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 :))

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Vicissitudes of life

Apr distance: 212 km


To Woodlands Street 13, 60 km. The sun beats down so hard, I sprinkle water on myself before heading out. A white man on a bicycle with rigid fork and rear suspension overtakes me, sweat pouring from his face. We play "leap frog" on the road at 36 km/h, he on slicks, I on fat tyres. We part ways at a fork in the road. I find a pretty park in Woodlands and linger there before heading home. The rain beats down soon after. So, it shines in the morning and rains in the afternoon. To rail at the weather is a waste of time. Maybe I should rail less at life too; just as I prepare for wet weather on the road, I should expect rain at work.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Space and time

To Lim Chu Kang Road, 66 km. Life is not just about atoms and molecules. Matter can be there, but lifeless (as is the case with roadkill). Living takes place in space and time. It's strange how I want to get out of my home but hours later, want to be home. I rush home so I won't get wet in the rain, yet am glad to be get wet in a shower. To be home is to be in the same space but different time. To be in a shower is to be in a different space, different time. Ultimately, life is about time, for it takes time to transcend space. It takes time to do things. It takes time to live a life. And a "good" life is about how time is spent.

Sunday, April 08, 2007

Recce ride

To Bukit Chandu, 53 km. I've never cycled to Marina South before, so that's what I do. It's a nice flat place for cycling. I then head for the hilliest part of Singapore. Geographically, the highest hill in Singapore is in Bukit Timah, but the road uphill is off limits to cyclists. The most rideable place is thus in the south, with Bukit Chandu, Kent Ridge, Mount Faber, etc. I would've joined some people riding there, but receive mixed messages before the ride about whether it is an "invitation only" ride, so I have my shadow and my bicycle for company today, after a nice long snooze, getting up only when the sun is high up.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

What do you really want?

To Singapore Zoo, 33 km. I've been on slicks since 24 Mar. Great acceleration, lighter and faster. But though they go further on the road, there're just some places it'd be foolhardy to go with them. They're more prone to punctures than my fat tyres. But since I've chosen to be on slicks, it's silly to miss my fat tyres. Sure, I could put on fatter slicks, but this'd be at the point where marginal cost exceeds marginal utility. Of course, these calculations make sense only if I know what's cost and what's utility. In a scarce world with unlimited wants, I've got to know what I really want. Then go for it. What's sub-optimal has to be judged in that light. Caveat: is what I really want what I really need? And then, some decisions are shaped simply by what's the right thing to do - even if there's a heavy price to pay. I meet two people today at work who're prepared to pay the price. It's my privilege to know them; they're priceless.