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

Got the Nitto Dynamic II 120mm stem installed last night. Luckily I had the Dura Ace Brake cable set still! Had that all changed as well. - Reach is effectively increased due to stem, saddle moved slightly less than 1cm forward. Total reach is still slightly longer than previous setup. - Saddle height increased by 1cm Took it for a quick 10km spin this morning just to get a feel do some tweaks. Feels ok for now at least. Its now quite a similar setup to the SS but with a slightly more relaxed saddle position (further back). Good thing is now, I can raise the bars if I needed to and have some flexibility in the setup to address different rides. I've always liked the feel of a longer stem especially when riding out of the saddle of climbing. The downside if of course, the reach can be a problem for long rides but I think I can get used to it. I actually had a very aggressive setup of the Saronni! Looks ok.....but a bit on the weird side! I've given up hope in the flat from bar to...

After TOP and BnB, some tweaks to take note... The SS - saddle height needs to be slightly higher....on high speed solo runs, feels like the knee is a little bit sore. The Haze - saddle height needs to be slightly higher, and maybe move the saddle a bit forward (0.5-1cm) - install Nitto Dynamic II stem (yes, I got another one, so I have some flexibility to adjust the height) With the new Nitto stem the bars are a 10-15cm further but its also 10-20cm higher (with more room to play). The aim is to make the Haze less laid back but not as 'aggressive' as the SS in terms of position. Can't wait to finish up and try the new setup on the Haze. The current SS setup is probably very good for long distance (lower saddle height, allows for spinning) but is not really that good when pushing hard. So a 0.5-1cm max saddle height rise should suffice.

Seems like everything in cycling has gone meaningless all of a sudden....after months of preparation for TOP and then BnB, suddenly nothing is on the horizon! Well, to fill that void, I aim to use my time and energy to help/accompany buddies who are going for the Tour of Bintan next month (Ryo & Mark). I've done quite a few crazy early rides last week on Tues, Thurs and Friday, about an hour each covering pretty high speeds for 30-35km. This weekend hopefully will get to do the 115km with Mark. So it should be short distance higher speed runs (>30km/h) twice on weekdays with Ryo and one long distance endurance ride during the weekends with Ryo & Mark. I'm kinda liking my SS A LOT. The Colnago just do not feel as good as the SS....I'm not quite sure why but likely its to do with the setup. To try to solve the mystery, I've gotten the same stem from Velosolo that I'm using for the SS....should be arriving sometime soon. The 120mm 90 degree stem should in pr...

Ben almost fell asleep while waiting for my SS BB to get fixed! Thanks buddy! Masher gang cresting a slow (with veteran BnB'er Alan) Among the 'peloton' ? Moments before the break-up... 2nd Day before leaving the hotel Mark with Peg! KL on his first double century Gary the Breakaway-Kid Jack on SS BnB2010 - Everyone Why so serious? Relek la..... Ben Solo More to come......

Did quite well this year so far. Below are some stats.... Some notable things... - elevation gain increase, leading up to TOP2010 end of June - recorded highest distance covered in a month (June) - currently a lot of flat ground work, to increase average speed - trying to also address low cadence, some improvement seen since using the SS - April had the highest ave HR - no thanks to JMFR2010! - Average HR is also on the rise.... - 1000+km covered on SS/FG, 4000+km covered on The Haze

BnB 2010 - Day 1 : Kota Tinggi - Kuala Rompin On Sat morning, KL and me rode together to West Coast Macs to board the bus for this event. We woke up at crazy early hours and made it there at 5.30am....a bit of dilly and dallying later, we were on our way to Kota Tinggi! Met up with the rest of the Masher gang; Mark, Ben, Gary & Francis who drove down the previous night. Day one kicked off right about 9.20am from Jalan Niaga. The first 70km were tough as we immediately went into rolling territory. I wanted to keep as a group with the rest but as soon as the slopes started we broke up. I had to mash fast up the slope as I do not have the liberty of shifting down......the best way to tackle slopes and minimize the plain is to maintain as far as possible, the cadence on the SS. Soon after doing a few slope, I found myself in a small fast group doing anything between 33-40km/h. The gel helped a lot and I popped in one every hour and coupled with my energy drink and electrolytes and bana...