Bicycle Times - Your Everyday Cycling Adventure

My Touch N' Go card was left with only RM19.70 credit. Somehow I bravely went and tapped through the toll booth at Simpang Renggam, destination Senawang. I didn't know what the exact toll fare would be, and in my head I calculated roughly. Conclusion: not enough, and I was being stupid not taking the toll ticket instead.

My mind was racing with possible solutions, and came out with 2; one is to go to R&R and top up via ATM kiosk, and the other one is to top up via ATM kiosk also but at the fuel station. I swerved into Machap R&R, and went up to the ATM machine. Dang, there's only CIMB ATM, no Maybank. Albeit, I went downstairs and went to a small shop which sells magazines among other things (tidbits, et. al.). I was looking for cheap bicycle magazines (past issues, 2nd hand if any), and I found Bicycle Times.

I flipped through, and I kinda liked it. It's different. Of course, because it is not the usual MTB or Road mag. It is more on bike commuting, touring, true cycling lifestyle. That sort of thing.The tagline itself makes me think - 'Your Everyday Cycling Adventure'. Everyday! At this point it makes me envious of regular commuters. Makes me realise also nonetheless that my RTWs are always an adventure. Just that I'm not able to do it everyday. And of course, it's saying that my mountain biking is just a weekend-only thing. Ha!

For RM17.50 that I paid, it's not thick, with not too much ads, too. The paper quality is also different. I suspect that it's printed on recycled paper. However, I don't find any info about that in the mag.

What made me buy the mag is that the issue is current. I mean, it's issue number 5, to be displayed until 7th June 2010. Well, okay, it's nearly at the end of it's shelf life. The reason being, the mag is published quarterly. Great, then. I don't have to fork out nearly RM20 each month. The only regret is that I forgot to ask for the receipt, for tax reduction purposes. Sheeshhh... Well, it shows that I was elated with my purchase, I guess.

The next morning, I managed to skim through the articles, letters and advertisements. They're just great. I had my doses of bike commuting reading from Xtracycle and Cyclescheme, and this one adds to it. Xtracycle sells their bikes, and Cyclescheme for reasons unknown to me, stopped at issue 3. Perhaps, this mag seems to replace those, in my book.

I learnt a few things, in the thin mag.

1. There was this cool Tweed Run in England on April 2010, and folks in the US ran it too. No, it's not a running event. Check out the cool period video.

2. Panaracer belongs to Panasonic family. Yes, the Audio Visual company. Well, Nick Yap of the Cycling Today bike shop in JB was right, after all...

3. Brooks got leather bike bags too. And their saddles are found on many of the bikes in the mag.
4. Cardiff is another company which offers leather saddles.
5. You have to check out the Kona Ute. Classy.

6. Cycling lifestyle is timeless. Enough said.
Oh, and BT by the way is a sister mag of Dirt Rag magazine, a mag for mountain bike.

Anyway, I noticed that while reading it, a little voice in me kept whispering subtly "you've got to get that Brooks saddles...".

Err... dear kind readers and blog followers, my birthday is just around the corner, in March.

I think I found my passion in cycling. No, not touring (yet... although that might materialise some day). I'm somehow motivated to do my RTW. Well, perhaps it'll be much more with a Brooks B-17 on me bum...

*********

Just in case if you're wondering, the toll fare from Simpang Renggam to Senawang would be:

Normal Rates RM 27.30, Off Peak Rates RM 24.60, Off Peak Festive Rates RM 22.20.

Total Distance 200.5 km.

source: Plus Expressways Berhad

I exited the Pagoh toll booth and tapped my TnG card to deduct RM11.60 (phew...). Made a U-turn just after the booth, and took a ticket. Continued the journey to Senawang straightaway after that.

Oh, and I topped up the card at a fuel station over the counter in Serdang. Now why I didn't think of that while in Pagoh.

Anyway, I'm glad I was being stupid while in Simpang Renggam, for the mag.

RTW 27.05.2010 - leisurely, and shooting

left is the right way, never ride on the highway (except for 200m in my case)

 

Went out early again today (hey, this is getting to be a good habit).

 

This morning's RTW was actually more of an impulse. I decided to do it only half an hour prior. The bike's ready from yesterday's RTW (lubed, tire pressure okay, etc.; but not clean!)
 

I brought along with me the camera to get some shots, seeing that I would go out early thus having ample time for a leisurely ride.

 

Like yesterday, the ride this morning was using the same route; this time no short cut at Kip Mart Masai. It turned out that the 'hill' was only psychological. Not that intimidating this morning. Heck, I felt ashamed to even call it a hill at all.

 

As a result of my leisurely ride and various stops to shoot photos, the ride was way longer than usual. One nice effect to this is that I didn't feel as tired.

 

Check out the photos I managed to shoot in here.

 

Stats today:
Out from home	0655	hours
Arrive office	0747	hours
Door-to-door	52	mins
Ride time	39'05"
Distance	12.51	km
Ave. speed	19.2	km/h
Max speed	36.5	km/h
Odometer	4184.6	km
Doggies	0
Mode	leisure,	knobbies

RTW 26.05.2010 - laluan asal dan hensem di pejabat

Alhamdulillah, minggu ni dapat lagi peluang berkayuh ke tempat kerja.

 

Pukul 6.30 pagi Umar dah bangun tersenyum-senyum kelat dengan bau masyam dia tu. Maka, mintak tolong Mak hantarkan Umar ke rumah babysitter, sebab memang pagi ni dah sedia nak berkayuh ke pejabat. Sebenarnya, dah sedia dari kelmarin lagi tapi tak kesampaian nak berkayuh semalam.

 

Hari ini aku dah pasang niat awal-awal untuk kayuh ikut laluan asal, seperti masa aku mula RTW. Berbukit sikit (sikit aje pun, tapi mengah lah juga), dan terasa jauh. Bukan apa, sebab pagi ni aku berjaya keluar dari pintu pagar rumah sebelum pukul 7. Jadi, kena manfaatkanlah.

 

Laluan asal ni adalah laluan yang selamat, sebab tak ikut jalan utama. Maka, tak banyak kenderaan yang ditemui sepanjang perjalanan. Tapi cabarannya ialah beberapa bukit, turun dan naik. Mula-mula bukit dari Seri Alam kawasan Suria tu nak ke belakang Balai Polis Masai, kiranya masuk ke Kg Baru Masai lah. Selepas dari Balai Polis tu turun bukit dan naik semula satu bukit menuju ke sekolah rendah. Lepas tu aku ikut jalan kat belakang Stesen Bas Masai. Naik satu bukit lagi kat sebelah stesen minyak Esso. Lepas tu jalan rata menuju Kip Mart Masai. Aku tak daya nak layan bukit lagi dah, pintas secara selamba depan Pak Pengawal di Kip Mart tu. Terus berkayuh ke Taman Bukit Dahlia dan layan satu lagi bukit menuju ke lampu isyarat simpang empat Masjid Jamik Pasir Gudang.

 

Kalau nak ikutkan, sepatutnya aku tak naik bukit ke simpang empat tu. Seharusnya melintas dari Taman Bukit Dahlia tuju ke Taman Mawar dan susur ke Sekolah Menengah Taman Mawar. Dek terbiasa, maka aku turunkan gear dan terus aje kayuh konsisten naik ke simpang empat tu. Boleh dikatakan konsisten, sebab bila aku jeling-jeling meter, ada lah dalam 20.4km/h. Kaki tak rasa sakit, jantung pun rasa tak terlalu kencang. Zikir jadi peneman untuk breath pacing, dan aku sampai ke atas tidak terlalu penat (penat tetap penat laa bang).

 

Aku sampai kat pejabat awal, dan boleh mandi-manda kat shower room dalam tandas dengan santai (taaakk, takde main-main buih bagai...).

 

Sekarang ni aku dah mula berpakaian hensem kat pejabat walaupun pergi kerja berkayuh. Pihak korporat dah tak benarkan pakai kemeja-t berkolar. Tiada masalah, sebenarnya, sebab masih boleh dipakai, tapi dengan berjaket di luar. Tapi tak apa lah, lagipun aku nak juga buktikan pada diri sendiri, masih boleh berkemeja di pejabat walaupun berkayuh. Orang lain boleh buat, aku pun boleh juga. Tak sesusah mana, sebenarnya. Cuma lagi hebat kalau dapat berkemeja dari rumah dan kayuh ke pejabat.

 

Tak, tak mungkin. Melainkan Pasir Gudang dah tak ada asap, dan badan aku tak berpeluh sakan masa berkayuh.

Jugak, kalau aku konsisten keluar dari rumah pukul 6.30 pagi. Bila lah tu...

 

Stats today:
Out from home	0654	hours
Arrive office	0732	hours
Door-to-door	38	mins
Ride time	35'12"
Distance	12.46	km
Ave. speed	21.1	km/h
Max speed	40.0	km/h
Odometer	4161.6	km
Good doggies	1
Mode	laluan asal,	knobbies

Terima kasih sudi berkunjung.

RTW 21.05.2010 - pancit

Alhamdulillah, bukan tayar yang pancit.

Pengayuhnya yang pancit.

 

Lama dah tak laporkan kayuhan RTW kat sini. Dok sebok berceloteh pasal benda-benda lain. Kadang-kadang tu bila RTW, meter tak set lah, lupa nak ambik stats lah, dan jugak alasan universal - malas....

:)

 

Menyedari cuma ada beberapa sesi kayuhan aje yang sempat dibuat menjelang kayuhan jambori kecil di FRIM nanti, maka cargaslah aku berkayuh pagi ni.

 

Semalam petang lepas kerja aku ambik semula rak belakang dari Yad, terus ke Plentong untuk bawak balik ke rumah hardtail tu ke Seri Alam. Dengan lumpur kering bercapuk kat sana sini (harap-harap tak bercalit tahi lembu segar) hasil penangan kayuhan malam + BBQ Cyclemotion tempohari, aku belasah aje gantungkan kat belakang kereta. Tapi bila bawak basikal kotor camtu, nampak otai siket la kan... Apa barang beskal offroad tapi berkilat bagai.

 

Sampai rumah aku terus cuci (err... pancut air je lebih kurang kasi buang lumpur). Pastu biar kasi kering siket sebelum parkir kat dalam rumah.

 

Pagi tadi Umar tidur elok aje, maka aku pun berpeluanglah nak RTW.

Alhamdulillah.

 

Punyalah lama aku tak RTW, rasa berat aje. Iye lah, tayar bunga satu hal, lutut sakit (siket aje) satu hal, buku lali (penyakit lama) sakit semula satu hal. Pastu pagi tadi baru lepas hujan, kelembapan udara terasa sedikit menyesakkan nafas.

 

Dah tu, aku pulak keluar rumah 7.11 pagi. Kira lambat lah tu, walaupun masih sempat nak sampai sebelum pukul 8.00. Terasa nak kayuh laju-laju konon nak kejar masa. Tapi tak boleh la kan, kena kayuh rilek-rilek. Rilek-rilek pun, 35 minit jugak dari pintu ke pintu. Kira laju jugak tu. Eh, tapi tak... aku ada ambik short cut siket. Bukan apa, kat jalan yang biasa aku lalu tu dari jauh aku dah nampak ada 4-5 ekor sekawan anjing dok jalan santai cari sarapan. Walaupun aku tahu diorang takkan ambik port pun kalau aku lalu sebelah diorang, tapi aku taknak ambik risiko. Dah lah tengah pancit, pastu jalan tu naik bukit (alah... siket je pun).

 

Sampai ofis dengan selamat, dan trafik pun tak sesak macam hari biasa. Ramai orang ambik cuti kah? Atau diorang ramai-ramai datang pukul 7.30 pagi tadi? Peduli apa aku...

 

Stats today:

Out from home	0711	hours
Arrive office	0746	hours
Door-to-door	35	mins
Ride time	32'42"
Distance	11.68	km
Ave. speed	21.3	km/h
Max speed	36.0	km/h
Odometer	4138.4	km
Good doggies	1
Mode	pancit,	knobbies

15.05.2010 - Offroad Plentong Night Ride + BBQ

An email from Azam of Cyclemotion came into my inbox last Wed; there’s a night ride being organized, plus barbecue after it.

 

One not to be missed, for sure. Me, I was not sure whether I could ride, though. It’s been quite some time since I last rode offroad. Also there’s the issue of my left knee and right ankle feeling a bit wobbly from the last 2 weekend’s volleyball games.

 

Eventually I went to Neo’s place that night, albeit 15 minutes late (gosh, I hate to be late). Well, I was there, with my bike well lubed, nicely set and squeaky clean from the morning’s scrubbing.

 

We rolled off at 9.07pm from Plentong into the darkness of the palm oil estate. It’s quite interesting how familiar terrain is completely different at night. Well, if your headlamp is bright as day, then you have a big advantage. Somehow, however, the enigmatic feeling is awesome. To some extent, of course. As long as you don’t meet a horrifying accident due to unseen gap or rut or fresh water channel from the day’s heavy rain.

 

We took multiple rests along the trail. Numerous punctures (different bikes, of course), and a few five minute breathers. One of them was at the Big Valley Ranch, before heading home. Izad and Ramesh ‘escorted’ a few others to get back to Plentong via Seri Alam on tarmac and Jalan Masai Lama – the chicken run. On the way back I felt a bit tired and was actually wondering why I didn’t follow them. Oh yes, ego that is.

 

We made it back to base, and the time on my cyclocomputer showed 1.00 am. No wonder it’s tiring, it was a 2-day’s ride man!

 

The smell of barbecued chicken wings greeted the hungry and tired riders at Neo’s. How befitting, the chefs on the grill were the chicken route riders ;)

 

I reloaded my carbs with fried mihun, some protein from the chicken wings, and some fat from the ‘gearbox’ stew (was it stew? Aahh… bedal aje). Rehydrated with cold orange-syrup drink. Topped it all with some bite size cakes, for extra energy to get back home. Gone were the calories burnt from the 4 hour ride in 20 minutes. Err.. could I say that was a balancing act?

 

I cycled for a few hundred meters to the house in Plentong and stored my bike there unwashed (bila laa nak basuh tu). Hopped in Reza’s Myvi for a ride back home in his car. Reached home 2.00am and went to bed after a warm shower.

 

Awesome ride, I must say. Not much singletrack, but I love how different a quite familiar trail is when the sun is at the other side of the earth. Kudos too, for the excellent food spread at the end of the ride. Perhaps this should be a monthly thingy. I strongly would agree to it. Just that I was a bit frustrated with my level of fitness. Won’t be riding this weekend, and the one after that. After that I’ll be riding in FRIM insyaAllah. Can I make it? Hope so. I’ll definitely have to train through RTW. On road with knobbies, for the extra punch (read: lazy to change the wheelsets).

 

The big question remains… bila nak basuh beskal ni?

 

Special thanks to Capt Neo and friends at Cyclemotion, the chicken run chefs, Reza and other riders with ultra bright lights.

 

Thanks for reading.

Have a nice day to you.

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6.6.10 - FRIM MTB Mini Jamboree

Green Cycle II 2010

 

It's advertised in BBS, and Dino too, sent me the link in his first line of chat a couple of days ago.

 

Interesting, indeed. Been quite some time since my last ride in FRIM.

 

I secured a loan bike this afternoon, that leaves a few things more need to be sorted out. I'm thinking of going up to KL by bus (yeah, been quite a while also since my last bus trip) and carry with me riding essentials, sans bike (read: cheap transport).

 

According to the organizer's site, entry closing is extended to 16th May. Ample time for me to register for the event.

 

I read somewhere that they are targeting at least 300 participants. At the time of typing, the number of registered riders has reached 148. Are you in?

 

Download the registration form here.

Trail info here. Yes, Steroid is included. I've never been to the helipad. Well, there's always a first time for everything, right?

 

See you there, insyaAllah.

 

Thanks for dropping by.

Have a good weekend riding in the woods (or palm plantations)!