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

Did this on Saturday....as usual I left earlier and met with the guys after completing 3 loops of Mt.Faber via Kg.Bahru entrance. So in total only 4 loops Kg.Bahru and 1 loop via Morse Road. The aim was NOT to let my HR shoot up and make full use of my 12-25 gearing. Well, guess what, it shot up nevertheless, to close to 180bpm. If I can get this down to 170bpm at the steepest part, I will be good but right now, still not there yet; although for the 2nd and 3rd loop, I managed with an HR of ~175bpm, not too bad at all. My reserve is up to 195bpm but I must strive to only use this reserve when required. There are up to 20% inclines at Genting, and I expect this is where the reserve is needed. The Carradice bag and SQR mount (plus 3 tubes, 1 tyre, some cereal bars, etc) added a good 4-5kg to the load so I was really lugging up a 14kg bike! It did not seem a lot harder than without the bag, although I did go very slow at the steepest parts (~7-8km/h) but then again this is mostly because ...

So I just got myself this bad-ass bag. So retro, so functional and bloody well made! Its fully made in UK (Nelson) and was made by 'Sue'. Yup, the person who made the bag actually writes his/her name on the tag inside. I got it mounted using their SQR system (Saddle Quick Release) for their range of bags. Had a bit of problem mounting the bag so had to move the saddle about 1cm in front in order for it to 'just' click into the SQR clamp. ok, the levers are notoriously 'up' but damn comfortable though....function is more important that form!

Placeholder for Geared Notes 2010 - Charts Ave 40km/h over 1.95km @ Nicoll Highway SOLO (6 Feb 2010) Ave 48km/h over 1km @ Mandai Flat Section SOLO (2 May 2010) Peloton Riding at JMFR2010, 2nd Stage (25 April 2010)

Placeholder for Fixed Gear & Single Speed Notes - Charts 2010 FG - Ave 31.1km/h over 15km SOLO (25 March 2010) FG - Ave 34.18km/h over 12km SOLO (3rd April 2010) SS - Ave 31.6km/h over 30km SOLO (22 September 2010)

After a long 3 months break from the Faber route, I decided to tackle it with my Fixed. Bad Idea! Started off from home at 5.30am and started from Kg.Bahru entrance around 6am. My HR shot up really fast and I was grinding at 20rpm....going barely 8km/h at the steepest point. It was impossible to sit and pedal so I was standing all the way from the right turn at the carpark (where you'll hit the 300m+ wall....averaging 10% grade and 18% max grade at its steepest!). I was suffering bad, breathing heavy and HR very quickly up to 190+bpm......legs ached, lungs ached and I held on as far as I could.....until about 2/3 way up the steep portion I caved in....had to stop. I unclipped and rested for about a minute. The next problem was starting out again at the steep incline from a stand-still and getting clipped in! I was lucky, I got on the bike and within the 2nd crank rotation I got my left foot and and mashed my way up the remainder of the steep portion. 48x18 is still too tough for me...

Two years on into faithfully pursuing the joys of cycling, I can say for sure, at least for me, a therapeutic effect on my overall well-being. Not a day goes by without me thinking about what is my next cycling destination or challenge. I look forward to the weekends and my 2-3hr time that I spend on the saddle. I love waking up early, taking my time to prepare for a ride and once my butt is on the saddle, do a final 'cockpit check' (only to sometimes realize that I forgot my water bottle or HR monitor, amongst other things!). Sometimes I forget to take a dump prior to leaving. This is an absolute priority for me. No dump, No ride. Once the legs start to move on the pedals, and my balance immediately adjusts itself to bike-riding mode, the mind narrows down. Cycling tunnel vision I call it, and I love it. On the saddle, I'm in MY space, like a mobile bubble. I don't really care what goes on around me, unless its something that will somehow put me in a spot or danger. Cy...

Had a good weekend of rides over the Labour Day long weekend. Covered 140km over 3 days. Incidentally, April was a good month in terms of distance covered. Covered 502km in April, the furthest so far this year, thanks to the Fixed Gear Desaru ride and JMFR2010. Introducing Ryo, Ben's colleague. He joined us for Saturday ECP ride and Sunday 80km ride. 3 Colnagos on Sunday hugged the 80km route. Ryo has a Colnago Extreme Power (in Saronni Red!) with Zipp 303 and full complement of Campy Record 10s (UT version). What a sweet ride and the man rides fast too! Finally, I have a full DA 7800 complement on the Haze. Shifting is sweet. Weight however, not much difference. Changed my old Ultegra chain to the KMC X10L GOLD chain, this made the drivetrain much quieter than before....sure sign that my old chain was stretched. It served me a good 8000km I think! Also received my orders from CRC, who sent me the wrong handlebar (I ordered 135mm and they sent me a 144mm version) and that's res...