Sunday Ride

Belukar Trail flood !!!

It came from this side ....

Thanks to Hup Leong Mechanic John for fixing my chain :-)

It was drizzling when I got out of the house today.
The drizzle became a heavy downpour and so even if
I wasn't really hungry, I opted to wait out the rain
and get breakfast.

When the downpour became a drizzle again, I quickly
dashed to Rifle Range Road. I met two guys on the way
out from the trails and they told me that the trails
today are 'very interesting'.

All the trail regulars in the BT area know each other
by face and I haven't seen those two before. I thought
they were telling me that the trails todays are very
muddy. Boy, was I wrong!

There was an overflowing 'cistern' (right term?) and
all the water was being drained into part of Belukar
Track. So if you are following the trail in the right
direction, once you turn right to Belukar Track heading
to the stairs, you will be surprised to see water coming
at you and the trail flooded. The flood was so deep, my
feet get wet when pedalling.

The really ironic part was when I went to the trail that
leads to Upper Thomson with the remnants of the PadyakPinoy
group, the trails were reasonable dry ! It was even dry in
Rooty Trail.

Anyway, when we were going back to Rifle Range Road, the flood
has subsided... of course, leaving a muddy, slippery Belukar
Track... very interesting :-)

Saturday Ride

Ohhhh what do we have here ......

Today when I was cycling to StairRider Deck's block, I saw

two mountainbikers cycling along Whampoa Rd. They seem to

know our shortcut to McPherson which we take when we are

going to the Eastern trails.

Well, looks like everyone will be at Tampines trail today and

so there should be less people at the Bukit Timah area.

SR Deck has finally changed his KMC weightweenie chain after

one year (!).... and so while on the way to Novena he kept

on shifting up and down. When we finally got to the IRAS

building, I heard some funny noises coming from his cassette.

As I thought, you don't just change your chain after one year

of use. Most probably, the rest of your drivetrain would be

toast as well. This has happened to me already. Anyway, he

told me he'll do some troubleshooting and he u-turned back

home shaking his head.

I went to the trails alone. However, when I got to ZH Park,

I met FreeRider Erik and Ipoh. FR Erik showed me a nice new

loop inside that trail that leads to Upper Thomson :-)

He also showed me some really nice downhill trails complete

with jumps! Of course, looonnggg before FreeRider Erik showed

me these trails, I have already sworn an Oath of Silence in the

presence of Sam the Mailman, Bobot and FR Erik himself :-)

Sunday Ride

@exit of Rooty Trail

Inside Rooty Trail, just before you turn right (near exit)

Just before the stairs @Bukit Timah

@exit of Rooty Trail

I wanted to join StairRider Deck, AirTime Mark and Fast Pao

for the night trail ride yesterday. However, I already cycled

in the morning and I couldn't recover enough to do another

trail ride in the evening. So, today, I'm alone again :-)

I normally see the PadyakPinoy/MTB Brothers gang at Zheng

Hua Park on Sundays. But today, I didn't see them ... well, off

to Rooty Trail then.

Ever since I had the Wanton Mee in 6th Ave for breakfast

I have not been feeling well. I recognise these symptoms

and having decided enough is enough, when I was just
a few hundred meters inside Rooty Trail, I decided to
stick my finger in my throat and get rid of my breakfast.
Hehehehe there! Problem solved.

I exited Rooty Trail and when I got to T15 I met the missing

PadyakPinoy gang together with CrestPursuit Owen. They

have already finished going to the Secret Trail. I exchanged a

few moments of banter and I noticed they have a few newbies

with them. The group seems to be getting bigger :-)

I then went to the Secret Trail via the summit. I was supposed

to look for another hidden trail that was described

to me by Sam the Mailman ... I found the trail... but just a few

meters in and I found a fallen tree. It seems to have been

there for quite some time and I can't find a way around it.

Hmmm... next time, when I see Sam the Mailman and Bobot,
I'll ask them to bring me there. They might know another
way in.

Saturday Ride

View from Rooty Trail. Starting to rain ...

Rain stopped for a while

drizzling again on the way back to T15

I went cycling alone today :-) Half of my friends

went riding in Tampines Trail. No doubt in preparation
for the coming 12hour race in June. The other half
went night trail riding yesterday (or so I thought).

It started raining when I go to Velocity and it stayed
that way until I got to Rifle Range Road.

I went to Rooty trail and when I got out, I saw some
people coming out from that trail that leads to Upper
Thomson! I decided not to go in that way as it involves
me lifting my bike over some fence. So I went to T15
and when I got to the foot of Gangsa I turned right!
While climbing to the Summit the heavens decided to
really open up. Good thing the jungle canopy was there.
However, the rain flowing downhill made everything slippery.

I met some Filipino cyclists on the summit (Jamagz, Don
and another guy). They asked me who I'm with and they
seem to think I'm a bit nutty when I said I was alone.
I went to the 1st stream and then rested a bit at the
2nd stream.

After resting at the 2nd stream, I did a u-turn and went
back to the summit where I saw the same group of cyclists
again on their way home.

I noticed the rain is getting heavier (maybe because I'm no
longer under jungle canopy). I quickly cycled back to Zheng Hua
Park and was surprised that from there, you can't see the peak
of Bukit Timah Hill because of the heavy rain. I cycled even
faster as I had to get out of the trail. I'm afraid that some
tree or tree branch might fall down on me.

I got back to Rifle Range Road and the rain is still very
hard. It was so dark that I would have put on lights if
I brought some in my backpack. Finally, when I got back to
Esso the rain let off a little.

Tomorrow, I'll bring red blinking lights in case
it rains this hard again.

Oakley Ducati Fives



Dilapited and abused Oakley Minute on the left - 37 gr
New Oakley Ducati Fives, Crizal / Transitions lenses on the right - 24 gr



I bought my Oakley Minute in 1998. I used it for a decade and when I

discovered MTB I had the original lenses popped off and asked an optical

shop to put in clear lenses with power (left 0.75, right 1.00) and

this Transition thing (automatically dims when exposed to light).

I paid 80$ for the pair of lenses which I know is very cheap. I had

my suspiscions on whether I got fake Transitions but seeing as how I

paid so little for the lenses, I didn't bother to ask. Anyway, they cope

with the light changes when you cycle on the Blue Diamond trail @Ketam and

then go under the canopy of the Black Diamond trail.

Fastforward 3 years and the right 'arm' of my Minute has been broken in

two places and repaired by epoxy putty which was used to reinforce the

exhaust pipes of my RC engines. The left 'arm' also has been broken once and

repaired with the same epoxy putty.

My wife bought these new Oakley Ducati Fives on her last trip

to America and said I can use it for MTB. Since my eyesight is

not 20/20, I had to go to my trusted Optical shop at China Town.

These time my wife told me to get these lenses right so that she

won't hear any whining from me at a later date. This means I got

the real Essilor Crizal and Transition lenses !

Crizal lenses means my lenses are impervious to dust, water,

scratches, reflection, and smudges. Of course, I will not try to

see if it is really impervious to scratches but I can try to

validate the other claims.

I used this today on my ride ... and most of you would

say 'It rained heavily today !'. Yes that's right. So that should

be the best test for this pair of specs right?

Whereas I am not so sure about the airiness of my Fox Striker

helmet versus my Fox Flux helmet, I am very sure that this pair

of glasses helped me with my ride today. The rain was so hard that

I almost couldn't see where I am going. That is in the Belukar track.

In the trail that leads to Old Upper Thomson, mud and water was

flying at my face because I don't have a mud guard in front BUT

I never had any problems as both water and mud seem never to cling

to my lenses. Also when I was going slow through any technical section,

I never had any problems with fogging.

This is the best purchase I have done to date. All the while I

thought the best purchase was my Anthem... No!

This pair of glasses plus the lenses is the best.

Fox Striker Helmet



Left - Fox Flux 349gr, Right Fox Striker 298 gr



Fox has finally decided to create a supposedly improved version

of the ubiquitous Flux helmet. However, the Fox Striker did not

replace the Flux which still has numerous 2011 versions. I think

the Fox Striker is aimed at people who think that the Flux is a tad

bit too All-Mountain.

The Fox Striker helmet is supposedly 100grams lighter than

the Fox Flux. This alone should appeal to guys who ride more

XC than AM. It also lost the 'go-fast' fin behind the helmet

and now it has 22 vents instead of the 20 vents that the Flux has.

The 2 biggest vents are at the back and they are supported

by some honeycomb-structured plastic.

The visor is also smaller than the Flux's and even the back

strap is now padded.

When I saw the Fox Striker @CineLeisure, my eyes widened

and I looked at my wife. She asked me : 'You want that?'.

I said 'Yeahhhhh...'. Then she asked : 'What's the difference

between that and the other one (Flux)?'. I said 'uhhhhh a lot...

it has this, it has that, blah blah'. Then she said 'Whatever,

just go and get it before I change my mind!'.

Hehehehehe success !

Anyway, I used the Fox Striker for my ride today and

it does really feel airy and light. The thing is you will just

have to take my word for it because the fit and perceived airiness

of a helmet is subjective.

However, it is not 100grams lighter and I submit above

photo as evidence.

Night Trail

L-R : Fast Pao, me, Roadie Rio and StairRider Deck

Magic Shine

 Today is Vesak Day (Buddhist holiday)! So from morning to

afternoon I've been a very good husband and dad :-)

I accompanied my wife and son to Orchard Road for ....

shopping! Anyway, I'm not complaining as my wife got me

a new Fox Striker helmet. More on the helmet later as

I haven't worn it yet.

One other thing my wife got me was a Magic Shine 900

lumens helmet light. ... and since she already paid for it,

might as well use it hehehehe.

NoLights Louie, after much convincing, threatening and

cajoling finally decided to go with StairRider Deck and me.

She was also the one who did the FB Event invite.

After everything was said and done, 5 riders went

for a night trail ride today.

The weather was very cooperative. Although there

were flashes of lightning seen from afar from the time

we entered the trail up to the time we rode home,

the rain never came. Also, the trail wasn't that dark ...

I think we had a full moon tonight.

It was Fast Paolo's and NoLights Louie's first time

to ride in T15 today and both agree that night trail

riding is more fun than the usual day ride. Added to the fun

factor is the fact that as the night progresses the cooler it

becomes. Unlike during the day when StairRider Deck has

already developed the habit of dousing himself with water

whenever possible due to the heat.

We went into the trail at almost 8pm and we were

already cleaning our bikes at Esso by 9:20pm.

... and everybody is smiling :-) even when we

were almost chased by dogs (again??)

It seems this night ride will be a weekly thing?

Group picture brought to you by NoLights Louie's iPhone 



Sunday Ride

Paolo and Deck - thanks to Mader for the photos

Bal showing how many laps he did - Thanks to NoLights Louie and Mader
for the photos





Mark sharing his lunch with us - Thanks to NoLights Louie and Mader
for the pics







Me :-) On the other side of the island, doing what I do best -
thanks to Louie for the iPhone pic. very nice for Instagram



PadyakPinoy/MTB Brothers are spoiled for mechanics.

They brought along 3. Mike the (ex-TEF) Mechanic, Ah Long

and John from Hup Leong



Racers from PadyakPinoy/MTB Brothers



Today's the 4hour Enduro at Ketam MTB trail in

Pulau Ubin ! When I woke up at 7am, I know my riding

buddies who will be racing today are already there

doing their last minute preparations. So I did my pre-ride

rituals and then went out @7:30AM to meet NoLights Louie

in Bedok Reservoir.

By 8:30AM we were having breakfast at Changi Village and

by around 9:30AM we very excitedly went to Ketam and looked

for the place where the race started... I'm not sure if

NoLights Louie shared my disappointment but that was what

I felt. The feed zone was located near B01 (Pine Ridge) and it

was very exposed to the sun ! I pity all the people there.

They look like they were being fried. There were just few tents

that were brought by the bigger MTB teams. So if you don't belong

to a team, you fry. If you went there as a spectator, you fry.

The smaller teams went under the shade of some bigger trees.

Some pitched small tents which I know from experience

would be like small ovens.

Since we can't find our buddies and I can't find where they left

their stuff, NoLights Louie and I decided to go around the island

and explore all those little trails that we see in our regular

group rides. We got lost once. Good thing it's very simple to just

double back to where we came from. We shot a few pics so that each

of us have amunition for our Instagram show-and-tell... and by 11:30

we were back to the racing grounds.

We managed to catch SR Deck just as he exited from Easy Ridge.

He was doing his 6th lap then which was eventually not counted

because he didn't cross the line by 12noon even when the race

started @8:15AM (instead of 8AM). So we can call the race the

3hour 45minute Enduro. Anyway, the rule was applied to everyone

equally so no real complaints there.

We also saw, AirTime Mark and Bal heading home (@11:30 ?!) because

I think Mark was smart enough to realise that even if he does his last

lap, it won't be counted and Bal was looking pale because he only had

one 700ml bottle of water for the whole race LOL.

After a while, we saw the whole PadyakPinoy/MTB Brothers group under

one of the trees along Pine Ridge and I learned KK got 13th place and

Lito got 14th place in the Solo Category. I also saw Bobot who told

me last week that he is not racing hehehehe.

We crowded around the drinks lorry and finally bumped into Paolo.

Paolo's first race was in Malaysia and of course, he can't help but

compare the race he attended there and the race he just completed.

He told us he was wondering what he paid 50$ for. In Malaysia

he paid half of that and he got lots of freebies not to mention

drinks, bananas, watermelons at each checkpoint. He was even smiling

at the memory of the girls who were chanting 'jia you! jia you!'

while they were doing some killer climbs :-) Here, he got .... nothing...

The worst part is, we can go to Ketam anytime we want and do our

own 4hour Enduro and it won't cost 50$ !!! hehehehehe so one less racer

for the 12hour race :-)

Anyway, here are the results of the race.





Saturday Ride

Instagram pic of Rifle Range Road

You all still can't figure out where this is , right? :-P

@T15 : unlike other fallen trees that look like they fell ...
this one looked like it disintegrated !

Fallen tree @Belukar track ... leading to the stairs

It's been raining in the late morning / early afternoon

lately. A welcome respite to the very very hot

weather we are having in Singapore right now.

I went for a quick spin to T15, Reverse Flowy Trail

and Rooty Trail. It's really nice now that I don't have

such a wallowy full sus bike :-)

One observation that SR Deck and I share is that lately,

all these big lizards (tagalog = bayawak) have been coming

out in the open trails. Deck said he almost ran over a

one a couple of days back and he even has the photo

in FB to prove it.

Well, I was doing my mindless pedalling technique

in Belukar track when all of a sudden I saw movement

on my peripheral vision. This branch-shaped thing that

I thought was a ... errr... branch, moved! But by then

I was already almost on top of the thing and I am

quite sure I ran over the thing.

I braked hard, looked back and saw the big lizard take

three (I counted !) steps forward and looked at me!

I got off my bike and in true spoiled brat fashion

jumped up and down and kept saying 'I swear I ran

over that guy's tail !!!' ... while doing that, a group

of mountain bikers came  to me (they're going to ZH Park)

and asked me what's wrong. Talk about embarassing!

I pointed to the big lizard and heard them refer

to it as "bayawak" (bayawak = tagalog = malay?).

Anyway, tomorrow will be the 4hour Enduro race

at Ketam MTB trail. SR Deck, Fast Paolo, Airtime Mark

and Bal are confirmed joining. I won't be able to

do pitman duties as the race will start @8AM

and the first bumboat to Pulau Ubin leaves

at around 7AM. I would still be snoring around the

time when these guys are doing their final race

preparations. But I'll be there to see how the race

ends and to see if my buddies need an ambulance

to get to SG mainland hehehehe. 

Sunday Ride

View from Rooty trail

View from Rooty Trail

My new bike :-)



This hot spell that we're experiencing in SG

is sapping all my strength ! I can just imagine

all the other cyclists cursing in Ketam while

they're on their practice runs.

Anyway, it's Sunday and I had to do more 'testing' on my

new bike :-) Actually, I wasn't testing. That was just

my posh word for roaming around the Bukit Timah area.

I went to T15 and Rooty Trail. Finally, I am able to go

to Rooty Trail alone and say : 'That wasn't so bad.' ... and

seriously, it wasn't so bad and I didn't take too long

also.

I also took a video of my Anthem's suspension on different

parts of the trail.

First part of the video was at the Rifle Range Road climb.

By the way, my Anthem is the X4 version. This means that the

shock that I got was just a Fox R. No lock out. ... and

yet, even by slowing down the video, there is no pedal bob

whatsoever. Fantastic !

At different parts of the trail, you will notice that the

suspension only moves to track the undulations of the trail.

It doesn't move due to my pedalling. It doesn't move

even if I stand up and mash the pedals.

All the movements were due to the imperfections

on the surface I am cycling on.

So, now here's the video of the Maestro suspension.

Edit : You may also watch the video here

Short Ride on Election Day 2011

Before HellClimb

After portage

 Today is SG's Election Day and so I couldn't ride

with my buddies to Ketam as I have to vote... and my

wife specifically said 'No Last Minute Voting !!!!'

So there! Anyway, although she didn't allow me to go

riding to far away Ketam, she did buy me an Anthem X4

and let me ride it to T15 :-)

Ahhhhh ... what can I say ? While riding my Anthem I was

hearing a host of angles singing the 'Halleluia' chorus. I was

smiling and I was thinking to myself this bike should not

have been named Anthem. It should have been named

Epiphany, Revelation, etc.

I have 2 XC bikes. 1 is a BeOne Nirvana and the other

is a steel On-One Inbred. Both bikes are considered

medium in size. I bought a small Anthem. I think

having hit the right size on the head alone makes this

a very good bike. But that's not all. This bike is

in between a hardtail and a cushy full-suss bike.

So, if you are looking for a cushy full suss bike

look elsewhere as this is not the bike for you.

However, if you are looking for the climbing ability of

a hardtail and jussssst the right 'give' for

going downhill, then come on right up, beg, steal

or borrow because this bike would be right

up your alley.

By the way, thanks to my long suffering wife

for buying the bike for me .

I promise I won't upgrade it .... too much :-)

Now ... I wonder what she'll give me as

a birthday present LOL

2nd portion of portage. 1st portion is to the right.

The 'bridge' to NoLights Louie's personal challenge.
I don't trust this 'bridge'

Took this photo before I went to HellClimb



May Day Holiday Spin

Fallen tree at the trail leading to ZH Park from BT

Mandai entrance to T15

Overcast skies and drizzle was the order of the day

Today, Stair Rider Deck was supposed to guide a small

group to (what he described as) a short and flat

trail at Kent Ridge.

I was asked to go BUT I know for a fact that : 1. yes,

Kent Ridge is short (3km) and 2. no, nobody has called

Kent Ridge flat.... of course, SR Deck also describes

Rooty Trail as flat to entice unsuspecting people to

accompany him to said trails... sneaky!

Anyway, morning came and it was drizzling. It took me

a loonnngggg time to finally get up and get on with my

May Day Holiday spin. My legs were aching from Saturday's

long ride @Ketam and my upper body was aching due to

yesterday's paddling.

On the way, to T15 I was already mentally prepared to get

a phone call/sms from SR Deck telling me that they will

be going to BT instead of Kent Ridge as I imagine that place

will be very slippery at this kind of weather.... and ....

true enough! I got an sms when I was on my way to Zheng Hua

saying they're on their way to BT because SR Deck knows

KR will be very slippery today.

I reached the Mandai side of T15 and when I was on my way back

to the BT side, I got a call from SR Deck asking if I want to

go to Rooty Trail with them? No way! My FS bike's pivot bearings

have finally died after being subjected to 2 years of jetspray

and I am now on a steel HT. I said I'll just meet them at the

mango trees.

It turned out the 'group' ride was only made up of Ronald, Paolo

and SR Deck. Which was well and good because a smaller group is

more manageable and we were actually able to hit 31-32kph on full

knobbies along Bukit Timah Road on the way home.

SPC's Beach Day Out 2011

Singapore Paddle Club have their headquarters

situated on Prime Land (they're on Sentosa). They have
their own DragonBoats. They have outrigger canoes of all
shapes and sizes (OC6s, OC2s, OC1s). They have sponsors that
range from San Miguel Beer to software companies to pubs.
They win in almost all DragonBoat races they enter in
Singapore.

All seem to be bright and rosy, right? Nope! They have a
problem. They lack people who will paddle their ocean craft,
they lack people to give out the medals they have won to,
and most of all, they lack people to drink their
San Miguel Beers :-)

Hence the recruitment drive called SPC's Beach Day Out.

As I have said in my first post about this BDO, you pay
a nominal fee and you're free to take all their boats out for
a spin! After that, when you're thirsty, you go get yourself
a 100+ or a San Mig Light ... and then you go out and paddle
again! You do this until 6pm or you get drunk,
whichever comes first.

My friend, PaddleMate #2, told me that there were supposed to
be 60 odd people who are supposed to be there. But in the end,
even those kids who were just playing around in the beach got
themselves registered and tried their hand at paddling. In the
end, the event looked like a company outing!

I helped out in manning the bar for a few minutes and the number
one question I have been asked was : "Is this a weekly thing?".
So the intention of generating interest is definitely successful.

I got to try OC6s, ocean kayaks and a standup paddleboard.
Interestingly, a lot of people find standup paddling fun!
I wonder if it is still fun when the racing starts ? :-)

Anyway, the thing about this recruitment drive is it
attracts mainly two types of people : the competitive ones
and the just-wanna-be-fit ones. ...and let there be no
doubt about it, SPC is a competitive club.

The thing is I'm quite sure that, after the
BDO, SPC will have been swamped by emails
from both competitive types and just-wanna-be-fit types
on how they can get on board the club.
Let's see how the ExCo manages to identify and cater
to the needs of these two types of would-be paddlers.

So, enough yakking and here's a short video of what went on.
... and if you say you didn't enjoy the video, then you
need get your doctor to check if you still have a pulse :-)))

Edit : you may also view the video here