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

The Polar CS200cad data can be downloaded into the Polar website via sonic link. Its a cute way of connecting the unit to the PC as it uses beeps and tones (kinda like a fax machine would sound like) via a PC or Laptop speaker. The installed web-link program will automatically upload the information into my registered account with Polar. This helps me to keep tabs on the workouts done and over time I can see the trend in Cadence, HR, distance, max and min of various parameters. Could be a useful thing over time to monitor ones progress or even to set future targets. Below are a couple of screenshots from the website.

Did a 50km ride on Sunday with Mr.Ti (usual meetup at Lor Chuan, so its 50km from Marine Crescent and back, distance between Marine Crescent and Lor Chuan is about 9km). Started off from Marine Crescent @ 6.30am, yet again the Mr. Pina Alu was nowhere to be found despite arrangements....shot down with a flu. I'd prefer very much a slightly earlier start time due to traffic. Amazing...at 6.30am and Still Road - Eunos Link had quite a lot of traffic and I keep getting stopped at the lights so it was not a smooth 9km to Lor Chuan. Legs were still asleep too! So the first 10km I was labouring a bit. Ok, the ride is basically the 80km one cut short. We make a turn into Mandai Zoo along Mandai Road. There's a short 1.5km up and down which was surprisingly tough (didn't look it at first) which got me short breathed at the end...oh well, I hammered it and I am a smoker so I'm disadvantaged to begin with. Regarding heart rate, the past 2 rides (incl. this one) seems normal. Max ...

Did a really fast usual 80km on Christmas day! It was raining continuously the past day so the weather was really cold by singapore standards. Kinds dark too when we reached Neo Tiew area. Overall a good ride. Managed to complete 80km in 3.5 hours and that was with 4 stops smokes and short rest! The polar hrm was quite useful too. I can see my heart rate while cycling so I know when to back off if I am pushing too hard. I was pretty surprised with my cadence though.....average 94rpm max 123rpm. Gonna keep this short cos I'm blogging from my iphone in bed! iPhone rocks!! [Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Vintage Shimano Aero Bottle Finally the vintage Shimano Aero bottle (thanks to Mr.Ti who knew I was looking for one and pointed me to the Ebay auction) arrived from UK! A nice japanese chap there happen to have this new one lying around and what a bargain it was at 5.50GBP (roughly 13-14SGD). With shipping it come up to be around 30SGD. Kinda pricey for a water bottle + cage but hey, you can't find these guys readily anymore!! And it even goes with my Pearl White colour scheme!! Polar CS200cad : HRM + Cadence + Everything else you need to monitor the Bike and Yourself! Purchased this at Boon Tat St. after so many shops kept quoting me higher. I think its a great buy but I missed the 15% which ended couple of days earlier! Anyway, got all the stuff installed. The sensors were pretty small and were not user serviceable so when the batt goes flat I need to get them serviced at the service centre but this is supposedly to last 2 years before servicing. Well, I have not tried it out on ...

Yup, got my wheel back and glad to ride with this set again. Hopefully this will last me much longer while I wait for the spokes. This time I'll get the DT Swiss 14/15/14 spokes for the rear, just to be on the safe side. Here are some pics at the Jetty at ECP....

Called the shop today, wheel is re-trued and tensioned as before. I asked him what was the issue with the spoke breakage and he confirmed with the supplier that its likely a bad batch of spokes. I was thinking what the fish? Tells me to ride this wheel while he get the spokes and will re-lace it for me...haiz...I hope i dun break another one in the near future. I know he typically takes a LOOONG time to get anything done....

For weeks now I've been fiddling with my setup and really find that the frame is likely a size too small for me. Lots of forum guys are advising me to change the frame but to me that's not an option since I love this frame! Anyhow, its only slightly too small for me and I did find the 56cm frame of Mr.Ti, a bit 'too big'. Its a funny feeling and I can't really describe it. On my 100mm stem, I had my saddle way back and a considerably set-back campy post, in order to get myself a lower profile but I still had some problems getting my arms bent more when on the hoods. I just don't feel as 'stretched out' as I would like to be. Cramp is the word. After much Ebay hunting and local shops search, Mr.Ti suggested that I checked out TR bikes. Well, lucky me, they had a NOS 120mm Shimano 600 quill stem, exactly the same type as mine, except a bit longer. Well, why this stem you might say? Its simple to me, the most beautiful stem ever made, and the hidden bolt (f...

ARRGHHH.......went on the 80km ride 2 weekends ago with Mr.Ti. Broke a spoke right at West Coast highway....what a bummer. I'm kinda doubting that these custom wheel is built strong at all. OK so I am heavy at 87kg but still, to break a rear non-drive spoke every 200km or so is surely ridiculous! I'm starting to think the wheel was not built up properly, maybe the tension is a little bit too low on the non drive side (which is actually a weird place to break spokes!). Anyway, LBS pointed out that changing the spokes to double butted will not solve the problem and that there is another issue. I wonder wats the issue.....I told him to retension higher for the rear drive side so that the tension on the non-drive side will be higher as well. Quite unhappy with this entire situation. To me its a testament to his wheelbuilding skill. If I break one again in the coming weeks, I'm gonna rebuild the whole wheel and stay away from the shop that built it. Nuff said.