Activities this Past Week

-
Haven't ran since JMFR so decided to go back to the usual 2 x 5km routine for weekdays and 2 bike rides over the weekend. The 2 running activities were not good at all. Pace was 6min/km but I did a new route which is 5.5km iso 5km. These are more as filler activities for cycling. Weekday cycling is too much for me most of the time....waking damn early and take a while to get setup.

So on election day Saturday, I went yet again on a round island solo ride (112km). I changed my saddle tilt a bit (flat) and consciously try not to put too much weight on my hands, esp the right one as I'm developing some sort of Tennis Elbow due to cycling.

Kicked off around 5.05am and was trying to complete by 9am. Unfortunately, I came in 2-mins after 9am...exhausted. Normally, I will have 1/2 to 1/4 bottle of liquids left but this time around completely finished. It was ok up till around Mandai (30.7km/h average) until the sun came up. It became hot really fast and it was a real struggle maintain speed..also shoulders/neck area felt uncomfortable towards the end which was quite unusual. HR was a screeching 160bpm for the entire ride. I'm quite bad in hot weather and probably a good idea to train more in such conditions (Desaru?) as the Ipoh Century is likely to be the same. This was one tough ride!

On Sunday decided to go later, kick off around 6.30am. This time I set off to do the east west loop aka "to Tuas and back"....a very flat and straightforward ride. The first time I did this, I made 31.5km/h ave speed. For this ride it was a mere 30.1km.h....again like the day before, it got pretty hot when sun came up....spotless skies. Still a nice challenge. A guy at a red light actually asked me about my bike asking me which Z series was it....finally someone who actually knows about the existence of Parlees!

So this weekend represents a twist in the weather, displaying my new weaknesses. I will address them accordingly.

Monday is a given holiday due to the elections being held on Saturday. Will probably chill (meaning - do nothing!) for the day. 227km completed thus far for May.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tecnotrat 'Saronni' and 'Others'

-
Image
Here are a few Tecnotrat 'Saronni' and 'Others' still hard at work. Tecnotrat shipped a lot of these frames during the 1985-1989 period, badging them as Saronnis, Ferraris, Europa, a whole lot more! Tecnotrat Saronni This one's in Japan . Original paintwork intact! Same chromed fork as mine. Well maintained! Love those cages..... ( www.campyonly.com/ retrobikes/gallery.html ) Some pics of Saronni frame alone Tecnotrat 'Others' 'Europa' badged Tecnotrat, brought into Australia for Europa Cycles. She is in not too good condition but as a steel, it will be easily refurbished by its new owner. Another Europa, in better condition, serving as a dog-cage as well A well used and neglected Europa in Sydney.... Tecnotrat 'De Benardi' Probably one of the last incarnations made by Tecnotrat.... Same frame for Track Bike build....notice the rear facing drooputs Another track build... Road bike circa 2001....same steel design, campy dropouts...
Read more

2011 NTU Bike Rally - Completed!

-
Image
First 'official' ride of the year. This is the first time I participated in this event and boy, no regrets. It's a real mixed bag and I opted to try to chase the fast ones and managed to keep up. Good thing there were a lot of stop points (every 20km or so..) Garmin data as below....only tracked 140km...lost 8km of data as I forgot to switch it on upon leaving NTU rest point. 2011 NTU Bike Rally by boostbutt at Garmin Connect - Details This year, KL, Ben and I participated. We rode from our homes, met up at the usual Nicoll H'way stop and went to the F1 pit. About 1000 people signed up for the event...I think perhaps 800-900 turned up. We were mostly together during the rides until after NTU where we kinda split a bit but still meet up at the rest points. I managed to complete the last 4 stages with the fastest group (arriving at rest stops which were empty!) with the Coastal one being the most brutal as cramps started to creep in. There, I took turns with the lead guy
Read more

A Bad Week in Life, an OK Weekend for Cycling

-
Well what can I say? Bad week indeed.....my 7-month old son was hospitalized, diagnosed with Kawasaki's disease. Yes I know, wtf is that??? Well its not common but not rare as well. Its cause is still not known and there is no direct way to diagnose it....just by the prolonged fever and a couple of other symptoms. Read it up if you have kids!!! He's ok now but we are worried sick right now on that the long term effect (aftermath) of this disease will leave on his health; his heart in particular. We are going for a first scan to tomorrow (2D Echogram). Pray for us and our little boy.... Back to cycling...did a quick ride on Sat...managed to complete the usual course (about 29km) in about 64 minutes. Was really struggling to get up to speed along Changi Coast Road and tried really hard to keep at 30km/h....the aim was to do it in less that an hour! Well I failed. Only managed an average of 27.5km/h for the entire ride. Prior to the ride I had a niggling stiff neck and weird nerve
Read more