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

Ah, what a good 3 days.... Certainly 2 highlights was 1) Run350 with my Wife 2) Both my kids can ride the 2-wheel bike! On Saturday, to give my legs from the Faber torture the previous day, I opted to go for the 'an hour or less of moving time challenge to Siglap kopitiam" something Ryo and me cooked up while riding at those ungodly early hours just to kill the boredom. This was to be the last time I will use the MotoACTV (until they clean up their act on the website and the TCX export). The best time for this was done in January with Ryo where as a team we averaged 33.1km/h to cover that 32km of start and stops (with some slopes). I set the virtual partner on MotoACTV for 32km distance and 1hr time. This time out I was solo and did not expect much from this ride except, just do it. Started out ok at the service road and just managed to pip the VP but lost out again at the park area leading to the coastal road...however at Coastal, I turned it on and went to 35km/h avera...

Here's the rig I've been riding. So far since early this year, I've changed from 7800 to 7900 to right not 7970 Di2. Everything else is pretty much the same. I swapped out the Fizik saddle in favour of the Charge Knife which I had on previously. Much more comfortable and conforming to my ass and at a fraction of the price!

Unlike last week, today was a partial Masher ride. JM joined us as well and we started off at 5.30am. Did very well and hitting average speed of 32+km/h upon at Jalan Buroh. Pure work between the 4 of us (KL, Ryo, JM and me) drafting no one else. JM, as usual was in his track shoes...and he did well...even pulled the group a couple of times more notably at Jalan Boon Lay at 35km/h average. Couple of sprints between us to keep the fun up. Ryo managed to take a video of my butt....as analysis to see if I was wiggling in my pedalling motion (as claimed by Gary last week). Here are some sexy videos of my fat butt. At least the saddle could still be seen! Comments? I think I have a nice pedalling motion in fact!

One year on, 'Team Masher' rides again! We looked so united donning our Twin Six Masher jerseys (except for BP!). The ride started from my place at 6am with Mark and Ben. We met up with the rest (KL, BP, Gary, Ryo) at Nicoll highway bus stop. The ride started with a medium pace, with everyone actually catching up a little bit. It has been such a long time since I saw some of these guys in their tight suits. Prefer them much better in this attire. Exhibition of freedom compared to constricting business attire. We kicked up the pace upon hitting West Coast highway (>36km/h, not on the viaduct). Along the way, we picked up the draft of a large group (Sin/Rev?) and they were nice enough to let us join their little pull at post 37km/h speeds! Apparently some of those guys are Cat 2's! They tried to coach us into doing rotation but we did not do that too well.....after a short while, they took over again and we were sucking their wheels once again. Nobody's complaining o...

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...

Finally had a ride with Ben ad KL ....started out pleasant enough until we saw the dark clouds over Loyang area. Decided to just do the straight road and u-turn back. We went pretty speedy on that stretch about 40+km/h but before even reaching the mid point, the rain started. We made a u-turn at the mid point lights. We headed towards Siglap at a leisurely pace. At the kopitiam, KL discovered he has a front flat. No problem. Swapped the tube and still flat! The spare tube had a leak at the valve joint to the rubber. Then it started to really pour! One of the worst I've seen whilst on a cycle outing....luckily we were well sheltered. The rain did not seem to subside even after an hour. At last we could not wait any longer...we left KL and rode the COLD back home. Now to think of it, lucky I did not go for me long distance ride this morning! Apparently this short couple of hours caused floods all over the island nation. Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.9

I'm blogging this from my nook.....had a good 80km solo ride on Saturday and an easy paced ride with Ben to upper/lower Pierce reservoir on Sunday. Some pics from the reservoir ride.... Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.9

Rained the whole freaking weekend. Luckily I squeezed in a short ride on Friday morning. Saturday, managed a 5.5km run (low paced in a way as I am still having some problems with my right leg) and went for a 30km ride...was hesitating on the ride at first as KL texted me he was not coming due to the uninviting look of the sky. I went anyway, it started to drizzle and it got a bit more than that as I went along. Only did the usual 30km route, and a little bit cautious during the ride due to the we roads. Btw, braking in the wet on carbons....sucks. Sunday, it rained whole day....and today, monday, as I type, its STILL raining! Thats the post ride pic above. I feel impressed everytime I look at the bike. Its the wheels I believe! I lowered my seat at tad perhaps 0.5cm or so...no adverse effect yet. I've been getting weird joint pains; my knee (but I'm pretty sure its not the knee) and my right elbow. I wonder if its the weather causing some joint problems.....

First and foremost, running. I managed to complete 10km under an hour for the first time ever! Ok, granted not a big deal for many runners but sure is a big deal for me! I set out to achieve this by end of this year but hey, its done in January. Looks like a revision for running goals....below 55mins perhaps by mid-year? I think that's possible, if I shed more fats. But first, its to achieve 25mins for 5km, that will be my short term goal. Took the lee out on Saturday to Faber (I'm loving this place again). Did a pretty decent 2 rounds via Kg.Bahru...about 6mins from bottom to the top. The Hed wheels climb very well too but not really noticeable compared to my DA + Open Pros. KL joined for my 3rd, 4th and 4.5th round. He did very well on the first...maintaining ~10kmh at the steep portions. At one point on the way back he was doing 36-37km/h along Keppel (I was happily drafting behind). At Nicoll, I decided to pull with headwind....managed to go ave of 39km/h for 2km with some ...

First ride this morning and I broke my previous 'best' for the usual 30km loop. 32.6km/h average vs. 31.7km/h. I was conscious about trying not to push too hard just because I have new equipment and did just that. I think the tubulars roll better than clinchers and the aeroness does help to some extent. Most importantly, FIERCE la.....

Vpost sucks! I took it upon myself to collect the wheels from the post office after days of waiting for the courier! Well here they are : scary deep profile. Fierce looking. The seller (Josh) did not put in the spare pads so I have to source one myself....no riding until that is done. He's offered to refund 15USD for this. Installation was not simple....the brakes *just* managed to open wide enough to let the wheel in and after that, I had to adjust the brake cable again. No joke...these wheels are wide! (28mm apparently...5mm wider than the 23mm wheel sitting on it right now! Very nice though. The brake surface looks ok except for a long streak which does not seem to be a problem. No visible cracks. Rear is pretty true but the front is off by perhaps 1mm or so but thats ok. Weighs light! On the scales, the bike now weighs ~7.5kg, not that it matters but thats still a 300g savings over the DA sets (which now hangs as backup!). My spare evo corsas are here as well...along with the 6...

So there you have it....I bought one in Nov...and 1 month plus later, KL bought one. When he bought his Colnago, I bought one too, this time he followed me! But nice touch with the colour scheme and Reynolds Attack wheelset. His looks so much better than mine, I think the wheels helped. Well, wait till my Stinger 6 comes, then we'll see again. Already the replacement of the Aliante with the Charge Knife gives a more aggressive look.