Say Hello to...

my little friends!...

Balance, poise, stylish jimjams...what else can I say?

On zee beach - 8am - lots of starfish around.

On zee beach #2 - in the shadow of THE MIGHTY BURJ!

My new Trek. Shimano Ultegra all round and Bontrager everything except my trusty 10-year old Dura-Ace seat post. Soon I'll put on the 50mm Planet-X carbon rims and see how mean she looks! I need a longer stem - 110mm at least.

Climbbybike

My parting gift to Malaysia is here. I hope some fellow cyclists can add to the listing, and perhaps do one themselves for the Camerons, Genting Peres etc...

My Day

A new life - a new routine...

Wake-up shortly before 5am. It is light already. Woken at 5.10am by alarm. Snooze until 5.20am.

Up, switch centralised a/c off and have a shower.

Say bye and open the front door. Walk into the already warm and humid air and jump into my 3.5l Nissan Pathfinder. Immediately put the a/c on and off we go.

Listen to nothing, or BBC World in Arabic on the radio. Reach Al Khail road in 5mins and hope that the HGV crawl hasn't started yet.

Start work at 6am. On some days I go direct to the site and look around while it's still relatively cool. Otherwise dtraight to the office.

Work is usually madness -

• sub-con invoices,
• leave requests, warninbg letters
• manpower forecasts
• check procurement status
• write letter to client
• check authority permits status
• are the pipes made yet?
• is the tunnel alignment ok?
• we need 30 new carpenters
• meet the loss adjuster
• consortium meeting
• must survey that site
• shaft design
• oh no - an new urgent urgent job has come up
• petty cash
• steering committee meeting
• car service
• how many pumps do we have?
• hello sir - do you need a long reach excavator?

etc...

but i get paid well, have a nice house, a car and lucas in a good school - i am not grumbling. my job is rewarding - no doubt.

a 2-day weekend starts now. I've put the seat up to the MAX on my slightly-too-small Trek and plan to do a 5.30am 70km ride in the morning.

Trekkie

I have done something I thought I would never do - bought a Trek/Shimano/Bontrager bike. It's 2 years old and in pretty good condition. 58cm with Ultegra all round and Bontrager wheels.

So I've been promoted from '94 8-speed Campy to '06 10-speed Shimano.

I hope to go for a long ride on Friday morning.

...and i've finally browsed local club sites and come up with a list of weekly training sessions, and an event calendar.

I've missed a lot of great races in Malaysia, and have done little or no training in the last 3 months, but the season here is about to kick-off - hooray for that!

Hubble Space Telescope

Awaited almost as eagerly as the first photos from Hubble......

...here's a few pics of our humble new abode in Dubai.

Max

Just been reading about the Max Moseley court case. It would appear that the a***holes at the News Of The World are yet again confusing "mildly interesting" with "in the public interest". The only way they will learn that they are not the same is when the punishment for breaching an individuals privacy is big enough to hurt their profits.

I hope he gets his punitive damages - and gives them to charity.

My blog posts are taking a number of days to appear here - I wonder if they are being "reviewed" by someone first?!?

Show Off!

I'm very excited! Stage 1 of Le Tour just finished and with all of todays top 6 (except 3rd) in my team, I am in 1st place by a massive 10 points! This is my finest fantasy cycling hour yet!

Comedy Politics

Is it silly season in Zimbabwe and Malaysia?

Mugabe has clearly gone completey mad - I really want to know what he does to the people who appear on TV to be supporting him rather deliriously.

...and I am quite amazed that Anwar has been accused of sodomy again!! This has to be a joke surely! Will he be accused of sodomy in 2018 also? Lets hope that his accusors have the decency to specify an apartment unit that had actually been built when asked to confirm where the dastardly deed took place.

I really do despair!

Mugabe - What a Star!

i'm still in a hotel! but i've moved to a new 3 star place very close to work. and they've got free wireless internet so i'm more inclined to blog even though i dislike the laptop keyboard. here's some on-liners...

i'm super busy at work. the days fly by. most days i have no time to do anything i intended to until things go quiet at 5pm.

i start at 7am, and will be working 6am-4pm in july and august in an effort to fit in better with adjusted working hours on site to suit the 12.30-3pm ban on outside work due to heat.

i am really enjoying my job - i have complete responsibility for everything, with a reasonably small amount of direction/guidance from the project director.

the weather is heating up - its noticeably hotter and more humid these days.

i'm managing one run per week at the moment and i think i've put on a wee bit of weight, but not much.

our house is just abut ready. jackie and lucas arrive in 7 hours or so - so from tomorrow we'll be choosing furnitureand getting it delivered. i'm quite looking forward to buying a tv and joining the lcd tv generation.

there's loads of european influence here compared to malaysia, such as products in the shops, and vehicles. i even saw an eddie stobart truck the other day!

i had a snowboarding lesson last week. i fell over once but apart from that had a successful session, and will definitely have more lessons. i am gobsmacked that they plan to build another ski "dome" that wil make the current one look small!

i had a frustrating visit to a petrol station on friday. i waited for ages (there are very few petrol stations) and then they refused to fill me up as my fuel cap was on the "wrong" side even though the hose would reach. i then decided to reverse in but that was also "prohibited". i was puzzled about that! another strange thing - you can't use credit cards to pay for petrol.

more soon!

Dubai Diary

hi folks!

just a quickie again - i'll have www access in my office from sunday so will hopefully do some more posts.

been at work a week now and will be very busy i think. i am the project manager for 15km of new sewers and irrigation for Jumeirah Golf Estates - loads of outrageously expensive villas around a Greg Norman golf course. another amazing dubai project - google it and see what its all about. Aishwarya Rai just bought a house there.

in 1 hour or so i'll be off for my first run (or exercise of any kind) for nearly three weeks. gym or a nearby park - i dont know yet.

we have been super lucky so far - my company only had one house available for us and it is better than i expected - in The Lakes - a gated community with pools, play areas etc... its a 3 bed house with a garden. will be able to have bbq's when its cooler (next 2-3 months wil be high-40's celcius!!).

also mega-lucky was that we managed to get Lucas into Dubai British School - 2km from the house.

some interesting things about dubai -

driving on the right (1st time ever for me)
free parking in malls, with a system to indicate where spaces are
its dusty - visibility sometimes 2-3km only
cars and petrol is very cheap
loadsa expats
british DJ's on the radio - they even play The Smiths!
i've never seen so many Hummers, Range Rover's, 4WD's
our housing area feels like a factory for caucasian mums with toddlers and 4WD's
sun rises at 5-5.30am, sets at 7.30pm
traffic is very bad
my day off is friday
many stunning arab women - many very glamorous, some very skimpily-dressed!
men dress very well
internet is censored
only 20% locals live here!
i work with indians, belgians, dutch, scottish, iraqi, egyptians, aussies, french....
blogspot page here is in arabic text - difficult to login!

ttfn

more on sunday.

Greetings from Dubai

Hi folks. As I'm living in a hotel that charges AED18 (about RM16) for 20mins internet access, blogging has taken a back seat to more critical www activities. But somehow the www is working for free at the moment so i've time for a post!

Spent a fortune on taxis the first few days getting around - looking at schools etc... but got a car on Wednesday so I've got some cheaper transport here. Driving on the right was a new experience for me - so far so good. Still keep reaching the wrong way for the seat-belt, handbrake and gears though!

The sun is up at 5.30am every day, and its 40 degrees-ish (30 minimum). It's already Malaysia-hot by 8am!

Haven't ventured out for a run yet, but have checked out the cost of bikes!

I'm starting work in earnest tomorrow - wish me luck. More sewers for me for another 18months!

Looks like we'll live in a nice 3 bedroom villa (house = villa here) in a development called The Lakes, quite close to the 7-star Burj Al-Arab hotel and the Palm Jumeirah. Also close to Ski Dubai and the 2 schools for Lucas that we'll be applying to on Sunday.

FREE Tri Mags

Free to a good home...

• Inside Triathlon 2007 & 2008 Buyers Guides

Contact me if interested!

Giro Musings

The Eurosport commentators mentioned Genting last night and described it as "a vicious climb, in horrible heat".

Cavendish is clearly the fastst sprinter - but not necessarily the best - yet. If he can handle the mountains and finish - I reckon there's some Grand Tour points jerseys ahead of him.

How ironic that a man named "Fortunato" crashed on a cobbled corner just 600m from the finish line a few days ago, when he was in a group of 3 and had a good chance of winning the stage. How Unfortunato!

Sean Kelly always refers to the cyclists as "roiders" - is he suggesting that they all take drugs?

Watch a stage of the Giro on Eurosport and count how many times Sean Kelly says "certainly" - if I had RM1 for every time...!

RMAF 21km

I am sans car now , and I've taken my trusty old Shogun to bits (permanently) so Planet X came out to play to get me down to TUDM this morning for the 21km. I arrived and locked up the bike. Was puzzled as to where all the runners were. Headed off towards a large inflatable arch about 300m away that I thought was the start. As it turned out, the start was another 600m away and so I missed the gun by 3-4 mins!

Mmmmmm - not a good start! I was seriously considering 20min run followed by a DNF but after a few minutes I caught the imcyclist gang and then Patsy Yap, so my spirits were lifted. After less than 1km I also came across a bunch of girls walking, and each carrying quite sizeable shoulder bags - very strange!?!?

I took the first few km at a snails pace and as I passed all the back-markers thoughts of a DNF fizzled out. This run had distance markers every km so I could regularly check my pace. I was doing 6:00/km but had lost a couple of mins at the start after chatting with imcyclists. I began to feel good and from 45mins to 1:37 felt quite fast and managed to dip under 6:00/km pace.

By the last few km I was on target for a surprise sub 2:06 and eventually finished in a very pleasing 2:03:15. But acording to a few different sources, including me, the distance was only 20.4 ot 20.5km. Anyway, I'm pretty pleased considering that I've done zero exercise in the last 2 weeks except the NB 15km and a ride up to Genting.


20.4km in 1:03:15 @ 6:03/km (or 2:07:03 pace for 21km)

15km in 1:31:10 = 30s outside PB!

Caution!

So Long, Farewell, Auf Weidersehen, Goodbye...

...and, of course, Selamat Tinggal...

Due to unprecedented popular demand (!) - I am arranging a bit of a farewell get-together/makan for anyone who is interested on Thursday 29th May at 7.30 or 8pm. The venue depends on how many of you are up for it, but it will be halal food and probably somewhere in PJ or Damansara or the outskirts of KL - within reasonable reach for most people. So far I've got about 10 people. This invite is especially for all of you who's number I haven't got in my phone.

Leave a comment if you can come so I can estimate numbers and choose somewhere appropriate. Suggestions for a restaurant are also welcome - not too expensive please!

Don't think of it as just a leaving do - there'll be lots of runners/triathletes so it'll be a rare gathering of this species that's not directly linked to a race!

Guest of Honour - Mr Tey Eng Tiong!!!!!!

Anyone who knows me is welcome!!!

Disclaimer - any public speaking at this event is limited to 10s per person. (this is my get-out clause!)

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).

NB 15km

I missed my 1:30 target, but still managed a respectable 1:32 time even though the first 2km was really congested.

Hilly Weekend!

I am particularly looking forward to this Sunday's Pacesetters 15km run as it is one of the best runs of the year. As I missed it last year (I was in Singapore doing the duathlon), and am leaving Malaysia soon, it's a final chance to grab a 15km PB (I have to beat 1:31:43) and say farewell to the beloved Double Hill route.

Talking of hills, one of my unachieved ambitions from the last 2-3 years is to cycle to Genting Highlands. I rode up there once in '97 with Boon Foo & gang, but only made it to the pagoda near the summit. Now I have to go all the way.

Luckily for me there's a ride up there on Monday morning. Unluckily for me I am 11 years older now and have the same bike with a less-than-suitable 42 x 23 smallest gear!

Maxis

• World-Class advertising
• Products that aren't really as life-changing as they want you to think
• Crap customer service

Now tell me this. Maxis is a company that sells communication products, and their billing system is so advanced that you can ask them to SMS your outstanding phone charges every day! But when they start charging my missus RM30 every day for calls she disn't make, and she sacrifices her valuable free time to go the Maxis Centre to enquire about the problem, they say she has to come back once she's received her monthly bill!! - what utter bollocks!

This reminds me of when it took me 4 months and at least 4 trips to different Maxis Centres to be refunded my RM300 deposit for a USB modem that was no use to me as there was no signal at my condo. You know - the USB modem that has a really happy cute kid riding his bike really fast (allegedly like the service) in the adverts.

Seems like their wonderful 21st Century communications systems only work when it is in their favour, not the customers.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh now I feel better!