Charity Bike n Blade 2012

Before the flag-off on day 2, a daunting 172km of rolling terrain, the chaplain received a prayer request. "Please pray for the hills to be flat!" Jimmi calmly retorted, "It depends on your faith."

That was a good response. For this was the 2012 charity Bike and Blade, a two-day cycling event to raise funds for the underprivileged.

304 km over two days from Kuantan to Kota Tinggi; new and familiar faces; road, tri, folding bikes and even a recumbent; potholes and tumbles; hot sun (40 deg max) and rain; beautiful sunrise and 100+ climbs.

We started by taking the coach up to Kuantan on Friday, and stayed at the luxurious Zenith hotel. We fondly remembered the great seafood in March and mobilized 6 taxis for a wonderful dinner. The rain after did not dampen our spirits, but set the stage for a cool weather the next day.

Day 1 was flat as a pancake, all 132 km of it. Organized into four groups, most of us were in the second. Each group had accompanying vehicles for safety reasons. Everyone settled down and before long, we were out of Kuantan. The highway was familiar for we came up that way (with strong headwinds) in March. We were expecting headwind going south, but it wasn't that bad.

We passed group one, surprisingly, and realized that one cyclist had a fall. Later we found out that it was CG, but fortunately he wasn't hurt.

It was not long later that group one - led by chairman AY - overtook us. And that caused a chain reaction or ripple effect. The train started to speed up to 40 kph. At a traffic light, the train broke and several of us decided to go back to the steady 30 - 34 kph.

The only incident of the day was when we came across a bridge and didn't see a big pothole. AY bunny hopped, I went straight through, and then heard a crash behind. One cyclist braked and swerved to avoid the pothole, and in so doing, clipped JC's front wheel. Thank God, JC only had abrasions to his knee and a sore back. We gingerly proceeded at a more conservative speed. Before too long, a faster group came along, and we tagged along for the home stretch. JC then charged up and overtook, assuring us that he was back in business.

Lunjut Resort was the end point for day 1, and the beach and pool were most welcoming. Dinner as usual was a time for relaxation, stories and bonding.

Met PMY at Lunjut, who cycled 230km from Singapore with some friends, and would be cycling 230km back! Kudos!

Day 2 started early at 6 am. The first 40 km were flat and we cruised together until we reached the forest. That was where the fun began. The strong riders surged on ahead, but the steady group was able to stay together most of the time, regrouping at water points.

Surprisingly, the weather was kind most of the morning, until 10 am or so. Then the temperature started climbing reaching a max of 40 degree (by my Garmin).  BnB would not be complete without hot sun!

At 102km, we reached the much anticipated wantan noodle stall for brunch. A nice break it was.

More rolling terrain followed, and before too long, we reached the "mini dragon back", a series of three undulating climbs with pill boxes as guards of honor. I could still remember how much I suffered through this stretch two years ago. Suffer I did still, but less so this time, doggedly staying on the large chain ring.

Did I mention that we had personal support this year? Only if we stuck to JL who had L following her in the car. Glad to have L guiding us into Kota Tinggi as we had to make a couple of right turns amidst darkening skies. Our small group reached the end point just minutes before the heavy downpour.

Though that was my third consecutive year participating, Jimmi's prayer reminded me of "Faith, Hope and Charity".

While our faith may not be sufficient to remove the slopes, what we did was to bring hope to the underprivileged. This year, the beneficiaries would be the patients at St Luke's Hospital.

What of charity? I saw charity when we took turn pulling, offering others to draft us, waiting up for each other. It was charity when L shared drinks with other riders even though he was not an official supporter. It was also charity when Crazy2Tri offered us drinks when we most needed it. Charity was when LL accompanied another cyclist for 9 hours on day 1.

Indeed, charity was when volunteers helped secure our bikes, book our rooms, handed out drinks, drove and cheered us along. Charity was looking out for one another, a much needed word or two of encouragement, a suffering shared and understood, a handshake or pat on the shoulder at the end of 304 km.

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

A big thank you to all the sponsors who generously contributed to make this event possible, especially those who chipped in for my participation. Most of all, a sincere thank you for my family who are my firmest supporters.

FOTR at CRM Ipoh 2012

Great video by Kelvin Ong!

Century Ride Malaysia 2012

Over coffee the night before Century Ride Malaysia 2012 (formerly Ipoh Century Ride), a member of the organizing team told us that  would be the toughest edition yet. CK described the 2012 route this way: take the hardest segments from previous years and string them together. Not exactly the encouragement we were looking for, especially with 6 century first timers in our group.

To be forewarned is to be prepared.

The 1,800 participants (record numbers) flagged off at 7 am for a 8-km rolling start through Ipoh. Though we didn't witness it, there was a pile-up involving a lorry shortly after.  There were a couple of challenging climbs, but the morning was cool and our legs were fresh. 


SC stayed back to pull us and we maintained a good speed, averaging slightly over 30 kph. The camel back (also known as Ipoh dragon back) wasn't as bad as it sounded. We were able to keep together for most of the 65km to the first water point.

That was the easy third, I told SY. We waited for as many FOTRers as we could gather and were mentally prepared for the next third. Had to pop a panadol tablet to keep the sinus congestion in check.

The next 60+ km were a  series of rolling hills. It was easier to cycle alone, as our downhill speed and uphill climbing styles were different. But we would regroup for the flats. Passed through a few villages and the young children came out to cheer us on, hi-fives and waves. Never failed to warm my heart.

Law, J and GC pulled ahead, and eventually JN (aka Bushido) on his second wind (apparently he went on to overtake many others!). KO had to replace his tube and we stopped to assist. In the process, we picked up a couple more. 


The cyclists were thinning out, and the sun broke cover. Together we kept together regrouping at each water point. The upshot was that we would be featured in KO's video!

Did I mention how good the support was? Abundant water and 100 plus, bananas and even bread rolls. The iced sponges were great and timely relief. Thank God the weather was kind to us, unlike Kuantan.

The final 15km was via the old trunk road, with relatively heavy traffic. Nevertheless, we were waved through by marshals at every traffic light. The sight of the bridge was a welcome sight although it presented a last hurdle for some.

Music was playing in the carnival-like atmosphere at the finish area. Cold drinks, water melon and a beautiful finisher medal. Nice.

Congratulations to our first time century riders - WL, SY, JS, KO, DM (aka sexy legs), SChoy!! You survived and prevailed. Many would come back for more. Special mention for JSh and Jodan who persevered and triumphed. Great race for SG, JN, J and GL (aka RSM) and many others.

Big thank you to our logistics officers JC (S4) and J (S1), WL and CL for arranging the dinners, PG for being ever dependable and steady, EN for our registration, and PH for maxi fuel gels!

The one word to describe the experience is the Greek noun argon, which is "a place of conflict" as in the stadium where athletic contests take place. Argon is the word for the good fight of combat on the athletic field where the most fearsome opponents are often ourselves.

For me, it was good to complete and in small ways help our first timers, as did SC and EN. Kairos over chronos, a trade off I'd gladly make.

Stretching

Little did I realize how inflexible I was until quite recently when Z commented about my instability while riding. With the difficulties I had on the mat, it was abundantly clear that I needed work in that department.

As Z said, the amount of time spent stretching should be proportional to that on exercise.

Work-in-progress.

Countdown to SD5

Perhaps it's too little too late, but for what it's worth, I am giving it a good go.

Signed up for Sundown marathon, fifth year consecutive. Collected race pack today, and it was a good expo. Lots of new stuff. Temptations around every corner. Tsk tsk.

The main point of this post is not about temptations. It's about LSD runs.

Last Sunday was the first time in months that I returned to a familiar running ground - which had acquired a reputation in the past year. It might have been at least 5 to 6 months that I was last here. At least a good year since I last ran here at night. Not too late at night, mind you. Around 7 to 8 pm.

Nice feeling as usual. Cool weather with rain in the morning. Good pace at HR~145. Two loops around the reservoir before heading back to Tampines and home. 21 km in total.

Savory salted fish fried rice for supper. Good stuff.

Thinking what I should eat after the next LSD run this weekend.

PCC Interstate 2012

"Horse, Bull or Tortoise?"

That was the question the Lizards asked on the coach ride up for Pedalholics Cycling Club Interstate 2012; 420km over three days through Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor (hence interstate)

Day 1: 120 km hills. A category one climb over 3 km, 1 cat two climb over 6 km and 2 cat five climbs.

Day 2: 130km undulating terrain with 4 short climbs.

Day 3: 166km, the longest ride on flat terrain with strong headwinds.

KPI for PCC: to survive!

Through EN's goodwill, I joined the Lizards/Entro group with apprehension, knowing how underprepared I was. As one participant said - to prepare for PCC one needs 400km a week, 200 km minimum training. Gulp :( The longest mileage I had was 230km two weeks ago.

The Lizards' tag line is "Keep Crawling." That made me felt right at home, coz I am definitely a tortoise.

The one thing I really appreciated was that the group took good care of all members, even tag-alongs such as I. They designated regroup points, either to eat (breaks and lunches!) or refuel. They designated sweepers for each day. On the last day, some strong riders stayed with the main group to babysit some of us (ok, to babysit me!).

Truth of the matter: the rest stops for breakfast and lunch helped tremendously. In fact, they made the most significant difference from other events and allowed me to thoroughly enjoy the experience! Good company, good food, good cycling. What more could one ask for?

Day 1
Inspite of CH, I wasn't sure what to make of the cat one climb. Average gradient was supposedly 10.6%. Over 3 km, that meant slopes of 15% or more? With that in mind, I was conservative throughout the ride. The first climb - a cat five - was a warm up. The cat 2 6km climb was a bit of work, and I had to go all the way to 29 at one point. But mostly working on 27.

For all that hard work, we were rewarded with a good 5km stretch of straight downhill. Descended at max speed of 66 kph :) [Note: this is part of the Broga Loop, which comes up the other way. Imagine that climb!]

Surprisingly I was feeling quite ok. Then at the 83km mark, we were on gravelly roads - more like footpaths. Surrounded by trees, but snaking upwards. The fun had begun.

It was 5 to 6% for the first half and then 10s and 11s. Then it levelled out to 4 - 5. The big climb would be coming up just around the corner, I told myself.

That was not to be. The descent started, to a mixture of relief and disappointment. No dreaded 18%! :) The surprise was at 86km where a mud slide had gone onto the road. It was a right turn, and though we were forewarned, I didn't expect the three mounds created by the water. No way but to go straight through with much clattering of teeth and mashing of brain.

We learnt later that JK had a fall at this spot and lost consciousness and cracked his helmut. This remarkable man of steel went on to finish the other two days!

 Lizards group pix at lunch break:

As was typical, the organizers had some surprises for us. Another climb towards the end, and some winding roads and sharp humps (GT fell when going through one such hump. Had several road rashes to show for it, and yet he finished with the front pack the next day!).

Last stretch - felt bad about sitting at the back of the peloton, so went up to pull for a short while :)

Total elevation gain of almost 1,200m.

Day 2
We waited for the train 1.8km from the start point near Desa hotel, and it was good to be in the front pack even just for a short time. Shortly after, we hit a big climb. With so many riders, it was like a pro tour. Shoulder to shoulder, tyre to tyre. I was uncomfortable and constantly watched the riders around me, shifting to the small chain ring to keep pace. Was glad to move on ahead towards the end.

The rest kinda reminded me of Desaru. Similar rolling terrain, but shorter. The Lizards waited up to regroup. I was the last, and at the tail of the peloton I honestly didn't expect it when the group started speeding up. Averaged 40 kph over 6 to 7 km. That was sprint pace for me, and I knew that I couldn't keep up for long. Stayed back when a JR rider dropped off and we were along for a bit until the next regroup point. The rider (#351) gracioulsy thanked me for pulling, and that boosted my self worth (just a bit).

Lunch was beef noodles at a town 20 km away from Muar. The chendol next door was a killer.

Pix of fellow Lynskey fans (MK and SC):

Day 3
Familiar grounds, having been through this way from the TTSH charity ride last year. Was separated from the group at traffic lights and tagged along with EN, AK and NP. Joined up with the main train at Pontian Kechil. Shortly after, I dropped back with the steady Bandung team. Unfortunately they turned off too soon, and worked together with two other riders before they slowed. Tagged on to another group and RV with the Lizards at the turnoff. Alternatively pulling with two other riders until a bigger train came up.

Lunch at Pontian - one and a half servings of char siew and chicken rice. :)

Accompanied JT's alt for the home stretch. Traffic was heavy and there were a few small climbs. Really glad to see Pulai Springs resort.

Yes, folks. I survived PCC IS 2012 without a glimpse of the C-monster. Lots of good food, great company and learnt much from fellow cyclists. Needless to say, a big thank you for my ever supportive family who put up with my unsatiatable appetite for long rides.

It is good being a tortoise. The tortoise finishes.

10km TT

53:30.

Just under 58 min at last month's biathlon.

Is sub-50 achievable by year end?