#189 - Nite Ride

I saw this flyer of a GoldSprint to be done at

Esplanade on 12-14 August. I thought to myself :

'Huh?! What's a GoldSprint?' ... and since I have

been thinking of trying on a fixie bike,

it seems this is a good opportunity for me

to go and have myself introduced to this hip world

of fixies and their skinny jeans clad riders.

The guys organizing the GoldSprint have a big

tent at Esplanade just behind MakanSutra. There

were lots of fixie riders. There were shirts, helmets,

and other stuff for sale... there's even supposed to be

a swap meet! There are these mock ups of urban sceneries

where you can pose your bike and have its picture taken...

and last but definitely the centerpiece of the whole event,

there's this stage with 2 fixie bikes without front wheels.

Of course, I got intrigued! What are those 2 bikes

without front wheels doing there? So me and my

bike mate approached for a closer look... we were

just going to look... really! Then here comes this

guy with a microphone and before you know it

I was on the stage and on one of the bikes and

I was going to compete on the GoldSprint!

Wow! I think those fixie guys must be wondering

which mountain I came from. That fixie bike thing

was really hard to pedal in the beginning. I had to

stand and stomp on the pedals. Then the DJ told

me not to stand... I think they're concerned that I

might endo? Then I was pitted against another

guy and we were supposed to sprint for 200m.

All the while people must be seeing question

marks over my head. I was thinking, is it safe

to do this without a helmet? hehehehe. Why is

there a strap on the pedal? I didn't even need to ask

that, one of the guys must have read my mind and

guided my feet onto the straps. Once I was strapped,

I pedalled, found it hard, so I stood up and mashed.

To my surprise the rear of the bike moved sideways.

I asked the DJ : 'What was that???' He said

'It's ok, it will straighten BUT don't stand,

don't get out of the saddle'... I said ok.

One guy supported my fork and another guy

supported my opponent's fork.

... and we're off!!

I remembered they told not to get out of the

saddle, so I didn't. I can see my opponent

really letting it all out ... and then it was over...

I lost?! LOL! I shook hands with my opponent

... and got out of the bike ... I scratched my head

at everything that transpired ... then I took pictures

of my bike and the other nice fixies that were there.

If you have time this weekend, head on out

to Esplanade and check out the GoldSprint.

Lots of cool bikes, cool people, cool stuff for sale

... and from what I read, they're giving out

a fixie bike if you win the GoldSprint :-)

#187 : Night Ride

Meet up was at Fort Rd end of ECP. 9 people here
+ NoLights Louie on the camera + 4 late comers
not in the picture = 14 riders

The leading uncles up at Mt. Faber discussing how to
torture ... oooppss, I mean how many laps should we do.
Btw, photos were taken from NoLights Louie's
FB uploads.

Another big group ride! 14 riders!

But it was a shame that nobody wants

to go for night trail ride on Monday

night, eve of Singapore National Day.

Looks like apart from SR Deck, Fast Paolo,

Roadie Rio, AirTime Mark and me,

nobody else gets the urge to go on a

night trail ride in the BT area.

However, it seems a lot of people want

to go for a 'city' ride and check out

Mt. Faber :-)

The ride was quite long for the Eastern

boys. They started from Pasir Ris, going

to Changi Village, all the way to ECP

and then we finally met them at the Fort

Rd end of ECP.

After meeting the whole bunch, we went to

F1 pitlane via the Kallang PCN, then went to

Esplanade, Boat Quay, Clarke Quay and then

Robertson Quay. We had a stop for drinks

at the petrol station near the Swiss

Valley bikeshop.

After the refueling stop, we all went to

Mt. Faber via Henderson Rd (pant pant huff

huff) and then Telok Blangah Rise. Once

we all reached the top, some of the riders

opted not to do the customary laps.

After a majority of the lapping uncles did

4 laps, everybody voted to start the journey

home. But the leading uncles still had one

more climb that they wanted to do !

Of course, this climb was the surprise

of the night for the newer members

of the peloton.

The peloton was steered by the leading uncles

to Telok Blangah Hill. I think some of them

almost fainted when they saw what was

in store for them.

After doing just one climb, I think

I heard some of the guys referring to the

route planner as 'Dr. Evil'. hehehehe.

Anyway, the good thing about going to

such a high place is that the way home all

points downhill :-)

That's it! Any one wants to see Mt. Faber

again, you know who to call :-)

#180 : Tuesday Night Ride

Very soon I may start changing the title

of the Mt. Faber Night Rides to NoLights Louie's

Climbing Progress Reports :-)

StairRider Deck was supposed to go with us

but he has been a victim of the 'establishment'

lately. So instead of cycling, he has been doing

over time work at his office. Tsk tsk tsk poor guy

hehehehe.

Nowadays, our first lap starts at Telok Blangah

Rise (instead of Pender Road). The 2nd and 3rd

(or sometimes 4th) laps then start from Pender Road.

Actually, I seldom write about our Mt. Faber nights.

There were two things that prompted me to write

about what went on tonight. First, NoLights Louie

has an iPhone4 which takes better pictures than

my iPhone3GS on lowlight conditions hehehe.

So since I have a picture, might as well write :-)

Second, I didn't miss SR Deck at all ! What do

I mean by this? While climbing, we normally talk

about what's happening at Tour de France, why

we must build a monument for Julien Absalon,

or photography. So tonight, I was pleasantly

surprised that I wasn't bored with my 3 laps

of climb. NL Louie was able to keep up and

we were talking about why nobody likes my

MTB pictures in Instagram hehehe.

So there you have it. NL Louie as leveled-up

and she's invited to Saturday's No-Stop ride!



#171 : Tuesday Night Ride

Tuesday night and NoLights Louie surprised me

when she said 'Yes' when I asked her if she wants

to go to Mt. Faber with me and StairRider Deck.

I was thinking, that was quick? I normally have

to give a lengthy sermon about the virtues of climbing

before she says yes ...

... of course the main reason it was so easy asking

her to go was tonight was the night she was going to

pick up her new pride and joy from Hup Leong :

her new wheelset made up of Hope Pro2 Evo hubs

and ZTR Crest rims!

So, I told her that this new wheelset should be around

2 tons lighter that her last boat anchors ... errrr wheelset.

Not just that! This Hope Pro 2 Evo hubs should have no lag

when she pedals and all these points should translate

to better climbing performance.

To my chagrin, she said she can't feel if they are light...

and worst of all, she asked : 'What lag?'

Sighhhhh ....

Anyway, I lead NL Louie and SR Deck to a different

first lap. We went via Telok Blangah Rise instead of

going via West Coast Rd. This first climb should be a

lot steeper than our normal loop.

Well, either the wheelset indeed gave better climbing

performance or they are expensive placebos. NL Louie

was able to hang with us for 3 laps instead of her

customary 1 serious lap + 1 photo session lap.

Apart from the new wheelset, NL Louie was also

wearing a new helmet which is supposed to be women

specific. ... I still don't know what the difference

is between smaller men's helmet and a women specific

helmet ... might be just pure marketing gimmick?

Ok, now that I have sowed the seeds of doubt in

NL Louie's mind about the practicality of buying

women specific helmet, she did tell me that

this helmet is a lot airier than her previous Limar

helmet.

The 2011 version of the Uvex Onyx Helmet also

has mesh on the front holes to prevent insects

from entering the helmet. Also, it has that all

important sticker proclaiming that this helmet

is 'Made in Germany'. All that for just 69USD at

Jenson's USA :-)

Finally, on our way home SR Deck and

I were interviewing NL Louie and here is

the non-verbatim (and artistic license applied) 

transcript of the interview :

SR Deck : What's the diff between the Hope Pro 2 and

Hope Pro 2 Evo? (PS. looks like Pro 2 has been

replaced by Pro2 Evo. But Hope website does not say

the difference between the two hubs)

NL Louie : hmmmm ... it's faster?

SR Deck : Why?

NL Louie : Uhhhmmm... i don't know ....

MH : I told you not to buy that! If you bought

XT hubs and any ZTR rims, you would still

have change to buy decent brakes.

NL Louie : Damn the price! I want my hubs to

have that buzzing sound and it should be red!

MH : Why?

NL Louie : Duhhh! It's red and it buzzes! It's faster!

MH : Have you seen any Pro XC Rider using

those loud, buzzing hubs?

NL Louie : They don't?

SR Deck and MH : sighhhhh

*all pictures used with permission from

NoLights Louie



Night Trail

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

Magic Shine

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

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

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

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

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

I haven't worn it yet.

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

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

might as well use it hehehehe.

NoLights Louie, after much convincing, threatening and

cajoling finally decided to go with StairRider Deck and me.

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

After everything was said and done, 5 riders went

for a night trail ride today.

The weather was very cooperative. Although there

were flashes of lightning seen from afar from the time

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

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

I think we had a full moon tonight.

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

to ride in T15 today and both agree that night trail

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

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

becomes. Unlike during the day when StairRider Deck has

already developed the habit of dousing himself with water

whenever possible due to the heat.

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

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

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

were almost chased by dogs (again??)

It seems this night ride will be a weekly thing?

Group picture brought to you by NoLights Louie's iPhone 



Mt. Faber Ride

Only tonight I realised that this leads to Henderson Waves... hence the sign hehehe

Henderson Rd

The Saturday Group Rides are getting longer and

the rich food I had in the Philippines as well as the

recent long holidays spell doom for my fitness.

There's no other way to get back on the groove but to

go back to climbing Mt. Faber.

Tonight I only did two laps ... I was actually on

my third lap when I realised that the sign to on the left side

of the road that reads "Henderson Waves" meant

that that point was the start of Henderson Waves (duhhh).

I took a peak inside... and then I walked the bridge with

my bike and ended in the Telok Blangah Hill side of the Waves.

I told myself two laps is not such a bad thing for a start

and so I took the downhill ride from Telok Blangah Hill up

to Alexandra Rd and then back home.

Maybe I'll do the customary 4 laps next time :-P

Night Ride

@King Albert Park McDonald's

Rifle Range Road climb

deck @ the trail head, note the flood of light coming from his
helmet mounted Magic Shine

It rained heavily yesterday afternoon (25 Sept, Saturday). Looking out the window of our
flat, i thought the night ride would be cancelled. However, the rains stopped at around 5PM.
Although we know the trails will be wet and muddy, we still went ahead with the night ride.
-
My friend recently added another Magic Shine MJ808 to his collection. Since I haven't bought my lights yet, he lent one to me to mount on my helmet. We've decided to put all our 'strong' torch lights on our bikes' handlebars and use the Magic Shines on our helmets.
-
Now this was more like it! No more eerie, soft lights from 9$ torchlights. We were riding as fast as if it was daytime. The MJ808s on our helmets really did the trick. We adjusted them such that the lights follow our eyes.
-
We went out at around 8PM, reached McDonalds' @ 8:30, had some burgers for dinner and then went to the trails at around 9pm. By 11:20pm, we were already cleaning our bikes at ESSO and we got home before 12midnight. All in all a no nonsense, short and sweet trail ride :-)
-

Note :

My friend uses a Sigma cyclometer on hic XC bike. He noticed that the Sigma unit does not function properly whenever there is a nearby operating MagicShine on the handlebar. When he turns off the MagicShine, the Sigma unit functions properly again... We don't know what causes this, just sharing info as a few might tear their hair and throw their cyclometers in frustration only to find out later that the culprit is the light unit near it.

Another note :

Since we were chased by dogs the last time we were at the trails @ Mandai, I bought a 'dogchaser' from a petshop in Thomson Plaza. I brought it with me on this night ride but we did not encounter said dogs. I have been testing it on the cats in the neighborhood though. It seems to be functioning perfectly ... but I haven't been able to test it on stray dogs yet.