My World. My Life.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

{*the aftermath*}

its amazing how small the world has become with the advent of the internet and more specifically, blogs huh? : P

with reference to the previous post, P143 and P144 are none other than patience and alvin :) once again, i was wrong and they are a couple, not siblings! nice to chat with you folks, lets go cycling another time yeah?

and for you guys who went for the bike rally, thanks to mr sivasothi , here is a link to some bloggies & photos . all credit goes to mr sivasothi!

next up, rollerblading at east coast park with flo, ain & gang and jefri. lets go kick up some dust!

Gabby | 2:49 PM

Monday, May 28, 2007

{*ntu bike rally 2007*}

128 gruelling kilometres. heat, windy conditions, distance standing between us and the finishing point - it was a island-wide cycling event which started from east coast park at 6+am and ended ard 5:30pm for jefri and i. a real achievement! really!

the bike rally started pretty early, as mentioned above. eyelids laden with the lack of sleep, jefri and i reached east coast park ard 6am and registered. were given our numbers, which we had to attach to our singlets and bike. WIND resistance ok lol! long distance we had to walk to visit the toilet, while jefri's daddy looked over our belongings.

eventually the event started! lead cyclists clad in yellow singlets naturally, led the way. excitement and anticipation was in the air, almost everyone was laughing, leisurely cycling since there simply wasnt room to accelerate smoothly due to the massive number of people. hit the roads eventually and there was when the fun started! jefri and i drafted behind P143 and P144! hahha we were debating towards the end, whether they were a pair or were brother & sister since they had the same bike (save for one having a disc brake, e other v-brakes) and bottles. somehow, they made the wrong turn and headed towards AYE, but we couldnt alert them from behind even after having made a ruckus. so yeah we had to accelerate towards the leading pack to catch some draft :)

plain cycling until after the ntu checkpoint - PURE madness! the route went from ntu, alongside murai camp, towards sungei gedong. lots lots lots lots of up-slopes! sapped our energy, was tedious. i was really glad when we reached the checkpoint at kranji. by then, we noticed that the number of cyclists was gradually lessening - more people were either dropping out or riding shotgun on the air-conditioned bus while the lorry carried their bicycles.

nothing eventful until we hit the mandai road stretch - again, it was one of the more tedious leg. up-slopes all the way and given our already battered bodies, was hardwork. by then, i was physically and mentally fatigued, mostly from the lack of sleep. however, with jefri there, we had to finish the 128km - it was no question!

i found the serangoon-changi route really tiring - having broken free of the chasing pack, i had to face the head-winds myself, pushing through the irritatingly strong winds until i reached the leading pack - by then i was so tired that i began to drop back a little and this meant that i was again, alone to face the winds! was chatting with this guy on a road bike, who had a sprained/overexerted calve/thigh, nice fellow, hope he was okay.

changi seaside checkpoint. wolved down the bread they provided, as well as close to a gallon of liquids. was completely dehydrated though i kept a constant intake of water throughout the journey. jefri, being the heavy sleeper he was, fell asleep on the bench. hahha amazing leh! by then, we were already extremely sticky and there was no way i could have done that.

finally, the last dash to the finishing line! drafted behind P143 and P144 again, broke free and overtook quite a few riders before deciding to draft behind this rather athletic man on a blue bike. extremely fast. he soon got tired, so i overtook him shortly after hitting the east coast park area. sped all the way, heaviest gear in front, 2nd heaviest gear at the back. and YAY! finishing line - was one of the few first to complete : ) jefri joined ard 1 minute later.

collected the goodie bag, slacked till jefri's daddy came to fetch us. the sense of accomplishment was ever so present - though we cycled frequently and even cycled from bukit panjang to east coast park on 2 occasions, we never came close to the 100km mark, let alone 128km. the thought of giving up was ever present(esp when my left eye kept watering whenever we stopped) but im proud that we did it. so what if we rode on mountain bikes? so what if our bikes were significiantly heavier than the roadies? so what if we slept late and this was our 1st long distance attempt? we were always in the leading pack or at the front of the chasing pack. having said that, WE DID IT : )

nevermind the sunburn. nevermind the aching shoulders, legs, bottoms. it is an experience that doesnt come very often. we were one with our bikes, and they did not fail us. well done NTU bike rally participants! you may have been fast, or slow. but that doesnt matter - you completed the event! thank you ntu and sponsors!

PS: too bad the full team of teamspeedvirus din follow us to the finishing line - they are really good rollerskaters! its hard work to cycle, let alone to rollerblading.

Gabby | 11:08 AM

Sunday, May 20, 2007

{*pulau ubin and the fun road trip*}

this past sunday was indeed, a very fulfilling one. woke up early to attend the briefing for the ntu bike rally which takes place on sunday, 27th of this month. collected the event singlet, which looked pretty good. and laughed at jeff for failing to request for a L size instead of a M.

couldnt stop yawning.

thereafter, took bus home and was dozing off when jeff msged me, saying his lion-dance gathering was off and if pulau ubin was still on the agenda. hahha couldnt miss that one! so off we went, 2 bikes secured on the bike rack behind jeff's red honda! it was super scary at first, cos we thought the bikes were wobbling way too much, especially mine, since the back was secured by the rear suspension and the front tire seemed to mirror the momentium of the car.

anyhow we did get to changi eventually, though we got lost and landed in pungol...jeff pls dont use that map! hahha. back to the story. we got onto the ferry, cycled everywhere w/o actually consulting the map and somehow managed to catch ain & gang! hahha it was super hilarious i tell you, we chanced upon a portion of a track which was covered with THICK STICKY mud and had to turn back.

lets go cycling, canoeing or dragon-boating ok, ain? : P

after the gang left, jeff and i continued to explore the island. LOVE the trails! its not as technical as the bukit timah one, but i was especially fatigued by the uphills. hahha jeff this is justified by my old heavy bike! im so weight conscious.

we finally made our way back to e mainland and had dinner at changi village - din see any ah guas or anyone "dropping soap" leh! chicken rich w "oil" vegetables, which was pretty decent. hahha and you wont believe it, jeff drove to changi airport by mistake! as i was telling him, always get excited whenever i visit the airport :) its the atmosphere. the excitement of leaving for a destination unknown, a future uncertain, a holiday which promises fun.

so there you have it, a brief summary of my sunday spent. haha chat with me for more details!

and JEFF YOU LOST MY PRESENT TO YOU! hahhaha im gonna make you feel bad!

Gabby | 11:19 PM

Friday, May 11, 2007

{*"kana pwned"*}

as the saying goes in games, ive been pwned. more specifically, my aleoca bikes :(

even after numerous "upgrading",they are WAY overweight and are simply too slow! only good thing is, they make for good trainers - imagine the additional amount of stamina and strength needed to maintain high speed.

haha, shouldnt have upgraded them at all and bought new bikes - they would probably be lighter and have better performing parts. jeff you can testify to this. pushing the bikes up steep slopes, having the v-brakes fail under wet conditions, plain fatigue from tackling the bukit timah trail.

oh wells, this will only remain as a keen hobby so yeah, no point spending big bucks on those extremely light, pencil-thin road bikes which i've craved for some time. or the versatile, light-weight mountain-bikes.

anyone going for the ntu bike rally???

Gabby | 12:46 AM

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

{*dilemma*}

how how how? should i continue upgrading/replacing worn-out & out-dated parts of my current old bike or get a new one?

so far, ive changed the tires(to kenda klimax lite), the brakes(avid single digit 7), the levers(avid fr-5), the brake cables(shimano) as well as included additional must-haves like the bell, bottle cage, lights and bar ends.

if i continue changing the cassette(i spoiled it recently when i went mountain-biking with jefri) as well as the front & rear derailleurs/shifters, it wouldnt be economical anymore. i figured that if i were to get a new bike (im undecided on hard-tail or full suspension), i'd prob get a discount if i transfer the above-mentioned components from the old bike to the new one.

but which will end up being cheaper? sigh. the troubles brought forth by a lack of funds. someone find me a SUGARMUMMY!

Gabby | 1:26 AM