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

Long extended weekend with the Presidential election on Saturday and Hari Raya Aidilfitri on Tuesday. I've been doing quite a lot of 30km rides around my area but no longish rides like what I did early in the year (115km route). I was determined to put in at least one long distance ride this weekend, by hook or by crook. It's normally tough to get anyone out that early and back early as well (kopi, rest stops etc....) so I decided to this alone as I needed to be back by 9am (always a target for the weekends.....family time!). On Saturday, made an appointment with Ryo for a short 5km run barefoot. My blisters from my last barefoot foray has 'just' about healed up and I'm ready to give it another go. Started at 5.30am. Pace was a bit slow and cautious. Took me about 34mins to complete the 5km....of course its quite a comfortable pace as we chit-chat most of the way whilst running. Good to catch up. He went on to complete his 21km (congrats!) target for the day and I...

Saturday was a momentous ride. Its Ryo's comeback after 8 months of not cycling! KL and me went on our usual pace and Ryo did well of course, keeping up comfortably. I'm sure he'll be up to speed and will be fast and furious in no time. He looked like perhaps he missed a month cycling....not 8 months! The bike rode very well and I soon also got use to the shifting and definitely do not miss the 3 gear swipe. The shifting action is actually pretty light as well compared to 7800 perhaps a tad 'tighter' but really not much more. Shimano obviously could have gone the hidden cable route much earlier but really did not want to sacrifice the light action shifting. They have done it this time around. On Friday, I swapped the old KMC chain with a new one.....there is 1/2 link stretch on the old chain over its full length compared to the new one. The new chain feels 'tight' and 'direct'....should have changed much earlier! Sunday : barefoot running. Ryo...

No thanks to my strategy of reusing the old shift cables, the RD shifting went bad. Upon further investigation (with Ben visiting..) discovered that some of the wires has snapped. I reinstalled both FD and RD shift cables with the new ones provided with the Shifters. A quick 15mins later, everything was sweet again. I will need to retension again since new cable have the tendency to stretch a bit over time before it settles down. Went on a ECP - Siglap route today. I was doing pretty good actually, achieving about 31.5km/h average just before turning into Bedok road and from then on, traffic slowed down my momentum. Morning school rush hour. We all know how nasty parents can be in such situations....everyone just want to drop their kid right at the door step, literally. Went on a bit more careful there. Took some pics in daylight! Specialized S-Works MTB Helmet (Large) Got this from Evans couple of days back. Rode twice. First time (yesterday) sweat could trickle down...

I could not wait!! The 7900 series look very good (high poser value IMO) and getting Ultegra Di2 would mean some wait, more money spent and the RD and FD are kinda chunky as well (not to mention heavier, not that it matters much...). Hey, economic times are not too good.....better not to spend uncontrollably! Pretty much did my install within 3+ hours, including stripping the entire 7800 group off the bike. Could not find my DA grease!! First Shimano CF Levers (I think!) Temporary mess Everything 7800 OFF - 7900 Crank ON DONE - except the brakes.....time for dinner! Test Ride this morning Did the usual 30km route, not going all out for a speed challenge but was doing rather well. The 2nd half was a bit tiring. Drafted about 3km a tri-bike...fella was strong going 38+km/h into headwind. I struggled, no thanks to my short KL trip and those great fatty food! Anyway, the difference is minimal compared to 7800. In fact the shifting while very smooth, the action is ...

I did not ride this weekend as I had a short excursion with my 2 boys to KL (via Coach) for a family gathering, good rest time and some serious calorie absorption. Had 2 wonderful dinners at some local cher char (one of them I distinctly remember as 'Paris') and a wan tan mee lunch to die for! Ok back to some serious exercising as well!! Food there is so much better (and cheaper) compared to here. I can't help but wonder why we can accept food that cost so much with majority of its cost actually tied purely to rental or premises, and not the actual ingredients themselves! Value gone wrong. Now to the Pro Vibe 7S Shallow Drop Handlebars....weighing in at a hefty 300gms or so, I got it installed the very day I received it. Did my speed challenge ride of ECP - Siglap but fell way short of my usual target but that was mostly due to the fact that no less than 4 traffic lights stopped me!!! Anyway the bars feel THICK. Its 31.8mm all from the clamp area all the way until the d...

Markets crash.......uncertainties looming.......negativity growing. 2012 - end of the world. More like end of the economic world I think. Ok, back to bikes. As usual, in my attempt to escape reality, I put 30mins of focus onto my handlebar setup. It looked horrible with the EA70 tilted too much to get the ''flat to the hoods" look. This bar is simply not made for that. Well, I tilted it back to a more neutral position and moved my shifters up a tad. Looks much better. Holiday today and no kakis to ride with so decided to do the ECP-Siglap speed challenge. Although I failed to beat my PR of 32+km/h average speed (under one hour from underpass to Siglap kopitiam), I only exceeded by 21 seconds. It was surprising for me actually as I AM putting on some weight and am not as motivated as before. 31.8km/h average I guess is still pretty respectable and I will only aim to do it faster. Gary introduced us to Strava.com, a GarminConnect-like but way cooler in features but not...

A tremendously long weekend this week with the Singapore National Day on Tuesday and with my employers imposing forced leave on Monday. I need the mental rest anyway. So I have been actually avoiding my Parlee due to its disfugured handlebar. I needed to ride it so on Friday night, I swapped out the bent Oval for the Easton which I have in store (I did not like it due to its very deep drop and anatomic bend). Put on some new handlebar tape as well and the result looked sharp (see below!). Also had the Gatorskins mounted. I'm glad I have the dreaded puncture-prone Evos out, now as a spare. Had a short ride with Ben on Saturday after my 5km run. I feel SLOW, both on my jogging shoes and my bike. The Gatorskins felt less 'supple' I guess. After all, it is 50g heavier per tire for the 22c version (!) but it looks the same size as the Evos which are 23c's. Vittoria is over specifying their sizes, that's for sure. I don't immediately feel any difference in nimbleness....