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...

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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.