.... the jackal rides and run....

Monday should be a public holiday. Its a terrible day and its screws up my Sundays. Anyway, did a 80km ride with KL on the SS on Saturday. Pace was medium, so it was kinda enjoyable in its own way. Many many riders on the road that day and traffic was BAD at Jalan Bahar until Jalan Buroh......streaming with trucks and buses which seemingly are out to kill cyclists. Had a close brush with a bus at West Coast....asshole. Ok survived that one. On Sunday decided to do a 10km run. Completed it in 1hr 8mins....bad compared to my best time achieved couple of months back of 59mins! Need to improve on this.....thighs were tired after the run...more so compared to a 100+km high paced ride! I must be gaining too much weight for my legs to handle! It was quite tough in the middle especially but things got better (not faster though) from 6km onwards. Not sure why though. Just need to get my body back into some running rhythm. The NB shoes suck by the way....padding I feel is insufficient although i

I started running again on weekdays Tuesday and Wednesday....the usual 5km route around my place. Tuesday's run after 3 months was terrible. I struggled and failed to keep below even 30mins! I thought Thursday would be better but, same thing.....I start out quite ok but muscles seem to tire down real fast after midway. So the pace is not running....its jogging. Funny thing to note.....climbing Camerons - no muscles aches, doing Ipoh Century - no muscle aches. 5km run....whole body ached!!! Running does give a better overall exercise! Still waiting for my stuff from Slane and ShinyBikes.....these guys are SLOW!

After last weekend's exploits in Malaysia it was tough to start the engine again! On Saturday did a solo 30km and encountered a puncture. Luckily I had a spare from Ben. Upon getting home, I immediately ordered a pair of gatorskins tubulars. Plus, brand new Las Histrionic to replace my trusty laser helmet. I hope it FITS! On Sunday managed to arrange a short 60km ride with kl and Felix. Started at 6.30am and ended around 1015am. Slow pace just to loosen the legs bit. No punctures! I must admit that I'm losing confidence fast in tubular tires after my fourth puncture of the year yesterday. Now the Antares.......first ride on Saturday initially felt not too good. I seem to be slipping despite flat saddle tilt. After fixing the puncture, I tilted the saddle up and after that it felt much better. On Sunday I moved the saddle about a cm forward and it felt even better! The saddle is firm compared to the charge knife. It has a wide flat section and I can really feel my sit bone

On Saturday, we had a good day of rest and massages. Registered for the event, made a new pair of spectacles (destroyed mine the previous day no thanks to the fall) and met up with the contingent from Singapore. Great to see Mark, BP and Gary in my town. We went out for dinner at a local joint together with some of the guys from Performance Cycles. Fully carbo-loaded for the next day! On Sunday, we Ben and I cycled from my home to rendezvous with the rest of the Masher group at their hotel then proceeded to Dataran Ipoh, the designated start area. The initial start was slow as there were 1200 participants this year (a record high)...it started with a rolling start where we were led out of town at a modest speed of 25-28km/h. At a turnoff near Gopeng, the ride went to full pace and it was to me a "omigod!" pace! Right after the turn all hell broke lose as everyone sprinted to stay with the front groups. At some point we were cycling up to 53km/h! The pace was locked > 38 km

Seeing how busy my schedule is these days at work its IMPOSSIBLE to go for a stint like TOP last year. So since I've registered for this years Ipoh Century Ride 2011, why not go a day earlier and do some real climbs, something not possible in Singapore (Faber is 80m as opposed to Camerons 1650m!). So Ben and myself did the coach thing with our bike packed in the CRC bike bag and headed to Ipoh on Thursday night after work and dinner. We reached Ipoh around 6am where my dad picked us up. We unpacked the bikes got them quickly built up and headed out to Kampong Simee for some Kon Lou Mee (dark soya sauce mee). At 8am, we head out from my home towards Simpang Pulai (12km). Here's the terrible part of the ride. Along the road towards Camerons...I looked at my Garmin and though damn, forgot to display the elevation data. So I started fiddling with it, stupid. I hit a rock lost control and flew into a ditch. It was a 1.5m ditch, rather deep. I was lucky to survive with a sore arm, sp

Tapered down weekend in terms of rides. On Saturday did a solo 68km (Jalan Buroh and West Hills) and on Sunday, with Ben for just Blangah Hill and Faber via Morse Road (about 40km). Looking forward to some mental rest and physical challenge doing Camerons (up to Equatorial, 1700m gained, some 60km up) followed by a day of massages and food and then the 2011 Ipoh Century on Sunday. Unfortunately I can't stay another day......it will be back to SGP on Sunday night and back to perilous work on Monday. So far this month, I have done a respectable 350km. I flipped the stem to raise the handlebar a tad. I think about 2cm max but what a world of difference it made in terms of comfort! The position is good. The bike seems somewhat smoother for some reason AND climbing position is much more comfortable with the 'more upright' position. After all, I was in perpetual Aero position previously! Well, the stem looks a bit off pointing upwards but its not that bad actually, for sloping to

So it begins, the hardware war! BP acquired a Specialized Venge with top of the line gruppo (Di2) and wheels (lightweights). Francis acquire not one but TWO Pegorettis (Responsorium and Marcelo)....lord knows what he's gonna get to build them up. KL 'upgraded' to Reynolds DV46 wheels and Super Record Gruppo. Now I consider my equipment to be wonderful (and it took me along time to think and build it up, with much research and personal rethinking prior to buying) but wow, these guys blow me out of the water in a heartbeat in terms of procuring exotic parts! Did 2 usual rides around coastal over the weekdays. Nothing special. I've made a u-turn on my initial plan of equipment choice for the coming Ipoh trip. This trip a bit special unlike last year's TOP; there is a massive 100% climbing day and an pure Flats Century ride. I initially planned to take my DA + Mavic wheels, compact crank and 12-27 cassette. This configuration is my pure climbing setup. Great if that was

July started in tired mode...just got back the previous day from a long drive to and fro KL for business. It was plenty tiring as my colleagues refused to drive (lots of excuses). I've missed quite a fair bit of riding from these back to back biz trips (China then KL) so I was determined to ride on Friday. Woke up early on Friday (took leave, but ended up a working day from home!) and went for my 30km East Coast ride....tiring...somehow felt broken, the rhythm. Had high HR and could only manage 30km/h average which is slow! Saturday, managed to ride with Ben and KL. I swapped out my HEDs for the trusty DA Handbuilts in preparation for Camerons and Ipoh Century. We made good speed tailing a group of ang-mos at the west coast via-duct...average speed was about 31+km/h when we u-turned at Jalan Buroh and headed for the hills. Did the NUS slope, then almost completed KR hill (Ben stopped at the base while KL but puffed out mid-way)...I was in the wrong gear for this one...followed by T