Trail Running anybody?

Bought this from the Net. Tried it and it feels nice and light. Now where am i gonna use this to test out its capability.
Surprisingly, its half the price if I were to get it from here

Community Service - Sweeping

In trying to recover from the GE Run, didnt do much sporting activities this week except for the BRICK in Putra Jaya on Thursday and a 3km jog on treadmill on Friday morning. So I decided to join PCC in their flattish Bagan Lalang ride. I had to open my big mouth to volunteer to sweep, and there lies my problem.

Firstly, I accidently left a rider Weina (wandernut) behind and only realised when we reached Sepang. I stopped by Sepang and Maysen Ariff asked me, "Have u seen Weina?". I quickly got on my bike and cycled backwards and met her 1 km behind. Feeling foolish, i kinda made notes to stick with her to and fro on the ride.

As we were on our way back from Bagan Lalang, another rider Annie got the cramps. We coax her to Petronas Salak and rested there for about 15 monutes. Just as we were out of Salak, she cramped again, this time so badly that her body was so stiff, that in order for her to get off her bike, we had to remove the front wheels and drop the frame down. We then had to lift her off her dropped frame and place her on the roadside. There she laid by the roadside and was unable to move. Constant massage from Weina couldnt get her muscle to relax. Time for us to hail a taxi back for her.

After about 20 minutes or so, we managed to hail a taxi and got her into the taxi. But the scene was comical but also pitiful. Try to stuff an unvolunteering body into a taxi with care ;-). With the sun on our back, Weina, Vong and me made ourselves back to MTDC and arrived about 40 minutes later. Some of the guys waited patiently for us and we really appreciated that. That 97km ride somehow feels like a 1++ km ride with us being in the sum for more then 6 hours.

I think i will stick to short ride for the time being. Quite an interesting week this has been. But I suppose, someone's got to sweep while others can enjoy their ride.

Great Eastern Run 20km

If you think cyclist get up early for their biking, think again. Runners get up earlier and are already on the road by 6 am for their running. Quite a memorable run for me as I manage to progress from my previous 10km to another notch of 20km.

Quite a fair bit of quotable quotes during and after the run which are words of encouragement for me:-

Anonymous before race - "There is a difference between Carbo Loading and making yourself fat for those legs to carry you, you know"
Hin Tong at the 6km mark - "Is that you Mac?...by god it is you"
AJ (MD of Malakoff) at 12km mark - "Come on young man, lets go.." as i slowed down to a walking pace.
Ariff (triathlete) at 12.5km on opposite side of road - "You are doing fine Mac"
Adrian at 13km - "See you at the finishing line"
Adeline at 14km on opposite site - "Is it far to the Petronas loop?", my response "Yes"
Sazly - Fitness Consultant @ 15km mark - 'There is only one way to face - forwards" as i stopped to stretch my calf
Ihshal by txt after race - "Don't worry, we all walk like crab today, avoid stairs"

Finished the 20km in a slow time of 3 hours and 15 min (unconfirmed) fully knackered. Ah well, at least I finished. Four memorable climbs of the race are:-
a) The 2km climb from JKR to Kenny Hill junction
b) The climb near Wilayah Mosque
c) The long climb near Plaza Damas and lastly
d) The small loop climb behind Petronas Hartamas.

The difference between cycling and running, even going downhill, u still need to run - no recovery. Thats what no training does to you, only thing that got me through it is some secret concoction that Bernard had recommended and Ihshal pass it to me.

Two massive body pounding events for the month of January, better slow down old boy.

Cameron Trip - Bike Cam

Here is the Video from my BikeCam of the Cameron Trip. The video is about 4min 39 sec. long.

The Test of Perserverence - Cameron Cycling Trip

What do u do, when an invitation comes to you to cycle from Simpang Pulai to Tapah to Tanah Rata via Ringlet and further on to Kampung Raja and back down to Simpang Pulai - a trip that is 182 kim in distance. Well, being one of two hill climbs that i have not done, i approached this ride cautiously. I too, have not been well having just recovered from a bout of Flu three times running, i said yes with much reservation. The only comfort that i had was from a close friend who had promised to support me in case i bonked out.

The assembly
There were approximately 70+ riders from all over major towns assembled at the Simpang Pulai junction from KOTRT, MKH, PCC, ATM and many others. Familiar faces were Adzim, Andrea, Vong, Laif, Kimbeley Yap, Ariff, Lim, Shahrin (KOTRT) and Adeline. Upon seeing so many strong and fast riders, my decision to come along was much regretted and my heart waned. Had it not been support from one friend, i would have chickened out.

The Route

The route essentially is a large loop which starts at the Simpang Pulai juntion, heading towards Tapah on the trunk road and heading towards Tanah Rata (Cameron Highland) and further towards Brincang and subsequently to Kampung Raja. Here, we will turn left back towards Simpang Pulai.

The trip to Tapah (start time 7:45 am) - distance 50km
Journey out to Tapah was conducted sanely only for a distance of 10km. The next 40km was done at a ridiculously fast 42-44km/hr pace. One thing that I learned from long distance cycling, never let others dictate your pace unless u wanna bonk out early. Pacing at a more reasonable and moderate 32-35km/hr with a handful of cyclist we made the 50km journey in about 1:30. The journey to Tapah town is through relatively flat route. We reached Tapah and convened at SHELL petrol station at the Tapah/Cameron junction.

The trip from Tapah to Ringlet - distance 46km
We pushed out from Tapah towards Ringlet at 10:45 and reached Ringlet at 1:30 pm where we had lunch at Ringlet and had our refills. I was really keeping m eye on the Garmin and was watching us climb a total distance about 1300m above sea level which translate to about 4200 ft by the time we reached Ringlet. Memorable thoughts about this stretch is the never ending climb into Ringlet, there seem no end and I don't remember any recovery area. There is only about 1 km of decent into Ringlet that i can enjoy.

The trip to Tanah Rata and Brincang - distance 19km
We pushed on at 2:00pm towards Brincang and it started drizzling about 5km before Tanah Rata. It seems that the rain had been waiting for us in Tanah Rata and was not able to overtake riders like Adzim and Andrea. There are those that got washed out by the rain and those that started before the rain came. For us, due to our slow speed, we were not quick enough to enjoy the washout and had to endure the tail end of the rain and had to enjoy it during our climb to Brincang and "down" to Kampung Raja. We reached a maximum altitude of 1633m (more then a mile in height). There are two killer climb of about 5%, one leading out of Ringlet to the Bharat Tea House and another just after Bharat Tea House. Each climb is about 3 km. Reached Kampung Raja at about 4:00 pm.

Brincang to Simpang Pulai (via Kampung Raja)- 65km
This was published as "going downhill" but alas was not (as can be seen from the ride profile that i had got from my Garmin). There are numerous climbs that we had to endure before really enjoying the downhill that was promised. with about 3 hours left, i was quite concern that we would not be able to make it home on time. But , with last drawn energy and some supply of PowerGel, we made it down and reached Simpang Pulai at 7:05 pm.

Ride statistics
Total Ascent - 2442 m
Max height - 1633m
Average speed - 20.4 km/hr
Maximum Speed - 58.2km/hr
Total Calories - 7281 cal

Post Mortem
I think, this is the toughest ride that i have done, even the ride to Broga is easy by this standards.Though I suffered while doing this ride, i would do it again albeit with better fitness level. But at least, that will erase this ride from my checklist and which leaves only the ride up to Genting as my last on the list of hill climbs that i need to do.

Acknowledgement
My thanks to the MKH group which was there behind me and their presence somehow give me comfort and concerned text and calls from Adzim, Ariff, Tham and Vong. Lastly, i would like to thank my ride buddy who was there for me always, Adeline.

2007 Roundup

2007 for me has been a year of Transition.

Carreer development
I have transited from an ISP to a Telco. Started working for a big Mobile Telco giant in February with objective of financing my daughters education. I also learn quite a fair bit of job ethics with this new company. The structure of a big company gives me more focus and helps me see my output a bit clearer.

Health and Sports
I have also transited from Gym based activities to Outdoor and mainly focussing on Road cycling interweaved with Mountain Biking. Early in the year, i have participated more in Time trials and a bit of disguised competition. Some memorable time trails have been the PCC ones organized by Adrian Holman and those by the Fakawi Tribe. Long rides tends to suit me fine as I ventured more toward rides that are greater then 150km such as Sungai Tengi ride and Broga/Klawang ride.

On the social biking event, i had participated in PCC organized rides such as the Interstate and ride for Life. For the Interstate, it was memorable for me since I had to be the briefing marshall and the MC for the dinner events. I was also the ride marshall for the riders to cross the Penang Bridge. One ride that I really missed out last year was the Century Ride, which i had to sacrifice due to some loved ones.

On the Mountain biking scene, i did a few HASH this year and participated in Presidential ride which i did not do that well, having to retire after a bruised ribs incident. That stop me from riding for almost three weeks.

Ironically, I picked up running this year and ventured into my first competition which is the Mizuno 10k run. Subsequently, towards year end i also participated in the Powerman sprint as progression from the Mizuno 10k run.

Food and Lifestyle
This year, i have been fortunate to try out and discovered three main eating place namely the Brazillian cuisine Carnaval, the Italian Boat House and the cafe Picadilly. They have become one of my normal hangout since for good food.

Personal
I have lost two close freinds this year namely Zubir and Hanapiah. Zubir I met during the Broga ride in April and Hanapiah is my good friend when we were working in MIMOS days. What trouble me was the manner that Zubir passed on.

Moving Forward
Prediction for the coming year 2008
Career - Retirement perhaps in 3rd quarter of 2008.
Health and Sports - More running and picking up swimming and Hill trekking
Personal - Spend more time with loved ones

10 Things that you can use a Condom for....

While on the ride for Life, we were given a sample each by the sponsors Durex a piece of Condom. While perplexedly looking at the sample, a good fren of mine related to me how she was told when she was small, that the the use of the condom was for people in the army to dispose of their feaces in times of battles so that it is more hygienic. She believed that story for more then 6 years.

Now, thinking of it, i thought to myself, there must be more ways to use the condoms other then the normal fun stuff like partying and balloon blowing and some of us came with rather unusual use of the condoms:-

a) Fill it with many 50 sen coins to make a weapon to whack perverts
b) PowerGel dispenser
c) Chain guard
d) Spectacle tie to prevent your spectacle falling
e) Extra Camel Back to carry water
f) Tyre Repair kit
g) Floats to help swimmers in Tria events
h) Water proof bag for your Nokia/Sonyerricson
i) Swim Cap
j) Aero bar comforter

Actually there were a few more but cannot be published here ;-). I wonder if you have a few more suggestions.

Last Major Event of the Year

Last year, middle of December, The LeTua team and me decided to go to the Penang Pesta to compete in the annual Penang Pesta round island race and criterium. That was part of LeTua training programme prior to Jelajah Malaysia and Le Tour deLangkawi. We cycled to Penang and back. This year, i chicken out and decided to "support" my friends in the Penang Pesta race and excused myself to drive the support car.

I drove the support car in carrying drinks for Dennis, Vong, Azhar, PK and family. This is part of the documentary of the ride round the Penang Island using my new toy ( a helmet videocam)

Ride for Life - Route Profile

I am not sure how this is published and considered and descibed as "Mostly Flat" for the first day route.

The second day ride started of as flat but become a bit of rolling hills

Recovery Ride for charity - Ride for Life

Having had a bad bruised rib injury during Presidential Mountain bike ride, i decided to lay low and gave biking a good rest. I was off almost two weeks of biking until the call for charity came in. The Aids "Ride for Life" from Putra Jaya to Melaka event and this took place on the 1st and 2nd December 2007. The route will take us approximately 100km from Putra Jaya to Port Dickson on the first day and followed by another 100km from Port Dickson to Melaka Mahkota Parade.
The ride itself was organized by PCC and in typical ala Interstate event management, the ride was published as mostly flat. Having being in the PCC for quite sometime, i was apprehensive looking at this definition. Now, let us refer to Andreas dictionary of PCC ride definition which were as follows:-

PCC route description interpretation: -
100km – anywhere between 100km to 120km
Mostly flat – expect some big ass climb
Flat route – average >40km/h
Short cut – 3km shorter

True to that definition, we did get to ride some big ass climb, but to make matter worse, since it was a coastal road, the headwind facing you were damn strong. Can u imagine going downhill at 31km per hour and you still had to pedal just to maintain that speed. So my addition to Andreas's dictionary is:-

Mostly flat and coastal road - Expect a shitty exhausting ride.

The first day of ride was fun since everyone was eager and had tons of energy, I had adrenaline pumping trying to recover from helping out Kim with her puncture just out of Salak and trying to catch up with the main peloton after loosing 10 minutes. While helping out Kim, seeing friends from the triathlon group passing by was very comforting as they pass by shouting my name. Only managed to catchup with the main peloton group only at Lukut. Shout out to Adzim, Dicky , Stupe and gang for just being there.

I didn't really enjoy the second day ride due to some riders were not willing to work as a team and lane discipline within peloton was horrendous. Some people just want to draft and suck u dry and were criss crossing in the peloton. Nevertheless, since we were the second main peloton, we had outriders escorting in front and ambulance in the rear ala "Tour de langkawi". At one point we were quite fast until there wasn't enough police to escort us up in the coming junction that we were asked to stop and rest at the second checkpoint.

The company was extremely good, Vong, Adeline, Ihshal, Bernard, Kim, Ariff, May Senn, Joanne, Annie and Chin Hoe was excellent company. We shared many interesting conversation which made this ride a truly blessed holiday. Anyway, congrats to the team from ABN-AMBRO who send in a team of 17 riders and having sponsored the event big time. MAC cosmetic was the other major sponsor.

Will publish ride profile later and photos of the event once I get my hands on them.

Presidential Ride - The movie of Loop 1 and 2

Those that prefers the Moving Picture version...........



You can catch some Traithlete and PowerMan in this movie as well ;-)

Presidential Ride

Reminders by the powers that be can be a humbling experience. You think that this will be your second long major ride, and you think you had your bases covered. You think that you have inherited a wonderful front shocks for your mountain bike makes you more confident. You think that being more experience and baby sitting a newbie will make the ride easy and laughable. ALL WRONG.

What could go wrong, have gone wrong. Lets start with the injuries, i have scratches and cut from falls from face to toe. I had a tumble in Loop 1 which causes my Spectacles to cut my cheek, I had a major crack in my crown jewels (read nuts) trying to bunny hop in early loop2. I had a major tumble in Loop 2 which causes me to have a bruised ribs, which will take me of biking for a month. I had to walk back nearly 4 kilometer with pain because I could no longer slouch over the handle bar. Thanks to those that help me with my bike nearing Loop2.

Ironically, the day before in FRIM, i found that the bike handled extremely well with the new FOX shocks and I was chuckling to myself watching Adeline trying to handle the simple FRIM trails. Now she has the last laugh having to wait 25 minutes for me at Checkpoint 2. I think I had it coming though and my biggest failure was not listening to Bernard's advice in changing the rear tires as my rear was slipping uncontrollably in the single track.

Anyways, the day started well with a congregation of more then 800 riders. This should have made into the Malaysian World Records Book though.

And the customary "Mari Tolak Basikal" and jam into the first hill climb, a single track.

Its no surprise that they call this hill climb the "Bitch Hill", don't ask me why?

I am hanging up my bike for the month and rest. Won't be biking nor excercising for this month though.

Review Notes on Duathlon

What are the lessons learnt
Duathlon is a sport about preps in equipment, run, biking and transition.

Equipment Prep,
Running Shoes - Choose wisely. My first running shoes that I use for training does not suit me zilch. The Nike SHOX causes me knee pain, the change to the Pearl Izumi help me a lot. Thanks Terry for the loaner.
Nutrition Management - Remember to mix a lot more salt in your water bottle and keep spare if required. There is no such thing as enough water and salt. Note to self: Bring powerGel in bike jersey and not in bag.
RFID Chip - Remember when u run, your leg expand, leave a bit of room for the leg to expand when tying the RFID chip less you want to experience cramp early

Run
Keep to your own pace and not try to follow some race bunny that you do not know. In second run, try to walk briskly if you cannot run. Take ur time at water and banana stop to refill especially if you forget to bring your Powergel. Run more, try to keep 5 km under 30 minutes. Need to loose more weight though.

Biking
Remember not to confuse your number straps and your bike jersey pocket when trying place your pump, pit stop and other biking paraphernalia. Verify before moving bike off. Put your biking glove where u can see them not in ur bag - sheeeesh

Transition
Recover while you are walking out, not at transition. Seating around and staring at people does not help. Rolling on grass trying to fend of cramps is definitely a no no. What were you thinking wasting more then 3 minutes for each transition. Target to cut down transition to less then 2 minutes next time round (if there is going to be a next time)

A Humbling Holiday Experience - Powerman2007

The day started reasonably well, though i didn't have much sleep though - anxiety attack maybe. Went into the transition area and could find my rack number, seem that the rain had washed away the number markings, not a good start to the day, i thought.

We made ourselves onto the start line, the elites and the OD started off first at 7:30am . Our sprint section is to start at 7:50am, as some of us were waiting there bubbly like the Powerpuff girls. We were let off at 7:50 sharp and I made my usual 7-8km per hour pace following PK and Margaret (my Gym Buddy). We reached the transition for bike after about 40 minutes. We then pushed off for the 32km bike section. This was covered in about 1 hour 5 mins. Then the screw up happen, I cramped at T2 while trying to put my road shoe on, and I was rolling on the grass in agony and had to calm myself down for about 3-4 minutes.
After that, i just couldn't run anymore, but not wanting to let myself down this way, took stride to the drinking station and had a banana and drinks as I hobbled to the next drink station. I had no choice but to ask the medics to give me a anti cramp spray as I had to walk another 3km before the finished line. I finished eventually in about 2 hour 45 minutes (according to my watch). Will have to wait for official timing to see the final results. It was a good first outing though for me, nonetherless.
I cannot blame some of the participant though, this is how I also felt after finishing the race.

Addendum (Official results out)
First Leg Run (5.5km) - 36.22 s
T1 - 3.18 s
Bike Stage (32km) - 1 hr 04:50
T2 - 3.06 s (including all the guling and cramps)
Second Leg Run (5km) - 53.21 s
Total : 2 hours 40m 59s

A Holiday we will go.....

Its been sometime that I have been to a holiday, so packing up my stuff is a bit of a chaotic event but nevertheless, a holiday we will go to LUMUT. The PCC boys and girls (Don, Andrea, Soh, Wai Lam, Ivan, Annie, Glenn, William and xxx) decided to join us by cycling to Lumut to see Powerman.

They left at 4 am in the morning. Thinking and estimating that they might reach manjung at about 1 pm, i pushed off at 8 am and had planned to catch up with them at Sabak Bernam. Alas, with all the road blocks and also at the speed they were going, Joe, PK and me caught up with them near Telok Intan junction. Joe decided to give them drafting services into Lumut and Manjung.

Here is the video captions as we are going into Manjung.


We arrived in Manjung at 12:30 and managed to check into Lead View Hotel soon afterwards. The Lunch near Lumut Port was heavenly and we then recce the road bike course soon afterwards.

Deepavali - Festival of Light "headed"

I am so going to suffer. Having turned down other frens request in doing the 200km ride to Frasers Loop, i went to do some private simulation in Kota Damansara of a Run_bike_Run. Outcome: I might as well walk and enjoy the Lumut sprint meeting frens and have a party.

Why: I suffered the first run, went wobbly on the bike and no power on the bike and when i wanted to run again in the second part, my legs were wonky uncooperative. Brain say - run, legs says - are u nuts? I pity this puny legs is trying to carry this sack of potato body for 10 over km and watching all the kids do the Terry Fox run without even much of training makes me rethink my position. Ah well, lets go through the mill and be done with it.

Lessons learnt - Shoes make hell of a difference, i changed from one of the well known brand to another of the Japanese make, it removed the pain from my knee. But, because of the absence of pain in the knee, now I have pain all over the body, screaming for me to stop this torture. Stamina says go, body says "we are having a shutdown today".

Moral of story - Who is going to party with me in Manjung?

Anyway, leaving KL on Saturday morning to accompany as support car to some 9 PCC riders who will be riding to Lumut Saturday morning. They will be providing moral support on Sunday though.

Pushing the Envelope

When i first rediscovered sports last year, i couldn't even climb a flight of staircase without feeling tired and wheezing about. I told myself, u need to take it one step at a time and try out new challenges. After all, u are already 45 and there may not be enough years for you to enjoy a bit of healthy lifestyle.

I also remembered being teased by the coach of L2A cycling team when I told him that I have not trained enough to cycle from KL to Penang and I will not be ready to ride that distance. He chastised me saying that, "Its all in your mind, when will there be enough training, if you do not try to test your envelope". Actually, come to think of it, what is enough training, if you are competing with yourself.

With that, i decided to test out new challenges every year and try out new things. Last year was the year of Cycling. This year, I ventured into running when i ran my first 10k in the Mizuno Run. I have never run anything beyond 5 k at that time.

I am already feeling very nervous about the coming Powerman this Sunday. I do get teased for doing only the Powerman Sprint this year as many thought that its a joke for me to do the sprint as I should have taken the Full. I will get remarks like, "What la you, training pergi Cycle to Broga buat 140km, tapi buat Sprint saja". My response to them is that is that, " I am just competing with myself and have nothing to prove to my friends". The way I see it is that: Cycling-->Run 10k--->Run 10.5k+Bike 32k---->future. Anyhow, I need to recover for Presidential ride which is the week after.

I wonder what I will try out next year, its a toss up between swimming and mountain climbing I suppose. Seems that I have committed to go to Kinabalu first quarter next year.

Tiring Weekend of FUN

Saturday 3rd November 2007

Got up at about 5:40, shites..i am late for my Saturday morning ride to Broga. Got off my back and rushed my bike, nutrition and was on the road by 6:20 am. Met the guys at the dewan at Batu 14. Azwar decided to grace us with his new black tri bike all gleaming with Ultegra SL equipment, and the thot of a fast ride makes me tired just thinking about it.
The usual suspect of Azwar, Adzim, Bacin, Dicky, Ariff, MaySenn, Adeline, Andrea , Azhar, Ihshal and myself pushed off for Peres. We met Shazly and Ngae up on Peres just before 9:00 am. Shazly and Dicky turned back at Peres and we continued our journey down to Klawang (actually I forgot that there are two more small hills before Klawang). We reached Klawang Petronas at 10:10 am. Had our replenishment and we then pushed off for Bukit Tangga and then to Broga. We however did a pit stop at Lenggeng for lunch at about 12:00. That must have been the best maggi sup ever. (What was a 2 minit mee took like 15 minutes to prepare).

Being the back marker, we managed to catchup with Ihshal who nearly got lost in Semenyih town. While along the way, MaySenn,Ihshal and me had voted to take the stairway to Heaven route to Batu 14, cutting the 152km journey to about 140km. As we were passing Tekala, we were hailed by Azwar/Bacin and team to stop by for nasi lemak.

We then unanimously agreed to take the Stairway to heaven route going to Batu 14 and we reached the car at about 3:10pm. The meter clocked 139.2 km. I was feeling knackered and the thought of rushing to Armada to pick up the Powerman goodie bag looks daunting.

Sunday 4th November 2007

Got up late again and checked my hand phone, received a text from Maysenn, "Are we doing double hill warm up before Terry Fox run", "nope, my knee is in pain" - i responded.

Went to picked up Adeline and we then made our way to Taman Tasik Perdana and saw Ariff, Jaja and Maysenn already parked. We then pushed up and did the Terry Fox run in reverse route as warm up before the actual run. I think we kinda covered about 4.5 km.

As figured, when the run proper actually started, it was dodging the people occasion with the start going on a slight uphill near the deer park. I have never seen so many people in my life. Met many old frens from the Gym, research days and the PCC cyclist. The most exciting occasion was yet to come, which was the replenishment of carbo at the nasi lemak stall after that. Damn, what a tiring weekend, but ......FUN.

Surprise - NOT!!!!

As i drove into the parking lot of Picadillly, i spotted Adzim's car in thecar park. Adzim, this side of town on a Friday nite, something is amiss, spotted Joanne's car and also Andy. Hah..I am being setuped.

Anyway, thanks guys for the birthday bash, really appreciate the thought and gesture. Its quite sometime that some did something as thoughtful as this.

Really appreciate that nite of fun, thanks Adzim, Andrea, MaySenn, Annie, Andy, William, Vong, Bernard, Adeline, WongCC and last but not least Joanne.

Condolences

On a sad note, my old friend Hanafiah Abdullah from the time we worked in the Open Source space passed away due to stroke. He was about my age and was acredited to be one of the most brilliant enginner that I have had the pleasure of working with. He was responsible in designing the first Malaysian 16 bit chip (1994) and the compiler that came together with that chip. He later setup his own company called Axiomatic.

Hectic Week (Past)

Training
The week started with my first jog of the year after Mizuno. Did 3 rounds in Kiara Park on Monday and I feel as if my lung was about to burst. Repeat that on Tuesday nite while extending the route to KLGCC and back. Just to have a feel what it was going to be like during Powerman, carried on with the guys on the Tuesday nite ride. It was suffering all the way, but good.

Didn't do anymore training until Sunday, where i decided to take a short ride since I was tired from the long trip to Gerik and my brothers Wedding

Time Spent with family
Had family gathering on Wednesday nite to resolve whatever last minute arrangement for my lil brothers wedding reception to be held at Tabung Haji. It was a closed private affair and we rehearsed it with the MC and family members. The reception on Saturday went like clockwork from the moment I reached Tabung Haji at 10 am until we finished it at 5 pm.

Sent wifey to KLIA for her 1 month stint in Japan while collected my maid back from Indonesia.

Out Station Work
Went to Grik on Friday. Didnt realize that the road to Grik has been improved tremendously. Put up the nite in Ipoh, and started the journey from Ipoh at 6:30. Reached Grik at 8:00 am and waited for event to start at 10:00 am. Rushed back from Gerik at 12:00 pm and reached KL at 5:30 pm after stopping for prayers and short nap.

Conclusion
The week went very fast, damn I have to taper of training now for Power Man. Hang on, I haven't started training, how can I taper off.!!!!Looks like my Power Man and Presidential is DOOMED...

Time Investment Schedule for this week

Outlook for this week....

Out of the 168 Hours that I have for the week, let see how the time apportionment will be. This is my plan for the week.

Work = 60 Hours
Sleep = 42 Hours
Family = 18 Hours
Food = 14 Hours
Excercise & Workout = 15 Hours
Networking & Friends = 7 Hours
Personal = 12 Hours

Let see how this goes to plan.

Managing and Planning for Nutritions on Long Rides

A lot of riders thinks cycling is about strength and speed. It might be true in short distance ride of 50km or less, but on rides of 80km or more, nutrition management is very important and preparation for this kind of ride is very important. In the recent ride, I watched quite a few gung ho riders (who may have thought they are strong) cycle with very little care for drinks and eating. You can see the fatigue and tiredness sets in on the 100km mark especially when some joker decides to "test" some of the cyclist in the peloton with 50km/hr dash into Ijok. Strong headwind sometimes does not help as well, when u are pacing at 32-34km/hr.

On long rides, it is good to have two bottles of drinks, one bottle with energy/recovery drink while the other with plain water. This has to be consumed at a rate of one or two sip every 10-15 minutes. It will also be good to have carbo loading either in the form of the 50 sen bun every hour or so or at stopping station. Always remember that as rides gets into the late morning towards afternoon, your body tends to loose a lot more water and the water bottle need to be filled up more often.

If you eat or drink when your are tired, you are already drinking/eating too late and this will affect your performance. In some cases, this can bring onset of cramps and this will be most difficult to recover from. Do bring a sachet of powergel/or powerbar in case of emergency.

Cycling is about keeping constant pace, having to slowdown and speed up waste energy, so try to minimise changes of speed. Manage and plan your nutrition on long rides please.

Sour and Sweet

I feel helpless and depress when in hospital.

I spend 4 hours watching two extended relatives of mine in hospital admitted due to cancer. My wife's' biological mother and her biological brother lying there in the hospital bed and for once, I was lost for words. The brother (according to the doctor) is terminal due to the spread of cancer from the face to the brain, while the mother just had her colons removed also due to cancer. I can see that this event had visibly shaken my wife.

I owe this family quite a lot as they took pains to track down their lost sister 10 years ago and took her in without questions. The brother has been a pillar of strength in supporting all the brother and sisters through colleague and life and it is such a shame to watch him there helpless.

The ironic part of it is that, what do you say to people who is there on their back suffering the ordeal. Looking at them straight in the eye also bothered me, as I stood there feeling helpless and not knowing how to help.

On a happier note, my brother had just got married to a Kuantan girl. Its a simple ceremony and watching him prepare, makes me thing of my own challenges 22 years ago. He was pale with nervousness the day before in anticipating the "juru nikah's" questions. It went through with quite a breeze and we are all happy for him.

Someone fail Maths

Puasa has just finished and I am back looking for rides that i can do to get back into training. Naturally, look into the PCC newsletter, I came across the Tar and Grime section where there was a ride anouncement that this weekend, PCC is conducting a 100km ride and its starting at 7 am. Now that starting time causes me to be a bit weee suspicious.

Fireup my GPS Mapsource programme and started searching for the route. If my memory serve me correctly, the ride to Ijok Petronas is already about 40km since it is a common popular mid point. Using the Mapsource, and asking it to calculate the route point and lo and behold, the journey to Kampung Kuantan loop is going to be about 38km. Now how does 40+38+40 make up to be 100km.

Dang, some riders are gonna be in a surprise mode this weekend. Be warned of bonus mileage.

Watching to much Numbers and Criminal Mind

Does your biking attire reflect your personality?

When someone suits up in a T-Shirt riding a racing bike, what does that tell about that person's personality? Does colour of cycling jersey give indication of their personality when cycling - do people with loud color have louder personality then people who rides with dull blend colour. Looking around the cyclist that I meet around the Klang Valley seems to indicate there is such correlation.

Does it matter whether you come around from a culture of Mountain Biking as oppose to road cycling? As one moves into a triathlete domain, do people change in their character?

Duh..this is what lazing around and eating a lot during Raya does for my little under worked brain.

LOOOOOOONNNNNGG THINK

This SMS reached my phone "Lxxx masuk wad kat pantai, on drip". God, I have neglected my close friends. It is not so much that his son is in hospital, but that I am guilty of not catching up with some of my close friends who have stood by me through some of life challenges in previous times. How has it come to this, for him to text me of his son's condition. I should have been the one that catches up on news of his family and stuff.

I suppose it is that time of year nearing Hari Raya Aidil Fitri that I get a bit ponderous. But there is validity in my concern since I seem to have been concentrating on friends that is doing biking and health rather then those who were in IT and Telecommunication. Is it time, is it business or is it just plain excuses. We have a choice and I have chosen not to execute it. Sheeeshh.... I hope i can be fair to everyone soon.

So, to all my friends and running up to this Hari Raya, I seek forgiveness and understanding from all of you.

Maaf Zahir Batin and Selamat Hari Raya

Bantus Capoeira - Chilling Out

I was invited out by Bernard and normally on Sundays, I tend to stay in after fasting. It was however a slow day and very uneventful Sunday, and believing in the principles of Carpe diem (Latin - Sieze the day), i obliged and went out to Laundry at Curve to watch and get to know Brazilian Culture through Bantus Capoeira.

Bantus Capoeira is a mix of Martial Art, Music, dance and Acrobats. Originally I was quite apprehensive, but after spending about an hour watching, I totally have new respect for these people. Though I am a martial art proponent of Tae Kwan Do and sparring is not new to me, these guys movement is so fluid with mixture of strength and flexibility.

As they say, a picture says a thousand words, watch this clip courtesy of Bernard.

The PIZZA Man

Sometimes it takes leadership and dicipline to break a routine and look into the social aspect of bringing people together. We are so commonly rule by schedule and routines that we forget the basics of friendship and human networking. A case in point is the get together organized by Shazly last saturday at his house in Ukay Perdana. Though it look easy to organize and get people together, but sometimes, there are no shows.

In our zest of finding time to divide our spiritual activity and exercises activity in our current busy schedule during Ramadan, this "servant of god" (hamba Allah) has got some of together at his house for potluck and get together. I take off my hat to him, it gives me a jolt and reminder that there is more to life then exercises, cycle, prayers, sleep and going to work. I have not invested enough time to catchup and expand my horizon with people.

Put some faces to people who I knew in Cyberspace like Mejar Kalam, Nurina, Abu, Mary and Kam. Others present were the usual suspect of Azwar, Ariff, Senn, Adzim, Ajeep, Azmar,Laif and Jaja. I may have left one or two names which I did not get to get (hear), sorry.

Overall, it was a nice get together and was a difficult decision on some of our parts to continue to Putra Jaya for our usual 10:30 pm ride. Our butts were having a nice get to know session with the chairs at Shazly's house (as Senn puts it) and we find it hard to extricate ourselves off the chair.

LOVE is knowing when to walk away............

For me LOVE is about trust and trust is created by depositing actions in each others emotional Bank Account. Sometimes LOVE is about walking away...much reminded by someone to me when I received this story in my mailbox.

There was once this guy who is very much in love with his girl. This romantic guy folded 1,000 pieces of paper cranes as a gift to his girl. Although, at that time he was just a small fry in his company, his future didn't seem too bright, they were very happy together. Until one day, his girl told him she was going to Paris and will never come back. She also told him that she cannot visualize any future for the both of them, so they went their own ways there and then... Heartbroken, the guy agreed. But when he regained his confidence, he worked hard day and night, slogging his body and mind just to make something out of himself. Finally with all the hard work and the help of friends, this guy had set up his own company..You never fail until you stop trying.

One rainy day, while this guy was driving, he saw an elderly couple sharing an umbrella in the rain walking to some destination. Even with the umbrella, they were still drenched. It didn't take him long to realize they were his girl's parents. With a heart in getting back at them, he drove slowly beside the couple, wanting them to spot him in his luxury sedan. He wanted them to know that he wasn't the same any more; he had his own company, car, condo, etc. He made it! What he saw next confused him, the couple was walking towards a cemetery, and so he got out of his car and followed...and he saw his girl, a photograph of her smiling sweetly as ever at him from her tombstone and he saw his paper cranes right beside her...

Her parents saw him. He asked them why this had happened. They explained, she did not leave for France at all. She was ill with cancer. She had believed that he will make it someday, but she did not want to be his obstacle... therefore she had chosen to leave him.

Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. She had wanted her parents to put his paper cranes beside her, because, if the day comes when fate brings him to her again...he can take some of those back with him... Once you have loved, you will always love. For what's in your mind may escape but what's in your heart will remain forever. The guy just wept...The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside her knowing you can't have her, see her or be with her ever again.........hope you understand.

Find time to realize that there is one person who means so much to you, for you might wake up one morning losing that person who you thought meant nothing to you.

Rediscovering Food

Found this interesting place near Millennium Place near Jaya Supermarket . The Bistro type Cafe is called Picadilly. It was introduced to me by my RPM instructor last month. Have been to this place quite a few times with various frens and they seems to share the same favoured enthusiasm of the food and environment here.

The food selection kinda reminds me of Strawbery Fields near Menara MPPJ and so is the price. But what is amazing is the quality of the food here. The Briyani preparation here kinda reminds me of the Briyani that I use to have in the UK near Paddington Station. Very spicy.

These are some samples of the Chicken preparation of the starter course. Very tasty.

This is one of the Salad on the menu which I ordered and Salads always reminds me of my daughter's favorite food which she use to order when we go out. Overall, its a fantastic place to hang out. Recommended

Nocturnal Creatures

Bored with non cycling.....lets do it at night
Where: Putra Jaya , Taman Warisan
Time : 10:00 pm Saturday Nite
People: Senn, Jaja, Shazly, Bacin, Adzim (who got lost coming to Taman Warisan), Ihsal, Farook and few others

Route Distance = 28km per loop
Pictures of CK, Ihshal and his DYMM, and May Senn (Jaja in background)
Took just about 1 hour for the loop, quite interesting. Senn, Jaja, Ihshal, me and Shazly decided just to do one loop where the rest decided to go for another 50% more.

Preview of PCC Presidential Ride this year - MTB Event

Presidential ride is just round the corner and I haven't had time to even review, whether I have enough guts or little skill I have to go down all those downhill and narrow switchbacks. Last year , with adrenalin pumping and the innocence of adventure, I went in and attempted almost all the downhill portion. (maybe also becoz malu in front of so many girls la). This was last years report. My MTB is still under surgery with the fork rosak. Need to put in some mileage before this traumatic 60km ride. 60km in trails is equivalent to 180km on road.

Ling the Merciless has documented this well during last years Presidential Ride. Look at that downhill stretch before the end of video. That's towards the end of Loop3 which I had to literally and physically crawl out. I have never seen so many people cramp out before.

Angela Gray also covered it well from a Singaporean perspective here. This year, its going to be tougher with earlier cut off times and the expected time for average rider to come in is at 3 pm. At 3pm, i was still stuck in Loop3 last year due to an over inflated ego and not taking enough water. This year the organizer is capping registration at 600 and within 1 week of registration opening, there are already 200 applications. I think the registration may close sooner then the date due which is end of October.

Going through my checklist for the Presidential ride, lemme see:-
Bike - Not ready
Rider - Not ready
Skill - Where is it?
Registration - Done
Spares and Tools - Rat bitten

Summary - YAHOO - All set for Presidential Ride then - FOR ME TO DOOM-

Cycling Around Batu Arang

Those interested to cycle around Batu Arang town will perhaps want to have some preview of the route and nice terrain of cycling in that part of Selangor. This is one of PCC most enjoyable route. Many cyclist also like this route due to the rolling hills and low traffic volume and not to mention some breath taking view and smell ;-).

Tueday Nite Ride Tulips

Ariff (the Tuesday Nite Ride Goup leader) did drop me a note to request that perhaps I can help out by reproducing the Tulips and Direction for the Tueday Nite ride for newbies to refer. Hence, herewith attached is the Ride Direction.

Ride Direction and Tulips - Destination Batu Arang and Back

I thought I would like to spend some time this Puasa month trying to help fellow cyclist by producing ride route direction and Tulip signs for some of the more favourite ride around the Klang Valley.

The following are route direction for rides that starts from Center Point:-

Heading for Batu Arang
a) Center Point to Batu Arang via Kuang (47.5 km one way)

b) Center Point to Batu Arang via Batang Berjuntai/Selangor Fruit Farm ( 69.5 km one way)


Coming back from Batu Arang
a) Batu Arang to Center Point via Guthrie Corridor (42.5 km one way)

b) Batu Arang to Center Point via Puncak Alam (53.3 km one way)

Morning Rituals

7 days of fasting and its now becoming a ritual of coming down at about 4:45 am , sitting down at the table, starring at food on the table and your eyes, mind, stomach and body is having a debate of what to do.

Pick up that rice and curry (Mind says)
Huh (retort body)
Can we go to
the toilet first (says stomach)
Take a drink first then (says mind)
I dowant, I protest, am not awake yet (says hand)

Debate goes on and on for 15 minutes.............

Collection of Photograph of Interstate2007

These are some of the collection of photographs that I have managed to come across relating to the Interstate2007. This one is courtesy of Endorphin Addict who seems to have tons of storage while another is by Linden

Enjoy the photos

Rejuvenated

I will take any positive initiative though limited as long as it makes me very happy. Something is better then nothing ;-)

Cleaning up of Database

It is that time of year again, I am cleaning up my contact database. I normally categorize my contacts in the following manner:-
a) Adopted relatives - These are buddies that I can rely upon and willing to help me physically and financially, we commonly engage in some form of contact once every few days either by text or otherwise. I can also share some form of secret.
b) Buddies - These are often contacted people which I have some form of engagement either virtually or physically at least once a week and can be relied upon for assistance.
c) Friends - People who engage with me in a two way conversation once every month or so and have met and did some projects.
d) Acquaintance - People who I just met and have no knowledge of their background but I need to have their contact in my address book for business.
e) Strangers - People whom I have no knowledge but calls me out of the blue.

I only keep in my address book (a) to (d) only. Some have been in communicado for ages and and I have relegated them to an (e) and my immediate thots is to remove them from the address book. As I will be changing my mobile number soon, I need to copy some of these critical numbers to the SIM card and I would like to apologize if u have been relegated to an (e) as I noticed some of the contacts in my SIM card have not been useing for ages and neither have been contacting me at all (for all u know, these numbers are aready invalid).

Bad Thursday

Started with a tremor on Thursday morning, I thought I was feeling dizzy at my desk watching the Computer Monitor, then the walls and window pane started creaking repeatedly. The admin secretary, shrieked...lets go down, its an earthquake. I quickly follow suit and we were down at the front of the building soon afterwards.

Promised to meet up Adzim for RPM at Cikgu Joanne's class later in the evening. Had that cancel, why? Was driving to CyberJaya and don't know what happen, feel asleep at the wheels and bumped into a car at the traffic lights.

What a bad Thursday, feeling so foolish after that, decide to lope around and reduce danger by hanging out at the car repair shop and later to watch some bicycle frames at bike shop. ARRRGGGGHHHH...need to watch my sugar level, maybe.

Pondering and Reflecting

I remember last year this time round, my main objective was just to gain back my health. I use to not be able to climb staircase, wheezing about and dropping of to sleep while driving due to constricted oesophagus. Now, it seems that I am not only doing regular gymming, riding outdoor, going for long rides and even attempt to run the 10km. Have I changed my objective? Have I forgotten my original intent in this journey to health?

Is this a typical syndrome of human inadequacy or the need for more?

I can't help but ponder on my future decision...

10km Run - a dedication to torture

Having never ever run outdoor beyond 4 km, i was beginning to regret my decision to ATTEMPT to run 10km pacesetter route. My regret later was subdued having to see so many familiar faces like Phoebe, Ashley and Kimberly. Having also support from dear friends such as Joanne, Andy, Adeline, Bernard and Wong was very heartwarming. Bernard and May Senn had gatecrashed. Met Jaja and chief Kutu as well.

However, i would like to dedicate this run and finishing medal to May Senn, who was my race bunny, race coach and such a dear friend who stuck by me coaxing, cajoling and motivating me to run and not walk even on the hills. Although I had tried to sneak in under the 1 hour 30 minutes that Bernard had set, I just managed 5 minutes beyond that cut off time.

Having not known what to expect, I set a pace of between 6km to 7km per hour in the first 5km. I reached the first 5km mark at about 40 minutes and was hoping to duck in under the mark. Unfortunately, by the 8km, my legs became wobbly and felt as if it would not support me anymore. May Senn step up and coaxed me to set small targets, like "let chase that guys in red shorts, if we can pass the girl in the blue 69 T-Shirt...".

Reaching the finished line, Adeline, Wong, May Senn and Bernard was kind enough to run together with me to the finish line as a mark of support. Thank you dear friends, I don't know how to repay your kindness.

Actually, I was kinda surprised to be able to finished the run without cramping out earlier. My original target was to see what kilometer mileage I will cramp out so that I can decide whether to do the Powerman Sprint or full distance.

Recover Ride to Tekala

Decided to go to the ride organized by Adzim and Bacin. They have decided to go to Broga, while Bernard and me decided to have a short ride to Tekala and back to Batu 14. Upon reaching there and seeing the crowd, i think the decision was a wise one seeing that all the riders that turn up are either mutant or triathlete minus me. I was also about to do my first 10km run the next day, and was not that keen to go anything more then 60km.

True enough, Bernard and Kim set a beeline to Tekala at a 35km/hr pace. Adzim and Ariff, not willing to take the bait stayed back at a more leisurely pace of 30 - 32km/hr, (he kinda whispered to Ariff, you know those guys are only going to Tekala). Some who followed us, we don't know how that would have fared after Tekala and Broga.

Had our nasi lemak at Tekala and pushed back to Batu 14, this time round going stairways to heaven route. Bernard, Alwin and myself were later joined by Kim Yap who also decided to do just 90km that day for another mee session at Batu 14. Went back at about 11 am to collect my bib number for the Mizuno Wave Run.

I have become Comfortably Numb

That's the feeling that I get after going with the PCC boys and girls in our Biking Holiday from Ipoh, Taiping, Kulim, Bukit Mertajam, Penang Bridge, Balik Pulau and Telok Bahang. The Pink Floyd song kept ringing in my ear as I struggle to finish the last leg while looking for the hotel.

But what can I say about the Interstate2007, its sheer fabulous.

Day 1 Route - Route was excellent, 150km the first day, with just a minor climb at Bukit Berapit. But pace was fast - averaging 30km/hr. Forgot about the small hill climb before Kuala Kangsar though. Had to do three refuel stop, one at kilometer 60, 80 and another at kilometer 110 (ie before the climb). Company was good, notably May Senn and Joanne kept company until Air Kuning and subsequently into Taiping Golf Resort. Arrived at Taiping just about 1 pm.

Day 2 Route - Lead the group out of Taiping Golf Resort, panicked a little for about 20km or so as there was almost 100 eager cyclist dong an average 40km/hr and blocking the whole one and half lane of the road causing jam. Everyone was anticipating the hill climb at 39 km mark, many underestimated the climb and had to push. Went up and down and was breezing with the KOTRT guys at 40km/hr speed upto the 52km mark. Speed went down to average 30km/hr from Selama to the Mahang junction. Nearly bonked due to the heat that day and body overheating. Had it not been due to May Senns' ingenuity of drenching me with a bottle of cold mineral water, I might have to sleep it of somewhere near there. In true friendship and support, she kept company and help me get back to BM (the last 30km). Still managed to reach the Summit Hotel at about 1 pm.

Day 3 Route - The inaugural ride crossing the Penang Bridge was exciting to say the least. Was assisting with the Marshaling of riders upto Queensbay Mall. (Note to self - Don't ever wear pink jersey anymore). The weather was we cross the bridge was not as bright, showered a little as we came to Queensbay Mall. Had a good refreshment at QBM and later pushed up to Balik Pulau at breakneck speed. It rained heavily and visibility was not that good, but still manage to be one of the few to reached there early. Food was not ready and had to linger around for about 1 hour.

Finished daging bakar and air asam and quickly rushed out to start the journey back to the hotel. Not familiar with the route, reserved some energy during the 200m climb. Upon coming down, the descent was exciting and managed to rota tingly drafted and provided drafting between Ariff, Jasmine and me. We reached the hotel at about 1 pm and had boisterous time taking photos. Appeared in Star newspaper the following day though.

Some Clips from Interstate2007

Day 1 - Getting out of Ipoh


This is from Ipoh to Bukit Berapit near Taiping

Day 2 - From Taiping Golf resort to Bukit Mertajam



Day 3 - Crossing the Penang Bridge to Queensbay Mall



Enjoy, while I figure out what to write!!!

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.

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]

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.

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.

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.

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.

Up and Coming Interstate2007 - Recce

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


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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.............

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.

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

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!!!

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????

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.

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.

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.

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.

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....

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.

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.

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.

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????

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.





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



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