On hold

Until I get my hands on this baby:-

 Wait for me, my love *salivates

P.s. Is it just me or was the movie P.S. I Love You a little too hamsap for liking? Meh, what a let down. The book was better.

Posted in putting mettle to pedal | 5 Comments »

Bah

Tomorrow we ride Kemensah with a promise of 4km downhill! Meeting point will be McDonalds/Petronas station as you come from Ampang Flamingo Hotel/Ampang Point. It would direct to Karak Highway. Meet 8.30am. Then for lunch we can have chilli pan mee or chicken rice.

What went through my mind when I read the text was ’blablablablabla chilli pan mee or chicken rice.

There won’t be a write up for this post as it would just be “I cycled then I wussed out going uphill then I pushed then I tried to brave it out then I cycled then I fell”.

Some mentionable items:-

• I need a new bike.. the one I’m currently riding is about four sizes too big for me. If only I was a little taller…
• The nicest thing anyone said to me was, “It’s alright… you pace us” when I apologised for holding everyone up. Thanks Leong!
• I lost my favourite (and only haha) sports sunnies :( :(
• The biggest bruise I obtained today was from… tripping down the stairs this morning while rushing to get ready. D’oh!

#1 Mornin’

#2

#3 Not another one :(

#4 Half dead with Adrian

#5 Francis is an energiser bunny on steroids

#6 Energy in a little packet (which burnt out an uphill later)

#7

#8 Asking for directions

#9 Me looking grumps ’cause we had to turn back

#10

#11

#12

#13 Boys found a tractor to play with while waiting for slow Jm

#14 Here I come… last of the lot as usual

#15

#16

#17 Foodies after

#18 Francis and Joe

#19 Burp

#20 Max sayangs at the end of the day

Click here for full resos.

Current Mood: sleepy

Posted in putting mettle to pedal | 10 Comments »

My achy breaky bum

The thing about mountain biking is that you can’t just throw your bike down and give up. This might be because there are no cabs in the forest… But if you’re lucky there might be the random pick up truck which you can bribe the driver to ferry your sorry ass (and bike) out.

Today’s Semenyih trail damn nearly killed me. As usual there were many uphills which I couldn’t find the momentum to cycle up (I foresee bulkier arms from all the pushing), many downhills which were bumpy and uneven (I went splat at one point from going too fast)- but Francis and Joe were unsure of the trail so we had to lug our bikes up then back down as the rest of the trail was impossible to ride :(

AND the stupid rubber plantation was infested with MOSQUITOES! John came well equipped with a mosquito coil which he hung at the back of his saddle… he managed to ward off most of the mosquitoes (which turned to US instead) with the risk of burning his bum hahaha. Us unequipped people had to rely on mosquito repellent spray instead :( The amount of mosquitoes at the trail was crazy- stop for a second and a SWARM would attack you.

Francis and Joe headed onwards in search of the right trail but the rest of us were tired of the plantation, so we took off towards the gravel. Our next destination- the waterfall!! :D

Uh oh without Francis in the pack, the guys had to take turns babysitting me… John stayed with me for a bit but I waved him on as it was a straight road- and he gave me a thumbs up sign and pedaled off :( Ok Jm, since there’s nobody here to see your embarrassing spills, move damnit! So I cycled faster. And tipped over a couple of times… There was a point when I realised that I was all alone in the silence, save for a couple of owl hoots and a sudden rustle of the bush- scary! But I reached the guys in the end and they were sweet enough to tell me they didn’t wait too long- just five minutes… or maybe ten.

Me eating a banana haha after emerging from the estate, hence the look of pain

Leong still looking so fresh how does he do it!

Anyway, more pedaling and hellew icy cold water! Some of the guys jumped in and started washing themselves with the water (which was murky btw)… you don’t know what has been in there ok! Initially I only wanted to get my feet wet… but while I wading over to the rocks I slipped on a mossy surface and fell right into the water :( :( I honestly thought that I fractured my ass then :( :(

Not that clean… apparently the waterfall at Batu Dam’s crystal clear

Squee!

The very nice and patient Jeff, John

The water numbed my toes hee (the rock I fell on numbed my butt)

Spot the gear!

Boys

Then it was time to head back. Met Francis and Joe on the way out (poor things missed the waterfall) and I fell behind with Francis while the rest zoomed off. Slow and steady (as sad as it sounds that’s what I always say to make myself feel better) but on the way I did learn more about the gears, braking and control from Francis. Then as we were reaching the meeting point, the thought of the promised steamed fish (explanatory photos later) made me speed up. That’s where the burst of energy came from, Frans!

See the fingers at the side? The boys clapped when I came in SO NICE I don’t deserve the encouragement T_______T

I couldn’t slide to the front ’cause my shorts got caught at the saddle hahaha

My motivation

Semenyih Steamed Fish!

:( :( :(

Full reso photos here.

Posted in putting mettle to pedal | 22 Comments »

A weekly affair

Tmr we’ll come pick u 8am. Ok? We go easy off road.

Amazing how a text can lift up my spirits :) The word ‘easy’ might have lifted it up another notch, heh. Man I think I’m getting suckered into this whole biking thing. I’m now dubbed as ‘little legs’ by the sifu, mainly ’cause my legs are well… short. Too short for the pedals HAHA.

Francis: There’ll be a girl coming
Jm: Oh good! Then I won’t be the only soft one haha 
Francis: She’s an RPM coach.
Jm: ……………….

On an unrelated note, I have face rash and it’s so not funny.

Posted in putting mettle to pedal | 2 Comments »

Mtb FRIM

What went through my mind when the alarm beeped at 7am was did I seriously agree to do this. Francis picked me up at 8am sharp (not bad) along with Jeff and Adrian, and after many ‘are we there yet’s, we reached FRIM.

Took me awhile to get into my cycling legs- after some false starts, I was bumping along the rocky terrain :D Was a little unsteady what with my bike being a little too big and heavy for me not to mention the blasted rocks scattered along the trail… but those are just excuses heh. The boys were really encouraging, telling me that I was doing a good job when in fact I was crawling up the slope at a turtle’s pace… I ended up playing it safe and did a lot of pushing especially at muddy uphills and uneven downhills, am a bit disappointed with myself. Wish I sucked it in and forced my way through, come what may any accidents haha. But one consolation was that I made it to the crossroad without any major wipe out yay.

“It’s called Steroid Hill for a reason!” - Francis

Was a wuss and skipped out on Steroid Hill as my tiny legs will definitely NOT survive the 15 minutes straight crazy steep climb. Got lost with Francis while trying to find an alternate route out… bumbled along (and had little crashes here and there) until HALLELUJAH the car park!!! After that it was Bak Kut Teh to replenish lost carbs. Two bowls of rice and lots of fatty pork hee.

Superficial or not, the cuts I obtained were a bitch to deal with in the shower. The bloody stinging OWWW. But my father was proud of my battle wounds! Dad used to be a hardcore biker when he was younger… I now know why I’m such a tomboy haha. Am motivated to google up some mtb tips from blogs, but right now, what I REALLY want to do is zzz. Hullo bed. G’night.

Me looking bossy @ the crossroad

Warning: 20+ photos under the cut Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in photoload, putting mettle to pedal | 27 Comments »

Hullo

Tested the bike out again before giving it a good hose/rub down. No point washing it ’cause it’s gonna get dirty anyway! Got a bit of a sunburn but who cares :)

Handsome devil ;)

FRIM:-

Mountain Bike Trail
The little used paths lend themselves very well to hardcore, radical, single-track mountain biking. The better-maintained trails are ideal for sightseeing or high speed riding.

Distance:	Between 2.6 km- 24.3km depending on route taken.
Profile:	Hilly, but many areas are not steep
Difficulty:	6.0 - 9.0 depending on route taken.
Estimated ride time:	15m - 5 hours
Necessary Equipment:	Mountain bike, helmet, bicycle gloves, protective glasses, water, snacks, tool kit, type pump, odometer, cyclometer

P.s. Thanks for everything Francis!

Posted in putting mettle to pedal | 4 Comments »