Genting Conquered

Ride profile, from McD's up to Genting via Gohtong.

Part 2 of my hilly weekend was a ride from Genting Sempah R&R to Genting Highlands. Arif, Adeline & I rode a couple of km's up the hill (that took 13 mins!) and waited for another 6 riders, including Sofian, who'd started at HOA.

My main concern was that my HR would exceed my self-imposed max of 90%, or that my elderly bottom bracket would fail under the strain of me pushing a 39x23 gear up 1:10 slopes for 2 hours. As it turned out, my HR stayed under 90% and my BB was OK. (lots of abbreviations there!)

Pitstopped at Gohtong and then the final push - about 8-9km. I was looking forward (?) to the infamous 4.4km to go - a wall-like left-hand switchback corner, followed by unrelenting 10-12% gradients to the top.

I got past 4.4 ok but my front tyre was suspiciously flat and I stopped shortly therafter. My tyre had lost a lot of pressure, but after 3 attempts at remounting I was on my way again and managed to get to 2.2km to go before having to change it.

The wall-like corner at 4.4km to go (4.4 = Die.Die in Chinese - how appropriate!)

After 2hours (at less than 10kph!) we made it to the top and had a short rest before Arif & I began the descent. The first 5 minutes was in thick cloud and I was so freezing that my whole arms were trembling. Halfway down my tyre deflated again so we stopped to top it up with CO2. This was 10th (slight exaggeration) suspected internal puncture in the last few months - definitely something wrong with my tyres, rims or rim tape. My rims were almost too hot to touch from braking continuously!

Luckily for me Arif had another CO2 canister so I made it all the way to the top of the "McD's hill". Then my tire began to come off the rim, so my ride promptly turned into a brick session - I ran the last 1km downhill with bike in one hand - shoes in the other. Running over stones on the road is damn painful!

The end result was a very satisfying ride. I finally made it right to the top, 11 years after falling 3km short due to time constraints, and only 2 weeks before I leave the country (I've been targetting that ride for the last 3 years!).

My proof! - the tastefully painted First World Hotel, shrouded in cotton wool clouds.

This ride got me so excited about cycling up mountains that I've entered it on www.climbbybike.com - a must view site for cycling fans. Hopefully the climb will be on the site in 2 weeks once the webmasters have okay'd the details (profile, photos, description and Google Earth links).

Solar New Year

I just had a nice 4 day break!

WEDNESDAY pm

A post-work KLCC run:- 2 lap warm-up followed by 4 x 1,000m and then a good stretching sesh. I aggravated my yet-to-heal right calf strain but it didn't seem bad enough to jeapordise the following days monster 200km+ ride.

THURSDAY

The sun had much more of an effect on me than the moon did on Lunar New Years Day. I headed out for my second Fraser's Loop ride at 6.40am and was glad not to be faced by the morning rain that was falling the last time I did this route.

An early drama was avoided as I took hold of a road divider sign at a red light to avoid having to unclip from my pedals. As I reached out I guessed there was a good chance that it would not be firmly fixed. Indeed it wasn't and it duly fell off the post and rolled onto the road - luckily I was prepared for this eventuality and did not fall off!

After watching a lovely sunrise over the hills ahead of me I met a surprisingly big group at HOA and we headed off up to Genting Sempah. I was stuck on my own between Adzim and Wendy up-front and a pack behind, and was eventually swallowed up and spat out the back towards the top. Down towards Bentong I did my usual Samuel Sanchez impression and ended up at the front, where I was joined by Adzim, Arif and ? about 16km from town. We took turns at the front - going faster than I would have liked considering the km's ahead - and refuelled at the Shell.

Then off to Tranum. I was left all alone at the back as soon as the road headed skywards. It was getting mighty hot now! After a quick break at Tranum we headed off up the 20km+ climb to Gap. I was at the back again but after I got going I managed to catch Rashid, Anwar and Disco Boy. Later on I tired again and Rashid, and then Anwar, pulled ahead. As before, the last 5km were a bit of a drag.

On the way down to KKB I took it fairly easy but still ended up doing some unplanned cyclocross on one sharp right-hander. I had to swing left to avoid a large water-filled pothole surrounded by grit, and ended up heading off the road where I had the choice of steering sharply right to stay on - but surely lose my front wheel on the grit - or going off. I chose the latter and ended up cycling 10m along a deep and jagged scar in the surface with a muddy stream running in it. Luckily I avoided punctures, buckled wheels - and stayed upright.

Time for a welcome break at Petronas KKB. It was burnin' hot so I slapped on a load of sun cream and we headed off to Batang Kali. Dicky Z setting a fast wind-assisted pace with me tucked in behind him. The reasonable pace continued to Ulu Yam where we had another quick stop. I got left behind while I slapped on a load more sun cream and when the road started rising and my legs had zero power, I knew the next 10km was going to be long and lonely!

My trip meter was at 175km. It was about 4pm and still a clear and hot hot hot day - unlike the darkness and torrential rain we had last time out. I began to struggle badly. I could barely turn 1st gear. Before the main climb I caught Rashid. He struggled with me for a while before stopping to rest. I could see a cyclist spot on the horizon (Arif) and joined him about halfway up. I was shocked to see Azwar sitting by the road - he was also struggling! - but managed to keep going fast enough to stay upright - and finally made it to the top just behind Arif. I freewheeled the next few km before the final sharp climb next to the dam.

I then spun home on empty legs.

213.3km in 9:07:00 - 10mins slower than last time.

FRIDAY

Had a lie-in! Lunch with J & L in Chili's KLCC. Legs feeling ok and I even managed a 20min easy-spin on the turbo trainer before plunging into the pool and doing some drills, and playing with Lucas.

SATURDAY

Another lie-in. Didn't go to Sunway Lagoon as planned. Went to GE Mall to buy some goodies for a Sunday BBQ. In the evening J and I had a belated 8th anniversary dinner in the rather posh Gobo Upstairs restaurant in the Traders Hotel. It was pricey but excellent food all round - starter, main course and dessert.

SUNDAY

Woken by alarm at 0530 for a 20km run. Then slept until 10! Up - chores - BBQ - couch potato - Manchester Derby - bed!

Quiet Again

I've been a bit quiet again recently (I tend to blog during lunchtime in the office, so when I have a few days off the posting drys up unless something truly exciting happens).

On Thursday evening I did a 1600-1400-1200-1000-800-600-400-300- 200-100m interval run at KLCC. It's amazing how well this type of run breaks up the monotony of running laps. I would normally be bored stiff doing 5 laps there but this run had me doing 6 without too much trouble.

The following morning I did the Double Hill with Arif, while Bacin & Steve Lee marched off to Hartamas. Later that day I managed 50 mins of swim drills in the condo pool.

Saturday am - Putrajaya 50km ride with Bacin, Dicky Z, Laif, Andrea Android, Azmar and Rashid. I was riding my Planet X so as usual the flat stretch towards the KLIA toll was wonderful - I cruised along comfortably at 36kph+ and caught a certain Mr Ray Hee KK (secret training on his own) just before the toll. In the end my average speed was about 29kph which is pretty good for me.

Later I nipped down the road to GE Mall for lunch with Jackie and Lucas. He's a huge Chicken Rice Shop fan, so he had chicken rice (in case you were wondering what they serve) and I downed some sarnies and a Starbucks.

In the pm I took Lucas to ISKL for a first football lesson. He did quite well and - being a good few inches taller than his pals - made the most of his body size, and football being a "contact" sport. A nice goal with the outside of his foot and in off the post too!

On Sunday I had a lie-in! I eventually sloped off to the Bike Boutique for a while, where I discovered their rooftop 25m pool, and plans for triathlon training sessions. Then off to Lake Gardens where I jogged around the 2.3km loop (carrying right calf muscles strained during Thursday's intervals) behind a cycling Lucas, before a game of footy and a go on the playground.

Monkey Business

I'd like to say I started the New Year with a bang, but it was more a kind of rubber-rolling-on tarmac-kind-of-sound, with a fizz(*) and the unmistakable grinding-spinning sound of a PU-foam sandwich in carbon bread (**).

Indeed, at 6.40am I headed off for a spin around the strange town of Putrajaya with Shazly, Stupe, Bacin, Azwar, Adzim & Puzi. The pace was a little too high for me so, wanting to save myself for a 10k run afterwards, I ducked-out after 50km and promptly became rather lost in my efforts to cycle as directly as possible back towards the Mosque start-point.

It was a great ride. I particularly enjoyed my 5km solo time trial @ 35-40kph when I was trying to catch the others, who'd put 500m into me on an earlier incline. I managed to catch Stupe but didn't quite get to the rest, before we stopped at the Plaza Tol u-turn.

I came close to running for 15minutes and doing a u-turn but I willed myself to go-ahead with my plan and do 10km. It actually ended up being 9.5km in a little under an hour.

* - Azwar punctured after 10km
** - Adzim's Zipp disc wheel

Test Day

I dusted off Planet X and went for a whizz along the new KL-Putrajaya Highway this morning.

The entrance at Kg. Pandan roundabout is a perfect 20-min warmup away from my front door so once I hit the new tarmac I started my planned 3 x 15min intervals at max. effort. This is a (lactate) threshold test supposed to be done on a turbo trainer for accuracy.

Interval 1 - 35.23kph. Ave HR=152
Interval 2 - 32.40kph. Ave HR=155
Interval 3 - 32.75kph. Ave HR=151 (could have pushed a bit harder)

I cycled at a speed where I could just feel the lactic acid welling up in my legs. So it looks like my lactate threshold HR is about 153bpm (83% HRmax).

I was expecting a flat elevated highway but it turned out to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride...

Start = Kg. Pandan ramp, End = Plaza Tol Putrajaya, approx. 30.5km

200k Pics

The full Deepavali 200k gang, all set to go.

Resting in the shade of an old shop/house just before Teranum

Resting again, at Gap.

This the ride profile. The 3 main peaks are - G. Sempah > Frasers Hill > Ulu Yam

Monster Ride

The "Saddle Sores Ahead" warning sign on my previous post was supposed to be a joke, but it turned out to be highly prophetic.

Due to a rainy start to the day, my shorts were wet for the whole day and after 100km or so I began to feel the effect of the edge of the padded section rubbing on the tops of my thighs (posterior). So today I am moving around rather cautiously (kangkang ?)but it's bearable. Should be ok for a 64km spin on Sunday.

So....left the house at 6.10am and met Adzim, Bacin, Dicky Z, Jaja, Laif, May Senn, Azmar, Sofian and Yusran at HOA.

The rain and storm during the previous night had left the road up to G. Sempah and down towards Bentong in a big mess. Three times we had to dismount and climb over fallen trees.

Onto the slight downhill run into Bentong I enjoyed being towed for a while by Bacin & Adzim. From Bentong to Tranum things warmed up and the road rolled along. Then the shaded 21km up to Gap. This was a long climb and the last 5km seemed to last an age. I flew down into KKB (I can't bring myself to take it easy downhill - the thrill of a risky descent is the reward for a tough climb). I had a couple of hairy moments but managed to stay on 2 wheels.

The rewards continued as we had a tailwind all the way to Ulu Yam, where we stopped for a few minutes before heading off to conquer the next two climbs. Then the heavens opened and the skies darkened as we chugged our way along the valley and through driving rain until the Dam. I'd been dropped by the rest of the gang bar the girls, but eventually caught sight of Sofian towards the top, giving me a nice carrot to follow. Another wonderful 70kph descent on soaked roads followed, before the final short sharp climb at the Dam, where I was joined by Yusran Bennati.

Time was flying so I said farewell before Batu Caves and headed home. Quite an adventure! A once a year ride for me! THANKS to all my companions - 'twas a great day!

Distance - 214km (133 miles) in 8:57:43 @ 23.88kph
Total Ascent - 1986m!

Deepavali Madness!

Fancy a few hours in the saddle on Thursday?

Date: Thursday 8 Nov 2007 (Deepavali)
Where: Hospital Orang Asli (HOA) car-park, Jalan Gombak.
Time: Meet at 6.30am, leave at 7.00am SHARP.
Route: HOA - Bentong - Tranum - Gap - KKB - Ulu Yam - Batu Caves - HOA
Distance: +/-190km
Terrain: Hilly!

Should be a great ride - sounds like there'll be a good turnout!

Wow! I'm looking forward to this. With the extra few km's from home to HOA, I could well end up doing my first ever 200km+ ride!

PCC Centrepoint - Batu Arang Ride

My first long ride on the new bike. I was tempted to ride from home, adding 30km to a 108km route, but decided against it just in case my set-up was uncomfortable.

Riders today (whose names I know) - Adeline, Lisa (fast runner), Rafiq, Shu Hwuey, Don, Adzim - Cervelo, Jeffrey - new Bianchi Liquigas, PK & son, Patrick & Jason, Gert-Jan Theunisse (see photo), Azam, Dennis - Cervelo Soloist.

Gert-Jan Theunisse - spotted in Batu Arang with a Merida bike and Discovery jersey

After receiving masses of praise for having a super-new-shiny-lightweight-carbon-mean machine, we set off. After an easy first 7km or so I went for a blast down the hill towards the Industrial areas before reaching the Sungai Buloh Road. I then settled into a pattern of time-trialling a bit on the front, getting used to my aero-position and weird saddle, then taking a rest, getting dropped, then catching up again. Eventually we reached Ijok Petronas and re-fuelled.

Another long straight road after that provided another aero-position front-running opportunity but once the hills started I dropped back a bit before working my way through the backmarkers and into Batu Arang for wan tan mee soup - lovely!

Out of B. Arang I didn't stay with the small lead group on the climb and ended up all alone on the road back to KL. Soon I caught Dennis and the pair of us sped along at a fair rate until we waited for the rest to guide us through a complicated route back to Centrepoint.

108km in 3h50mins-ish I think. My average was 29kph+ but the slow last sector lowered it to about 28kph. Not bad though as I did little if any drafting, and to reach my Desaru target I only need to do 90km @ 26kph.

Quiet

Mmmmm.... been a bit quiet in the last 5 days or so.

After last Wednesday's swim I didn't do any training for the next 2 days, but made up for it on Saturday by getting up early enough for a 34km ride to work. A lunch swim was ruled out by a hearty Thai lunch with my work team chums and ex-secretary, which was burned off nicely by a 15km run after work that more than made up for 2 days inactivity.

That was my longest ever training run and I'm quite proud of myself too!! I did exactly the same route as the Pacesetters 15km run that I missed in May. My time was 1:38:something which is 7 minutes faster than my 2006 run, and with a 5% lower HR (151 average compared to 159 in 2006). I took it quite easy throughout the run.

The lovely runner's high kicked in at just over an hour. This makes me think that doing 1-hour 10km runs is a waste as I stop running just at the point where the "reward" is just round the corner.

For the first time in a long long time I did nothing on Sunday. I'd planned to do 1500m at Uniten Pool but was too lazy. In the end I went for a Fathers Day lunch at the Eurasian Club with Lucas, Dad-in-law and various uncles, and then took Lucas to watch Surf's Up.


Evening - MotoGP (my man Stoner winning again) and the most excellent V For Vendetta!

My 1-day weekend is over and it's back to work....I'll do my postponed 1500m swim tonight after work. This will be my first benchmark for a continuous 1500m front-crawl pool swim. 40mins or less would be pleasing...I'll keep you posted.

Playing Catch Up

After last weeks training was almost non-existent due to injury, I did some catching-up at the weekend...

Sat a.m. Ride to Work:

16km in 28:26 @ 33.76kph - WORLD RECORD PACE!!

Sat lunchtime swim:

Warm Up - 200m
Main Set - 13 x 100m on 2:50. [Pace varied 2:05-2:16]
Warm-down - 100m
TOTAL: 1600m

Sun a.m. Tri Simulation (PD)

Swim 1500m - ??? (forgot to time myself)
Ride 40km - 1:22:00
Run 9km - 51mins+

SWIM:

I had a great morning in PD yesterday at the Triathlon "clinic". It was basically a non-competitive almost full Olympic Tri, with a relaxed atmosphere and very social 10 minute+ transitions.

Pre-swim briefing (me on the left)

It was an open-water sea swim, with the middle 900m or so in the calm marina waters. The waves were perhaps 0.5m which added a bit of a rollercoaster ride to the affair. I managed crawl all the way except for a few seconds here and there for sighting and turns. After 300m the group I was with had to turn 90 degrees right as we'd veered too far left on the first buoy. Lesson - just because a swimming group forms doesn't mean they are going the right way!!

After that I was alone. Salty water, but no sign of the deisel that I'd heard so much about. The halfway turn took a long time to appear so I guess the swim was a good 1500m. This was the first time I've clearly noticed the difference in buoyancy between a pool and salt-water. Breathing seemed quite easy. The return leg had the added task of avoiding oncoming swimmers, but once I'd passed them successfully it was full steam ahead (half steam actually) to the finish.

I don't know how long I took but for me the satisfaction is that I did my first ever front crawl sea swim in (almost) race conditions.

BIKE:

After a lengthy transition we set off as a group, with police escort. The first 7km were very easy and I had a nice chat with Sam Pritchard. He's off to spend some time at his house in the French Alps soon, and will be able to watch Le Tour De France pass by - I am very jealous!!

After that it was a free for all and the strong riders slowly rode into the distance. I rode at my own pace as usual and Arif caught me at about 15km. There were some other rider around us and I settled into a routine of being overtaken on the inclines, catching-up on the downhills and then taking the "lead" again on the flats. A wee bit of drafting too was fun. The u-turn was at exactly 20km according to me. On the way back the crosswinds seemed to increase and it rained lightly before we entered PD. From km25-35 I tired a bit but seemed to get a second wind after that and managed a few km of speed work towards the end. Considering the easy first 7km and an uncommonly strong crosswind, I finished the full 40km ride in a satisfying 1:22:00.

Business talk - with Edwin in transition

RIDE:

Again after a lengthy transition - Arif, Bernard, Jason Foo and I set off for the 9km run. My left thigh was still feeling the effects of last weeks hash but only just.

My pace was slower than usual (1st gear as opposed to 2nd) but I felt very good on the run and really enjoyed it. On the way back I moved into 2nd gear (0.001kph faster!) and managed a nice sprint to finish off with. Out - 26m+, In - 25min+.


I stayed back for a while afterwards, chit-chatting and being one of many interviewed by Jessica from NTV7 for a slot on The Breakfast Show in July sometime. Then 'twas lucky draw time and - believe it or not - I won something! - 2 months free membership of a gym. I might go when Lucas is on holiday (when I don't have to drive home to school) and I have time for some early a.m. treadmill work. A few rowing sessions wouldn't go amiss.

This was a great morning, a very satisfying workout with a bunch of pals - I could feel the endorphins flowing during the run!

Sorry to say that it looks like the Siemens 10km Run on 8 July will have to be relegated to my "Other & TBC" calendar as there'll be another Tri clinic in PD on that day.

Another difficult choice is Batang Kali Uphill TT v King Of The Road 21km on 5 August!

Dream Dream Dream

Sigh! - I'm in love with a dark, slim, hard-bodied beauty from the UK (with some Japanese blood)...

...the wedding will have to wait due to lack of funds, but hopefully we can tie the knot before the Singapore Half-Ironman.

Vital Stats:

Bust: Shimano Dura-Ace groupset
Waist: Planet X Carbon 50mm wheels
Hips: Planet X Stealth Carbon frame & forks

B 2 B (Back To Bentong)

In my efforts to become a Half-Ironman Hero in a couple of months I’m upping my biking mileage this year, so I had to leave my comfy bed at the ridiculously early hour of 5.40am to make it to Genting Sempah by 8am to join the Bentong ice-cream pilgrimage.

Unfortunately Ah Fook and I arrived 5 minutes late and so had to fly down the hill towards Bentong in the hope of catching the PCC peloton.

Despite a swift descent, to my surprise there was no sign of the speeding PCC boys and girls until we spotted Ah Fatt acting suspiciously at the Hot Springs. What was he up to I asked myself? Short-cutting by starting at the hot springs? Packing up after a 20min cruise down the hill? Going for a quick dip?

Alas there was a job to be done so Fook and I continued courageously but never did manage to catch the pack. I won’t mention that Fook fell off his bike upon arrival (forgot about feet being clipped to the pedals) as I don’t want to embarrass the poor lad!

After the usual ice cream and cendol for me, and fish balls for some, back we all headed towards Sempah. Now I’m getting to know the standard post-Bentong routine:

We all amble slowly to the traffic lights, talking about how nice the ice cream was.

A pack gradually forms on the slight hill just out of town.

Bernard “Nijdam” Tan breaks away on his own, never to be seen again!

We form a nice fast paceline in which I do a good but ultimately unsustainable stint at the front (until the road starts to rise) at which point…

I change back into 3^rd gear and get massively dropped by almost the entire bunch.

I overtake Mac about halfway up the hill. (This is a repeat of a recent Frasers ride)

However on this ride a certain Ivan ‘Basso” Chan threw the rule book away by attempting a stunning solo breakaway!! I’m not sure what happened to him though! I swear I have never seen him move soooooooo fast!!!

Stats for my own benefit:

140km in 5:59:58 @ slow kph.
Weight 77kg.
Heart rate surprisingly low today. I did almost the entire climb to Sempah at <145bpm.>

Fakawi Uphill Race Series

Click on the image to go to the event website. Please pass word around regarding this event series. I have posted links to this post on the way2ride and swimbikerunmalaysia forums.

RM30 entry (per 'stage' I think), individual riders set-off at 1 min intervals. Max. distance is 20km. There are off-road and on-road stages - these are the on-road stages:

17 June - Batu 14 Ulu Langat (possibly the Tekali hill)
1 July - Genting Sempah (HOA - Sempah I presume)
5 August - Batang Kali (Ulu Yam towards Genting perhaps?)


This series nicely fills in the 2 remaining gaps in my event calendar, which now has something on every Sunday from now until 9 September!

Century Ride Results

Click here to read a good review of the ride by the organisers, with full results.

Here's the results of everyone I know (only if I recognise your name from the lists - sorry if i missed you!)

Here's another photo of me that I just found...

Ipoh Century Ride

I did the Ipoh 160km Century Ride last Sunday. It was organised (very well I must say) by the Kelab Ipoh Road Runners. Here's the route profile. Click on it for a big one...


In order to beat my 1997 record of 179km in one day (Kelana Jaya - Ulu Yam - Genting Pagoda & back again) I decided to cycle to the start from my Aunt's house, about 13km. I arrived at the start point in Tambun at 6.20am and soon bumped into a big crowd of PCC riders. There was Bernard, Ashley, PK and family, James, William, Dennis, Wong C C, Ivan & Annie, Laif, Jeffrey, Wong Wai Lam, the Bike Pro mechanics and more. Here's Ashley & Bernard looking cheerful at the start...

Me looking cheerful at the start...

And they're off!...

In the first hour I did my usual of going at my own pace, not at all bothered at being overtaken by almost everyone. The main PCC group went off ahead into the distance. Still my 1st hour average was 28kph.

km30(ish) - an action shot of my ear, with Ah Fook on my shoulder...

km52 - we stopped for a few minutes at first station to refill our water bottles and I had my 1st powergel. Was pleased to get off the rather uninspiring Ipoh-Lumut highway at this point!

km65 - we turned right at a junction with "95km to go" sprayed on the road. Soon after this point the road became quite hilly and we started to come across riders suffering from cramps. From here on Ah Fook and I slowly began overtaking people and were hardly passed by anyone except when we stopped.

km83 - 2nd water station. Refilled again, wolfed down an apple and a pear and was interviewed by the KRI media lady.

km90 - we stopped again for a few minutes for Ah Fook to tighten his loose shoe cleat.

km109 - just after Kuala Kangsar, I swallowed my 2nd PowerGel and then we stopped at this roadside stall for a well earned cold 100+ drink. 4h05m of riding so far...

This is our second crossing of the river a few km later...

km124 - This was the 2nd last stop. PK and William were there - I had been wondering where all the orange PCC jerseys were as I had expected to catch them by now - and then some of them arrived here just behind us - ?!?!?!?

km134 - We stopped in a well placed rest stop under the shade of oil palm trees, just after a rather exposed and hot stretch of road. More refilling, 100+ and a banana! This guy was having a lie-down!...


Ah Fook with a good view of the best legs I saw all day...

In the last 25km I cycled alone but close to Wendy and a couple drafting behind their yellow support car. After 5h51m my HRM told me "MEMORY FULL" - sh*t!! Never mind. In the last 5km I managed to shake off the guy who'd been enjoying my draft for the previous 5-10km and even managed to overtake another rider in the last 500m.

I finished the 160km in 6:09:06 @ 26kph. This was 15 minutes faster that what I'd imagined so I was pretty chuffed. I did too little drafting to mention. Here's my seat post number, with all the checkpoint stickers in place...


After the race I immediately downed a Red Bull and a Soya milk drink and went around congratulating a few friends on their achievements. I then went to look at a couple of bikes that a small group were admiring intently. Both had US$3,000 Campag Bora Ultra wheels. One was William's Time bike and the other was a Limited Edition Colnago President LDV (Leonardo Da Vinci) frame, with a Record groupset and an integrated bar/stem. Check out the fantastic paint-job - you can see Leo's head beside the head tube...

This bike even had a Campagnolo computer and a Garmin GPS system. I estimate this bike to be worth over US$10,000 (RM34,500) without the electronics. The frame is worth US$4,600 (almost RM16,000). Here's a shot of the Colnago bar/stem and the gadgets...

Apart from ridiculously expensive new bikes, there were a few nice oldies too. I was admiring an nice old aluminium Alan frame from the '80's, which had nice big polished chrome lugs and a fluted Campag seat post. It also had an old Campag Record chainset - the best looking chainset ever if you ask me - here it is...

I didn't want to get back to KL too late so I made my way back to my Aunt Malar's house - another 12km!

My total mileage for the day was 185.6km (13.1+160+12.5), beating my 1997 record of 179km by 6.6km. I suppose now I have to do a double metric century = 200km!

I thought I'd record how red, sweaty and grimy I looked after all those kilometres...

The sun-cream did a good job today - only my nose was a bit red.

Big Swim-Run-Bike Weekender!

This weekend will include plenty of cycling and driving, some swimming and running, and hopefully enough sleep to suit!

I'll be driving up to Ipoh on Saturday morning to check-in for Sunday's 160km Century Ride (see route map below). I'll leave my bike at my Aunt Malar's house and then it's off up a bit further North to Bukit Merah for a late afternoon Biathlon (1km swim and 6km run). Carbo-loading dinner afterwards then back to Ipoh for the night.

My plan for the biathlon is just to do as much front crawl as poss, get some experience of sighting properly, and enjoy battling in the water with the others. I'm not too bothered about speed. For the run I'll be taking is easy - my only desire is to test if I can run without socks and still avoid blisters and chafing.

A nice target for me is...

Swim 30:30
Transition 1:00
Run 36:00
TOTAL 1:07:30

I'm saving myself for the big one on Sunday, 160km around Ipoh. It's not a race but I really want to finish in less than 7 hours. If I'm feeling super-fit, or if there's any paceline action , it'd be good to do it in 6h24m at an average speed of 25kph.

Hard Labour Day

This post is doubling-up as the PCC weekly newsletter write-up...

Labour Day - a single day out of 365 when us hard-working employees can relax, have a lie-in, be a couch potato etc... OR - wake up at 5.15am to drive to KKB and then embark upon a 2.5hour bike ride up a 1100m climb into the clouds! Naturally, around 20 or so PCC Tar 'N Grimers rose early and met at KKB stadium to do just that.

And we had our very own mini Bike Show to titillate everyone before the ride. May Senn pulled her nice new Orbea Diva from her car, Bernard was showing-off his new Token carbon deep-section wheels and William was looking sharp in a full BMC outfit to match his bike. Ah Fook had new purple Look pedals and shoes.

As we headed off towards the dam, the pack slowly disappeared into the distance (my legs take at least 30 minutes to get going). At the dam we bumped into PK and family, and the day of climbing really began.

My trusty climbing partner Ah Fook and I steadily made our way up the lower slopes and we eventually caught the yellow jersey group (Mac). Before the ride Mac had reminded me that the yellow jersey should not lead up mountains. That job is for the polka-dot jersey. The yellow jersey should be "protected". So we protected the man in yellow for a while before moving on to catch our next rider - Big Ron. We caught a glimpse of him at one point but then didn't see him for another 10 minutes - I thought perhaps I was hallucinating due to the seemily never-ending winding road. At last we found him, and shortly afterwards we arrived at the Gap resthouse. End of Part 1!

We regrouped at the Gap, with Kim-possible Yap making an appearance to boost everyone's morale - if this hill is a workout worthy of Triathlon champions then there's hope for all of us! This was my first time up to Fraser's and I was apprehensive about the "difficult climbing" after the Gap. I was first back on the road (to get a head start!). And boy did I need it! 1km later we faced a piece of road that looked more like a wall - a 1:7 slope to get the legs warmed again. Althought it was only 200m long, my head start vanished as Arif, Bernard, Azmar, Gunter, Laif and Kenny powered up the hills.

The increased gradient was eased by a few flats and downhills, but the things that really made this part of the ride enjoyable despite the toughness was the view down into clouds, the cool cool breeze and the occasional silence, broken only by the sound of large birds cruising from tree to tree. These things really give one a sense of achievement - climbing so high - and getting away from the pace of city-life.

Finally we reached the Clocktower - Bert from The Netherlands and Richard from Holland (there is a difference folks!) were there - Richard having done 2 loop of the one-way system as he loves the technical descent so much! After much drinking, and consumption of nasi lemak and roti canai, it was time for the neck-stiffening descent. Just before we left, Ironlady May Senn arrived on her Diva, by now with no feeling whatsoever in her bum and legs - I must admit her new saddle doesn't look very lady-like! Nice bike but some comfort-adjustments needed I think!

The next hill to tick on my list of completed climbs is Genting - anyone care to join me??

And the menu for today says...

Bernard's Giant sporting new Token wheels

The Maillot Jaune prepares...

Mac's S-Works...

The gang - all set to conquer Fraser's...

Me pointing in the direction of travel about 15km into the ride...

At the Gap - safe n sound...

Gunter Pantani deep in thought...

Mac, Chin Hoe and PK staring at Kimbeley’s legs Chin Hoe's bike...

The road to the left starts with a 165m long 1:7 climb - reminded me of the Lake District in England...

Makan time at Fraser's - I recommend the nasi lemak!...

Ah Fook, Kenny + friend descending...

The reservoir on the way down...

Stats/Info:

Start 8.15am

Up - 42.4km in 2:35:23 @ 16.4kph
Down - 42.4km in 1:07:00 @ 38kph
TOTAL 84.8km (KKB-Gap = 31km, Gap-Frasers = 11.4km)

Ascent 1200m+

Climbs: Dam to Gap is 19.6km @ 1:34, then 9km @ 1:25

Nutrition/Weight: PowerBar @ 6.15am, 1/2 Triple Threat @ 7.30am, Nasi Lemak+banana @ top of Frasers. Weighed 77kg in afternoon.