Jogging the Kiara Trail

Came out of the car and lo and behold... my back tyre was flat. Bike that is.
And here I was at the foot of kiara, eager to start my weekend trail search. Alas, got out my jogging shoes and ended up jogging the trail up at Kiara. The rain-all-night-before didn't help either.
Jogging up the hill seemed a lot harder than cycling, although joggers would think otherwise.
As it turned out, after the 800m jog up, I was well warmed up and ready for the forest trail and up the rocky path to the "balcony".
Wow, I hadn't perspired as much as that in a long time. Drenched from head to toe. THing about MTB-ing is that we get wind in your face on the downhills, but not jogging. No no no... Jogging is sweat going up and sweat going down.
And now, back home... my whole body is aching! (must be the enormous amount of "vibrating" my "extras" were doing.

Sg Sendat ride..

This is a late entry of a ride we did at Sg Sendat; a little forest area after the town of Rawang, sometime in September 09. Total distance was about 22km.
For some reason the rides around here, like Antara Gapi are nice and hilly. The climbing section of this ride was not extreme, but it was LONG !!
This ride was especially memorable because we had a puncture, we got lost, I got stung, and I finally figured why I needed a Garmin 60Csx! (still looking for a cheap one tho).
The trail itself, like most malaysian terrain was filled with earth, gravel, mud, streams and some dangerous corroded downhills, forcing us to get off our bikes and push.
Again, while all terrains are seemingly similar geographically, and hard to record on a blog... I still must say that EACH ride is different and enjoyable. The freedom, the air (or mud) in your face... nice... so nice.

Kiara NEW found trail...

Last week, unfortunately, my gang all had last minute stuff; however, suffice to say, I went to kiara and found a "new" trail.

After the crossroads (rest point at 2k loop junction) if keep going straight downhill, then a left at the bottom T-junction, about 50m down, the trail starts on the right side and goes around the circumference of the walking tarmac road. I kept going ... and in the end turned up at the foot of the "rocky" climb up to our rest place over looking the science centre (lets call that the "balcony").
It was a nice single trail.
I took a break at the balcony... then went back down the same way... only to discover when i reached to 2k loop that i'd left my helmet UP at the balcony!
Wah lao,... i did the rocky climb again!
Total covered about 15km.
If you're wondering how come I can ride and not know that i'm NOT wearing my helmet?
Good question.
You see, I have a 'good morning' towel tightly wound round my head to absorb sweat... hence... the helmet sits on top of that, making me unaware that it's even on. Other than the "tuala"... I am "tua-lah"!

:-)

Downhill in Kiara, Twin Peaks

Taken with the VholdR Contour HD helmet Cam, no editing.
Coming down the from Twin Peaks.

Riding the Giant Anthem

The first noticeable thing as soon as I got on the Anthem was the feeling that the bike was always surging forward... almost as if it were pulling me ahead. This gave me the immediate thought that hill climbs would be fantastic on this bike. I remember reading reviews about how "the Anthem X3 would leave lighter bikes in its' wake on hill climbs..".
Having never rode on a full sus before, I was eager to see what it felt like in an off road situation. And when I did, my breath was taken away, not from any climbs, but from the incredible feeling (or NON feeling) of going down steps, over roots, across rutts and rocks and things. In short, the Fox RP2 rear shocks did an incredible job in absorbing whatever I threw at it. I had the whole thing recorded on my VHoldR Contour HD helmet Cam... and am embarrassed to show it to anyone cos of the hopeless "wows", "ooohs" "ahhhs"... which can be heard on video... of me in helpless wonder and amazement.
Next test as far as I was concerned are climbs. The Anthem is built for climbs, the 3 pivot on the Maestro technology is meant to maximize every single downstroke on the pedal and transfer enough energy over to the wheels, giving optimum pedal power.
Hmm.
Well, all I can say is.. I was not disappointed. It's really no wonder that the Giant Anthem X series was voted bike of the year for 2009!
No regrets, no turning back.
Now on to the bigger climbs...

Giant Anthem X3

After much hype and hullabaloo and review after review, I've finally got it. Albeit not the top end 24lb Anthem X0, but the lower end X3. Consolation is, the frame's the same and will give me a great time in slowly upgrading it. But mainly cos it's that much cheaper for the same incredibly light frame.
I've replaced the original Suntour XCR forks for Manitou R-Seven increasing my travel from 80mm to 100mm while reducing the overall weight by a hefty 0.6kg.
Got myself a set of XPEDO flat pedals weighing in at 416gms.
The weight of the bike from 29lbs down to just under 28lbs.
The great thing about this bike is its upgradability; which will eventually be the wheelset, cogs, crankset. My goal will be to achieve X0 status; long way to go tho.
Just a short test ride up the road from the bike shop (Tat Seng), and I could immediately feel the difference from my Giant Iguana. It was amazing how easy it was to ride and how fast it felt. Can't wait to get it out there and get a feel of the Fox RP2 rear shocks.
Both front and rear shocks are massively adjustable...although HOW to do it still eludes me at this point in time. (gulp!) the forks are supposed to be "air" filled at different PSIs depending on terrain. My goodness, I learnt today that that there is a specific PUMP to fill the forks with !! (gone are the days of coil springs!)
Anyway... I'll definitely keep you posted after my next scheduled ride on Saturday where I'll be taking this new thing for its first ride... Where? Beats me... but who cares !!

Later..

Crazy Hazy day out...

Today was a nice ride. Unfortunately marred by haze. Look at how bad it is behind us in the picture!! Somewhere there are the twin towers...albeit hazed out!
5 of us set out to Kiara with a nice warm up climb and the 2k loop. Some short rests and finally up to Twin Peaks and back to the Kiara tarmac loop.
Our group of 2 is now a nice 5 - 6; good group to cover each other in the future.
In time, the newbies will be smokin' hot!
Word of motivation for those newly starting...
See a mountain, see a good climb... DO IT! That's what its there for and that's what your bike's for anyway!!
Catchya Later!!