To Love Is Merely Human

I'm truly in love. I just spent close to 2 hours washing every nook and cranny of my bike, buffing it, and polishing the fork, to a shine I haven't seen since the first time I brought it to the trails at Ubin.

Why bother when I'll dirty it the instant my tyre touches the trail? Cos I ain't going to the trail this weekend:)

The NTU bike rally is this Sun. Roadies and chauvanistic Scott MTBers with their shiny bikes from all over the nation will be converging for this event.

And with the amount of time and money I've put into my bike, I can't have it look like an ugly step-sister.

And.. Inadverently, I've become a roadie. Shiny bike. And proud of it. LOL.

But yes, I'm really proud of my bike. Its lighter, and faster than any other bike I've ridden, or any other bike that anyone I personally know owns. Almost every single part is not stock, but was handpicked by me and assembled accurately by a trusted bike mechanic.

My Hand made Carbon fiber handlebar from japan holds all my important controls. Avid Juicy 5 hydro brakes, Shimano Deore LX drivetrain, Deore Shifters, Cateye cyclocomputer.

I love my handmade in France, Mavic wheelset. My Scott saddle supports my ass perfectly. My Specialized grips give me ergonomic comfort on the road, and superb grip on trail. Lastly, my Panaracer tyres are too good to be true.

Ahh. Satisfaction. Now I know why some people would pay a premium just to buy a huge BMW or Audi when a Camry would suffice. Its the quality and elegance and sheer enjoyment one feels when one drives such a masterpiece of engineering. And one can always practise his animalistic urges with such a beautiful machine on the trail (or Malaysia for cars. lol.)

Haha. Enough showing off. Enough being a roadie or that idiot neighbour with the Scott bike that never touched trail before.

Aside from being super nice, there's only one chief reason why I've paid so much money for a bike. It handles like a dream on the trail. And considering that I'm a relatively horrible rider compared to Isyraf, this bike helps to make up for my lack of experience, albeit a LITTLE little bit. Haha.

I've gotta buy that full-suspension Specialized Stumpjumper. OOOOOO. But only IF i have the time and MONEY in uni/work. If ONLY...

Oh, and wish me luck in attempting the 128km rally. Hope I don't get a flat cos I intend to pump my tyres at 55psi, something I've tried only twice. Haha.

Roadies beware, I'm going to run your skinny bikes over and break your carbon fiber frames! If I can catch you. Or while you go to the loo. Mwahaha.

This Is Not A Specialized Advertistment

Oh, I LOVE my Panaracer tyres. They have damn bloody good grip on singletrack and cornering on both trail and road is oh so 'Keira Knightley' smooth.



BUT, the rolling resistance on road is very pronounced. It feels like my tyres are flat. Too many knobs make the tread unsuitable for flat ground. But I guess trail stability is a good trade for low rolling resistance.

And today, my drivetrain gave problems. I initially thought it was my derailleur, but to my horror, my chain is dry!!!

4 months of weekly washing and i dint lube my chain, and now one of the links is stuck. After a long washdown and generous teflon lube, which costs a bomb btw, its ok now.



I really can't wait for the bike rally. 128km of glorious road, plus I get to know the route to NTU and back. And that's excluding the return journey to the East Coast start/end pt from home.



So hyped up. What's more I have a good cycling partner for company. But I'm afraid, if this person does not attempt any singletrack in the near future, she'll turn into a trail rider's worse nightmare...

A ROADIE!!! Ahh!!!



Bikes are supposed to look like this:

Weighing about 10.5kg, and able to do anything, depending on the rider's skill level. Jumps and dropoffs for Isyraf, and nice technical but not too technical, singletrack for me. Even so, it still is light enough to go on the road, and even I can maintain 28kmh for long distances. Maybe more, if I ever lay my hands on it.

Price: US$7400

Its NOT supposed to look like this:

5.5kg featherweights, meant for speed. An average person can maintain 34mh on one of these. Good right? NOT. One kerb ride up, and your $1000 wheelset is permanently damaged. 1 ride along a sandy patch of grass near a traffic light and your $900 hubs and bearings are gone. 1 blob of mud, and your precious drivetrain is rendered useless.

Price: US$8500

Not only are roadies useless just to gain a bit more speed, they wear weird clothes that show every small detail of their anatomy. Which is gross, considering most roadies are guys, who aren't in the best position to showoff anyway.

That's why I think roadies are the weirdest bunch of ppl ever. The only good thing is that because of their endless pursuit for lighter bikes, the MTB community has benefitted from their research. Now our XC bikes are so light. Even my bike weighs 11kg+. But of course, my bike is a hardtail, not a full suspension like the one above. And Shimano and the like now have their own research labs looking for the lightest yet strongest parts ever.

I want a Specialized Stumpjumper. If i were to get the middle range one, it would ONLY be S$5500. Hmm. I'll consider buying it if I have the time to continue on my day-long rides.

And by that time, Isyraf would've have gotten his $5500 Santa Cruz bike, in customized Olive green with the adidas outdoor shoes to match. Lol.

Very tired already. Bye.

The Humbling of the Impossible Berm And The Crossing (Updated)

Sat Night Update:

Wah leow. I did so many things today. I overcame the Impossible Berm, and I managed to finally film the wooden crossing. Isyraf, Muhd and I found a new trail at Tamp MTB park also. It includes a new fallen tree trunk obstacle which I also cleared, (but forgot to video).

After Muhd had to leave for station, Isyraf and I went to eat Tenderbest chicken rice. Nothing like half a spring chicken with lots of chicken rice to end a fruitful day. And as if that weren't enough, he tried teaching me how to overcome my fear of mounting up kerbs gracefully and with lots of finesse. He also tried to correct my trackstand. Unfortunately, these two new static skills will take time for me to learn.

And I also bought a Panaracer FIRE XC PRO 2.1" tyre to match the back one I bought yesterday. Now both tyres are red hot, and I'm $80 poorer. lol.

And on a side note, they opened Pulau Ubin's Ketam MTB park 'officially'. Haha. Its been there for 1 year+++ already, hullo?!?!

Aiyah, its going to be crowded with wannabe mountain bikers with their Scott or Trek bikes. There's one thing I notice about ppl. They may buy these Scott, Trek or Cannondale bikes, or they may talk like they know a lot about biking, but they actually don't. They're more like the east Coast park kinda ppl who show off their $3000 bikes to kiddies who may be lulled to think they're pro. And they give my bike the condescending look, just cause its from Giant. The frame my be relatively cheap, but my parts are way better than yours. And I've completed Ubin's double black diamond trail close to 10 times, 3 of which I emerged unscathed (lol.) and you haven't, so please, dun be too overconfident.

But of course, these ppl constitute a minority of ppl. Most Trek pro riders are friendly and more than happy to share their experiences and trail experience with newbies like me. Its the Scott riders who are rather full of themselves. I take my hat off to these ppl. They're nice guys.

Oh, and lastly, thanks ah Isyraf for all the guidance these few months. Without your pointers, I would still be flipping over the handlebars weekly. And without your encouragement, the Impossible Berm, The Crossing, The Logs and The Slope of Death would all just be places for me to get down and push the bike. To more fruitful and new experiences. Next stop, Bukit Timah.

I gotta stop buying stuff for my bike also. Its like an endless pursuit for perfection. I gotta save money... To buy a full suspension Trek/Specialized frame. LOL. Or should I buy a Cannondale Lefty? Its $6500. No la. I'll get a heart attack if I even drop the bike while its standing.

Sleepy ready. I talk too much. On a side note, Wrigley's chewing gum helps you stay awake. No wonder Warren Buffet recently placed his bets on the Wrigley company, cos it had "long term stability and a well established brand name" plus its nice and classic. Thanks Aud.

That's all for this week. Till the next cycling trip.

Sat Morning Update:

Went cycling with Audrey again. She really shocked me beyond belief when we finally met her 'mysterious friend' at East Coast. It was Seng Wai. What was more unbelievable was that I remembered his name, seeing as how I constantly forget people's names.

But how could I forget Seng Wai? The last time I met up with him was in sec 2. I played Magic cards against him. I lost horribly. I was still new at that time, and he was a veteran player. Furthermore, he used restricted and banned cards from an older series against my new competition abiding deck. After that day, I swore to regain my honour................

And then I grew up. Haha. Stupid Magic cards wasted my money.

Completed 70km on Sat. Read Audrey's blog for a more interesting account. She can amazingly remember every single small detail. Scholarly. Haha.

Anyways, after yesterday's trip, I slept like a bloody stone. Slept from 6p.m on Sat to 7a.m today. Haha. I only woke up to join Isyraf at Tamp MTB Park.

And today, after an exhausting trip round the Cannondale track, I managed to tackle the 'Impossible' Berm. (See video above)

I've passed that obstacle so many times but have never dared to try it cos I've always felt that I would just fall off. LOL. I'm not a physics person.

But after a demonstration and encouragement from my MTB guru, Isyraf, I went for it. Yay. Another accomplishment under my belt.

And you know what, after notching another 20km this morning at the park today I'm going for another round this afternoon with Isyraf again. My mum just called me crazy. Lol.\

But before I depart to complete new obstacles, I shall get an hour's sleep. Good day.

Oh, and I bought a red Panaracer tyre to replace my bald Michelin one. I think I'm going to replace the front one also, to balance out the colours. heh.

Back from Nippon, Off To Kallang

Wah. Japan rocks.

Its a clean and beautiful city with lots of pretty cute things to see, and buy, along with lots of pretty people to watch, as they mull about their daily lives.

Unfortunately, with 2 kids in tow, plus all their kiddish necessities, plus a pram, Japan can become a bit daunting. (Lack of disability access) Not to mention its impossible to take pictures when you have your niece glued to your hand.

All in all, Japan was interesting and lovely, but somewhat uneventful. If i were to go there again, I would go with friends, cos my nieces were hard to manage, especially since they missed their dad, who was there with us, but on business.

But there was one redeeming quality about Japan. Bicycles and their parts are cheaper than what's found locally!!!

Hoho. I bought a hand-made carbon fiber handlebar, a Specialized Pinner 2.3' Kevlar tyre, a Specialized Instinct helmet and a Scott MTB lightweight saddle.

Ahh. I was in heaven when I saw this sports shopping complex that devoted an entire level to bikes. Wooot!

Yes, I'm still obsessed with my bike. The first thing i did when I came back was to check on it.... and to see whether my newly acquired upgrades could fit the bike.

Thereafter, it was labour day... I went to Tamp MTB park. Yep, just before I went to Japan, I scraped my knee damn badly, and it was a pain in the arse to heal, cos I had to walk a lot and get into all the Disneyland rides with my nieces, so the scabby healing layer kept tearing everytime I bent my knee.

But back to the park. I went there with the usual kakis. Isyraf and Muhd. Isyraf graciously gave me his elbow and knee guards he used for his motorbike lessons. I think the main reason why I've been falling so much is because I'm scared of falling even more. And guess what, the pads, plus my helmet made me feel so secure I was back to my previous self, with even more confidence and speed than ever before.

I think from now on, I'm going to wear full protective gear. I won't get hurt as badly if I do fall, and its given me my confidence that I've cumutively lost throughout my many many falls.

Then on sat morning, I went cycling with Audrey. It was shiok to be back on the flat terrain of tarmac. We had a great time, we cycled from Loyang Point to Kallang Leisure park. It was my first time there, and wow, that place was cool. It wasn't crowded, and there's a nice tenant mix to choose from after a long bike ride. We went for a pitstop at coffee bean... And I must say, after nearly a year of not going there to chill out, (since the time Siu Sing and Isyraf were crazy about the limted honeydew ice blended) coffee bean hasn't lost its laidback, pleasant corporate Starbucks-y charm.

We took a few pics (blogger's giving me problems, so no pics) and we swapped bikes. Audrey's bike was a full-suspension bike. But it was a heartland bike, so it was heavy. I think my legs got one heck of a workout just from the journey back. Haha.

Then, we HAD to make a stop at White Sands cos somebody punctured Audrey's bike tyre with his riding. (Don't look at me. Ok la, its me.) lol.

While the guy was fixing Aud's bike, we went to eat KFC. Its something every growing cyclist needs after a long bike ride. Haha. Then, out of the blue, she decided to get a bike.

Hoho. There's nothing I love more than to haggle with Mr Tay, the bike shop owner. We got a good price for it, and now Aud's the proud new owner of a GT Outpost 2008. I'm sure my old Aggressor would be happy to meet her.

After that, we went back, and I prepared for the next day. Go see Audrey's blog, she posted a pic of her new bike.

UBIN!!!

To put things simply, cos I'm getting sleepy, I conquered the stupid slope that made me flip over and nearly break a rib. Haha. I went the whole trail with my Elbow and knee guards, plus my helmet and backpack. I looked like I was going for some rescue mission. lol. Rescue mission not to fall and break a rib.

After that. I met up with Aud to collect her Outpost. Man, witnessing her expression was so heartwarming. The bond between man (or woman, in this case) and bike is simply touching. I too remember the feeling I had when I got my Aggressor. Simply indescribable, like McGriddles, which are sinfully delicious... MMMMM. But I digress.

To end this post off, I just want to tell you readers that I am going to do the impossible. I'm joining a sports event!! Haha. Never in my life would I have thought that I would be joining a sports event out of my own free will.

I'm joining the NTU bike rally 2008 with Audrey and her Outpost. The route is from East Coast to NTU and back. So it'll be around 128km excluding the return journey from home to east coast.

At first, I thought the event would be a disaster for me. The distance is not that bad la, considering that on Sunday alone, I covered 38km just from the few hours at Ubin. The terrain is not as bad as Ubin, so its alright, but I cannot stand roadies and their 5kg bikes.. Their thin tyres and carbon fiber frames are a disgrace to bikes. Yes, they go fast, but they can't even go down a road curb without breaking into a million pieces.

Haha. But thankfully, according to one road biker's blog, last year's event average speed was about 20km/h. Which is very doable, and highly sustainable.

Ah, I have more to update, but I'm too sleepy. So goodnight folks, and if any of you want to join me on the trail or on the pavements, just give me a call.