid mid day sun, and get to the stop of the day as early as we can so we can unwind and chill. Anywhere along the way is good for stops, refueling, etc. Thats all it is though, a gameplan, nothing else. We'll have to see how well I hold up according to the plan.

Rigged up the rack today, put the panniers on, and they seemed to hold up well enough. The only worry I have are the bolts holding the rack at the bottom of the chainstay. The C clamps that came with the rack seemed a little small, and I don't know how well it'll hold up with a full load. Only 1 way to find out.

More stuff to prep tomorrow, and the day after, and the one after that.

Night ride in Kiara

2008-05-16T10:08:00.005+08:00

Had an enjoyable ride yesterday night. In fact the whole of yesterday evening turned out great. After a crazy day at work, managed to rush off home to pick up the bike, and then get to Hartamas in time for dinner with my girlfriend at one of our favourite burger joints. Then, top that off with an intense ride with 4 other crazy bikers, with beer to follow. Bliss, i tell you. It was just one of those nights that everything fell into place and... clicked. Just clicked.

Most people would cringe at the thought of it. Some wouldn't even dream of it. Others are just crazy enough about biking to do it and better still, enjoy it. I guess i fall into the latter category. Not the biking bit, just crazy.

Why would anyone consciously want to ride into the jungles at night? Well, daytime thrills are fun, but night rides are even more thrilling! In actual fact, believe it or not, night rides help improve your riding abilities. I know it may sound insane, but its true! In a way anyway...

See, the rationale is this, you are limited to what you can see based on the brightness of your light(s). Thus, when riding at night, you only get to see where you are looking at, and indirectly only where you want to go. This usually means the line that you want to take. Most of the times during the day, you get to choose from 101 different lines while riding a trail, simply because you can see everything. Now with your vision limited at night, your choice of lines are limited, and thus you are taking lines that are directly laid out in front of you, without seeing that dreadful 10 or 20 feet drop on the side of the hill, or the huge rock that's jutting out from the side of the trail. On top of that, half the time you can't see what your front tyre is rolling over anyway, so you just ride over everything. And when you do ride and clear those roots or drops, you'll be surprised at how easy it seems to be at night! Try the same trail again in the daytime, and you'll be in for the shock of your life. :-P On top of all that, the nice, cool weather makes it really enjoyable too...

So there you have it, my rant about night biking... No way this is gonna hold up as a thesis, but it does hold some truth to it. Try it and see... Just remember to bring first aid kit. And heavy duty arms and legs padding. And ice packs. And stretcher. Oh, some bright lights would be useful too (just kidding about the rest).

National Cancer Society of Malaysia - "Relay For Life" ride

2008-05-13T14:19:00.005+08:00

You may have heard of this guy, Tzuo Hann, who biked all the way back from the US to Malaysia after he graduated last year. If you haven't here's his day to day journal of his long journey home: Crazyguyonabike link

Anyway, he's organizing a 3 day touring ride from Taiping to KL, starting on 29th till 31st May. And... I'm going! My first touring trip, so I guess I'll see what's in store for me then. But anyway, to anyone who's even reading this, please leave a message at the chat box below if you're interested and I'll be glad to add you to the mailing list.

The route will take us along some of the coastal roads on the west coast, and ending with us riding back to the Bukit Jalil stadium on the 31st to coincide with NCSM's Relay for Life event (NCSM Link). I dunno if I'll be able to take another 16 hours of walking/running/biking at the stadium, but I know that by participating in the ride at least and making it happen, some sponsors have already pledged approximately rm10,000 or so for the NCSM. So we just have to ride and have fun!

Route map is as such:

View Larger Map

Sounds like fun? Well, we'll just have to wait and see after the 31st of May to see how I fared.

Wilderness Langkawi Challenge 2008

2008-05-12T13:29:00.003+08:00

This was what I posted via mass email to my friends within my biking group. Please do take note of the warning below... And yea, it is a long read. I amaze myself at how much irrelevant details I can put in sometimes... (Read: BS again...)

"TOLD YA!!!" Told ya that this report was coming, that is… And that, by the way folks, was the catch phrase of our whole adventure… (Ask Bea & Jo for details… )

The preparations, the drama. The journey there, drama. The beautiful hotel, drama again. Pre-race day, drama. Actual race day, more drama. Post race day, drama lagi. Journey home… well you guessed it, drama-lah!! My my, aren't we all ready and suited for the theatre after all that?? Drama-mamas!!

*Warning!! Long read!! Best practice is to print this out (on recycled paper please) and have a hard copy for some toilet or bedtime reading later.*

Post journey started with a frenzy of calls and emails to look for a race partner as Lee Nya had to pull out due to urgent work commitments, but was still kind enough to offer to still go along in the event that I couldn't find anyone to replace her. It was too late for a refund, so the show must go on!! Finally bumped into Joseph on the Mon before leaving (on Wed night), and he expressed keen interest. Some emails and sms'es back and forth later, we managed to inform the organizer on the change of partner on Tues. Phew… So, on on it was after all!!

Langkawi

Getting to Langkawi, first thing Joseph suggested was to rent a van and we all share the cost, so we can just go touring around the island, etc. Which we did, and shared out among 8 of us (plus 2 more newbies who were there for the Slow n Steady race). Then, he tells me that likely he'll camp out in the van by the beach somewhere for the duration of the 3 days… He'd obviously come prepared, as he'd brought along his sleeping mat and sleeping bag, and even mosquito coils!! If he'd told me earlier I'd likely brought these along but I only found out then, and plus, I would rather get some good sleep before a big race like that… so I decided to play lamppost and ask either Soon and Dilah or Jo and Bea if I could share their room… Jo said no go, I was not coming in between their 'dancing' and 'singing' sessions, so that left me with Soon and Dilah, who were kind enough to take me in…

Knowing his strength in biking, I'd forewarned Joseph on my expectations of the race… to finish it in 1 piece. He also agreed to that at that time, not really knowing much about my 'superb' running inability… When we got to the hotel in Langkawi, and after talking to the organizers and all, Joseph realized that 1^st prize in the Men's category bags the winning team 6,000 buckeroos, and all of a sudden, he started going into race mode prematurely. Walked around incessantly in circles, mumbling to himself about rm6000, what we could do with it, etc. Started discussing strategies, about how we'll sabotage the other men's team prior to the race by messing with those carbon fibre kayak paddles that some participants brought on their own, etc.. Mumbling strategies and tips to me during the pre-race briefing, and after… Saying how much rm6k was… Discussing how we'll tackle ALL of the CheckPoints tomorrow morning during the race… Rm6k is a nice sum!! Unveiling to me his whole grand plan of making a clean sweep of the whole race… Reminding me how much he could do with his share of rm6k… Bought a WHOLE bunch (I really mean WHOLE bunch as in it looked like the full bunch from a tree, not just a section) of bananas on race day morning from the market… And all this, despite my constant pleas and whimpers to remind him that running is not my forte (neither is biking and kayaking but those were the 2 lesser evils), and that I'd be happy to just complete the race… His repeated reply was… "Can do it one, we just take it easy…" before going on to describe to me running methods, how we should leave our camelbaks on 1 side of the shore, then swim across to the 2 CPs, and swim back to run along the beach to pick up our camelbaks after, then proceed to the other 1001 other CPs along the way to the next leg, etc. Oh, and also… rm6k is a nice sum to win… GEEZ dude! READ MY LIPS! I'm a WIMP!! Which part of that did you not understand?? I think he finally understood me, but rm6k is still such a nice sum of money to win…

So, while everyone else started to put on their Race Faces, I subconsciously put on my Fazed Face… I was afraid… very very afraid!!

Race Day: Pulau Tuba

Come race day, as we reached the jetty at Pulau Tuba to get ourselves prepped up at the starting line, I realized that I'd lost my partner already. He probably went around checking out the other competitors, and psychoing them into thinking that we were the REAL winners and they should give up already. What a great start! By the time I found him, I realized that we were suddenly at the back with the rest of the Slow n Steady participants, while the rest of the real competition were up front, waiting to blast off already… As we made our way to the front, the signal sounded, and I was suddenly caught up in a whole stampede of crazy, testosterone filled human beings… Don't want to get caught up or trampled on, so if you can't beat them, join them!! And so it started…

1^st leg: Running/Trekking - 0810 to 1110

As we started off, Joseph confidently led the way to a side trail by a fenced off farm area, and proceeded to climb over a fence immediately. I stood there, dumbfounded, wondering why we couldn't run on the road like everybody else or find a well used path to go offroad? Oh well, here we go… Over I went, and stumbled through a whole field of lalang, climbed over the fence on the other end, and emerged at one of the nearest CPs to capture those points. From there, over another fence and more bushwhacking through a field filled with holes till we finally found a bridge to cross a stream, and we found ourselves on the main road to the next CP. Getting to a water tank, he proceeded diagonally up a hillside, while telling me to take it easy as he went up to find the CP and hopefully get it stamped. As I tore my way through fallen trees and hanging thorns, I got a call from him, telling me that the CP was manned, and thus I had to be there to get the passport stamped. Just my luck… More bushwhacking and multiple cuts later, I finally found him at the CP. Here we are nearly at the top of a hill, in the middle of a jungle, with no visible paths around, and they actually put a CP there, with a Marshall to guard it as well. Geez… So we got that done, and went back down to proceed to the next one. All grand ideas of reaching the Abseil CP dissipated as I fell back many times while running towards the compulsory CP for running. At this CP, we replenished some water, and decided to give up the running to head for the Biking leg early, ensuring that we had more time to make use of our strengths.

2^nd leg: Biking – 1110 to 1410

We got to this CP well before 1110, thinking we were probably the 1^st to reach the bike transition. So as we were changing our shoes, a truck arrives, ferrying some photographers and supporters. As we prepped ourselves up and started getting on the bike, we kinda felt like we were in a safari, only we were the animals, as these guys jumped off the back of the truck excitedly, cameras in hand, and started coming up close to us, snapping away as fast as they could to catch our every movement as we were moving out on the bikes. Boy, I felt important then, except that it was like I was some wild animal going to make my appearance on the National Geographic or similar magazine!!

Biking brought us across a newly constructed bridge from Pulau Tuba to Pulau Dayang Bunting. As we got on track to find the next CP, we bumped into Soon/Dilah and Bea/Jo coming in the opposite direction!! Looks like they too, had the same idea and ditched running earlier than us (read: KIASU!! :Haha...) !!! So, we went on our merry way, and found our way up a hill in a rubber estate, before my navigator decided that we need to bushwhack through to get to the next CPs. And that we did, with bike in hand, as we plowed our way uphill, then proceeded to bike downhill on a trail littered with broken branches and fallen trees that had obviously been unused for ages now. We finally did emerge, though, directly next to the beach, and a beautiful sight it was. Biked along the beach quite a distance and finally decided that it was too far already for a CP, so we turned around, and biked back the way we came from. Bumped into Bea/Jo then, who reminded us of the clues that were on the map for the CP we were looking for. Remembering that there was indeed a marble mine where we'd turned around earlier, we whipped our bikes around as fast as our necks could withstand the whiplash, and off we went… Went on and on and on till we finally got to almost the end of the beach and lo and behold, there it was… sitting happily on a tree, and had we biked on for another 20-30 metres earlier, we would've seen it right away. Got that in the bag, then turned back around to get the next one… Found another one on the way out, with the signboard facing out to sea, almost missed that, I must admit. But we missed out the other easy one on the top of the hill that Jo pointed out to us, possibly cos I was half dead from the heat, but proceeded to pick up another CP at the little kampung at the bottom of the hill. After this, we headed back to Pulau Tuba, stopping only to refuel our water and to refresh ourselves with a drink of 100+ from a little stall by the roadside. As we reached the compulsory bike CP, we were almost half baked already, and I think my brains were ready to be eaten!!

From here, on on it was back to the kayaking transition, and this was where we bumped into Adrian and Collin, the winners of the Amazing Race Asia 2 who were on their way back to the same transition as well. That kinda motivated me… in a way, to push on hard, and ensure that the M'sians do not lose again to the S'poreans!! Hahaha…. So we hit the transition in good time, and by then, the sun was out in full force, ensuring that the tarmac was too hot to sit on, and making changing shoes seem like a mystery test by itself!

3^rd Leg: Kayaking – 1410 to 1710

Getting into the kayak and pushing off, at the 1^st stroke of the paddle, I realized that I'd left my gloves back at the transition area, hence ensuring that I earned myself a blister or two on my hands for my carelessness. As soon as we started paddling, sea water started getting onto the cuts on my feet that I'd endured earlier during the hiking and biking bushwhacking sessions… And as if rubbing salt into wounds isn't enough, the unrelentless 2 o'clock sun ensured a very uncomfortable ride out into the open sea.

Strategy-wise, we'd decided to head straight for the ship for the compulsory CP and then back to the finish. Took us a while, and had to stop for about 10 mins on a small beach to take a break while I cooled off my baked head. Continuing on along the coastline after that found ourselves at a CP, one which we hadn't counted on picking up. But we weren't choosy and took what came our way anyway…

Arriving at the compulsory CP, which was actually a beautiful 3 masted sailship, we could see a mess of kayaks tied off haphazardly to the side, where the participants moored off and climbed aboard. All you needed to do was to get up, get you passport stamped, and make a choice of whether you wanna do the optional activity or not. The optional item gets you 100 extra points and requires both team members to climb up the mast using the 'netting' rigging on the sides of the mast, while clipping 2 carabineers in and out for your own safety. Following that, you also have the option to 'walk the plank' and jump about 10 feet or so into the sea, and swim back to the kayak. I opted to chicken out for this, as I'd started cramping up before we reached the ship, and was tired as hell to even fathom climbing up God knows how high just to climb back down again. But my ever gung-ho teammate was all game, and took up a position in the long queue to have his turn.

In between waiting, I watched as Dilah/Soon jumped off the plank, as well as Bea/Jo too, to swim over to their kayaks. The most fun part of this all is watching people clamber onto their kayaks. You discover that a human body has so many muscles and your limbs are super limber all of a sudden. Attempts at putting up 1 leg first, then while trying to pull the body and the other leg up would tip the kayak over. Try and get your torso up first and have the kayak flip over while putting up 1 leg is also quite funny. Come up between 2 kayaks, use both legs and hands on the kayak as leverage to get your body out of the water seems to be a favourite with many. As I watched these people pop up out of the water, then put 1 hand and 1 leg on each kayak on their left and right, and lift themselves out of the water with their bum hanging in between over the water, with almost a look of success on their face… Then the realization of how un-flexible you can be when you're stuck in that position hits ya. Should I go left? Should I go right? Then as they strain themselves with a constipated look to try and take either side… Plop! Back in the water they go! Ahahahaha… Did we have a few good laughs then. Boy, the things you do to keep yourself amused while you're waiting… Of course I wasn't the one in the water trying to clamber onboard a kayak, I took the smart choice and boarded from the ship straight onto the kayak.

Waited and waited and waited and finally after about 1 hour + later, my teammate finally emerges from the water, and we were finally headed back to base. Funnily enough, we were one of the last 2 or 3 teams to leave the ship, and add some strong currents to the equation, you've got tired kayakers trying to cover approx 7-8km (or was it more??) across the open sea on a small kayak. A ladies team overtook us almost effortlessly, and was soon far far ahead. After paddling for what seemed like hours, we saw the ladies' team put up their paddles as a sign of surrender, and the Fire & Rescue people towed them in. The only other team remaining were the S'porean fellas who won the Amazing Race. So there we were, out in the sea, paddling like fools while battling currents and waves, inching forward a few feet at each stroke… We will not lose to the S'poreans! We must prevail!! We will beat them!! We shall…. Hey, what the heck? They're ahead of us already?? Gee whiz… talk about low morale…

At almost 1830 or so, we were probably about 300 or so metres to the finish line, and they finally sent out a boat to tow us in due to our slowness. As a result of that, we were given a DNF, despite all our heroic efforts to make it back in time. We would've gotten a hefty time penalty anyway, so maybe a DNF wasn't that bad after all. Think the penalty would've been about 10 points for every minute we were late, so take away 1.5 hours that we were late, I don't think we would've had very much left.

Post Race:

Cut up and bruised (ego lah, that is), we waddled back to the hotel for a shower and some wonderful BBQ dinner. Food was pretty good, and pretty soon everyone was up and about again… for about half an hour or so after the food was served. Following that, people started dropping like flies to their rooms (I know 4 who did that right after dinner), and instead of packing, they opted to wake up earlier the next day to pack instead.

The next morning started off with a miracle. Yes, a miracle! Adilah actually woke up at 7am when the alarm clock rang and she made sure that I was there to witness it. Shook me and kicked me and pinched me to make sure I woke up and said "Wow, I'm amazed that I'm awake this early!". So, off she went on her merry way while Soon and I 'stretched' in our beds for a while longer (not in the manner that you guys are thinking, get your minds out of the gutter you idiots!). As full realization of the little time we had left to pack dawned on us, we got up in a frenzy and started throwing stuff into the bags, removing bike parts, etc. Got it all done in record time, and we were finally ready to leave.

On the bus while on the way back home, a pile up on the hwy caused our bus to hit another car in front that was trying to stop in time to avoid the accident ahead. Thankfully nobody was injured, and it wasn't a major accident. But it was bad enough that we had to spend a couple of hours in Ipoh to lodge a police report and all, so by the time we reached back home, it was well past midnight. Tired as we were, home was still home.

Bruised and battered, as we made our way back home, I wondered to myself if it was all worth it. Many a time during the race (and also during my previous few races) I felt like giving up, and asked countless times why I do this to myself? During the runs or the uphills, it feels like I should've just stayed home and biked Kiara instead. But then, riding the trails in Pulau Dayang Bunting were quite satisfying, bombing through the rubber estates to exit right next to the beach, riding up and down along the beach, then exiting through small kampungs, etc. That was definitely fun. But the pain… The Pain!! The many times I felt like my brains were overcooked, feeling the heat of the sun on your skin and the back of your neck, getting that sensation that you're about to cramp if you pull half a muscle the wrong way (and then cramping anyway cos you thought it was the muscle on your other left), the bruises and cuts, the many times you run out of breath, feeling faint from heatstroke, the nauseous sensation, running out of water, running out of powergels or food, braving the waves to paddle out to what seems like nothingness, trusting the directions given to you on a piece of paper and a plastic compass.

All that for what? A measly 'DNF' finish? Or a mediocre position in between the other competing teams? Or to return with 'battle scars' for bragging rights? Nay, I tell you. It is all for the satisfaction. The satisfaction of knowing that you did it and finished it. The elated feeling you get as the hairs stand on the back of your neck when you reach the finish line and everyone cheers you on, regardless of your position. The sensation of feeling all 100% human again after a well earned hot shower and hot, hearty meal. The pride of being a TClan member (well done, TClanners!!) who did it and came back in 1 piece. The ability to brag to the others to say "What are you, Chicken?". And then there's the rm6000 that should've been ours. We deserved every cent of it, even if just for the effort! Then, there's also the............... Oh shit, wait a minute, I haven't washed my shoes yet!! Darn, they're gonna stink by the time I get back tonight…

The spirit is willing but the flesh.... well, its got a mind of its own...

2008-05-12T09:55:00.002+08:00

What with the recent dry spell and having just pushed myself hard at the Langkawi race, I geared up for a long ride on Sat morning. I was ready to push it further, I told myself... Let's do it!!

Well, turning off 2 alarm clocks and falling back asleep wasn't quite a good start to the day. It wasn't till Roland sms'ed me that I'd realised that I'd overslept... again!! Geez... And then Dax buzzes me at about 7 to gloat over the fact that he was right about me oversleeping and all. Such wonderful friends...

Anyway, as it turned out, there were about 8 of us last Sat, which was a good turnout. But somehow nobody wanted to ride out to the Kampung, which was a longer ride, and everyone seemed keen to finish up the ride early and head for the mamak. I was ready to go further, I wanted to ride more, I wanted to feel that lactic acid build up again in my legs, I.... thought that mamak was a better idea.

Gee whiz...

The opening post...

2008-05-09T00:48:00.005+08:00

Why a blog? Why now?

A few years ago, when blogging caught on, I never imagined starting one myself. Without wanting to sound too philosophical, I could never see myself revealing detailed information about myself, what I do and where I go everyday being posted on the WWW for all to see. As time went by, more and more references are made daily to blogs here and there. Some were very enjoyable, some were poorly written and some were just downright good. I also learnt that blogging does not necessarily mean putting in ALL the intimate details of your 25 hour day (ddduuuhhhh....), and add the fact that I discovered that I could write a little (poorly at best, but a little nonetheless), I started writing short 'newsletters' for a mailing list of a group of my friends with whom I bike with frequently.

As time went by, the creative juices (read: BS) started flowing once the keyboard started clicking, and I found more and more things to write about. At times I wondered if anyone was actually reading the stuff I was writing. I don't blame them one bit even if they don't. Fast forward a few months, there were moments when I felt like I was bursting to voice out stuff that I felt as and when it happened, and with no avenue to let it out. Fast forward a few more months to last weekend, I participated in an adventure race in Langkawi, and upon returning home, some friends mentioned their anticipation of the newsletter with all the race details and information. So there I was, chugging away on the notebook till late at night, and produced a 6 page Word document. Yes, 6 darn pages posted into an email is definitely a novel, even by my standards.

So here it starts, a new beginning for me, delving into the world of blogging. Please bear with me as I find my way around, trying to get a foothold in this unfamiliar world, in my quest to vent out and share the ups and downs of things that go on, not just around my little world, but everyone and everything else around it as well.

If you've read this far down the page, thank you. This, my friends, is just the start... More BS to flow (follow/flow, get it??) suit... The floodgates are now... OPEN!