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

More pics from my sucky Iphone camera! Loaded up in Singapore! Riders raring to go... Mark is colour-coordinated! Ben and the knight Crowd at Rest Point #2 Jack struggled to stand up for this pic Le Bike Bus

Drove up 650km just for this event! We completed the event safely and with good speed as well. The drive started on Saturday morning 6.30am (supposedly 6am but someone forgot to set alarm clock!). Nice smooth ride into Malaysia and we took turns at the wheel. I took over from Air Keroh until PJ where we met up with Keith and his wife (Ben's friends) for lunch around SS2 area. At one point I forgot that we had bikes mounted on top and tried to park under a tree. God knows what would have happened had Ben not shouted hehehehehe....anyway minor damage on this bike. So I owe him one handlebar tape I guess (get him a pink one)! Getting to Sitiawan was a little bit slower as we went into the 2-lane minor highway from Bidor onwards. We headed for the power station at Manjung first to collect our goodie bags (got lost a bit) and there we met the famed Toki, the cycling enthusiast from TNB (Tenaga Nasional Bhd - Malaysia's Power Company) Manjung who organized the event. We collected the...

Completed one of my Fixed Gear goals for the year! Kicked off at my block at around 6am. Veit and KL was already waiting downstairs. Veit took my Colnago. So, 2 road bikes and one fixed. Total expected ride distance : 136km. Took a leisurely ride to CVFT. We were quite happy to see that there were not many people around so we managed to get ourselves on the 2nd boat which left at 7.15am. Rather uneventful boat ride and we reached PFT (Pegerang Ferry Terminal) at 8am. Weather was great (it always is at that time of the day!) but as we reached Sg. Rengit, the sun was coming out of sleep and we knew we were in for some hot weather! We stocked up a little at Sg. Rengit on 100-plus and went on our way. The 25km route to Petronas was the very familiar undulating rolling hills and I managed that in good speed with no issues. Felt rather strong in fact, going into Petronas. The last 35km loop back into Sg. Rengit via the coastal road was different. The sun was at its maximum hotness (35 degree...

So the weather has not been really cooperative as well as my kids! Did not get to ride as much as I really wanted to the past 2 weeks but I'm targeting to change that. This weekend will I will be gunning for the Desaru Fixed Gear target, along with KL and Veit (visitor from Germany). The total ride will be about 140km, about 100km in Malaysia. I hope it does not rain on Saturday....nor shine too much. The weekend after next will be the Janamanjung ride....maybe do Fraser's as well. But the real target I hope to achieve by June (need to clear leave as well!). Camerons, Frasers, Genting. Then I'll be more or less contented for the rest of the year. Mersing ride will be ok I presume since I've done it before. Planning on an unsupported ride as well but I wonder who will be game to join me....or should I do it solo? I've no problems with that either. So, hoping for a good couple of weeks to come!

I got myself a pair of Outland Keo Compatible Road Pedals from RutlandCycling in UK. These are the only ones I found that has wrench flats! I need this as the Sante crank on the fixed gear does not have a through hole on the 9/16" pedal mounting to allow use of an allen wrench. At SGD70 shipped, I did not hesitate much on it since the lowest end Keo Pedals (which are molded plastic, these are forged aluminium) already command almost SGD90 at the LBS here. First impressions, looks to be quite well finished. Chromoly spindle. Weighs 326g (pedals only) and comes with Red Cleats (6 degrees float). Here are some pics. UPDATE : Tried it out this morning for a short 20km ride. Definitely feels more planted on the pedals compared to clips. Hence more reassuring, especially when standing up and pedal!

Stumbled upon this bike at Weightweenies and was instantly taken! This frame is just awesome, in its matt black scheme. I've never seem a frame that is so perfectly and correctly match to its paint scheme! Did some research on this and apparently it comes from China, made in the same factory that does Storck and Pinarello frames. The latest line up for these frames comes in 2 forms, the Neo Exile and the Neo Exile Ultimate. The difference being in the material used to build up the bike; T700/800 for the former and full T1000 for the latter. Enjoy!

Okay, I admit it. I'm sorta addicted to ebay-ing and for the past month been scouring the web for deals on Dura Ace 7800 parts. The drivetrain in particular. Was not so keen on the DA7900 even though there were quite a few good deals on them over the net. The DA7900 looks a tad futuristic (I like it actually) but it won't look right on this 1991 frame IMO. Also, I was not too keen on the ability to only shift 2 gears down compared to 3 gears on the older DA7800. I already have a DA7800 shifter in place which I am very comfortable with especially with the smoothness and short throw required to shift so I figure if I could get some deals on the FD, Crank and RD, why not? The FD (FD-7800) is brand new and Crank (FC-7800) was supposedly mounted on an LBS showbike and have seen very little use. I love the cranks. They look great and just oozes quality and workmanship. The finish is really good. An to protect them from my notorious crank-rubbing feet, I bought a set of Crankskins. Th...