We love shortcuts!

We, Malaysian loves shortcuts. The faster we get to our destination, the better. Some go to the extend of stepping on other people's toes or even putting risk to himself and other people's life.

This entry is about losing all the fats is summary for the lazy ass who expect miracle result. It is from cyberfren Sher Khan (check the link on right side).

Here's a quick tips to shave off the fat(typical malaysian diet):
- go slow with the bad and ugly fats - the
saturated fat and trans-fat (avoid if you
can) - that means, go slow on full cream
dairy products, red meat, anything cook
with refined cooking oil, fast-foods, deep
fried foods - yes those fried chickens, ikan
goreng, pisang goreng, popia goreng,
karipap, keropok, kerepek ubi etc etc etc.

- move from refined carbohydrates to
complex carbohydrates - white rice to
brown rice, white bread to wholegrain
bread, white potatoes to sweet potatoes,
white pasta to wholegrain pasta, roti canai
to capati, no bihun/kuehteiow/laksa
(processed).

- take lean protein like chicken (without
skin), fish, nuts and seeds.
stick with plain water only - no teh tarik,
carbonated drinks, teh ais limau, kopi tarik,
milo, etc

- last but not least ... you think i'll skip this
one?.. pls do regular exercise!! ( no time?
see this)
From http://longliveandprosper.blogspot.com/2009/03/skip-fat-youll-lose-fat.html

Fun does not have to be expensive

501 trail

I took my daughter (Atiqah) to FRIM on Saturday for MTB outing. It had been a while since we had our first MTB hash outing. She was panting (and maybe swearing) along Bukit Hari towards Steroid. Good news is, she is looking forward for another outing in near future.

Entrance Fee - RM6

Izzah going strong heading to Canopy Walk

Haziq after gaining his confidence

The following day, the whole family (minus Irfan) went for trekking and canopy walk in FRIM. Atiqah and Izzah had no problem with height on the canopy walk. Haziq on the other hand had a bad start and apparently gained his confidence. The ending at small river stream was satisfying for Haziq and Izzah.
Entrance Fee - RM6
Canopy Walk - RM12

Saddle restoration

A future project once I find time to do it. Saddle skin from bent railing (Scott) to replace slightly torn saddle donated by Shaq (Velo).

bunnysprints.blogspot.com

Nice write up on light traveling, something that I was thinking of doing it someday. By foot or maybe cycling.

The making of Skinny Bitchykal

A rather hilarious dialogue when Hitler ask those roadie to
leave the room.

"Those of you that have been riding your skinny tire sissy bikes with you gay shaved legs, get out. Now." - Hitler in Hitler
movie.

Having said that, I was building up a road bike and about to become a roadie myself.  Minus the gay shaved legs.

The making of Skinny Bitch

Day 1

1. From bare frame, fit the headset & fork.

2. Fitted brake caliper, wheelset (not yet service), crankset, FD, RD, seatpost saddle, handlebar & brake/shifter lever.

3. Fitted the brake cables

Day 2

1. Serviced rear hub, apply new grease.

Issues

1. Fitted shifter cables. Harsh shifting for FD. RD shifting doesn't work

2. Steerer tube too short.

The sludge

Loose bearing of rear hub

New grease

A handle too low for a road bike

Day 3

1. Fixed my boo boo previous day causing the RD didn't shift.

2. Bianchi fork replaced with Trigon.

Issue

From 1" steerer tube to 1 1/8" thus cannot use Deda 1" stem.

Probably need new complete headset.

Going for 1 1/8" from 1" steerer tube.

Day 4

1. Fitted stem from Shogun

2. Fitted chain

3. Fitted worn shifter hood

4. RD/FD tuning

5. Test run on trainer

Shifting test run on a trainer

Day 5

On the road test by Shaque, Zali & Pak Abas.

1. Adjusted saddle height, saddle to stem length, saddle angle.

Issues need to be addessed

1. On large cog (cassette), spokes are slapping the RD's cage. Need spacer on freehub

2. A little freeplay on crank due to BB. Will replace with spare BB.

3. A little short cable casing for rear brake. Will replace

4. FD need more tuning.

5. Tire desperately need replacement.

Day 6
Fixed the following.

1. Replace BB with Ultegra

2. Spacer on freehub didn't work. The smallest cog can't firmly engage on freehub's spline. Solution: shorten the chain by 1 link resulted RD's cage extended lower than before and better clearance from spokes.

3. Replaced rear brake cable casing.

4. FD tuned, still can't get the perfection.

Day 7

Skinny Babe test rides Skinny Bitch

Day 10

My first attempt to fit a bartape.

Day 14

Test ride to HOA, Gombak.

RTW - Oppss.. I did it again!

This is my third day RTW (Rides To Work, a term coined by Akmal or maybe BC. Damn, am I that old to recall this?) for this week. I locked my bike to a pole only to realize that it was securely locked but not to a pole! This wasn't the first time and in 1 different occasions, I left the key on the bike.

Sigh... I am getting older and become more forgetful.

Raya rides

Rides that took place during long raya holiday...

All photos are from Raya rides.

Langkap-Teluk Intan

Distance:40km

Singlespeed Spesh first timer

Mastan Ghani's new outlet

In front of Mastan Ghani at Taman Ros, Teluk Intan

The famous Mastan Ghani's mee kari

Langkap-Bidor-Tapah loop

Distance:70km

Teh tarik break at Tapah town

Changing flat tire at Tapah Road

Langkap-Chenderung Balai recovery

Distance:20km

Spesh on the floodgate at Chenderung Balai

Common sight at Sungai Batang Padang

Spesh SingleSpeed

From SS Spesh photoshoot

After selling many Spesh's parts to a friend for building her bike, Spesh was left idle and collecting dust. My initial intention was to sell it off, but after much consideration I decided to make a second attempt to SingleSpeed it. There was another attempt on singlespeed Shogun which ended me with hard fall and a broken helmet. There are 2 most important element of singlespeeding your bike; 1. chain line, 2. chain tension.

First attempt about a year ago.

Cog taken from Deore cassette, sandwiched between 2 larger cogs. Make use old Tourney Rear Derailer as chain tensioner. Note the straight chain line of cog and chainring.

I found this Da Bomb 9 to 1 Pro conversion kit for freehub body (RM65,BicycleWorld, Tmn Melawati) that comes with 18t and 16t cog.

It was 2 strikes of luck when: -

1. pretty straight chain line

2. the chain tension was sufficient on 42t chainring without the need of chain tensioner.

42:16 gear ratio suits me well on flat tarmac. Come the hill, I'll do it standing.

Addendum (05 Oct 2009)

Parts for my singlespeeding project.

1. Complete MTB minus gearing system (FD, RD, Shifters)

2. 42T Shimano Exage crank (est. RM50)

3. Da Bomb 9 to 1 Pro conversion kit (RM65)

4. 7 speed chain (est. RM20)

more on singlespeeding on MTBR here

A dialog to remember

My chat log with a cycling buddy recently, who remains anonymous :)

anonymous: aku tak dapat lesen kayuh utk the rest of the year :~tu yang bila depa dok sebok2 reg utk brg hantu ride tu, aku takde napsu sgt.err... lagipun lampu aku tak power (ni nak sedapkan ati je ni).

me: hehehe...what went wrong man? wht did u fckd up?permit dah abis utilise ke?epic, prez.. tht's it?anonymous: err... funny u said about f**kd up.

me family have a new baby.
me: ohhh...me: hehehe.. similar.. but in different context.. hahhahaha

Ramadhan rides

1st Friday - Leisure city route

Pak Abas & Shaq catching up at Tugu Negara junction.  From Kayuh Sampai Sahur (Episod 1)

2nd Friday - Skipped due to balik kampung trip
3rd Friday - Titiwangsa to Cyberjaya via MEX

Pine 86/87, adik & shaq at Putrajaya toll plaza.  From Kayuh Sampai Sahur (Episod 3)

4rd Friday - Leisure city route

Pak Abas at his 52.  From Kayuh Sampai Sahur (Episod 4)

4rd Friday -Kemensah offroad

Faceless riders.  From Kayuh Sampai Sahur (Episod 4.1)

Spanking new wheelset for the bike?

And yes I did. It spanking new, 6 spokes design and a pair cost much less than single piece v-brake wheelset I bought few months back. Even far more cheaper than XT cassette.

It's tubeless some more. For my primary means of transportation to work, you definitely deserved it...

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Kenapa? Tak percaya ke?

Kau selalu kayuh mana?

Soalan ini adalah yang paling payah untuk aku jawap pada tahun 2008. Untuk tahun 2009, jawapan segera dan ringkas aku.. "FRIM"

2008
Pantang kena cuit, menjadi aja... bak kata orang lama, macam pengantin baru. Begitulah aku dan Scott Scale 70 aku.

BBB cuit ke Cameron Highland, pergi.
Shaq cuit ke Gohtong, pergi.
Jazlan cuit Sg Pusu ke Kemensah, pergi.
Seminggu lepas tu, Joe Adnan cuit Sg Pusu ke Kemensah lagi sekali, pergi.
Dua bulan lepas tu, Cikgu cuit Sg Pusu ke Kemensah lagi sekali, pergi.
Geng Melawati cuit Kemensah ke Sungai Congkak, pergi. Sampai bermasam muka isteri yang ku cintai.
Shaq cuit ke Sahara Ride, Melaka, pergi.
Dari 12 hash KLMBH, 8 aku pergi.

2009
Tidak banyak ride yang "notable" aku tercuit.

• PCC Prez
• Road trip ke Fraser Hill
• 2Fn'K Race di Kiara
• Scout Trail time trial di Kota Damansara

Dari 8 hash KLMBH, 2 aja yang aku pergi. Di hash BTP, aku membawa anak perempuan untuk pertama kali menyertai hash. Yang keduanya, KLMBH Epic dimana aku berjaya menghabiskannya buat pertama kali (tahun lepas gagal sungguh).

Lepas raya nanti, Burung Hantu Jamboree, dianjurkan oleh ECC Melaka. Selain dari itu, FRIM adalah jalan mudah, ringkas dan cepat untuk meluangkan masa berkayuh di hujung minggu. FRIM juga sering dijadikan tempat latih-tubi untuk meningkatkan tahap kecergasan dan ketahanan fizikal untuk persediaan PCC Prez dan KLMBH Epic. Ya.. FRIM pilihanku!!

p.s: walaupun kena bayar RM3 sekali masuk, ianya lebih berbaloi dari cost minyak untuk drive 20-30km ke trail free yang lain.

The Presidential 2009

All excitement in term of preparation of physical fitness and the bike apparently were put on test. Since I completed the Presidential '07, merely after 3 months took up cycling. Presidential '09 should not be a problem, NOT!
Fitness was good on Stage 1 & Stage 2. Almost worn out on Stage 3, even stupidly fall on tarmac when my front wheel hit another cyclist's rear wheel while we busy chit-chatting. Stage 4 was on cursing mode. A mole climb looked like a Steroid of FRIM.
Finally reached the finishing line at 3:15pm; that was 7 hours of cycling over 65km of trail. Being a finisher, it was an enjoyable suffering ride of the year!
Will I do it again next year? Definitely!

Shaque, Azea, A'an & Azrin at starting line From PCC Presidential '09

A little over 1000 registered riders From PCC Presidential '09

Scott saddle bag, my lucky draw price. Guys, please note that 4 stickers on my passport. From PCC Presidential '09

From around the Net on Prez '09: -
- Akmal Plentong (blog)
- Jamie Chan (album)
- Umar (blog)
- Kayuh Beb! (blog)
- BandarTasikPutri Bicycle Brigade (forum)
- Abu Omar (blog)
- Heero Yui (blog)
- Mike Murano (blog)

Cycling is expensive hobby?

Celebrating 2 years in cycling, I try to summarize my spending in cycling, for your consumption & judgment.
In the keen interest of cycling, I'm indulged and being happy about it.

How does it start
Prior July 2007, a number of time, I been approached by Jazlan to take up mountainbiking. I had a keen interest but forking RM2000 for a bike wasn't that easy at that point of time. An angel came down in a form of human and gave me RM2,500 soft loan for a kick start.

Initial "investment"
I bought myself Scott Scale 70 for RM2.3k from BikePro (thanks to Big Mac for his time and consultancy). Immediately I went to KHS for a Limar 911 helmet at RM280, the only helmet that fits my big head at that point of time. The list go on an on. Glove, bladder, allenkey toolset, spare tube, shoes, cycling jersey, lycra pants, and more tools. After spending a total of RM3k, I may become insane keeping the record of my spending list.

More spending
Soon enough, I endo during first night ride in RRI, bent my saddle (body injury will recover, parts injury won't). So I replaced with Velo Carbon (new, RM120).
Weekend ride dosage seems insufficient, bought blinker and light in order to ride at nite.
Cassette and chain worn, replaced.
Straight handlebar caused numb wrist, replaced.
Running shoe double as cycling shoe caused slippery pedal grip, bought HiTech trail shoe (new, RM240).

Even more spending
V-Brake failed on me, bought Avid BB7 (new, RM350).
Joined the clipless bandwagon, bought SPD pedal and shoe (used, RM250).
SPD design flaw caused numerous stupid falls, changed to Crank Brothers pedal (used, RM100).
Another clipless shoe, Shimano MT41 (new, RM240).
Bought Spesh frame from Big Mac to inflict others in the family (used, RM250).
Bought bundle parts from Jazlan to assemble Spesh (used, RM100).

Recent years..
Before I blow a candle celebrating 2 years in cycling this August, I have 2 full fledged MTB for trail ride, and 2 rigid fork MTB with slick tires for tarmac ride. Now, contemplating to sell off my Spesh for my bed space. Obviously, I need space to sleep.
Proper sleep prior to next morning rides is important!

First and forth wives live happily ever after.

p.s:

• Angel, knowing your preferences to be below the radar, I shall not mention your name you here but you know who you are.
• LHDN, I had received your additional deduction to my salary. Nothing left here, move on!
• Thief, you took my son's BMX, please return it to him. He's not tall enough for my MTB. Thank you in advance.
• Potential thief, you may be electrocuted if you try something nasty. BTW, alloy is a good conductor.

Skill School-Descending

This entry may be useful for those who want to comprehend descending technique so that you can do it without causing injury while having fun mountainbiking.

Photo 1: Photo of mountainbiker tackling descending section. The rest of this entry dissect piece by piece from this photo.

Photo 2: Checking 4 feet ahead of the direction you wants to go. Always find easy way out route.

Photo 3: Left arm a bit straighten, elbow close to abdomen to avoid hitting the tree.

Photo 4: Fingers on brake to micro adjust the traveling speed.

Photo 5: Coasting position with crank level to the ground. This is to avoid horizontal obstacles (e.g. roots, rocks & berms).

Photo 6: Firm grip on pedal & handlebar. Flex and relax muscle (no stiff join). Bend your knee & elbow to absorb vibration & impact. Curl abdomen and take the butt slightly behind (and below) the saddle to compensate center of gravity.

Spinning vs. Grinding, real life lesson

Spinning(some say "spinwork") - pedaling high RPM, lower gear at given uphill terrain
Grinding(some say "speedwork") - pedaling in low RPM, high gear at given uphill terrain
I'm a strong advocate of spinning. Recently, I tested out grinding. Grinding gets me faster compare to spinning at a cost... knee pain!

Last Sunday, me and 5 others climbed up Fraser Hill. It was 28km to gap from Kuala Kubu Baru and another 12km up to clock tower. With recently replaced crankset (Shimano 105, 53T & 39T chainring) on my Spesh, the temptation of getting faster was there. Especially "competing" with others riding a road bike with carbon between their legs.

I was grinding my way up to gap before I know, I developed a knee pain. Not a severe kind of pain but more like a pain that I can bear with. Things getting a little uncomfortable until I reached gap. I decided to change the pattern to spinning my way up to clock tower from gap. It came to the point I was using 39/34 gear combo (lowest gear possible for my Spesh) on some steep section.

Alhamdulillah, I made to the clock tower, non-stop in 3 hours despite being the last person to reach there.

Me on the "finishing line". Video by Shuk CIOCC.

To serve as a reminder to myself in the future...

Spin and you save your knee!!

Photo by Shuk CIOCC

The President is coming to town!!

Not just any president.. this is PCC (Nexus) Presidential Ride 2009

My first participation was in 2007 and earned myself a bragging rights :) . The event did not take place in 2008 and has given the organizer an ample time for bigger fun (read: enjoyable suffering) this year!

I was thinking of taking the ride like I did in 2007. Finished the ride within stipulated time, offering help to those in need, and socializing. Yeah.. sounds like a fun ride :)

See you guys there!!

My P1 W1MAX

From time to time I'll post my trial period bandwidth test result for public viewing. FYI, I subscribed 1 Mbps....

Placement: Balcony

Placement: Balcony

Placement: Near window

Placement: Near window

Placement: Near window

Placement: Near window

Placement: Near window

Placement: Near window

Placement: Near window