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

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...

What a day! I love being a bum. In this day and age....its a true privilege! All is not wasted in terms of cycling as I took the morning to swap handlebars between the FG and the Z3. So no more short drop traditional on the Z3. Its now got the traditional bend/drop OVAL R701 from the FG. This bar allows me to place the hoods at a higher position and give a flat transition between tops to hoods, unlike the aggressive sudden bend exhibited by the shallow version. I'm hoping this will reduce some stress on my right hand as I always thought the FG bar had a more stable platform for the hands compared the the shallow version. So as above, one can see the flatness between the tops to the hoods. The hoods are now effectively 2cm higher compared to the previous setup (93cm vs 91cm). Reach remains relatively the same (within 1cm I think). Oh yes, cool red bar tape! Looks to be good quality too (Bontrager)...so here's a full pic below....