Monday, September 1, 2014

#287 - 99.9 MTB Jamboree

 
 


 
Hey there stranger! I was busy procrastinating and planning
on how to come back to my blog ... and I thought what better
way than to tell you guys how the 99.9 MTB Jamboree went.
 
Funny name, isn't it? 99.9 ? Anyway, the organizers' promised
that the course will be made up of 99.9% canopy trail. Nice!
Also, they promised 99.9% no chicken ... not sure what they
meant by that since lunch provided came with chicken.
I interpret it as the course is easy such that there is no need
for a 'chicken line' 99.9% of the time.
  
And so! My friends practiced in Lorong Asrama, went for long
road rides while me on the other hand cycled to the Marina Barrage
on to Kallang Wave and back home most of the time. Hehehe I hope
I wove my excuse seamlessly in that statement.
Finally, the day came. But of course before we get to Masai
I will have to give props to 'The Man' Alan of AlanMark Bike
Transport. Alan was on time (4:30AM !) on race day. This surprised
me because even the bus drivers we engage from Malaysia during
our past races are seldom on time. Every thing that we needed to do
was done very smoothly. He did his research well before he fetched
us and the GPS coordinates of our destination was already on his
phone. In fact, we reached our destination in record time.
It was still dark when we got to Masai!
 
As a result of us getting to the race site early, we got to
the front row of the starting grid. We could have literally
started on the front row but we didn't want to be seen as
'eager beavers' and so we settled for the second row. That means
we left the front row open even if we were first to come to
the grid.  .... and then we had to wait for close to 2 hours
... tick tock tick tock.

We got to Masai so early that the marshalls were not yet at their
designated posts.

I didn't know this at the time I took this pic but the
trail to the right is where we will be climbing from on the
 way to the finish line.

We started just to the left side of this football field
 
At first I thought the racers will be around a hundred only but
people started pouring in. TKL who was registered for Batu Pahat
Jamboree was there to my surprise (and he finished in 20th place!).
BYX mechanic (sorry, I didn't get his name) was there and we
were chatting away. He mentioned that it seems many fast riders
were not present. I agreed and said that he may well take
first place (wink wink).
 
Everything became lively when the National Anthem was sung.
Later on a group of ladies went to the stage and did some aerobic
exercises which was supposed to be mimicked by the cyclists.
I think this was a good idea since some of us have been just
standing there for more than an hour ... and so I followed their
movements (that is, I danced).
 
My friends who are all anti-social just stared at me and
slowly walked away so as not to be identified with me.
They only came back when the count down to the Race start
started. Yes! We started from a football field! There was no
5km of road sprint towards the trail head. Looks like the organizers
were serious with providing 99.9% of off-road trails. Everybody
hurtled towards the right to an unpaved pebbly 'road'
and within a few meters we turned left and the
canopy trail started.
In the end, there were more than 600 cyclists.



From left : Paolo (Bolo), Efren (Alfred), BYX mechanic (who
eventually came 1st) and me (who can't fit into my race kit)
That was the good part. The bad part was that I can't remember
much of what happened since the whole course looked the same.
I remembered the water crossing where most people waded
in waist deep water. I stopped and looked at where all the people
were going and there was general pandemonium. I managed to snap
a few pictures and then put away my phone quickly for fear of
dropping it into the water. I approached the part where people
were wading in knee deep water ... I waded in and I can't remember
how my bike got into the opposite bank. I think the other racers
were helping me carry my bike and pulling me up! Thanks a lot guys!
 
Next that I remember was that whenever there is loonnggg uphill,
the checkpoint will definitely be at the end of the climb. This is
good for the organizers because the cyclists are going sooo slow
that they can just take their time attaching the stickers to our
race numbers. Hehehe also due to the climbing part, there are always
lots of cyclists sitting at the check point which is very well stocked
with water and bananas. They give out the water bottles unopened.
You don't even have to open them. Just gulp it all down.
 
Lastly, I remembered one of the organizers PUSHING ME UP
a climb! I must have looked like I was dying for him to come and
push me ;-). 
 
Even getting out of the stream was not easy.
I crossed to the left of these guys.


Pic from 99.9 MTB Jamboree FB site.
Deck saw a big catfish and instinctively tried to catch it.


Pic from 99.9 MTB Jamboree FB site.
Efren (Alfred) on the way to the first checkpoint.
Although I am unable to recount most of the trails don't get
the impression that this is a bad course. In fact I find it to
be very good. Next time I come here, I will make sure that I 
am fit as this is the kind of trail where you can just open up
and let it rip!  The lunch provided was delicious. There were
lots of places where you can wash your bike. There were places
where you can take a bath. What more can I ask? This place is
perfect.  .... and when 1PM came, ever dependable Alan came
back for us and sent us back to Singapore.
 
That was 99.9 MTB Jamboree and I think they have really fulfilled
their promise. The organizers did a great job and I hope they
do it again next year.
 
 


Thursday, April 3, 2014

#286 - Kota Tinggi MTB Challenge 2014


 
First jamboree of the year for me and my friends.
First time wearing the all new team kit as well :-)
 



pic grabbed from Pinkz Ladyz FB page
 
 
pic grabbed from CycloMotion's FB page
 
 
pic grabbed from Kitty Sue's FB page
 
 

 


It's been a few months since I last joined a jamboree.
It's getting harder and harder to prepare for these
jamborees especially when you have other activities
like DragonBoat and Outrigger Canoe paddling.
 
It's a good thing that Podium Louie (Finisher #6
in Women's Cat) is always there to take care of
Registrations, Deck is now ever dependable to
get us a bus which will fetch us from Novena,
drive us to the race site and back again to Novena,
Efren takes care of designing all Team insignia's
and race kits. All that's left for me and my other
teammates are just to pay the requisite fees and
cooperate with minimum fuss ;-)
 
Ok, so for this race, we cut it quite close by
arriving at the race site with only 20 minutes before
the flag-off. I blame this on us forgetting that there's
usually some kind of traffic jam going to JB on
Saturday mornings. Yes! I think most Malaysian
jamborees that we're scheduled to attend will be
held on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday.
 
Anyway, I didn't have much practice and so
I listened attentively to the race DJ (he's the usual
skinny guy with the goatee) so that I won't
have any 'surprises'.
 
The race DJ mentioned that the sticker checkpoint
will come first BEFORE the water point. He is very
specific that these two points will be separate. This
is odd as last 2 years, all jamborees combine the
'sticker' checkpoints with the water/food checkpoints.
By the way, I have this fixation with the water
points because it was a very very hot day last
Saturday and I wouldn't want to get dehydrated.
 
And so off we went! I would like to say that
this route is very nice because there is very little
road section. We started on grass and we immediately
went to the loose gravel section. Hehehe it is in one
of these loose gravel sections that our team Ace,
Randy Vega took a spill very early in the race.
Me? I didn't practice so, just finishing this
race without getting beat up is my main priority.
 
At the start people have lots of energy and
most want to overtake everybody else. Hence, I
just let everybody go. I am quite sure I will
overtake most of them later on once the
cramps set in.
 
Anyway, unlike what the DJ said, the water
point came first! I took some water and doused
myself on the head and the back. After a
few clicks more, the sticker checkpoint came.
Nowadays, the Malaysian volunteers have really
gotten to a point where you don't have to stop
and yet when you get out of the checkpoint
you will surely have a sticker, a bottle of water
and a banana stuck in one of your jersey 
pockets. Well done guys!
 
... and then after a few clicks more, I saw
another water point! So it seems that the
organizers have realized beforehand that people
may just faint from the heat and so ADDED
a water point before the actual one.
That is a very nice gesture on the part of the
organizers !
 
En route to checkpoint #2, I arrived at
a place that looks like Butterfly Trail ! You will
definitely know who is from Singapore because
(I kid you not) lots of people were heard whooping
with glee .... until .... I (we all) found out that the
singletrack is just going UPHILL !!! and so
the long, slow slog started. This is the part
where you start to question what were you
doing on that place when you can be sleeping
at home. Anyway, the checkpoint is where the
climb finished.
 
Now going to checkpoint #3, this route is
characterised by a very long climb. I mean
checkpoint #3 itself is located at the highest point
in that area. But even before you get to that steep
climb, it felt like we have already been climbing
for ages !
 
After I finally got to the highest point, that is
checkpoint #3, I doused myself with a full bottle of
water, ate two bananas and admired the scenery.
Too bad I didn't bring a camera.
 
After looking at the 360 degree scenery for
a while I started to go down ... and met Podium
Louie on the way up ! It turned out she got lost
and was cycling for 2km before she realized she
was lost. How she got lost, I don't know. There
were times when I was also alone at the trail but
the trail was well marked and not for a moment
did I get lost. Of course, it meant that I had to slow
down whenever there's a fork at the road and check
where the trail markings are.
 
After that climb to checkpoint #3 (from here on
to be referred as UPHELL), everything was smooth
sailing.
 
Lastly, I noticed this before in other jamborees
but am only going to mention now : at the finish line,
there is a fire engine that pumps water up over the
coming finishers offering a welcome respite from
the heat.
 
After I have exchanged war stories with my
friends, we all took our free lunch made up of rice,
soup, chicken and some pineapples as dessert.
 
Sigh, it is really nice to attend these Malaysian
MTB Jamborees. If not only for the fact that I
hate waking up sooo early, I would go there
every week.  
 
 
 
 

 
 


Saturday, March 29, 2014

#285 - All Hawker Food Friday




 I think the haze 2 weeks back and the sudden
changes in the weather have given me the worst
flu of all time. So last Friday, I finally decided
to surrender the fight and went to the Polyclinic.
 
The line at the Polyclinic was surprisingly short
and I was seen by the doctor and was released with
an armful of medications earlier than expected.
 
The doctor promised me that taking said medications
will result in me being very drowsy ... heh that's not
good right? I better do things before I become very
sleepy.
 
So I went to Vertex and decided to check out what 
10$ can buy me LOL. It turns out I can't buy much
with 10$ ... and so I decided to just pig out. Food is
always there to make one happy :-)
 
Anyway, off I went to Lavender area, to be precise
the Army market at Beach Road.
 
Lunch was at the Thai Experience hawker. This
hawker is difficult to miss since it faces Golden Mile
and is always surrounded by Thais which seem to
be content with the cooking here. Needless to say
the food is authentic Thai and you only need to
see all the Thais eating at this place to believe me.
 
 
 
 
Next is Dessert at the Ah Balling Peanut Soup.
There are lots of 'pretenders' to the throne BUT this
is THE King !
 
I always, always order the Yam balls with peanut
soup. I always order five pieces as well since they
are just 2$ for 5 pieces.
 

 
After dessert is coffee.
Have you seen this Blog Post ?
Well, I have and I had to see for myself since
I'll be taking bus 145 home anyway and I will
pass by the North Bridge Hawker on the way
to the bus stop.
 
To be honest, when I first read that blog, I thought
to myself : "coffee with butter ??? yuck ".
 
But I thought I could always just don't finish the
coffee if it is really yucky, right? Well, when I
finally tasted it .... it wasn't bad .... actually it is
nice !
 
The thing is, that blog really hit the nail on the
head. That coffee shop indeed seemed to be stuck
in the 60s/70s. Even the old uncle who serves
coffee is still wearing the same white singlet
and stripped pajamas. It seems time stood still
and so I sipped my coffee like I was in Starbucks.
But the atmosphere in that coffee shop is much
better. Just you, your coffee, your thoughts
and nice people whose greetings is not :
Good Afternoon but 'cha pa bueh?'.
 
After a few minutes, I finished my buttered
coffee bought a bottle of mineral water and
took my medication. That should ensure that
I sleep immediately once I get home :-) 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Monday, March 17, 2014

#284 - Last Instalment of Roadbiking for Mountainbikers

From left to right, top : 2 tire levers, 1 inner tube,
1 tube of glue, dessicant, "sand paper", 2 tire patches,
water bottle (to keep them all in).
Bottom : multi tool, 1 lezyne CO2 cartridge, 1 adaptor,
2 more CO2 cartridges

Tool 'water' bottle on the seat tube. Real water bottle on the
down tube
 
8. Change the way you bring your Spare tires and Tools

For mountain bikers, it is simple. If you need spare inner
tubes, tools and water, that's easy. Just get a Camelbak
in the required size and off you go.
 
But for roadies ... Lugging a camelbak is a no-no!
Even those popular saddle bags are a no-no! For complete
enlightenment, I advise you to go and read THE RULES.
While you're at it, pay attention to rules #29, 31, 32
and 52.
 
So to prevent being the object of ridicule by the
roadie community, I bought a pair of matching (they have to
be matching!) and color coordinated bottle cages and water
bottles. Since my bike is blue, black and white, my bottle cages
were black and blue and are attached by lightweight blue
aluminum screws (hehehehe). My bottles are white
with black letterings. One bottle carries water and the other
bottle carries SPARE TUBE AND TOOLS! So my jersey
pocket only contains a phone and a wallet.
 
This is the cheapest version of Speedplay Zero.
There's a Stainless and Titanium version there's the
race day Nanogram version ... but I can only afford the
cheapest. So Chrome Moly for me ;-)
 
9. Choose your pedals

When I bought my bike, I also bought Shimano 105
pedals for it. I was thinking I have used Shimano and
Crankbrothers on my mountainbikes and I always go
back to Shimano XT pedals because they are bombproof.
 
So it should be the same for roadbikes, right? Yes,
that is right ... BUT the thing with these roadie pedals is
that you can only clip in on one side of the pedal.
 
I tried to love these 105 pedals, I really tried.
But whenever the traffic light turns green on the
junction I am on I swear I am mentally prepared that
I get honked at (or sideswiped?) by cars for being soooo
slow in clipping in AND all the while looking down to
see if my pedals were right side up and why I am STILL
not clipped in.
 
I actually had an epiphany while going to T15 on my
MTB. It was early (6AM?) in the morning and I was
at Velocity in Novena. I was going to cross Thomson
Road to get to IRAS (and on to Bukit Timah Rd).
I saw two roadies going to the direction of Long House.
The lead guy clipped in easily. But the second guy has
already crossed Newton Rd and yet he is still trying
to 'find' his pedal !?
  
This won't do. It's an accident waiting to happen.
So I got myself some lollipops AKA Speedplay Zero
Pedals. There's a lot of reviews about these pedals
online and I may do a review as well. For now though
I am not so nervous in the junctions anymore. I don't
miss my XT pedals. When the light turns green, I stomp
on my pedal and that stomping motion will generate a
satisfying click which means I'm already clipped in.
Simple and safe.

 
 
10. Always ride with a Group

Last and definitely (as the cliché goes) not the least :
Always, always ride with a group. I'm not talking about
getting a ride buddy. I am saying really go and ride
in a group !
 
In the same way that I am such a coward whenever
the trail heads downhill, I am also a coward when cycling
on the roads of Singapore ALONE.
 
You can call me a chicken and stick feathers on me but
I will not leave the pavement when I am cycling alone.
So the best thing here is that you go cycling with a group
of friends.

If you don't have friends or your friends are not available
then you create a new set of friends. There are many road
cycling groups here in Singapore but I contacted JoyRiders
because they are very visible and I see that they cater to
both the really fast riders as well as the newbie riders.
 
You may head to the JoyRiders FB Page and inquire
how to become a member.
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 



Monday, March 10, 2014

#282 - Kallang PA




April 20, 2014 Update : I was cycling on the way
to my Dragonboat practice and this time I saw Kallang PA!
The building still stands! It's just that it seems to
blend in with the surroundings. Also the gate is
locked and I could not get in. Anyway, here's a
pic I took this morning :




These past few weeks / months I've been attending
Dragonboat practice in Kallang. We're preparing for
the first race of the season AKA MR500.
 
I go to Kallang using my bike. I normally go out
of the house at 6:30AM, cycle to Kallang and go
through the closed-off roads/construction area to
East Coast Park. I'll cycle to SAFRA and then
do a U-turn, go to Kallang KFC, have porridge
for breakfast and then go to Kallang Dragonboat
nursery at 9AM to meet up with my team.
 
I've been doing this for quite some time ... until
... it struck me ... where is the Kallang Airport Tower?
I can't find it ! Is it still there? So one morning I
brought a mountain bike instead of a road bike and
cycled around that area .... I still can't find it !
Has it been demolished?
 
Sighhhh ... anyway, I managed to find the gates
to Kallang PA. I remember that when the car / taxi
that I am riding in goes through the gates, the
surroundings was cool due to the shady trees.
 
You might ask why this place is special to me.
Here goes. Do you notice that Remote Control
Race Track at East Coast Park? The one where
RC Car addicts race their 1/8 on-road gas cars?
 
Looonnnnggggg ago, it wasn't there. Also, loonngg
ago, I was one of those RC car addicts. We didn't
have any place to run our cars. So there we were,
having toy cars that cost thousands of dollars and
can reach speeds in excess of 80kph and yet we don't
have any place to run them.
 
Until Winnie of Swan Models whispered to me that
there is this place in Kallang where like minded
people meet to run their cars.
 
That 'place in Kallang' was actually the big lot
behind the Kallang PA. I went there one Sunday
morning and saw people make a 'race track' with
corner dots. Then more people will come and then
they will contribute more corner dots.
 
These meetups were a very relaxed affair. People
come with coffee in plastic bags. They will sip their
coffee, hang them by the string on their big bags
(we used luggages last time, yes, complete with
Samsonite markings) and drive for a tank or
two then come back to their coffee and chit chat.
 
You will always get help tuning your engine,
truing AND gluing your tires, repairing your car.
You can even buy some parts from those who
carry lots of spares.
 
I started my RC addiction with a Tamiya TA01
car. But my FIRST race was in Kallang PA using
a Picco RS600. The race track was deadly to our
toy cars because it was made up of unforgiving
4x4s. I think I finished last. I didn't even finish
my qualifying heat as I refuelled very early
so as not to be a victim of the dreaded pitstop
traffic jam. But my refuel was so early there
was not even a pitstop! So while my car was
refuelling, another car came and hit my car!
My car went back to the unassembled kit
form and broke some aluminium wishbones.
(Yes, those times, Picco had aluminium wish-
bones! Not plastic like today).
 
So 1 wishbone back then was 50$ and I
didn't have spares. Come on who could break
an aluminium wishbone on a toy car? Hehehe
I could. So my race day was over and I went
home.
 
That was the LAST Time I went in Kallang PA.
 
So last Sunday, I took pictures of the gates of
Kallang PA and said goodbye to another Singapore
landmark :-(
 


 
 
 
 
 


Sunday, February 23, 2014

#281 - Road Biking for MountainBikers Part 2

Gel to be put under bar tape
- pic grabbed from Goggle Images




Fizik Bar Tape with Gel.
I've seen this in CRC.
- pic grabbed from Google Images
 
 
4. Choose your Grips
Mountain bikers are spoiled in the choice of grips.
You can have thick grip, thin, sticky, short, etc.
There are soooo many combinations.

For road bikes, there are just long strips of tape.
I know that these tapes come in gel, cork, etc. but
still it is difficult to get the right tape which will
prevent my hands and by extension, my brain, from
being jarred by the rough road. That is until Roadie Rio
told me to use 2 tapes. One on top of the other. It worked!
Alternatively, you may also use gels under the tape.
 
 
See the black thumb screw near the brake lever?
Screwing in / out that screw would adjust the
distance of the brake lever from the handle.
 
Compare the MTB solution to this rather crude solution
for the same situation. Above piece is the 10mm shim.
Below piece is the 5 mm (stock) shim.
 
The shim goes at the notch
 
5. Adjust the Distance of the Brake Lever
Mountain bikers are again spoiled in this area.
Most of the disc brakes that mountain bikers use
have an adjustment for the brake levers.
 
There is a screw that you can adjust so that the
brake lever can go out or in depending on the
size of your hand. Now for road bikes, the brifters
are so expensive and yet this very simple adjustment
is nowhere to be found!
 
What you need to do is buy a 10mm shim (most
probably what you have installed in your brifter is
the 5mm shim) that goes inside the brifter.
 
Take note though that different brifters will
require different shims! John from Hup Leong
had to rummage around for the precise shim that
will fit my 105 brifter.

What this shim does is to act like a 'door wedge'.
The brake lever can not return to it's normal
position properly because the 10mm shim is there.
 
 
 
6. Change your Brake Pads
Again, mountain bike win here. The hydraulic disk
brakes that we use on our mountain bikes really give
meaning to the cliche 'stop on a dime'.

Road bikes will never get this kind of braking power
(of course unless you have hydraulic disc brakes on
your road bikes). So, the best thing you can do is go
and get Shimano R55C3 brake pads for aluminum
rims (I'm assuming you have aluminum rims). I have
used the very popular KoolStop Salmon brake pads ...
 BUT I think the R55C3s have more bite.
 
 
7. Change your tires
Normally, bike manufacturers, be it on mtb side or road
bike side skimp on the tires. That alone should be sufficient
grounds to change your tires to a better gripping one.
 
A little bit of a warning here, roadies
talk about a tire being grippy ... BUT I don't think they 
are referring to the same GRIP that mountain bikers are
used to.
 
If you have cycled in Butterfly Trail AFTER a downpour
and you find your tires are so grippy that you were able
to shrug all (or most) of the roots there THEN we have
a REALLY GRIPPY tire!
 
Do NOT expect this same "grip" when talking about
road bike tires!
  
Anyway, I have two recommendations : the currently
very popular Continental 4000S and the
'lagging in popularity' Michelin Pro 4.


Wednesday, February 12, 2014

#280 - Paddle Wednesday

 
 
 


Went for a nice, easy paddle from 6pm to 7pm @ Tanjong Beach :)
 
 
 
 
 
 


Monday, February 10, 2014

#279 - Road Biking for Mountain Bikers - Part 1

My Merida Scultura 904 Comp posing at Loysel's Toy Café
Heh! Nice title right? Anyway, don't let the authoritative
sounding title fool you. That is just my way of saying "Steps
I took when I ventured into Roadbiking" .
 
Anyway, why get a road bike? For training purposes!
Most professional XC riders train on a road bike.
Even downhiller Rachel Atherton was on
a Cervelo road bike when she had that accident
 
Round The Island training rides (RTI in Singapore
Roadie speak) are much faster on a roadbike. I know
that it can also be done on a MTB.

I have done it twice and twice I came home at
almost lunch time and almost bonking. Compare this
with my Roadie friends who go at around 5AM and then
reach home in time to have breakfast with their families.
 
Ok, now that I've convinced myself that road bikes
are good for training and marital bliss,
let's go and discuss the steps I took :
 
1. Buy a Roadbike
This should be a no-brainer ... if you have money :-)
Since I am always short of this magical stuff that
makes the world go round, I had to do some hunting.
 
Off I went to Vertex to take a look at last year's ...
No, make it last 5 years' bike models from Specialized,
Giant, and Cannondale. Sigh, no dice. Nothing fits
my budget.
 
I then went to Hup Leong at Chinatown and looked
longingly at a 2013 version of the Merida Scultura
904 Comp in white and blue. John approached me and
asked what I was looking for and what was my budget.
I said I have only this much (or is it this little hehe) and
that I think a good aluminium bike should be good
enough for me. If he can give me an aluminium frame
with carbon seatstays and carbon fork then that would
be like hitting the jackpot already.
 
We both sighed and stared loonnnggg and hard
at the ALL carbon (even the fork steer) Scultura 904
... and then he asked me if I want THAT all
carbon bike instead? I said of course !!!!

So he fitted the bike to me, put in Shimano 105
pedals and kept the cleats for when I come
with my new roadie shoes :-)
 
Before I do a review of the Merida Scultura 904 Comp,
 
 

My carbon Shimano roadie shoes
- pic courtesy of Google Images
 
2. Buy a pair of Carbon Roadbike shoes

I went back to Vertex and headed straight to Tay
Junction/Giant. I saw some cycling shoes on sale
there and I wasted no time trying on a few pairs
that would fit my budget.
 
Of course, these would be the plastic/composite
soled shoes. One of the salesladies whispered to me
that there is this Shimano Carbon soled shoes which was
a few years old and is on sale for 50% off. That should
fit my budget!
 
I tried them on and they were sooo stiff. If anyone
of my friends saw me at Tay Junction on that day,
they'd swear that they can see a thought bubble
on top of my head showing myself winning a sprint
in Tour de Bintan (teeehihihihi).
 
I was willing to take the display pair that I tried
on but the saleslady said she'll get a new
pair for me. Nice :-)
 
Again, before I make a review of my Shimano
SH-R215s. Here's a review from Cycling News on
Dec 2004 (gasp! My shoes are that old?)
 
 
3. Have your bike fitted to you
Bike fit is not that important for Mountain Biking.
Case in point, watch any UCI XCO race last
year and see how many times you will see
Absalon, Schurter or Fontana sit on their saddles.
I think there was even a race when Fontana
elected to continue racing without a seatpost
when his seatpost broke?
 
But for road cycling, you may have to sit 2-3
hours straight! Hence a proper bike fit is
necessary.
 
A few years back, I emailed a bike fitter which
was featured in the Singapore Cycling magazine
SPIN. Not sure if I remember correctly, but I
was quoted 400$ for a bike fit. Yes, I know bike fit
is important BUT I didn't know it would cost
that much :-(  
 
So, I turned to my ever dependable friend : Youtube.
Just search for bike fit and you will see all the
videos where people will teach you how to do a basic
bike fit ... for free :-)
 
I know that having a professional do the bike
fit is ideal. However, I am just looking for a basic
fit and these Youtube videos should be ok for this.
 
So in the end, I fiddled with the following :
position of the cleats
saddle height
saddle fore and aft position
 
As for the stem length and stem height
(spacers under the stem), I kept the stem
height as is (all spacers under the stem). I then
kept shortening the stem from 100mm to
80mm and finally 70mm UNTIL I no longer
feel numbness on my hands whenever I cycle to
East Coast Service Road.
 
That is the extent of my bike fit.
Here are two videos that I used as instructional
videos for fitting my bike :
 
Ok, that's it for Part 1. See you again for Part 2
where I will discuss grips, brake lever adjustment,
brake pads and tires.
 
 
 


Sunday, February 2, 2014

#278 - Quick and Dirty Mini XC Race




Friday, Jan 31st is Chinese New Year in Singapore.
Those who have been living in Singapore for some
time now know that lots of commercial establishments
(even hawker centres) are closed for a few days. 

So what can we do when faced with this kind
of predicament? Hehehehe hold an XC Race maybe?
... and that is exactly what Owen of CrestPursuit
and the rest of PadyakPinoy SG thought so.

This is a very informal race. It was unsupported
and unsanctioned. You may even think of it as a
'timed' group ride and you get lots of beer
afterwards ;-) Hup Leong bike shop also donated
some items for the raffle draw :-)

The venue was supposed to be the Tampines Bike
Park where the Youth Olympics for XC was held
BUT of course later on it was announced that that
place would be closed for CNY as well. So the race
was held at the back where the Moonscape
and Kidneys are situated.

Anyway, I went to Tampines to join in the
heckling hehehe. When I got there, the Race Committee
told me that I am not too late and I can still join!
Huh?! No no no not today. I told them my wife
just told me to buy a bottle of vinegar and
that I just lost my way.

At that point, Owen of CrestPursuit and John
of Hup Leong was leading the racers on a 'neutral lap'.
This neutral lap will show the racers the complete loop.

I sat down at the Race Committee's hut and exchanged
"hi"s and "hello"s to people I only see in Malaysian
Jamborees.  After a few minutes, all the racers came
and lined up at the starting line. Owen mentioned that they
need more marshalls and the Race Committee
immediately volunteered me to be one of the marshalls.
There goes my heckling plans.

Owen explaining the rules : no biting, no headbutts, no hitting below the belt, etc.
- pic by Louie Aribon


The Race Committee


Start of the race !
The racers were divided into Beginners' and
Masters' Categories. I think Beginners would include
those who have not raced in Singapore and Malaysia yet.
Masters Cat didn't have anything to do with age.
If you've raced before, then you'll be grouped here.

I didn't see the actual start but it seems there was
a delay because Nick McHugh had a puncture and
Owen had to lend him a wheel. Anyway, after that,
the race started and the pack went on to the forest
and then they had to go to the Kidney (not sure which
one, lower or upper?), then they went towards my
marshalling point and then went towards the
ex-Moonscape part, went down towards the hut and
that would be 1 lap.

Beginners had to do 3 laps and Masters had to
do 4 laps. The first lap leaders were Anton and Bal.
After the 2nd lap, it was Bal leading by a margin of 10
seconds from Nick. At the 3rd lap, Bal was still leading but
Nick was already glued to his rear tire. At the fourth lap,
it was already Nick who was leading, followed 
by Darren (mechanic of Bike Haus 6th Ave) then followed by
Bal who I think hit the proverbial 'wall'.

First lap

 After the race, I immediately got down from my
marshalling point and did a lap of the race loop.
The forest area is nice and dry. The Kidneys are
nice and flowy too. Sigh... too bad this place
had to go to make way for some new development.

Overall nice guy Nick McHugh of PadyakPinoy SG won the race



The top ten. Notice the different team jerseys? PadyakPinoy SG,
Tropang Putikan, Lagalag and MTB Brothers are all represented



Me ! - wearing RED . It's Chinese new Year :-)