#253 - DragonBoat

One for my InstaGram

Guess who's the noobie :-)

The left side of the boat showing some charm

This is the new pontoon for kayaks. Those 2 guys serve as
the anchor.

After Saturday Trail Ride last weekend I joined my group

for the (usual) after ride drink(ing spree). So after a few bottles

of beer I learned a few things :

1. We were drinking because it was Neil's last trail ride

with us. Good luck to all your future endeavors, Neil!

2. Gambling in wakes in the Philippines is a

really lucrative business.

3. IronMan Randy runs 10-20km in the afternoons after

our usual 50km trail rides in the morning.

4. Fast Pao has taken up running ??!?!?!

5. and I was reminded that another friend, Efren,

swims as a form of cross training.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Those were alarm bells ringing

in my head! So! My friends are all having some sort of cross

training without telling me! It took them 5 rounds of beer

before they spilled out everything.

... and so, Podium Louie and Tabs put to action this thing

we had in our minds for the past 3 weeks. Tabs called a friend

of a friend belonging to the DragonBoat group Spanish Armada.

She said we were total newbies BUT we are fast learners hehehe.

Our contact told us to show up at the Kallang DB place at 8:45am.

... and so the night before, I smsed Podium Louie (who's a real newbie)

of what to wear so she'll be comfortable for 2 hours in the boat.

Next morning ... she showed up looking like the picture above ...

and she forgot her water bottle ... it doesn't look good for her hehehe.

Anyway, after a few minutes of basic introduction to paddling,

we were off. Tabs and Podium Louie were put in the back part

of the boat and I was put in the front right side of the boat.

After a while, the coach/steer told Tabs to go to the front of the

boat, beside me because the guy in the white cap (AKA me!) needs

some instructions LOL. So she went beside me and both of us

were giggling at the thought of her teaching me paddling :-)

Anyway, we were off again and this time the coach apparently

thinks I have grown by leaps and bounds paddling wise. He asked

Tabs and I if we were married as we look good paddling together.

.... followed by more giggling on our part. We said I am just a

very fast learner.

So, after the two hour session, I asked Podium Louie if

she's coming back. She said instead of her core hurting from

the exercise, it's her butt that hurts! Come on! I'm sure the first

time anyone cycled, it wasn't the legs that hurt but the butt from

sitting on an unfamiliar shaped object we now call a saddle !

Me? I think as long as this DB thing is relegated to Sundays

and nobody asks me to race, I think I should be ok joining the

Spanish Armada... and yes, my wife 'okayed' the quarterly fees :)

#252 - Kent Ridge

This about sums up the reputation of Kent Ridge MTB Trail.

Me! Running to attend DH class

DH Masters Arnold and Eric conducting the DH Class.
Note Arnold is wearing a neck brace. That's why when he
says it's easy to do, I didn't believe him LOL.

One of the DH boys of PadyakPinoy trying to convince us
that it was easy to do just as long as you follow what the
Instructors said.

Podium Louie on Sunday. Monday in the office and she was
still beating herself up saying "Why didn't I ride the tech sections?"

Sam the Mailman, one of the instructors for the XC Class.

Master Bobot, the other instructor for the XC Class 

Four years! That is how long I managed to dodge all the

ride invites to Kent Ridge! But now that all the nice trails

are closed, I don't have any more excuses not to go to Kent

Ridge... and so last week my friends sent out invites that said

something like "We can do the same old thing at Bukit Timah

or we can join the guys at PadyakPinoy for a lap or two in Kent

Ridge." So, if you were to get that kind of invite, what would you

have done? Yes! Show up at Velocity at 8AM without any sort

of armor, pull your group on the roads up to ridiculously

steep Vigilante Drive and declare that you are ready to go

in to Kent Ridge MTB Trail just as soon as you finish your

Hammer Gel. 

Hehehehe, of course, good thing that the PadyakPinoy

guys were there and so we exchanged a few Hi's and Hello's

before we eventually went in to the trail. That gave me

ample time to catch my breath from climbing Vigilante

Drive. Anyway, just before we went in, Sam the Mailman

and Master Bobot graciously offered to give us the guided

tour of the trails to lessen the casualties, as they put it.

Gulp ... what have I done?!

Also at the carpark, I noticed many familiar faces

on familiar big, burly bikes. I think they found me familiar

also as we all exchanged smiles, nods and greetings of

'Ah ha! So you are all here now?!  :-)' 

... and so we went inside the trail ... and it was indeed

narrow and twisty and rooty and all sorts of devilry are

there ... but hey, it was not as bad as I imagined it to be.

Then there was a traffic jam inside and all of us were told

to get off our bikes. Sam and Bobot then mentioned that

we should be aware that there is this killer DH part in

Kent Ridge. They told us that the moment we see this

sign saying 'steep dropoff', we have two choices, one :

grow some big balls there and then, or two : get off your

bike and walk. So being firm believers of the saying :

he who fights and runs away, will fight again another day,

we all got off our bikes and Sam and Bobot showed us

the trail ahead. What can I say? Never mind if it is just

steep, but you need to be mindful of trees and navigate

bends as well. So walking is a good thing.

At the bottom of the DH Section, Arnold and Eric were

giving tips to some DH riders on what to do when faced

with those kinds of conditions and when they saw us coming,

they all went up and showed us the line that XC bikes should

use. They also showed us how to brake and lastly, they showed

us the correct body position when going down. The sermon

errr I mean lesson was followed by two demo runs from Rico

who I didn't recognize as he was in full battle gear and also

another DH rider from PadyakPinoy who I didn't get the name.

After the demo runs, Arnold and Eric were asking who wants

to try the section on an XC bike ... uhhhhh ... I believe those two

are right but I can't get over the fact that Arnold was wearing

a neck brace ... and so I said : not me! I'm walking. Hehehe.

After the demo, we completed one lap of the trail only

to find out that since there were many DH boys practicing,

we can't complete the last climb which was actually the downhill

section for the DH boys. Sam and Bobot told us we will have

to climb Vigilante Drive AGAIN! Haaahhhh????!!! They

calmed us by assuring us that climbing Vigilante Drive is a

lot easier than climbing the DH Section ... and so with tears

in my eyes, I winched myself up Vigilante Drive and

plonked my ass in the grass at the carpark.

Everybody finally came up the carpark and then Sam said

'Ok, that's Lap 1....' arrgggghhhh. So after a few minutes of rest

we went in again and this time, it was much much smoother.

... and then disaster struck ... I mean my friends were all

endoing all over the place but this time it was more serious.

One of our lady riders missed one of the wooden bridges

and fell into a drain. She had a fractured elbow and she had

a cut on the chin which required stitches (seven stitches in fact).

 We all got out of the trail via Evacuation Point B and Arnold

fashioned a splint out of a tree branch and lots of arm warmers.

Rico came with his pickup truck and rushed Cheryl to the hospital.

All of us went to have lunch and eventually, Rico and Sam

came back and joined us giving us some early news of how

Cheryl was. That made for a more subdued lunch.

 

Conclusion

If we don't count the fact that one of my friends had a

fracture at Kent Ridge, I would say I actually enjoyed the

trail. I would like to come back ... and I will actually be back

but next time, I need to 'respect' the trail. What I mean is I'll

be back with proper equipment (knee, shin, elbow pads) and

I'll be using my Reign... it should be 'safer' than my XC bikes.

Also, I am one of the 'lurkers' at SG TAP groups in FB and

I would like to say thanks to the groups and individuals who

maintain the Kent Ridge Trail. My friends who had been there

before told me that that place was a lot cleaner and safer than

before... I do see people cleaning up the place and posting the

before and after pics in Facebook ... so once again, Thanks for

your hardwork and I promise to do my part in maintaining the

cleanliness of the place.

Edit

How could I forget?!?! I'd like to say a big Thank You to Sam
and Bobot for the guided tour of the trail. It surely helped that
two of the most 'decorated' XC riders in PadyakPinoy were the
ones who were guiding us in Kent Ridge. They went around with
pumps in hand and individually checked our front and rear tires.
Those two have raced (and won?) in Kent Ridge so they know
the exact PSI that would generate enough traction and yet not
wallow in the dips and ruts. If a tire is deemed too soft, they pump
in some air, if the tire is deemed too hard, they let out some air.
... and they were taking our riding abilities and weights when they
were doing this! Lastly, for my case, they told me to loosen my
SPDs as they noticed I was having a hard time disengaging.
Small things, really, but it made my first time there more
enjoyable and safer.

Next on the Thank You list are the two DH instructors :
Arnold and Eric. Again, who else better to learn from but
these two who have raced (and won?) here? I believe the
things that they have said in 'class' applies not just in KR
in particulat but it should enhance my riding in general.
I will always remember : keep your torso stationary... THEN
throw your bike in front of you! hehehehe

Lastly, of course, Mechanic John of Hup Leong for supplying
the expertise in making sure that all of us are running
smoothly like clockwork.

So, last Sunday, all I had to do was pedal. The trails were
clean, my bike is running smoothly, my set up was spot on
and I had coaching. I felt like I was Absalon hehehehe :-)

 

#251 - Brand-X Hardtail II Triple Butted 7000 Frame

My seatpost is Titanium. That should help in color comparison.

I turned up with the above frame for my normal Saturday

ride and my friend Deck said : You bought a Titanium frame?!

On the way home and we met Bal and Podium Louie hiking

in Bukit Timah and they said : You bought a Titanium frame?!

So, although CRC assured me that what I am buying is a

grey colored frame, in real life, the color of the Brand X HT II

Triple Butted 7000 frame is actually nearer to Titanium color.

You can look at the picture above and compare the color of

the frame to my seatpost which is actually Titanium.

Ever since I started going to these Jamborees in Malaysia,

I have been going over to Togoparts and ChainReactionCycles.com

every night. I'm trying to get a hardtail frame that won't break

the bank. You might ask why, since I already have a Jamis

HT. The thing is my Jamis HT is 17" C-T. I stand 1.70m barefoot.

Most of the sizing charts that I see says that I should be fine

with a Medium frame (17" ?). But seeing all the pros in youtube

and even our local racers in Sg, I think I should be better served

by a smaller frame. Hence the burning desire to get a 16" HT frame.

... But I don't have the budget for a Ti or Carbon frame (as always)

and so I had to settle for an aluminum frame. If I could get a

second hand (cheaper!)  frame from Togoparts.com then

that would be the ideal scenario.

However, CRC has been selling this Brand-X XC HT 7000

frame for just 174SGD (depending on the prevailing exchange rate)

and so I put that frame on my basket.... and when I was finally

ready to order ... yup, I was too slow again, the size 16" was

already out of stock. I grumbled to my wife and she asked if

there is another alternative? Of course, there is! Enter the

2nd version of the Brand-X XC HT frame.

You may ask what is 'new' to the second generation of Brand-X

XC HT frame ... and I don't know the answer. I just know that

the first version comes in three colors (black, silver and blue)

whereas the 2nd version only comes in grey. The nice thing

though is that the reviewers of the first version all said that the

paint on their frames, chipped easily. In the second version

nobody seems to complain about the paint ... must have been

solved by then? ... and so, with that in mind, I paid around

250SGD for the frame and conveniently forgot about it so that

I won't go crazy waiting for the package to arrive.

But I didn't even have to wait long! I ordered on a Wednesday

and the next Monday the package was delivered at home. My

wife smsed me saying she thinks there is something wrong

with my order ... apparently, the box is so big and yet whatever

is inside is soooooo light. I said there's nothing wrong hehehe

in fact everything is perfect nyahahahahaha!!!

So when I got home, the first thing I did after opening

the package was to weigh the frame. My frame is 16" C-T

and it weighed exactly 1.6kg. After that, I took out the

bosses for the v-brakes but I didn't bother weighing them

as they seem inconsequential.

The next day, I went to TEF @Novena and asked Wilson

to put in an Aerozine headset which costs 50SGD and bought

a set of Clarks shifter cables (everything you need is inside,

cables, housing, etc.) for 30SGD. I then went back home and

proceeded to transfer all the stuff from my Jamis to the Brand-X

frame. After just 1 hour ... tadaaaaa, I have a new bike :)

All the cables are on top of the top tube. CRC forgot that the
cable guide for disk brakes are for mechanical disk brakes NOT
hydraulics.

How did it ride?

Of course it was nice! It's a new bike :)

In all honesty, I can do 'more' with this new smaller

frame. It was just an inch smaller (C-T) but now I can

'get out' of the bike more so I don't get too scared whenever

the trail points down. Also, it seems a bit 'softer' than my

Jamis. Anyway, that is subjective. But was I faster on this

than my Jamis? Maybe just a bit, on the downhill parts.

Was I faster on this than on my Anthem? On the road, of

course, yes. But on the trail, I'm still faster on the Anthem

and yes, that includes the climbs. Maybe I need some more

time on this hardtail before I can bring it to Malaysia

with confidence.

Is this frame for you? If you are looking for a nice, cheap

aluminum frame that you can use on the road for your XC

training as well as cruising on fireroads then this is the

frame for you. It is relatively light and seems to be as well

made as other aluminum frames from the more well known

makers. There is no choice of color but the grey is quite nice

and understated. My only complaint is that although it is

stated that this frame has the routing for disc brakes, the

disc brakes being referred to were mechanical ones. There

are no guides for hyraulic disc brakes on the top tube of the

frame. But hey, 250SGD for a new frame and delivered

straight to my house? I think I got a very good deal.



#250 - 3rd MCC Muar Pagoh Agro Bazaar MTB Jamboree

Muar's Landmark

Street food for our dinner

Muar's streets were closed due to a parade

Nice day for a race. The sun hid all morning, there was a hint of fog
and for a while there I thought it would rain.

All smiles. Me in blue being a snob.

This is already part of the trail ... but you may be forgiven for thinking
this is a road race.

Last few meters

Exchanging war stories

All smiles. She has been in the podium for all three races that
we have joined in Malaysia. 5th here in Muar... and she donated
her winnings as beer money.

I have always heard CrestPursuit Owen mention
stories about the Muar race/jamboree ... and I have
always wondered what's so special.... and so after
having been bitten by the 'racing' bug, I trawled
through malaysiacycling.blogspot.com and saw that
THE Muar Jamboree is to be held on the 1st of July
and that entries are limited to 1,500 people only!
 
So! A vote was called and IronMan Randy, Uncle Bal
and the recently nicknamed Podium Louie were voted
as the organizers for this road trip / race. ...
errrrr actually, there was no vote. But those three
can't stand being disorganized so they volunteered
themselves hehehe.
 
Anyway, after a lot of phone calls to Malaysia,
exchanging of POSB accounts and reminders that of all
the fruits in the world only bananas have a heart
(hmmm nevermind the banana part. something got
lost in translation), IronMan Randy managed to get
all 19 of us registered in the race, Podium Louie
managed to get us a 3 star hotel for just 12SGD per
head and Uncle Bal managed to get a very very nice
bus for us and our bikes... complete with a very
accomodating driver.
 
We left Singapore on Saturday morning and since
the bus ride is 2 hours plus, we asked the driver
to bring us someplace where we can have lunch...
and so we had a five-course lunch at Yong Peng :-)
... not just that, before we went to the hotel, the
driver asked us if we would like to see the race
start site. We said yes and he drove us to the race
start.. and found lots of people being busy preparing
the grounds for the race tomorrow.
 
Once we reached the RiverView Hotel, we just dumped
our stuff and bikes in our rooms and off we went to
explore Muar. There seems to be a festival going on
as some of the streets were closed. We can walk in the
middle of the streets and there was even a parade in
the late afternoon. It was a nice, laid back place.
The only problem was the language barrier ... the
hawkers can't speak English. Good thing that between
me knowing how to count in chinese and Rico's meagre
knowledge of Malay, we were able to order drinks.
  
Hehehehe of course, quote of the day belongs to Sugar
Rush Rey... or is it the hawker serving us?
It goes something like this :
hawker : what do you want to drink (in Malay)
Efren : Asahi Beer
hawker : ok
Me : Coke
hawker : ok
StairRider Deck : Carlsberg
hawker : ok
Sugar Rush Rey : Let me think ....
hawker : Lemon Tea, ok
All of us : nyahahahahaha
  
After the drinks, we decided to go where we could just
point to the food and do less talking. Or else, we might
get inundated with Lemon Tea. So we went to this place
where there are lots of street food and had our dinner
there. After dinner, on the way to the hotel, we saw a
parade comprised of children from different schools.
  
When we got back to the hotel, some of us played billiards
and drank a few bottle of beers. Podium Louie, Brother Louie
and I went for a massage. It was lights out at around 11PM.
Our bus picked us up at around 7AM and we thought that we
will be the first ones in the race site. But when we got there,
it seems all the racers were already there! We quickly got
our race numbers and proceeded to go to the race start gate
where we had to wait for 45 minutes because the race start
is exactly at 8:30AM.
  
I wasn't in a talking mood most mornings and this morning
is one of those. That's because I didn't sleep properly
due to one of my roommates snoring so loudly. My roommates
are Uncle Bal and Podium Louie. Guess who is the loud snorer :-)
  

Start to CP1

We were all let go at exactly 8:30AM and everybody proceeded
to go all out since the first 8km was road. We were on a slight
downhill and everybody was pedalling furiously and passing me
left and right. I looked at my CatEye and was surprised that
lots of people were passing me when I was going at 47kph!
(Later on my friends said they were going at 50+kph)
Hmmmm there are lots of people and it is very clear that not
everyone were expert cyclists. I got nervous and feathered
my brakes until I got to 42kph. I told myself there will surely
be an accident here... and true enough, just before we went
into the trail, on the left, lots of volunteers were assisting
some one who obviously took a spill. I hope that guy is ok.
... and while I was doing my mindless pedalling technique,
Brother Louie and AirTime Mark passed me.
  
From the trail head to CP1 was just rolling terrain. I reached
CP1 and found Ronald and his nephew, Brother Louie and Airtime
Mark and Podium Louie. All of them took off quickly and last
to take off was Podium Louie followed by me.
Last thing I heard from the organizers were : 'go slowly,
singletrack ahead!!'

CP1 to CP2
The singletrack reminded me of Scorpion Trail (sniff sniff).
But this one is a long and dry Scorpion Trail. Anyway, if you
can clear Butterfly Trail, then this piece of singletrack is
very easy for you. All this time, I can still see my friends
in front of me.

After we exited the singletrack, I managed to pass Podium
Louie and I told her that we should go and chase the rest...
... and then I saw it.

It's THE climb. But at that time I didn't know it since I
can't see the end of it. Podium Louie and I started slogging
using our granny gears. While pedalling, I can still see some
of our friends disappear on the top (I thought it was already the top)
of the climb.... and then a light bulb flashed in my head and
I got off my bike and I started to run and push my bike.
I thought when I get to the top, my heart rate will be lower
than if I spin on my granny gears.... but when I got to the
'top' I saw that the climb continued on to the right. But there
was no way to get back on the bike anymore as the climb was
quite steep ... arrrgghhhh and so my strategy turned into another
stragedy. The worst part was when I thought I reached the top
(for the 2nd time), the climb continued again :(
 
Anyway, when the climb was finally over, I cycled again and
saw these two guys who were poised for a split second at the
start of what obviously looked like a downhill section (what
comes up ... must go down). I thought what's up with
these guys? It's just a downhill section. When I finally got there,
I knew why they didn't want to go down. The downhill was
steeper than the China Bowl Section in Ketam and it was very
long! Not just that! There is a cliff on the right side and
view is actually fantastic! But I remembered one of the basic
rules in cycling : you will go where you are looking. So if I keep
looking at the cliff, I will eventually go there! I semi-ignored
the cliff and went down.
 
There was another climb that is similar to the previous climb
but much shorter. I managed to clear the second climb as
I have learned my lesson already. No more 'bright ideas' from
now on.
  
After a few more rolling terrain and I got to CP2.
 
CP2 to CP3
I think this is where the mountain was taken out of this
mountain bike race. From what I remember, this stretch consisted
of paved dirt path. I managed to go behind a guy dressed in
a black Scott kit. His cadence was consistent and we were going at
28-30kph. He noticed me behind him and after a while I signalled
that I will go in front and he go draft me (in an MTB race?!?!?!).
So this arrangement went on for a while ... until the guy suddenly
threw a tantrum! He braked and he seemed to be saying "why are we
pedalling like this on a mountain bike race" or something...
So I left him and after a few more minutes I reached CP3.

CP3 to Finish Line
I think there were many of us who reached CP3 at the same time
because I remembered one of the volunteers shouting :
Roooaaaaaddddd!!!!
I swear everybody in front me of hunkered and did their best
aero tuck on a mountain bike. I managed to hang on the coat tails
of one guy in another black jersey. We were going at around 32-35kph
all thanks to him. This stretch is like the roads in Pulau Ubin.
  
The two of us passed two more guys who decided to hang on our coat
tails as well. The four of us took turns in pulling the group (on
a mountain bike race??!!) until we reached the main road. The main
road leading to the finish line was going up and so our group became
separated. In the end only I and the guy in black was left. I got
a medal saying I was 495th and I looked for my friends and plonked
my ass and refused to stand up for picture taking hehehe.
   
Historical Moment in this Race
The hands down winner for this honor... is again Sugar Rush Rey.
It goes like this :
Sugar Rush Rey (rushing to checkpoint and shouting at the top of his
lungs) : give me 100 plussssss !!!!!!!!
One of the marshalls gave him a Salonpas (LOL)
Sugar Rush Rey then decided 100+? salonpas? sounds the same?
So he went and sprayed the salonpas on his face. (LOL)