Photo-story - Where my bike’s been

[StreetCowboy]

You’ll be delighted to know that the FIE Grand Prix snail racing was not cancelled due to COVID-19, though we did have to take measures to restrict attendance below 250.  I lost count of how many cans of beer and cider I put in my paneers, but I think it was between 20 -30.

Nothing is as dramatic as a snail race, from the start

to the frantic racing

and the finish!

I’m not going to say I was breathless from start time finish, for fear of mandatory isolation or quarantine, but I was grateful for the calming Tigers, and the size of my panniers in which I’d brought them.

[StreetCowboy]

Here in Malaysia we're under a Movement Restriction Order, supposed to stay at home except for essential messages.  THe pubs are all closed, and we're Working From Home.  Jogging and cycilng are frowned upon, but I'm still getting out for essential grocery shopping so long as I go there cepat dan ringkas,

 

I don't like to call it panic buying

 

MOre like preparation for Working From Home  

Edited March 19, 2020 by StreetCowboy

[StreetCowboy]

Why did the Chicken cross the road?

I don't think he did.  When the car ahead approached, he flew off, back to the village.

 

This is me, defying the Movement Control Order and heading over to Jaya Market in Damansara Perdana, Selangor, for my groceries.  I'm really getting the use out of my panniers.

[StreetCowboy]

I've been struggling to get milk under the MCO; I prefer not to go out early in the morning when
a) I'm supposed to be Working From Home, and 
b) Our elders and vulnerable members of the public should be gien free reign to stock up on what they need without pressure from the great unwashed (not literally, I do shower before I go to the supermarket)
So anyway, yesterday evening I thought I would try the local garages for milk, since that is not the obvious place to go.  Sadly, not obscure enough, and the two that I tried had no fresh milk.  There was a police MCO enforcement road block outside the police station opposite my apartment as I cycled home, but the officer just waved me through; fortunate really, as I had no evidence to prove I had been out shopping, due to my lack of success.

 

So I posted on our local facebook page about the challenges I was facing, and a chap from a cat care centre came back and said "I've got litres of milk I can't use becuase we're empty - no-one is going on holiday and leaving their cats with us", so I cycled over, and now I have more milk than I can shake a stick at.  I don't have a stick, but I'm not going to post about that.  Anyway, the road block was in the same place, and this time they pulled me over from some distance away; I seemed to be something of a priority.
"Cycling, cannot la!"
"Shopping - milk!" and I held up a carton.
"OK; Mask must have"
"Cannot; no stock anywhere; looking for weeks"
"OK - go home"

The road block was supported by a soldier assisting the police, and I would say that the police seemed more open-minded and understanding than the soldier, who I think was planning on incarcerating me for lack of a mask.  So I've checked I can tie a handkerchief round my chops for future use. 

As Robbie Williams once said, "These are strange days we're living in today"

 

Edited March 26, 2020 by StreetCowboy

[StreetCowboy]

I go to sleep now fantasising about our first ride after the MCO is lifted; we're going to cycle down to the brewery gates at Sungai Way, and wait for the next truck to come out.  We're going to follow him to the first pub where he unloads cider.

He's probably going to get paranoid being followed by cyclists; we'll slipstream him to keep up. He might phone the police.  I doubt the special forces will be called, or helicopters.

 

The boss at Sid's said they use intermediary distributors, but it's still a good fantasy, and it's almost bed time

 

SC

[StreetCowboy]

After another week of Working From Home (highlight - beer run to a slightly further away beer shop - 2 cases fit comfortably in the panniers), today I was Weekend At Home; but I did manage to get out for an Essential Journey to stock up on groceries.

and managed to fit in a couple of little hills, and avoid any police roadblocks - quite a satisfactory journey.  On my way back, I  bought sandwiches for my lunch and dinner, and ate them both when I got home.

 

SC

[StreetCowboy]

Public Holiday From Home is no less frustrating than WFH, and it's a longer abbreviation.  Not as long as Working During a Public Holiday From Home, with the superscripts ^{Thanks to Not Planning Ahead}.  Anyway, I got away lightly, with more PHFH than WDPHFH^TNPA but I was absolutely gasping for a ride out on my bike.  

 

So I sloped out for some supplies from the pharmacy for my first-aid kit.  

As if that was going to be far enough.  You may know that our MCO in Malaysia has been conditionalised, and the pubs will probably re-open on Monday; well, anxious to know what that would be like, beyond the amnsesiacal surfeit of last Sunday that saw me overstaying my "just picking up a takeaway" to "taking a-tumble" away and needing assistance home; anyway, I raked back round to Sids for a chilli con carne this afternoon and a few takeaway bottles.  And you know - I think Public Holiday From Home is the way to go! 

[StreetCowboy]

To celebrate our Conditional MCO - and Vesak Day - we'd decided to ride to the Chinese cemetary in the middle of KL; it's a great ride, and I was rashly confident that I knew the way there, but had spent some time planning a different way back.  

Anyway, all five volunteers were at TTDI station, socially distanted from one another, and we set off; then our sixth member came past in the opposite direction "I thought you were not coming today?" I queried but in fact, as I was to discover later - he was an IMPOSTER! He was in fact another bloke that had said he was not coming; he was Jo (whom we call Jo, to protect his anonymity) not young M, who had chundered into the bloke's pick-up half way up the wall....

My navigational wits were severely impaired from not having been on a proper ride for so long, and I took a detour that I could have pretended was an attempt to avoid market traffic, but it was not.  Then another mistake as we approached Jalan Klang Lama, that could be rectified by riding through the bollards, and an error on the motorcycle lanes at the end (though to be fair, my buddy who corrected me missed the underpass) and then a near-accident as he followed the road right and I dopily carried on straight into the road ahead - as he said

"I thought I didn't need to shout since the markings go right, and that path is marked no-entry; But <deleted>, you went across me, and so did everybody else after I'd stopped and tried to turn!"
It was at the top of that hill that Jo abandoned, with a missing toe-nail; Young D, who had lied about his age to race with the crumblies back in the day, wanted to wait to confirm his wife had agreed to pick him up; I've got less concern, but we might go past the same way at the weekend to make sure he's been rescued.  A couple of km along, we passed a station-wagon taxi, and I was all for flagging him down and pointing him toward Joe-No-Toe but Young D said he was fine.

This was all in the region of the Chinese Cemetery

and to be honest, fif I wanted to give someone directions to pick me up, that would be one of the worst places on our routes,

Anyway, if he replies to next week's email, I'll assume he got home OK.  If he does not - well, we were not that close.

 

It is a lovely ride there albeit probably the route on which we have had the most DNF - although it is not a hard ride.

 

The road back was a triumph of Google - Mapping, albeit I was a little nervous that there was one section that the Google StreetView car had not visited.  Specifically, the section through Bukit Aman Police Headquarters.
"But they must allow the public in to visit the police station!"
"I don't think it's that sort of police station; it's the sort that you go to with a black pillowcase over your head"

"I'm not cycling up that hill with a black pillowcase over my head"

Some amongst us had been hankering for a drink stop for some while, and I thought we were about to pass through the centre of town (true enough) where 7-11s are rank as ...  well, aparently rank as something quite scarce.  So we soldiered on; I had in mind a route home with a horrendous hill past the New Boy's home, to the Sultan's Roti, and the salmoning against the flow of traffic was OK - suffice to say once we got into the safe back roads my recollection failed me, and we had to retrace our steps to the highway, cross a couple of slip roads, and set our way up Jalan Semantan.  Young D had family commitments and set off over the top road; the New Boy had no choice - he lived at the top of the top road; the remainder of us set off with the hope that El Sid's might be open - we should have also been hoping that we could find our way there.  I don't know what is happening with the road works we went through, and I would strongly recommend against following our route on a working day, but to cut a long story short, we got to El Sids, and they were selling cider.

 

And the golf course road was open on the way home.

   

[StreetCowboy]

It seems Jo had been picked up and got home, as he joined us this morning.  I forgot to ask if it was the same day, or if he’d had to camp out overnight.

I’d raked over to El Sid’s last night (now named Bar Roca) and passed a blonde lady en route; German, as she explained when she came in to Sid’s this afternoon.  Sid’s has livened up a bit in the two weeks since they opened

 

The New Boy never turned up this morning (as he’d said he wouldn’t) so I was left with the young fellas who left me for dead going up The Wall.  

 

[StreetCowboy]

TP the artist, and erstwhile production manager, joined us for the first time this morning, and as I was turning onto the highway I thought “If I’d known it was his first time on a bike in 25 years I might have chosen a quieter route.  

 

On the bright side, a wrong turning on my part saw us missing the city centre and salmoning to the quiet roads of Taman Duta behind the parliament.

 

Anyway,  he coped just fine; we had to wait a couple of minutes at the top of Jalan Semantan (I was grateful for the rest) and anyone who can go over Jalan Semantan and then drink coke instead of cider is a harder man than I.

”Watch out for the monkeys, TP, they’ll have your wheelnuts off before you’ve stopped”

“They’re not touching my nuts!” and he surged over the crest of the hill.
 

[StreetCowboy]

The shopping bike is resting

while I enjoy an ill-deserved roast pork fried rice and a few pints of cider.  You can see that two dozen cans of Tiger are weighing heavily on its haunches.  If you had audio, the thunder would tell you it’s about to start tipping down stair-rods.

[StreetCowboy]

We managed a ride out to the Seat Of Government (the national ass, if you like) in dismal rain.  

Surprisingly, the navigation went quite well, on both the outward and return leg, and despite my warning to bring lights, we got back to the pub in daylight.  And left in daylight.  The first pub, at least.  I’m in Sid’s now, and a chap kindly pointed out I’d left my light on, so now I might still have battery for the short ride home.

[n210mp]

Great pics as usual Jon lad  and your writing style reminds me of "Henry Root"! hahaha

Edited May 26, 2020 by n210mp

[StreetCowboy]

What with the rain and the flat gradients ad the moderate pace yesterday, and leaving the first pub in daylight, and Sid's closing at 8 pm, I did not feel as bad as I had planned this morning.  M (with the model son) had said he was coming out today, and I pushed myself down to the station only a few minutes late.

 

Once we got going I was OK with a fairly brisk pace, and then a few hills on the way home, but I had a bit of a thirst on when we got back to Sid's for three pints of cider.  We'd have had more, but we had agreed an evening appointment with a former colleague, and starting before noon makes it a long night, no matter when it finishes.

 

So I rejoined the fray at 5 pm, but Sid's was closed! A new directive from KL city Council had closed all the pubs in the street - so what to do?

Necessity is the mother of invention, and we raked over to Centrepoint in Selangor to slake our thirst.
Desperate times, desperate measures.  At least it gave me a chance of a few extra km on the shopping bike.

 

[damascase]

Where my bike has been this past month? Well, over 1400 kms with me in the saddle on - and sometimes off - the roads around Chiang Rai. Leaving between 6 and 6.30 am for the long trips, a little later for the shorter ones. All in order to beat the heat.

’Enjoyed’ at least 12 punctures In May, several times 2 within the same trip. All at the rear wheel. Got really skilled in removing the wheel and replacing/patching a tube. Examined the tyre for little sharp objects every time, sometimes successful, sometimes not. Yesterday morning I walked to my bike for a short ride around town and found the rear tyre empty again. ‘Frustrating’ doesn’t quite describe it......

Put a new one in but couldn’t find anything that could have caused it. Cycling back into town, less than 40 km later, I had a second puncture. Went to the bike shop and bought a new tyre, although the old one still looked good but there must be something sharp in it that I can’t find. So, crossing my fingers now for the next trip!
 

My bike, yesterday, between punctures????????

[StreetCowboy]

5 hours ago, damascase said:

Where my bike has been this past month? Well, over 1400 kms with me in the saddle on - and sometimes off - the roads around Chiang Rai. Leaving between 6 and 6.30 am for the long trips, a little later for the shorter ones. All in order to beat the heat.

’Enjoyed’ at least 12 punctures In May, several times 2 within the same trip. All at the rear wheel. Got really skilled in removing the wheel and replacing/patching a tube. Examined the tyre for little sharp objects every time, sometimes successful, sometimes not. Yesterday morning I walked to my bike for a short ride around town and found the rear tyre empty again. ‘Frustrating’ doesn’t quite describe it......

Put a new one in but couldn’t find anything that could have caused it. Cycling back into town, less than 40 km later, I had a second puncture. Went to the bike shop and bought a new tyre, although the old one still looked good but there must be something sharp in it that I can’t find. So, crossing my fingers now for the next trip!
 

My bike, yesterday, between punctures????????

That looks like a nice road; the nicest part is the hills are far away.

There's still tread left on the tyre - should be OK.  Any little holes in the tyre that might let in grit?
I once pulled out a wire fragment that I could not see, but when I turned the tyre inside out, I could feel it as I ran my fingers over the tyre inner.  It was so short that I had to push it through from the outside, but it caused me two punctures, as I recall.

When I had the mountain bike, and no pressure gauge, I used to get a lot of punctures - not just pinch flats, but soft tyres sweep more of the road, and grip and pick up stuff that causes punctures.  Now I ride at 85 psi or higher, and narrower tyres, and Schwalbe Marathons, and I don't get nearly as many.

For convenience, align a clear marking on the tyre with the valve, so that when you find the puncture in the tube, you know where to look for the problem in the tyre.  Or two places, because inevitably you will forget whether you have turned the tube round in taking it out.  I try to align the T in MaraThon with the valve.

 

SC

[damascase]

45 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

That looks like a nice road; the nicest part is the hills are far away.

There's still tread left on the tyre - should be OK.  Any little holes in the tyre that might let in grit?
I once pulled out a wire fragment that I could not see, but when I turned the tyre inside out, I could feel it as I ran my fingers over the tyre inner.  It was so short that I had to push it through from the outside, but it caused me two punctures, as I recall.

When I had the mountain bike, and no pressure gauge, I used to get a lot of punctures - not just pinch flats, but soft tyres sweep more of the road, and grip and pick up stuff that causes punctures.  Now I ride at 85 psi or higher, and narrower tyres, and Schwalbe Marathons, and I don't get nearly as many.

For convenience, align a clear marking on the tyre with the valve, so that when you find the puncture in the tube, you know where to look for the problem in the tyre.  Or two places, because inevitably you will forget whether you have turned the tube round in taking it out.  I try to align the T in MaraThon with the valve.

 

SC

I always put 60-65 in my rear tyre, around 55 in the front. It must be a quality problem, the rubber is pretty soft and picks up grit easily. I always look and feel inside and outside, sometimes finding something that had penetrated. Regularly removed all the imbedded grit, but still..... And yes, marking the tyre position is something I always did and that sometimes helps to find the ‘crime scene’. On this particular tyre I always aligned the rotational direction arrow with the valve. I also renewed the rimtape, a couple of weeks ago; just to be sure.
Anyhow, I hope the problems are over now. Just checked and saw that the tyre I removed had done 4700 km so that is not too bad.

If the punctures continue, I might start to believe that ‘someone up there’ is trying to tell me to stop cycling????????. No way, much too young for that at 74.........????????

 

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by damascase

[StreetCowboy]

1 minute ago, damascase said:

I always put 60-65 in my rear tyre, around 55 in the front. It must be a quality problem, the rubber is pretty soft and picks up grit easily. I always look and feel inside and outside, sometimes finding something that had penetrated. Regularly removed all the imbedded grit, but still..... And yes, marking the tyre position is something I always did and that sometimes helps to find the ‘crime scene’. On this particular tyre I always aligned the rotation direction arrow with the valve. I also renewed the rimtape, a couple of weeks ago; just to be sure.
Anyhow, I hope the problems are over now. Just checked and saw that the tyre I removed had done 4700 km so that is not too bad.

If the punctures continue, I might start to believe that ‘someone up there’ is trying to tell me to stop cycling????????. No way, much too young for that at 74.........????????

 

 

If your tyre lasts as long as your chain, then you might as well buy another one the same and put it on (tyre - not chain), 

[Metropolitian]

Biking on the blue surrounded by flies that we can't hit.

 

Where is it.

[StreetCowboy]

35 minutes ago, Metropolitian said:

Biking on the blue surrounded by flies that we can't hit.

 

Where is it.

Beyond the end of Soi On Nut (if you go that way)

[Metropolitian]

And 'KK38' is one of the way to go there.
 

Enough clues ???? Who knows where

[SteveK]

You should look into getting some of those strips that line the tyre to give some extra protection, and maybe some sealant that you squirt in through the valve.

[StreetCowboy]

One of my colleagues had proposed a group ride starting even closer to home than the station, so it would have been churlish to decline.  I was feeling decidedly churlish as I hauled myself out of bed when dawn was but a faint hope for the future somewhere over the Pacific, but persevered, slightly surprised by the absence of a hangover (Note #1).

I arrived almost on time, and fifteen minutes later, we were off.

This lake was the best photo-opportunity, as well as a convenient point for the young boys to slip away for some quick riding.
The crumblies carried on to Batu Arang, famous for its 22 sites of historic interest, including a brick column in the middle of a roundabout.  

Three of us did, anyway. The rest bypassed the town, and I was sceptical that we might never see them again. Luckily, our former Project Director was with us (you may recall we misplaced him a couple of years ago the far side of Semantan Station), but I was worried the recruitment agents might be getting fed up with me.

Anyway, of the three of us in Batu Arang, I knew the way home, by highway and by-way and a stop for coconuts; which is where the rest of the group came upon us.

But we were soon split up again by differing pace, and, to be frank, some second-best route choice on the part of the ride leader, that saw us on busier and longer roads than were strictly necessary - and which saw us missing out on the footbridge at Kampung Selamat Station, perhaps not a tourist attraction in its own right, like “Some Old Shop Houses” in Batu Arang, but I have fond memories of desperate wheezing recovery on the escalators.

Anyway, I got home, and I think some of the others did too, though I was struggling for the last fifteen km on account of the day before - as much the 76 km as the gallons of cider, but a hair of the dog and I was able to manage the five hundred metres back to my apartment

 

Note #1: I was not exactly feeling tip-top, but I was better than the New Boy, who had left half-way through rehydration and taken a tumble stopping at traffic lights while clipped in, and fractured his hip.  I doubt he will be allowed out to play again - not for a couple of months until the hip is properly healed.  

Edited June 8, 2020 by StreetCowboy

[Metropolitian]

A bike I had, years years ago. Who can guess what bike?

 

" A changeover of fuel input "

 

 

[StreetCowboy]

20 hours ago, Metropolitian said:

A bike I had, years years ago. Who can guess what bike?

 

" A changeover of fuel input "

 

 

A changeover sounds a bit cross, but not cyclocross.
I am guessing not BMX either, or you would have mentioned banditry. 

 

[Metropolitian]

On 6/1/2020 at 9:06 PM, Metropolitian said:

Biking on the blue surrounded by flies that we can't hit.

 

Where is it.

 

 

[StreetCowboy]

 

https://www.google.com.my

 

 

- join if you want - Google does not let Thaivisa use google maps! - 

 

/maps/dir/On+Nut+Rd,+Krung+Thep+Maha+Nakhon,+Thailand/%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B9%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%B1%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%8D%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%82%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%88%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%95+-+Happy+and+Healthy+Bike+Lane,+%E0%B8%97%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%93%E0%B8%A0%E0%B8%B9%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B4+%E0%B8%96%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%99+%E0%B8%97%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99+%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%93%E0%B8%A0%E0%B8%B9%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B4+3+Nong+Prue,+Bang+Phli+District,+Samut+Prakan+10540,+Thailand/@13.6862461,100.6081101,12z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x311d605ada471419:0xedbc6752eb82d2c1!2m2!1d100.6541298!2d13.7162908!1m5!1m1!1s0x311d677a97654fdd:0xc51618f6adf94654!2m2!1d100.7792274!2d13.7095409!3e0?hl=en  

[Metropolitian]

57 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

A changeover sounds a bit cross, but not cyclocross.
I am guessing not BMX either, or you would have mentioned banditry. 

 

Had a BMX once. Never got on the ramps but fun on the dirt track I had with it.

Was a real exercise to use it on the road for a distance, tiring.

 

Hint for the " A changeover of fuel input " : It has two chains.

[StreetCowboy]

Ok - two chains but no snow tyres.

its hard to social distance on a tandem

[Metropolitian]

2 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

Ok - two chains but no snow tyres.

its hard to social distance on a tandem

555555 good one.. even the 'changeover' thing, let one bike and the other takes over when the first 'fuel' runs out ????

But no, not the bike I mean.

 

Another hint: It makes noise, but not always.