bicycle on Microsoft Clip Art

If you're doing posters or flyers for cycling event using Microsoft Office, consider using clip arts as the stock image/icon/vector graphics.

Here's the link for my search on 'bicycle' in Microsoft Office Online clip art. It returned 31 pages of 12 clip arts featuring all sorts of bicycles, although included in the set are 3 motorbikes (appahalll... bicycle wannabes?).

Other uses include as a temporary image/avatar for bike forum membership, or even facebook. Just don't use them as a 'bike for sale' photo for your BBS ad.

Amri's First Offroad

Introducing my elder brother Amri.

 

He was in Seri Alam last weekend with his family and my parents for a relative's wedding in Bandar Penawar (Saturday) and Taman Pelangi (Sunday).

 

I invited him to ride offroad with me in Seri Alam, while he's here. And he's up for it. So he brought along his helmet, bag (with patches, patch kit and multi-tool ready), and shoes. Naza and I offered him the Diamondback as his ride.

 

I woke up a bit late that Sunday morning, and rushed to do a few things. I went to Osman to get take-away roti canai for the family's breakfast, while he's at home stuffing Innova with our bikes and riding paraphernalia.

 

8:00 am we arrived in Ruza Taman Scientex for our breakfast. He went for his, while I was busy setting up our rides. Only after that I took my breakfast of nasi goreng with fried egg and warm Milo all devoured in 5 minutes time. Should've asked the girl at the restaurant to blend my breakfast + Milo - easier for me to slurp it up while riding towards Flora Heights.

 

Yup, we went offroad from FH, with 14 other riders that morning. Amri's knees gave way during the climb, and so he TnT (turun and tolak) all the way up. I chaperoned him and kept his company.

 

After FH, we went on another mild climb in the rubber plantation until the stop before going down the rodeo downhill. Another TnT for my bro, and another slow ride for me. Along the route, however, when it's a mild downhill, I sped up :). I don't know how long it took to regroup with the others, but I'm sure the guys are having a good time resting after the climb (while donating blood, of course).

 

We went into various terrains - uphill, downhill, singletracks, wide paths, rocky trail, rubber plantation, palm oil plantation, and a visit to the lake. Also, to the usual stops - Mashi Maro and Badminton. Quite comprehensive, and it would be even better if we have a waterfall too!

 

Among the riders are also Wahid of MR MoBiC who came all the way from Melaka. It's always a pleasure to have people from outside our locality to join the rides. Anyway, the trails are not that unfamiliar to him, for he rode with us here before this. It was in March last year. Hmmm... seems like an annual excursion, eh...

 

Amri and I went out at Seri Alam's Big Valley Ranch at around 12.30pm. We pedaled home straight away, with the idea of fetching the car at Taman Scientex later on. Reason being, we are to leave for the wedding reception after zuhr. Of course, yours truly was a bit exhausted as well. Have to admit that.

 

For me, it's quite a nice ride. Especially as I have not ridden the trails in March at all. Much more, is the presence of my brother.

 

To Amri, jangan serik. Lain kali join kayuh lagi...

 

Ride photos are here.

 

He ain't heavy... he's my brother

Lyrics here

 

 

 

 

Rad (1986)

Perhaps the best BMX movie I've ever watched (all three of them, including Roda Roda, a Malaysian movie) during my primary school years. Someone from my neighbourhood was able to get the VHS tape (plus located the player), and we gathered to watch the actions in awe. To me, especially the backflip that the main character practiced at home (and failed many times, of course) and executed well in the race.

What's nice to see during those time was that in the US, they already have proper dirt track for BMX races on the hill, flowing through trees and rocky sections much like XC trails. This, of course is to compare it with the BMX track at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa for races on Hari Wilayah (those were the days, my friends).

It'd be rad to have a copy of the official DVD. If they are to release it.

Help 'em.

Info from Wikipedia here.

Info from fast-rewind here. Ignore the last sentence. Like BMX, mountain bike will never fade.

On a side note, Premium Rush is a movie I'm looking forward to, due 2011.

poster taken from the bring back page

Tire Bag

What: Dimpa, transparent storage case from Ikea (I call it the Ikea spare tire bag).

Price: used to be about RM10, at the time of writing it's RM12.90.

Usage:

1. as a storage bag for spare wheelsets

2. as a storage bag for spare wirebead tires

3. as a cargo bag for wheelsets to put inside the car

 

Keep your store room neat. Put your wheelsets, rims or tires in the spare tire bag. The size is quite right for a pair of mtb wheelsets, although you may find that at times you would have to squeeze them in a bit.

 

If you store both your front and rear wheelsets together, you might want to consider putting a rag or foam between them to protect the skewers, cassette and spokes from rubbing each other during handling. Otherwise, you can have dedicated bags for front and rear wheelsets.

 

If, like me, you prefer to carry your bike in the car rather than using the rear rack, you can use the bag to stow your mud laden wheelsets in the bag and put them on the back seat or in the bonnet. Note that the mud's there not necessarily after offroad ride, it may present before the ride (lazy to wash, from last weekend offroad).

 

For the bike, perhaps you can use Frakta tarpaulin to put cover your car backseat as a liner.

 

Alternatively, for the bag, you can get quite the same item from Tesco stores. Look for it on the DIY aisles. Don't be surprised if you find other familiar Ikea items on their racks as well.

 

photo taken from Ikea Malaysia website

A Chance Meeting

With the family on tow, I went to Senawang yesterday for Yad's wedding this afternoon. Sorta killing three birds with one stone. The other agenda is balik kampung to my mother's place in Seremban Jaya (technically still in Senawang), and to pay a visit to Jeffree's bike shop at Taman Seri Pagi.

Actually there's nothing else for me to look for at a bike shop, buy hey, if I don't ride, I write. If I don't write, the bike shop I go to (macam banyak duit). Just browsing through, a few things caught my interest. Particularly, the Specialized Sirrus on display. Immediately I noticed that it's a commuter bike, with ergonomic grips (winged for the outer palm) and rigid fork with threaded hole for pannier rack. I didn't notice the suspension seatpost as stated in the specs on the website, though. At RM1680, it's a nice bike for RTW (and touring) it seems, with the sexy curvy top tube to boot... hmm...

While in the shop, Jeffree came up to me and said "Akmal tengok tengok dulu ya, saya ada kerja sikit nak buat". He remembers me by name! What a guy. Then shortly after three guys came in and were talking to Jeffree about a biking accident. I was not paying attention to what they were talking aboutTh, until suddenly someone said "tanya lah Man CIOCC ni... bla bla bla". Hey, wait. Man CIOCC is a follower of this blog. I extended my right hand to Man and said "Akmal". He replied, "akmal bike park?". He he... another face now attached to a familiar name. No camera at hand. If not, I would have another photo with my blog follower for my collection.

He was surprised I was in Senawang, when he learned that I live in Masai. Well, I'm sursprised to see him in Senawang too, as Man's house is in Bangi! So we spent some time chatting in the shop. Truly a chance meeting, I'm glad I went to the bike shop yesterday.


And man... that Sirrus is haunting.

Firsts - a note to self

Note to self:
My first mountain bike is a 24 speed Polygon Xtrada, bought second hand in August 2007 during my short stint in KL.
My first offroad (it was at FRIM) was on Deepavali 2007 (November) .
My first offroad in Pasir Gudang was on Sunday, 6th January 2008.
I first started my RTW on Saturday, 12th July 2008.

LTdL 2010

Le Tour de Langkawi 2010 | 1st - 7th March

Two things amiss:

1. Langkawi is not part of the tour
2. What's with the event name in French?

What's wrong with 'Jelajah Langkawi' or 'Jelajah Semenanjung Malaysia', for the sake of logic.

Bahasa Melayu is not good enough for the world stage?

Also, people are quite surprised there's no criterium in KL this time.

Cateye Mity 8

I lost my trusty meter during last Sunday's offroad outing in Seri Alam.

How's that for a nice excuse to get myself a new one. Yay!

Thinking that it would serve a few purpose, so I went ahead with it. To be honest, it was not really with much thinking, actually.

Anyway, it means:

1. A newer design than my Velo 8.

2. Hopefully better features.

3. A spare magnet for my RTW wheelset with slicks.

It was purely by chance that I ended up with Cateye Mity 8 (CC-MT400). Well, it's no accident that it's a Cateye, since I wanted it to be compatible with Velo 8's bracket and sensor. I've more or less narrowed down my choice to either Enduro 8 or Mity 8. I made a few calls that Sunday afternoon, and most shops are selling at about RM85. Surprisingly, Velo 8 is priced at RM80.

I went to the bike shop in Masai to send Marsya's front wheelset for repair. They have a Mity 8 (the only Cateye meter in the shop), and after haggling with the owner, I managed to get it for RM80. Not too bad. No need to burn fuel to Skudai or Tampoi. No need to wait for a few days if through BBS. And best of all, it's priced the same as Velo 8 - although I would be happier if it's not more than RM70.

Spent an hour to understand the functions of Mity 8 through the included manual. The difference with Velo 8 is that this one does away with the calorimeter (not of much use to me, by the way). Other new functions are dual trip distance and dual tire setting. Both are perfect for my RTW/offroad rides.

With dual distance, I could set the distance for my RTW to and from the office. With dual tire setting, I could set it for the two wheelsets I'm using - one for slicks (26/1.6") and another for knobbies (26/2.1").

Another plus: I could set the odometer manually. Currently continuing at 3500 km mark (my rough estimate of my dear 'ol Velo 8's reading).

I have to note here also that Cateye has improved the meter bracket for handlebar (no more using cable ties) and the sensor bracket for fork leg mounting. Much better than the Velo 8's.

Well, it proved to be a good buy in many aspects. Just that this morning I went out RTW without installing the new extra magnet on my slicks wheelset. Duhh!

Night Ride: Offroad Seri Alam - Plentong

19.02.2010 - Friday

Panjang et. al. have been doing NR around Pasir Gudang on Friday nights for a few weeks already. I joined them for the first time last Friday, thanks for things being in order at home. The other factor is that that Saturday is a non-working day for me.

I phoned Panjang half an hour before they start rolling from the RV point in Nusa Damai. He told me to use knobbies instead of slicks, for we are going offroad. Due to lack of time, I decided to wait for them at Seri Alam.

At the back of my mind, I thought we were to go only a short distance offroad. Heck no, we went offroad all the way from Seri Alam to Plentong! Return route was via Jalan Masai Lama on tarmac. I went with them to the restaurant in Seri Alam near Atuk's residence for a drink, and then only we part ways.

Two things:

One - what a nice different atmosphere! Totally different experience, although we went through familiar routes.

Two - the headlamp I got from BC Kelolo is simply awesome. Retailing at RM45, uses 3 AAA batteries, it lit up the trail very well. So much so that I was unofficially nominated to be the sweeper. It lasted for a good one hour and a bit more on the batteries using low power.

Kadafi, Yad: korang takde masa tu. Best gile (sebab offroad NR, bukan sebab korang takde).

Jamboree MTB Jasin 2010

What: Jamboree MTB Jasin 2010

When: Sunday 2nd May 2010, 0900 hrs

Where: Stadium Jasin, Jasin, Melaka

Fee: RM50 (before 2nd April), RM60 (2nd April onwards)

Ride description, taken from http://www.mbikejbc.co.cc/2010/02/jamboree-mtb-jasin-2010_18.html:

Jarak laluan untuk program ini adalah dianggarkan sejauh 50 kilometer dan lokasi laluan ini adalah meliputi lima ( 5 ) rupabentuk mukabumi ( Laluan Jalanraya / Ladang Getah / Ladang Kelapa Sawit/ Taman Perumahan / Kawasan Kampung ) di kawasan sekitar Pekan Jasin yang meliputi Kampung Air Barok, Kampung Kesang, Kampung Kesang Pajak, Kampung Kemengkang, Felda Tun Ghafar Baba Kemendor, Kampung Seri Kesang, Kampung Orang Asli Gapam II, Kampung Bukit Katong, Kampung Rim, Jasin Height dan Stadium Jasin.

Secara teknikal, Program ini bukanlah berbentuk pertandingan tetapi lebih kepada acara ' cross country ' yang memberi peluang kepada para peserta untuk menjelajah laluan yang telah ditetapkan dalam tempoh masa selama lima (5) jam.

For more info, go here: http://jasinjamboree-mbikejbc.blogspot.com/

-------------

One good reason for me to go back to Jasin (after a long, long time).

Perhaps I could spare some time to visit the school, too.

Shahnaz, Zul Hess, you're up for it bros?

CST tires

Seen a few of the folded type variant of CST brand tires in bike shops lately. I've seen (and used) the inner tubes since my first mtb experience a few years ago, though.

It's quite enlightening to know that they are some sort of a contract manufacturer. And Maxxis is actually their brand name. Psychologically, names can make a product well received, rather than reputation. At least for me, I didn't really give a damn good thought about the CST tires at first. However, they are quite cheap compared to the other brands (Kenda, Hutchinson, ehm Maxxis, Continental, etc.).

Now, with reputation and attractive price, it's a sure bet that CST tires would give a good run for the other popular brand's money.

CST XC treads:

http://www.csttires.com/Products/Product-Search-Results.aspx?divisionSearch=/Bicycle.aspx&searchType=0&productSearchType=2&productSearchTerrain=8&pageRef=54

Interestingly, all models start with a C.

Other referenced links:

http://www.bikepro.com/products/tires/cst.html

http://www.tire-information-world.com/maxxis-tires.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Shin_Rubber

Batavus Favoriet - photo gallery

I've posted entries regarding Batavus Favoriet parked in the yard some time before.

Got the chance to have some private time (with Kadafi) to take some photos of the beaut.

Photos are here.

Change of Guardian

When: Wednesday 10.02.2010, 10.00 pm

Where: Bandar Bistari Perdana, Pasir Gudang

Who: Akmal, Aladin

What: My everdearest Bianchi Mutt with parts new and used changed its guardianship.

It's a mixed feeling.

Sad to let it go. Happy for helping a newbie. Elated with the cash received in lieu.

I think, the feeling is more towards happy. I was once helped with a T-Bolt, and I thought I should extend the deed to another.

Sure, there are memories pasted all over the Mutt, not to mention dirt marks and scratches. I was ready to let go and not be too sentimental about it, hence the frame sitting pretty in my store room was revived for the new owner.

Took parts from Naza's idling bike, and bought new and used ones too for this project. I'm satisfied with the result. Well, the feeling is indescribable, upon seeing your assembly finished off. Wheelset, handlebar, stem, shifter, fork, crankset, chain, seatpost and saddle are all from Naza's. Bought new Deore 2009 RD from BBS, used Deore 2009 FD from Kadafi, and new BR-M575 hydraulic brakes from Tajudin.

Wait. That means Naza's bike is practically stripped off.

Big grin for me. Now hunting for parts to build up again her bike.

Woohoo!

value of cash exchanged for parting with my creation is requested to be kept confidential by owner

photo by Aladin

07.02.2010 Seri Alam - Plentong offroad: 33km of XC

I went out early morning and cycled 9.55 km to Ruza Cafe for my fix of offroad ride on Sunday. It occured to me that the last ride was during GA Fun Ride. No wonder I was psyched up and looked forward for that ride.

There were 2 groups that morning - XC riders and FR/DH junkies. I went with six others and headed to Flora Heights, led by EG who is guided with Panjang's GPS on his handlebar. The rest went in with Panjang.

We went in and rode quietly non-stop. The first proper stop being at the 17th km mark - neither at Badminton, nor after scaling Bukit Panjang. We rested at the canopy en route to Plentong. Quite nice, for a change. I guess it's workable because the fitness level of the 7 riders are on the same level. The other big factor is the small group of riders that day.

The next proper stop was at the 28th km, just 5 km away from The Big Valley Ranch where I depart from the rest and headed home at 12.30pm. Nope, didn't watch Melodi when I reached home 10 minutes later.

It's interesting to note that I brought enough isotonic with a little bit more to spare in my bladder for that ride - just 1 liter. I brought along a bottle (600 ml) full of plain water on my bike too, still half full by the end of the ride.

The ride was different. We went through the Plentong Epic Ride route. I enjoyed especially the flowy mild descending singletrack towards CP1. Kudos to EG for leading us in and out safely. Albeit for the numerous track checks, for me it's still okay.

No photos, sorry, I deliberately left the camera at home to enjoy fully this ride.

Hope your weekend ride was good too.

Thanks for stopping by. Take care, you, be it on the road or offroad.

Ibera PakRak, Senawang Bicycle Station

I went back to Senawang for Ayah's birthday, and my cousin's son Suhaimi's wedding ceremony last weekend.

There's a nice bike shop in Senawang, which I have been wanting to pay a visit. Senawang Bicycle Station is closed on Sundays (ride day), so I made it a point to go there on Saturday morning. I went out at 10.30 am after breakfast to the bike shop (an excuse to Ayah when he asked me where I'm going to). Before the bike shop, I went to Dataran Senawang to get Ayah's surprise birthday cake (an excuse to the others).

The mission of the visit: One is to check out the shop itself, and the other one is to get myself a Topeak MTX BeamRack, and discuss with Jeffree on which one should I get for the bike - Type A, E or V. At the same time, I'm getting the system bag MTX TrunkBag DX to complement it. Damage to the wallet expected to be in the range of RM350, following discussion with BC Kelolo. All for the joy of back-free RTW journey.

The bike shop is nicely stocked with bikes, parts, and good service. I was attended by Jeffree, all the while. And he remembers my name. From what I heard, he was Negeri Sembilan's cyclist in his heyday. If that's so, he should be good with bikes. Well, I would say that he is.

I told him what I was looking for, and he replied that he's just out of stock with the beam rack. For the bag, he's got only the EX, which is not what I'm after. However, he gave me an alternative - something I have never seen or heard before, goes by the name Ibera.

Huh?

Time for internet research, then. Well, at least they have a website that I could refer to. That evening, I went to my elder brother Amri's house nearby the shop (how nice...), and began my short research. Short, because I was short of time, and there's not much reference in terms of product review for Ibera's RA1 Carrier nor their BA1 bag. I guess I'll be the first to give a review in mtbr. At the time of writing, there's none.

Things that made me buy the items:

(+) The products are of high quality (well, I would say that it fared well compared to Topeak's EX), although both lacks the waterproofness. However, Ibera's have ABS carbon-look plastic base.

(+) It is a system - in this case, PakRak - looks neat and tidy. The carrier is rated at 10 kg, compared to Topeak's 9 kg. However, Topeak's MTX BeamRack is using QR clamp while Ibera is using allen bolt. Well, I could live with that.

(+) Price for both Ibera bag and carrier is RM228 (RM69 carrier, RM159 bag) - saves me $ by a bit more than RM100, although I have to pay RM10 for a year of BS membership in order to enjoy the discounts.

(-) I have to note here that as a system, Topeak's weigh in at 1.7kg while Ibera is 1.9kg.

Next, will be my review in this blog, and perhaps some time later, my mtbr review. I planned to have my first ride with it for RTW on Tuesday. Good things can't wait, I had it on Monday instead. Still to early to give my views, though. I got to tell y'all this: it's great to feel the wind on my back.

Now toying with the idea of a short road tour... hmm...