Review: Ibera beam rack with bag

Ibera?



Ibera Pakrak beam rak with bag

I heard about them only when I bought the rack and bag at Senawang. Perhaps you won't find these orange/black items quite easily in bike shops in Malaysia, compared to the more established yellow/black ones. Anyway, this review is to highlight the hits and misses, based on my usage. More importantly, is to assist those who are wondering if these are as good, for there are not many reviews around the internet.

item

Ibera RA-1 beam rack and Ibera BA-1 commuter bag.

It's a system of a beam rack and commuter bag, with push-lock and secure tab on the bag to fit on the beam rack.

The beam rack is secured to the bike's seatpost by means of tightening an allen bolt.

price

I paid RM228 (RM69 beam rack, RM159 bag) for the system. This system is priced quite competitively - I saved a bit more than RM100 for a comparable yellow/black one.

:)

material

Bag is non-waterproof, but water-resistant, perhaps due to the zippers.

Nylon material is with waterproof layer backing.

ABS base for sturdiness. I like this part, but worried that it would crack some day. So far, it's still good except for scratches at the edges.



stainless steel allen bolt

ALLEN BOLT

This is the most important bit, so read carefully.



It is not a simple means of securing the beam rack to the seatpost, in comparison to a quick release system. You would need a 5mm allen key to tighten the bolt.



I have to mention that the one that comes with the rack is best kept in your spares case. The allen key slot on the head would give way and get rounded by the torque applied in tightening up the rack to the post. In my case, the rack is an on and off affair - I have to tighten and loosen up the bolt many, many times due to that. And the bolt did become a bit rounded.



Do get a stainless steel one for a replacement, even if yours is new. Ask for an M8x30 allen bolt (button head) at a hardware store, or bring along the one supplied with the rack to get the identical item. I paid RM1.80 for the bolt, complete with nut and washer. It's the least I could do rather than modifying it to a quick release (anyone have a tutorial DIY for this?).

 

seatpost size

I'm not sure what's the range of seatpost diameter for the beam rack. I've been using it on three common sizes over the course of 14 months. 2 rubber strips, thick and thin are supplied with the rack, for shimming. Check with your seatpost manual if it could take the load. I surely wouldn't ruin a carbon seatpost with the beam rack clamp.

• 31.6mm seatpost is ideal. Reduced swaying, as it is secured quite tight due to the big diameter.
• 27.2mm is okay, but would sway and wobble up and down a little (just a wee bit), due to the thick rubber strip.
• 30.9mm gives the worst sway of all three. Perhaps because the rubber strip provided are either too thin (this one is used) or too thick (can't be used) for 30.9mm seatpost. That being said, it is not that much, as long as the allen bolt is secured very, VERY tight. That's why you have to get yourself the stainless steel bolt.

Extra: carry in the bag's pocket a 5mm allen key, just in case if it does need re-tightening (that's just me, being extra prepared).



max load 10 kg

weight and load

The 700 g beam rack is rated for carrying 10 kg load. Including the bag, of course. The bag itself is about 1 kg. So you have about 9 kg load that you can stuff in the bag.



I don't know how much weight I loaded into the bag, but I make sure that it is not too heavy so that the beam wouldn't sway as I ride the bike off-saddle. I don't want to carry a heavy bag when off the bike, either.

 

Carrying is by a grip handle on the rear pocket, or a padded sling provided with the bag. The bag itself is a bit heavy, so I seldom use the bag by itself to go to the office.



main compartment -
ample space for my daily essentials

bag space

The bag has a main compartment, 2 side pockets, a bungee cord on top of the main compartment lid and a zippered mesh underneath it, and a small rear pocket. There's also a zippered compartment on the lid top.

The maximum I carry at a time in the main compartment: a square Tupperware of breakfast, 750ml water bottle (occasionally), one khaki pants, one Endura rainjacket (quite thick when folded), one collared t-shirt and an underwear.



Side pockets are for storing tools and spares in one, and personal items in another. Rear pocket for small change and wallet. Zippered mesh is storing a handpump and spare tube. There's still unused compartment on the lid top. I spare that for extra breakfast (nasi lemak, or kuih for instance) or a face towel.

 

There you go, enough for everything, except a pair of shoes and toiletries. Well, I have those at the office.

lock-on mechanism on the rear

lock-on mechanism

The mechanism on the back of the bag provides a means for easy on and off of the compatible rack. However, the pushlock on the bag is not quite smooth, sometimes needing some fiddling due to some dirt lodged inside it. Once the tab on the front and the back (on the lock mechanism) are in place on the rack, there's minimal movement. It feels sturdy and solidly locked in place.



main compartment zipper
lined with reflector strip

safety

Safety aspect is taken care of. The main compartment zip is lined with reflective strips, so do the grip handle. There's also a loop for attaching a rear LED blinker. The beam rack has a bracket to mount a reflector (not provided).

overall

The bag and beam rack system is neat. It says "I'm a commuter" to whomever gazing at it. I like the shape of the bag. The shape is held so by the ABS base and the foam pad lining up the main compartment. The only thing that gave way is the bungee cord. The rubber cord is now expanded and not as elastic as new. I really recommend that the allen bolt to be replaced with a stainless steel one, if you're getting this system.

Is it worth the money spent? Yes.

Is it up for the job? Yes.

What can be improved? The weight of the bag, and perhaps to make it waterproof or at least a decent raincover.

Would I recommend it to you? Definitely.

more photos in here.

Sports Tracker

Part of the reason for the new (well, bought secondhand) phone is to have the GPS. I installed Sports Tracker app, and now I'm able to track my cycling route for free.

I uploaded my trackings to the Sports Tracker website, and could also export .GPX file of the tracking to memory card on the phone. I'm not sure if 'Export to Google Earth' is actually exporting the .KML file. Anyway, I could then view the tracking on Google Earth. Nice.

Another thing also is that it keep track of the music track I'm listening to while riding. This bonus came as a surprise. Can't view the details on the phone's interface, though, just on the website. Not to worry, for I plugged only the left earphone for my safety on the road.

Here's the snapshot of yesterday's ride home from the office:

riding home from office 01.04.2011

And the vertical profile:

nice graph

Okay, so next up is to try out the geotagging thingy. Best for during riding offroad.

Credit goes to Dino for showing me the way, and being the big part of influencing me into all of this.
:)

RTW 01.04.2011 Another Weeklong

It's another weeklong this week, the second for this year.

 

Well, it's really becoming a natural thing to take out the bike in the morning and hit the tarmac. Alhamdulillah, the weather in the morning this week has been nice for RTW.

 

This morning, it's a really different kind of ride. I'm late for work. Very. Out from the house at 0732 hours, it's the latest I've been so far. I pray that it's the last. The morning ride took me 24 minutes to complete, door-to-door. The fastest so far, and the most tiring. My usual normal ride would be about 30-34 minutes via the L-Route, and I know it would be very, very tiring just to catch up a couple of minutes. It's a must do thing, so I persevered.

 

Unfortunately, the meter is not telling the real truth. I got 26.6 km/h average speed. I was pleasantly surprised at first, but something tells me that it mustn't be true. Then it struck me that I've forgotten to reset the tire circumference for my slicks, from yesterday's knobbies while in the haste of getting out of the gate quickly. Anyway, I'm happy with 24 minutes. Exhausted, of course.

 

So that's 2 weeklongs already. One more to go, and the year's target will be met. Well, it's only the beginning of April, so I hope I could do more than that.

 

Oh, and the odometer is showing less than 10 km more to reach 7000 km mark. InsyaAllah this evening on the way home.

 

Stats this morning (with wrong tire settings):

:P

 

Out from home	0734	hours
Arrive office	0758	hours
Door-to-door	24	mins
Ride time	23' 53"
Distance	10.61	km
Ave. speed	26.6	km/h <-- can't be true
Max speed	40.0	km/h
Odometer	6991.9	km
Good doggies	0
Mode	tesco + L route	Yukon, slicks, VERY LATE

 

Have a good ride, y'all.

And a nice weekend too.

Thanks for coming around.

Review: NiteIze Marker Band

For my RTW, especially when riding wearing using long pants, the Marker Band is an indispensable item. It does a double job, safety wise: keeping the hem of the pants away from being stuck onto the chain/chainring whilst making me visible from rear.

NiteIze Marker Band on my right ankle

It's intended use is on the bicep; however, I use it on my right ankle while cycling.

It has a few options as a visibility marker:

Passive - reflective yellow band

Active - continuous red LED light

Active - blinking red LED light

The LED unit is the same as on the Sport Vest albeit shorter clear wand, with the same high quality for the make and material and with the same lighting modes - continuous, blinking and off. Battery is provided and I used the item straight away after taking it off from the packaging board.



NiteIze Marker Band



The unit is lighted by a small LED, and a clear wand is attached to it to disperse the light so that we get a long, lighted strip. Everything is encased in a reflective sleeve which is also fitted with loops to slip the elastic band in. The make is of high quality and feels durable too.

Visibility is good, and LED is bright eventhough it is encased in the reflective sleeve. The switch position is marked (printed) so that you won't have to wonder where it is. When using half finger gloves, I can feel the slight bump on the end of the LED unit - that's the switch. With full finger gloves, I have to look at the unit to turn on (or blink, or off) the LED.

Sporting an adjustable buckle on an elastic band, it is easy to strap on and to take off - the feature that I like most. As the strap is elastic, adjusting the buckle is easy - just fasten the buckle together, and pull the strap to your desired tightness. However, I'm afraid that over time it will give way. We'll have to see about that.

tuck the loose end in

Another thing to be careful with is that the elastic strap would have a long loose end dangling. I have about 3.5" loose end. This is foreseeable as the unit is intended to be used on the bicep. My biceps aren't big, either, and more so my ankle. I make sure that it won't get caught on the chainring by either tucking it under the marker, or just simply flip the buckle the other way around so that it would be on the outer side of the ankle. Having a proper way to secure the loose end (velcro, or provide a loop like a belt) would make it nicer.

At RM60 a piece, it is not cheap. But, you get what you pay for - high quality safety product. Other than the dangling elastic strap which is only a minor to me, there's practically no other negative side of the Marker Band that I've encountered so far. I'm quite happy with it.

Further reference:
NiteIze page on Marker Band

Marker Band is available locally through Gear 'n' Gadget.

RTW 11.03.2011 - a weeklong!

Alhamdulillah, it's a weeklong! The first for this year, and insyaAllah another two. That's the aspiration for my RTW this year.

 

To think about it, I might as well keep it as a habit, and perhaps turn into a full commuter. We'll see how it goes, as it is not my intention at all. Statistically, I've been riding to work continuously for the last 8 working days - only 1 day this month I went to work by car (so far). That's something for me to beat. Will the streak be chopped off by circumstances, I wouldn't know. What I do know is that I'm enjoying it.

:)

 

My last year's weeklong was quite exhausting. Nowadays, with the discovery of L-Route in part, the commute is more manageable. It used to be 12 km one way, and now I could decided whether to beat on the 12 km ride or take a shorter and flatter 10 km route. I like variety; so even though I'd choose 10 km most of the time, there are times when I would relish the 12 km route. Or, the 9.5 km route through Taman Bukit Rinting just for the challenge that awaits me.

 

For the record, this weeklong registered a total of 97.3 km. That's lesser by 10 km compared to the previous one, obviously due to the shorter L-Route.

 

I mentioned about doing a weeklong each month in that first weeklong entry. Well, I'm starting with 3 weeklongs per year for this year - that's once in 4 months average, although I wouldn't restrict myself to every 4 months. After that I'll graduate to perhaps once in two months, or maybe accelerate to monthly weeklong. Again, we'll see about that. Anyway, I'm still sticking to my resolution of at least 2 RTWs per week insyaAllah.

 

What have I learnt? One thing. To sustain a day by day commute, moderation is key. No rushing, just a relaxed ride - to and fro. For that, early out from the house is a must. Otherwise it would be an exhausting race against time - mighty tiring. Just be the tortoise, but slightly faster of course.

 

Rain? That's a different strategy.

 

Thanks for coming over.

Have a good weekend, y'all.

RTW 02.03.2011 - relaxed, with a surprise

I had to take a shower this morning.

 

Couple that with the time available, I decided to have a really relaxed ride. Planned not to shower when I reach the office, perhaps only to shampoo my hair and wash my face. I was hoping not to break sweat, thus pedaling with a relaxed cadence all the way even going uphill. That means I have to give in to climbing slowly, which I'm not quite fond of.

 

I took the Tesco + L Route. No rushing, just a relaxed pedaling all the way. All the while resisting the urge to burst into speed. Hence, the surrounding is quite different. I can see some details that I would have missed if I were to focus on getting from A to B in the shortest time as I could. Colours and sounds and smell, I could soak in a little bit more in detail.

 

Much to my surprise, in addition, is that I did door-to-door in 29 minutes. That's mind boggling, for my normal ones via the same route would be about the same. Some even longer by a minute or two. Okay, I didn't have to wait long at the two traffic lights en route; maybe that's a contributing factor.

 

What I love about the ride this morning is that I sweat not as much. Just a little wipe on the back with a small towel did the job of making me dry. My heart was not pumping as hard when I arrived at the office. In total, it was quite tranquil. I just love it. The best part is that I had 5 minutes extra for I didn't have to shower (but shampoo and facial cleanse I did).

 

Thanks for coming by.

Have a tranquil day, you.

Review: NiteIze SpokeLit

This item is neat and simple. Lightweight, too, and ready to be used right after you install it - battery is included. Plus, no tools required to install it onto your wheelset.

 

SpokeLit - shoved between my wheel spokes

Installation is a bit challenging although no tools required, and it is only suitable to 3-cross spoke wheels with normal spokes (14/15 gauge). It's a bit hard to get the spoke snugged into the groove on the SpokeLit. That being said, it is equally hard for the unit to come out from the wheel once set and slid further out from the hub towards the rim for increased holding. Definitely not for wheels with blade spokes, or the likes of Xero Element wheelsets. Make sure you have the right kind of wheelset (and spokes) in order to use this. Recommended for 32- or 36-spokes wheels.



lighted - static 

The lighting mode is continuous (press once), blinking (press twice) and off (third pressing). There's no special button on the body, just press on the middle of the unit's battery cover and it will lit. The body is translucent plastic, so the light coming out from the tiny LED is spread to the whole unit, effectively making it lit up; visible from either sides of the wheel.

 My unit is with red LED, suitable for use on the road in lieu of passive wheelset reflectors. When the wheel is spinning, you'll get a nice ring-of-light effect. Not highly visible from the rear or front of the bicycle, though, but definitely eye catching from the sides of the bike. I get 'whoa!'s from children on the roadside whenever I pass them by especially during night commute (adults would admire, too, but I know they'd suppress their awe).

:)



spinnin' around

Put it on your front wheel, and I would dare say that you'd also be glimpsing at your front wheel every 5 seconds to enjoy the glow.



I haven't tested it for waterproofness, i.e. direct spray, but after a few rides in the rain (and mud splats), the unit is still working. Thus, no worries in that department. The battery/LED/PCB dome cover which doubles up as the unit's on/blink/off switch looks the part in ensuring protection against water ingress.

It has high quality finish, and feel. Usage is perfect for night and dawn rides. My only gripe is on the installation bit. However, that also ensures that the unit won't fall of the wheel and lost along the roads. For that, I can still accept as it's a given.

Further reference:

NiteIze page on SpokeLit



SpokeLit is available locally through Gear 'n' Gadget.

Review: NiteIze LED Sport Vest

I received this for review last year, on Christmas Eve. Okay, that's not too long ago. Anyway, I've started using it for riding back from the office, whenever it's already dark out. Also for RTW when I'm early out while it's still relatively dark in the morning.

I was a bit reluctant to wear this at first, for it would be overkill with all the blinkers and reflectors that I already have on my bike, bag and right ankle. Well, in the interest of personal safety, I put it on and lit up the rear LED (continuous mode).

Of course, I myself can't tell if I'm highly visible on the roads at night. A friend passed me by in his car and commented that I was, due to the vest. So, in terms of being visible, it does the job.

It is lightweight, and airy due to mesh material used. The vest is adjustable on the waist with velcro continuing from elastic strap on left and right; within reach as they are on the front. There's a velcro fastener on the right shoulder. Combined with the front fasteners it makes wearing the vest is easy even when helmet is worn, or over a slim hydration pack. Be careful with the velcro fastener for it would catch the mesh and make it ruffled.



The red LED blinkers are of high quality, located on the left hand side, front and back. The LED is connected to a clear strip, effectively making the whole strip lit up, from the power supplied by a coin sized battery (included).

There are 2 modes: continuous and blinking. Press once for continuous, again for blinking, and the third would switch it off. If you're not using the blinkers (during the day) the fluorescent orange strips housing the LED strips are still visible from afar.

There are 2 strips of 3M Scotchlite reflectors, a bit higher from the waist, front and back across. The location of the reflectors is spot on. On the belly, it is visible from the front; if it's placed on the waist it would be hidden due to the riding position. At the back, it is not too far up either.

However, due to the traffic flow in Malaysia being on the left hand side, the postion of the LED strips would be better if it's on the right hand side. Well, this vest is imported from the US, so that's a compromise. I get around this by switching the vest's back side front. This makes the adjustment a bit difficult because I have to reach my hand to the back. The velcro on the shoulder helps a great deal when I just have to slip the vest from the top (sides already adjusted), past the helmet and just fasten the shoulder velcro.

If I could wish for an improvement, the front blinker should be white, while the rear blinker red. As it is, I switch on only the rear blinker wile leaving the front's switched off.



coiled and stashed under bungee cord on my commuter bag

Batteries are provided, the vest ready to be used the moment I took it out from the strikingly high quality packaging. Easily coiled (guided by the LED strips) and stash it inside my bag with minimal space required, or strapped under bungee cords on top of my commuter bag.

Overall it is a serious item for a serious commuter. At a glance, and further inspected, it boasts of high quality in material and make. Good for night (and dawn) rides, especially on busy roads.

Plus:

Lightweight and airy

High quality material and make

Adjustable, with velcro on shoulder

High visibility (LED, reflective strip, neon strip)

Ready to use with batteries provided

Improvement suggestion:

LED strips to be located on right hand side

Front LED to be white, not red

http://www.niteize.com/collections/led/products/led-sport-vest

Available locally through Gear n Gadget.

biker and product image from NiteIze website

RTW 11.02.2011 - Trance in da House

...in the pantry, to be exact

 

The RTW Machine was left to rest at home, mainly because I didn't detach the baby carrier from the previous evening's ride with Umar to the playground. Adding to that, time was not on my side (ok, you can read it as 'late').

 

So I took the ever ready, clean and gleamy Trance to the office for its maiden RTW ride. Well, still I had to take a few minutes to prep it up. Pumped up the tires to 50 psi, set the meter (Mity 8 has dual tire size setting capability), perched the lights front and rear.

 

The usual bumpy ride on the yellow strips on tarmac was smoothen out, and the same effect on the gravel section from U-Five Taman Rinting towards Kg. Pasir Gudang Baru. Pure bliss. However, I had to spin and crank hard all the way to beat the time. As a result, I clocked in at 0744 hours, after 26 minutes of hard riding; and close to 25 km/h average speed. Whew!

 

Note that my odometer is now reaching 6445.8 km after the morning's RTW. I started the year with 5943.9 km reading. That's 501.9 km of riding already, totaling up from RTWs, offroads and night rides. Nice... I like...

 

Stats today:

Out from home	0718	hours
Arrive office	0744	hours
Door-to-door	26	mins
Ride time	24' 58"
Distance	10.25	km
Ave. speed	24.6	km/h
Max speed	36.5	km/h
Odometer	6445.8	km
Good doggies	1
Mode	tesco + L route	Trance, knobbies, camelbak

 

Have a good day, y'all. Ride safe.

Thanks for coming over.

RTW - a week's off

With the CNY holidays this week, and myself still in bed past 7:00 am this morning (can't resist to snuggle in after Subuh), there's no RTW. Yesterday morning it was raining heavily thus I thought it was not safe to RTW due to poor visibility. Anyway, my body was aching from last Sunday's GA MTB Ride 2011. I had enough riding in the rain to last me for the year.

 

I'll be taking the day off tomorrow, and two more days of public holiday followed by the weekend. Weather permitting, I'm taking wifey and kids to Desaru insyaAllah in the afternoon. Before that, I'll see if I could get my hands dirty with the new frame. Currently I'm itching to get a go on it. Hmm...

 

Have a good week, y'all.

Be safe. Don't ride too much in the rain.

RTW 28.01.2011 - RTW Machine

Partly due to conditioning for GA MTB Ride, I have been using Hollowpoint for RTW. Since the last 8 RTWs. This morning I decided to slow it down a bit, and opted to ride my RTW Machine which has been gathering dust (for real!).

 

It was at a normal pace; I took the L-Route after scaling the hill at Taman Bukit Rinting. How nice the feeling of slicks rolling on tarmac. Been quite a long time.

 

Well, nothing much interesting today, except that I had a breakfast stop at the nasi lemak stall along the way at Taman Rinting. Been ages too, since the last time I had one.

 

Because of yesterday, my weeklong streak didn't materialise. That doesn't stop me from riding this morning, no. In fact, while driving the car yesterday, my thoughts are on my RTW route; thinking how nice it would be rather than stuck in a slow traffic while waiting to turn right to enter the yard (and then walk for 10 minutes to get to the office door).

 

Tomorrow will be a rest from RTW, and then the GA MTB Ride on Sun. If you're going, say 'Hi' to me when you bump into me. Well, figuratively speaking, of course. Don't bump me, ride along with me. Better yet, ride fast in front of me, I can draft behind you.

Heheh...

 

Have a good weekend, y'all.

See ya at Adela insyaAllah.

RTW 27.01.2011 - RELAXED

Yep, relaxed for today's RTW, as in not riding at all. Umar woke up at 6.30 and stayed wide awake. That means I have to send him to the babysitter, and the end of my weeklong venture.

 

One thing: I feel a bit sleepy at work, especially in the morning and at about 3.30 in the afternoon. Must be directly related to my not doing RTW this morning.

 

Sheesshhh...

 

Have a great day!

RTW 26.01.2011 - relaxed

It's the third RTW of the week, and maybe I could do the weeklong. Mon and Tue was a bit intense, so I decided to make this morning's ride a casual one. Still, the route's the same as yesterday and Mon.

 

Indeed, it was. The average speed is only 18.4 km/h compared to 21+ km/h on both previous days. It was at least 5 minutes longer, door-to-door time. Not a big difference, eh? But I tell ya, it's a heck of a big difference to get that 5 minutes. Had to spin all the way and pedal hard at certain sections especially long flats. Philosophically, it is very hard to replace lost time. That's the lesson from the road.

 

Have a good ride, y'all.

Thanks for stopping over.

RTW 25.01.2011 - a li'l bit of drafting

alternative parking space, nicked Rizal's usual spot

 

I went out early today, at 9 minutes to 7:00. That's quite an improvement. This time of the year, 7:00 am is still not quite bright. I donned an LED reflective jacket, lit up my ankle clip LED and rear blinker too.

 

Same as yesterday, ventured out and went up Bukit Dahlia. A bit slower this morning overall, due to my stopping at traffic lights. Well, fast was not in the agenda anyway.

 

While pedaling towards Jalan Pekeliling, an expatriate cyclist overtook me and went ahead of me with his Japanese recon bike. Not a problem for me to overtake him, but it could prove to be dangerous for the short section that we were riding on before parting away is quite narrow for me to overtake him. Instead, I just drafted behind him along the way.

 

I don't know if he was feeling a bit annoyed with me following him closely, but I sensed that he tried to pull away while glancing back once or twice. Of course, it was to no avail. Hehe... It was nice to be pedaling leisurely without much energy sapped, but that also contributes to my stretched cycling time this morning. 39 minutes door to door. It didn't matter though, fast was not in the agenda.

 

When I arrived at the office, the pantry door was locked. Yikes! So I had to park at Rizal's spot - at a corridor leading towards the toilet. Fortunately he's not doing RTW this morning, so no guilty feeling.

 

Too lazy to put the stats for today.

 

 

Have a good day.

Ride safe.

Thanks for coming over.

RTW 24.01.2011

saw these guys riding on a row with reflective striking yellow vests (and orange t-shirt too).

 

I went out just a couple minutes past 7:00 this morning. I planted in my mind, to go through the most arduous route since I have the time.

 

And I did.

 

I used the normal route, through Masai, Taman Bukit Dahlia, and instead of going up straight towards the traffic light at Masjid Jamek / Taman Mawar, I went up through Taman Dahlia. Interestingly, the names are misleading. Taman Dahlia is actually on Bukit Dahlia, while Taman Bukit Dahlia is at the bottom of it, on flatland. The reason for going up at Taman Dahlia is because that route is almost without motor vehicles. The second reason is to challenge myself in accepting a hilly route on the fly. Well, I did psyched up earlier on that, so I was kind of prepared for it.

 

No hurry, though. It was more of a 'can you make it' kind of thing. Hence, my stats shows so. Interestingly, I made it below 40 minutes door-to-door. Nice.

 

GA MTB Ride is on Sunday and I hope to make it a quick one. At least, not an exhausting one, insyaAllah. For that, my RTWs shall be my training for that. I still have 4 more RTWs (rest on Sat) for this week. Will I be doing the weeklong this week? Perhaps. Hope that Umar won't wake up early in the morning this week throughout.

 

Stats this morning:

Out from home	0702	hours
Arrive office	0740	hours
Door-to-door	38	mins
Ride time	36' 23"
Distance	12.93	km
Ave. speed	21.3	km/h
Max speed	39.0	km/h
Odometer	6196.7	km
Good doggies	1
Mode	normal route + Tmn Dahlia,	hollowpoint, knobbie, pakrak

 

Have a good day, y'all.

Thanks for your time.

Research - Toxic Cities Mock 'Healthy' Cycle Riding

Elemeekkk...

 

The Times: Toxic cities mock 'healthy' cycle riding.

 

The real solution is to find a route that cuts through kampung roads, or roads with fewest engine powered vehicles. Or, we can cycle on the road when it is relatively clear of vehicles - much earlier than the rush hour in the morning, and a bit later in the evening. The benefit is two-in-one: lesser chance for an accident to happen, and lesser smog. Added bonus if there are no playful dogs on your route.

 

Keep finding the best solution, and keep on rolling. Be safe, all the time.

 

 

Thanks for coming over.

Have a good weekend!

RTW 21.01.2011 - reflection of last year's RTW

Part of my resolution for this year in terms of cycling is to have at least 2 RTWs per week. Also to repeat at least once, the weeklong I did last year. That happened in January last year, but not this year for sure. Perhaps during school holidays. Looking back at 2010, I did 89 RTWs (regardless whether I went home by car in the evening, leaving the bike at the office). That's about 1.7 days per week in average. Of course, the whole thing would be disrupted if I have to go for a weeklong outstation.

 

Up to the third week now, I have been okay so far alhamdulillah. In fact, the first week I had 3 RTWs to start off the new year. Hopefully, insyaAllah, I could do it consistently come rain and shine.

 

I often regard my RTWs as a way to replace other sports that I would otherwise engage in, namely futsal and badminton. To think about it, it have been years since I last played any badminton. I played two futsal matches last year, participating in the office's tourney. It is not really a fair substitute, cycling to badminton or futsal, but in terms of getting sweaty in general, it's good enough for me.

 

With RTW, I spend about the same time in getting ready for a futsal game, but the only difference is that I do it while going to work. So that's saving some time for a specific sporting session altogether. Okay, I don't get to socialize while RTW, so that's the downside of it.

 

For the record, I hit the 6000 km mark on 7th Jan at the end of a Night Ride. Just nice, in the beginning of the year. Last year I did at least 2750.5 km of cycling (RTW, offroad, night rides, around the housing area, etc.). I don't have a target to be met for this year, but will be monitoring the distance pedaled as always. Anyway, my cycling activity will be very much cut down to make way to other resolutions. So, RTW is my avenue for getting my dose of endorphin.

 

Stats today:

Out from home	0709	hours
Arrive office	0736	hours
Door-to-door	27	mins
Ride time	26' 12"
Distance	10.27	km
Ave. speed	23.3	km/h
Max speed	37.0	km/h
Odometer	6151.5	km
Good doggies	0
Mode	tesco + L-Route	hollowpoint, knobbies

 

 

How was your ride last year?

Thanks for coming over.