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, November 16, 2008

A way out

Nov distance: 326 km

Sengkang, 45 km. I heard some bad news a few days ago and passed it on ... The road that was there, it's gone now; a ditch runs across it now. I detour into new territory to find the rest of the old road and the kampung house it used to pass. Mud splashes up my rims and onto my newly-waxed bicycle. The house is gone. All that remains is some wood, broken glass and an abandoned sofa. The people had no choice but move on. What happens when change happens? We can try to change the change (fight). Or avoid it (flight). Or change ourselves: the way we see it, feel it. We choose any of the three or toggle among them if we've calculated wrongly.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

From 51 to 15

Round island#10, 1.75x, 222 km. I start out reaching over 51 km/h, trailing a transporter after dropping out of the ANZA peloton that takes the lead in Singapore's first 24 hour charity ride. By nightfall, I'm crawling along at 15 km/h; my iliotibial band (ITB) and calf act up with every pedal stroke. While I'm on my second round, two guys overlap me as they go on their third. At each pit stop, I stretch and rest. A volunteer asks me if I have ITB; she can tell from my stretching (she says it took her two months to get better. I say I have a full marathon in one month). I struggle not just with the cycling but about whether to quit. When is being steadfast, stupid? Near midnight, I call it a day and drop out. I'm so tired ... of bananas and isotonic drinks. I can't even cycle home and radio for help on my sponsored walkie-talkie cum GPS that tracks my mileage.

3 R's of a charity ride: Raise money. Ride. And Regret? Not really. Sure, I ask myself "why am I doing this", when there's pain. But then, I meet interesting people. Like T, whom I met while cycling to the start line. I ask him if he's joining the ride and he decides to on the spot. That means forking out a 3-figure "entrance fee" / donation. And the volunteer who'd signed up herself and a vehicle after hearing about the ride on radio; she didn't have to volunteer but she chose to. And with each ride, I learn something. This ride, I chose to drop out. Children with Down Syndrome, can't drop out; they're born with it. Their mothers don't drop out from caring. Others have stopped caring for a lot less. Those who care for a lifetime, are the real champions.

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Two birds, a rock and a hard place

Changi, 59 km. The bird in the hand: annual year-end expedition. Bird #1 in the bush: marathon in Dec. Bird #2: 24-hour endurance charity ride in Nov. Rock: "did not start" (DNS) or "did not finish" (DNF) for Bird #1 which I've been training for most of the year. Hard place: DNS or DNF for Bird #2, where I aim to break my single-day distance record of 225 km, set in Nov 04, by doing a double American century (320 km). A DNS or DNF would be a blot on my record of 100% completion for all four foot races, 11 bicycle races, 6 charity rides and 5 "epic" rides. Tonight's training ride puts things in painful perspective: I've not recovered from my leg injury. Though I'm on slick tyres, I can barely keep up with a roadie going at 38 km/h. My leg hurts; it's only by varying ankle angle, and pulling my pedals rather than pushing down that I get home. Moral of the story: If I want everything, I may end up with nothing. Greed is greatly destructive. After all, sub-prime loans is about getting something from those who don't have enough to give, isn't it? Well, perhaps I could get something ...