#263 - BottleTree Park RC Track

I bought this TA05-IFS when I stopped playing RC. I couldn't
resist the Inboard Front Shocks.

My TA05-IFS resting on my very very old Yokomo car stand.
In the background is my Sanwa M8 bought in 1998(?). It was the
coolest radio back then. Now the battery is held in place by
2 rubber bands.

Good thing I brought my arsenal of 48pitch pinions.
I came with a 22T in my car, I ended up using 30T.

The other track in BottleTree Park for Offroad EP buggies.

I think I last held a transmitter in 2005. After that, I played

football, got operated on the right knee, paddled DragonBoat

and Outrigger Canoe for 3 years and been biking for the last

4 years. I have been RC free for the last 7 years.

 

... and I heard my fellow former RC addicts clap their hands.

 

However, Deck has been bitten by the RC bug again and he

was bitten very very hard this time. I think he has more cars

now than when we were still considered RC addicts. He even

has the holy grail of expensive RC Cars (i.e. 1/8 on-road).

 

Anyway, he's been bugging me to go with him to the RC car

heaven in Singapore which is BottleTree Park. In BottleTree

park, there is a track for on-road cars, another track for off-road

cars and lastly, the operator of the tracks, RaceWorks have their

hobby shop there.

 

Raceworks stock all kinds of car kits and of course, spare parts

for whatever stuff that you might break when you are playing

at the track. Nitro cars are not allowed and so there is electric

outlet for each pit table. The pits are also well lighted and

very airy due to the number of fans on site. You can even play

at night when the air is much cooler because the tracks are

well lighted.

 

Hence for those who are into RC, just pick your poison,

on-road or off-road and RaceWorks will make sure

you keep on running and that you'll enjoy your time there.

  

Anyway, I told Deck I will go provided that I will spend

very very little $$$ on this outing. Note that during the late

90's, Rio and I buy 250$ for 5 sets of tires for 1/8 on-road,

a gallon of fuel for 50$, glow plugs for 8$-10$ (?), set aside

a bit more money for spare parts (in case we crash hard), set

aside money for lunch and finally set aside taxi money to

and from the East Coast Track .... and that is only on a Saturday

practice!!!! What if we were racing on the next day???

 

So there, the condition was that I spend very little. My sub-C

NiMH are all dead and LiPo is now king. So I talked to old friend

Winnie from Swan Models in Orchard Plaza and she hooked me

up with a decent LiPo pack. I got just 1 pack because nowadays,

LiPos can be recharged once they cool down and they don't

loose their punch even on the 2nd charge (unlike NiCds and NiMHs).

Deck then lent me an iMax B6 LiPo charger which can balance

charge my batteries at 5.0A charge rate.

 

So, Boxing Day came and we took a cab to BottleTree Park

and when we got there .... ahhhh heaven :-) Our batteries were

already charged and so we went out and drove for our 1st pack.

 

While driving for the first time after 7 years of NOT driving RC

cars, two things came to me :

                                   1. I am undergeared and

                                   2. I don't have off power steering

   

Anyway, gearing was solved easily, throughout the afternoon

I kept going up by two teeth on the pinion while keeping the

spur 72T. I ended up using 30T (from 22T). I don't know my

final ratio as I forgot my internal ratio ... I also forgot how to

compute the final drive ratio ... errr whatever, from driving

the car, I can tell that I am geared correctly. I also brought a

temp gun (useful for taking engine temperature) and my black

can motor was coming off the track after 5 minutes of run at

71degrees Celsius. So there, I wasn't frying my motor.

 

As for my off power steering, I tried to increase the droop

on the rear of the car to create more power transfer ... but it

wasn't working. I tried to add 1mm and then finally 2mm of

droop BUT there was no effect whatsoever. So I just drove

my car with a terrible off power push. On power steering

was another story though. It was phenomenal. The car steers

on power like it was on rails (<== overused RC car cliche).

 

We got there at around 12+PM and decided to leave at 7PM.

I told myself while we were getting the taxi on the way home

to NOT enjoy this too much as this hobby is very expensive

.... now the only thing I know that can cure off-power push

is a front one-way hehehehehe ....

 



#262 - Time Atac XS Absalon Pedals

Pic from ChainReactionCycles.com to show the pedal while it
was still clean and shiny.

 Ahhhhh these are purportedly Julien Absalon's pedal

of choice. Why he uses this instead of the more expensive

(and lighter?) versions, I still couldn't fathom. But the white

color and Absalon's signature is enough to let our test rider

go and buy these pedals.

 

 

 

The pedal after a few weeks. The Orange 'spray paint' is the
platform area. Compare with the platform area of XT pedals.

 

Just a bit of a background, the tester's first clipless pedals

are XT pedals (the older ones). He changed to Eggbeater 2s

because there is this fad in our group to lighten our bikes.

But after a while, his Eggbeaters got spoiled. He bought the

bearing package from Crankbrothers and this time around he has

started to feel all those things that I told him he will feel

(e.g. feels like standing on a wire). Why he didn't feel all

those during his first months is beyond me.

    

We have always lusted after these Time pedals with Absalon's

signature and he decided to give them a try. In short he agreed

to be a guinea pig hehehehe. But it looks like I will follow

his footsteps? Read on....

 

   

  

So on with the review! The pedals were delivered to the

office with the rest of the stuff that was needed to build

NoLights Louie's Scott Contessa.

   

The pedals came in a box with instructions and cleats.

The instructions say that if you mount the right cleat (marked

with a capital 'R') on your right shoe and the left cleat

(marked with a capital 'L') on your left shoe then you will

have to twist your foot 13degrees to release it.

   

If you find that 13degrees releases your feet too easily,

then you can mount the right cleat on the LEFT SHOE

and the left cleat on the RIGHT SHOE which gives you

a release angle of 17degrees.

   

Since our test rider, Bal, is used to a 20degrees release

angle on his Eggbeater, we mounted the Time cleats to give

him a 17degrees release angle.

     

As you can see from the picture above where I spraypainted

the platform area in orange, the platform is a lot wider than

XTs. It is even wider than the new XT's platform. So that is

definitely a plus.

    

The arrow shows that the adjustment screw is no
longer flush with the pedal body.

 

Also, the spring tension is adjustable just like XT pedals

and this adjustability is missing in all CrankBrothers pedals.

The only thing that XT pedals have over this adjustability is

that XT pedals have a wider range of adjustment whereas these

pedals seem to have only three settings (there are adjustment

marks of 1, 2, and 3 in the pedal body). The adjustment

screw can be turned by using a small flat tip screw driver.

     

The pedal is NOT as freely spinning as Shimano pedals.

Also, the surprising bit is that even if the pedal body is

composite (plastic?) it is nearly as heavy as the all metal

XT pedals. We were not able to weight it BUT manufacturer's

claimed weight is 350g per pair.

    

Clipping into the pedals will give you a very loud 'Thunk'.

This is good as you don't have to pull on the pedals just to

check if you are already clipped in. Anyway, no big deal as

both Shimano and CrankBrothers pedals give an audible

sign when you clip in.

   

Clipping out of the pedals is what surprised me! Clipping

out also generates a loud 'Thunk'! Time Atacs have similar

retention system as Crankbrothers BUT you will not hear

any sound from Cranbrother pedals when you clip out.

    

After a few rides, Bal the tester also complained that although

the release angle of Time Atacs is just 17degrees, it is harder

to unclip than the 20degrees release angle in his Eggbeaters!

So we remounted that cleats in the correct Right-Left fashion

(i.e. Right cleat to Right shoe) which then gave us a 13

degree release angle and now our tester is much happier.

    

Again, after a few more rides, our tester then complained

that the spring tension of the retention system coming from

the factory is soooo stiff that he is scared that there will

come a situation where he will be unable to unclip. Easy.

I just unscrewed the spring tension screw (counterclockwise).

No surprise that the turning is notched such that the 'notch'

coincides with the 1, 2, 3 mark on the pedal. What surprised me

is that I was ABLE to unscrew the spring tension screw past

the #3 mark! See the picture above. I was able to unscrew

it such that the head of the screw is not flush with the pedal

body anymore. I think I can even unscrew it further.

But I didn't do it for fear of not being able to put it back

just in case it is possible to unscrew it all the way.

    

Anyway, now that the spring tension is weaker, our test

rider is happier as he can now unclip easily.

   

Also, I seem to remember reading somewhere that Shimano

cleats will go into Time Atac pedals. We tried and it didn't

work. We then tried to clip in with CrankBrother cleats

and we were able to clip in.

    

There you have it. Now the question is will I follow

our test rider's lead and get the Time Atac XS Absalon

pedals? Basically, it is as heavy as XT pedals. You can adjust

the release angle like CrankBrothers. You can adjust the spring

tension like Shimano pedals. The float is good for people with

bad knees (like Crankbrothers pedals)... So in short, it is a

combination of most of the good points of Shimano and

CrankBrothers pedals... I think my next pedals will be

Time Atacs :-) 

 

 

 

 

 



#261 - Lacorte Cup Micro-Mini DH Race

Owen is calling the guy at the end of the DH course
so that guy can start the clock. Bike stand is Arnold Lacorte
- pic by Nick McHugh

 XC racers in Singapore are luckier than the DH guys.
There are no more XC races in Sg BUT at least they
can get their feet wet in neighboring Malaysia.
The Malaysian Jamborees cater to all racers from
National Racers, to Weekend warriors, to Aunties and
Uncles, even to Boy/Girl Racers.

 

But if you are interested in the Downhill side of things,

there is no beginner friendly DH races in Singapore.

Errrr scratch that, there are NO Downhill races in

Sg. Ok, some may argue that there is the Redbull

Night DH race and also that DH race held in

the Singapore Flyer. BUT those races happen once

in a blue moon. So while waiting for the moon

to turn blue, what do you do? Twiddle your thumbs?

 

Anyway, PadyakPinoy Sg has a core group of riders

who are into DH racing. There are also lots and lots

of newbie riders who are into DH ... but are intimidated

with the jumps at Gangsa and the main DH route in Kent

Ridge. The thing is people have to start somewhere ...

and so there's this mild and short DH section in Kent Ridge

where people started to practice... and when that place

was identified, CrestPursuit Owen said :

"Let there be a beginner's DH race here" and

lo! there was a race... and they saw that racing is good.

 

Hehehehe of course, it didn't happen as simple as that.

They talked about how to have a "start gate", how to time

the race, where to get medals, what are the prizes, etc.

 

In the end, it was agreed that this will be a beginner's

race. If you have raced DH before, too bad! You are disqualified.

But apart from that rule, anything goes.
You can use whatever bike you have. The "entry fee" is just

10$. The 10$ fee went to buying BEERS and CHIPS for

everyone. People approached the organizers to be marshalls,

mechanics, photographers, pom-pom girls, whatever.

Lastly, Owen took care of the prizes. So now that

everything is set ... there were people who asked :

What if you don't have a DH bike and ARMOR?

Arnold replied : No excuses!!! I will lend my race winning

Tomac DH bike AND armor to whoever needs it ...

and that my friends is why the race is called

The Lacorte Cup :-)

 

 

 

Tropang Putikan's Anton trying his hand at DH race course.
- pic by AirTime Mark

 XCers went for the race. People on DH bikes went

for the race. People on hardtails went for the race.
Even non-competitors went to the race just to show
support, say 'Hi', and share some laughs.
 

Everything went smoothly. Also, I almost forgot,

if you are racing, then you need to go for at least

one practice session! Safety First!

 
Morning was reserved for the seeding runs. 

The race took a break for lunch and then the heavens

opened and there was a torrential downpour. These

people just waited for the rain to stop and then continued

racing in the mud. Even the photographers had their

expensive DSLRs and Remote Flashes out!

 

Everything that was expected from a DH race was

there. There was even a HOTSEAT! :-)

 

 

Nick McHugh - Attack! - pic by AirTime Mark

Tropang Putikan's Gerald, is back to try the race course
... a few months after he broke his back
- pic by AirTime Mark

Eventual winner - Vince
pic by AirTime Mark 

Owen tackled the course on his On One Inbred
but he is disqualified from competing as he has
already done a DH race before - pic by AirTime mark

Incredible Hulk AKA Merlion (that's his real name)
tried the course on his Lynskey
pic by AirTime Mark

Master Bobot on his Turner
- pic by AirTime Mark

The Hot Seat ! :-)

The Organizers, Racers and Volunteers
- pic by Nick McHugh

AirTime Mark and Arnel
- pic by John the Mechanic

Ahhhh what can I say... the race was a total

success in terms of fun FUN FUN. Now those

guys who joined this race already has some idea

of how it is to race DH. They have even become

sooo confident that last I  heard, a few of them who

have long travel bikes (NOT full blown DH rigs)

will be competing in Batam's Light DH race !!!

 

The next installment of this race will be held

on February 2013 .... from what I hear, a few guys

from my group, Tropang Putikan will be going

for this round :-)))

 

By the way, here's a short video from Rey Toots

about what went on that day (might NOT play on phones).
 

 

 

 

 

 

 



#260 - BP Giant Jamboree

You know you've been a fixture in Malaysia Jamborees when
the DJ recognizes you already. - pic from Cycling Malaysia

One of the hills of Batu Pahat in the background
- pic from AirTime Mark

Batu Pahat on a sleepy Saturday afternoon.

A condemned shop house in Batu Pahat.

As has become the custom among my team mates,
whenever the travel time from Shell JB to a
particular race site in Malaysia reaches two hours,

we decide to go on a Saturday, stay at a nearby hotel

and show up at the race site on Sunday feeling fresh.

 

Well that's the ideal scenario. But what happens
normally is that you can't sleep on an unfamiliar
bed ... and when you are finally drifting to sleep
your roommate starts to snore ... and then your other
roommate (3 to a room) starts to join in the snoring.

 

Ok! Now that my excuse is out of the way, here is what
happened at the Giant BP MTB Jamboree in Batu Pahat :

 

We requested the Landmark Hotel in Batu Pahat to serve
the buffet breakfast at 6:30AM so that we can check out
at 7AM. So after eating our breakfast, we all piled up
into the bus. There were only 12 of us and so our bikes
also got their own seats. I guess nobody among my group
will ever put our bikes into the side compartment of the
bus anymore as BadLuck Kid Ryan lost his front wheel

when the side compartment door opened on it's own...

while on the highway ... and we only discovered it

was open in Batu Pahat!

 

All manner of camera equipment was shoved into Ryan's
face as he won't be racing without a front wheel (unless
he wheelies for the whole race). Lots of requests were
also made on when to shoot, the best angle, etc.

 

With the camera equipment all sorted out, everybody rushed
to the starting line and we met lots of familiar faces from
Singapore. There are around 1300+ racers on the starting
line. So lots of jostling for position was happening. We were
quite far off from the starting line and so I didn't hear what
the announcer said this time.... All I know was lots of people
were whooping and we were off !

 

Or so I thought. We were stopped at the starting line and the
organizers stopped NoLights Louie on account of being a girl
and also Enrico on account of being old hehehehe. The race
organizers wanted the Open Cat participants to go first.

 
One organizer saw Ironman Randy and decided that he looked
to old to be in the Open Cat and stopped him. Randy had the
presence of mind to point to his Race number (blue in color)
showing that he indeed is young enough to go with us.
 

 

 

Me! 30 minutes before the race start. Note new jersey and
Kali helmet - pic from Efren

Start !
...and now we are really off! Later on my friends Fast Pao
and CrestPursuit Owen told me that we were going at around
50kph on the road leading to the trail. I didn't know my speed
at that time because I took out my speedometer since I get
nervous when I see the speed creeping upwards of 40kph. Nyahaha
now that I can't see my speed, I managed to stick with my
friends! I also didn't see any accidents on the road this time.
Maybe because I reached the trail head in record time? But I
did see two guys on a TANDEM bike!!! Crazy guys. I also saw
two guys on cyclocross bikes wearing checkered shirts !

 

At the start of the first climb, I can still see my friends.
I told myself that I will never ever dismount and so I persevered.
I lowered my head and spun my granny gear. Near the top, I
shifted up to my 2nd ring. When I was about to crest the climb,
I shifted to my big ring hoping that when the ground levels,
I will be in a position to sprint and leave the pack behind
... and then when I pedalled, I was pedalling air ... my chain
fell outside the big ring !!!! Grrrrr !!!! I went to the right side
of the trail and fixed my chain.

 

After fixing my chain I just sort of went with the flow ... that
is until I got to the second climb. The second climb started
easy and so I approached it on my big ring. A third of the way and
I went to my second ring. At the half way mark, I went to the
granny ring .... and then I was pedalling air again! My chain dropped
again! Argghhhh... this time I had to push my bike up. Sigh
that should be it. It's not my day.

CrestPursuit Owen being pursued by Bal
- pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

IronMan Randy - pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

Soooo many people pushing their bikes.
See how small the people are at the bottom
of the climb? This gives you an idea of how long
the climb is - pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

CheckPoint 1

Lots of climb happened before we even reached CheckPoint 1.
There was another longish climb where I was doing ok but then
the guy in front of me suddenly stopped and dropped while clutching
his right calf : cramps! So no choice for me but to push the bike up.
On the way up, I saw one of those guys I was chasing at the Millipede
Jamboree talking to his team mate (same jersey). Imagine that? They
were talking while lots of people were overtaking them?! I took a
cue from them and decided to pee at the top of the climb hehehehe.

 

Anyway, when I finally got to CheckPoint 1, I told myself the race
is "over" for me. No point going all out. I will stop, eat bananas,
drink lots of water and take a rest. But as I approached the Checkpoint,
one of the marshalls quickly came over me and put a sticker on my
race number and said "GO!!!". Huh? Ok! So I snatched a bottle of
water from another marshall and sprinted out of CheckPoint 1.

 
That has got to be a record for me. Zero seconds wasted. I didn't
stop at all. The thing is I sprinted right smack into a very very
long climb. Sigh. Here we go again. By this time, I am already
spinning like a zombie. I think this is what roadies call the
"mindless pedalling" technique. However, in jamborees with lots
of participants, you can't really spin mindlessly. Imagine : you
are climbing using your granny gear. The climb is steep such that
your chest is already glued to your stem. The climb is very long too.
You can see from photographs of the race how "small" the people are
at the start of the climb. Also, there is someone in front of you,
who is going to collapse any time soon. There is someone behind you.
There is someone pushing his bike on your left. There is someone
on your right as well. My friend Bal, said he can't even spit or
clear his nose because he will definitely hit some one hehehehe.

 

CheckPoint 2
How I got to CheckPoint 2 was a mystery to me. I just know that
after CheckPoint 1, I managed to clear all the other climbs.
Again, when I was approaching CheckPoint 2, I told myself that I
will stop, eat a banana, drink lots of water and eat my first GU
Roctane. But again, the marshalls have other plans for me! As I
was approaching CheckPoint 2, one of the marshalls again stuck
a sticker on my race number and said "GO!!!!". Me being conditioned
to start pedalling whenever I hear "Go!", did just that! I sprinted
again after snatching a bottle of water from another race marshall.

 

Around this point I was wondering when the "Technical" Section will
come. There normally is a "Technical" singletrack in these Jamborees.
There was also a short road section here and I was wondering if that
is already the "U-turn" point? Normally, the race starts and ends at
the same place. The u-turn point is a short road section which leads
to the trail that leads back to the start/finish line.

 

CheckPoint 3
While I was pondering these mysteries, I saw CheckPoint 3 looming.
I gritted my teeth (really!) and told myself : this time, I will
ignore those marshalls when they say "Go!". Again, the marshalls
didn't wait for me to stop to stick the sticker saying I cleared
CheckPoint 3 and said "Go!". Hehehehe I was ready for them this
time, I slowly inched my way to the left side of the trail and
let some cartons of bottled water stop my bike. The girl near the
carton must have thought I was going to collapse and quickly gave
me an opened water bottle. I took out my GU Roctane and swallowed
it slowwwlly while sipping water as if it was wine hehehehe.

 

I cycled slowly after that and I looked around and told myself that
FINALLY (!!!) the racers seemed to have spaced out. There were a
few of us only and we were on a road section. In the past jamborees,
the racers space out even before we reach CheckPoint 2. This is the
first jamboree that I attended where the racers are all packed even
when we were already in CheckPoint 3. Now, there are fewer of us and
we were on the road, I can use my mindless pedalling technique ...
but not yet! I realised that even when we were on the roads, these
roads where all still uphill! You can still see people pushing their
bikes on the left side of the road. There were very few of us
(at the most 5?) who were pedalling. I think the only thing that
stopped me from pushing my bike is my ego. All the while that I was
using my granny (on the road?!), I was telling myself : this can't
be worse than Vigilante Drive right?!!  

 

While I was having this thoughts to myself, I saw a wondrous thing!
I saw in front of me that the road went vertical and there were
cyclists that were going up that vertical road very fast without
pedalling. It's just like a scene from the movie Inception. As I was

approaching it, a cyclist flew by my right side ....Oh, so, that's how it

is done. I sprinted and didn't put a finger on my brake levers. The speed
was scary fast but I did manage to climb that vertical road without
pedalling. Later on, Fast Pao said that his GPS registered his speed
at that section as 68kph!

NoLights Louie got 11th position in the
Women's Cat - pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

More people pushing their bikes - pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

Anton - Highest placed guy in my team (#72) ...
and he was using a Giant Reign and flat pedals!
- pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

Fast Pao still smiling - pic from Ultraman Bintang's FB page

Now that seems to be the last of the exciting stuff. I was looking
for the entrance of the trail leading back to the start/finish line.
I was also pedalling mindlessly now. I was just looking at my race
number and checking it if the marshalls really did stick the stickers
properly ... I was also looking at the text "CP3" ... CP3 ... how
come there's nothing more after CP3? I lifted my head and saw from
a distance this "small" policeman directing traffic and there were
vehicles going from left to right ... CP3 ... then no more ... CP3!!!

 

Finish Line
Oh Sh*t! CP3 is the last checkpoint! I am actually going to the
start/finish line NOW!!!! Argghhhh!!! My enthusiasm and energy was
renewed and I remembered all those road rides I did in Coastal
and Mandai Road. I pedalled furiously and managed to overtake lots
and lots of weary cyclists. I entered the compound where the
start/finish line was and I was still hammering it. A cyclist smiled
and gave way to me. I signalled that he can draft me. He raised his
two hands and shook his head. He spoke in Malay. I think he is
saying that he's got nothing left in the tank. I managed to overtake
easily 12 more people inside the compound.

 

I was given a medal saying I finished 408th in the Giant BP
Jamboree and my friends all shouted at me from their vantage point.
I was too weak to eat or watch the lucky draw but it was still
a very enjoyable experience.

 

The Giant BP Jamboree was the hardest race I have

joined to date. Lots of people were comparing this race

to Nusa-Iskandar Jamboree. Judging from what I heard,

it seems the climbs are more difficult in the Giant Jamboree

BUT it was a very hot day when the Nusa Iskandar Jamboree

was held. Also, the Giant Jamboree was NOT 45km as advertised.

Lots of Cateyes and Garmins were compared and we all agreed

that the total distance was just around 30KM. Now compare this

with the Nusa Iskandar Jamboree which was around 68KM!

 

Anyway, I'm just comparing the two Jamborees just to

gauge myself whether I could survive a Jamboree harder

than the Giant Jamboree ... and it seems that the honest

answer is NO. So, I need to throw more $$$ at my bike

to lighten it.... either that or I need to train more ...

Whoever heard of training to get faster ???

 

As for the goodie bag! The dryfit shirt that came with the

goodie bag is quite nice indeed. They also gave a water bottle

which is always a welcome and useful item :-)

 

 

This was taken at around 4PM in Pontian where we took
our 'lunch'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



#259 - Signs of the Times

 

MBA Sg met with NParks last Nov 12.... and here

is what went on.

 

Apparently, there are lots of major suff that's going

to happen in BT like getting rid of the long stairs

where we have no choice but to carry our bikes.

 

Also, if you think that NParks has forgotten about

Woodcutter already, think again. I got news that there

were more cyclists that got fined while at the first

stream. 'Lost' joggers were also being fined just so

that mountain bikers don't get the idea that we are

being singled out by NParks.

 

I read the meeting minutes when it was first posted

at MBA SG's Facebook page and so I went today to

the entrance/exits of Woodcutter in T15 to verify that

the signage has been changed.... and no, the signage

was not changed. Another plate was added saying

Unauthorized Personnel and Vehicles are not allowed

inside Woodcutter. However, the original sign about

no Mountain Bikes allowed inside Woodcutter is there.

 

I read the combined signs as "Unauthorized Personnel

and Vehicles, especially Mountain Bikes are not

allowed".

Close up of the new signs at the entrance/exits to Woodcutter.

 

There were also two new signs posted on the tree

 at the foot of Gangsa Hill. The signs are just a reminder

of what will happen if you have more balls than brains.

No biggie.

 

 

Anyway, you can tell that I have lots of free time

in T15 earlier this morning since I had nothing to

do but take pictures of signs. In fact, I was just doing

a recover ride because I was at the Giant MTB jamboree

last Sunday in Batu Pahat.

 

I'm just waiting for more pictures to pour in via

Facebook and then I'll be doing my race report :-)

 

 

 

 



#258 - Tampines Trail

I think this is the 6th straight day without rain.
Trails should be nice and dry!

 

 

Oh, right! I remember I have a blog !

It's been quite some time since I updated my blog.

I only remembered it because there will be another

Jamboree in Malaysia (Batu Pahat this time) and the

last post I did was for another jamboree.

 

Anyway, I am not posting on my blog lately due

to (1) being busy with work and (2) sometimes, pure

unadulterated laziness on my part. I still haven't written

my helmet reviews ... which reminds me, I can actually

do a helmet battle royal seeing the number of helmets

(either cheap or mid-priced ones) in my play room.

 

Lots of things happening in the MTB scene in Singapore

as well. If you haven't found out yet, there is a new organization

that was created to cater solely to the needs of Mountain Bikers

in Singapore. Here is their website. Be sure to check out the

explanation of why the 'S' on their logo has 2 blue bands :-)

 

MBA Sg also has a page dedicated to Trail Etiquette and

clearly does not condone irresponsible behaviour on the part

of Mountain Bikers. However, they are also the first ( and only?) 

ones who explain the behavior of Mountain Bikers to the

general public (see Oct 15 entry in their News Section). 

Unbelievable! I got 'lost' in Tampines Trail ?!

Attack the Jungle Trail!

Lately, I have been going to Tampines Trail.

My teammates told me that the jungle is very nice

now and so are the Upper and Lower Kidney (that is

if they are still called that). There was even this short

trail called Ewok Jungle!

 

We've been doing our Night Trail Rides there lately.

No neighbors to complain and the place is really well

kept. Kudos to the guys who maintain this trail.

 

... but the thing is, we all know that Tampines Trail

will be gone in two years time ... I'm not sure if the

Jungle Trail will be included in the redevelopment

or just the YOG area. Anyway, just to be safe, I decided

to make a short video as a remembrance before Tampines

Trail is finally turned into a Condo or whatever.

 

 

 

 

 



#257 - Millipede MTB Jamboree

Me at the finish line of the Millipede MTB Jamboree
- pic courtesy of Kennt Ho

Top 3 are from Singapore... but I don't know their names. My friends
came in at #9 - Ng Kim Kwee and #10 - Nick McHugh
- pic courtesy of Kennt Ho

#9 Ng KK from Singapore
- pic courtesy of Kennt Ho

#10 - Kiwi Nick McHugh
- pic courtesy of Kennt Ho

The food was great!
- pic courtesy of Sam the Mailman

#275 - Tabs
- pic courtesy of Kennt Ho

I rode with these guys for much of the race ... but couldn't
keep up in the end :-(
- pic courtesy of Kennt Ho

Brother Louie enjoying the trail
- pic courtesy of David Kew

Don't tell me you don't know this guy?
CrestPursuit Owen had a flat which messed up his race.
- pic courtesy of Derek Kew

Now why didn't I think of doing this? Actually, when I got here
there were organizers at the bridge shouting for us to sloowww down.
There must have been many endos/spills here?
- pic courtesy of Derek Kew

 

Me! At the last checkpoint... and that is not a smile.
That's a grimace. I was feeling the onset of cramps.
- pic courtesy of ReyToots

That was a very nice race ! ... and that is the summary of the
Millipede MTB Jamboree that I attended last Sunday (16th Sept 2012).

 

Ooppss! Of course, I'll tell the details.

I'll spare the account of how we got there as the Millipede Jamboree
starting / finishing point was quite near to JB Shell. To be exact,
it was supposed to be only 16km from JB Shell ... which made me

 wonder how the bus driver got lost ... first time that happened.

Since the jamboree was quite near Singapore, it was no surprise

that there were lots of cyclists from Singapore who went for this

Jamboree. The Filipino contingent alone numbered around 70 cyclists.

In all I think there were around 600+ cyclists who participated in the race.

We don't see this kind of numbers in Singapore but Malaysian organizers
see this as the norm and so the registration and collection of
goodie bags and race numbers went smoothly.

 

One other nice thing is that the organizers decided to give out
a towel among the give aways in the goodie bag. A very useful thing
to have.

  

And so, after the Malaysian National Anthem, we were all released
and everybody pedalled furiously to get to the trail head. The announcer
did mention that we need to cover 2km of road first before we enter
the trail.

 

As usual, while on the road, I kept looking at my speedometer. The road
was flat (unlike Muar which was going down hill a bit) but I can feel
that we were going faster than normal. I saw I was going at 40kph and
of course, as always, I got nervous because this is a mass start. I
feathered the brakes a little until I got to 36kph. As I said the road
section was just 2km but even before we reached the trail head, I saw
some one already took a spill ?! Arrggghhh that's why I always keep
saying inside my head 'ride safe, ride safe, ride safe'.

 

We entered the trail and the first thing that greeted me was that
on my right, IronMan Randy was off his bike and was looking at

something on his rear wheel. That sucks, he normally is in the top 100

but it now looks like very early on and he has a mechanical failure.

 

Apparently, Sugar Rush Rey also pinched flat very near the entrance.
I just didn't see him. Also, first time racer Tabs was bumped
by another bike from behind sending her flying like Supergirl. Again,
I didn't see this. It was actually Sugar Rush Rey who told me this when
he caught up with me before the 3rd Checkpoint.

  

But I did see another girl lying on the left side of the trail. Some guys
were off their bikes and attending to her. She had long hair, was wearing
black jersey and SIDI shoes. You might ask why I remember so much detail?
The thing is she reminded me of Tabs and so I made sure that was not Tabs.
Tabs also has long hair, was also in black jersey and was also wearing SIDIs.
Anyway, since the girl was already being attended to by around 5 other cyclists
I continued riding.

  

I cycled until I reached this singletrack and then, as expected, people
started to bunch up. I think there were some people who decided to walk
the short downhill section leading to this steep climb. I decided to spin
on low gear and just waited for my turn while half pedalling half balancing.
It was finally my turn and I went down the section and didn't bother to
touch my brakes hoping to get some momentum for the impending steep uphill.

I reached the First CheckPoint and did not stop to dowse myself with water
or to get some rest. I was even moving a bit when one of the organizers punched
a hole on my race number to signify that I passed by the First CheckPoint.
This turned out to be a good strategy since I left behind some of those
who were 'chasing' me. I also didn't need water to pour on my head as I
brought my own waterbottle filled with water just for that reason.

  

There were lots of singletrack at this stage. There was a time when I
noticed there some guys who were coming from a different trail and yet
were 'merging' with me on the trail I'm on. Hmmmm ... I wonder which trail
was longer? The one I'm on or the one they came from?

 

Also, by this time, I have already realised that I should let go of my
brakes even if the downhill parts of the trail were rocky or rutty because
definitely it will be followed by an uphill section.

 

I saw my friend Gerald who was looking good for a first timer. I cycled
along side him for a while and he told me that just in front of us,
maybe 4 riders ahead, is my other friend Tabs. I told Gerald to follow
me and we'll try to catch up with Tabs. I caught up with Tabs on a downhill
section that turns to the right. I decided not to announce my presence
as she might lose concentration. I passed her and saw that I was pulling
away from her. ... and then Sugar Rush Rey came from behind. He told me
that he got a flat tire and when he finished fixing it, he was the absolutely
last rider. There was nobody else but him and the sweeper motorcycle.
He said he got lost a few times and the motorcycle rider would tell him to
go left or right. It was here that he told me that Tabs got rear ended
and took a spill. After that he said bye bye and took off ... ahhhh
apparently everything is effortless when you're on a carbon 29er hardtail.

   

After a few minutes, I heard Tabs say "Hey, Monjie!".
Huh? She's behind me? We exchanged war stories while pedalling and

 this was when we finally saw the Second CheckPoint.

 

I reached the Second CheckPoint and here I took a cup of hundred plus.
I started pedalling with Tabs and Gerald behind me. A little girl told
me that I was #274. So Tabs was #275 and Gerald #276.

Here also I realised I was more or less cycling with the same bunch of
people. Apart from my friends, there was this small woman dressed in a
downhill jersey, riding on an AM bike and using flat pedals. She is
definitely from Singapore. I always see her in Butterfly Trail back in
the day. There was another girl wearing a white and yellow jersey.
She was using a Hardtail equipped with a Lefty fork. There was a guy,
who I think is also a Singaporean, who was on a Full Sus 29er (Specialized
I think?). Lastly, there was a Malay guy wearing a Yellow and Orange
jersey who was on a Hardtail.

 

I realised I lost Tabs and Gerald by this time and from out of the blue
it was ReyToots from PadyakPinoy who was chasing me. ReyToots and I reached
the third checkpoint and he dismounted from his bike and took a picture of
me. Me on the other hand was already noticing the early stages of having
cramps. So I took out my YokoYoko and proceeded to apply it on both my
legs. I also took a banana and 2 cups of 100+ ... this was my longest stop
and I noticed the guys and girls I was riding with took off much earlier
than me. I told myself, nevermind, next should be all flat. I would catch
them.... and so when I started cycling again, one of the organizers said
"Go all out! You only have 8km to the finish line !" .

 

I took off like a scalded rabbit ! ... and stopped after 3 pedal strokes

because I'm going to cramp! Hehehehe I pedalled like an on-off switch.

This means, maybe 10 strokes hard pedal and when I feel the cramp

coming, I just coast...

 

Meanwhile my riding 'buddies' were nowhere to be found.

I thought to myself that now is the time to splash water on myself

and go all out. I reached for my waterbottle on the downtube of

my frame and ... felt nothing but air ??!! I looked down and

saw that my waterbottle was gone. Sigh...  

 

A guy in blue jersey overtook me just before we got to the road section.

He was on a hardtail so I was thinking "Aha! Drafting opportunity!".

I saw the girl on the AM bike, the girl with the Lefty fork,

the guy on the Specialized and the guy wearing the yellow/orange

getting smaller and smaller on the horizon.

I hope the guy I was drafting would be fast... But no... he was also
wasted already :(  He was just going at 16-18kph. I overtook him and
I went at 25kph, I signalled for him to draft me but either he didn't
understand my signal or he was already really too tired to follow.

 

In short, I didn't catch-up with those guys I was riding with for
majority of the race. I reached the finish line and the organizers
said I got #249 ! Hehehehe nice! I thought I was going to stay at #274.
They gave me a bronze medal with #249 engraved at the back and I was
surprised when they took my picture with the Millipede 'poster' as a
backdrop.

 

A very very good race indeed from the Organizers of the Millipede jamboree.
The trail was nice. The weather cooperated and stayed overcast. The
FOOD was nice! The lucky draw prizes were nice. The atmosphere was festive.
Everything about this race was nice. If I had to nitpick, my only
complaint was that there were only 2 toilets which is really insufficient
considering that there were around 600+ racers. But as I said, that was
not such a big issue and we will definitely be coming back for the next
edition of the Millipede MTB Jamboree next year!