Cycling is like life. Cycling with no goal is meaningless. What meaning is there cycling in circles? Or living aimlessly? Meaning comes from direction and destination. Join me in my life's journey on a mountain bike :)

Blogging since 2003. Thank you for reading :))

Wednesday, April 30, 2003

Apr: 727 km

Wed 30 Apr: C is for Cool
To Changi Village, 61 km. Tonight is the second time I cycle with the Wednesday night riders. I meet C, who has an A-frame Canondale. She tells me it's about 8-9 years old and was modified extensively at Batu Pahat for about RM500. A cool-looking bicycle, with a cool cyclist to match. On the way to Changi, she has a few close calls - a taxi and a motorbike which cuts really close to her path. But she keeps her cool. At Changi Coast Road, I push myself really hard, playing tag with G, who rides a golden brown Cannondale. He cranks a furious pace notwithstanding his knobbly tires. At Changi Village, I have a quick bite, then head for home so I can snatch a few hours of sleep before the Ubin ride tomorrow.

27 Apr: Ride of contradictions
Punggol and Changi Village, 80 km. What a strange ride it is today, as I lead a BOAC ride:
A couple of cyclists tell me an hour before the ride that they're backing out and I think I'll only have half a dozen cyclists. As it turns out, there are double that number, thanks to Gentle Giant (aka XTR) who has two batches of riders join her.
Yesterday's weather report says it's going to rain this afternoon. Instead, it was a scorcher - I can see heat waves rise from the roads. Even the water in my water bottle turns warm. Not to mention my headache as the sun beats down mercilessly.
The rider (his initials and bike both start with K) in ordinary togs and shoes rides faster than another cyclist with fancy bicycle and clipless pedals. In fact, I could barely keep up, though I now have slick tyres.
The group comprise those who ride a few times a year - and a group from Togoparts (Gentle Giant's pals).
After lunch at River Mall, Mr Trek OCLV and I take two of the BOAC cyclists back to Hougang / Ang Mo Kio, then we sprint back to River Mall to join the die hard riders to Changi.

Today, I cycle for the first time in my life with bike shorts, as I try them out for the eagerly anticipated ride to Malacca next weekend. First time I wear ankle-length socks too. LSH says I'm changing my image. Today also marks another broken record - one I didn't want to break. Since I started leading rides this year in Bikerboey's absence as she traipses around South America, my rides have been accident free. Until today. A girl biker squeezes her disc brakes and brakes too well. She falls. Fortunate, she grazed only her knee. Yes, there's some blood, but she didn't bang her head ... Many thanks to Mr Trek OCLV as he sounds the alarm.

And it is good to see my bike pals again - if you're reading this, you know who you are :-)

Wed 23 Apr: Cycling with the guys
To Yishun Ave 1, 31 km. First time I'm cycling with the Wednesday night riders, who meet at Salvation Army at Bishan at around 8 pm. They ride rather exotic bikes, some of which I've never seen before. Corratec, FSR. One of them, GKT leads the ride. He's really fast, on his semi-slicks. After the short ride, we stop by Casuarina Rd for food and beverage. This is the only time we stop for a break - they believe in cycling first, talking later. Which is the way it should be.

Tech note This is the first time I've taken my slick tyres out for a spin. Hmmm. Faster acceleration, lighter too. Think they add a few more km/h to my cruising speed - from 32 to about 35 km/h. Top speed on a flat road doesn't seem to have changed compared to my semi-slicks though; still about 41 km/h. Doesn't make sense. More testing needed.

13 Apr: Cycling with roadies
To Punggol, 37 km It's Sunday again, the third day I'm cycling in seven days. Where shall we go today? A few days ago, ST said she didn't mind going to Punggol, so I go there again.

ST calls DC, who calls TSY. I invite BS - I've never cycled with him but he's e-mailed me after reading my bikelog. He says he's a newbie and needs to practice balancing and cycling on the roads. He rides a Trek OCLV racer. TSY rides a racer too, and is an ex-national cyclist.
The ride to Punggol isn't that far, so I manage to keep TSY in sight while BS brings up the rear. At Punggol end, an elderly gent walks up and wants to ride with us someday. ST agrees and I give him my e-mail address. Who knows, he might kick all our butts, judging from the way he runs. Cycling with others is about giving chances, just like I gave BS a chance and just as AF gave me a chance (sight unseen) to ride to Johore at a frantic (for me) pace.
After Punggol end (which has only a vending machine), we cycle to Punggol Marina and Punggol Port Road. DC tells me she's glad to have met me as she's never seen such scenic places. Not sure she is glad to see the metre-long snake with flies buzzing about its split head - or was that the tongue? Well, I sure am not going closer to inspect it.
During lunch, ST tells us about her rides in Indonesia and Japan. Wow, such wonderful life experiences. And here I am, messing around on this little island, going no further than Johore. DC talks about getting a friend FP (see 18-19 Apr) to arrange a ride to Malaysia.

Tech note After lunch, ST takes us to her friends bike-cum-computer shop, where I fiddle again (see 2 Apr) with my front derailleurs. I guess I don't leave well enough alone. Anyway, I don't make a mess of it - and perhaps it's my imagination but does the chain shift a teeny bit better now on the chain rings? ST tells me I should go back to the Ang Mo Kio bike shop since my handlebar grip got loose after changing the handlebar. I go though I didn't think it would do any good. Sure enough, bikeshop man says there's nothing he can do - if I remove it and clean it, I'd find it hard to put it back on. But that's what I do - I struggle to put it back on but now I've got a firm grip.

PS: Got home around 1 pm - unusually early but I'm glad to be home. I've been spending a lot of time cycling, at the expense of other things - like cooking (imagine, a mouldy frying pan) and cleaning ... Maybe that's why I cycle so much :-(

Fri 11 Apr: From zero to uphill in 10 seconds
To Esplanade, 37 km. It's Friday night. Thanks to Gentle Giant, I'm addicted to Friday night cycling. I used to dread cycling at night because it's hard to judge the speed and distances of cars from the size of their headlights. But somehow, I get by. To night, LSL does the honours again. I meet him at Thomson Road near Dyson Road, and get a taste of what my pals must have felt on the "hills are alive" ride I led last week.

10 Apr: The little joys of life
To Punggol Point, 37 km. I take half day leave and can't contain myself as I put on my bike gear and jump on my bicycle and pedal away to rustic Punggol. It's an interesting place. You can (almost) trace the history of Singapore in reverse in this little place.

The way to Punggol is through a built up area, with condo-like flats. You also see things being built, like mass rapid transit and light rail transit. There's also bare land which has just been cleared and waiting to be built on. You cycle a bit more and hey - it's like you've just crossed a time warp. Narrow, rustic roads winding past trees. Little streams. And the relentlessly blowing headwind. Soon, you reach the end of Punggol Road, which has a quaint little bus "terminus" - more primitive than the one at Sembawang Rd. There's some off-road too, off Punggol Port Rd. I pedal slowly at 7 kmh, trying to keep my chain clean of the sand. I cycle by the sea, parallel to the coast of Coney Island. Finally, I've seen of Coney Island. Several times last year, I've gone to Punggol to look for Coney Island but never found it. Just look at the waves in the foreground, with the island tantalisingly close but unreachable.

Tech note I'm still amazed how smooth my transmission is (see tech note 6 Apr). It is so smooth, so effortless. So easy to cruise at 32 kmh. Going at 35 kmh takes a little more effort, but not as much effort as it was before the drivetrain change, when my max speed was 36 kmh. Now, my max is at least 41.9 kmh. I wonder what it'll be like if I change my rims too. After all, I had to stop twice just now because the brake pads make an ominous sound against my front rim. I find bits of stuff on the brake pad. Perhaps it's grit. Perhaps it's part of the rim. I drop by a bike shop. One pair of ordinary looking wheelsets cost $110. Another pair of sleek, black Jalco rims cost $135. Maybe next time. Now, I gotta clean my chain.

4 Apr: Down by the river
To Singapore River, East Coast Parkway, 54 km. LSL e-mailed me last night asking if I want to ride with him. We've e-mailed to each other before, but I've never met him, much less cycled with him. I say "yes" and the ride is on. We meet at IRAS Building, and the route after that is all a blur as he takes me down little roads here and there. Soon, we are on Scotts Road, Kim Seng Road and then the heart of the city along Singapore River.

What a first, cycling by the river. The city lights shimmer on the black water, mirroring what I see above water level. The reflection in the water of the bridges is Impressionistic and more picturesque than the real thing. We go past Boat Quay and Clarke Quay, Esplanade and Marina Park, then another flurry of detours that take us to the National Stadium and East Coast Park.

Maybe it's the rain, but the crowd is really thin at East Coast. It's safe to ride. We stop by McDonalds and LSL buys me a drink. He offers to drive me home because it's late and it may be dangerous on the roads. Well, I don't know sidelanes like he does and cycling on the road is the only way I know how to go. I cycle home under my own power and arrive past 2 am.

Tech note LSL rides a Bridgestone MB3! It looks good, somewhat modified with RST suspension fork but original Ritchey headset. He's got slick tyres; incredible acceleration that leaves me behind. I have to pedal fast to catch up with him. My chain is still skipping and flaking particles, but less so than before. When I did my road tests, the chain skipped every other stroke or so, then reduced to every eight strokes or so. Now, it's just occasional. I'd say this is getting tolerable. I did cover 54 km after all, no chain suck (though chain almost fell off once) and no grating against the front derailleur. Really glad I changed most of the drive train. Smooth, real smooth. Back home, I'm dismayed to find my brand new chain is peppered with dirt - the outcome of cycling on wet roads and grass. I degrease it and apply dry lube. Smooth, real smooth. I clean up at 3 am.

Wed 2 Apr: Monkey business, horsing around
To Windor Park Rd and Old Upper Thomson Rd, 27 km. I'm not satisfied with the results of last night's road test. So I hit the road again, partly to repeat the road test and partly to recce part of the "hills alive" ride this Sunday. At Upper Pierce Reservoir, motorists stop to feed the monkeys, ignoring the signs which say "don't". The monkeys know humans = food and congregate. Naturally, they associate cars with food too, instead of death. And the monkeys toss food about, including the middle of the road, and dine there. I wonder who has more brains - the monkeys or the motorists.

Tech note Horse is perking up after some tweaking. There are still some things it won't do - as if it's now got a new personality after all those transplants. I learn to work around the characteristics. I don't know what the top speed or cruising speed now is, since the chain rings are smaller. But it's smooth, real smooth. Bontrager crankset, Shimano LX bottom bracket, Shimano IG chain. Without the Iron Horse frame, you are just bike parts. Well, let's see how you all work together this Sunday against aluminium machines equipped with XTR / XT parts.

Tue 1 Apr: Clanking chains in the night
To Old Upper Thomson Rd, 22 km. My dear bike pals want me to lead a ride this Sunday. But my horse doesn't seem well. I get home from work and hop on my bike. Cycling solo on Old Upper Thomson Rd in the dark isn't fun. It's really spooky - especially at one stretch where the lights are out. Anyway, even with street lights, it's so dim I can't see what's happening with my drivetrain. And I see a van stop against traffic flow. A guy got out - he is alone. Why would anyone go there except courting couples and a crazy biker? I don't dare stop to tweak my bike, in case dogs, monkeys and dunno wat else jump on me. A kid on a bicycle nearly crashes into me. An a pedestrian treats me like I am transparent. He ignores me though I'm within spitting distance of him.

Tech note Horse isn't riding well. When I get home, I see my brand new chain is flaking - tiny particles are coming off. That's because the chain is skipping like kids on steroids. Bikeshop man says it's because the chain is newer than the freewheel. So, change freewheel? But he doesn't have a seven-speed Shimano freewheel. Some of the gear ratios don't work ie chain gets stuck on one of the chain rings and won't go down. Gonna have to figure out how to resuscitate my sick horse because I think bikeshop man is sick of me.

Saturday, April 19, 2003

Endurance Queen, King of Pain

18-19 Apr. To Kluang, 278 km. It's a bad start. Although it's 6.15 am on a public holiday (Good Friday), I almost get clipped by a car - and I haven't even left Ang Mo Kio yet. Then, I'm supposed to cycle to Upp Thomson Rd, meet a friend then proceed to Woodlands. My friend isn't there. I call a couple of times, but phone is off (and this is after I tell my friend to be contactable). I wait, but get no notification that my friend is late. How long to wait - buffer time is all used up. No sight, no sound, so I SMS my friend goodbye and scoot off to Woodlands. Sure don't want to miss the ride. On the way there, I nearly got sandwiched between two vehicles. Oh God, please let all this be the worst part of the ride.

Indeed, that is the worst part of the ride. The good things that happen:
I make it to Woodlands just in time. The bike leader, FP, is already there. Other cyclists show up, including my missing in action friend. Off we go to the Causeway, where we are surrounded by a long trail of motorcyclists. I avoid burns from their exhaust pipes.

I see TSY riding a really classic bike: Bridgestone MB0; it is 12 years old. Chromoly frame, of course. She's upgraded it with all-Shimano parts including 9-speed casette and the upgrade cost about $500. Well, look at her go! She's really great to draft behind, as she signals road hazards ahead with her hands. (I draft behind another rider and "bang", my pedal hits a rock - yup, that's how big the rock was.

This is the first time I cycle with FP. It's discouraging, yet inspiring. So, this is real cycling. FP rides his bike (a Scott, carbon frame, with 1.25" tyres) so fast, he's out of sight. He cycles about 500 km each week. No wonder he briefs us: "If we get separated, just go straight. If you come to a fork in the road, turn right."

At times, I feel like giving up but I survive. We're cycling around two hours before each break. On Day 1, we cycle in the burning noonday sun, going up interminable hills that don't seem to go downhill. On Day 2, the sky taunts us as we apply sunblock but it keeps raining. As the Endurance Queen DC cruises past me, I just feel like yelling "ah, forget it, I give up" and throwing my bike down. Whenever I feel like giving up, it is time to stop. Seeing FP by the road side is a welcome sight because it means break time.

DC says I'm really stoned, just gazing into nothingness. Indeed, it's like concussion - on Day 1, I barely notice when a truck honked at me twice. When I look up, it's bearing down on me as it goes against traffic flow. But I'm too tired to care. On Day 2, I take some risks as I ride past on the uneven roads as I hurtle past roadworks and vehicles. Thank God I don't become like the "road pizza" of monitor lizards and snakes along the roads.

I'm the King of Pain. My leg almost cramps, and my right knee hurts - but it's not debilitating. My butt hurts - on Day 2, I'm desperate enough to stuff a t-shirt down my shorts. Though it doesn't work, thank God I cope with the pain in the butt just like I cope with the pain in my neck (caused by my glasses sliding down my face as if they were bifocals - which means I have to raise my head higher just to see the road)

I sometimes feel like I'm cycling solo in a strange land. Indeed, have never been on the road to Kluang before. Sometimes, I can't see any rider in front of me or behind me. Going at 30 kmh or more, a pause of 1 minute means a gap of 500m. But thank God, I didn't get lost.
We stay overnight in a luxurious hotel - it has aircon, carpet, tv, even a bath tub. Sure beats Pengarang.

Chain only skips once on the entire trip!

Tech note Back in Singapore, I drop by my favourite Ang Mo Kio bikeshop and change my new semi slicks (which are now "rain proven") into slick tyres. The following day, I visit Treknology Bikes at Holland Grove. I see two chromoly Marin bikes - the old one costs $1,000 but the front d doesn't quite work. The new bike is $1,600 after a $1,000 discount. Though it's "new", it's an old model and it does look old.

Sunday, April 06, 2003

The hills are alive

To Admiralty Rd West (see route details below), 63km. A group of 10 riders visit the hills of central and northern Singapore.

  • Storming the castle: Windsor Park Rd. See how rich people like big houses on big hill tops.
  • Piercing pain: Upper Pierce Reservoir off Old Upper Thomson Rd. Look out for monkeys looking out for you and motorists trying to feed monkeys. There's a place here with a sign "beware of crocodile" - don't think it refers to underwear .
  • Catch your breath: Sembawang Rd, Gambas Ave. Sightseeing at the hotspring where a couple of guys soak their feet while the rest of us joke at their expense.
  • Waves of despair: Admiralty Rd West. Rest along the little quiet road facing Johore. Lunch, then a quick spin by Senoko Fishing Port at Attap Valley Rd.
  • Dessert here we come: Admiralty Rd East to Sembawang Park. Ice cream by the sea.
  • Ride in the park: scenic park connector beside river to Yishun Ave 2.

Quite an eventful ride, with riders cursing me at the first hill of Windsor Park Rd. Indeed, the hills are alive, with the sound of cursing. Of course, it isn't that bad; if they had breath to curse me, the ride isn't that tough. Unhappiness continued at the second stop for breakfast - which was unscheduled. It seems some of the riders hadn't had breakfast, though they were supposed to eat before the ride starts. But how can they cycle on empty stomachs? So they eat while some of those who'd eaten fume quietly to me.

After the ride, cheeky Gentle Giant insists I should give her a certificate of participation / achievement. She e-mails me after that to drive home the point. But I can do better than issue certificates. Everyone who rides (and one who didn't) gets an award. Some get more than one award. Here's the roll of honour (drum roll).

  • Distinguished Achievement Award: RL, for perseverance despite a bad knee and riding a bike that also needs help.
  • Achievement Award (joint winners): to LEK, keeps up and keeps smiling despite being a newbie and saddlesore. AZ, who took part in a race the day before the ride (this is also the first time I've cycled with her).
  • Gentleman of the Ride Award (loud applause): NBL, who rides behind to keep an eye on RL. NBL has made it a point on other rides to look after stragglers / strugglers, even though he can ride like the wind. As in the case with society, it is a mark of decency to watch over those at risk of being left behind.
  • Helpful Rider Award (loud cheers): LCT, for keeping me posted on happenings among riders and helping me wait for them. LCT also wins the Overqualified Rider Award, for taking part in the ride even though it must have been boring for him. Imagine a postgraduate student taking a test for an O Level student ... He rides faster than 40 kmh so the slow pace must have been boring. Just watch him entertain himself at rest stops and during the ride, as he disappears and reappears like a ninja at different parts of the road.
  • The "Hello, Where Are You" Award (joint winners): Gentle Giant and ST, who overshoot turning points. Giant also wins the "What, No Ice Kachang?" Award.
  • The "No Complaints" Award (joint winners): to GL and LSH for quietly enjoying the ride.
  • The "I Wish I Was Riding With You" Award: to M.

This ride is memorable to me for several reasons

  • I didn't get lost though the recce was more than a month ago
  • First time I ride with a bandanna; it sure helps keep the sweat out of my eyes and off my glasses. Looks cool too, I think. And when I soak it in water and ride, it sure feels cool. I also put on a t-shirt cut off at the waist - it sure lets in cool air!
  • I clock 41.9 kmh on a flat road. Might have been able to go faster, but chain started skipping and there were some on-coming traffic. Before upgrading my drivetrain, the max speed on the same road was 36 kmh.
  • I ride like I had dogs after me at Upper Pierce, dodging cars right and left. Why did I take those risks? Speed thrills but kills
  • Bike computer tells me I clocked max speed of 62.61 kmh. Dare I believe it? I don't recall going that fast.

Tech note The second "liposuction" of my bike (see 29-30 Mar) is paying off well overall. Less weight, less energy needed, less injury. More distance, more speed and (of course) more costly. Price I've spent upgrading the bike is now about the same as the cost price. Still, it costs less than getting a new bike - and what price can you put on a "classic" bike? Anyway, the only original parts left on my horsey are the wheelset, inner tubes (unpunctured after 3,652 km), rear derailleur and, of course, the frame. May the Horse be with you. I reward horsey by cleaning and lubing it for the next ride.