Ironman Jodan ???

Sometimes I think I am getting ahead of myself.

Let's starting looking at what I have NOT achieved.
1) Full Marathon
2) Olympic Distance Triathlon
3) Ironman 70.3

Despite all these, I am still thinking of completing an Ironman by age 45.
That gives me around 10 years to complete a dream, an Ironman Dream.

But I know that it is still a far-fetched dream, cos I have not been working towards that goal.

I should be losing weight, but I have only succeeded in gaining 4kg after SCSM.
I should keep up my runs, but I am clocking lesser runs this year.
I started to find a new love in group cycling, which prompted me to question myself why I should continue running, since it hurts me so much.
But I still wanna complete all of the above 3 events and eventually proceed to complete the Ironman Dream.

Life is such an irony...

NUS Biathlon 2008 Results

Rank 186
Bib 7013
Swim 0:51:43
T1 + Run 1:13:00
Total 2:04:42

Ranked 186 out of 192 , that places me in the last 3% of all Finishers.

Singapore AirShow 2008 Public Response

Saw this blog entry on Mr Brown.

I will go to the next Singapore AirShow using a trade pass.

Give me a free public pass, I will pass it on.

Let's see how we fare for Formula 1 and Youth Olympics.
Although I dun think it won't be as bad as this, cos of the location.

Just saw this Singapore Airshow trailer on YouTube.
Must say that after seeing the trailer and the real thing, I am damn disappointed.
They did not deliver half of what was promised in the trailer.

Lousy 12 Hours

Not too sure what happened.... But what happened for the past 12 hours are just crap.

Went to bed at 1.30am, but once the mind enter sub-consciousness, the nightmare started.
In fact, I have 5 consecutive nightmares. The last one was so scary that it send my heart into overdrive and I become wide awake.
After that, I managed to fall asleep only to wake up to another nightmare. Grr......

Decided to had my haircut today and instead of getting an Armani, I got a crewcut!!!
All thanks to a noob barber. Grr......

But looking on the flip side, I am glad that
1) I could not recall any of the nightmares and
2) I did not have my haircut before Chinese New Year. =)

Virgin Cleats Ride

Not surprisingly, I woke up before the alarm clock could go off at 4am.
Woke up at 3.30am and dilly dally till it is pretty late.
Starting off from home at 5.10am, I contemplate between meeting them at Longhouse or somewhere else.
I could have meet them at Mandai Shell, but it will be a long wait, so I took a gamble.
I am taking a huge risk, cos I am rushing there and today is my first ride on cleats!

I had just past Thomson Plaza when I saw the JoyRiders past me by on the opposite side of the road .
Quickly make a U-turn at the junction ahead, but I am too late. There are too far ahead for me to catch up.
Rather than doing a cat and mouse game, I decided to go on a solo ride.
Turning left into OUTR, I start doing a slow ride along the windy road.
Not long into the ride, I saw a few female runners.
Strange...how come so many female runners......
Out onto Upper Thomson Road, I had my answer.
They are the back markers of the Animilers.
The group consists of 20-30 runners running in a pack. These runners are pretty fast.
If you think cyclists are dangerous in crossing red-light traffic junction, think again.

Met Raphael Chong , who stayed behind to assist a stranded cyclist.
His intention is to cycle to Bukit Panjang, while my plan was to turn back at Mandai Shell if I dun tally-ho with the JoyRiders there.
Hmm....cleats really makes hills climb much easier.
Along Nee Soon Flyover and Mandai Road, all those hills that I used to hate, it seems much easier now. =p
Maybe it is a psychological effect?

When we stopped at Mandai Shell, Raphael offered to ride with me to Bukit Timah and I gladly accepted.
Hume Avenue feels like a pushover now, but I have to remind myself constantly that I need to be humble, cos pride comes before a fall.
I must not let those hills get the better of me now. =)

Onto Dunearn Road , we continue our chit chatting before parting ways at Adam Road.
Raphael will be doing the Bintan Triathlon, so yeah.... I have another kaki for my first overseas race. =)
After conquering the Adam Road Flyover, the ANZA pack zoomed past me.
Tried to keep pace with them, but they are just too strong for poor me.

Reached Longhouse at 7am. Had all my cycling kakis wonder what happen to me.
They thought I just arrived to do the 7am ride. =p

Without much of a rest, it was time to hit the road again for my ride home.
As Singapore Airshow has caused the Changi ride to be cancelled, everyone is doing the Kranji Loop this morning.
With all the riders turning left into Old Mandai Road, I decided to join them.
Cool, I could hang on to the pack during the climb up Nee Soon flyover, but once over the hill, I start to lose them as they keep pedalling away.... :p
Turning right onto Mandai Road, I meet Randy who is cycling home to Hougang.
As he joined the ANZA group for his ride home, I turned left onto Yishun Ave 2.

Home Sweet Home and onto my next appointment.

Conclusion.....
Cleats defintely helps by reducing fatigue as you generate power on the upstroke.
It is a theory that was preached to me time and again.
I was skeptical till I had the chance to really test it myself.
Now.... I am hooked.... :p

Singapore AirShow 2008

Have not attended Asian Aerospace when it was hosted in Singapore, so Singapore Airshow 2008 is an eye opener to me.

Having a trade pass helps me to beat the weekend crowd.

Had thought that I would need 2 days to finish the exhibits, but I was proven wrong.
I could easily complete the show in 2 hours.
The exhibition booths have nothing of interest for the mass public.
The main draw is the aircrafts on display and the aerial display.

First aircraft that captures my attention was the UAV Predator.
After taking numerous shots of it, I was left disappointed.
It was a life size replica. =(
It make sense though, cos of the hi-tech gadgetry, a real UAV will be under 24 hours armed security.
Anyway , 24 hours armed security is still a major risk.
So nah, I should have thought of that in the first place.

B-1B Lancer was the other plane that I did not expect it to show up at the Airshow.
But it was cordoned off behind all the U.S. planes, so I din get a clear shot of the plane at all.

Next up is the aerial display.
First to show off their skills are the RSAF Black Knights.
While I am impressed, I am not totally awed by the display.
Cos the Blue Angels did much better. :p

Solo Aerobatics are performed by USAF F-18 and USAF F16.
2 trainers , Alenia Aermacchi M-346 and Korean Aerospace Industries T-50 had a chance to strut their stuff too.

That ended an interesting tour of the Singapore Airshow 2008.

Will I be here again 2 years later? Hehe, unless it is free, else you won't see me there. :p

我不知道 我真的不知道

After seeing her blog post, I just cannot recall which advertisement it is.
I decided to find out the answer today.
Here is what I found.
If anyone can recall our local version. Do drop me a note.
I still cannot recall how the Chinese version looks like. =p

Ramblings

On leave for the past 2 days and what have I done?

Eat, sleep, eat and sleep. =p
Oh yeah, and got myself injured in the process.

Now I do not know if my body aches are from Sunday's race or from the bike falls.

======

Been thinking about Singapore Biathlon after I completed Sunday's race.
After 3 years and 2 time trials, will I finally get a Singapore Biathlon's finisher medal?
Should I stay off the bike for the next 10 days to increase my chances of finishing the race?

======

An amusing sight today.
A guy was walking home from the dry cleaners holding his clothes up high in front of him.
But as he walked closer, I noticed that it was just 2 ties!!!
Wow, these 2 ties must have been worth a lot to him.

======

Why do people likes to use their mobile phones while driving?
Can't they be more considerate.
A queer habit of these pea-brained drivers is that they will start make their calls getting into their cars and drove off.

An eventful day @ NUS Biathlon

A pretty quiet race day turns out to be quite eventful.

Initially I thought Dr Ming was joking when he mentioned that he intend to wear his Rudy Project with Rx adapter for his swim. That will be a very costly pair of googles where he has high chances of losing it in the sea. Turns out that it was his true intention had he not found a pair of googles.
My prescription googles helped him to a personal best in a Biathlon in 22 years. =p

Dropping by the Zoots Booth, Marc told me that he has my NIE Biathlon race photos.
Woot, that is a pure incentive!!!

Not to mentioned that racing with so many kakis makes the whole event a very fun one. =)

NUS Biathlon Results are Out, But.....

The NUS Biathlon results are out, but my results are missing.

I have already seen this coming , but the organisers has assured me before the race there won't be any problems.

The whole issue arises due to the fact that I used my own championchip for the race.

When I went to NUS Pre-Race Pack Collection, I was being issued with another championchip.
I know all is not well, cos that would mean that my record will be reflecting another set of championchip ID for the race.
Checked with the gal behind the counter, she assured me that the championchip ID recorded is that of my personal championchip.

Not assured, I emailed the organisers to check their database and revert.
They re-assured me that the serial numbers stored in their database is that of my personal championchip.
That has made me race in peace.

But now, I have to go through another hassle to check my results.
Hopefully I will know the results soon.....

Ouch!!!

Given the free time that I have today, I decide to try riding using my cleats today.

Clip on the left side, tried to mount the bike and down I went.....Ouch!!!!

Rest a while and try again. This time, I manage to get going.
Keep trying to clip and un-clip on the move.
Left side needs a lot of attention. Right side which is my weaker side is better on cleats.

Unclip and dismount on the left side, almost fly over the handlebars.
Luckily, I am able to unclip the right in time to avoid the unthinkable.

Ok, I need to train on dismounting.
I notice that I normally mount my bike with my left foot on the pedal, thus I tried dismounting on my right.
This seems to do the trick.
Unclip the right pedal, jump onto the top tube.

Did it a few more times. Now I need to try that on my left.
Not very fluid, but it will do.

Next stunt? Try to do that without jumping onto the top tube.
Needless to say, the worst thing happen.
Come out from that single stunt with cuts on my elbows and shins. Even my poor bike is not spared. =(

I know I cannot stop there. My confidence will take a terrible hit.
Did a few more dismounts... Wah, terrible, the dismounts are wobbly now.

Okay... I will call it a day.
Access the damage.

Left pedal , left handle bar, left side of the shoes are have deep cuts.
The cleats looks like it has gone through months of usage.
Luckily, all of these are earily replaceable.

But a bit of heart ache as the shoes and pedals are new and now they looks so old.
Should I get a pair of cheaper shoes?

NUS Biathlon 2008

Had intended to sleep at the same time as my 2 kakis after finishing our MSN chats. ie 11pm.
But things never quite turn out the way you want it. Only got to bed at 12.30am.

Oh well, 5 hours of sleep is better than nothing.
But...... I woke up at 4.30....Oh no, 4 hours of sleep, how to do a race ?!?! Oh well......
Meet Roonz and Dasher for the cab ride to East Coast Park Car Park F2.

Met Aerosolcan after alighting from the cab. Proceed to do our registration and body marking.
As my race does not start till 2 hours later, I took my time walking around.

Met Dr Ming from JoyRiders. He forgot his googles. Since I had a spare pair of googles , I loan that to him. Then he ask if there is a chance that I had prescription googles too. Haha, the kiasu me has that as well. Imagine, 1 race 3 pairs of googles. Hehe.
He checked the degree and it suit him well, so he took the prescription googles instead.

Met Tiwazz and Le_Charlotte who came to support the race.
Also saw RealRunner, Ultra and Brokie doing their LSDs.

Going back to the transition area, caught up with Sywog, Atomic, Asturias105 and BananaMan30.
Haha, spotted ST in the transition area talking to Roonz. How did she get it? Must have used her ninja skills to get past the security.

After chatting with ST, Atomic mentioned that there are the new Zoot triathlon shoes on display and we went to kaypoh.

First we drop by the Finis Booth. The lady was showing off their tri apparels.
Finis Hyrospeed, its shark skin material repel water, meaning one can easily cut through water....
Dare not ask the price, must be expensive. Then BM30 mentioned $119, dunno for which apparel though...

Proceed to the Zoot booth. I picked up the Zoot triathlon shoe. Darn cool sia, got carbon fibre in the midsole... :)
Then Marc mentioned that he has a photo of me during NIE Biathlon , which he submitted to his principal office for his field report.
Asked me if I am wearing the same tri apparel. I told him that I am and he requested to take another photo. Hehe....
Next thing I know, Atomic and BananaMan30 disappear liao....Haha

Went back to the transition area at 8.55am. The announcer is asking for my wave to gather at the Start Point liao. Huh, fall in 20 mins in advance? Crazy...
Then this lady keep coming round to ask us to proceed to the Start Point.
In the end, we started 5 minutes earlier at 9.10am.
Haha, Sanjeev, Aerosolcan and I fighting to be the last into the sea.
Hardly 50m into the swim, I kena kicked liao. Wah kao, slow swimmer also kena kicked...

First loop -
First 1/3 of the swim, kena boxed in left, right, front....sianz wanna overtake also cannot.
Just at the first buoy, kena kissed by sea bugs, not a very nice feeling.
After passing the buoy, the fun starts.
Five swimmers swimming abreast each other for almost the entire 2/3 of the leg.
Dun dare to swim too close, wait kena kicked.
Cannot overtake....Sianz...
At the 2nd buoy, I tried to break away and kena kicked and whacked all over the place.
Someone even give me a boost, by doing a 2 handed push on my 八月十五. Once passed the 2nd buoy, switched to freestyle and powered away. Haha....
Realised that I have to swim diagonally to fight the current. Did a 45 degree swim for the entire 3rd leg of the swim.

Run up the shore to go for my 2nd loop. Heard Lala calling out to me and waved back and did a thumbs up.

2nd loop -
1/3 of the race was pure heaven. I was swimming all by myself.
Then....I realise I was swimming way off course!!!
Actually I was swimming straight, but the current is pushing me off-course.
I am beginning to hate this clockwise direction... At least swimming anti-clockwise, I can adjust automatically.
The next thing I know the guy on the surfboard was pedalling very fast towards me, no doubt trying to indicate to me that I am off-course. Thumbs up to him and continue towards the first buoy.
After passing the first buoy, I tried the pull and glide method which I have done so many times.
Alamak, we are swimming against the current, so gliding only make you swim slower, as you are gliding backwards!!!
Halfway through the 2nd leg of the swim, the first red cap (ladies) overtook me.
From out of nowhere a flurry of blue and green caps start to overtake me as well.
Haha, must be male egos at work.
2nd buoy was a pain.
It was so jammed up that I got my face plastered against the buoy.
I managed to walk around the buoy, after several attempts to clear it failed.
After that, it was just a dash to shore.
Although I wanted to use freestyle several times, I decided to conserve my energy and just took my time.

While doing my transition, Aerosolcan came over and offered to run with me.
He has decided to DQ himself after feeling unwell in the water. Great decision, mate.
On hindsight, I should not have allow him to run with me. He need rest.

Was about to run out from transition before I realised that I forgotten my racebelt.
Quickly went back to get it. Phew....
Started the run slowly. Up till 3km, I was still feeling fine.
Walked during water break, run in between. But my pace was so tediously slow that a lot of runners just overtook us.
At one of the water point, Prata ran past. Ahh, the bugger has a bib. Sorry about that , mate. Thought you were joking. :p

Near the first U-turn point, the slacker instinct took over.
Started to walk more often. While I drink 2 cups of water from every station, Aerosolcan just walked past them. Wow, this guy is a camel!

Freddie and Sotong overtook us on the first leg.
Met Charmane on her first leg just before the garden.
Did the U-turn after the garden and Roonz sneaked up on us.
Then she just zoomed past us and left us a smoke trail....

With 2 km left, BananaMan30 overtook us.
Seeing the garden in the distance, both of us conclude that the distance is shorter than 10km.
As BananaMan30 is about 100m ahead, I decided to try to catch up with him. But the distance is too much to cover and BM30 is a strong runner.
Aerosolcan U-turn at the garden to catch up with Roonz while I went straight to hit home base.
Thanks, mate. You made my run more enjoyable and slightly faster. =)

After collecting my medal, I went to meet Sotong and Dasher, who were at the finishing point taking photos.
Freddie came over and asked us if we have collected out T-shirt.
I have totally forgotten about it!
Partly to blame is the organising committee. Nothing was mentioned about collection of T-shirts and none of the volunteers guide us to the booth after the race.
In fact, some of us have Running Lab vouchers during registration, while others were left empty handed.
After using Sotong's T-shirt to measure my shirt size, I went over to the counter to get an XL t-shirt. Alas...they ran out of blue XL t-shirt.
Decided to settle for a blue L t-shirt instead.

After the race, we had a photo shoot and decide on the next course of action.
While Sotong drove Roonz and Dasher to Parkway Parade, Freddie, Charmane and I took a quick bath. Saw Freddie talking to a guy at the showers. Was not aware who he was till he put on his glasses. Haha, without his trademark glasses, I could not recognise SmallCircle. =)

Kind Sotong drove me to Tanah Merah MRT, so that I do not need to change trains for my trip to Changi Airport.
Thanks, Sotong. Appreciate it.

Strange Dream

After fighting with the snooze button twice this morning, the weak mind won and my regular 5.30am LongHouse ride got abandoned. =p

Along came a very strange dream....I dreamt that I got DQ for NUS Biathlon!!!
Instead of completing 2 loops of the run, I did only one loop!
Tried to do my second loop after realising my mistake, I was told it was not possible as the Championchip is a "closed" system.
Aiyoh, hope that dream dun turn into a reality tomorrow. =p

Tired Legs

Woke up at 3am and unable to sleep anymore , even after tossing and turning for half an hour.
Slept at 12.30am , sure got super panda eyes later.

While sitting in front of the computer, I am comtemplating if I should join the JoyRiders for the 5am LH ride. Think I must be crazy, just thinking about it.
While walking to the kitchen to get some brekkie, my legs started protesting.
Ok ok, we shall not do the 5am LH ride today.
Maybe I will spin on the bike trainer later....

Haha, these pairs of legs really know how to go on strike.
My movements around the house are like that of a 70-year-old man.
Guess I definitely to rest these tired legs for a day or two.
Sayang Legs, Sayang.

NUS Hills Run

After yesterday's run, I was not too sure if I wanna do the NUS Hills Run today.
But I figure that since I am already at NUS to collect my NUS Biathlon Race Pack, I should not waste my trip there.

First reaction from Brokie when she saw me at NUS Kent Ridge Guild House was "How much did you pay to get the visa for the run today?!"
Only thing I can say is that this is a very exclusive week where I can do Tuesday and Wednesday runs.

I din know beforehand, but today's run is the Certification Route 6.
Started the run at 6.40pm.

The first 2km was pretty alright.
I ran too fast at the start , 1st km pace is 5.38min/km , which is way too fast for my standard.
At the 1.8km mark was Haw Par Villa. Here is the reason that the NUS Hills Route 6 Run cannot start too late as we have to clear the rear gate by 7pm, else it will be closed.

This is the first steep slope that we encountered. I was not ready for the slope at all.
Had to walk up most of the way, only to find the whole group waiting for me at the top of the hill.
Downhill to the rear gate, we cleared it @ 6.53pm. Pretty tight timing, I should say.

Out of the private estate onto the main road, we turn left and head up South Buona Vista Road.
Turning right into Vigilante Drive, I understand why this is called the killer slopes.
In comparison, Mount Faber does not looks too scary now.
About 20 meters up the slope, I decided that walking is a much better option.
From the top of the hill to Science Park Drive, I got the honour of being sweeped by both founders of this NUS Hills Run.
The rest of the group were waiting at the foot of the hill. I checked my watch. 4km only? Another 8km to go....

The rest of the route are a lot of twists and turns, but none of the following slopes are as demanding as the Haw Par Villa and Vigilante Slopes.
During this stage, I keep zoning out.
I guess this is the only way for the sane body to complete the entire run.

Another 4 km later and we are at Lower Kent Ridge Road.
I know that it is not much further now. Just hoping this tired body can pull itself through the NUS grounds.
Turning into Kent Ridge Crescent from Clementi Road, my kind sweeper TKTan (who has been so patiently waiting for me at every upslope) told me that there is only 400m to go.
Right at this moment, my legs is signalling to my brain that they are giving up.
Other than the 2 slopes, this last 400m proves to be a real challenge.
Ultimately, I manage to complete the 11.5km route within 1:35 hours.

While the others went to bathe and change, I went over to Sports and Recreation Center to collect my NUS Biathlon Race Pack.
Drove back to pick up the guys and proceed to our yu sheng dinner @ Al-Fresh Seafood Restaurant, 242 Pasir Panjang Village.
I was presented with my NUS Hills Certification. =)

Nice 2 days of running, but I am pretty sure that my legs will be aching for the next few days. =p

Wake Up Call

Got a very special visa this week for running. =)

On the intention of getting Kayano 14, I went down to Novena Velocity after work.
First person I meet when I step into Running Lab was Walter.
It was nice to finally meet him in person. =)
He looks so different from his photo in Facebook.

Kayano 14 is still not in yet, neither is GT2130.
Guess I will have to depend on my trusty Kayano 11 for this Sunday's race.

While shopping around, I notice that all the Zoot Ultra Race Suit has all being sold!!!
Only the ladies version are still available. Looking at the price tag, I realise why.
Learnt from Cokiee that both stores sold all the race suits within the first few hours of the Zoot Sales.

While walking aimlessly around the store, I came across Zoot Cyclefit Microvent Gloves. Trying it on, I found it pretty comfortable.
Given the discount, I decided that I should not hesitate. =p

After Trencen arrives, we start the run.
They ain't a lot of runners today, guess most of them are still on holiday mode.
As they have done SLF Route last week, we decided to do Singapore River Route today.

We have just turn into Cavenagh Road when everyone started to speed ahead.
Soon it was just me and Sweeper Cokiee.

Into Cavenagh Road, I start to understand how 1 month of non-running can really hurt you.
I am really glad that I came for this run. This is a wake up call for me.

Barely 2 km into the run and I have to start the walk-run strategy.
Well, better now than this Sunday. =)

As we run down the bridge into Robertson Quay, I notice 2 ladies running in front.
The first thing that came to mind was "Isn't that Tao?"
Haha, the CBD Runners is doing the Singapore River route as well.
But no matter how fast I tried, I just could not catch up with the 2 ladies.
Oh well...Not longer after, they CBD Runners turn left onto Jiak Kim Bridge on their way back.

Wow, they have a big crowd today. It did not occur to me that today's theme is Pre-Valentine's Day Run till Aerosolcan MSN me.
Argh..., miss out on the limited edition medal that Roonz and ST had made for the CBD Runners. =p

At WheelLock Place, Cokiee's knees hurt so much that we decided to walk the rest of the distance back together.

When we finally made it back to Novena Velocity... Thomas starts asking us "Where are the 2 ladies?"
We tried to call his bluff, before we realise that the 2 ladies who started with us were really missing.
Tried as hard as we could, we are unable able to come out with a Search and Rescue plan.
They could be anywhere, cos the last time Cokiee and I saw them was before Jiak Kim Bridge. (The furthest point from Novena Velocity for this route)
We could only wait for them to come back, which they did almost 20 minutes later.
It turns out that they have followed the CBD Runners up Jiak Kim Bridge and only realise their mistake much later into the run. =)
Luckily they manage to find the route back.

Total time taken was 1:34 hours, which I am pretty surprised considering that I walk quite a lot. =)

Happily Slacking!!!

Keke, woke up at 5am for the past 2 days and felt very happy.
I get the chance to miss the LH rides. =p

Had wanted to burn off the calories, but the lazy bug is still in the festive mode.
Could have gone for a run, but.....=p
Enuff said. =D

Depressed

Not too sure why, but I keep falling into bouts of depression recently.

Maybe it is the job uncertainty ahead.
I have not been looking for a new job as I have been offered a role in a different capacity.
But nothing is in black and white as yet, so this may have led to the anxiety.
Oh well, life goes on.

This pessimist must learn to be optimistic. =)

Running Resolution???

Been asked by PassionRunner what my running resolution is for 2008.
Been mulling over the question for 2 weeks liao and sadly, I still do not have the answer.

But when I am logging my training yesterday, I felt so depressed to see that my runs for the past 2 weeks has been a huge 0.
I have completed only 3 runs over the past 41 days!!!
In fact, my training log looks miserable.
Been trying to fool myself that if I have a non-zero for all three disciplines, I will be fine.
But I know that is not correct.

Gosh, I really need to start some planning and follow through........

Our Fishy Pickle

I must admit that I am glad that I purchase our Fisher Pickle.
Other than being able to play 3 national anthems, it has its other advantages.

1. You can pre-set all the wash options. There is even a favourite button.
In essence, most of the laundry wash is as simple as pressing the power button and the start button.
2. It has auto load sensing for water saving.
3. It removes lint during the flush.
4. It is a very very quiet washing machine.

I am falling in love with Fishy Pickle.

Cycling 9th February 2008

Slept at midnight, woke up at 3.20am.
Again kena lazy bug bite. So lazy to do any form of exercise.
Keep giving myself the excuse that I do not have enough sleep. =p
But somehow I could not coax myself back to sleep.

Surf the net checking out Punggol Criterium.
Haha, based on my current outfit, I won't be able to take part.
Need to have a pair of shoes suitable for cycling....Hmm, wonder what that means?
Only cycling jersey allowed. No sleeveless jersey. No one piece tri-suit. Aiyoh, why so strict?
No camelbak. Cannot leh... I definitely need my TNF Hammerhead.

Watched Discovery Channel while trying to sleep at the same time. Still did not work.
Took my own sweet time to eat brekkie and prep for the ride.
Before I knew it, it was 5:05am. Too late for the LH Ride Start.
Catch more Discovery Channel before I got my ass out of the house.
Must admit that it was a tough task doing so, cos my mind was fighting World War Three..... =D

On the way to Mandai Shell, I tried to dismount on the right side of the bike and had to jump off the bike as I was unbalanced.
I cannot imagine what would be the consequences if I had my cleats on.
Lesson learnt. Never dismount from the side which you have least confidence unless truly necessary.
Reach Mandai Shell at 5.55am. I was soon joined by Ryan and Mike who are waiting to tango with the LH 5.30 ride too. Waited till 6.15am when Joyce came and announced that she is the last rider and we moved on.

Starting from Mandai Shell with fresh legs did wonders as I was able to follow the group all the way till Adam Road Flyover before I lose them.
I must admit that one need to be mentally prepared for the slopes as I almost lose them at Hume Ave. I just keep telling myself "Pedal Pedal Pedal". =)
Having said that, Adam Road Flyover is a totally different challenge. =p

Reached back LH at 6.50am , satisfied that I came for the ride. =)
Meet some guys whom I have seen before in the LH photos.
Prata Man, Baby Joshua, James and (Opps, forget the name liao).
Will take a while before I remember all the names.

Ohh.... I guess it is during public holidays that we will see some famous faces coming for the rides.
Adrian Mok, Ben Wee, Andrew Fang and Janice Lee were all there.
Even the C2C mechanic (Sorry, forgot your name. =p) was there as well.
Started off at 7.15am.
Wow, the Changi Ride has lots of riders today. At least 40 riders.
I hitch a ride with them and turn into Lentor Avenue for my ride home.

Observation today.
A lot of crazy drivers today.
One, a bus tried to squeeze through the pleoton!!!! It cut the group into two. Scary when I am one of the few riders being squeezed to the side of the road...
Two, a car coming out from a Bukit Timah condo tried to beat the pleoton and cause the front riders to brake.
Three, a car trying to squeeze a motorcyclist off the road going into a one lane slip road.

But of all the lousy drivers, there are some kind ones.
While riding out from LH at 7.15am, there was a bus which stopped in the 2nd lane and allow all the riders to pass, even though most of us stopped to let him into the bus bay. Thanks!!!

Sarah

An inspiring video.

Cycling 8th February 2008

Woke up at 3am this morning.
Had a lazy bug biting me today, I felt so lethargic that I do not wanna do any exercise.
But after some surfing and blogging, I decided to get my butt out of the house.
It has been 10 days since I last exercise.

Reached LH at 5.30am. Just 5 cyclists?!
We decided to wait till 5.40am and soon we have 12 riders.
I tag along with the group, which proves to a good decision. I was able to stay with the group after Casuarina.

Expecting to be the only one doing Old Mandai Road, I was pleasantly surprised when the whole pleoton turns left. Up Nee Soon Flyover, and I lost the group.
Kelvin, who have re-constructive knee surgery 4 months ago, overtook me upslope and left me smelling his smoke.
Did not expect the group to tango at Mandai Shell, and I was darned right. :-(

There was a Cervelo P2SL waiting for Foggy Glasses Alex, but after notifying him that I was the last rider, we started to ride back to base.
I am really lousy at upslopes, even gentle ones, cos at Hume Ave, I felt so bushed that I told P2SL to go ahead without me.
Sigh, I am riding alone again. :-(

On reaching MR, I tango with the group whom has took the slightly longer route, going up to Novena before turning back to base.
Reached back LH at 6.50am.
Waited till 7.20am before I tag along the Changi group home.

Washing Machine

My old washing machine went kaput a week before Chinese New Year.
So I had a pretty busy weekend hunting for our new washing machine.

Started by looking at a washing machine at 3 times lesser the price of this Fishy Pickle!!! Talk about expensive taste. =p

I was so glad that they managed to made the delivery on Monday, even though I placed my order on Saturday @ 7.40pm through the phone!!!

Someone even blog about her Fishy Pickle.
http://rebeccaskitchenwindow.blogspot.com/2007/03/friday-favorite-my-fishy-pickle.html

Lousy Dad?

Shannon was rocking on the chair while I was busy MSN-ing.

I have reminded her numerous times not to rock the chair in case she falls.

But my instructions always fall on deaf ears.

When I see her toppling over, I think I have enough time to reach over to prevent her from falling down.... I did not lift a finger!!!

What went through my mind in those nano seconds is that I need her to experience the pain that comes with the fall.
Am I right to do that? Or was I wrong?

Waking up late

Set the alarm to go off at 4am, but I slept right through it and woke up at 5.05am.

Planned to quickly take my breakfast and join the JoyRiders at Mandai Shell, but things never turn out the way they usually do.

I have already eliminated the spicy chilli from my lunch yesterday, but that did not stop the royal rumble this morning.

As it is already 5.30am and I am nowhere near departure, I decided to skip today's ride. Will have to make it a point to join them tomorrow.

Hope the weather stays fine tomorrow.

Back to the subject title.

This week is so much nicer for me as compared to last week.
It was good to be able to sleep till 5-6am every morning. =)