New revelations...

What cycling means to me today...


Check this out!

Something new I'm working on now and hope that more can be impacted in the course of the journey.




Cheers

I just wanna ride my bike.....

Indian chiefs, hardware evaluators, smack-talkers, whiners, big-cannoneers, confused weight-losers and pro-biker wannabes enthusiasts.

After, tonnes of food, rain and shine, reckless drivers, midnight chats, salting through from too much electrolytes, watching the sun set and rise and set again, losing the feel of your legs and butt, 10h 37min and 241.87km later.

Does it matter anymore?


I just wanna ride my bike, ride my bike, ride my bike, ride my bike...........

Long rides and Learnings

It has been quite a while since Ben and I took a long ride non-stop. Well, last night I had such a ride.

We rode non-stop all the way from Dairy Farm to East Coast Mac where I had a huge breakfast before riding back from Orchard to Old Holland Road then back to The Rail Mall for a drink.

Sounds very boring, but that was how it was. It was just plain riding. The interesting part of the day was not the ride but the conversation I had with a friend whom I met afterwards.

After listening to my friend's story, I discovered a few things.

1.) People need a purpose in life.

2.) They seek what they wish to seek only to find out that it was the process they enjoyed and not the end result. (So what if the ends justify the means? Even if it did not, one could still enjoy the learning process!)

3.) Contentment is so lacking in people today as they want more and more things. There is never a perfect something/anything for them.

4.) Pain is something that is only a small part of life but people make it seem as though it is a huge part of their lives and get driven/affected by it.

5.) Most of the things we concern ourselves with usually has minimal effect over our lives but we tend to spend so much time and energy focused on them, not doing anything about it and neglecting the things that really matter to us.

6.) There is a time and place for everything. To concern oneself before it is time, is a waste of time and there is nothing you can do in reality.

7.) The greatest lesson I felt after listening to my friend was that one needs to learn how to be happy. Happiness is something that people associate with things or people in their lives today and in my opinion, that is not truly being happy.

To be happy, BE happy. You need nothing else.
Just BE...

While coming to realization of all the above, I am sad to say that I too am guilty of the charges presented above from time to time. However, it is the constant conscious effort to work around them that make us better and happier people as we grow and learn. I had a wonderful lesson this morning.

Thank you my friend!


Ride Details
Distance : 115.97km
Avg Spd : 22.3km/h
Ride time : 4hr 58min

There is an answer, some day we will know,
And you will ask her, why she had to go,
We live and die, we laugh and we cry,
And you must take away the pain,
Before you can begin to live again;

So let it start, my friend, let it start,
Let the tears come rolling from your heart,
And when you need a light in the lonely night,
Carry me like a fire in your heart,
Carry me like a fire in your heart;

There is a river, rolling to the sea,
And you'll be with her for all eternity,
But we that remain need you here again,
So hold you in her memory,
And begin to make the shadows disappear;

Yes let it start, my friend, let it start,
Let the love come rolling from your heart,
And when you need a light in the lonely night,
Carry me like a fire in your heart,
Carry me like a fire in your heart;

And when you need a light in the lonely night,
Carry me like a fire in your heart,
Carry me like a fire in your heart;

And when you need a light in the lonely night,
Carry me like a fire in your heart,
Carry me like a fire in your heart;

To cry is to feel JOY flowing,
Allow that...

Back again...

As a major happening for the year ended, I breath a sigh of relief and can finally start blogging again. Ha...

Had 2 rides since the Sedili ride but don't think I would document them here as they were both midnight rides to our usual eating places. However, the thing is that I am now clocking rides that are usually 100km or longer. That's a good sign. Hope to keep that up to build base for longer rides. Planning to do Cameron Highlands this coming Jan 08. Hope the hotel rates and weather turn favourable.

Anyway, I'm slowly building a pack list of items that I would needing for touring and the latest items collected were

1.) Zebra brand stainless steel pot cum lunch box $18.50/-.
2.) maple fire stove that has an interesting adapter for steamboat stove gas canisters.

Canister gas that adapts to the standard threaded Lindel screw head of camping butane canisters by means of a custom made adapter(bottom left grey object)

Bottom end attaches to canister butane gas common used in steamboat stoves. These canisters are readily available all over the world and are cheap.

Original threaded Lindel screw top for standard screw top gas canisters.

Adapter attached to the hose.

Anyway, given the adapter, you have a choice of using either standard threaded Lindel Screw top canisters or the more commonly available canister butane fuels. As a side note, you will not be able to find the Lindel headed canisters in Singapore. Travellers from abroad, please note!

Wanted to test it out straight away so I did what anybody could do. I tested both items out on a simple meal of Cream of Chicken Penne.

Recipe:
150g of 14min cook penne.
1 packet of instant cream of chicken from campbell
water

Once setup, the stove looks like the MSR Whisper Lite!

A very even flame roars away as the water in the pot heats up.

Aha, the deed is done and my supper ready... The best part, total cooking time, was exactly 3min for boiling the water and 14min for cooking the pasta!

Nothing fantastic seated at home in the comfort of my armchair and hi-fi, but on a tour, this is something to die for, especially when you are cold and hungry! Well, that just about sums up about the stove and Pot.

A good thing about the lunch box is that the pot has a handle built in and the whole thing is self locking!!!

ps - the stove fits into the pot!!!

Next item on the list, bike overhaul!!!

Man you should have seen the crap on my bike after riding in the rain and using Finish Lines Ceremic Lube. My bike does not like it. The lube is great for rainy days as it stays on the chain, but after a wet ride, you find that it not only has stayed on your chian, it has also flicked off onto your chainstay, downtube and also your bike shorts. Damn!!! Your derailler turns from silver to black. My jockey cage turned black and even my shiny cassette turned the most deathly of colours, not to mention my drive side crank arm also turned black from the lube. I must say, the price of lube lasting in the rain is really really a pain in the ass...

I took it as a chance to get my hands really dirty. I did a complete overhaul of my bike. I took out everything from my bike and gave it a complete cleaning. All that was left were my cranks and headset short of me having the tools to remove them. It took me 7hours to finally clean and tune up the bike. Now my baby looks as bright as before and rides like the wind and I will stick to White Lightning for most part of the riding.

Save the ceramic lube for epics I guess.

Design Flaw of the Topeak Hexus 16

Topeak Hexus 16 Design Flaw

Made a discovery about the Topeak Hexus 16 tool when I was about to install a new Shimano 8 Speed Chain on a bike. Apparently, the Hexus tool’s chain break does not have a housing long enough for the bolt pin to thread in to push the master pin .

The chain does not fit if put in straight.

You will need to angle the master pin down and insert this way for it to be able to sit in the place-holder.

Fully inserted, the master pin is covered by part of the housing.

This results is the bolt not being about to thread into the housing of the chain tool due to a short housing length. Alien Tools have a longer housing.

This is the minimal threading that the bolt needs in order to fit into the housing. Notice the protruding pin in the region of the place-holder. Compare with the picture above with the chain and master pin fully set in the place-holder and you will realise that it is impossible to screw in a master pin for a chain.

Forcing the bolt strips the thread of the bolt. (Look very closely in Hi-res at the beginning of the screw thread)

Well, I have written in to Topeak US and hope they will offer a solution to this as I hope I do not need to have to buy another multitool just because of a flawed design on the Hexus 16.

The Alien Tool from Topeak has a housing that is longer and is able to install a master pin perfectly. I wonder why Topeak has a different design and in the process created this problem???

Anyway, for all you guys out there who have this problem, go check out the Alien Tool. You will see that the chain breaker component has a longer housing than the Hexus version.

Cheers

1st step to learning

Today is a great day for me as I began the quest to learn more about my bicycle. As part of my life learnings in Being, I have decided to Be doing what I do consciously. I decided to service my bike as it cost $60/- every time I send it to Viki for servicing at East Cast.

So here is my task list.

For my Scottie

1. Replace Brake pads
2. Clean cassette
3. Clean jockey wheels
4. Install power link
5. Wipe down

For the Yukon I borrowed and cost me more than the rental of the best MTB in the market!!!

1. Replace derailler hanger
2. Replace chain
3. Calibrate rear derailler

Tools Required

1. Zinn & the Art of Moutain Bike Maintenance (4th Edition)
2. JTech Allen Key set
3. Stanley 250mm Variable Wrench
4. Park Tool FR-5G cassette tool with guide
5. Park Tool Chain Whip tool
6. Topeak Multi-tool with chain breaker
7. Lightning White Lube
8. WD4D
9. Finish Line Citrus Degreaser
10. Park Tool TW2 Torque Wrench
11. 3/8 inch drive to 1 inch socket

Well, I managed to do all that I planned to do even though I did not have a 3/8 to 1 inch socket to re-torque the cassette. I just estimated the torque required before I get the socket. Not advisible though as you could over torque the lock ring on the cassette and end up having a cassette that is either unsecure or one that cannot be opened after riding as it the lock ring tightens during rides.

The torque wrench in my opinion is the most needed tool by all bike shops who service bikes. I've seen so quite few shops here that do not use a torque wrenchs and I wonder if the bolts on my stem would strip if I stood up and pounded on an uphill climb? It's these little things that look ok but are really subject to questioning when it comes to safety concerns. hmm.... maybe I'm being too anal about this, but as they say, better safe than sorry :)

As for the Yukon, I have decided to return it to its rightful owner. I borrowed it from my neighbour and had it serviced($120) with some part replacements due to the corrosion on the cables, chain and brakes. Took it to BT with Ben for a ride and ended up breaking the rear derailler hanger. It happened so suddenly that I was shocked for words. Ended up riding home in single speed that day. Anyway, I have finally repaired what I call the most expensive rental bike and am proud to return it to its owner before it costs me any more money... Let's see, my total cost comes to ....

Cab to Viki's $12/-
Servicing $120/-
Derailler hanger $25/-
New Chain $23/-
----------------------------------
Total $180/-

That is what I had to pay for a single ride on this Giant Yukon 2005 model !!!





























A new derailler hanger now sits where the last one broke. Anyway, better luck next time as if i ever decide to go MTB.












































Clean parts to set the record straight for a great ride. Check out the new power link that allows me to clean the chain completely without using a chain cleaner. I can now soak the chain in a bottle of degreaser. Yeah!!! Nothing beats clean parts of a bike. The transmission is now so smooth as compared to the dirty chain, jockey wheels, cassette and crank. Planning to take me Scottie out for a ride tomorrow!

Till then, I better get some sleep before I need to put degreaser to clean out the bog coming into my head now...Zzzzz...