#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)

#249 - HardTails

We felt sooo 'lazy' on this ride that we thought we'd rather climb
a few stairs than go to the reroute to Jalan Tenaga on the way to
Tampines Trail

A very delicious Storck. I asked the owner if I could lift it
.... and I was very surprised at how light this bike is!

All five slots in the wash bay was occupied by hardtails.
The ones waiting their turn are all on hardtails as well.
Some were on 29ers, most were carbon HTs. By the way,
notice the inverted handle bar on this 29er?

Lately, I have been going to Tampines Trail on Sundays.

This particular Sunday, I saw Boom and KK there ... so that

was one carbon 29er HT and one 26 HT.... and when I reached

the gate it was then that I noticed that almost everyone there

was on a carbon HT. Also there seems to be more 29ers now.

Finally, when I was waiting my turn to clean my bike on the

wash bay, all five slots were taken up by hardtails ... and those

waiting their turn were also on hardtails. And! Only me, my

friend and another guy (on a white Merida HT) were cleaning

aluminum hardtails! Most were on hardcore carbon race bikes!

What's the big deal you say? Nothing. Just an observation.

Four years ago, when I bought my first MTB. I bought a HT

because of budget issues. Most people I meet on the trails,

be it Bukit Timah (and surrounding trails) or Tampines Trail

are using 140mm bikes. I remembered that there was even

a strong XC team that had it's members using ML8s

(remember those?).

Fast forward 4 years later, to the present. Here I am

having three FS frames at my disposal and yet I'm using my

aluminum Jamis HT in Tampines Trail :-) The thing is, now

that we can't go to the nicest trails in Singapore anymore

due to their being illegal, couple that with me and my friends

discovering the joy of attending Malaysia's jamborees, I am

seriously considering getting a carbon HT ... or a Lysnkey.

... and so, if you are seriously considering giving the sport/hobby

of mountain biking a shot, just get a simple hardtail first. Who knows,

maybe that is all you need? :-)



#248 - Bontrager RXL

I almost didn't buy this pair of shoes. My wife told me that

since my birthday was quite near, she will close one eye

when she sees the price displayed on the Point Of Sales

machine and just enter her PIN very very quickly and so

I better go and buy what I really want!

   

... but still 335SGD is very very hard to swallow for some

thing that will offer benefits that can only be felt and

not measured. So, there I was, looking at the RXL, the RL

and the Race models of the Bontrager MTB line of shoes.

After looking (really just looking) long and hard at the RXL,

I decided not to buy them and went home ..... and then

I came back the next day and bought them hehehehehe.

Above picture shows the crux of the matter. The sole is

made up of carbon fiber. I mean the whole sole is carbon

fiber, not just the itsy-bitsy teenie-weenie 'window' where

you attach the cleats. Due to this construction, the shoe

is sooo stiff ... and it is sooo light that I am shedding tears

of joy whenever I am wearing them while climbing

Personal Challenge.

   

Note the 2 screws that are in place of the two 'cobra fangs'

or football studs. 2 pairs of football studs came with the

shoes as well as a tool to screw and unscrew said football

studs. However, I used them in KulaiJaya and I lost one

of them (remember to use Loctite!!). So instead of

going around with a pair and a half of football studs,

I decided to take them out and just use screws instead.

Anyway, I'll try and see if there are any spare football

studs in any of the T3/Treknology branches.

   

Also, if you could just go back to the first picture?

Notice that the buckle has these 2 black buttons? You

can't miss is it. The buckle is silver and the buttons are

black. Pressing the two black buttons simultaneously

will totally release the strap ... pressing just one button

will adjust the strap tension a little at a time. Neat eh!?  

Now, refer to the red arrow in the photo above.

The red arrow is pointing to a metal band that I always

pinch before I wear these shoes. What it does is it 'narrows'

the part that touches my Achilles tendon. As you wear the

shoe, the back part then conforms to your Achilles tendon

leaving you with a really snug feeling ... ahhhh the devil

is in the details. Not just that! See the silvery cloth material

that will come into contact with your socks? Even that

material has a function! Your socks will slide down

perfectly when you are wearing these shoes. BUT in the

opposite direction, the material feels like velcro!

what this means is you will not encounter any

'resistance' when wearing these shoes BUT when you

are pedalling, this material is 'fighting' the tendency

of your heel to 'lift' your foot out of the shoe!

Very nice (thumbs up like Borat)!

    

Now, see the Aqua arrow? That arrow is pointing to

a vent protected by a mesh ... looks like it was taken

from a Maserati :)

  

Lastly, the insert that came with the shoes can

be baked and it will then conform to your feet! The

instructions came in the box ... but I'm lazy ... and

who really does these things? Maybe there will come

a day when I will appreciate these baked shoes/shoe

parts ... but for now ....

     

...and ok, I hear you, how does it 'ride' you say?

As I said at the beginning, there is no way to measure this

... maybe unless I buy a Power Meter? But I don't have

a Power Meter and I don't know if any of my Roadie

friends have one also. But the difference is very obvious!

Climbing is easier. Power transfer is very good as there

is less energy wasted on flex.

   

Now, I've professed my love for my new shoes, I would

just like to say that for me, shoes like these really make

XC a lot more enjoyable. Notice that I am not just singling

the Bontrager RXL. I believe you will not go wrong with the

top of the line Shimano, yellow Mavic Furies or SIDI Dragons.

The only consideration is how much money would you

be willing to part with to take advantage of these racing tools.

... ok, next post I'll be telling you about some thing that

I've noticed lately ...



#247 - Tampines Trail

Green Trail. Nice!

View from the top of Teletubbies (not sure if it is still called Teletubbies)

View from the top of Teletubbies (not sure if it is still called Teletubbies)

View from the top of Teletubbies (not sure if it is still called Teletubbies)

There are five water points where you can wash your bikes.

HobbyLink's Uncle Sam with his RumbleFish.
I have a time to beat now : 5 laps in 1 hour :)

I have started heeding Roadie Rio's advice to not
flog myself doing two consecutive hard rides. So Saturday
was a hard ride and Sunday, I cycled to East Coast Park.

On the way to East Coast Park, I passed by Nichol Hiway
and saw a few stragglers from the last night's Sundown
Marathon. Hehehe these guys really look spent. I even saw
one girl who seemed to be on the verge of tears (Really!).
Anyway, a few minutes more and I saw this marshall on a
motorbike telling the runners/walkers to go to the sidewalk
as the lane is going to be given back to motorists' use.

Anyway, I cycled all the way to Changi Village even if it
was very boring. I wanted to do a u-turn and go back to
Fort Road but just imagining the mind numbing ride
back was enough to make me think about other routes.
.... and then it hit me! I haven't gone to Tampines Trail
since (around) New Year of 2011. Why not pay a visit?

... and so I went to Tampines Trail and signed in.
Instead of going full throttle into Trails A, B and C, I went
into the green graded trails first.... it was sooo nice. It might
be that the day was overcast and the sun was not beating on
me so fiercely but the place is sooo green. There are no visible
signs of the green trail being overly used. The green trail
eventually led to the carpark ... but before I reached the
carpark, I saw an area where you can play PaintBall wargames!

After looking around a bit in the PaintBall Area, I went into
Trail A (the old Teletubbies?). I used my granny gear all the way
...and surprise, surprise, I saw Uncle Sam doing his laps on his
RumbleFish. I have always thought that 29ers would be "slow"
in Tampines Trail because it is all twisty singletrack. But seeing
Uncle Sam with a 29er... he doesn't look slow at all !

I finished Area A and was going to Area B when I saw
Uncle Sam and he was telling me to go to Area C
(the old Ziggurat?)  and chase him! No thanks!
I went to Area B instead and continued doing the trail
on my granny. I must say that although there are lots of
switchbacks in Area B, the trail still flows nicely!

I finished Area B and went to Area C ... still on my
granny gear, Uncle Sam passed me!??! That was fast!
Since it was his last lap, he talked to me a bit. He told
me he normally does five laps in 1 hour and then quickly
cleans his bike, because as I said in my last post, he is
"paying" for 25 years of RC racing "debts" hehehehe.
So yesterday, he was again in a hurry because he needs
to run some errands. Too bad because I wanted to try
his RumbleFish and satisfy my curiosity about 29ers.
Next time maybe.

I cleaned my bike leisurely in one of the five
available water points ... free of charge :)
While cleaning my bike I chatted with another
cyclist named Anthony who was on a Jamis Dakota.
In hindsight I should have begged him to let me
try his Jamis Dakota as I really wanted to know if
the Carbon Fibre seatstays make a difference in
taming trail chatter.

Anyway, we talked about how well maintained
the trail is. Actually, the trail is not just well maintained,
it really does flow nicely and once you are very familiar
with the trail flow, I imagine it is very easy to attain
Zen on this trail.

... And lastly! 
1. I noticed Uncle Sam was wearing a Bontrager RXL
2. I bought threadlocking compound from him to
attach SPD cleats to my own Bontrager RXL
3. points 1 and 2 should be enough hint for me
to post the review of the Bontrager RXL :)

#246 - Threadlock

This threadlock compound could be used in place of  Loctite Blue

Sam Cheng of HobbyLink @ 3rd Flr Far East Plaza

See the 1/8 buggy @ $930? Expensive toys!

Today's post was prompted by my having misplaced

my threadlocking compound AKA Loctite Blue.

 

 

The first thing that baffled me when I was learning

how to assemble mountain bikes is that grease is always

required whenever you screw something to something.

This is the exact opposite of the standard practice in

building remote control cars. For RC cars, you put

threadlock whenever a screw needs to be screwed in

to a metal part.

  

 

So when attaching the cleats on my new Bontrager

RXLs, I looked for my threadlock/blue Loctite. I can't

find it in it's usual place only to remember that I left

it in the office.

  

 

I went to HobbyLink at Far East Plaza to get a

small bottle of threadlocking compound. Once there,

I had a chat with old friend Sam, the owner of HobbyLink

and he told me that he now rides a Gary Fisher RumbleFish.

He said he prefers this more than his Trek 29er HT

and his Nicolai 26 FS. The RumbleFish is apparently

a lot kinder on his lower back. He normally rides at
Tampines MTB Park and so I asked him if the
full sus 29er RumbleFish is "slow" in Tampines
knowing that that place is mostly twisting singletrack?
He said it's ok and he doesn't have any problems.

After talking about MTBs, the topic then went
to why we normally ride alone and seems to be always
in a hurry to get home... and we realised maybe it's
because we are 'paying' for all those times that we
spent RC racing instead of going out with our families.
So now that we're out of RC, we cycle and then
quickly, without any delay, ride home. I asked him
how much does he need to 'pay' for, he said 25 years
of racing. Ahhhh, I only have to pay for 10 years.

Hehehehe this is what keeps me going back to

HobbyLink even if I'm no longer racing RC. Talk

about old hobbies (RC) and new hobbies (MTB). 

#245 - Kulaijaya MTB Jamboree 2012

Oooohh bad idea to do on a night before the race : cramming

View from outside the bus. Around 6AM at the JB Gas Station
where everyone from Singapore assembles before heading on
to races in Malaysia

Nice! The sun hid almost the whole day in Kulai.

My friends fixing up their bikes.

  55Kilometers of trail ! That is what the Kulaijaya

Extreme MTB Jamboree promised us! Actually, we

found that out after we registered. But that's not the point :)

Anyway, this race was made as smooth as possible by

CrestPursuit Owen and StairRider Deck who took care

of all the transport arrangements AND also Edward C.

from PadyakPinoy for helping us with the registration.

I'll spare you the blow by blow account of our travels from

Novena to the race site. However, I continue to be amazed

at how much fanfare the Malaysians could inject into these

bike races. Before the MTB race started, we saw the flag off

for the 120km bike race. There were definitely lots of racers

from Singapore for both the road and MTB race.

So, after the Roadies were sent off to start their 120km race,

we lined up for our MTB race. All the girls were asked to go

to the front and they will be given a 2 minute headstart. We

said bye bye to NoLights Louie as we realized that she's a girl.

Whereas the announcer in the KIP Mart race told us that

there will be no marshalls/medical support if ever we meet

an accident on the trails, the announcer for this race told

us that the trails are wet due to recent rains and that he thinks

we should not run our tyres too hard ... I slowly looked at my

rear wheel ... and before I even saw the Presta valve on my

rim, Roadie Rio emerged out of the fog and told me : "I

know what you are thinking... don't do it. If you do it then

you will have doubted yourself. Believe in yourself. "

... After saying that, he melted away into the fog ... errr
I mean he went further in front because that is his race
strategy.

... and so 2 minutes after the women set off, the announcer
finally let the GU powered peloton take off !

I saw all my friends jostling for position. Me on the other
hand don't want to be in front of people who can go downhill
faster/better than myself and so I literally let everyone go.
I was telling myself : I have 55km to pick off each and
everyone of you one by one ... teeheeheeheee.

The first bottle neck. This is the left side.

... and this is the right side

See! At this stage of the race, I was taking pictures and

conserving energy. BUT it all changed when we

encountered the first stretch of singletrack. Would you

believe everybody, and I mean everybody was pushing

their bikes?! The singletrack was not even technically

challenging. It was just narrow. If you've been to Rooty

Trail here in Singapore, you will be wondering at what

the fuss was about. ... and so I couldn't take it anymore

and asked one local why we were pushing our bikes.

He told me because that was a technical section. Huh??!?!

Really?? I thought there's an accident in front. He

assured me there's no accident. Just that the front

guys can't ride that singletrack. Arrggghhhh!!!!

After emerging out of the singletrack, we went out

into ... something like a plantation ... I tried to catch

some water coming out of the sprinkling system and

the guy in front of me had the same idea. Well bad idea

it turned out as the water hit us while we were going

downhill and the guy in front of me slipped and he rolled

with his bike. I almost ran over the guy. I braked and

asked the guy if he was ok. He told me he's fine but I told

myself no hydrating from sprinklers from now on.

When I reached CP2, I saw two team mates of mine,

Ronald and Neil having a picnic. Their helmets were

off and they were eating bananas and exchanging war

stories. I think they only realised the race is not yet

over when they saw me. I told myself : Aha! My strategy

is working! See these two?! I will overtake them now!

Mwahahaha!

I let them go first and followed immediately behind.

... and while I was planning my next move ... I noticed

I was no longer pedalling! I was swimming in mud!

Yup, it happened that fast. I didn't even have time to

unclip from the pedals. I stood up and said "I'm ok!

I'm ok" ... and then realised nobody cares hehehehe.

So, my two friends cycled thinking I was just behind

them and listening to their conversation.

So, I cycled alone until I got into this verrryyyy long

downhill section. I was off the brakes. The guy in front

of me was quite a long way ahead ... until I couldn't see

the guy anymore. Alarm bells rang in my head and I

started braking ... at the bottom of the section I saw the

guy was trying to wipe away blood from his knees.

It turned out the downhill section ends into a sharp

right turn and he couldn't turn in time. I asked him

if he's ok and he told me he's fine. Good thing

mountain bikers are a macho bunch :)

I caught up with my friends again on CP3. Their

helmets are off again and they were eating more bananas!

I said hello and proceeded to take a leak at the side of the

road thinking I hope I don't get fined for doing that.

Then I think my friends thought I was going to chat for

a while since I'm off my bike but I decided to be

sneaky and took off nyahahahaha.

... Only to find out that the next section is road

and it was damn boring when you don't have anyone

to talk to when cycling on road. But the first surprise

of the race greeted me! After the road section, CP4

was there! Huh?! was that 15KM already??? Can't be!

But who am I to argue? So I doused myself with water

and cycled furiously. I was thinking those people

I let go were not yet dropping like flies to my

superior stragedy , er strategy.

... and while thinking about this, I saw the 2nd surprise

of the race! There on the ground is a stake with a sign

saying "1Km to Base". HUH?!! I'm quite sure I haven't

cycled 54Km yet! If this is 54Km, then there will be

lots of really weak people on the floor nursing their

cramps , at least that was what I was expecting.

But the sign was there and so I stopped for a while

and ate my last GU and Endurolyte capsule and pedalled

as fast as the mud would allow me. I think I passed

6 to 8 people who no doubt are wondering why am

I pedalling like I was after a podium place LOL.

In the end, I got the last sticker that said I was 195th

finisher awwwwwww!

 

Nice view near the end of the race.

Me at the finish line showing some signs of 'buying' some land
in Kulai

A few top 100 finishers in my group.

#244 - A few more days to go ...

My friends have all been bitten by the racing bug

and so they are all back for more racing ... and this time

they did not even care how long the racing is going to be.

Everybody signed up for the Kulai Jaya Jamboree and

everybody were all equally surprised when it was finally

realized that we all signed up for 55KM instead of the usual

45KM race distance.

For those who are thinking of going at the last minute,

the organizers must have known that there are always

last minute entries and so they are accepting entries up

to the day of the race itself (20th May).



#243 - WeekEnd Ride

DirTraction @Zheng Hwa Park

See the guy wearing black on the right side of the picture

above? I didn't get his name but he is from DirTraction.

Last week, a friend of mine, Sam, posted in our FB group

page that DirTraction would be in Zheng Hwa Park in the

morning and Tampines MTB Park in the afternoon to talk

to mountain bikers about the current state of our trails and

the plans for mountain biking in the future.

The only time I ever hear/see DirTraction is when there

are races in Singapore... and if you notice, there are hardly

any more MTB races in Singapore now. Of course, lots of

people, don't think they are doing such a good job as we

tend to compare the racing in Malaysia versus here.

However, hearing this guy talk was an eye opener. He is

level headed and he is very realistic. He explained what

triggered the recent illegal trail usage hunt. He also talked

about what's going to happen to the trails that we are using.

He explained why there are few races now and why the

races in Singapore are so expensive. Too bad I didn't get

his name but my friends from PadyakPinoy/MTB Brothers

know him. Anyway, I left the session with a totally knew

outlook and even admiration for these guys who are fueled

by nothing but passion.

So, the things that I heard are the following :

1. Stop going to illegal trails. Scorpion is illegal.

ButterFly is illegal. WoodCutter is illegal.

2. Bukit Timah will be maintained in the near future.

Hopefully this will put a stop to mountain bikers

going to illegal trails.

3. More signages will be put up to warn trekkers/

trail runners that they are encroaching on trails

designed for mountain biking.

4. Tampines MTB Park will only be there for

the next 2 years.

5. It's ok to ride in T15 and Gangsa.

6. I might have to start going to Kent Ridge and like

that trail as it is one of the legal trails.

7. For 2012, the only place where races can be held is Ketam.

So, I might want to start going to and liking that place.

8. Lastly, if riders could donate a bit of their time

for trail maintenance, it would be very much appreciated.

I think a Facebook page will be created where DirTraction

will put the where and the when for trail maintenance.