Monday, August 27, 2007

Uneventful Weekend

What a bore...........

Saturday ride was a washout. Woke up at 5 am, and was greeted with a call from MaySenn, "Are we on for the ride...its drizzling here in Putra Jaya". I said" Wait ahhh..let me peek out my windows, (no rain), yeah we are ON, no rain here". Trying to double check, sent a text to Bacin, "is the ride on?". He replied in capitals, "YES, ITS IS ON, NO RAIN"

So, I drove off to Ulu Langat Batu 14 while also meeting up with Andrea at Cheras Toll, it was fine and dandy until we turn of at Pekan Batu 9. Heaven broke and rain fell, like there was no tomorrow. Reached the dewan and saw Wong was there, so Wong, Andrea and me had tea and nasi lemak while waiting for MaySenn. Few minutes later, Adzim, Zabil and Bacin also arrived and since it was still raining, they joined us for Nasi Lemak. Faie also dropped by and we waited for the rain to stop which was almost 10, but most of us called the ride off except this two ironman Adzim and Capt.Zabil.

Went to BikePro (the clubhouse) to take a sneak peak at Bernard's new bike. Hung around the clubhouse but felt the possible onset of Diarrhea coming, hence had to rush home to be by my trusted porcelain throne. Had to cancel the evening run that I had promised with MaySenn.

Felt better in the evening and went back to BikePro hoping to see Bernards fully assembled bike. Unfortunately, missed him by a few minutes as he had gone home.

Sunday
Rode with PCC to Puncak Alam. Being sweeper, had to accompany 2 new riders at the back. Thinking that I had dropped them far near Kampung Subang, i rode back to the back of the peloton to search for them. Lost 10 minutes in that process. Trying to catch up with the main peloton back at the regrouping point at the entrance of Puncak Alam was hell of a non enjoyable experience. Riding alone at 35km/hr average is tough.

As I reached the regrouping point, the peoloton wanted to move off already having reached there for 15 minutes. We moved off and I had to continue with the ride to Puncak Alam with no rest. Managed to stay with the pack until the restaurant at Kampung Subang. We cycled back to Center point and managed the whole journey before 11 am. Well, this is the last recovery ride before Interstate2007. Gosh, IS2007 is so near, looking forward to it. (Sorry, no pictures this time round)

Now, back home to prepare my briefing notes for Interstate2007. Seems that i have to do briefing for the riders this Tuesday.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Girls who changed my Life - RAP/POEM

My life has changed since I met this lady,
Her nick is Pickles and she is damn steady,
She motivates me to health class and make me do
Body Pump and RPM, she will see me thru.

She keeps and eye to see what I am doing,
In class, if I am wrong, i get a bit of scolding,
Not from the Gym instructor that stand in front,
But from a friendly fren, who can sometimes be blunt.

Pick Yin is her name, I admire her guts,
She was there for me, when i am down in a rut,
She inspires me further and showed me how,
With her determination and will, i thank her now.

As I start to loose weight, loosing my pounds,
My body feels lighter, my health is more sound,
As I look at myself, I now feel happy
My waist is getting thinner and I feel less flabby.

Nite riding was introduced by a fren name Ashley,
As she guide me along, she is owh so friendly,
Considerate and patient, that is always her,
Her valuable traits and guidance, i always remember.

I like to go cycling, live life of the outdoor,
This change comes about, when my life was a bore,
Inspired to ride out on a mountain bike we went,
When I first got the bike, not sure if I can.

She push me along, she pushed me hard,
As we compete in the pressy, we got of to a good start,
She finished her ride, with much triumphant,
I came back out, like a groggy sick elephant.

Always positive in her actions, supported by deeds,
Shes always there for me, in my hours of needs,
Her training is vigorous, only some of us knows,
In strength and stamina, she goes and goes.

Joanne is my sister in training and in class,
She has seen me progress when I was big as a bus,
Having lost 70 pounds, within a spate of a year,
Most of that were attributed to this lil sister here.

I can now do shopping and buy the right cloth,
Between what I eat and gymming, can now do both.
As guided by my sis, who eats oh so carefully,
I watch what I eat, though not counting all the calory.

[to be continued]

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Cycling - Up down Tumble

Saturday, (the Calm before the Storm)

The triathlete gang was mostly in Desaru, hence no rides this Saturday. Gotta get some mileage, hmmmm...dowant to kill myself and follow Adzim to Bukit Tinggi. He is IronMan, i am only PlasticMan. So, went round with Vong and PK and family round Kota Damansara to do some spins. Clock 40km that morning. Back we went to the club House in Taman Megah in afternoon. Anyway we were pre-emptied that PCC Sunday 120km ride could turn out to be 160km if we missed a junction. So, better reserve some energy.

Sunday

CenterPoint was packed with lotsa new riders. Must be the Interstate effect. Few bling-bling bike was unveiled. I could see Adzim salivating watching the new Pinnarello Prince. Though, it was dark, i had infra red vision eyes.
PIC-0104

We left at about 7:10 and for the first 10km of the ride, we paced at a very leisurely 25km/hr with me and Adzim in front. As we turn off too Sungai Buloh , the packed started picking up pace and we were doing between 32-34km/hr on the road to Kuala Selangor. In anticipating the potentially longer then printed distance and the usual bonus "mileage", Vong and me held back and we went at a more leisurely 32km/hr.

At about kilometer 30, as we were going down a gentle incline, all hell broke loose and what I could see in front of me was Mrs PK doing and EN DO and tumbling over Per Li. One rider went over Per Li and another jumped over her and manage to disengage and let his bike off. The bike unfortunately still went over her body. By this time, I think there were about 7 to 8 riders on the roadside with the two lady riders lying flat on the road. Blood was profusely running down on Mrs PK's head while Per Li's jaw was streaming with Blood. I had considered myself extremely lucky. Having swered right had there been a car behind me, I would have been visiting the Pearly Gates or smelling brimstone in hell with my early demise.PIC-0101

While other rider suffered minor scratches, Mrs PK and Per Li was rushed to the nearest hospital near Ijok by their partners using a taxi. While some of us stayed on with the bikes as they were casualties with some of the bike and some riders visibly shaken and were not willing to ride on, others rode on to the hospital and first congregation point near Petronas Ijok.PIC-0102

Boon Foo upon hearing the news, came down with his trusty van to collect the bikes and two of the riders back to Center Point. Some of us waited for the train to come back from Ijok and we came back with the train via Guthrie Corridor highway, shaken and not wanting to take the smaller but busy route back. By the time we reached Center Point, PK and his Mrs were already back, with May (Mrs PK) having 8 stitches done up her forehead.

Per Li was brought to Subang Jaya Medical for additional checks (XRay and CT scan) to ensure that she had not suffered any non visible injury. Having bike run over you is no joke. We later heard at about 3 pm that everything was fine and the Doctor has cleared her of any internal injuries. Phew...

On another sad news, my fren Bernard also had to face another trauma. Seeing his trusty and favourite T-Mobile bike broken in 4 pieces as he had a run in with one guy who decided to stop abruptly to puke at the Desaru Half Ironman. What a weekend, some fren suffering physical injuries, some suffering emotional injuries. All this prior to the Interstate2007.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Up and Coming Interstate2007 - Recce

what can we expect from Interstate2007 as far as ride review is concern, let see

day1
The route statistics here says 150km and we will be taking the route from Casurina Hotel Ipoh and heading towards Sunway City and further up to Tanjung Rambutan. The road here is narrow and after Tanjung Rambutan, the journey becomes very interesting. There is little town for us to get water replenishment.
day1route
Looking at the profile, we will be ascending all the way in the first 40km and those jagged spikes are rolling hill (for those not in the know). The total ascend will be about 60m which translate to 200 feet in climb. There will only be one major climb which is between kilometer 120 and 130 and this is the only major climb for the day. We will be climbing a total height of 70m (240 feet), roughly the climb up to Bukit Tekala near Semenyih. Then, it decsend all the way down to Taiping town passing the scenic route of Lake Garden Taiping. Nothing that most casual rider cannot do.
day2
We will be pushing off from Taiping Golf resort at about 7 am and will be heading towards Selama and circling Bukit Merah and heading towards the old road heading for Kulim. There will be very minimal village let alone town here, so water stops is going to be rare. From one village to another is 40-50km apart. Going into Kulim and Bukit Mertajam will be very busy.
day2route
Judging from the profile obtained from my GPS, there only be one major climb between kilometer 30 and 40 and the height of the climb is approximately 90m (equivalent to 300 feet). This climb is due to the crossing of the Banjaran. To put into context, this climb is only 2/3 the climb up to Peres in Ulu Langat - simple (for those familiar with Klang Valley Bike Route). The rest, is a doable rolling hills, leading into Kulim and Bukit Mertajam.
day3
Third is the interesting day, we will be pushing off from BM Hotel at about 7:00 am in the morning and will be escorted by outriders up to Penang Bridge Entrance. The LLM personnel will be certifying us against their name checklist and after 30 minutes, we will be let thru onto the Penang Bridge escorted by LLM, Police and Support Car. After that, we will be heading for Balik Pulau and further on to Batu Feringgi.
day3-profile
There are caution points as we cross the Penang Bridge. The cross wind is quite strong and we are advised to ride in two rows at equal speed. At Balik Pulau we will be attacking the first hill which is much like the Tekala Hill both in gradient and height. The second hill is a bit more challenging. My friend Azwar might like this hill as the climb is equivalent to climbing up from Gap to Clock Tower of Frasers, but steeper. The distance of climb is also long, ie about 7 km. You know that you have reached the peak once you see the sign board, Durian Farm ahead ;-). The height of the climb is about 200m (660 feet). Caution when riding down, keep ur hands on the brake as the road is narrow and winding. After the Dam, there will be minor climb as we head towards the Golden Sand Hotel in Batu ferinngi for our rest.

Hope, everybody is geared and ready for this ride.............

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Ouch - My Fork

Sponsored and loaned my MTB to one of the L2A cyclist for the weekend MTB challenge. My beloved Manitou Black Fork is gone - kaput. Boo Hoo. well, at least he manage to win the KLMTB Carnival though.

Maybe its a sign for me to stop MTBing. I have already given up on swimming, now I have to really consider whether I want to do anymore Mountain Biking.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Answering a MEME

Got tagged by Jaja,

I remember 10 years ago was my second time I went through a recession. The first recession I was in Government and I was not that badly affected. The second recession, I just started my job in 1997 with an ISP and most of my colleagues were facing tough times. Some had to sell their Merc for half price and others were disposing handphone and computers at bargain pricing.

I was already quite chubby then, and just started my job as a Network Security Consultant with that ISP. Little did I know that I was being groomed to be the potential CTO of the company. At 36, I was very hungry for work and I was putting in a gruelling 16 hour day, 7 days a week.

20 years ago, I was still supervising the construction of the Jetty Complex in Kuah, Langkawi. This had to be finish before CHOGM (Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting) in 1987. I am a Civil Engineer by the way. My first daughter was just a year old and I had to look after her as my wife decided to further her carreer overseas in doing her MSc.

30 years ago, I was playing tennis for the school, did Tae Kwan Do to survive Ipoh School Life and played a bit of hockey. My bicycle keps getting stolen everytime I park at the YMCA for my tennis and Tae Kwan Do classes.

So, started life as a Civil Engineer, went into System Development, Network Security and Telco Management. Now doing a lot of Tai Chi............

Weekend Adventure

Wha Lau,

The journey to the Pearl of the Orient is going to be fun. Having had to preview some possible routes to the Interstate2007, I am so looking forward to this year bike ride. Looking at the list of 250+ cyclist, you cant but help feel the awesomeness of the journey and the potential fun along the way.

Had some sneak preview these weekend of the route, and it can be describe in one sentence, beautifully long rolling hills with little water stop. The route from Ipoh to Taiping is so serene, after Tanjung Rambutan, that I think many cyclist will find it fun. The route from Taiping to Bukit Mertajam is also challenging in more ways then one. U better fill up your bottle at every opportune town, if you don't want to be stranded.

Most important is the ride in Penang Island Balik Pulau area, this is very exciting, u think that u have conquered a hill of about 300 ft, but that is only a preview. The next hill of 600 feet is about to be attacked, but I leave it more to the participating cyclist...HURRAHHH

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Changing Forms - Fluid to Air to Fluids

As i sat down and started to read this interesting article that May Senn had written a bugging question came to my mind, when did I first loose the ability to swim. You must be thinking, "What an idiotic question this guy is asking?". Well, seriously folks, when did I loose my ability to swim?

You know, when u were small, no , not when u were babies, when you were way before u became babies, in my mother's womb, half of me were damn fast swimmers. We swam so fast that we hit this wall which happens to be the egg. Later, I then gain the ability to dive, without even using any breathing apparatus. I sit inside my mum's womb for 9 month inside a sac of fluids.

Then , the moment I came out into the world and started breathing air, I just had the fear of water. Now I cannot swim and cannot enter the triathlon. Can someone help me remember!!!

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Blog and Race Report - Mis-informations???

Sometimes ini Blog pun serupa weapon juga!!!!

Some people put information on Blogs as race reports to antagonize other friends....

Some people put race reports to side track other secret training.....

Some people put up race report to vent out anger and moan about dissatisfaction...

Some people don't put up race report at all to keep other people guessing...

Some people put up race report to gloat !!!

Some people put up race report...........................just for race report ;-)


Which one are U????

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Revisiting Malaysia's Gold Coast - Bagan Lalang

Total Distance MTDC to Bagan Lalang - 96.2 km
Average Speed going to Bagan Lalang - 29.3km/hr
Average Speed coming back from Bagan Lalang - 28.7 km/hr
Total Calories Burn - 3005 calories

This week, I have gone to Sepang twice and took a left turn to Bukit Pelandok and subsequently going to Telok Kemang, Port Dickson and today, I turn right at Sepang town to go to Bagan Lalang. We pushed off at 7:39 am and reached Sepang in just 65 minutes. Refuelling quickly in Shell while we wait for everyone to congregate (we were also joined by BoonFoo and team who came from Denkil), we then pushed off to Bagan Lalang for our breakfast feast. We reached Bagan Lalang in just 30 minutes.
bgnlallang-status
We had the usual nasi lemak and coconut water and pushed off back to Bangi at about 10:20 am. Wong and me had work out a plan to work coorperatively to take turn to pull ourselves back to Bangi. Not wanting to be drawn into the first peloton strategy of pulling everyone back at fast pace and exhausting some of the members, wong and me stayed back and paced ourselves at a comfortable 32 to 34km/hr. This strategy work like a charm and though both of us were fatigue from the ride the previous day, we managed to reached Bangi just before 12:00 afternoon.
bgnlallang-route-L1
Among the people who joined the ride today were Rafique, Shuey, William, Azam, Per Li, Don, James Bak and a few others which I did not get their name.
bgnllang-route-l2
Wong and me managed to overtake quite a few guys that was pushing themselves hard as this is part of their training for interstate. For Wong and me, it was more like s Interstate2007 simulation for consecutive day of cycling. This week, we had simulated 140km for first day and 96km for second.

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Bike Ride to PD - Sweeping everything

Total Distance MTDC to PD (Telok Kemang) - 138km
Average Speed going to PD 24.9km/hr
Average Speed coming back from PD 27.0km/hr
Total Calories Burn - 4062

Started from MTDC at 8 am after briefing by Azwar and Bacin. Kept company with Faie from MTDC to Sepang (mid point of journey to PD). After Sepang decide to speed up with the gang and chased the peloton of Dicky, Bernard, Stupe, Zabil, Bacin and Ishal. Only managed to catch up with Ishal, but during the catching up, along came Azwar and potong me like sayur. I think he must doing 60-70km/hr. Damn superman, that fella....
pd-sped-hrm-stats-crop
Congregate at rendevous point near Lukut. While heading for Telok Kemang, decide to keep Ishal and Faie company. Funny thing happen, Faie started to have some of her things "tercicir", started with Bottle cage, after that bottle, then sponge etc. This gives me new meaning in being a sweeper for the day.
pd-hr-elevn-crop-lap1
After meal in Telok Kemang, some of us the slower ones decided to push off about 2-3 minutes earlier. Bernard decide to set the pace of about 36 to 38km/hr and Farook, Adeline and me set out trying to gain as much distance as possible. Bernard was so fast that he decided to check out the route to Seremban while Farook, Adeline and me decide to go back to Sepang. About 5 km from Sepang, near Bukit Peladok, Zabil came from behind and overtook us at about 46-48km/hr. I decide to give Zabil a chase and kept behind him until we reached Shell. Little did I know that he can set such a pace since he has already called his wife to pick him up at Shell Sepang.
pd-hr-elevn-crop-lap2
That 5 km chase with Zabil cost me too loose a lot of energy and by the time we push of for MTDC Bangi, I cud only keep a pace of 30km/hr. If not for Sufian, who help me with alternate drafting, we would not have made good time back to Bangi. Upon reaching the parking area, got a call from Bernard to inform me that he had a puncture about 5km behind and I went back with my car to pick him up.

Overall, it was one hell of ride. Most enjoyable. Route review, most of the journey is rolling hills and flats. The only challenge is just after Sepang (ie km 37) where the landmark is Ladang Bukit Pelanduk, there is a hill climb. That hill climb is about 6km in distance.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Spartans.............

I dont't know whether to laugh or cry.....



Though this clip brings back many fond memories ;-)

Interstate2007 - Checklist

Wooohie....the list of participant is out and wow, so many familiar faces and names. So many girls going for this ride....wah lau eh...

Long rides is all about preparations. Anyway, checklist and tips for long rides like this (and lessons learnt from my ride to Penang) are:-

a) Water bottle and packed recovery drink powder - Done!!
b) Rehydration salts satchet - Done!!
c) Power Gel dispenser - Done !!
d) Tyre Lever and Spare Tubes - Done!!
e) Sun-Bloc - Done!!
f) Tools - Done!!
g) Spare handphone and walkie talkie (just in case no coverage) - Done!!

What else ahhh????

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Me as a SImpson

Here is how I look like as Simpson character

My precious BUFF

Sometimes when u have something like this, u take it for granted and do not appreciate it. This buff of mine symbolises a lot of things since it has a lot of use.


PIC-0091


For me, its one of the most precious things that I will keep and maintain its current state. But I sometimes wonder whether when u have something like this, would u use this with care or would you retain it and keep it for posterity

PIC-0090

The fact that there are multiple use of this BUFF and the way it can be used, I will never know. Above demonstrated in the photos are ways of using the BUFF. You can get more info from here