Ride & Raw

Maybe things are just winding down or I have come to a new appreciation of things in life. Bikes and writings about bikes.. just aren't so much on about how epic things have recently been or what new super duper toys I-have-you-don't-have-that-money-can't-buy (but yea, having said, one is coming up as soon as I can get off my tardy bottom and talk tech again).

Weekend double rides had been a constant for a few weeks now. Zero point One Ton (Z.POT) has made tons of improvement on the trail.. bit by bit the adjustments are all getting there to optimize his ride and climbs.

Since we were grocery shopping before the ride, might as well throw in an extra 500gm of sake (salmon). Courtesy of Mr Z.POT
After today,  we might just start planning for a full course esp when Accident Prone Man, Nick is around for another ride...

Stupid me... whip out the spanking new Trangia impulse buybut the Wiseman in my head quickly reminded me... "He who packs a stove...must bring fuel". Guess it's Sashimi no sencha today!

Have enough pics of my bike taken... but here's how a 26" front looks on a hardtail. I'm sure thoughts are going on in someone's mind "Nah that rear has gotta go... maybe a new frame is needed. Oh wait the Piglet fits!"

"ITADAKIMASU"

and since this was a theme ride of sort...highlight of the day. LIMPEH!

TBP: End of the Road

A lonely moment of reflection: Photo credit  courtesy of "Suicide" Frankie P.

Its literally the end of the road for this little critter. For after today... this place is no more. We are here on the final hours of the final day before this trail closes up its gate for good and awaiting to be demolished....  I really can't find a more apt picture that probably represents the sentiment of many of us....







..... The price of progress and development we all have to pay.

http://anvilden.tumblr.com/post/97529054661/go-going-gone-last-day-tbp

Wet & Gritty with ShroomBacon on the sides please.

It had been awhile since the last nite ride. As usual it was SNAFU. Situation Normal All Fked Up at "final inspection" time. Right around when I got off work and reach home.

Ok wet or not.. its been too long.. so screw the little puny god-of-weekend-mood-dampener. The Band of Hefty Gonads is calling your bluff of an all niter rain...

...resplendent in AWOL mode... Awesome Wall of Light that even photon challenged sports cams can appreciate and rest in the faith of Team Bright Gonadians...

Twas only natural the "26+" was further tested after the hiatus of the last two weeks of racing...

Someone said.. "err guys, rainy, rocks slick, so tonite we go slow arh"

But straddled between a pair of lewdness exuding grippy BBWs... Big Beautiful Wheels lah! ...bouncing predictably,  aided by nubile suspension damping that takes up where the rubbery airiness left off, it was more an erotic trail induced nether region massage. At the first turn into the trail I was Hell Bat One- gone Mach 1...   Mud Spa! Oooh yea Bring it on babe.

We realized this morning after sorting out the pics... we have a new riding sensation, Mr Cotton Candy Floss. Tangy Lavender Liquorice? Hmmm.


As we reach the sanctuary of faux composite wood flooring, dry from having a shelter and certainly a welcoming respite after all the gritty wetness of the trail, we might have disturbed a couple of  semi clothed primates bonding in the dark. Ok trust me it was not intentional.

But we couldn't care less about  any biological behavour on reproduction as our lateral hypothalamus were pinging basic physiological human needs as well. The real reason for the night's ride. The waft of bacon and shrooms certainly was whetting up the Ghrelin metabolic pathway as 4 sets of eye power focus on the single $2 non stick pan sizzling out sinful nitrate filled-cancer causing delights collectively known as cured meat. But hey that's why we got healthy shrooms to neutralize it eh!

And of course sterilizing agents too

Speaking of which... I was freaking out when Nick decided to crack the cap off the Hoegarden bottle.

I mean we were all casualty free up to this point from having safely crossed the road at the start in the dead of night to surviving the pedaling exodus.

Yet here His Majesty the Accident Proneness One was trying to get at the beer by mimicking a... baboon forgetting he lacked those 4 inch canines of his distant cousins! ..

"No, Nick DON"T!    F#%k it.. U  gonna break your f#gging jaw and I'm just gonna cut you up with my EDC and dispose in the bushes. Only taking your bike home."

Thankfully it was just paranoia me screaming in my own head.. Nope.. there wasn't any arboreal scorpion tonight either. Unlike the last ride ambushing our dear friend's eye.

Might just have to dwell a little more on  the delights of Scorpiones venom in simmered human eye ball if we take our food-cooking rides to the next level.

In conclusion...  We need to do this like 10x more often.

and on a personal note-- I'm not going back to skinny rims even on non fat bikes.

Rail Ride

It pays to ride with artistic friends possessing those shutter snapping flairs... even with just an iPhone.

Like any worthwhile big rides or riding trips in the past, pedaling the usual local trail afterwards become a seriously monotonous affair for the next couple of months. However its just weird bumming around the house staring into the computer screen or TV and not on the saddle... so it was a slack Sun afternoon ride for today and some test vid with the new Contour GPS camera..

The recent buzz has all been about the old disuse KTM railway. Miss the nite railway ride with the gang, today was as good as any before all 36+ km of tracks gets dismantled to make way for more urban development.

It's amazing under the hot afternoon sun to see droves of people turning out on the track. Armed with cameras and lens bigger than my face, it looks more like Sentosa with inquisitive tourists.

Riding all the loose gravel wasn't all that bad on my 6" full squishy with low comp fully open. I just wonder how Willy was getting along on the Blue Pig though.

Bridge at Bukit Timah

Railway Quarters

Got a dose of how those Red Bull Rampage riders must be feeling....staring down 30 feet from the edge.

Never gripped the brake tighter....

Live to Ride, Ride to eat... Can't remember which ride has never been associated with food afterwards.

Laksa @ Railway Mall and a forlorn EG

Somehow the whole BT area just look surreal in the evening hours that pictures just never quite captures...

Batam 10 Apr

So said some wise weatherman friend of mine, "The dry weather is here at last..." 6 months of wet and wetter...we were all used to hosing the bike off after every ride. Sure looks good to trash it out again in Batam ... hopefully its really without the accompanying mud and grime.

With 4 trips done, I got the planning and organizing down to the hilt this time. Only.... I almost didnt quite get up in time so it's back to  breakfast on the ferry again.

C.C.W., COTES-Cam-Whore at it again... if he only knows what's in store for him later! :D














 Felt real good on carpark ride...C.C.W.'s new ride, Remedy 7

....and how will "Junesy" EG fare on its maiden Batam trip?

XC. Not my fav part of the ride but side swiping and hoping for some "spd moment" is a favorite past time of mine  Not this time though, 200+ pounds is just a tad much to dislodge  :D










XC leg over.. Fun time!

Cows Can Fly!  Where's the moon

Wah...never flat sarmore!

Of course the EGs too

ok next trip, I got to pull a no-hander to up the bar.. Secret training shall begin once back

Even the XC folks can't resist it this time.... finally after all the months of lulling them about the excitement and exhilaration, finally got all the COTES on "air".

Queen Hobbit, Athena. And it's official. First female rider to pop off the quad or any of the stuff @ Drak.

Maybe we should just rename it as "Butt"am Ridefrom now on. Better check who's the camera man next time :)

One too many for the Cow... gap a jump but tried to squeeze through the "V" of the tree ahead....

Landed! ... and a butt full of thorn... Apart from the horde, there is the ever inquisitive Apeman scrutinizing.

Ok I cant resist adding one more> This will have to go into the COTES scrapbook. Candid. Classic.

 ...and all the others not shown above.

random...

9:00 am Waiting for ride to start and obviousy shaky hands from not having my morning coffee

11:00am

I've lost count the number of times my bike leaned against this tree for a shot.
Ok double or nothing today....the new JOraNgES freshly built from the nite before.
Yup... time to u-turn after one more shot...

"Epic" Ride

Just no letting up from the sky above....pouring rain, traffic jams.
So much for starting ride at 2pm sharp. Ha.

• But, throw in the usual mileage of the local trails to cover...
• Marinated in wet roots and rocks from errmm.. 800 inches of slosh in one afternoon?
• Simmered with changing a flat under dripping foliage. 
• Gently stirred in one broken deraileur
• Bring to a slow "SS" broil
• Finally garnish with 2 crimson gash behind the calf..... all in, guess that makes up for the idea of an "epic" local ride.

Not forgetting, another lung busting dose chasing the same crazy French dude AGAIN on a dual crown, all up and down the trails... just like the first time in BT. Thomas are you reading this? :D

Always wondered what if I have to cook up a single speed to get out of the trail... nothing more "perfect" for a test than today. well it wasn't my bike. Poor Willy. But at least I'm pretty confident after this afternoon of my pin breaking and joining skills sans benefit of master pin and powerlinks to serve up a trailside "single speed" bike, beating last light to get out of the trail!

2011 First Ride Out

The COTES first ride for the new year was yesterday but road riding just isn't my thing anymore. Besides the cough was till pretty bad. Since probably none of the usual suspects are gonna be doing the a Sun offroad  after yesterday's 109km... it means another good excuse to sleep in this morning.

All rested since errrmm... from last year, it just felt weird dissolving as one with the couch, staring at the picture box all afternoon. Not really wanting to but still made 2 quick texting. Well both J and W said they can't make it. Was kinda relieved...dunno why, maybe its one of those days I really need to be riding alone.

Time to pack. Looks like its a solo first ride out for the New Year.
     Yup that will be good. No one to wait for or catch up to...

         Just me and stupid me, cursing at some soon to encounter root
         that will probably throw me off because I'm just too lost in thoughts.
         Thinking of it just put a smile on


... ...

Its mid afternoon when all should be quiet on the trail.... Frankly, I really hope not to see another soul during the ride. But with over 5 million people on a little island! Good luck!

Sliding behind a couple of utility vehicles from the nearby waterworks department, it was quiet enough though... save for the jungle noise filtering through as the bike was unracked.

A couple of macaques were squabbling and screeching for all it was worth. Well, at least its not the usual unnerving cacophony of city sounds. Slipping on the elbow guards, I was wondering which of the monkey got his bollocks sucker punched to elicit all those yelps :D

... Air was cool with the sun hiding behind the clouds today.... The 2 riders I passed on the way didn't cruise by. Probably turned in at T15.  Great. All alone now.

Five meters into the trailhead... Oops! Its mudfest time. Too late, fuck it. Mud or cess pool, I'm going riding today.

20mins...
No stopping under the big shady tree at the end of  the first trail as usual.... . It wasn't the smoothest ride but then again with all the log piles, roots and narrow bends in this trail, it never would be. However the new Vengeance up front simply gobble up everything. I could almost see it spit out all the chewed up roots and twigs that has gone under the wheels. Apt name for one kick ass fork!


Finally just as the mp3 player juiced out... I was at the LZ where imaginary helicopters land. Certainly no whooping metal birds around. Just me and the EG.

Ok 5 mins and 1 Power Gel later...Time to saddle up! Now the mud part really begins... however the luring stretches of descents are also beckoning.. Pedal, pedal, pedal...

Saw 2 other riders at the u-turn point. A quick hello and as they saddle up, I was determined no XC bike is gonna catch me today. So wheeling the EG around...shot my way up, where the euphoria of the recent decend ended just a minute ago

Again the fork delivered....guess with the new bar and stem combo, everything is really dialled in on the new front package on the bike.

Back the same way and reverse the first trail...  Got back to the car, 16:45...  Ah fark it, let' do another round.... Somehow I knew I was gonna do something stupid like this today. I mean how often do I pack lights on a day ride... oh well.

18:05....it was really getting dark under the canopy.

Could just smell the rain in the air. Ok time to abort the last leg reversing Trail One. Shortcut back out from T15. Good enough...

...28 muddy km today including all the traversing for some extra descends. A chain and stanchions that had to be watered down from the hydro bag 4 times plus a  rear deraileur so covered in mud its looking like an old dog's loose hanging bollock. Finally done for the day!

Need to cover a lot this year to push the fitness level up. Not forgetting there is a 100K ultramarathon that I signed up for during a moment of insanity. Keep up with the younger ones on rides and generally be able to enjoy the longer trails overseas... Need to start somewhere and today was as good as any.

Xmas eve ride

Must have pissed off the God of Holiday Cold and Flu Bugs..... bloody critters will find a way to breakout in my system whenever the holidays are here. A time where rides of course are planned in the bucket loads..

Saddled with a year end work report due today in a world where commodities pricing has gone apeshit for the last 6 months....I wrapped it up by 1pm while coordinating the booking for another big ride at Drak come Monday.

The bugs?...Screw them.  I'm riding whether it tags along by then.

Another few more calls later...hook up with Mohd for a quick spin at TT. Weather looks good. Though the sky threatens to cry while on the way home from office but Im calling its bluff.

Was the only one at the trail head @ 3:20pm.....looks deserted.
5 mins later... Lookie lookie.. Who's here!  The Rideable jing gang!
Wait....Mok and Berd too... Am I glad to meet friends and old faces..

Chatted up a couple of other dudes that has been reading my blog and of course one of the topics gravitated to X-fusion stuff. Well no amount of talking is gonna be as convincing, so I told one of them to hop on the EG and  test the Vengeance out for himself. Oh yes I am really that confident of that kickass fork by now..


It was a day meant to just enjoy the pedaling and the flow of the trail. Didn't measure up to my usual anal self and check if tire pressure was in my "right" range. No fiddling with the suspensions.  Off we went and  everything was just soaked up nicely, firm where needed. Rock gardens, no hesitation. Just keep pumping and everything else was in auto-cruise control...

......1 big bad bike
2 ride-hungry dudes
3 Xmas sniffles
.... and no OTB that lands on a tree

Yes one of those days when everything was stacked against going out for a ride but one that ends up putting a smile on the face.   Time to see what the missus is cooking for dinner.... and a  Hoyo no.2 with the log cake.

Rides: Batam 28 Sep 2010

With work schedule packed back to back and coughing away, I was resigned to a boring week of ridelessness. Then a last minute slot availability for the trip pop up.... like hell I wouldn't jump at the chance. Flu or not.

2nd ride with the Rideables for me. Man, can these guys ever ride! Still as strong as ever if not more so.

No hope of me catching the Flying Ah Gong once again, 'cept at breaktimes and while loading up on the way to the trail....

Before the start, still not knowing what's gonna hit us shortly.....

The youngest 4 (including yours truly) in today's group of 14 riders

Cant wait for the "official" cam and vid shots. My sloppy camphone is simply hopeless. Ugh!

Entire trail network in the area through the dedication of one man, Stewart. I am sure glad we have Singaporeans who have such spirits and able to find access, build stuffs and share with all of us here back home.

After sloshing thru up to waist deep torrential rain.....Lunch break! Damn, there'e even a couple of skinnies and see saws if anyone cared for it. But guess it was just a tad too wet. Besides it was kinda hardto tear ourselves away from the hot coffee and tea from the comfort of the shelter area.

The waterways are gorged to the brim from yesterday's torrent. With no let up in sight for the afternoon....screw the wet, lets dig in to the....

....FOOOOD

Burps...more burps... and ready to move out for the 2nd leg...

Can't wait for the action pics and vids!













*edit* Didn't think I was "captured" well....I'm not complaining  :-DD

There's always a first time.

Was cocking a brow when Willy's sms read " help keep a lookout for a ok frame and fork for offroad..." Timing could'nt have been better. Next day, Fickle Jem decides to sell his Dialledbike Alpine scarcely less than a month after building it up!

Of course I'm all up for grabs on this 853 frame that I've been eying for 2 years. Couple of quick sms later....the Alpine is mine and the Pig goes Willy. But before the dismantling, thought it would be good for him to get a feel of the frame and we planned for a weekend ride.

Today's ride... ended up with Crank and Dylon tagging along plus another unexpected first time off roading, Jarrod.

Offroad virgins grinning like the residential macaques on the trail before the ride....

Collecting their wit and stuffing back whatever lunch that wasn't regurgitated....

a grinning and by now seasoned Dylon that remembered his own bollocks dropping first ride at KR with us.

Pig and EG....first time ever both out on the trail on the same day

Finally, nailed all the setting changes after my recent spate of component swap.... 160mm up the oxymoronic accending rockgarden.





















Back at a very familiar spot from my childhood days....Jarrod's house. Days of spiders and "longkang" fish catching in the 70s.... Think I like it even better now...my bike gets to go back without further washing back home :)









 Yea its good to have friends, even if they are decades old (and all moldy) and I'll soon get my bike building fix for another 2 bikes if not more...

Skittles. Anyone?

Another boring Sun ride at Ketam..same old trail and same old me with insufficient sleep again under 200% humidity weather as usual.

After the usual rounds at Ketam, we went around the island on a "mission", scouting the various beaches for signs of litter. Trust Athena to come up with a thing like this, this time its picking up litter on some International Pick Litter Day or whatever (I seriously can't remember)

So 4 guys got dragged by our favourite Auntie Na around the island for a recce mission for the upcoming event to catch unwary volunteers. Can imagine trapping them to come to the last bastion of rural Singapore, only to wade into dirty smelling sandy goo in some pathetically receding front we still call beaches. They will probably be cursing under their breath until someone whips out a digital cam or handphone and all the soil and toil will be forgotten.  Happy face picture with a sun faded Coke can to Facebook or Twit all about it after the weekend.


Ok I'm grumpy today. Have to admit it all sounds to be for a good cause. Just old cynical me that's writing again.

 Auntie Na furiously jotting down the unsanitary condition of each beach. Just look at her engross and enthusiastic face....what evil plans have been hatched for them poor unsuspecting volunteers???

...and more furious jotting....Damn! these litter picker volunteers are gonna be really slave-driven on that day. 
 somehow envisaging her with a whip in hand reminds me of he TV series "Roots"


Can't fault her I guess, after all its our dear Auntie Na that came up with the COTES jersey slogan : Your Torture My Pleasure







We went around, rediscovering old trails long forgotten since Ketam has been built and became the de-facto mountain biking trail. These old trails is what Ubin is really all about. Tranquility, something to take you away from the tombstone pillars landscape that some called a robust growing metropolitan city filled with nothing but skyscrapers. In a flash, that sense of exploration during all those early years of mountain biking came flooding back. Strange, we have been coming back to Ubin since the Ketam trail was built but hardly ever venture out of there. Each time it is like tunnel travelling; straight to the trail, finish, get out and straight back to the jetty.

Throw a dog a frisbee, that's the same reaction you get when u put a staircase in front of Dylon. Hey we still get to sneak off for a bit of action despite being ringed and pull by the Slave Driver Woman....

Is there ever a ride that our dear camwhore has not taken a self portrait?  Hhmmm sumthing seems missing. Oh his signature orange jersey that gave him the title of Orange Cam Whore










As we were laying palms to get across a fetid pool of water and looking at all the fallen trees with tangling branches, it just reminded me how much offroad biking was back then. Dismounting, hauling big ass trunks and improvising before getting back on our bikes to more uncharted terrain ahead. Anything to jump or drop was truly a natural feature. Nothing purpose built.

Lots of reminisicing started sprouting  as all those past rides came flooding back. Oh, and of course we couldn't not have missed out for the millionth time, the inevitable mention of what the COTES coined as the "1 Man, 1 Woman, 1 Girl Hill"... innocuous looking slope covered in slick leaf litter that as the name suggest was only cleared by 3 despite repeated attempts by many more to crest the top. A humbling lesson for many on their swanky 6K xc rigs that just got beaten back...only to see a little girl of 10 clearing it with relative ease.

Finally.......4-5 beaches later, we came to the last stop. As Athena was busy snapping up pics of the beachfront, I saw a little opening that looked like a trail. So I went ahead without telling the rest. Couple of natural humps and a few gnarly roots created for a nice short section. It came to an abrupt dead end and I was a little disappointed. So there I was cursing again as usual about how the main island is truly small and these offshore island is even smaller. Turning around, I looked down and hey! Saga seeds, Adenanthera pavonina.

Picked up a few immediately.. the sight of these beautiful red seeds is like discovering some long lost friend! For many years, I was always casually looking around on the mainland but never chanced upon another of these tree since my primary school days. Memories of that few big shady trees in school where we picked countless of these seed and kept for years, where kids made a game out of it to while away time if they are not busy bragging about who has the largest, bad-ass fighting spider from a recent catch.

Yes it sounds pathetic but that's the 70s and who has ever heard of a personal computer, nevermind a labtop or even dreamt that one day u could pick up a telephone that hasn't a wired attached to it and talk to friends 1/2 the world away. Well...come to think of it, who, back then actually had friends that were half the world away!

Guess it didn't turn out to be such a boring day after all. Maybe it really is the last patch of Singapore that is untouched by the hustle and bustle of rapid urban expansion. But time to get the "f" out of here...tranquil or not, those pesky mozzies are zeroing in................