Photo-story - Where my bike’s been

[StreetCowboy]

The bike shops are all closed for our new MCO, and in the last few weeks my front brake has been rubbing.  Also, the brake discs sound shot... I'm hoping that is the cause of the rubbing, but one of the pistons is not retracting...

Anyway, it's beyond my minimal technical competence to confidently attempt to fix, as I am sure I would do untold damage in trying to find a solution with the tools available.  Long story short, I used KSH' online booker to request a service, and cycled down there this morning fully expecting to be faced with a blank roller shutter and cycle home.  But there were two guys queuing outside, the shutter was half open, and in time, the chief mechanic came out.  I explained the problem, he checked the brakes and immediately leapt to the conclusion that all was required was new brake pads.  I'm hoping that in the process, he'll find the problem with the piston not retracting, and rectify that as well, but I don't expect to see the bike again this side of Chinese New Year.  I might mention to Leong that my neighbour the bike mechanic is short of work just now, but he doesn't do hydraulics.  So I posted a "Walk" on Strava coming home...

 

Lunchtime came and went, and I could not stand it any more, and went out on the shopping bike for a couple of hours to the HSBC branch at Pusatr Bandar Damansara which is about 10 km away; slightly further if you go via the Penchala Tunnel, Sri Hartamas, Bukit Tunku, KL city centre and the remarkable jungle road 600 m from KL Sentral.  I thought I would stop by Sid's for a few bottles of draught cider on the way home, and took so long filling up my water bottle that the rain started.   I filled and drained my water bottle again, and set off into the rain - it might be better on the TTDI side of the tunnel....

.... or worse.  Much worse.   
On the bright side, its only a couple of km from the tunnel to my home, and once you are off the highway it was just miserable, with no traffic risk.  And the misery of the rain blanked out the struggle up the last hill from  the village to the pubs, but if they'd not been closed for the MCO I'd have been grateful to stop and wait for the rain to subside over a few pints, despite having four bottles of beer in my basket.  And some dregs of cider in my water bottle.

[StreetCowboy]

Sunday's ride started off well, albeit I was somewhat taken aback by discovering he was on hunger-strike, so the planned destination of Sid's in Bukit Damansara to pick up take-away cider was no longer ideal.  We hadn't been planning on going straight there in any case...

 

We found several new roads, and a few that we had forgotten how nice they were; we were turned back from cutting through a Government building which, it turns out, is a children's home; not that I'd wanted to go through, but it would be a useful shortcut to have in your map book.

 

I was on my shopping bike, and thought I might try and ride the motorbike shortcut, but the road was muddier and rougher than I had hoped.  Once I was on the gravel, I thought I would have a go, but it was quite downhill; I should have been using only the back brake, and perhaps sliding down the gravel, but when I hit a big rock with the front brake slightly on the bike stopped, and I did too, when I hit the ground.

 

No major damage, glasses intact, a tiny trickle of blood from a graze on one knee, elbows intact, lights still attached, bungee rubber cords fell out of the basket but soon returned there; chain off... and investigation found that the derailleur dropper was bent.  We (my buddy, with occasional assistance from me) readjusted the gears as best we could, and set off to his place for a more comprehensive straightening of the dropper.  "And while we're about it, let me clean the rust off your front derailleur...".  It rained for a bit, then stopped, and I set off home; just in time to catch a torrential downpour, and although its only a few km I had had enough by the time I got home; and nearly took a tumble in the underground car park slamming on the brakes with wet tyres on the smooth concrete.  That was when I discovered my rear light had stopped working in the rain - but you'll be pleased to know it seems to have recovered.  But i need to look at improving its water resistance. 

[StreetCowboy]

I was back out to the depot for the start of our reliability testing this morning; the MCO roadblock was gone, and I got to the control centre a few minutes early.

I then went down to the end station to join the train, but the security guard gave me <deleted> saying I could not go on wearing cycling shorts. I spent a few minutes arguing the toss, and decided my time would be better spent going down to catch the train at the next station.

We didn’t get full route testing in the morning due to a combination of circumstances, and as lunchtime passed me by I decided I’d had enough.

I’ll rely on reports from the staff on duty, and kid myself that I could go back tomorrow morning if I really felt I had to see for myself...

45 km on the shopping bike makes it a long morning at work, and I was glad to get to Sid’s for some lunch.

[StreetCowboy]

We were out rural looking for magic mushrooms on Sunday, and anyone that tells you where to find them is talking <deleted>.

I don’t know what the cattle had been eating to give them such Black Movements.  
 

The old road to Rawang has rubbish dumped alongside it again, and a detour round some fallen trees, but most surprising, the Great Wall blocking it has gone without trace, along with the ditch in front of the wall; I don’t even recollect seeing any new tarmac where the ditch might have been...

Distressingly,  the road near the cement works was covered in rubbish; my buddy didn’t want to get his feet mucky, and rode through, I was frightened about falling in it, and walked through gingerly, carrying my bike.

We didn’t find any mushrooms.

We did find some nice roads on the way home, albeit the nicest of them was blocked by a construction site.  It was a good 78 km by the time we got to the pub, and the first time we’d been out to the countryside for a while.

[StreetCowboy]

I had a bit of an exploration planned for last Sunday, with a possible kampung road, construction roads and all knows goodness what; highways, byways and youcan'tgothrougherebythewayboys...

I was really not confident about the way home that had a lot of turns and junctions on it...

Anyway, off we set, down the usual road to the Federal Highway, then some new ad libbing to get to KESAS Highway; not a route I'll repeat, though the original plan may remain sound, just that I did not recognise the turnings when I saw them (to be strictly precise,  I did not recognise the straight-through-the-junctions when I saw them); anyway, a small diversion, some bold walking across free-flowing highway slip roads, and onto KESAS Highway bike lane as planned.

 

We missed the petrol station where I had planned to stop for water either through inattention, or poor route planning, but stopped at an out of town mall, as I knew the next 30 - 60 km would be dry.  We were still on reasonably familiar roads, and we crossed over the highway to a long straight road; I had told my buddy we would be passing by Gamuda Cove, and we turned left onto the back road that we had ridden last time
"This is a dead end"

"You said that last time, and I said it was not, there were two ways out, and Gamuda Cove was the shortest.  Well, now I am going to prove that".  You may remember at Gamuda Cove we got followed by the security guard whinging all the way across site, on some fine construction mud roads, and he did a great job getting us off the site on the other side before the rain started. 

 

The entrance to Gamuda Cove construction site seemed to have been improved, but we carried on to the end of the road, which I expected to be blocked by a locked gate.  Although I was optimistic there was an alternative route just beforehand.  Everything went just as I planned it, except that the gate was not locked.  So we went into the kampung orang asli reservation
"Can we go through here?" my buddy asked

"Yeah, yeah, no problem" 

I am going to put our future problems down to the simplicity of the Malay language rather than his linguistic abilities.  Lovely gravel and sand roads took us onward so far... and no further.  Or alternatively, so far, and no further... When I opened up Google Maps, all we saw was a blue blob, and blank screen.  As we zoomed in closer, the local paths became visible.  

Anyway, long story short, we concluded that the reason Google Maps would not allow a route through the Kampung was not because of the locked gate, but rather that the roads did not join up.
"It's not the end of the world," I explained.  
"Should we ask for directions? Where do we want to go?"
"I have studied the maps carefully, and I can honestly say that there are no towns of which I have heard, nor places of interest.  We should have asked 'Can we go out here?' rather than can we come in... Anyway, not to worry, let's just take the road to KLIA, following the hand-written sign"

We sheepishly went back out the gate we had come in, and I had to stop my buddy to point out the roughly handwritten sign to Taman something, Dengkil and KLIA.

It was a gravel road, rather than a farm track, but the New Boy would still not have been happy; I'd have felt quite adventurous if that had been the roughest of our roads, but after the kampung farm tracks, it was a welcome relief, and judging by both the cars that passed us in the opposite direction, it was passable to two-wheel drive saloon cars.

 

I was ready for a bit of a sit down when we got to the tarmac main road, and we paused at a bus stop.  I really did not feel up to the navigational complexities of the intended (but poorly planned) route home through new town construction, highways and all-knows-god-what jinks and detours.

 

So we came back on tarmac more or less the way we had come, avoiding plantations, construction and farms.  Although it had not been strenuous, the sand and gravel had tired me out, and we came back slower than we went out.  On the bright side, we completed the route dry, even getting through Shah Alam without rain.  A bit of brisk whistle-whetting saw my buddy heading home safely in the waning twilight and I pushed my bike home some time later substantially refreshed.

[n210mp]

Morning Jon , always good to read your TIC exploits whilst eating my curds and whey.    

 

 

 

 

 

[StreetCowboy]

I was persuaded to change ride plans; I’d had two trips to see the sea, two lighthouses on ridiculously steep hills (if they’d made the lighthouse taller they’d have not needed such a big hill). Anyway, my buddy and I were back out to Jugra Lighthouse on Sunday, initially following more or less the same roads as last week.

I was looking for the same remarkably straight and more remarkably quiet road as last time

The start of the road is in a complex of little empty housing estates, built to take advantage of Malay Reserve investment incentives.

Last time we’d gone to Bukit Jugra, my buddy’s boast was that he’d cycled all the way up without stopping; and mine, that I’d only had to stop once while pushing my bike up.  This time, I had to alight, and had persevered too far to up a slope I could not start on. Nevertheless, we bettered his previous time, although this time he was walking as fast as I was riding.

we met some motorcyclists, who had not had to stop on the way up

Anyway, although it’s a smaller hill, it turns out that my planned ride to Bukit Melawati at Kuala Selangor is a longer ride...

I’ve been troubled with a sticky front shift for some time now, and in the process of replacing the cable I stripped the thread on the front derailleur cable clamp screw, so that’s going to be an expensive repair.  At least I won’t be able to go to Bukit Melawati

[StreetCowboy]

I toured the local bike shops to find a new front derailleur, to be greeted at every turn with “No stock; don’t know when we’ll get some; try internet...” until I got to Joo Ngan Son.  Fortunately, the boss was not in so I spoke to the mechanic who sold me an Ultegra front derailleur from a set.
 

I had meant to get a sandwich for lunch on the way back but the shifting was so smooth I couldn’t stop myself from going into Brickfields for Samosas,  

and stopping in El Sid’s for a couple of pints on the way home.

 

 

 

[bobfish]

I've found the Sram front derailleurs drive me to drink, rather than Shimano....

[StreetCowboy]

On 4/11/2021 at 2:42 PM, bobfish said:

I've found the Sram front derailleurs drive me to drink, rather than Shimano....

Shimano has walked me to drink.

[StreetCowboy]

Did I mention that when I was on my way to Brickfields for samosas, fanging it down the highway at 35 kph, I felt something drop off, bounce off the ground or my wheel, and hit my foot?  I couldn’t find the object on the ground, nor identify anything missing from the bike. It was only that evening, when I had the bike up on the stand to fettle the new derailleur, that things became clear.  
The right shifter was missing a chunk of the moulding that holds the brake lever / shifter in place, and while fettling the gears, the lever assembly fell off altogether.

From my derailleur experience I had no hope of finding a single shifter locally, but an hour on the internet, and I had one in order from Japan.  I picked it up from DHL, and met up with my buddy to fit it at his place.  It worked out nicely, as the imported Schwalbe tyres had arrived as well; he’d asked for 25 mm folding tyres, but the folding Duranos only came in 23 mm, or 25 mm with a wire bead. Baffled and uncertain how to proceed, I bought both. And the same for his mate.

Anyway, the new shifter went on easily enough, reused the old gear cable, and bled in new fluid for the hydraulic brakes.  After an hour and a half bafflement was giving way to frustration as we could not get oil into the brake cylinder.  Finally we traced the problem to the bodged fluid funnel and its seal made of self-amalgamating tape, which had self-amalgamated into a non-return valve.  His carport wil serve as a skid pan now, there’s so much hydraulic fluid spilled on it.  And there’s still a stubborn air bubble somewhere in my brake. “Do you want to have one more go at bleeding it?”

”There’s no reason to believe that will be better than the last.  Leave it, and it will either get better or get worse. If it gets better - no need.  If it gets worse, we’ll have no choice”. So the road bike has a spongy rear brake, but liveable for the time being.  I’ve not done anything about the broken spoke on the shopping bike, though.

[bobfish]

Hey SC, try hanging your bike vertically with the caliper lowest/master cylinder highest. Zip tie [or bungee,tape, bodge etc] the lever actuated close to the bar as possible. Leave it a day or so, give the line a bit of a tap from time to time and hopefully the trapped air bubble will find its way up and out of the "open" system. 

And while you're at it, you can bin that front derailleur guide sticker - it has done its job ????

[StreetCowboy]

6 hours ago, bobfish said:

Hey SC, try hanging your bike vertically with the caliper lowest/master cylinder highest. Zip tie [or bungee,tape, bodge etc] the lever actuated close to the bar as possible. Leave it a day or so, give the line a bit of a tap from time to time and hopefully the trapped air bubble will find its way up and out of the "open" system. 

And while you're at it, you can bin that front derailleur guide sticker - it has done its job ????

The brake had substantially recovered - I think by the time I left the pub last week, but certainly by today's ride.  Still a bit spongey, so we bled the brakes through one more time to no significant improvement, but a clean looking blead with no froth.  My buddy suggested hanging the bike brake downwards, with the shifter at the top, to try to get the air to leak to the reservoir.  I think that there is some tinkering I can do with lever adjustment so that the brakes bite earlier, and accept it the way it is, as I think any residual air will eventually migrate to the reservoir above the brake cylinder.

 

Anyway, I was able to lock the back tyre fairly quickly, so what more should I ask for?
(I already have a new tyre ready for fitting)

 

SC

[StreetCowboy]

I am sorry, no photos again today - I was nowhere you've not seen before, albeit maybe some different roads there.

 

Every couple of years, one of our group members calls for an AGM - An Awfully Grave Mistake, if you ask me, but he said it would be Actually a Good Meal.  Well, two years ago I was down with Dengue and made my excuses on behalf of the hospital.

 

Last week, he took a tumble going over a sleeping policeman, and landed on his posterior (Ar5e Greviously Maimed) though fortunately not on a par with the femur injury he suffered on the way home from Gravy Baby last year.

 

Anyway, we have a venue within walking distance of his home, we have a route there that will involve Aperitifs at the Green Man, so if I'm not posting tomorrow night you can surmise and speculate the possible outcome.

I'd been out on a route check this morning - albeit with some gross wrong turnings and second best choices - and then in the afternoon I commuted out to train testing to look at a particular infrastructure problem.  Last time I'd been there, one of our young boys had been there at the station entrance manning a desk, though he'd disappeared when I came back.  This time, he'd disappeared already.  I left my bike behind his chair, with the lock through the back wheel to stop it being ridden away.    The trains were held up by wayside problems, and I was lucky to get three rides through the section in question; and I was sorely distressed to find my bike gone when I returned.  I could blame no-one but myself, since I had not entrusted it to anyone, it was not left in a marked space (I had subsequently seen the bike racks from the platform while waiting for the train) but I struggled to believe that someone would carry an immobilized bike away.  Some searching and investigation, and I found the Auxiliary Police who had kindly moved it to inside the fire escape.

What a welcome relief, but my greatest escape was yet to come!  I unlocked the bike, and wheeled it down the lift and to the roadside.  There was a noise like a spoke being tapped, but not on the front wheel, and not on the rear... It turned out I had left the keys in the lock while I was putting on my mask and helmet - what a   relief - what an escape! If I had ridden off with them hanging out the padlock I'd have lost them for sure  - my house keys and everything.  After the joy of that escape, I accepted the starting rain with sanguine resignation, but it eased off, and I got to Sid's dry, for some sausages and beans and mash.  And after that and a few pints, and I'd got home, it tipped down stair-rods, with thunder and lightning.

Not a particularly good day - except for all the troubles I'd missed, which made it a joy.

SC

[StreetCowboy]

Our AGM went as well as could be expected; if I hear that Big G got home safely, then better. Aperitifs at the Green Man would have been better had it been open, but Healy Mac’s next door also sells cider, so no grounds for complaint. Shortly after High Noon we gave up waiting for Beardy D and headed off for an Appetising Gourmet Meal with Additional Good Mates, including the New Boy, who as you know is an Ancient GentleMan.  We got fed up with pints not filled to the line; so we Adjourned for Good Measures at Bar Roca.  By this time, our numbers were thinning; Young M who had chundered into some bloke’s pick-up half way up The Wall skipped Bar Roca, M with the model son was at work unblemished this morning, and we didn’t see Big G sprawled at the side of the road on the way home, so if he did come a cropper it was in the last kilometre.  

[Hanuman2547]

Bicycling up Mt Lemon on Wednesday, 28 April 2021 just outside of Tucson, Arizona. It’s a 28 mile/45 kilometer ride. It starts at about 2550ft/777m and finishes at approximately 8100ft/2468m. Ride started off real good temps about 55F/13C. Rode for quite awhile while climbing higher and higher.

When we got up to about 7000ft/2130m the weather changed drastically. A lot more clouds developed and the temperature was dropping as we had been climbing higher. Not what the weather forecast had been predicting. I put on a jacket due to the wind. About 15 minutes later it began to snow! Snowing in AZ in late April? We pushed on and the snow increased. Then we had some lightning and thunder. Not looking good. The snow was increasing and started sticking to the road. Our friend rolled up on the van and told us it was 32F/0C outside. Due to the conditions we abandoned the ride at just over 8000ft/2450m.

 

A couple hours later and things had really changed.

 

In the van and going down the mountain.  Thunder and lightening still going on.

[StreetCowboy]

On 5/4/2021 at 12:54 PM, Hanuman2547 said:

Bicycling up Mt Lemon on Wednesday, 28 April 2021 just outside of Tucson, Arizona. It’s a 28 mile/45 kilometer ride. It starts at about 2550ft/777m and finishes at approximately 8100ft/2468m. Ride started off real good temps about 55F/13C. Rode for quite awhile while climbing higher and higher.

When we got up to about 7000ft/2130m the weather changed drastically. A lot more clouds developed and the temperature was dropping as we had been climbing higher. Not what the weather forecast had been predicting. I put on a jacket due to the wind. About 15 minutes later it began to snow! Snowing in AZ in late April? We pushed on and the snow increased. Then we had some lightning and thunder. Not looking good. The snow was increasing and started sticking to the road. Our friend rolled up on the van and told us it was 32F/0C outside. Due to the conditions we abandoned the ride at just over 8000ft/2450m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A couple hours later and things had really changed.

 

 

 

 

 

In the van and going down the mountain.  Thunder and lightening still going on.

pictures deleted for bandwidth and readability

 

That is pretty extreme.  I hope your mate took it gently in the van going down.

 

I am glad that I have been able to avoid rain in the hills; but snow - that would make descending horrific.

[Hanuman2547]

4 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

pictures deleted for bandwidth and readability

 

That is pretty extreme.  I hope your mate took it gently in the van going down.

 

I am glad that I have been able to avoid rain in the hills; but snow - that would make descending horrific.

Yes, we descended kind of slowly in the van.  Was kind of amazed how much snow fell and how low in elevation it reached.   

[n210mp]

5 hours ago, Hanuman2547 said:

Yes, we descended kind of slowly in the van.  Was kind of amazed how much snow fell and how low in elevation it reached.   

 

After reading and looking at the posts and pics from Hun and receiving a PM off of SC this morning,  I decided that I needed to "stretch myself"!

 

So I got off the couch took my "beta blocker" and my daily dose of Prednisone and attempted to do the 500 mtr , level walk around the lagoon opposite Papas house .

 

If I don't answer this post within 45 minutes of posting it, then  please send help  because I obviously didn't make it back  !

[frequentatore]

4 hours ago, n210mp said:

 

After reading and looking at the posts and pics from Hun and receiving a PM off of SC this morning,  I decided that I needed to "stretch myself"!

 

So I got off the couch took my "beta blocker" and my daily dose of Prednisone and attempted to do the 500 mtr , level walk around the lagoon opposite Papas house .

 

If I don't answer this post within 45 minutes of posting it, then  please send help  because I obviously didn't make it back  !

 

[n210mp]

1 hour ago, frequentatore said:

 

Whoops I was so "elated" at getting back on the couch in one piece I forgot to "report" getting back safely.

 

I also missed a comment by "frequentatore"!

 

 

[StreetCowboy]

We are back under Movement Control Order again as the COVID cases rise; there was some discussion as to whether cycling was permitted, but that was clarified as OK within your district with no more than one other person.  Some of the groups I saw failed on that second count, but I could not see at a glance whence they came ("Ye cannae tell, Cowboy; they look mair an' mair like us all the time").

We are also enjoying the extended Hari Raya Holiday, so we had an extra day off on Wednesday, as well as Thursday & Friday public holidays before the weekend.  Our construction manager has bought hisself a new bike, so I was out with him for a gentle 20 km round his suburb on Friday, then on Saturday an aimless wander on my own, which ended up as a route finder for today's ride with my regular Sunday buddy; to be honest, my heart was not really in it - what's the point if the pubs are all closed when you finish?

 

In the spirit of keeping within the district (though maybe not the strict letter) we did several different loops, mostly roads we knew well, but maybe not in that order, and a couple of new roads that I would normally not attempt for fear of busy traffic.  As we got to the 70 km mark, I said "Right, that's it.  Half-way.  Let's turn and head for home", but luckily, the way home did not have so many loops and detours, and I was glad to get home on 90 km.

The early part of the ride had been overcast, and about 30 km, it started tipping down stair rods.  We sheltered for half an hour in a bus shelter until it eased off, and the rest of the day brightened up, so we got to 60 km before our only drinks stop.

[StreetCowboy]

I didn't mention that we met on Sunday at the hospital, as my buddy was having a COVID test prior to being admitted for a nasal plumbing operation.  On Monday he called me up to tell me the results have come back positive, so I have been Working From Home since then.  My fortnightly test on Thursday was negative, and if I test negative again on Monday I'll be allowed back in the office - assuming that Malaysia does not go back into a full lock-down to stem the rising tide of COVID cases.  We are expecting an announcement on stricter controls this evening, so I should have taken my last chance to get a few km in before the lockdown.

 

It's unfortunate, as our group is dispersing over the Summer, and had planned a farewell ride tomorrow, though I could only join at the end as I've got an online meeting first thing in the morning.

 

I suppose I should have taken a photo of us queuing up in an orderly fashion for our COVID tests.  We are much more orderly than the project central testing station below.

 

[StreetCowboy]

I'd told my mates I would meet them at 11:00 at the final coffee stop, and the first two arrived bang on time.  My online meeting had finished in good time, and I'd got there half an hour early, somewhat surprised at the contempt for SOPs regarding social distancing and loitering outside cafes by the other cyclists there.  I settled myself some distance away for a cup of iced lemon tea while I waited.  It's a continental style cafe bar, and I'd confirmed that they had cider (Somersby in bottles, but beggars can't be choosers).  I had time to finish my tea, go to the ATM, and I was ordering myself a cider when the first two arrived; of course, they didn't have any cider in stock, so we started on a strong Belgian beer; I'm not sure if it was the strength or the price that made me feel a bit faint... Anyway, the whole team arrived in time for that round, including Big G who had driven there.

The lads had ridden up Mayor Flats, stopping to admire the view

 

before continuing to the summit

The photos are from my trip there this morning, to refresh my view that it is not as hard a climb as The Wall, which starts at the same location.  Still hard enough that I turned for home on the way down, rather than attempting the Wall as well...

Anyway, after the first round, we moved to the back lane behind the cafe, out of discretion should the police come driving past, and made our fond farewells.  The New Boy is retiring back to the Old Country this week, though I'm sure that we'll be seeing him again.  Young M, who chundered into some bloke's pick-up half-way up the wall, is returning to the Antipodes in June,  and Big G is off to a new project in the Philippines when he's had his second dose of Astra Zeneca in a few weeks

 

By the time we got to the fourth, the cafe had run out of beer, and we dispersed quietly....

 

 

[StreetCowboy]

I'd fortunately discovered that my vaccination appointment was on Saturday, not Sunday as I had intended, so Saturday saw me cycling off to the Putra World Trade Centre.  If I'd known they were running three quarters of an hour late, I'd not have turned up an hour early, and I would have had time to check out the train running on the way.

 

Anyway, two hours of hanging about in the socially distanted crowds outside,

50 minutes of shuffling in queues, and ten minutes of filling in forms and answering simple questions, and one jab and I was free to cycle home.  You all know that road, from PWTC through Bukit Tunku, then back through the tunnel, right?

 

This was the last Sunday of May, and as it happened, the last before we revert to strict Movement Control Order, so I had planned a long route along the highways then round KL.  That was without reckoning on vaccination side effects, and I was lethargic as I set out.  I fairly quickly began to suffer from the heat of the sun and the length of the ride, and I was glad that we could easily cut out the loop through KL.  By the time we got to Sid's I was fair paggart and could barely mumble.  I had to apologise to my buddy for calling the ride short, and I explained the planned route - through the Chinese graveyard, through the city centre, up through Kepong, down the LDP Highway, through the tunnel, up Science Centre Hill...
"That is a nice route'" he admitted, "but at least today's short cut got us to the pub quicker".  They're only open for take-aways, so we had to sit on the steps of a closed shop a couple of doors down.

 

I felt slightly better on the final leg home, but I wasn't.  I fell straight to sleep when I got home, and by the time I awoke in the morning, a fever had started, and subsequently, loose bowels, and I took the day off work.

 

So if there's a lesson to take from this: don't cycle 90+ km the day after your Oxford vaccine.  Not unless you can afford to miss work the next day

 

SC   

[StreetCowboy]

I’ve had a lot of time on my hands with us back under Movement Control Order, so I’ve been watching a bit of YouTube, and I have had enough of people going on and on about gravel bikes, claiming they can go anywhere and do anything.

 

I’ll tell you this… on my cyclocross bike I am walking places where my buddy on his road bike carries on.  Even on the shopping bike (pictured) I went face-first creeping down a rough gravel path, and he had to stop to assist.

 

Maybe I just need more practice, but   I am not confident my spectacles could stand it, nor my elbows.

 

Anyway, I bought the shopping bike (pictured) as a utility commuter, and I am distressed that I have had to raise the saddle so aggressively for the sake of comfortable knees.

Seen here on an essential journey, picking up bottles of cider at Sid’s on the way back from a Brickfields Samosa Run.  
 

Today the village next to my suburb was put under Enhanced MCO, with razor wire, although my route to work was not affected; I’ll sail a bit closer to the wind tomorrow.

[StreetCowboy]

Did I mention that they'd laid new tarmac past the mosque on my way to work?

 

It’s lovely and smooth, but The hill is just as high as before - may be a centimetre more now...

 

The old Jalan Damansara was all dug up on Friday for a burst fire hydrant pipe, as far as I could tell.

 

SC

[StreetCowboy]

As you know, with us under Movement Control Order, I am struggling for every kilometre I can.  I have resorted to cycling down to the bakery at Jaya Market for a sandwich on the days I cycle to work; they're not as good as the sandwiches at the coffee shop in our block, but at least its further away.

 

Today I went out to see our last day of train testing, and to look at the impact of some of our improvements.  There was another bike parked outside the station (I should have taken a photo); I thought about parking alongside but:

1: He had a thicker chain than mine, so if either bike was going to be stolen, it would not be his

2: His bike was slightly less valuable, so if ...
3: I am also worried about my lights being stolen, and no-one is going to steal those except another cyclist....
So I parked beside the motorbikes.

I had parked at a different station, as I did not have to go to the control centre first (you may recall that last time, the security guard had considerately hidden my bike away after I left it next to the empty Station Control Room - the stations are closed, but it was within sight of the adjacent public pedestrian route over the bridge) anyway, I parked this time at a completely closed station, but there were still some staff and contractors parking.

 

Anyway, the trains were running well, and after a couple of hours I was ready for a bit of lunch.  There were dark clouds East over KL, but I came back the slightly longer route (every kilometre counts) and I thought I would have a go at a bit of gravel where I went face-first last time (that would have merited a photo - the gravel path, not me face down).  The rain started as I was approaching the shortcut, and I didn't fancy either the muddy uphill part, or the gravel downhill, until it levelled off - If you're a bit nervous, you don't want to be going chops-first into the ground and relying on passing strangers for assistance; not on a quiet path like that.

Coming down the far side of the hill the rain was heavier, and I took it gentle over the drain grilles - especially as they were wet.

 

And that takes me out past Jaya Market, and on to familiar commuting roads to home.  I'm getting good use out of the shopping bike while we're on essential journeys only.     

[StreetCowboy]

I had the misfortune to get rained in sitting outside Sid's on the way home from my samosa run to Brickfields on Sunday, and ended up falling asleep as soon as I got home.

 

I sat through another video of two experienced road cyclists comparing cheap flat pedals against professional clipped-in pedals, and as usual they completely missed the point, carrying out the full comparison sober, without traffic lights, and on continuous tarmac.  Aye, sure, and what about in the real world?  Do you put your bike in the back of a taxi to get home?  What if the stairs in the back lane are muddy?  Do you expect the pub to provide slippers?  Though to be fair, none of my friends have suffered a mishap due to cleats on the section of route to and from the gents' was-room.  

 

SC

[ravip]

I just found this website by accident. Has the 'chain-less bicycle' era finally arrived?

 

 

Nubike