Long overdue post.
Here's some pics of me cycling around in Kandersteg, Switzerland.
First snowfall!
Heaviest snowfall in Autmun
Transporting bedsheets by bicycle
Bikes on a train ride home
Showing posts with label Overseas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Overseas. Show all posts
Monday, April 5, 2010
Cycling In Switzerland
First snowfall!Heaviest snowfall in AutmunTransporting bedsheets by bicycleBikes on a train ride home
Friday, September 25, 2009
Bike Climb Bike
Met these bunch of mountain bikers while rockclimbing at Sunnbuel, Switzerland. They were also there to do some climbing. On grade 8 climbs. Hardcore.
To get where I was, they had to cycle 2km from the village with an altitude increase of 600m.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Amsterdam!
This is what a bike friendly city looks like:
Dedicated bike lanes
Multi-storey bike parking
Practical bikes
Just a thought though. If all bikes are to be cycled on bike lanes, that would mean they aren't allowed on the roads.
So where do those triathlon and ironman wannabes train? People who use the bike lanes travel at about 18km/h. Come to think of it, I've only seen 2 guys training on road bikes while wearing cycling attire.
Dedicated bike lanes
Multi-storey bike parking
Practical bikes
Just a thought though. If all bikes are to be cycled on bike lanes, that would mean they aren't allowed on the roads.
So where do those triathlon and ironman wannabes train? People who use the bike lanes travel at about 18km/h. Come to think of it, I've only seen 2 guys training on road bikes while wearing cycling attire.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Pengerang to Desaru (Almost!)
Went cycling with Lawrence and one of his friends, Alvin.
Damn expensive to ride like that. $9 per person, $2 per bike. That's one way.
When coming back, its the same price unless you try to get on a boat at after 4pm. Those bumboat drivers are like taxi drivers, we waited for an hour and no boats turned up. Only at 4.05pm did they come and "offer" their services.
With an added premium of course. They are working OT! For their inconvenience, you pay $2 more.
Well, the ride was pretty uneventful. Cycled at about 15-20km/h, Alvin was using some no name full sus bike and had trouble keeping at a decent speed.
We turned back 10km away from Desaru because Alvin had cramps and we hit our turn-around timing.
Endless roads
Turning point
Had originally planned to do a leisure ride from Changi - ECP - Tanjong Rhu - Kallang - Home, but after that agonising 1hour wait for the ferry in the stuffy terminal, I decided enough was enough and I'd go home.
Judging by the way things have been going today, chances are I would have crashed into some kids along ECP or get run over by a car along Kallang.
The only good thing I suppose was the lunch. It was cheap, but remember.. I had to pay $23 to get there and back. Lunch consisted of sambal kang kong, butter lobster, oyster omelette, hot plate tou fu and wild boar meat.
Replacing the fats I've burnt
Really loved the oyster omelette. It was the old school type with the small little oysters. The butter lobster was great too! Shiok shiok. RM8 for 100g.
Rest of the pics here
Damn expensive to ride like that. $9 per person, $2 per bike. That's one way.
When coming back, its the same price unless you try to get on a boat at after 4pm. Those bumboat drivers are like taxi drivers, we waited for an hour and no boats turned up. Only at 4.05pm did they come and "offer" their services.
With an added premium of course. They are working OT! For their inconvenience, you pay $2 more.
Well, the ride was pretty uneventful. Cycled at about 15-20km/h, Alvin was using some no name full sus bike and had trouble keeping at a decent speed.
We turned back 10km away from Desaru because Alvin had cramps and we hit our turn-around timing.
Endless roads
Turning point
Had originally planned to do a leisure ride from Changi - ECP - Tanjong Rhu - Kallang - Home, but after that agonising 1hour wait for the ferry in the stuffy terminal, I decided enough was enough and I'd go home.
Judging by the way things have been going today, chances are I would have crashed into some kids along ECP or get run over by a car along Kallang.
The only good thing I suppose was the lunch. It was cheap, but remember.. I had to pay $23 to get there and back. Lunch consisted of sambal kang kong, butter lobster, oyster omelette, hot plate tou fu and wild boar meat.
Replacing the fats I've burnt
Rest of the pics here
Friday, December 26, 2008
Team Midpoint's 1st Overseas Ride
Team Midpoint finally had an overseas ride! 7 of us rode up to Kota Tinggi Waterfall and played there for a while. Awesome!
Total distance for a return trip was about 175km.
The trip leader is suprisingly fast. He led the way at 40km/h on the way there. WTF! And he's just using a beat up Giant TCR, with maybe just an upgraded wheelset.
Total distance for a return trip was about 175km.
The trip leader is suprisingly fast. He led the way at 40km/h on the way there. WTF! And he's just using a beat up Giant TCR, with maybe just an upgraded wheelset.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
To Malacca and Back (Summary)
Day 4: Batu Pahat to Singapore (160km)
Had to drag myself out of bed. Starting to feel fatigued and my legs are getting stiff. Forgot to stretch before sleeping last night.
On the bright side, we start when its brighter and warmer. Really cant tahan the cold early morning wind. My brain shuts down in those conditions.
Group photo in front of Darren's house
Left Darren's place at 0720hrs and went to the same coffeeshop for breakfast. Cycled on a boring road again and Varun had a flat at 0905hrs. Fixed it and went on our way. Unfortunately, he didnt realise that his tire was damaged. Something puncture the sidewall of his tire and there was a hole. His tubes were deflating slowly and we had used up all our inner tubes. Luckily, we patched up the tubes that could still be saved the night before.
We stopped at some kampung with a motorcycle shop and a eating place. First to fix the bike then have lunch. The motorcycle shop was located next to a workers' quarters. We drew the attention of some of them and they came to observe us.
This included one guy who was sharpening a knife before we came. Suddenly he walked over with knife in hand and asked where we were from. -.-"
Varun who was busy changing his inner tube struck a conversation with him not realising he was holding a knife when talking to us. Then he told us he was from Bangladesh and his brother is working in Singapore. Most interesting encounter of the trip...
Lucky nothing happened. Really looked as though he was about ot rob us. Haha.
Gunung Ledang in the background?
Rare pic of Varun front the front
It was pretty mundane after that. Everyone was just trying to get home ASAP. Things started to get more exciting when we were on the highway trying to get to Woodlands checkpoint. Really stressful to ride in those conditions. Cars speeding by you left and right. But, they give way!!! Its amazing. These people are are driving at 80-90km/h yet they give way, unlike the local drivers who are kings of the road.
We reached the JB checkpoint at 1620hrs and came out the Singapore side at 1640hrs. Much much quicker than trying to go in. Finally reached the end point in Rosyth Road at 1840hrs.
Glad to be home (:
On the bright side, we start when its brighter and warmer. Really cant tahan the cold early morning wind. My brain shuts down in those conditions.
Group photo in front of Darren's house
Left Darren's place at 0720hrs and went to the same coffeeshop for breakfast. Cycled on a boring road again and Varun had a flat at 0905hrs. Fixed it and went on our way. Unfortunately, he didnt realise that his tire was damaged. Something puncture the sidewall of his tire and there was a hole. His tubes were deflating slowly and we had used up all our inner tubes. Luckily, we patched up the tubes that could still be saved the night before.
We stopped at some kampung with a motorcycle shop and a eating place. First to fix the bike then have lunch. The motorcycle shop was located next to a workers' quarters. We drew the attention of some of them and they came to observe us.
This included one guy who was sharpening a knife before we came. Suddenly he walked over with knife in hand and asked where we were from. -.-"
Varun who was busy changing his inner tube struck a conversation with him not realising he was holding a knife when talking to us. Then he told us he was from Bangladesh and his brother is working in Singapore. Most interesting encounter of the trip...
Lucky nothing happened. Really looked as though he was about ot rob us. Haha.
Gunung Ledang in the background?
Rare pic of Varun front the front
It was pretty mundane after that. Everyone was just trying to get home ASAP. Things started to get more exciting when we were on the highway trying to get to Woodlands checkpoint. Really stressful to ride in those conditions. Cars speeding by you left and right. But, they give way!!! Its amazing. These people are are driving at 80-90km/h yet they give way, unlike the local drivers who are kings of the road.
We reached the JB checkpoint at 1620hrs and came out the Singapore side at 1640hrs. Much much quicker than trying to go in. Finally reached the end point in Rosyth Road at 1840hrs.
Glad to be home (:
Day 3: Malacca to Batu Pahat (130km)
Met up with the Malaccan Rovers at 0730hrs for breakfast at the roti canai store nearby, started later because we stayed up late the night before for supper at the burger joint. Officially set off at 0805hrs. 24km later, got a flat on my rear tire.
Finally reached Muar again at 1024hrs. Just passing through this time. Roads were very busy and we were weaving in and out of traffic. Probably because its a Saturday morning.
The lot of us decided to try taking a more scenic route that goes through Bakri, adding about 10-20km.
Stopped somewhere in Bukit Bakri for a quick lunch before carrying on. Nothing much to talk about here cos its mainly boring straight roads where we can cycle for 40km without seeing a traffic light. Varun got a flat at about 1408hrs, fixed it and carried on again. More boring roads.
Fixing the flat
Getting my chain fixed
Just after we crossed Sungei Batu Pahat, my chain broke! Was about 500m away from a bike shop, so just let them fix it for RM4.
Finally reached Darren's house at 1640hrs. Much later than expected due to all the technical problems. Very tiring day.
Darren brought us to dinner and then we drove up to Yong Peng to attend a campfire. Not very interesting... But got to eat ice kacang and chin chow at a dessert stall there! Yong Peng is predominently chinese.
The original plan was to cycle here but due to lack of accomodation, we ended up staying at Darren's place in Batu Pahat instead.
Finally reached Muar again at 1024hrs. Just passing through this time. Roads were very busy and we were weaving in and out of traffic. Probably because its a Saturday morning.
The lot of us decided to try taking a more scenic route that goes through Bakri, adding about 10-20km.
Stopped somewhere in Bukit Bakri for a quick lunch before carrying on. Nothing much to talk about here cos its mainly boring straight roads where we can cycle for 40km without seeing a traffic light. Varun got a flat at about 1408hrs, fixed it and carried on again. More boring roads.
Fixing the flat
Getting my chain fixed
Just after we crossed Sungei Batu Pahat, my chain broke! Was about 500m away from a bike shop, so just let them fix it for RM4.
Finally reached Darren's house at 1640hrs. Much later than expected due to all the technical problems. Very tiring day.
Darren brought us to dinner and then we drove up to Yong Peng to attend a campfire. Not very interesting... But got to eat ice kacang and chin chow at a dessert stall there! Yong Peng is predominently chinese.
The original plan was to cycle here but due to lack of accomodation, we ended up staying at Darren's place in Batu Pahat instead.
Day 2: Batu Pahat to Malacca (105km)
Zhe Yin did not join us for the ride to Malacca because his legs still hurt so he did a "cultural immersion" with Darren. He stayed with Darren's family and followed him to KL.
The next morning we left Darren's house at 0645hrs and cycled to a nearby hawker center for breakfast. It was simple fare of fishball noodles.
After breakfast we heading down to the Batu Pahat Padang which had this big monument of a stone and chisel. According to Darren, Batu = stone and Pahat = chisel.
Batu Pahat Padang
From Batu Pahat, we headed towards Muar which was our lunch stop. Along the way, Austin fell into a pothole and crashed somewhere along Sungei Balang. Lucky he only got a few scratches and no damages to the bike. Probably wouldn't have been the case if any of the racers crashed.
We arrived at the Muar bridge at around 1035hrs before having and early lunch at an indian food shop.
Muar Clocktower
Left an hour later and headed to Malacca using the new AMJ highway. The last 10km or so before Malacca was quite hilly. Upslope, followed by a plateau and upslope again. Reached Malacca at about 1335hrs.
Being a short ride compared to the first day, we were way ahead of schedule. The Malaccan contacts didnt expect us to be so early and we ended up waiting and hour before they turned up. Our service apartment would not be available till 6pm so we decided to walk around till then.
The fort we visited
Visited some fort and people were probably wondering why these bunch of guys are walking around in tights.
Finally got into the service apartment at 6pm, showered and went out for makan at Jonker Walk, nothing special here. Food taste just like what we have back home. Atmosphere is also just like Chinatown.
Jonker Walk with Malaccan Rovers
Eye on Malaysia
Went to sit the Eye on Malaysia after dinner and had supper at a burger place which sold very hard and dry burgers. Yuck! Not really lucky with food in Malacca.
The next morning we left Darren's house at 0645hrs and cycled to a nearby hawker center for breakfast. It was simple fare of fishball noodles.
After breakfast we heading down to the Batu Pahat Padang which had this big monument of a stone and chisel. According to Darren, Batu = stone and Pahat = chisel.
Batu Pahat Padang
We arrived at the Muar bridge at around 1035hrs before having and early lunch at an indian food shop.
Muar Clocktower
Left an hour later and headed to Malacca using the new AMJ highway. The last 10km or so before Malacca was quite hilly. Upslope, followed by a plateau and upslope again. Reached Malacca at about 1335hrs.
Being a short ride compared to the first day, we were way ahead of schedule. The Malaccan contacts didnt expect us to be so early and we ended up waiting and hour before they turned up. Our service apartment would not be available till 6pm so we decided to walk around till then.
The fort we visited
Finally got into the service apartment at 6pm, showered and went out for makan at Jonker Walk, nothing special here. Food taste just like what we have back home. Atmosphere is also just like Chinatown.
Jonker Walk with Malaccan Rovers
Eye on Malaysia
Went to sit the Eye on Malaysia after dinner and had supper at a burger place which sold very hard and dry burgers. Yuck! Not really lucky with food in Malacca.
Day 1: Singapore to Batu Pahat (165km)
The lot of us started of early on Thursday morning. We met at Serangoon Stadium at about 0530hrs and left around 10minutes later. For this trip, we will be covering the most distance on day 1 and day 4 with about 160km to clear.
Among the 5 of us, 3 were using racers and the other 2 using hybrids with 700cc wheels.
We only took about an hour to reach the checkpoint that morning probably due to the adrenaline and excitement of this trip.
Serangoon Stadium
When we reached the checkpoint, we tried to go through as pedestrains but were told to use the motorcycle lane instead. The new checkpoint is annoying since its upslope and has lots of turns here and there. Worse, there are drain covers that road wheels will slip into. Clearing this section was very slow, taking almost an hour to get through the JB side.
Once through, we hugged the coast heading towards Skudai and had breakfast somewhere along Danga Bay.
Cycling along the road to Skudai, we were making good progress and decided to enter a Pineapple Museum but it was closed.
Pineapple Museum
We continued on towards Pontian where we had our lunch break. People are still quite segregated by race in Malaysia and the people were probably curious why some chinese guys and a sikh are eating at a malay joint.
Back on the road again and my tire punctured less than an hour away from Batu Pahat. Zhe Yin developed serious cramps at this point and I stayed with him while the rest looked for our contact in Batu Pahat.
We eventually met up with Darrent the Batu Pahat contact and he led us to his spare house in Bukit Banang where we would put up for the night and on Saturday night. Was about 1810hrs by the time we arrived.
Among the 5 of us, 3 were using racers and the other 2 using hybrids with 700cc wheels.
We only took about an hour to reach the checkpoint that morning probably due to the adrenaline and excitement of this trip.
Serangoon Stadium
When we reached the checkpoint, we tried to go through as pedestrains but were told to use the motorcycle lane instead. The new checkpoint is annoying since its upslope and has lots of turns here and there. Worse, there are drain covers that road wheels will slip into. Clearing this section was very slow, taking almost an hour to get through the JB side.
Once through, we hugged the coast heading towards Skudai and had breakfast somewhere along Danga Bay.
Cycling along the road to Skudai, we were making good progress and decided to enter a Pineapple Museum but it was closed.
Pineapple Museum
Back on the road again and my tire punctured less than an hour away from Batu Pahat. Zhe Yin developed serious cramps at this point and I stayed with him while the rest looked for our contact in Batu Pahat.
We eventually met up with Darrent the Batu Pahat contact and he led us to his spare house in Bukit Banang where we would put up for the night and on Saturday night. Was about 1810hrs by the time we arrived.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Suicide Trip
I leave for the Malacca cycling expedition tomorrow. Many have said its dangerous or like a suicide trip. As the day draws near, Im kind of feeling the same way too. Yikes!
As usual I have doubts at the last minute and this inner doubt is a real problem. It has lead to anxiety attacks in the past where my heart beats real fast and I get all flustered.
As usual I have doubts at the last minute and this inner doubt is a real problem. It has lead to anxiety attacks in the past where my heart beats real fast and I get all flustered.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Packing List
Other than the tools and spares, am I missing out anything? The stuff doesnt weigh much thankfully.
Waist Pouch
Passport
Wallet
Camera
Powerbar
Pen
Camera Charger
Pump
Inner tube
1 tissue packet
Dry bag
1 Cycling tights
1 jersey
1 shirt
1 singlet
1 berms
3 underwear
2 pairs of socks
1 scarf
1 towel
Tote bag
1 windbreaker
1 cap
1 toiletries bag
1 sunblock
1 moisturiser
4 powerbar
1 gatorade bottle
1 tissue packet
1 pair slippers
1 ziplock
Weighs about 5kg in total.
Waist Pouch
Passport
Wallet
Camera
Powerbar
Pen
Camera Charger
Pump
Inner tube
1 tissue packet
Dry bag
1 Cycling tights
1 jersey
1 shirt
1 singlet
1 berms
3 underwear
2 pairs of socks
1 scarf
1 towel
Tote bag
1 windbreaker
1 cap
1 toiletries bag
1 sunblock
1 moisturiser
4 powerbar
1 gatorade bottle
1 tissue packet
1 pair slippers
1 ziplock
Weighs about 5kg in total.
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