0 Batam 10 Apr

So said some wise weatherman friend of mine, "The dry weather is here at last..." 6 months of wet and wetter...we were all used to hosing the bike off after every ride. Sure looks good to trash it out again in Batam ... hopefully its really without the accompanying mud and grime.

With 4 trips done, I got the planning and organizing down to the hilt this time. Only.... I almost didnt quite get up in time so it's back to  breakfast on the ferry again.

C.C.W., COTES-Cam-Whore at it again... if he only knows what's in store for him later! :D














 Felt real good on carpark ride...C.C.W.'s new ride, Remedy 7

....and how will "Junesy" EG fare on its maiden Batam trip?

XC. Not my fav part of the ride but side swiping and hoping for some "spd moment" is a favorite past time of mine  Not this time though, 200+ pounds is just a tad much to dislodge  :D










XC leg over.. Fun time!

Cows Can Fly!  Where's the moon

Wah...never flat sarmore!

Of course the EGs too

ok next trip, I got to pull a no-hander to up the bar.. Secret training shall begin once back

Even the XC folks can't resist it this time.... finally after all the months of lulling them about the excitement and exhilaration, finally got all the COTES on "air".

Queen Hobbit, Athena. And it's official. First female rider to pop off the quad or any of the stuff @ Drak.

Maybe we should just rename it as "Butt"am Ridefrom now on. Better check who's the camera man next time :)

One too many for the Cow... gap a jump but tried to squeeze through the "V" of the tree ahead....

Landed! ... and a butt full of thorn... Apart from the horde, there is the ever inquisitive Apeman scrutinizing.

Ok I cant resist adding one more> This will have to go into the COTES scrapbook. Candid. Classic.

 ...and all the others not shown above.

Detail: Batam 10 Apr

0 Resam DH...a track well worth

Finally a semblance of something worth riding nearby for the more gravity oriented days,  just ~20k north of the border.

Guess many of us are really frustrated with a lack of good riding places in Singapore but most wouldn't really know what to do except to venture further and further in search of prime riding ground and purpose built bike parks.

Here is clearly a product of passion and certainly jackloads of hardwork and done by someone definitely well experienced with all things DH.  Thanks Mann.


Well words alone won't capture the whole picture, so...

Uplift Arrangment: Almost had a race day feel to it. Reckon definitely no one would be looking forward to pushing up 60 degree lines...

Bikes uplifted by truck, all riders walk the line for first time

Couple demos later, everyone took the first plunge down ..... Ok I can manage this first steepish drop 20m from start line with my typical chicken line choosing.....

... shot of another better rider doing a proper drop-in.

Yea, and moi excuse will alway be not having a dual crown but that's only an excuse really.  As pics and vids of other single crown 160-180 forks will tell... :D

Mann @ Work: "I build, I ride, I jump"...the good old fashion way by one of SG's best

But its the kiddo tha definitely stole a good part of the show.... no doubts leaving a lot of adults kicking themselves and staring at the kicker jump :D

And the rest of us...making do with having the most fun we can...

Mark with his spanking new and dope DeVinci Wilson.... testing his shock to the limits as usual  :)

Sleeping Myk with his "castrated-travel" fork ... :)

Me and my usual "CMI" launches..

and a run by Josh...















and thanks to Mark and the SE7EN for hooking me up on this trip... a vid summary of the day:

Detail: Resam DH...a track well worth

0 Chiang Mai, Thailand-Nov (2)

Been a month since I was back from Chiang Mai. Probably one of the best break despite almost not going on the trip... As usual, got Chwee to thank for everything for this trip again. Superb planner and everything timed down to the hilt as usual.

This is also the time of the year where everyone heads up for some good riding so it was kinda like local rides meeting different friends there instead of our usual trailheads in Singapore. Rode on different day with different folks...

Clockwise from top left. 
Mr On-The-Dot Chwee and his usual "Banana uniform",  
Dave, Ernest and Les-- Coffee @ 3000ft 
Me, Lone Run Day
Joining The Rideables on one of the nicest flowy trails in the area...
  

Getting there at the start of the dry season, riding was a refreshing change from the usual fetid tropical jungle rides that is all we get back home. Cool air, low humidity and goggles that dont fog up 10 seconds once you start wearing them.... But the terrain certainly is taxing for those like us not used to having so much to roll down. Who would have guess pulling up the blanket at night would result in finger cramping from a long day of descents... 
 

 From street to restaurant... 2 words on the food. Cheap. Good.

Lodging, nice and spacious and very affordable.

One of the most important aspects would be the uplift. If one isn't in a big group with dedicated transport or following one of the biking tours up there... time to hone your bargaining skills.

See those red mini trucks converted into taxis.. Drive a good bargain, especially if you'll gonna be doing more than one trip a day.

When wondering off on your own, minimally a GPS will be needed. Still that won't be easy as the trails start splitting up halfway down the mountains. 

Again, Chwee's got everything tidied up, from our cabbie, Nong to trail coordinates taken from other riders who has been regulars in this biking haven.

If you are gonna be signing up a package, might as well go with the best there is. X-Biking.

Enough of the touristy review... let's get to the rides.

Pushing the EG harder with each passing day after the "warm-up"... Times like these are really when I appreciate "knowing your bike" where one has painstakingly build and setup every aspects of AND most importantly  trusting it when the time comes. Aahh.. the Zen-ness of one with the bike... Suspension? oh yea...X Fusion and DSP rocks.

 ROcks and more ROcks... DH rigs certainly have the advantage in some of the sections. Hopefully by the next trip, I'll be back with one. With trips like these increasing, reckon its justifiable to go all the way with a dual crown setup....


When the helmets are off... its the breath taking views for those of us that doesnt live near mountains and fresh mountain air that is really appreciated. As much as the riding part is fun...its standing in awe looking at nature I believe that keeps attracting people to places like this.

Getting late.. will let the video compilation finish telling the rest of it...

Detail: Chiang Mai, Thailand-Nov (2)

0 Back in Drak, Dec 2012

CMWS-- Chiang Mai Withdrawal Syndrome... that's how we were describing it. Back in SG after Nov trip, all's wet and trails ridden flat, I had another "off the saddle" episode till last week. Guess the rest must have felt the same so we decided to head over to Stewart's place again.

Sure started off miserable as the rain splatter came before we even got off the ferry but Stewart was already describing all the new stuff he and his crew has been up to in the last few months....


Sure enough after the "default 10 kliks of ass-to saddle pedal-&-pedal ... the fun begins...

But before that--stupid me with only 2 hrs of wink time before the ride was just doing everything wrong. Dumb mistakes and a well deserved spill. Good thing was wearing a full face. Else would probably have ended up with half a jaw less. 

Few other spills along the way. Nothing beats Try-&-Try Frankie though. But all was worth it with a Shot of the Day... just before another....    

Courtesy of yours truly's wonderful iPhone. 

But the shots and vids wouldn't have been possible if it aint for the sacrificing "camera-crew"

Short compilation of us at one of the newer feature, nicknamed Monster...

Guess its like drugs but thankfully it's just hooked on the pedal and not some psychedelic stuff... still a fix just gets shorter and shorter. Can't wait to get back again..

Detail: Back in Drak, Dec 2012

0 Chiang Mai 2013

2012 hasn't been much of a riding year. Then I miss my year end biking vacation, thanks to all the jack-all projects at work. But as usual leave it to my lime-green fetish buddy harassing me into another trip at the end of January....

 With a little addition this time-- yes the Missus bags were packed too.

Ok, nothing was going smooth-- Got the rear wheel rebuilt and realize my front hub's busted. Can't really blame the manufacturer. Bearings won't stay in place and it's sure seen lots of abuse over the last 3 years.

Luckily there's a  few other 20mm TA around the house all laced up...

 Day1: Right off the bat on arrival... Here We Go Again. Bamboo & ChompView
"Ok Im gonna keep my front wheel from abuse"

Did someone say its dry season now in Northern Thailand? Yea rite! 4 out of 6 nights came in a mix of moderate splatter to serious thunderstorm.

Scooter: The perfect urban assault rig zipping around for good local food and shopping,  'cept when its rains...

All of that wetness sure made the early morning runs interesting to say the least. Slick off cambered on either sides of erosion--makes for avoiding riding in the ruts impossible at times. Don't really want to kill the trail anymore than necessary but really wasn't left with much of a choice at some sections.

Oh did I mention I came with a half-busted right arm too... rubbed a ton of Deep Heat before, during and after, might as well have brushed my teeth with the bloody stuff to numb the gums from the riding chatter.

Despite everything and my mind screaming "You are gonna break some body parts for sure. Just go sightseeing"..  but ride we sure did and after a couple of days, hooked up with the local riders too.

Just need an orange loving freak to complete the "Traffic Light Team".

Here's Note, my new friend taking off with a "You Jump What You Build" attitude before asking others to do it!
Ok, Greenie and me chicken out though...

EG, Looking smug as the only single crown given top spot at the bottom of the uplift. Then they lose me like 10 sec into the start of each run...

Who would have thought a size 8 wrench is ever needed on the trail!

A really scary WTF moment when me brakes suddenly went limp like some octogenarian reproductive organ halfway down a 3K descend.

If there is something I never learn, its video editing ...Will really have to remember getting the vid cam properly angled up next time too, otherwise it looks like I'm perpetually staring down the front wheel in the vid.... Half the time the cline looks more like this rather than the flatness portrayed by the wide angle lens.

Start of first rock garden @ Crazy Dust

Nothing new for the seasoned riders but as Chiang Mai is becoming more and more popular, for all those Singaporean riders readying for your first trip, do prep up your bike and gear up on the armor sensibly. I can guarantee this is nothing like the usual teletubbie trails we have back home. Have Fun and Ride Safe.

Oh give these Madmonkeys a shout on Facebook if u need some guide and uplift arrangements for your biking holiday there.


Stuttering bits and pieces snipped and stitched from the few days of riding as is. A short  mix of what the place has to offer. No Oscar nomination for sure.

Look out for the Flying-Rocket-EG-No-Rider jutsu "stunt" aka blooper by yours truly ;)
https://vimeo.com/59344863

Detail: Chiang Mai 2013

0 Penang Ride 13-17th Jul 2011

I think the more one rides, the bigger and harder you want to go. Weekend riders like me are no different but somehow with age, something is lost. Every gnarly move and airtime thrill is weighed over and over again against the long recovery from a bad spill. But pushing that edge whatever the skill level, I reckon is really an integral part of mountain biking.


So with a little trepidation and not really knowing what to expect after over two years absence at Penang Hill, the same para-bag was packed, the same old full face helmet, gears and yes the same old trusty EG with a load of parts changes in the last twenty plus months...


And so I thought with all the fine tuning on the biking, I'll be at least a little more ready than the last time.......

The familiar tarmac for the truck uplift and everything start flooding back from the first trip... Pushing against the gradient at the foothill was the wake up call of what lies errr "up ahead".

Then came the package....dropping in to steep rocketing into more drops and steeps and those never ending rock gardens ... Tires and rotor size on the bike just weren't the most assuring on the first day.

The bike had "grown" beefier since the last trip and I thought it was sufficient but Chwee's been telling me how bad the erosion has been in the last couple of years... Pretty hard to imagine until we got there and see some of the things for ourselves.

Totally winded halfway down, the hell with smoothness. Just make it down in one piece and hope the arm pump isn't that bad to lose the front end...  2nd day wasn't any much better, still heaving and drowning with sweat under the full face under the heat wasn't helping either.

XC lid?? No thanks.

Back after day one... time to upsize every bloody parts that I have bought spares for.. Rotors 8", rubbers and whatever. Now I understand why so many swear by the Minion DHf 2.5 despite the weight. Some trails you just got to respect them when they can eat up a lesser tire in literally 15 mins into a descent. Franke was the fortunate recipient of 3 flats in one run! Thats a bloody record that would stay for awhile...












All the boot-camp-rides of day 1 and 2 just made the next 2 days a "breeze" and in the words of Chwee "the most flowy singletrack" on the mainland side, To'kun.

This was actually a full on DH track that was just raced on in April. So it hasnt been neglected for too long to make things unrideable... Definitely flowy but bloody fast and with the jumps coming up, some stuff were just way too much to take it all in one go. respect goes out to all the DHers in races hitting out at max speed. Still after 2 days of wake-up-tumbles and terrain that threatens to eat one up bike and all over in Penang Hill... this was a much welcome relief. Except for one rider's bad accident that left a brake lever scooping out his thigh.

 

What biking trip can ever be complete without the makan shots!

Detail: Penang Ride 13-17th Jul 2011