Kayuh Lasak 2010 - Basah...Rosak...Tolak...Gelak

Pre Kayuh Lasak 2010

To all fellow riders, looks like it's gonna be a wet day tomorrow. Ride knobby if possible and...
~ Ride Hard, Ride Smart ~

A bad ride?

Even though this is not the first time I embarked on an aerial flight on a job assignment, taking a flight on a helicopter is totally different from a small (Cessna) aircraft. Those sweeps & swings of the helicopter nearly caused me to throw up my breakfast on the cockpit.

Nevertheless, a bad ride in the sky is better than a good day at the office.

My little gentleman

A proud parent moment worth posting. Bravo!

Life's A Cycle

Since kids outgrow their bikes, giving/receiving hand-me-downs can be a good way to $ave the earth. This little green 16" has been lying around collecting dust before i got it from my nephew. With 2 sand papers, 2 cans of spray paint & some help from 2 little busy bodies, we recycled the life cycle of a bicycle.

You'll be amazed at how excited the kids are when working on a project like this & felling proud of what they've done. Click here to check out our 14" hand-me-down bike project last year.

Evening with the kids

Monday 4 Oct 2010
Endless gravel country road to nowhere is where we're heading.
Simple, spontaneous & freedom at its best.

The Land Down Under - The Ride

Just a quick note to say a big thanks for the mountain bike that Richard lent me during our stay in Rosewood. Well, getting on a bike in an unfamiliar land makes me feel like a child again. There are so much to explore in this part of the world. Besides the usual farm horses & alpacas, sightings of wild animals like kangaroos...hares...ducks are surprisingly fascinating. The vast scenic hilly landscape with cool winter breeze makes the ride even sweeter.

Oops! I swear i didn't drink & ride.



Just in case i wandered off into wonderland,
this toy will definitely come in handy.

The Land Down Under - The Sea

See it for yourself... up close and personal! See the magnificent Humpback Whale breach. Hear their great tail slap the water... but that's not all, we were entertained by a school of dolphins & a giant sea turtle before we spotted our first whale of the day. Whale watching is something you shouldn't miss if you had a chance to visit Gold Coast during the whale season.

~ Humpback Whale are the fifth largest animal on the planet, growing up to 18 metres in length and weighing as much as 45,000kg (99,000lbs) - equivalent to 11 elephants or 500 people!

Can't get enough of sea but starting to get seasick?? No worries, Sea World is not far away. We can still see dolphins (show) & other marine life here but ironically the world's largest land carnivore stole the show. Australia's only Polar bears in their home at Sea World.

Another awesome experience... A huge playful 'white' bear swimming gracefully underwater viewed through large underwater viewing window.

The Land Down Under Adventure

It's been ten days now, just a quick update before back to mother land in a week's time...see ya!

33°C Sunday

Just another great Sunday afternoon spent with the kids doing some follow-up bike cleaning after a muddy ride on Thursday evening. As usual, the kids will imitate everything i do... but their little bike cleaning activity just managed to keep them occupied for a while before the splash battle rages on.

Mountain Bike Action?

This is interesting... to have a humble family photo of riding on asphalt
featured in Mountain Bike Action and Dirt Rag
may sound like a contradiction, but it did happen.

SurPrize!!!

Kona Shoot the Ride Photo Contest – The Third Edit

Got an email this morning from Kona Bicycle Company about the winning,
much to my surprise, i got the first place...wow!

Iwen & mommy looking cool on the page aren't they.

Check out the top five winners here.

Cranky Father's Day

Tired of cleaning the house all day just so the kids can mess it up again?

Plan A: Grab the kids, get on the bikes and get out there...




...If the kids still giving you a headache,

Plan B: Follow the directions on the aspirin bottle, especially the part that says
"keep away from children."


HeeheeHee...Good luck!

Family on the go

It was a fantastic 20km hilly ride up to Titi Kerawang Waterfall. Cool & cloudy after rain, the air smells so fresh and the kids just love to be out in the open. What a ride!

Solo...but not alone

Riding alone once in a blue moon is exhilarating. Whether i’m getting a quick MTB fix in familiar territory or on a solo wilderness adventure, going alone is a great way to get in touch with both myself and the nature.

Over the years, one interesting thing I have noticed is that whenever i ride alone, i often encounter more wild animals. Besides monkeys & squirrels, the cobra is topping my “creature of the day” list. From a foot long baby cobra to 3 meters giant king cobra (trust me, it’s not from a snake show at Penang Hill), cobra sightings really spiced up my solo riding experience and luckily, none of those events was considered life-threatening.
:> Hissss..sss..

Bittersweet Penang National Park

It was a fun friends & family day out at the beach, and what's more, beautiful weather coupled with BBQ & endless supply of cold beers. Everything was so perfect until a dead sea turtle was found floating a few hundred meters off Muka Head beach while we're on our way back to Teluk Bahang harbour. This was my third sea turtle encounter in this area. Unfortunately, this one was not so lucky.What a bittersweet way to call it a day.

Penang National Park is one of the few natural forested areas left on the island. It is also currently the world's smallest national park with a combination of the forest and sea. Rich in biodiversity and wildlife, a fun day at the park/beach can turn into an opportunity to teach the kids about marine life and how we need to protect our seas or mother nature in general.

- Below is a video footage with Pak Atan (boatman), CS and company retrieving the poor turtle from the sea before sending it to the Turtle Conservation Centre at Pantai Kerachut.

Hello...Halo headband

Got this for RM50 (Halo 1 - tie version) from LBS yesterday. Not sure if this piece of hi-tech fabric will work as it's claimed to. But one thing's for sure, it's 'One size fits all'.

Ultralight DIY Stove - Model ABC

Here's another DIY alcohol stove to add to my collection. This is a non-pressurized model with adjustable flame control & no priming required.

Wow! A cool looking stove with controllable flame that lights easily sounds good right? So how do i do it??

First of all, don't let the complicated look scare you, in fact, this could be the easiest DIY stove to make that you can ever imagine, all you need to do is:

A) Get yourself a spinning ashtray,
B) poke some holes around the lid &
C) cram in some fiberglass insulation...

Tadaa!! Here you go, as simple as ABC :)




My cool ABC stove snugged perfectly in the pot stand/windshield. The rock-solid pot stand/windshield combo was crafted from a 500g Nestle cereal tin & finished with Three 51mm binder clips.

Pilgrimage Ride

Riding the sacred trail, Vivekavana has become my weekly ritual. It almost feels like i'm going on a pilgrimage, getting closer to nature, fulfilling emotional & physical needs & searching for the ultimate sense of achievement one can get from topping a hill non-stop. Thanks to the 2km long god forsaken climb to haven.

A hidden jewel... Vivekava is a Theravadian monastery located up the hill of Bukit Mertajam.

By far, this is the most beautiful trail i've ever ridden & still think it's very beautiful
even i've ridden the trail so many times.

Sacrifice

Fresh jungle breeze...sweet cicada buzz... & cool jungle trail seems further & further away from her ever since the arrival of our 2 lovely little monsters (Wien & Iwen).

It's been almost 8 months since her last MTB ride up a hill. Even though we had our family ride regularly (around the neighborhood, most of the time), the love of riding in the great outdoors can never get enough. She miss the mother nature so much & even missed all the excitement that i was fortunate enough to have by sacrificing herself taking care of the family while i'm hitting the trail.

Well, i guess that's the nature of a great mother... a wonderful wife.
Thanks for the sacrifice...Thanks for everything!

Even though indoor workout is not really her cup of tea, keeping fit is vital in order to keep up with the kids...
or perhaps for the next MTB outing in near future.

Happy Chinese New Year to all

May the year of the tiger bring you a Relaxed Mind... a Peaceful Soul...
a Joyful Spirit...a Healthy Body & 步 步 高 升!

'Bu Bu Gao Sheng' (步 步 高 升), which literally means "step by step ride rise higher".
'Bu Bu Gao Sheng' also means promotion at work or increase in business profits.

Kuih Kapit

" Gong xi...Gong xi..Gong xi ni ya! ...Gong xi...Gong xi..Gong xi ni...Heyyy!"

Wow! Those tunes really heats up our 'Kuih Kapit' fast & gets everybody into the Chinese New Year mood.

Making 'Kuih Kapit' for Chinese New Year is a traditional family affair. Usually, this fun filled activity takes place in the front/backyard of the house.

While the elders sweat and strain over a charcoal fire, the younger ones wait eagerly to gobble it all up.

~ Kuih kapit (traditional festive cookie) also known as love letters is a thin, crisp cookie emblazoned with auspicious words and symbols.

2010

Let's welcome the new year with a smile :)

:) Smile to other cyclists even if they don't smile back...
because to give is better than receive.

:) Smile as you struggle to ride a straight line on a steep hill...
because a smile is a curve that sets everything straight.

Ever wonder why children are happy all the time?
Because they smile on the average 400 times/day.

So let's ride more, smile more & happy more :)