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, January 26, 2005

Reunion

Jan distance: 673 km

To Beach Road, 36 km. Chinese New Year is round the corner and today's ride is a reunion of sorts. My last Wed night ride was three months ago! I finally see GKT on his Santa Cruz. C has replaced her Giant with a chromoly KHS, H is on her Klein, D has switched from a Merlin to a Martini, B is on a full-suspension and riding a slack pace for a change. There are some new faces too. We cycle into town; they head for supper while I reluctantly turn for home to catch some shuteye and prepare for work tomorrow.

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Double trouble

To Choa Chu Kang, Tuas, 181 km. It's time to see how my new crankset fares with the Thomson Sunday roadies. I blow up after hitting 42 km/h; I just can't keep up that pace. I slow down and overtake two pockets of resting roadies. Crank is smooth and I hit 37 km/h even after an hour of hard riding. But it's hubris to think my heavy steel steed can keep up with titanium or carbon road bikes. It's hubris also to think I can do two hard rides in one day. But who is to know today's NUS centennial training ride would be mainly hardcore mountain bikers. The lead rider on a titanium Dean and knobbies sets the pace, followed by a full-suspension on slicks. Mr Dean cranks out a mean 37 km/h. Here we go again. I guzzle and gobble at rest stops to keep up. And crap twice after that. Still, the ride shows I don't have to adjust my cleats; there's no knee pain. (No. of near accidents: 4)

Saturday, January 22, 2005

Cranking up the speed

To Chin Swee Road, 36 km. Tech note My Bontrager crank knows its time is up. It behaves well, like some poor guy knowing the axe is going to fall but still keeping his nose to the grindstone. He's been grinding away since Mar 03, on the chain gang for about 15,000 km. I want to change it because I'm tired of trailing behind hardcore roadies. And being whipped by a certain mountain biker. Bikeshop man is amazed at how worn my old crank is. He says I shouldn't wait till it's like shark teeth. He doesn't have the XT model that I want, so I settle for LX. he's My new crank is smooth, real smooth. Front d seems to shift better too. Feels strange though, as if the Q factor has changed. And the chain doesn't seem used to the new chainrings; the crank doesn't make the usual 2.5 revolutions when I spin it by hand backwards. (No. of near accidents: 2)

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Mind-blowing experience

To Sedili Kechil, Johore, Malaysia, 230 km. The wind blowing south is so strong, the trees seem to bow permanently before it. There's a stretch of trees where the wind seems to have stripped all the leaves. The wind certainly leaves me gasping; even the roadies are going just above 20 km/h. The headwind, hills, plus lack of a proper lunch, cut my speed by 60%. A couple drop out, leaving the 15 of us, mostly roadies, out of sight ahead of me. Still, it's good to know there are fellow bikers ahead and behind me. This is an interesting bunch, some known, some new. An architect who designs bikes, an owner of an on-line business, a brand manager and a 46-year-old triathlete who trains five times a week. I'm in the slower group which comprises mainly mountain bikers, unlike the other roadies on this Soul Bikes ride. But Day 2 sees me break away in my group; for some reason, I'm able to cycle a mean pace even uphill and fully laden with my gear. While yesterday was a real drag, today put things in perspective: it's great to be alive. Just about the only thing that marred the ride is almost being wiped out by two buses in Johore. Of course, they are Singapore buses. Tech note Replaced rear tyre (Panaracer Pasela) with new tyre (Panaracer T-Serv).
Photo courtesy of Buffedupboy

Saturday, January 08, 2005

3 rides, 3 soakings, 2 punctures

To Tuas, 120 km. My past three rides in Singapore have been soaking wet ones;. Talk about hand wringing! My Panaracer Pasela tyres seem to have thrown in the towel too. The rear tyre deflates on two consecutive rides. It's about a year old (fitted in Feb 04, travelling about 7,000 km). Today's ride goes on in the rain as it's training for the National University Centennial ride ("when it rains on the actual ride, we can't stop either; we've got to get to a certain place by a certain time", says bikeleader E). For a moment, the ride feels like a biathlon: with water going into my eyes, nose and mouth, it's like swimming and cycling. My rear blinker drowns in the rain; it's so wet the battery coat is peeling off. On the way home, a pedestrian saunters into my path. I'm so close, I can spit on him. I yell. "Huh, oh, sorry," he says.
Tech note I fix R's bike in several places. I'll stick to cantilever brakes. While it's older technology, the brake pads are thicker and are easier to adjust.

Sunday, January 02, 2005

Cold, wet but hopeful

To Lim Chu Kang, 70 km. About 200 cyclists cycle the route of the Thomson ride, but this is no ordinary ride. It's the Sly Ride, in memory of a biker who got killed by a bus driver. Member of Parliament Ong Kian Ming says a few words, the widow delivers an eulogy, and we're off. I tag along the Cycleworx group; somehow I manage to keep up until Lim Chu Kang Road. Must be all the "training" I got during my 1,500 km ride in the past few weeks. It starts to pour. Most of us keep cycling. My brakes just skim the rims. I feel out of place, being the only mountain biker in that group, but a kind triathlete looks after me. I might have crashed if it isn't for him, as we cycle at breakneck speed; 40 km/h and above. My computer states the average speed at the end of the ride is 29.3 km/h, even after I stop to fix a puncture. The MP promises some action to keep the roads safe for cyclists. This time, perhaps things will change. We have a right to be on the roads, to ride, to be alive.