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