De-congestion Ride

The thing I really hate about getting the flu bug isn't when it gets me all delirious on the first 2 days but the pesky stuff that just never seems to leave the lung and nasal cavities.

Limey was fighting in the loo today and called to say no go for him. Guess it was gonna be a solo ride afterall. Only problem was my epoxied snotted interiors made me envision asphyxiating halfway through on what would have been a hot but great Sun afternoon ride. Wheezing and catching my last breath with not another soul in sight... as I lay down looking upward through the foliage and see one last withered leaf falling... falling.   OK guess that's quite enough of the morbidity that's going through my mind these days...


Of course there is the lovely 34-35 degree Celcius weather and surrealistic haze so generously donated by our Sumatran neighbours all the way from across the Malacca Straits. So if the snot don't get me maybe incubating under the foliage to a crispy heatstroke and smelling like some beef jerky from all those Indonesian palm plantation burning away might be fun.

Healthy pool of mostly Rasbora elegans. Many already at full size.

5km in....  I haven't been back here for more than 6 months but each time would never fail to check out the local inhabitants of these little water spots. Rasbora elegans mostly. To many, they are just bland little critters not even worth a spot in the aquariums back home. But it never fail to amaze me that in our highly urban metropolitan island state, little habitats like these still exist. Judging from their appearance and surrounding, apparently rather healthy too. As a once aspiring biologist and subsequently an ornamental fish "farmer" for 10 years, I reckon the affinity for such things will always be a part of me.

Fresh lichen: Did someone dropped powdered green chalk all over the trail.

About the ride... oh what can i say hmmm.. ok getting all hydrated and juiced up I was tanked to the brim with fluids and packed what's not my usual these days.. a full Camelback of 3 liters + more cold juice on the sides. Under the present climate, this can only mean one thing. If your kids are scared of the Sweaty Monster, never invite me to your house after a ride. Ever!

As with so many of my testings done on the trails, I have a hypothesis that all the heat generated from the ride and the fluids would actually somehow clear up all the congestion just like choked pipes would from having hot water running through them. Guess what! It worked. Apart from flinging a marine aquarium worth of salty water, all the disgusting gobbledy gobs came  gushing out fast and furious... No, it wasn't a beautiful sight...and persevere I did, to complete the whole 2 trails.

Expecting to be out by 4:45-- but with new setup, uber dry trail with the usual roots, heat and all the wheezing that surprisingly hasn't killed me... it took an additional hour.
Despite being in no condition, I did manage to focus and remembered a number of stuffs from the ride....like why the new Fat Albert front isn't really a conducive dry tire and discover I'm really not a straight bar person after this ride... but ok these aren't things I want to barf on and on in today's post. Another time.