New Year's Eve Sneaky Ride

1 week later from original sneaky ride but still same weather!

It's New Year's Eve! ... and of course, we really just had

to test Paolo's new Trance and Sherwin just had to go back

to those rocky downhill stuff that he didn't manage

to clear last Christmas Eve.

Here is today's video and see if Sherwin did clear the rockies

and if the Giant Trance is really more than enough for

Tampines Trail :-)

See you next year!!!

An Even Sneakier X'mas Ride

I must be riding very slow because I've been noticing all these flowers lately.

Christmas Day! ... and I managed to squeeze in a trail ride.

My wife just told me to go @10AM and be back by 1PM

and she doesn't want to hear any complaints later when we

go out. A tall order but I managed to comply with

all the conditions :-)

Just took 2 pictures and didn't bother taking video

since doing so would most probably result in not

being able to comply with the 1PM curfew.

Sneaky Ride on X'mas Eve

We really just had to test Sherwin's new Revelation Ti :-)

We had to cut the sneaky ride short due to lightning

It's Christmas Eve and companies here in Singapore normally

send their employees home early in penance for keeping them

long after office hours for the rest of the year.

However, some of us realise that Holidays are purely for family

gatherings and that it would be very difficult (nay, impossible!) for us

model husbands and fathers to get our trail fix. In light of this

logic Sherwin invited all our friends (via FB) to go to Tampines

Trail once we were dismissed from our respective workplaces.

But the holidays have claimed the riding times of most of us

and only Sherwin, Deng and I were able to go riding.

Here's the video clip of our sneaky ride. We had to cut the

ride short though as there was thunder and lightning. LOL. Clearly,

we were reminded to go home early to our families :-)

Leaving you with pics from the fresh section of NTUC. Had to do some last minute grocery shopping.

Sunday Ride

No one around ...



No one around ....



No one around even in Zheng Hwa !

Today's mushroom collection ... uhh ok, the lower right pic is not a mushroom.

Today's leisure ride is anything but usual. It was dark and

drizzling the whole time I was at BT/T15. It was so cold

it made me wonder if I would catch a cold after the ride.

Also, there were very few people around @ the trails today.

Might have something to do with the drizzle. Since everything

was wet, it was very slippery. I entered T15 via Bukit Panjang

since I know from yesterday's ride that all fallen

trees from 3 - 4 weeks ago have not been cleared yet

and also the 'normal' entrance' to T15 (from Chestnut)

is very muddy.

Anyway, I didn't bother taking any videos since I was

doing the same old same old. See you next weekend ...

that's Christmas !

Saturday Ride

My FS bike, Sis Louie's in the background

Stream

Stream ... we were wondering if we could drink this ...

I went back to the Philippines for a much needed

vacation last week. Hence no trail rides or exercise

of any sort.

So Friday came and as usual the roll call of who's riding this

weekend came. I was thinking of giving this ride a miss,

but hey, the worse that could happen is that I push my bike.. right?

Since I know that I will need all the help I could get,

last night I was thinking which bike to bring... my HT would

be faster but harsher than my FS. My FS would be slower but

I know my spine would thank me later.

For some reason I knew that my friends would ask to go to

a 'different' trail today. Don't ask how I knew. I just felt it.

Anyway, with that in mind, I brought my FS and boy was

I glad that was the bike I chose. 

We did go to a different trail today. Last time we tried going 

there, StairRider Deck and I got lost. Today, the trail gods smiled

at us and we found the right way. Since Sherwin is already 'laspag',

we took his hints (e.g. 'we're gonna climb this on the way back????')

and decided to go all the way and have our lunch @Casuarina :-)  

Here's the video for today's ride and I think this

will set the tone for the next few rides :-)

Sunday Ride

This Sunday was dry and sunny for a change.

However, all the fallen tress from 2 or 3 weeks back

are all still there. There are also newly fallen trees

in some areas. Maybe these fallen trees will just be left

there and it will give our trails a new 'shape'....

Anyway, as usual, Sunday ride was done in a leisurely pace.

So leisurely that I had time to notice all the colorful

new mushrooms and small flowers in our trails.

I dodged lots of photography enthusiasts in the Mandai PCN

trying to hone in their craft in macro photography.

I left home at 8am and was washing my bike at 11:20am.

So when I got home my wife was still smiling :-)

Today's mushroom collection



Lots of small flowers providing color in our trail today ... uhhh I'm not
sure if the middle one is a flower though.





Pulau Ubin Ride



It was cool and drizzling all day



Wooden bridge @one of the smaller trails in Ubin

This is another one of those Saturday morning rides that

got hatched on Friday afternoon.

Surprisingly, a lot of people from the western side of

Singapore was game for this ride. We arrived to have

breakfast @Changi Village at around 8:30am.

By this time, another group of people who were

supposed to go with us still have not arrived. They

finally arrived at around 9+ and told us that if we wait

for them, we might get back home later than usual and

so we could go on ahead to Ubin.

So the six of us went to Ubin. We did one round of Ketam.

Ketam is very very slippery this morning due to the rains

yesterday and the continous drizzle the whole morning.

It was a spin, slip, spin out affair. Anyway, after Ketam,

we went to the various smaller trails in Ubin so that we

could spin to our hearts' content.

Here's a short clip of what went on today.

A few more pics fom this morning

Gasss !!!

Lousy, grainy pics of an overhead bridge. Bear with me and read on...

Yesterday, there were reports of 'bad' smell pervading the
air in Toa Payoh, AMK and the surrounding area.

People's description of the smell varies from coming from
decaying animals to pesticide and other chemical smells.

Today I got first hand experience of the 'smell'. I was
waiting for the rain to abate at around 7-7:30pm. I was at
this overhead bridge that bridges Toa Payoh and
Jalan Bahagia / Whampoa.

The smell of gas (as in cooking gas) was very strong!
Now I join all the other people wondering what that smell
really is and where did it come from....


Night Trail Run

Yesterday, @ the office, me and a few cubicle mates

were discussing how trail running is lot more exciting

than running on SG roads (e.g. this coming SCB marathon).

After a while, the discussion went to mountain biking in

the forests of BT/Mandai at night (which we have done before).

Everybody agrees that mountain biking in the same forests

you bike at during the day provides a different thrill when

ridden at night.

One of my office mates then said that he saw somewhere

in the net about a site that supposedly says that there is

going to be a trail run in Singapore to be done at night!

Everybody buggered him for the url address but he can't

remember it and promised to tell us the next day. Well, today

is next day and true to his word, he gave me this address :

http://www.singaporenighttrail.com.sg/

I have already registered my interest. This should be fun :-)



Sunday Ride

Today's Mushroom collection :-)

Along Rifle Range Road

Yay! I managed to capture the dew drops :-O

Nothing special about today's ride. I was alone and the

pace was leisurely. It was so leisurely that I managed

to take pictures of mushrooms along the trail.

The trail is still muddy. The fallen trees have not been cleared

yet. There are lots of fallen trees along the stretch of PCN

from T15 to Mandai. I didn't see it on my way there

because my route took me under BKE. But I encountered

all of them on the way back.

Hope you like the pics :-)

Accidental Group Ride



Nice, sunny day



Fallen trees, right @Sc, left @T15



L-R : Rey's Aleoca, my On-One, Deck's Titus

Today's ride started with me, Deck and Rey waiting for Nolights Louie and Paolo

@Velocity in Novena. But when NoLights Louie came, a whole peloton

followed her! Dee managed to convince a group of guys to

go on a group ride to T15 but they were not sure how

to get there and they also were not sure about the ins and outs

in that trail.

So, since I was going there with NoLights Louie anyway, I told

them I'd bring them there and be their guide for the day.

The trail was wet, muddy and slippery. Also there are lots

of fallen trees. Deck, Rio, Rey and Paolo managed

to catch up with us @Sc trail.

From there we went to the Mandai end of T15,

did a u-turn and rushed to Bukit Panjang

for lunch.

Everybody then rushed to the Esso station for a much

needed bike wash. After this, it became apparent that

Rey, Deck and I are in some kind of trouble

with our better halves because we managed

to get to Novena from Esso in 15 minutes....

it was then that we realised that we left

the whole group behind ... somewhere in Dunearn Road.

Here's the video clip of today's ride.

Home Made Rear Mudguard

Clean construction :-)

Looks effective, right!

Seldom do we see any 'special' stuff on Roadie Rio's MTB.

However, this homemade rear mudguard that he fashioned

out of an old plastic folder is cheap, functional and looks like

factory made stuff.

We were laughing at him when we were having breakfast @McDonalds

because the part that was supposed to deflect mud was doing

nothing but flap. But after the trail ride it looks like it was successful

in its primary purpose. That is to deflect mud out of the pivots area of

his Giant Anthem. 

Well, what can i say?! It's free, it works and it isn't ugly

(like my old spare tube front mudguard). So, go to Popular

now and get the stiffest plastic folder you can find :-)

Titanium Seatpost



as the saying goes, a picture is worth 201 grams ....



Nice? :-)

Last Monday, I walked to Tay Junction which is like 3 HDB blocks
away from my office. I wasn't planning on buying anything.
Especially after I was quoted 95$ for Ti barends at their
Bukit Timah branch.

While browsing around, I saw a sliver of Titanium peaking from under
a bunch of black anodized aluminum seatposts.... I asked the
saleslady if that seatpost is 27.2mm. She confirmed with
one of their mechanics that it is. I asked how much while
knowing that eventually the price will be beyond my reach.
Then she said : 100$, sir. Upon hearing the amount,
I didn't hear what else she was saying. All I could hear
was Annie Lennox singing 'There must be an Angel' (right title?)
inside my head. So, this time, I gladly paid for the seatpost and
went home happily.

The Ti Seatpost that I got looks like the Soul Titanium Seatpost
advertised in the Soul Bikes website. I can only see two differences.
First, the Soul sticker is missing. Second, the Soul seatpost is 150$.
What a difference a brand name makes ;-) Also, this seatpost trimmed
off a few grams from my bike's overall weight as it is only 201 grams.
The amoeba seatpost that I used to use for my Inbred weighs 306grams.

I used this on my Two Hills ride last night. All that I have heard
about Ti damping trail chatter (in this case, it's the bricks in the
HDB walkways) is true. I indeed can feel that my ass can feel
less unevenness in the roads.

Now I am happy with my bike :-) I have a steel frame, Ti seatpost,
tubeless wheelset and an airfork.... but wait... Eggbeater 2s are
lighter than my Candy 2s! Maybe ......   :-)

Sunday Ride

9AM and BT is still a bit foggy! Wet and muddy trails today :-(

I saw this carbon bike @Tay Junction on the way home. Cheap?

Today's ride is nice and quiet. Most freeriders all went to the

Yew Tee Flat Out Challenge and the PadyakPinoy group all went

to Pulau Ubin.

I went in via Rifle Range and I saw Bobot of

PadyakPinoy/ContiComponentsdoing his secret

practice.. shhhh! Anyway, the trail is wet and muddy today. I've

had some hairy moments but luckily no falls.

I just did one lap of T15 and I was out of there.

On the way home, I went by Tay Junction wanting to buy

a pair of no brand titanium barends. I was thinking at the most they

should cost around 70$. They don't even have packaging!

When I finally asked them how much the barends are,

I almost fainted when I got quoted 95$! These EC90

barends from CRC are just 100$ ! They are Easton carbon ones!

Sigh... not my day to get Ti barends then.

On the way out I saw 2 roadbikes outside with a sign

saying they are on 'Sale'. Both are carbon Specialized roadbikes.

One is 2699$ and the other is 2999$. I wonder if those prices

are considered cheap for roadbikes?

Anyway, I don't have 2699! So I pedalled home thinking

where could I get cheap Ti seatpost and barends ....

Maybe I go talk to Owen?



Pulau Ubin Ride

Ketam Trail Map @the entrance

It takes a lot of climbing to get here

I went to Pulau Ubin today with my original WingMan (uhhh woman,

actually), Tabs. She's rusty for not having gone on a trail ride since

her 'career ending' injury so we just went to the Blue Diamond Trails

@Ketam and also the 'fun' trails @Chek Jawa and the surrounding area.

Here's a video clip of what went on today.

ZTR Alpine Rims and Maxxis CrossMarks LUST

Lately I feel that my full suspension bike is very draggy and wallowy...

So much so that I have convinced myself that since I only go to T15,

I don't have to bring a full-sus bike. But the thing is whenever I bring

my HT, I have to bring a pump and spare tubes because I know that

the moment I forget to bring those, I will get a flat tire.

But! Yesterday, X'mas has come early. My wife allowed me to buy

this wheelset comprised of ZTR Alpine (claimed weight 330grams), XT hubs

and double butted spokes. I also got SLX Centerlock rotors and Maxxis Crossmarks

LUST tires. Gilbert from Hup Leong is even saying "Ho ho ho" when he

quoted me the price (very nice!!!) and gave me my X'mas gift of KoolStop

Sintered brake pads!!!

I used these for a very quick ride today. What can I say?! Now I don't have to

bring air pumps and spare tubes. The wheelset and the tubeless tires feel

very light when you pedal. ... I mean I don't think they are so much lighter

than my previous wheelset and tires when I weight them on

my digital scales BUT they are a lot lighter when I pedal.

The trail is also very wet today due to the rains yesterday but I never

felt my tires slip. I had all the grip that I need and these tires are

supposed to be for dry trail use.

Two thumbs up for this wheelset and tire combo for their performance.

 What's more, they even fall under my criteria of 'cheap and good' stuff.

So get yourself a pair of these (both wheelset and tires) and feel

the X'mas spirit :-)

Quick Trail Ride

this fallen tree has been here for ages

but the tree refuses to die!

I woke this morning with sore legs. No doubt the effect of

last night's three hills ride. I should have taken the day off to recover

but tomorrow is my son's birthday and I definitely wouldn't

be able to ride.

So even if I was feeling lethargic today, I grabbed my gear and went

for a quick ride to T15 and some parts of Bukit Timah.

Here's the video clip for today's ride.

... now I'm wondering what will I do this coming Wednesday...

my OC / DB teammates have been asking where have I been

hibernating .... maybe I should go and take a video of an OC or DB

practice ...

Three Hills

Telok Blangah Hill side of the Henderson Wave

No, we did not cycle on the bridge. We just posed for pics :-)

Friday and everything is quiet. No one is asking where the weekend ride will be.

Not even StairRider Deck! This is very unusual. Later on he told me that

he has OT tomorrow. So tonight's night ride is going to be special (followed by

evil laughter)

We learned of the 'Three Hills' from our roadie friends. However,

I am quite sure that we did not follow their route because our

route had us going down a very long stairway followed by a series

of switchbacks at Kent Ridge Park.

Anyway, StairRider Deck has lived up to his name again as he

successfully climbed a very long stairway @Kent Ridge.

Here's the video clip of tonight's ride.

Arm Warmers

Top side is 'solid' cloth while the underside is vented

Gel grippers make sure the upper part stays put

A few times already, some Ang Mohs cycling in BT tell me that

'Isn't it too hot already?'... which puzzles me and so I just smile.

Only lately did i realise that they are referring to the arm warmers that

I am wearing. Anyway, yes, they are called arm warmers but

dark skinned Asian guys wear them because we don't want our

arms getting burned to a crisp by the sun.

Now that the justification for wearing these puppies are out of the way.

The item on review here is from CrestPursuit. This is an improved version

of an earlier model that I got. These arm warmers now come with gel

grippers so they stay put no matter what. The underside is also vented

now. The venting is so effective that when you are going down

Rifle Range and you put your hands on the bar ends, you can

actually feel the wind on your skin... I mean as compared to the

non-vented side.

Like all of CrestPursuit's other stuff, these are reasonable priced. Also they

do come in sizes (S, M, L). I wear an M. From what I know these warmers

come in two colors, black and white. I chose white so other road users can

see me. I also like the fact that they are 'understated'. This means I don't

look like I'm a refugee from LTdF.

Secret Trail D

20mm left on my 120mm Reba after D Trail.

Two consecutive days of doing Two Hills has left me with lesser

energy than before. This morning I left the house feeling lethargic.

While on the road, I remembered what AirTime Mark posted on

his FB page and told myself : 'Hey, I could do that. I'll film myself

on that trail and then go home'.

I thought it was going to be easy. But look at the picture above. My fork

is 120mm. If I was still using my old 100mm fork, I would have bottomed out

already. Next time I will not believe AirTime Mark when he says a

trail is 'Fun' !

I've known about this trail for quite some time now. But for the life

of me I can't remember why I didn't go there until I got reminded

by AirTime Mark. Now I clearly remember why I don't want to go there!

Anyway, here's the video clip of today's ride. Also, I would like to say

that no hikers or hikers' feelings were hurt in the creation of this video.

Two Hills

Tank on top of Kent Ridge Park

It's not just any Friday! Today is Deepavali (Indian Holiday) so that's

a double celebration. That's why we have thought of climbing two hills

today. One is Mt. Faber and the other one is Vigilante Drive (not really a hill)

which leads to Kent Ridge Park MTB Trail.

Actually, StairRider Deck and I have gone to these two hills last night

to familiarise myself with the way as I am on point duty for today's ride.

For those curious about the climb at Vigilante Drive, this is the first

time I have seen a climb that forced me to use 22/28 gearing. That is

super granny gear. I almost ran out of gears. I only had 1 more gear left (32)

at the back in case I had to downshift some more.

But if you think going up is difficult, we found out that coming

down is expensive! Last night I did two laps of this climb and

today I did 1 lap (after the rain, so should be cooler). All those times,

the smell of burning brake pads is in the air once I get to the

bottom. Here's a video clip of today's ride so you'll

know what to expect if you want to go to Mt. Faber and

Kent Ridge Park.

Al Ameer - Indian Food

This stall is along South Buona Vista Drive, right side if you're coming from West Coast Hiway side

Dum Briyani and other stuff that I don't know

If ever you get the urge to go and punish yourself by going

up Vigilante Drive, know that there is something good for

you to look forward to.

Al-Ameer is open 24 hours and it is even open today (Deepavali)!

They serve delicious Dum Briyani and all sorts of things (pratha,etc.)

which makes the Vigilante Drive climb / Kent Ridge Trail Ride almost worth it.

Prices are reasonable and the place is reasonably clean.

Service is prompt and fast too.

Eye Protector and Silicon Case for GoPro Hero

Prince Eye Protector

As usual, I got suckered again. I reviewed StairRider Deck's Oakley

Radar Path and being stingy (hehehe) I said that there are better ways of

spending your money and that I should be ok with those XLoop

shades being sold in 7-11.

I did buy one of those XLoop Shades for just 20$. This is a double whammy 

as I realised that similar 'eye protectors' are sold at the Beach Road Army

Market for 7$ only. ... and guess what, after buying it, I stashed it away

because I managed to epoxy my 1998 Oakley Minute. 2 months later when

I was going to use it for the first time.... it cracked! In two places!

It was very muddy in T15 then! I had to dodge all the flying dirt being

thrown by my front wheels! #$@! XLoop Shades!

But while loitering around Mustafa last week I saw these Prince EyeProtectors.

They are for racquet sports (squash, etc.). So they should be good. Only

thing is they are clear. That works for me. Also if you have been buying all sorts

of anti-fog sprays, forget about it. The only thing that will ensure your

lenses don't get fogged is 1. go fast and/or 2. lenses should be well ventilated.

Going fast could be a problem with me but these lenses are very well ventilated.

I have yet to experience fogging on these eye protectors. They also

come with straps so that they don't sort of dangle in front of

your face. Best of all, they are only 23$ !



XSories Silicon Case for GoPro Hero HD

The Silicon Case above is actually for the HD version of

GoPro Hero. What I have is the GoPro Hero Wide Angle.

The holes are exactly the same... except that I think

the HD is a bit bigger than the Wide Angle version. This Silicon

Case is actually larger than my Wide Angle camera.

I decided to write this 'review' because I believe this Silicon Case

just saved my camera from being mangled by a branch that decided

to attack me in BT. The wayward branch left green and brown marks

on the base of the camera that's attached to my helmet, I was actually

almost separated from my bike due to the impact but there was

not even a scratch on the camera. The only thing that happened was the

camera tilted backwards.

If you have a GoPro Hero, go and buy this Silicon Case. It's just around

25$ at CRC. This surely beats the price of a new case in case

you crack it.

Going Home

@the carwash

I was supposed to meet the PadyakPinoy group and 'StairRider' Deck

at the exit of BF Trail. Instead I saw Dennis C at Zheng Hwa Park.

He saw some of the gang coming home at around 8+ in the morning!

It turned out they went for the night jamboree in Malaysia.

I called Deck and good thing he did not show up or else he won't have

anyone to ride with in BT and BF.

Anyway, I showed the BKE exit to Mandai to Dennis C.

On the way home, we met Mike the Mechanic with two new riders

in tow.

So here's the video clip of me going home from the trails.

See you this coming Friday (Deepavali). Brother Louie says

we're riding Two Hills (Mt. Faber and Vigilante Drive).

Tampines Trail

On Oct 23, 2010, a group of volunteers went to Tampines Trail to open

up the Jungle Section that has been clogged with fallen trees for a few

months now. Pictures of the volunteers' efforts were uploaded in

the Facebook page of Dirtraction.

This news has generated much interest in our office since a lot of

my friends reside in the East. A group ride was scheduled for today.

However, the ever unpredictable weather in Singapore decided

to dampen all the excitement by providing heavy rains from

last night up till morning today.

So, alone as usual, I went off to check out what has been done

in Tampines Trail.

First off, do not start your loop by the usual entrance of MoonScape.

The bridge that ends MoonScape is unpassable. It's going to go any time

soon. The other jungle trail that is near the MoonScape bridge is still

not passable as well.

The jungle trail is indeed passable now. But gone are all the twists

and turns. All the 'NorthShore' components are also gone. It is

now just an almost straight line from the entrance to the exit.

There even seems to be a swamp inside there now.

Also, for those dreaming of riding in the 'Rockies', I think when

the news reports said that the Rockines will be unavailable 'indefinitely',

they really mean it. It is still closed and people are still working  there.

Here's a short clip of the ride today

City Ride

Boat Quay

Victoria St, right side leads to ChinaTown

Tanglin St, leading to Orchard Road

Sunday was supposed to be a quiet trail ride. But I worked

in the morning and after that, the rains came down and drenched

the whole of Singapore.

However! These things are not enough to deter an

avid biker like me :-) ... and so, here's a not

so short clip of my City Ride yesterday.

See you next week !