Photo-story - Where my bike’s been

[damascase]

3 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

Pah! Carbon fibre cranks? I've got a titanium hip!

 

I've never cycled in lying snow, but it snowed the first day I started my paper round, back in the day, back in the Old Country, and that's when I discovered how crap were my big fancy gauntlets.

 

I weighed my bicycles yesterday, in the unlikely event that anyone is interested:

Lady's folding bike                                      18 kg

Mountain Bike (w rack)                                17 kg

Shopping bike (w rack, mudguards & basket) 16 kg

Road (cyclocross) bike w/out saddle bag       14 kg

 

The mtb ((27.5”) I have in Thailand weighs 16 kg.

Ohh, and about titanium: I have quite a large strip of that in my pelvis - a repair from a bad crash on my Pinarello 8 years ago. Kept me from cycling for nearly 6 months.......

Edited December 16, 2018 by damascase

[MrTrip]

Had a snapped autior cruciate ligament replaced 20 years ago, took me over a year to be able to run. Heard of others having similar 10 years later and 6 weeks was more like it. How things progress is incredible.

Whilst talking about weights, my 20+year old Cannondale is only 21lbs so sub 10kg




No snow yesterday for me but plenty of ice about




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[StreetCowboy]

4 minutes ago, damascase said:

The mtb ((27.5”) I have in Thailand weighs 16 kg.

Ohh, and about titanium: I have quite a large strip of that in my pelvis - a repair from a bad crash on my Pinarello 8 years ago. Kept me from cycling for nearly 6 months.......

OK - I can't match that, but the shopping bike has a two-legged stand and I can carry 56 cans of beer on it.

[MrTrip]

I forgot, titanium in my forks and in my knee[emoji1303][emoji1303]


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[MrTrip]

Only 56 cans of beer[emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]


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[damascase]

1 minute ago, MrTrip said:

Only 56 cans of beer


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Only slightly above the Recommended Daily Allowance...........????????

[StreetCowboy]

10 minutes ago, MrTrip said:

Only 56 cans of beer


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In the end, for the Grand Prix, I didn't push the limit, as 56 cans is more than I can cycle home after.

Probably.

My mate said - "You could fit your second bottle holder and make it 57"

"Aye, then I'd have to take the pump off, and what if I get a puncture?"

"If you're carrying 57 cans of beer and you get a puncture, just call me, and I'll be there!"

[StreetCowboy]

11 minutes ago, damascase said:

Only slightly above the Recommended Daily Allowance...........????????

Think of it as a target, rather than a limit.  Life is about having goals

[StreetCowboy]

35 minutes ago, MrTrip said:

Had a snapped autior cruciate ligament replaced 20 years ago, took me over a year to be able to run. Heard of others having similar 10 years later and 6 weeks was more like it. How things progress is incredible.

Whilst talking about weights, my 20+year old Cannondale is only 21lbs so sub 10kg




No snow yesterday for me but plenty of ice about



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Don't try and cycle on the ice.  It will be a struggle getting the bike out, if the ice breaks.

I went in once, wearing my duffel coat, and I'm sure my feet never touched the bottom - I was out before I knew it.

 

EDIT: Couldn't run for a year? Running is for buses anyway.

Edited December 16, 2018 by StreetCowboy

[MrTrip]

Don't try and cycle on the ice.  It will be a struggle getting the bike out, if the ice breaks.
I went in once, wearing my duffel coat, and I'm sure my feet never touched the bottom - I was out before I knew it.
 
EDIT: Couldn't run for a year? Running is for buses anyway.

I don’t actually do running, it’s just a reference point for how F*****d my knee was


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[StreetCowboy]

After a week off the cycling, bar a few short trips to the pub, I went through the village and past the labyrinth stile to the uncompleted development and into the next suburb.  

1) There's a number of new developments going up in the village that are not going to make that road any quieter

2) The labyrinth stile has been removed, so its actually easier to ride through - especially for the motorbikes - but I think you could also drive a 4x4 through there as well now, at the village end.  At the far end under the highway, the path is firm but rough, but only 2 feet wide over and beside the drainage ditches.

I rode through rather than alighting, for the first time.

3) The road through the cancelled development is more overgrown than it was six months ago.

I got a fastest time coming through the housing estate, trying to stay ahead of a a bus.  He had to slow down more than I did at the speed humps, which is where I overtook him.

I didn't get a good time on the highway home, but I thought as I was passing it might be nice to take the kids to the ice rink.

[damascase]

Just found out that for over two months I’ve been swimming, walking and 1000+ km of cycling with a broken kneecap. Grounded now????????????, no cycling for the next 6 weeks. 

[ravip]

26 minutes ago, damascase said:

Just found out that for over two months I’ve been swimming, walking and 1000+ km of cycling with a broken kneecap. Grounded now????????????, no cycling for the next 6 weeks. 

Didn't you feel the pain?

[damascase]

2 minutes ago, ravip said:

Didn't you feel the pain?

 

2 minutes ago, ravip said:

Didn't you feel the pain?

Of course I did, but I didn’t think anything was broken, just bruised, and thought that would disappear over time....... I was very wrong!

Apparently it is healing now, be it slowly. No operation necessary, have to wear a brace fir some time. Allows walking, not flexible enough for cycling.

[damascase]

10 minutes ago, ravip said:

Didn't you feel the pain?

 

sorry, double posting.

Edited December 20, 2018 by damascase

[StreetCowboy]

25 minutes ago, damascase said:

 

Of course I did, but I didn’t think anything was broken, just bruised, and thought that would disappear over time....... I was very wrong!

Apparently it is healing now, be it slowly. No operation necessary, have to wear a brace fir some time. Allows walking, not flexible enough for cycling.

You'll need to make sure you lead with the other leg when you're sky-diving as well.

[StreetCowboy]

I'd planned a short, quick loop through the tunnel on my own this morning, but as it happened The New Boy had managed to sneak out from his wife's watchful gaze and make his way down to the station.  We kept to the planned route, though, bar a moment of absent-mindedness that saw me start by looping round the station.  Anyway, no harm done, nobody else turned off and we were off onto the highway.

 

I managed to set a fastest time on the climb up from the golf course road (my previous record had stood since the mountain bike) and then fairly quickly up to the tunnel.  Strava says we hit 67 kph through the tunnel, but I'm sceptical since the speedometer never went up to 60.

 

Past the office (wheeze, wheeze), down past IKEA (I thought about defining a segment there, but that would encourage people to recklessly run the red lights, instead of passing them with caution and circumspection, as I do), and then a quick pause for a 'Where my bike's been' photo at the appropriately-named as shown in the photo

and then directly round the corner for breakfast.  The roti man was there today, but the police were not.

 

Finally, we came back past the cemetery, to set a fastest time on that section (fastest out of two, the other time I rode it back in 2015 on the mountain bike I was ten seconds slower over 2.3 km).

 

The New Boy suggested that we take a trip back to the mountains before he loses his job, and I was struggling to find a reason to avoid it.  I'm quailing already at the thought of the ridiculous hill back from the reservoir.

[StreetCowboy]

I took the young lad out for a bike ride, against his mother's better judgement - she's sure he will have an accident and miss his exams and be crippled for life.  I assured her we would be riding on quiet roads

amongst others.  I didn't take a picture of the tunnel...

 

It was the slowest I've ever ridden down through the tunnel, and we didn't breach 50 kph.

 

Luckily we got back safely to Silly Billy.  Unfortunately they had no cider, so we had to adjourn to the Chinese Children's Pub where they serve Magners (you can see Silly Billy in the background bereft of their usual Sunday afternoon cider drinkers)

 

Happy Smiles Al Round!

[StreetCowboy]

It was a bit of a Tale of Two Temples today.

We hammered it up the roads we often ride, then rode straight on up to the leper colony.  I was a little bit nervous we might have missed our turning, but luckily, as the first aspersions were cast, I was able to say - "No, we turn right near the mosque ->" pointing ahead to some minarets ahead.

 

Anyway, that was a wrong turning, and took us into a car park.
And the locals pointed out that the next one was also a wrong turning. 

But the third one was the right road, albeit more gravelly than it had looked on google maps.

 

But I've missed the first temple!

Just shortly after the hospital, this lovely shiny and new temple

 

I was a little bit nervous, as we scrambled up the rocky road, that we might come to a fence and have to turn back - it was hard going up, but would be hazardous going down....

 

Luckily, we came out almost where I had expected, past this Chinese temple

 

And from there, we were on familiar roads, almost.

 

The traffic through Kepong was jammed, but we could progress between the lanes of stationary cars at a comfortable 15 kph, people signalled when they wanted to change lanes, sometimes they waited till we were past, sometimes they moved to allow us to ride behind them, to be honest, it was a joy to ride through such a jam.

 

As well as the gravel road, we took an additional fly-over that we had always previously missed due to navigational trepidation, and the best of it - the worst of it - we were in the pub before 1 pm.

 

The barman's performance was seriously impaired by nicotine starvation following the recent smoking ban this year, but by the time the spring rolls arrived he seemed to be recovering.  I should have taken a picture of the spring rolls, which were absolutely tops.

 

Top banter from the ride:
"Do you think we should stop at the cider oases of Arkadia"

"We're 80% of the way home, let's press on"

"I like to think of it as 50%.  We're almost finished the cycling"

 

[StreetCowboy]

I'd got chatting over lunch to a colleague, and he mentioned a road he wanted to explore, and I told him of my journey along it more than three years ago, since when it may have improved or deteriorated.  But I got to thinking that since I have had the road bike (strictly, cyclocross) I do much less exploring - even though it's easier to shoulder for stairs and ditches.

 

I don't do much exploring on the shopping bike, because of its weight, and also the skinny 28 mm tyres to fit under the mudguards, but it has the advantage of a basket to bring back whatever treasures you find en route.

 

It's partly also that I'm not going out on my own so much, so last weekend's voyage of discovery up beyond the leper colony was quite exciting.  I think I'll try the Skyplaza Rail Link construction road again some time soon - the off-road riding should improve my bike handling skills and upper body fitness a little bit.

[StreetCowboy]

You may recall I have been chortling with glee and anticipation and rubbing my hands to boot at the prospect of today's ride. I should have been trembling in fear and dread, and searching for excuses.  The first 63 km were fine.  And this doesn't look so bad.  But it goes on like that (more like that /) for 2.5 km.

 

It seems that the gradients have broken Stava, as I can't revisit the ride for more information.

 

It was a hard ride, 20 km into KL city, 20 km out to a village over the hills and beyond, some beautiful countryside, and then the fiercest bastard hill I have ever had the misfortune to come across in my life, unless you count ladders or staircases.  The other side was great, though.  My mate, who is a better descender (and climber) than I got over 70 kph on the way down, I was happy to get close to 60.   "It almost makes it all worthwhile for the descent" I suggested, when we stopped for lunch,  The looks told me I was not reflecting a consensus.

 

Before the start, it was interesting to see the bike racks at the station

It seems most cyclists prefer to leave their bikes under cover

 

Next week will be a softies' ride - on Sunday at least.

My colleague called me up on Saturday "You up for a beer? Can't stop long, you'll see why...."

Obviously, I was across the road like a rocket, pausing momentarily whether it would be quicker to take the bike or not, and concluding he was probably looking after his bairn, deciding against it.  I was wrong, and he wanted to show off his bike, which he'd had re-tired with 45 mm rain slicks.  Nice!  Then my cycling buddy called me to say he was stopping in a pub nearby that was not walking distance, but only 10 minutes by bike... so I think we all had a lucky escape there.

 

Looking homeward, and fantasising about alternative routes

Edited January 13, 2019 by StreetCowboy

[StreetCowboy]

My colleague couldn’t make the Sunday gentle ride, so he turned up for the Saturday ride. “Don’t worry,” I told the other guys, “It will be just like waiting for me, except slightly longer”. 

Unfortunately I had not told my colleague to be wary of The New Boy’s navigational skills, and the two of them were delayed by a mis-navigation outside the office.  My colleague should have known better, but maybe his wits were dulled by exhaustion. He abandoned the ride with two km to go, as we passed his home.

 The roti man was there, and the police were not, but we kept their motorbike space clear, just in case.  Some other cyclists turned up and left their bikes there, though.  And then the coppers arrived in a car.

”Uh-oh  - Let’s hit the road before the trouble starts” and we were off.

[StreetCowboy]

I'd promised M we'd do a bit of back-road-bashing, almost an off-road rampage.  There were a couple of dirt roads I'd not visited since I retired my mountain bike three years ago.  So he turned up on his mountain bike, I was on my cyclo-cross, which handles like a tractor except without the direct power take-off for attaching a baler.

 

We headed off to where the construction roads meet the plantations, but first a quick scout to see if you could trespass into the Rubber Research Institute: first gate, securely locked "I'm not sure I could throw my bike over that, and I'm less sure I could climb over after...".
Second gate, with a barrier and a diligent and alert security guard. 
Third road first of all takes you through a little light industrial area, where there were some auto models that had seriously seen better days, and from their condition, quite some time ago.  M was disappointed, as there was no road out, but there was a bit of gravel, which, with a bit of imagination, might have once been a path of some sort.  Before long, it turned into a muddy track, and before we knew it, we were on a rough construction road; the RRI has mostly been sold off to a developer, and we were approaching the development from the far side.  Over a ditch via a couple of planks, through a construction workers' camp,

and we were onto the development proper, with their distinctive lamp posts already installed,

though I doubt there will be a house built there this year, and I am sceptical if anyone will move in before we are all blessed with 2020 hindsight.

 

Anyway, we were on the development roads "It's hard to say you're off the beaten track when you're on a four-lane tarmac road, but this is not one of usual routes."  If you know Kwasa Land, you'll recall that the two stations are open, but most of the area is still development land, and we were on the development land.  We got to a gate that would take us back on to the Sungai Buloh road, but going the wrong way.  We turned back, and the security guard we had just passed gave us a bit of half-hearted grief as we trespassed back into Kwasa Land (more of an "oi..." than an "OI!"; but at the other side, where the development meets the station car park, we were faced not with some lethargic lackadaisical security slumberman, but a fairly robust and well-built fence.  Luckily my drop-bars fitted through below, and M could remove his front wheel and push his bike through underneath.  "You might want to roll through here, where there's less gravel"
"That would've been a better idea"

 

Now we were now back on public road, more or less, through the station compound, back down the road, back the way we'd ridden up the side of the Rubber Research Institute, and off to where the construction meets the plantation.  I was already feeling chuffed with my route planning; it's not a proper off-road rampage if you don't go over or under something you're not supposed to. 

 

It looks like they are planning on putting up a fence where the construction meets the plantation, so if we want to get through there we might need to do it in the next couple of weeks - just now, its a simple demarcation, but I can see that being replaced with something more secure.  We took the road  at the back of the new development, past the empty houses, and I was slightly surprised to see a fancy bike shop en route.  Always nice to know.  Closed, but it is the Morn of the Blood Moon of Thaipussam, so fair enough.

 

Back on the highway, down a couple of junctions, looking for another bike shop (just to know its there),  It's there.  Not a very friendly place,  but it looked like they could handle any running repairs if you could get that far.  Then a nice lunch of biryani rice and vegetables, and on to the first of our scheduled dirt roads.  Three years ago, this was a rough construction road, and it seemed surprisingly unchanged.  It would be rideable on a proper road bike, in dry conditions, if you were not too worried about the carnage the dust would wreak on your mechanical parts, and you were careful to avoid the worst of the pot-holes.

 

It takes you out into an upmarket housing estate, with a golf course and the Japanese International School, and if you turn on to the highway and go straight at the roundabout, you'll shortly find yourself at the domestic airport.  We wanted to turn right, which was a bit daunting, but a motorist very kindly slowed down to allow us into the right hand lane ahead of him.  I see far more considerate driving when I'm on my bike than in my car.  The exit from the roundabout was easier, past the aviation industries, the University School of Aviation, an International School, the Skyplaza Rail Link, the Selangor Shooting Range... the latter was closed, I guess for the holiday; I remember the other time I came this way, I'd not seen their entrance sign, and as I was passing behind their berm 'crack!' 'crack' "If I didn't know better, I would think that was small arms fire"; anyway, its a high berm, and there were no bicycles lying pathside where previous adventurers might have fallen foul of stray bullets, so its either quite safe or they do a good job clearing up.

 

At the detention pond, there was a locked gate on the path back into the Rubber Research Institute, and no bridge to get across the stream.  We could've followed the Skyplaza rail link, and looked for a way through clockwise, but by this time I was suffering from the length of the ride and the roughness of the road and the heat of the mid-day sun, and suggested we put that off for another day.

 

So back down, and as we passed, we met a lonely goat-herd herding his goats.  I gave a cheery yodel, but he looked at me blankly.  "If he's not going to yodel, why does he keep mountain goats?"
"You never saw him do it; you can't prove anything,  That's a foul aspersion"

Before we returned to the main road, we checked out the pylon reserve, which now has a tarmac lane for the first 800 m.

I'd ridden the pylon reserve once before, and was not confident you could still get out the far end, so suggested we stick to the public road.  We passed the other end of the pylon reserve a few km later, and followed the path from that end, and it looks like you can get through.  If I recall correctly, it was not too bad on a mountain bike, somebody fitter than me could manage on a cyclocross, but I am not sure how my mates would cope on slick 25 mm tyres.  

 

And that brought us to the end of our exploration for today.  80 km, about 10% on gravel or dirt, a look into the future of where urban sprawl is taking us, and a chance to see some of the patches that have been left behind.  As well as the goats, we saw a few cows grazing.

 

Luckily, Silly Billy had reserved our usual table, and four pints of Strongbow gave me the strength to hose my bike down when I got home.  The fifth was almost enough to lead me astray...

 

[MrTrip]

Enjoyable read as ever[emoji1376][emoji1376]


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[StreetCowboy]

56 minutes ago, MrTrip said:

Enjoyable read as ever


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Thanks, Mr T.

Today was a two-wash ride.
I hosed the bike down outside the condo, and now it is dry, there's a thin film of residual muck all over it.  The trouble is that the mucky water looks black against the paintwork, until it dries.

 

Did I mention that the guys at My Bicycle Shop touched up the paintwork where it was scuffed by the padlock, when I took it in for service last time?

[StreetCowboy]

My buddy doesn’t like to hear about hills, so I’d told him the second half of the ride included a fifteen kilometre descent and ended at the pub.

we were only fractionally faster than last time, thanks to a crippling headwind and as we raced to the summit, he cried out “If you’d said it was ‘Bukit Bloke That Sells Drinks’ I’d have never come. We were lucky, because the bloke that sells drinks was just packing up to go home.

 

As we were gathering our wits for the descent, a very attractive couple (if you discount the boyfriend) turned up - I am not sure if I passed them on the way down, but I felt safer being distracted while wheezing and gasping at the summit than whizzing recklessly down through the curves.

 

The most photogenic spot was the view out to Batu Caves, which I posted before, and the most pleasant part of the ride was a short stretch of smooth new tarmac on the descent, but there was no way I was going to stop for a photo of that.

 

M does that mountain hiking thing, and apart from the tedium, I realised there’s another difference; hiking, you go to the summit of a hill, whence you get a good view.  Cycling, you go to the crest of a pass, where you are probably in between particularly steep hills with no view but the mountains and jungle to either side, and the road falling away precipitously ahead and behind.

 

I’m particularly grateful to The Bloke That Sells Drinks, because the road falls away perilously perpendicular behind him, and if I ever overshot the summit, I’m not sure I would be back here posting in the morning

[StreetCowboy]

I'd been planning on a hard ride up past the tennis centre and then looping round to come up again on the steep side of the hill (quite appropriately captioned "The Wall" on Strava; I've not done that section since I had my mountain bike, and I'm fairly sure I didn't do it on the Big Ring then).  But it looked as if my plans might come adrift when we knocked off work early for Chinese New Year and adjourned to the pub.

 

Luckily I was well-behaved and was in bed like a good Cinderella, though I felt slightly rough at 8 am down at the station.  As expected, no-one else turned up, and I could've turned round and gone home and no-one would have been any the wiser.

 

But I didn't.  All the way to the tennis centre I was thinking "Maybe I'll just do the one climb; my legs don't feel too grand... I could circle round and come home the easy way..." so I went over Tennis Centre Hill, and that wasn't too bad (nor too quick...) and I looked down the other side and quickly looked away lest vertigo overcome me.  There are some fairly remarkable houses - almost palaces - around there, and Chateau Duta is one of the most unusual, if not particularly large or ostentatious.  It looks more utilitarian than Chateau Damansara, which has a more Gothic feel to it

Anyway, I put off taking a photo of Chateau Duta until the return leg; I didn't want to carry another picture up that hill...

 

The back roads to avoid the highway were even nicer than I remembered, and completely empty, but you've seen enough pictures of leafy, empty KL backroads.  As you approach the foot of The Wall, the road turns a little and rises a bit, and then 

"I CAN'T CYCLE UP THAT!"

It looks like something Wiley Coyote had painted on the side of a cliff!

 

As you get closer, the perspective makes it look fractionally less horrific, but after you've lost all the momentum you brought with you, in the second or third metre, you're crunching down through the gears, then flapping desperately on the shifter looking for more.  You have to lean forward to keep the front wheel down, and you have to tack to get up the hill, weaving into driveways to ease the gradient, counting the pedal strokes "One.... Another One... " and then you crest over the top, and before the black fog has fully cleared, and the blood pumping in your ears sounds more like waves than jungle drums, you're flying down Tennis Centre Hill watching for dopey car drivers and bus tourists... and clean forgotten about the photo of Chateau Duta I'd meant to take.

 

Then back over the familiar rolling hills, up and through the tunnel.  I thought I would push it this time, and equalled my  best time - for the third time!

 

 

[StreetCowboy]

To celebrate the upcoming Year of the Pig I cycled down to Jalan Gasing for a bit of wild boar curry and a brace of Tigers.

You can tell how good it was by the empty plate.  I’m trying to lose weight, so that explains the remaining spoonful of rice.

 

Today I took the shopping bike to Brickfields, for samosas... but first I’d promised to define a segment for my buddy for his ride home from the pub.  So heading through PJ from a slightly different starting point was interesting, and I left the State travelling in the opposite direction to normal on the Federal Highway.

As I’m trying to lose weight, I only had one chappati 

and that was sufficient to see me safely to El Sid’s

I was a bit nervous about getting rained in, as the weather was fine and sunny, and I might have to wait some time ...

So prudently I headed back to Silly Billy, and sure enough I’d scarcely had time to put my bike on its stand and order a cider and take a photo and order another cider before the rain started. 

 

Brickfields Samosa courtesy of Sentral Chappati Shop, in Silly Billy

[Hank Gunn]

20 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

To celebrate the upcoming Year of the Pig I cycled down to Jalan Gasing for a bit of wild boar curry and a brace of Tigers.

You can tell how good it was by the empty plate.  I’m trying to lose weight, so that explains the remaining spoonful of rice.

 

Today I took the shopping bike to Brickfields, for samosas... but first I’d promised to define a segment for my buddy for his ride home from the pub.  So heading through PJ from a slightly different starting point was interesting, and I left the State travelling in the opposite direction to normal on the Federal Highway.

As I’m trying to lose weight, I only had one chappati 

and that was sufficient to see me safely to El Sid’s

I was a bit nervous about getting rained in, as the weather was fine and sunny, and I might have to wait some time ...

So prudently I headed back to Silly Billy, and sure enough I’d scarcely had time to put my bike on its stand and order a cider and take a photo and order another cider before the rain started. 

 

Brickfields Samosa courtesy of Sentral Chappati Shop, in Silly Billy

I'm thirsty now!

[StreetCowboy]

31 minutes ago, Hank Gunn said:

I'm thirsty now!

Me too

The Mods have offered to move this thread to “I drink too much” Health sub-forum.