akmal's bike park

akmal's bike park

Sunday 24 January 2010

Downhill Race - JB!

A good reason to come down to JB next weekend for y'all, especially you gravity nuts.
Organised by JB's own Element Cycle and ROAM, the race is a part of Malaysian Downhill Super Series (MDHSS).

The race will be held over 2 days, Saturday 30th Jan for the practice run followed by BBQ dinner, and Sunday 31st Jan the race proper - Qualifying, Seeding and Finals.
The venue is Mount Austin in JB.
Prizes are worth more than RM20,000, from lots of sponsors - around JB and throughout Malaysia.
Check out the race website for more updates and juicy details - videos, photos, maps, race track, and news. Yes, the site has real updates.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to be around JB at that time. Have to be in Senawang for a family occasion. To all of you competing, all the best! Spectators, have a good time in JB and sample our warm hospitality.


Thursday 21 January 2010

RTW - a weeklong!

11th - 15th January 2010. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Cycle Friday.
A week that was, my first weeklong RTW. Herein I etch to record it as a personal milestone.

The whole of last week I was without a car. The trusty Avanza being traded for a bigger brother - an upgrade that insyaAllah would make everyone in the household happy. Cycling wise, that means easier loading of bikes. The other car was with Naza, her transport for work and ferry children to/from school and the babysitter.

That also means I could do a weeklong RTW, a feat I have wished to attempt. And so I did it last week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It was not a working Saturday, so I skipped Saturday. I collected the new Innova on Friday, hence I have to skip the ride back home. Naza fetched me from work and we headed off to Plentong with my bike and Umar in the car as well.

I have to say that it was not easy, doing the RTW day by day. Cycling out to work at about 7am in the morning, and going back home after 6pm every day. That means I cycled about 12km in 40 minutes, at intervals of about 12 hours, for 5 days (now that numbers are included, it sounds like a great feat, huh?). It also means that I have to recover from each ride within 12 hours - at work during the day, and in my sleep at night. Oh, and my odometer registered an addition of 107km due to that weeklong RTW.

I know that there are many, many people around the world who commute every day by bike, for years. Daily commuting is second nature for them. A guy who lives in Iowa rides his bike everyday, even in thick snow during winter, too. Another guy I know rides his bike halfway and take a boat the other half of the journey. Perhaps with time, this weeklong RTW would be no ordeal anymore. Admittedly in my case, it was partly forced, but mostly intentional. After this, I hope it would be fully motivational and without the external push.

To look at it in a perspective, I did my RTW progressively. First I started out only on working Saturdays i.e. 2nd and 4th (and 5th, if any) Sats of the month. Then I started to try it on a weekday, during school holiday when the traffic is not as heavy. Then it became on a regular weekday. After that I progressed on two days per normal weekdays and on working Saturdays. Then I graduated to 3 weekdays. Finally it came to the last week's weeklong feat. Perhaps one weeklong in a month after this? I never plan to do it, but who'll know, I'd be a daily bike commuter someday. It was a pretty big thing when I started out - needed meticulous planning and mental preparation. Nowadays, I could decide whether to RTW in a snap, even at 7am in the morning - usually if I didn't iron my shirt and slacks :).

All in all, I'm quite satisfied with my progression thus far, and hope that I could do better hereafter. Here I would like to register my thanks to people who supported my RTW directly or otherwise, especially my workplace.
Alhamdulillah. Thank you very much!


Tuesday 19 January 2010

GA Cycling Fun Ride - 17.01.2010


Acara mtb pertama untuk tahun 2010 ni. Mula-mula tak terasa nak pergi - jauh tempatnya tu. Tapi tiba-tiba rasa macam menarik pulak, maka rancangan pun di atur. Lagipun ini dikira acara tempatan, maka siapa lagi nak sokong kalau bukan pengayuh tempatan, iye tak?

Asalnya nak tumpang Kadafi aje, malam tu rencana di ubah. Malas nak menghantar basikal dan alatan ke rumah Kadafi, dan malas nak menapak dari rumah ke tepi lebuhraya Pasir Gudang.

Gerak dari rumah dalam 6.15 camtu, sampai kat Air Tawar 3 tunggu Rizal dan berkonvoi ke Adela. Teruja punya pasal, aku termasuk simpang ke kilang sawit Adela. Patah balik (malu!) dan terus ke destinasi sebenar. Sampai sana dalam pukul 7.45 jugak. Ramai rider sudah/sedang setup basikal masing-masing. Aku nampak Panjang, Panjang nampak aku. Terus dia suruh kawan-kawan yang dok sibuk dengan beskal masing-masing lapangkan satu tempat parkir untuk aku. Fullemekk... macam VIP pulak rasanya. Aku tak perasan kalau Kadafi ada kembang-kembang hidung dia ke tidak. Terima kasih la untuk semua yang sudi kosongkan tempat parkir untuk kami.

Dah salam lebih kurang, aku dengan Kadafi turunkan beskal dan apa-apa yang patut. Lapar pulak rasanya, kena cari sarapan. Tapi apa-apa hal pun, kena daftar dulu, ambik nombor. Dah tu, sambung setup beskal. Penganjur dah sibuk panggil-panggil rider semua ke tempat mula. Aiseh... gua lapar lagi ni. Naseb baek ada gerai jual kuih-muih. Aku sempat la beli kuih keria, dapat 4 singgit. Murah tu! Kat JB dah pupus dah harga camtu.

Sempat jugak aku tolong Rizal pasang roda belakang dia. Rider baru pertama kali nak masuk offroad, kena tolong lah.


Pegi kat tempat mula tu, dengar taklimat pasal keadaan trail, penanda, water point, ucapan 2-3 orang, lepas tu ada baca doa, lepas tu kitorang start kayuh. Tapi sebenarnya masa ucapan tu, ramai (termasuk aku) dok sebok borak lah, amik gambar lah.

Trek XC yang ekselen
Kayuhan mula dalam pukul 9. Tak pasti berapa ramai, agaknya dalam 100 orang jugak. Lepas dalam satu km atas jalan, masuk ke XC track yang dibuat oleh rider tempatan, di sekitar kawasan takungan air (baca: bukit). Mula-mula dah kena panjat. Trek melingkar-lingkar, banyak tempat boleh buat jalan pintas. Tapi buat apa nak pintas, ini kan Fun Ride. Ikut aje lah, rasa trek kat tempat orang macamana. Memang teknikal. Siap ada drop lagi (tapi aku ikut chicken aje kat tepi tu). Yang sedapnya, penamat trek disaji dengan downhill siap ada bonggol satu, dan drop siket. Naseb baek aku kontrol hensem (sebab Joni tengah dok amik gambar), kot tak, sure dah tergelebak.

Tapi memang bagus lah, trek XC tu memang ekselen dan mencabar. Syabas orang Adela!

Plantation trail
Lepas tu, jalan tar semula dan masuk ke ladang kelapa sawit. Banyak turun bukit berbanding nak kena panjat bukit. Memang best. Cuma nak kena hati-hati sikit, pasal jalan berdebu, banyak batu gerewel (nota untuk orang putih: sila baca 'gravel') dan batu batu kecil.

Slalom course
Masih di dalam ladang kelapa sawit, tapi kali ni pokok rendah-rendah dan dedaunan melambai-lambai ke tengah laluan. Rasa macam lalu kat slalom course pulak. Syok. Tapi dah banyak sangat la pulak, rasa sakit jugak muka dok kena usap dengan daun sawit (kes malas nak elak-elak).

Water point
Meter dah tunjuk lebih kurang 20 km. Maknanya, dah nak dekat stesen air la tu. Tapi kena panjat bukit siket. Aku sampai kat situ, ramai dah rupanya yang lepak kat sana. Makan pisang sambil teguk air mineral sejuk dan ambik-ambik gambar. Aku lepak lama siket, atas alasan nak tunggu Rizal. Nak kayuh santai sama-sama pulak lepas ni (konon). Sedar-sedar, 2 botol 500ml aku dah balun, dengan 2 bijik pisang. Rizal sampai, ambik gambar lebih kurang, lepas tu sambung kayuh. Bertiga dengan Mansor. Santai.

Vast open trail
Memang la santai, kena lalu kawasan lapang, pokok sawit baru tanam semula. Dah pukul 11 masa tu. Nasib baik masa sebelum kayuh tadi dah lumur sunblock (bukan fair & lovely).

Pokok tinggi
Tak jauh lepas tu (tapi rasa lama), masuk ke kawasan sawit tua pulak. Pokok tinggi belaka. Redup, angin sepoi-sepoi bahasa. Kalau bawak hammock, memang sedap lepak situ. Bila naik bukit, aku tinggalkan Rizal. Pastu tunggu dia. Pastu jalan semula. Pastu ada satu tempat tu aku tunggu punya lah lama, rupanya dia dah tersesat. Heheh... rider laju sangat la tu, tak nampak anak panah. Tapi rasanya lepas tu dia lebih berhati-hati, pasal ada sekali tu sekumpulan rider dok sibuk panjat bukit. Aku pun dok ikut jugak, tapi Rizal tak ikut. Dia dah nampak yang bukit tu bukan trail. Hah! Sekali jalan kena, dua kali jalan tahu.

The long climb
Tah masa bila tah, aku dah tak larat nak santai sangat. Nak laju aje (konon). Potong rider itu, potong rider ini. Lepas tu betis kanan sudah ada sikit mau krem. Layan cadence, low speed. Tiba pulak nampak ada jalan berpasir, dengan headwind lagi, panas pulak tu. Kat depan nampak ada sekumpulan rider tengah berehat (sambil mencungap?) kat atas bukit. Ingatkan diorang lepak kat atas bukit, rupanya di tengah bukit. Kayuhan diteruskan sambil layan krem yang dah menjangkit ke betis kiri pulak. Elok la tu, cadence dan ultra low speed. Pelan-pelan panjat bukit. Macam tak habis-habis.

Tapi akhirnya berjaya jugak aku naik ke atas. Maka aku pun hembus nafas lega. Tapi rupanya kat depan ada lagi. Sambung kayuh lagi, tak nak kalah, dan taknak krem. Gila ah, apa punya kerja ni...

Homeward bound
Aku pun dah tak ingat apa bentuk trail lepas tu, main kayuh aje. Dalam kepala dah ingat nak sampai aje. Tengok meter, tak bergerak. Rupanya sensor ada terkucil siket, tah masa bila tah. Ada la dalam 2 km kot. Dalam pukul 1 macam tu, aku berjaya sampai balik ke tempat mula, tanpa ada krem. Alhamdulillah. Kawan-kawan lain dah lepak-lepak makan nasik ayam, ada yang dah mandi bagai, aku layan sejukkan badan. Sambil minum sirap. Syok!

Overall, aku ucapkan tahniah pada penganjur, marshall, riders dan jugak penduduk setempat. Memang berbaloi aku travel jauh-jauh untuk event ni. Syabas! Ada event lagi, insyaAllah datang lagi.

Gambar-gambar yang sempat dirakam - di sini.


Wednesday 13 January 2010

03.01.2010 - Seri Alam offroad


It's my first ride on road and offroad with the newly built-up EPX Hollowpoint. Supposed to be a review of the frame's geometry and handling. Went out at 7.30am towards Kafe Ruza in Taman Scientex. I was the last to have breakfast over there when I arrived. Saw lots of new faces, which is always a good thing. This mountain biking craze is picking up, really.

It seems that white is the rage, at the moment. Wak Leh is riding his new Asiamachine bike - in white and green, a replacement for his stolen Kona Coilair and another bike. Also, there was a Raleigh Enduro (24 speed) - in white and green, too. I like the sexy curvy top tube profile very much. And forgotten entirely to snap some photos. Duhh!

There were 22 riders starting from Taman Scientex that morning. We headed to Nusa Damai to the trailhead at 8.45am. Just as we were starting, 3 riders bailed out and have to retreat. with 19, we went to Seri Alam to meet up with another 3 riders awaiting there.

After a brief session of ice-breaking, we went to the observation tower (tower no longer exists) at Seri Alam. A few went up, the rest waiting near the Cactus Inn entrance. We went down and into the Seri Alam trail soon afterwards. Destination: lake.


On the way, Panjang went through a muddy waterfall. Err... he actually tripped and fell down into muddy water. Another collection of cuts and scrapes on his knee. We postponed the nursing to when we reach the lake. Jamal, Panjang and I went into a shaded area nearby the lake and dressed up Panjang's wounds. I don't know if the others were enjoying the swim in the lake, for when we were finished, it was time to go. I try not to be idling under the sun at the open area. Last 2 weeks I was there and suffered fever on Monday. Albeit, dipping in the lake is fun.

En route home, the wobbly bridge towards Dura Ace (a stop point) was found collapsed. Not only that, Kadafi's GT (now Afizan's) suffered a broken derailleur hanger. We made a river crossing and stopped by Dura Ace to remedy that. And the remedy was a painful one - single speed conversion, failing to utilise the spare hanger that I have. Too bad the frame's hanger is different from mine.

We went back towards Flora Heights. I have always dread that, for it means I have to endure 3 hills to get back to Seri Alam. However, it's different this time around. Panjang suggested to use the UniKL/MRSM Seri Alam construction entrance path. No more hills to tackle, but all the way coasting down the hill instead. Woo hooo! So after this, be it a FH ending or (even better) Seri Alam exit, I'm all for it. Nothing to lose.

My new frame? Can't really say much. Just that the geometry is about the same as Bianchi Mutt 17" (same size), hence the handling is quite the same. No apparent noticeable traits from the carbon rearstays. At least for now.

Photos are shared here:


Tuesday 12 January 2010

Gugusan Adela Cycling Fun Ride


Mula-mula macam tak kisah sangat nak pegi, tapi pagi ni rasa macam menarik pulak, entah pasal apa.

Organiser ada buat solat hajat mintak lapangkan hati sesiapa yang terlihat poster promosi ke?
InsyaAllah kalau takde hal, ke sana nanti.

Ada sesiapa yang sudi menumpangkan saya? Jauh jugak tu nak drive ke Adela tu sorang-sorang.

p.s.: sebut Adela tu cenggini: 'ah-dei-la', bukan macam ejaan pasar untuk 'adalah' tu.


Monday 11 January 2010

RTW 11.01.2010 - relaxed, masked rider

I'm riding in a relaxed mode this morning. Perhaps because I'm inspired by BC Kelolo's weekend 150 km touring adventure, so the style is a la touring. With no pannier rack, of course.

The weather was nice, alhamdulillah. I even slowed down at a section just before midway to soak in the beauty of early morning yellow sky. Well, just one of the things you get when you're not in a hurry.

I'm wearing a face mask this morning. Couldn't bear the smog from vehicles especially at the Masjid Jamek Pasir Gudang traffic light ascent - riding slow, breathing hard, and lots of idle lorries with thick black smoke. I'm using a cheapo one, got it from a hardware in Masai at RM15. Not so bad, although it doesn't filter all the smog. I can still smell a faint trace of smoke. Well, you get what you pay for. Anyway, it is better than without at all. Just that it's quite suffocating when I'm inhaling heavily. And the bane of wearing such masks is that you tend to smell your own breath if you exhale through your mouth. Yuck! Never thought mine smells bad. Bleaaaggghhh...

I guess Respro's would do better, if price is an indication of quality and performance. Hmm.. perhaps if I offer myself as a volunteer reviewer, would they agree to supply me for free some of them Techno masks? Complete with spare filters and valves, please.

Stats today:
Out from home
0659
 hours
Arrive office
0739
 hours
Door-to-door
40
 mins
Ride time
36'46"

Distance
12.33
 km
Ave. speed
20.1
 km/h
Max speed
34.7
 km/h
Calories
174.1

Odometer
3221.4
 km
Good doggies
1

Mode
relaxed,
with mask


Thursday 7 January 2010

EPX Hollowpoint

New year, new frame. It happened to be as such, although purely a mere coincidence.

It's actually a 'new old stock' frame, bought through BBS and Interbank Giro (internet magic!) with kind help from BC Kelolo and Shahrul. Kelolo helped to get the frame COD from Taufiq the seller, at the same time getting himself a piece as well. Shahrul helped to fetch the frame from Kelolo in KL and transport it to me in Johor. Err... Masai, to be precise. Thanks, brothers!

Frame
The frame is a 17" aluminium + carbon build. The seatstay and chainstay are of carbon material, the rest aluminium. In case you're wondering, the frame sold unpainted. And without a derailleur hanger (sheeshh...). A few things needed to be done before I could start with the assembly of a complete bicycle. Hanger, headset and seatpost clamp need to be sourced out first. If you ask me whether I'm going to paint it or not, I plan to leave it as it is - raw aluminium and bare carbon rearstays (there's lacquer on the carbon part). It's weight? Claimed at 1.2kg, but I never weigh it myself. I'll stick to 1.2kg :)

RD hanger
From the photos, I thought the hanger is the same as my Bianchi Mutt's. It seemed to be so, when I tried to fit it onto the frame. However, there's a small gap on the curve and the slot for QR a teeny bit misaligned. With Kadafi, I searched for the hanger at Aunty's shop in Skudai. Teoh looked for one, amongst the hanger collection in a plastic bag and at his first try, he found a perfect match. At RM35, I couldn't afford to buy another one for my spare. I'll hang on to Mutt's for that, at the time being.

Seatpost clamp
I bought a 'Kona' seatpost clamp as well. Nice colour, and looks nice too, although I'm not too sure whether it's the real McCoy. Anyway, it fits and serves it's purpose. That one went well and quite straightforward.

Headset
The headset for this frame is an Internal type. Aunty's shop didn't have a headset that could catch my attention that time. There was a Keris King (Chris King don't produce Internal type. They do have InSet, but not the same as Internal), a Bontrager and an FSA. I personally would prefer a Ritchey (well, still a Cap Ayam headset nonetheless), so we concluded the visit without it. I'm using the Ritchey from my Mutt in the end.

Build
Parts for the frameset is complete. Now the build. I spent a good part of a Saturday taking parts out from Mutt and at the same time installing them onto Hollowpoint. Lacking the headset remover tool, I spent quite some time removing the headset. Lacking the headset press, I spent quite some time also installing the headset.


I have to salvage the UMF seatpost from my T-Bolt as the Hollowpoint's using 31.6mm seatpost. I find that it's quite heavy for XC purpose. My quick visit to Jason's shop in Permas Jaya confirms this, as there are a few seatposts of the same size that feels lighter. By the way, there was a nice EPX carbon seatpost at his shop - 'epxtras'. The price? RM250. I'm not fond of carbon seatposts by the way (really, no sour grapes here), but because it's an EPX, it really caught my attention. I'm quite surprised, too, as there are quite a number of seatposts with 31.6mm size. Have to save up for one of those.

The rest of the build went smoothly. No big drama in installing the BB and crankset. The same also goes to the fork's steerer tube. I notice that the headtube is 10mm longer that Mutt's, that's all. Ditched the 10mm carbon spacer away into my spares box.

Basically it's just the cabling part that required a bit tinkering and some trial-and-error. I ended up with the shifter cables running on it's own sides of the frame. I mean, the left shifter cable lining up the top tube on the left side and the right shifter cable runs on the right side. They left rubbing marks on the headtube at either sides. Some stickers would be able to remedy that. Overall, I like the placement of all the cabling lugs on the frame. Quite neat, making my cables and rear brake hose looks tidy.

This frame supports 2 water bottle cages. A pair of threaded bracket provided on the seattube and downtube. I've always wanted those. As I'm using my FD-M771 XT FD, it has to be clamped quite high on the seattube. That left only a bit of space for the bracket, rendering it useless for mounting a bottle cage. I resolved to put the hand pump bracket on it.

The test ride
I went out 7.35am on Sunday 3rd January 2010 on road to Kafe Ruza in Taman Scientex for the usual Sunday offroad ride. At 9.00am, my Hollowpoint and I together started venturing offroad. I couldn't quite tell the difference, honestly. I don't know if I need some time to notice any difference. For that, I'm planning for a month-long test - on the road for RTW and offroad XC rides. Anyway, I guess if there's not a notable difference on the first ride, then rest assured that there's not much difference at all. We'll see.


I try to note if there's some sort of flex of the rearstays as to what people would attest to, but it's hardly noticeable. Fair enough, the difference for now between Mutt and Hollowpoint at this point of time is that HP weighs lighter by 200 grams, and much cheaper too! Oh, and HP is an original frame while Mutt is a replica.

By the way, if I'm satisfied with this new frame, the Mutt'll be up for sale. Anybody interested?


photos by me, except the frame-only photo by Taufiq


Monday 4 January 2010

Offroad Riding Insurance

Many riders I know, they bring along in their bladder bags all sorts of spare parts for their bikes. It's actually a good practice. You take care of yourself, and at the same time you could perform good deeds by providing for others (or make big money for yourself). To put it in another way, you're not a nuisance for others. Being kiasu or geeky, that's a thing you won't be thinking about when you suffer a puncture but without a spare tube or the humble patch kit (with pump/CO2 canister, of course).
I'm a roadie, I don't do bags
For most of the parts, they are lightweight, so they don't really feel that much. They won't take much space in your bladder bag, too, for they are usually small in size. Personally, parts of the size bigger than my palm cannot be considered into my spare parts list. Crankset, or rims, for instance. Besides, you have to bring along special tools for them too. Oh yes, bear in mind, you have to carry along the necessary tools. Otherwise, they're useless unless if someone else in the group carries them. With this in mind, be sure to look for spaces where you can stuff the spares when you're shopping for a (new?) bladder bag.
If you're a roadie who still want to ride lightweight offroad, be sure to carry lots of spare cash. I'm selling my spares at a premium. No kidding. Of course, you can still bring your spares in your saddle bags.
Items
I usually carry with me these spare items, for my insurance:
  • Spare tube (also a pump and patch kit with levers)
  • RD hanger
  • Brake pad
  • Rotor bolts (can also be used as bolts for your shoe cleats)
  • RD cable (can also double up as mech brake cable)
  • Snap-on chain link
  • Spare links
  • Necessary tools (multi tool should do the trick)
  • Snack bar (optional)
You see, they are small in size and weight, but big in value. The biggest of them all is perhaps the spare tube. Followed by the hand pump. These, however can be opted out. You may just patch the punctured tube. Hand pumps can be replaced by CO2 canisters. Even if you're a weight weenie, you can still have your insurance.
A guy I know carries with him all sorts of spares, he seems like a mobile bikeshop. Ayub's the name - flip over to the 3rd issue of Cycling Malaysia magazine, he's the one wearing the white Cap Ayam tee on the Plentong Epic Ride pictorial. Whenever the guys in the group are in need, he's the one who provides. And no, don't ask him for a spare crankset. By the way, he sells his spares :)
RD Hanger
There are various designs for the rear derailleur hanger. 'Various' seems to be a bit understated. Perhaps 'hundreds of them' gives a pretty solid picture. That being said, there are also hundreds of frame designs using different hanger designs. Check 'em out: link. I know bro Ayub has a universal hanger, but I'm not quite sure how it works (or where he got it) - have to check with him. It certainly doesn't look like this one: link.
May I suggest for you to have your own spare hanger. That would save your knees from grinding your way back to base single speed, should you unfortunately busted the hanger. The next time you're visiting your favourite bike shop for a chat (yeah, right), be sure to bring along your current hanger. The best, is to bring along your bike. Get yourself a perfectly matching RD hanger.
Chain Links
I'm too lazy to use the chain tool nowadays. Hence, I'm using a snap-on chain link. There are two brands commonly found in the bikeshop - SRAM's PowerLink, and KMC's Missing Link (google 'em up). At around RM10-RM15 per link, they're not cheap, mind you. However, if time is money, I don't mind spending a little money for saving me time (and headache) especially on the trail and much more, on my way to the office. Easier for me to remove the chain for cleaning, too.
Albeit, I still carry spare chain links, and my multi-tool includes the chain breaker tool. I use the links for mending other people's chains, and use the snap-on for myself. I told you, they're not cheap.
Tools
Yes, you need them. Get yourself at least a basic multi-tool. You can do away the ones with chain breaker (like mine), if you're using the snap-on chain link. You can also leave your hand pump at home if you're using CO2 canisters. However, I never leave the tire levers behid. Although using kevlar beaded tires, I prefer to use the levers. I found that at times the beads are quite stubborn to be removed from the rim.
If I could offer an advice, please, get yourself a good tool from a reputable brand. It would be long lasting, durable, and most important of all, reliable. Do enough research for the reviews of the particular product, and you'll save your money on potential replacements of inferior items. Reviews may be in the form of findings out of riding buddies' experience, or the internet (where else?). Spend some time, save some money (again, if time is money).
Enjoyable Suffering
Mountain biking, for some, at times are testing your limit. Endurance, power, physical, mental, and most of the time, your patience. You're exhausted, your parts are busted, and now you have to suffer the ride home with a lesser bike than the one you got in with. I choose to avoid the strain, so I choose to carry with me those things. Tawakkal is not gambling. It is being prepared, and leave the rest to Allah. At least when bad things happened, I know that I did my best to avoid them in the first place. Yes, we go offroad for enjoyable suffering. But they don't have to be strenous.
See you on the trails!