Encounter

2010-10-17T15:06:00.000+08:00

It's difficult to try not to think about something

2010-09-19T23:15:00.003+08:00

After 4 years, it's over. It should have been over earlier, but I couldn't change my thinking. I'm sorry for being stubbornly persistent in something that was just not meant to be, and for wishfully thinking that I could have made a difference in the end. I couldn't, and things backfired. I was a fool.

Due to circumstances, there was and will never be a chance for my feelings to be honestly delivered and understood. It was too one-sided afterall for any dialogue to take place. But that's life. There's nothing much left to be said.

While it lasted, whatever I did, I did it willingly. It came naturally to me, to need to do those things, perhaps to convey my feelings. No one owes me anything, and neither did they do me wrong.

It has been too long in the same spot, and it's time to move on. I'm late.

2009-05-05T00:22:00.003+08:00

Done with my final exams. Everything was last minute, due to a very careless attitude I seemed to have.

Don't feel anything. Went home, jumped on the bike, rode for 2.5 hours, speeds super slow (28kmh on a flat?).

Blank.

2009-05-01T00:22:00.002+08:00

a
Taken using my new Nokia 6500s. 3.2 meg pixel with some carl-zeiss lens thingy. But well the quality isn't that much better than the old 1.3 meg pixel camera of my 3110c.

Anyway, the number of megapixel don't really mean much. It just affects the size of the image saved. But a lousy, out of focus and grainy image will always be lousy and out of focused, despite the number of pixels. So what's important is the ability to focus the image and the reduction of static. Ok, i'm just talking layman nonsense here since I don't know anything about photography except that pictures should be taken with as still a hand as possible, especially at night when using a slow shutter speed.

Oh yah, I still have 3 papers...

2009-04-24T23:05:00.001+08:00

....... something is damn wrong with me. I have 4 modules left, with barely 2 days to study for each.

And I spent 2pm-11pm doing totally NOTHING....

2009-04-23T23:01:00.002+08:00

Membrane: Study material all in a mess! I feel confused after all the reading. I went through the notes once, and then tried doing the past year and could barely do 40% of it!
GEM1501: Some question still look plain IMPOSSIBLE to do unless you give me the whole day to sit down and think. I would need to be a logic genius to solve such questions on the spot, and within constraints of syntax.
Biochem: I suppose if I'm still alive and plan my time, this module might be decent?
Petrochem: Another crazy module, with an overload of info to study. I haven't started and still CAN'T start, thanks membrane!
IT2001: I'm pushing my luck here, leaving it to the last minute to study this one.

2009-04-22T16:44:00.002+08:00

I've been quite dysfunctional. Seems like innately, studies are like a last priority for me, somehow. Tough luck with jobs too. Going for a few interviews and getting nothing back. Starting to think of how I can bum around...

Final exams, but I'm not putting my mind where it counts. Need to focus, but can't really seem to find the drive.

2009-04-10T22:09:00.002+08:00

I really wouldn't mind this job, but my degree and skill set don't match. Perhaps only the last pre-requisite.

bike.shimano.com.sg

The job:
• Project Management – Ensure that new products are developed on time and achieve the quality targets
• New Product Research and Development – Plan, design and develop the new delegated product
• Participate in Innovate Project Team Projects – Execute basic R&D projects and focus on main research area: Bike System

Pre-requisites:
• Degree in Mechanical/Mechatronics Engineering
• Minimum 2 years’ working experience in R&D. Fresh graduates with good academic results are welcome to apply
• Knowledge of Materials and Process Engineering
• Proficient in CAD/CAE, Finite Element Analysis using IDEAS system
• Good knowledge of transmission mechanisms and mechatronics
• Must be highly innovative and creative
• Passion in cycling will be added advantage

'mechatronics' sounds like it's related to the latest Shimano Di2 group set... exciting stuff.

2009-04-10T16:48:00.003+08:00

I want this bike! Ha ha. Well... who wouldn't?

It's a limited edition 2009 Giant TCR Advanced SL. In just 3 years, bike technology progressed... Compared to my current platform the major differences are:

- Electronic Shifting:
- No cable wear and tear
- no cable friction
- auto-front derailleur trim
- gate-sensitive front derailleur shifting
- reduced shift lever throw

- Reduced Weight:
- 1 kg lighter (my current bike is 7.5 kg)

- Aerodynamics:
- 10mm higher rim profile (currently running 30mm)

- Integrated seatpost:
- Looks nice. No chance of slippage
- Increased comfort by design

- Limited edition frameset and components:
- aesthetically coordinated with customised tones of blue and white
- unique Shimano Dura-ace Di2 specific frame set:
- no derailluer cable stops
- Internal routing for Di2 cables
- chain-stay battery mount option

- Drivetrain Stiffness:
- Oversized toptube, downtube (square tubing), 86mm wide bottom bracket

- Steering stiffness:
- 1 1/8 tapered to 1 1/4 inch steerer tube

Basically an improvement in all aspects of my current steed! (ugh!) Perhaps only the pedals and brake calipers are comparable. The handlebar/stem are integrated too, which means no slippage! (My handlebars were thrown off after a couple of potholes on Malaysian roads...)

Reality check: There are only 50 bikes, available only through selected US dealers, and it retails for freaking USD 13900!!!! (about $21000++)

2009-04-02T04:36:00.002+08:00

There's no time already. One update about the Audax 300 though. Looking back, it seemed like quite a blast! But during the ride, it was terrible... Really really, weak riding on my part. But I can't complain, having been virtually motionless for weeks.

Spent about 12-13 hours out there, of which slightly more than 10 were spent actually turning the cranks. Things were fine, until about 120km, when fatigue, crampiness etc etc started to set it. It was then operation 'don't think, just ride, get to the next stop'. Basically I was near threshold nearly all the rest of the way. The pitstops were essential.

I insisted on making the front group (the other groups on completed like hours later?!), so well, I had to do my share of work at the front. Still, I skipped a few turns when I could. It was embarrassing moving to the front and really struggling and killing myself just to pull the group at status quo. We were in 2s, so when we pull it's 2 people at a time. And well, i was always the limiting factor of the 2. But the guys were pretty accomodating, and well, i guess there were other tired souls too who really didn't mind about my slow pace?

Oh yah, I hate em potholes...

Next up, Audax 400, 600??? Zzzzz.........

2009-03-25T23:19:00.002+08:00

Going to join a group for Audax 300 km. A nice way to shake the dust and fats off after weeks of sedentary life. Last weekend I nearly forgot I had something called legs. Hope I come back alive. Good luck to the NUS canoeing team for this weekend's MR500.

The Audax route looks nice. Just don't get lost...

300km audax brevet
Find more Bike Rides in Singapore, Singapore

2009-03-16T10:58:00.001+08:00

This semester is not good. Things are piling up because I've been indecisive. Should just start doing!

2009-03-09T23:39:00.002+08:00

While my workhorse is awaiting my acquisition of a new rear derailleur / jockey wheels, I had to use my single speed Bridgestone 450 today.

Well, for the 3rd time, the rear wheel came loose! Luckily, as per the last 2 times, it misaligned itself when I attempted to start the bike. This time though, I was clipped in, on an up slope. I instinctively unclipped the left, but sadly fell towards the right, and failed to unclip in time, crashing at a standstill on my butt in full view of the martial arts group people who were twirling sticks in the carpark. Hur hur.

It was quite unsettling accelerating on the road in front of cars the rest of the trip... Imagine falling in front of an accelerating car at the turn of a green light. I was a little scared, but oh well.

That rear wheel needs to be fixed somehow... It's not catching onto the semi horizontal/vertical drop outs enough.

2009-03-08T18:00:00.001+08:00

Design 2 Matlab is a pain..................................

2009-03-05T00:15:00.004+08:00

Ah, I wasted my Bio Chem midterm test today... Brain spoilt for a simple mass balance.... Didn't consider some component because i didn't think. Didn't write the proper assumptions down. Messed up the question with cancellations, and liquid papered some parts before suddenly running out of time to rewrite.

Damned...

Anyway in general now a lot of things are not being properly processed... FYP presentation is coming but my mind is hardly in synch with the content. Design 2 is entering the red zone but there has been no progress due to 1. indecision 2. lack of knowledge 3. apprehension? *shrugs*

Have not been living the disciplined life either. Not riding my bike. Not keeping up with assignments and lectures. Snowballing.... Seeing people go for interviews while i'm 'dropped' (I guess i'm not only dropped in cycling,running,canoeing races....).

Crap. Need more luck. Need a better economy.

2009-02-28T21:31:00.002+08:00

My cash is being drained by my bikes....

A while ago I bought a new ultegra chain, $35 for my workhorse. I bought the matching bib shorts ($65) to go with the ocbc jersey. My 2nd-hand floor pump ($37 a few years ago) became spoilt again (repaired it once about 1yr ago @$5), and I destroyed it while trying to 'force' it to work. Got a new one, same model but updated version ($65).

Now I'm still looking at replacing the rear jockey wheels of my workhorse. In case you are wondering, jockey wheels are the small little wheels that guide the chain through the rear derailleur. The rear derailleur is the thing that thing behind your bike that moves the chain when you switch gears... They are definitely worn out, and I don't want to destroy the new chain.

Anyway, few bike shops are interested in catering to the needs of practical folk like me. I mean, if you sell bikes, shouldn't you sell the spares and parts that might get worn out? Apparently, not. I popped into Tay Junction trying to find replacement jockey wheels, and they tell me they only have the ceramic one costing $160!!! I ask for the cheapest rear derailleur (whic comes with the jockey wheels) and it's the 105 rear derailluer (1 grade above my current) at $95.

Other dumb things at another bike shop. The cheapest pair of jockey wheels are going at like $35. The tiagra rear derailleur costs $45. Looks like this will be my choice (although they say the jockey wheel quality is lower, but to me it;s about the same)...

Other KIV list:
-training tires for my extra wheelset, to replace the one i ripped when I ran over the glass bottle shard...
-race tires, to replace my current michelin pro2 race tires on my race bike. it's about time the thing gave way man. I wonder why it hasn't. It's been really really reliable.

Oh yah, about that $65 floor pump I just bought. The exact same thing was going at $98 at Tays.... wth.

Enough ranting. back to the real world...

2009-02-28T03:41:00.003+08:00

In the end it just snow balled, and I couldn't stop it from rolling over me!
I was too caught up in doing the stupid IT2001 assignment, that I neglected my membrane term paper, which is worth 30% of the module.

I submitted it late by 3 hrs. I wonder if there will be repercussions.

Anyway, even if there aren't, the term paper I did was extremely crappy. I practically did not mention anything of real learning value. My points were but reiterations of well known, generic facts. I did not express any useful opinion. Out of the 25 slide limit given, i only used 17... a whole 8 slides, or 50% more left untouched. Not that I was lazy, but i simply have nothing coming out of me! It's a topic foreign to me, that I picked last night.

And my brain is dead.

2009-02-25T21:57:00.002+08:00

http://www.heinzstucke.com/

Some guy who spent the past 40 yrs of his life to traveling round the world; to understand and experience the cultures of people around the world.

2009-02-23T23:43:00.002+08:00

Results for the OCBC 40km are out! Just realised ironically that they used chip time to sort out the finishing positions. Imagine sprinting shoulder to shoulder with some one and besting him by a tyre, only to realise you lost on chip time....
Well, normally for say a running marathon I wouldn't think it's that big of a deal but for cycling it's a bit different due to the dynamics of the race and tactics involved that make races closer than ever. Heck, proper marathons go by gun time too, much less a cycling race.

Simply put it wasn't really a race to begin with! Literally, the aim of the event was just for the masses to realise that 40km cycling is do-able, enjoyable task.

Ah, school work is killing me. But it's the last semester.

2009-02-22T10:02:00.003+08:00

Post 'race' report:

I was part of the OCBC 40km Challenge. Here's how it went:
I woke up an 40 mins later than intended due to poor sleep discipline (was online etc). It was probably a reflection on my lack of motivation for the race, having not trained for it. In fact, I hardly even moved the past few days, due to school work (although it was probably an excuse to hide my dysfunctionality). In fact, it was only thanks to my mom that I woke up, since my handphone alarm had already been ringing for the past 40 mins to no avail... Thanks to her again for preparing my instant noodles as I got my other crap ready. Luckily I at least prepped those the previous night...

Anyways, I got there quicker than I estimated, due to good planning/coordination on the organisers part to allow participants to enter stretches of the route not yet utilised by the race (they only strictly close it when the race is a bout to pass through). I was feeling less than stellar anyway, dragging myself at like 31-33kmh.

Anyhow, I reached the venue, saw lots of people with all kinds of bikes crowding around. But all i had in mind was to make it to the front starting pen. No way was I going to start behind man... True enough I found it, and well, my bib number wasn't scheduled to be in that pen cos I was honest during the registration process, fessing up to be in the 60-75 min for 40km range, rather than the <60min range. I believe only a handful of peeps can do 40km<60 mins, but according to numbers about a 100 said they could. But anyway perhaps they were not refering to an ITT time but rather a group ride instead, which would be more logical I guess. So anyhows I just told the marshall I was supposed to be < 60 mins and he let me through.

Eh, so I was literally at the starting line in front. They let us through 30 mins early. So we just stood/sat there over our bikes for 30 mins. Looking around, I only saw a few regular faces from the road cycling scene. There were no other passione riders around. Perhaps they were in the 50km race? Shrugs. As we were standing there, the 50 km peeps were finishing. OCBC Singapore cycling team led a sweep of 1-5th, or was it 6th position, with the 1st 2 riders coming in together after a successful break away by about 3 mins. Strange though, that few riders followed through after that. I mean, even if you were dropped in 50km, you wouldn't be too far back... I guess there were few riders in the 50km race then.

So back to the 40km race. I couldn't really see, but supposedly there were 3000 people behind / around me. That's a lot of bicycles, proving there is a bike industry here. Anyhow, the race started and quite immediately the more serious people started gravitating towards each other and picking up the pace. There were no immediate attacks, just some strong pacing, but alas, my engine was poorly tuned, I was having a little trouble closing gaps whilst moving at the low 40kms. Anyway, it's bad group riding to not close gaps, cos it cuts of those peeps on your wheel, irritating them as they'll need to launch themselves forward should you let the front group creep away. There were a few small attacks, but they were more like teases to set the peleton into action, to try and string out the field and make some initial selection between the pretenders and nonpretenders. Too bad they couldn't get rid of me, as I insisted at staying near/just after the front group to avoid the rubber band effect and avoid pulling also. Yes not much pride in not being able to actively participate in the race, but well, I was not planning to be dropped even though I was ill-prepared.

It became quite clear early on that the tight turns were going to be quite treacherous for a fast speeding bunch. I mean, you can't expect everyone to corner like a pro, and myself included I was still not used to cornering in packs at high speeds around tight corners. You only get those skills if you frequently race criteriums, which in the first place aren't all that frequent here. Yeah, so there was lots of braking and people feeling nervous, and me realising my legs were really lacking the snap for fast acceleration after the turns. Finally it came, when I think the guy behind or 1 or to places behind me clipped the barrier (or had his front wheel taken out by someone's rear) on a tight right hand turn, and I heard some chaos behind me. Looking back I only saw one guy chasing me after that... This is why cycling is a tough sport. You can crash, or the guy in front of you can crash and make you crash, or even if you're not crashed, you're held up and have to expend lots of energy just chase the pack, or else your race is effectively over...

The pace wasn't that brutal really, and i think people were simply taking it easy. Some stronger riders who started behind were moving forward, and joined the front pack. I think many chased back on. I wasn't paying much attention to the speedo, but I think it was in the low 40s most of the time, which is manageable and not even as bad as a hard Rodalink ride. But the repeated cornering, of unfamiliar corners, made things much more exciting. Noticeably though, there were not enough strong riders to split the field by attacking after the corners, because even my retarded acclerations could close the gaps to continue with the pack. Yeah, I leave some gaps as I corner cos I've not much confidence paddling through / banking all the time, especially when I see metal surfaces, sand, water.

Yup, so I think many riders like me were just contented to just keep pace and follow the pack, negotiating the turns etc. There was a motorbike camera crew filming the head of the race, and a lead car clearing the road forward, which was very important. Too bad I was weak, and had nothing to show the camera. No attacks nothing from me. There were a few attacks along the way, and noticeable some strong riders kept following / bridging up to each attack, hopeful for a breakaway. It was too bad for them, that there just weren't enough strong guys to work together to keep away. Even though the pack did not really go all out to chase, we still managed to catch the breaks as they lost steam on their own. Some parts became deceiving narrow around the corners, and I was a few times nearly forced off the inside of the road / into the gutter, but managed to keep my line.

Thanks to the recce the previous they, I decided to move to the front as we entered the ECP park connector. It was good in front, as the roads were really narrow, and I wouldn't like the stress of cornering so close to other riders, unable to see what's ahead, and then having to string out and chase back again when the roads widen. Perhaps it was a good time to attack, but anyway i didn't have the legs, nor did I really want to cause major chaos behind, with people taking risks to latch back on. I suppose everyone appreciated my change of pace at about 40-42kmh, hur hur. But I was tiring too. So when some one else took over the lead, I had to struggle just to keep pace again, as i tried to find a position in the group to slot back in. Cycling in the park was fine because the lead car was doing a good job of clearing the enter lane for us. Else it would have been nothing but chaos, which I suspect the later riders might have encountered.

Somehow, from then on, most riders seemed to be quite already. I didn't on my distance meter, so i was not sure how much we had covered, but perhaps about 30km. The pace was quite slow, and there were 2 solo attacks, the later of which I chased a bit then decided not to chase to save energy. Well, there was good and bad in that, since I didn't blow myself up but gave up my position in front, as we neared the final bit of circuit. I knew it would be a tight turn there, so I tried to position myself nearer the front, but it wasn't that easy to do so as there were a few like minded people too. Yeah, so in the end I did not get a fantastic position coming into the finishing bend / straight (especially since i screwed up the line for the last corner). But well, that was when i could see the quality of the field really was not that high, becasue i was able to pick off riders when I started my sprint (which has ALWAYS failed me in normal SACA criteriums and Rodalink rides) on the finals straight.

Anyway I'm satisfied finishing in the bunch, given my poorly tuned engine. It was a fun ride. Hope those who crashed (there was another guy who went over the curb, and I saw another ambulance being activated) weren't too badly hurt and have a speedy recovery....

Perhaps I shall go down to watch the criterium races later.... ZZzz....

2009-02-21T22:19:00.002+08:00

I've more or less recced the route for tomorrow's ocbc 40km. Sad to say, my form now is pathetic. Had trouble holding even a like 36kmh on a flat. Disappointing. And my heart / chest felt fluish sensations at higher exertions. Anyway, it'll be an interesting 'race' tomorrow, if the start doesn't screw up (don't want to start behind and be blocked). There are numerous sections that will definitely string out the field, so it'll be important to stay near the front. Some crashes may be inevitable i suspect...

2009-02-18T14:23:00.001+08:00

I just flunked my mid term test. I don't find it funny at all...

2009-02-14T17:39:00.002+08:00

Crap! Can't believe the 9 speed Taya chain on my TCR has stretched past the 0.75% mark! All this time I was more worried about the chain stretch on my more heavily used TCR composite especially because it's a 10 speed chain. It's been only a few months of minimal use? Thought I had it heavily lubed.... maybe I really should have greased it instead? or could it be the derailleur jockey wheels? That's one part I left unchanged, but the chain in that region isn't under significant load?

Luckily I found out now before it hit 1% chain stretch, else it would be another drive train destroyed...

Need more experience on how my bikes behave under my use and maintainence (or lack thereof).

2009-02-12T21:32:00.002+08:00

Rodalink West today was much slower than the last. 42kmh instead of the 47kmh. But still, I was dropped. I started the ride by arriving just in the nick of time, when the group was rolling out onto the main road towards Jalan Buroh. It was a pretty large group.

Noticeably though, there was a break that made it a few seconds up the road, and they stayed away for quite some time till the lights caught them. No doubt they were strong, but I think some of their team mates were helping to do some blocking in the pack. That's done by pulling the group, but at lesser or same speed as the break away. Perhaps that's why the ride was slower, with some people blocking and the other strong fellas in the break? Heh, or perhaps they were already starting to taper for next Sunday... Anyway I made the dumb move of trying to bridge up to the break (when they broke off AGAIN) after seeing Daniel do so. Wrong move, as I ran out of steam before I made it (perhaps they were waiting for Daniel and took off once he joined?) It was just round the Tuas Checkpoint u-turn, and I was totally blown out after that, just dying to catch my breath. That's when the chasing group came. I slotted in near the front few and tried to stay, but after a while my aerobic capacity was lacking to ride at the required 45kmh, and I was starting to leave a gap. So I pulled out to the side and let myself drift to the back of the group. Unfortunately, that's when we hit the straight that goes 50+ kmh, and I could not latch on to the tail end... I tried to stay, but finally I was caught at a traffic light junction, and by the time me and another fella made it through the group was gone. But anyway today I was in the zone (and on my race bike instead of my commuter), and I chased using a more forward position, pivoting over the tip of the saddle. It was much easier to generate power that way, and I was able to hold 41-44kmh all the way till I caught the group as they stopped at the traffic light junction (although very breathless).

Next was the preparation for the sprint. I was near the rear, and moved up to mid-peleton just at the foot of the final hill, but then someone in front started leading out, and I had to start sprinting just to hold on. The group was stretched out, and my legs started feeling crampy (a result of the forward riding position)and I started to drift back. Basically I died before the real sprint started. I could see that there was some form of a lead out train, as a few guys were peeling off the front of the group... Even so, there was still a girl in the front group!

Better luck next time.

2009-02-09T12:28:00.001+08:00

*fizzle* getting a little over-loaded.... This semester's modules require quite some self study... readings and research. Not really my cup of tea.

2009-02-08T00:45:00.002+08:00

God, I just found out even the sound doesn't work! I can't speak for the other companies, but Compaq / HP really has no cow sense... The Compaq Presario A906TU only has drivers available for Vista.

I mean, come on, Compaq and Microsoft are large companies you have to PAY to provide services, and they can't even get some relatively simple compatibility issues sorted out to support their customers? I don't understand. My sound and wireless (after some searchig for the later) are working perfectly for Open Source Ubuntu!!!!!!!

2009-02-07T21:50:00.003+08:00

More computer blues... My computer ranting continues...

I've finally reached the point where I'm coerced into using Microsoft OS, so that I can install Hysys for my design 2. I also wish to use powerpoint and adobe photoshop for my FYP presentation and poster, because in this case powerpoint and photoshop are indeed more superior to the open source Open Office Presentation and Gimp software.

BUT....... Sigh, I always find that we consumers are at the losing end. Even though we have freedom to choose our purchases, the business world is just evil and unethical... Companies paint an image for themselves as being fully supportive of their products, but really could care less about customers needs.

1. I was not given the ability to freely exercise my ENTITLEMENT of my copy of Windows Vista. I've paid fully for the laptop, which includes 1 Windows Vista license. BUT, when Widows Vista crashed and refused to startup because I installed Solaris Server on a seperate parition, I had NO CD with me to reinstall.
2. The much hyped back-up function, which was supposed to be an answer to the lack of an installation CD, FAILED.
3. When I called COMPAQ, was shocked to find out that the software warranty was ONLY 6 months. I was only told upon purchase that 'the warranty' was 1 year. Apparently that's just for hardware.
4. I'm told that I should have made a CD image upon inital purchase. NOBODY told me to do that. (And why must I bear the cost for the blank CD, time and effort when they could have simply included the installation disk?)
5. I am advised to bring down the laptop to COMPAQ for a reimaging of my hard disk to intial state at my own COST. Anyway this 'advice' really meant that I was going to LOSE all my current data, and the person didn't even bother to POINT OUT THAT IMPORTANT FACT.
6. After surviving on Ubuntu for 1 semester, I now find myself needing Windows OS due the above mentioned softwares I would like to use. The Windows emulator (WINE) doesn't seem to cut it... SO now I've finally installed Windows XP, and after much trouble got it to dual boot with Ubuntu. Windows is so idiotic that it readily overwrites the GRUB boot loader, so that my entire Ubuntu partition actually became inaccessible (scary!).
7. And now finally I realise, that I am unable to find a working XP driver for my Atheros AR242x 802.11abg Wireless PCI Express Adapter, which means I have NO wireless acccess whilst using XP. HP only has drivers for Vista.
8.Congratulations! (until I miraculously find a driver)

Conclusion: Laptops are sold to you to be used ONLY in the EXACT state you recieve them in. If you try and do ANYTHING at all, you are an idiot, and totally on your own. You can try and PAY someone to do this for you, but chances are they might concluded that it's not recommended / can't be done, and recommend another PURCHASE as an alternate solution. Microsoft, especially, loves to embrace this ideal. The only way out is to BUY their new product, simply because they MAKE the old one (or other software) obsolete, even though it is PERFECTLY FUNCTIONAL.

1 whole day wasted...

2009-02-07T00:19:00.003+08:00

(This is what I think the route will be based on the crappy official route description)

OCBC route is out. Well, the route for the 40km category doesn't look too encouraging... It goes through the ECP PARK CONNECTOR! Those are roads designed more for 15-20kmh... And unlike the 50k category, the route goes through other roads which look to have potential side / cross traffic, which makes me suspect the presence of traffic crossings. I sure hope there won't be todlers, kids, joggers, skaters, cyclists etc at ECP between 7-8am on a sunday morning, or else some crashes may be inevitable.

Oh well. Guess I can't expect the same treatment since I'm paying $43 vs $125. But anyway as it stands now I'm just going there to be eaten alive. The start timings make it possible for the 50km guys to finish their ride, rest for 15mins and then do the 40km.

2009-02-05T21:42:00.002+08:00

Dropped again!

Sensations were a little better than Tuesday actually, but the outcome was the same. The quality of the riders today was much improved. As with all rides, it's always important to stay near the front. But I couldn't do that today.

I moved to the front once the pace started to get serious. However, after foolishly taking a pull in front when I was already nearly in the red, I started to struggle. The group entered the straights of Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim, and as I peeled off to drift towards the back of the group, I realised that it wasn't just that I slowed, but the group was picking up speed. I knew it would be crucial to slot in somewhere near the middle of the group, but everyone was still strong and did not leave significant gaps for me to slot in. When I reached the rear, it was only by going into great aerobic debt that I accelerated to latch on. It was then that I noticed the pace was no slouch... I was already putting the hammer down, but I started to slip backwards while in the draft! A quick check of the speedo showed 47kmh as I was dropping back... On previous rides when I kept up the same stretch was covered at 45kmh. I was just in the red and keeping my profile as low as possible. I was barely staying.

And then things ended when the round about came, where me and another fella at the rear of the group were forced to stop due to approaching traffic from the side. At such high intensities, the group hardly waits and those in front tend to take risks... It's every man for himself, so you need to look after your own safety... Another real reason why you need to stay near the front. After that it was just impossible to catch up. I tried working together with my felllow straggler but 44kmh dwindled to 41kmh, and well, it was just physiologically not possible to chase.

At the end of the day, it's a matter of repeated bouts of maximum power output. Just need to try again and again. Just like how it was in past. Start from scratch...

2009-02-04T00:01:00.002+08:00

Dropped at Rodalink West, and never caught back on. Lost the sprint out of the 3 remaining chasers.

Drats. Solo riding and mileage gets you no where near race speeds.

2009-02-01T17:15:00.002+08:00

I lowered my saddle by 0.5cm and I think it should be better in the long run. Some temporary power loss but it should work out after some time I hope...

Sometimes due to changing gradients and wind conditions, its hard to judge performance based on speed, heart rate or rpm. I guess that is what a power meter is for. But it is too expensive. I guess this is good enough for me.

Oh my 300th post.

2009-01-31T22:21:00.002+08:00

Ended up crawling home again.... I remember it used to be slightly easier in the past. It was faster too last time. Anyway I was thinking how Tour riders do this for 21 stages, one rest day between about every 7, and each stage longer and with mountains to climb. Oh, and each stage is a race huh...

How the hell do you win 7 Tours in 7 consecutive years? While the best man probably just rises to the top 'naturally', the sheer amount of pain and suffering to get there is definite. And it can only be sustained by a really strong conviction.

I realise I have never found such strong desires to succeed. The level of seriousness to perform is just not the same. It is more a form of recreation and simple exercise than anything else. I'll need to set attainable and visible goals to work towards.

2009-01-30T23:51:00.002+08:00

Yesterday was a waste. Didn't have the discipline to drag myself out for Rodalink West. Today was worse, didn't even do my morning session.

In fact today was a really shitty day. Dropping my cycling jersey onto my chain, being brain dead and spending 4 hrs doing 2 punny computing assignments, puncturing the front tire when I went to retrieve the my bike, realising my repair kit pouch zipper was stuck, having to rip apart my whole repair pouch to assess my spare tube and tire levers, cycling over some crappy glass bottle a few hundred meters from home and puncturing my rear tire so deep that I've decided to throw the entire tire away, and missing my whole project discussion meeting cos i was held up with all this bike nonsense, having an unfinished assignment due tomorrow and it's 12am now and I have to cycle for 6 hours tomorrow and don't want to be cooked. Still need to go buy the replacement tire.

2009-01-29T08:16:00.002+08:00

Felt like absolute crap on the bike today. Legs couldn't spin at all and the technique was like self-destructing...

2009-01-28T22:20:00.002+08:00

Hmm it seems 333 have signed up for men's open and 35 for women's open Sundown Marathon: 84km. Ultramarathon rather (wah so cool... 'Ultra'.).

84km: $140 - 15% = $119
42km: $60 - 15% = $51

Now there must be something wrong with the math here?? How can an 84km entry be more than 200% of a 42km entry? Sigh I guess there's economy of scales even amongst different categories in an event.

I'm sure a lot of these ultramarathoners are going to be WALKING, just like I saw last year. I do hope all those army boys who do 72km (or more) route march with FBO/SBO get a bigger medal and brighter T-shirt...

As for me I'm still undecided. Should I pay for pain again? And if so, should I take the level of pain even further? I do need a new shirt as the old one has 'expired'...

2009-01-28T17:59:00.004+08:00

I hate holidays.

They show my lack of time management. They make me (or at least try to make me) relook at my priorities for the day and realise what is and what isn't. I spent the CNY days in dysfunction. Most of the time at home doing absolutely nothing meaningful.

I've decided to face cycling a bit more seriously. Tried a few short sprints with rolling starts. Pathetic. About 12-15 sec a sprint. Rpm from 105-123, 48-53kmh. I can only manage the 52-16 solo on the flat. I suppose that would translate to 52-15 or 52-14 at best within a draft.

Local races finish around 55-60+ kmh. 100m@60kmh=6secs, 200m=12sec, 300m=18secs.
120rpm at top speeds can be maintained for about 12 secs? Anything longer would probably see a large dip in power or speed I think. As such longer sprints would be a little slower, and at lower rpm. From the graph no matter how large a gearing, a finishing rpm of 100 rpm at minimum is needed. And given a reasonable maximum rpm of 120, at least the 13T cog must be engaged in a sprint.

So either increase explosive power as above, or work on speed endurance for solo breakaways...

Both seem very far off.

2009-01-24T16:18:00.002+08:00

A nice 500ml of Pokka milk tea saved the day during today's debilitating ride. Anyway I got myself a new pair of pedals after I decided it was bad on the crank pedal threads to keep transfering the pedals between bikes.

As pictured above, I paid $95 for the new model 105 pedals, which will now go onto my TCR composite. The older Ultegra pedals (which cost $130 then) will go to the single speed Bridgestone 450. Although the 105 series is supposed to be of a lower grade than Ultegra, mid level new generation equipment just beats the high end models of the past. The weight is the same, but the plastic contact point has been replaced with metal, the contact surface is larger, and the finish is now polished aluminium and clear coated vs just painted. Interestingly, the new model Ultegra was virtually identical to the new model 105 pedals, except for the fact that the former cost $50 more cos it was made in Japan vs Malaysia.

Anyway, my visit to the bike shop also revealed how my mid 2005 model Giant TCR composite frameset has devalued. At the time of purchase, is cost me $2250. And now in 2009, the TCR advanced frameset featuring lighter weight carbon fiber strands, and unique bonding process for the seat collar tube cluster, oversized bottom brackets, top tube, down tube and head tube, plus an aero seat post + seat tube cost $2200. This is just like the price of computers. My only consolation is I like the design and look of my current bike better. I still find all the oversized tubings on newer models a bit grotesque.

Components wise indeed my Shimano Dura-ace 7800 has been outdone by the new 7900 series. But I don't hear of real, tangible improvements in performance. I mean, from a engineering perspective there are indeed improvements, but charging another $600-700 more for some small improvement which does not translate to improved pedaling does not make that much sense to me, except perhaps for the bling factor.

2009-01-23T22:01:00.002+08:00

I desperately need to cycle more. I need to be disciplined.

2009-01-22T02:54:00.002+08:00

Life goes on... I decided it was high time I serviced my better bike after it started making squeaky and grindy noises during out-of-the-saddle efforts. But drats, I take like forever to get these simple things done...

3.5 hrs to:
-Quick wash of the stained parts of frame
-Removal and cleaning of cassette
-Regreasing of rear hub engagement mechanism
-Reassembly rear wheel
-Adjustment of rear brake caliper
-Removal of chain via master link
-Removal of crank arms bottom bracket, regrease and assembly
-Oiling pedal mechanisms
-Regreasing of all stem bolts
-Buying 500ml bottle, degreasing, wash and oil chain.

Zzz.....

I believe it should have been possible to finish the above tasks in 1 hr.... I just don't seem to be able to carry out each task with the required zest. Things proceed in slow motion. And there are a lot of in-between tasks such as me wiping down every dirty area I discover as I take apart each component.

I wonder why I bother sometimes... When there are mountains of other things that remain undone. (School work? My future?) I prob can get the shop to do it although I feel it's slow (wait about 1 week) and expensive ($70) and inconvenient (transport bike down during working hours, go collect during working hours).

I have been wasting time in school on things which do not reap appreciable results. I spent 1 day photostating readings, another 2 days reading them, and I concluded very little. My FYP poster is undone and I will have to spend at best 1 full day doing it (replot results, struggle with creativity). There are another 18 programming assignments just waiting to be done, but I have not gotten down to them. I have 1 term paper and 1 literature survey / proposal just waiting to be done. I go for lectures feeling tired and unable to absorb, and learn little. I clearly do not understand most of the concepts in the notes, but I didn't bother rereading them or finding out what the points meant. I've even skipped half a lecture already. I feel behind in all my lectures in fact. I feel things starting to snowball. I feel tired. I don't even feel like riding my bike to school anymore. I would rather sleep (or try to sleep) on the bus, although sometimes the bus gives me a headache instead.

Ok, whatever, sleep.

2009-01-16T00:23:00.003+08:00

A friend, my lower secondary school class mate, passed away yesterday (wednesday). I don't know the full details, but he committed suicide after he was rejected by a girl. AC/RI/HC, Cornell, A* scholar. From what I remember he was a smart, athletic and cheerful guy in the past. But people change.

I'm saddened. He and his family have my condolences. But he was a fool. He made a mistake. And it's now too late.

If love can turn into spite, then it really isn't true love at all... There are always ways to prevent sadness and disappointment from overwhelming you. The world is an unfair place. It's a fact. But look around you and you'll realise that there are people facing great strife but living out their lives stronger than ever. Learn from them and give yourself a chance to find a new purpose in living.

Don't hold on to ideals that will ultimately destroy you. Learn that there is a possibility and meaning for life beyond your current set of ideals. Everyone has a purpose in life. You just need to find it, a matter of time, if you give yourself the chance.

It was not even a sacrifice for love, it was just a lousy way to escape from life. Don't lay waste the gifts that God has given you. Don't make such a mistake... and don't let those around you make such mistakes either.

2009-01-11T16:01:00.002+08:00

Tired. Confused. Struggling.Lost?

2009-01-10T13:31:00.002+08:00

Today's IPPT was absolutely dismal. I ran the slowest 2.4km ever in the past 6 yrs of my life (ie slower than the 18 yr old me). I mean, this given the fact that I've supposedly taken up endurance sports, how can I be a mere shadow of former self?

It only serves as proof that my current lifestyle is unsuitable for maintaining decent fitness. I ran 9:39, pretty much at 100% effort. A far cry from the 8:51 I ran last year using the same perceived intensity. Horrible. And the other stations were no exception. Sit ups I was planning to do a quick 40, then stop, but found myself struggling once I hit something like 35, and having to put in real effort for the subsequent ones. It kind of hurt after that. Pull-ups, too, I had to use real effort to do 12. I couldn't even do them continuously! The form of the pulls ups were poor too, with visible weakness with the later pulls. Shuttle run was bizarre, showcasing my lack of psycho motor skills: a sluggish 10.2sec on the first try, and needing a 2nd try to hit 9.8sec. Somehow, there was just no power or explosiveness in my legs at all even mentally I was pushing near 100%... Last but not least is my SBJ. No power at all. First jump was a fault jump, stepping on the line, 2nd jump was totally WRONG, with my feet seemingly dragging the ground with NO height at all: 218 cm!!!!! My last chance was 239cm, short of the decent 243cm required.

Horrible. Destroyed by just doing IPPT. I suspect my fitness is at an all time low within the past 5-6 yrs.

And now time to do a canoe marathon. I guess I should call it my morning tour of the kallang basin instead.

2009-01-08T19:59:00.003+08:00

This guy's skill on a road bike is amazing. I'm ashamed to be unable to even do a track stand, having been riding for a few years.

P.S. don't try this with a high end road bike, it will most likely crumble. His bike is purpose-built despite it being a road bike.

2009-01-08T16:55:00.002+08:00

Crap, I was dispatched by a bicycle commuter this morning.

At the end of my ride turning into Bukit Timah / Dunearn road towards the city, I passed a cyclist riding a steel / aluminium frame, sporting a cycling cap and bagpack. I passed him at considerable speed entering a downslope, about 45kmh, and was at moderate maintainenance 36-40kmh (yes, I am slow) down the road. After 3/4 of the road I realised I had 2 shadows... I upped the pace till 44kmh, but well, definitely it was nothing for someone in my draft and I was promptly overtaken once my wattage dropped (not that I have a power meter).

Anyway it reaffirms the fact that it's easier to train high intensities when there's someone to chase or some one on your tail. Especially on a bike, I find it hard to bring up the intensity when cycling alone.

At the moment my cycling speeds are still abysmal (not that they were ever anything decent), and school is starting. Hope I don't end up just following wheels in the pack for OCBC...

2009-01-02T16:09:00.003+08:00

Happy New Year! FYP is finally over (for now). Time for a break before following up with Poster and presentation preparations etc. Prob have to do some follow up discussions after as my report is being validated by interested parties who might actual attempt to use the results.

Anyway, my FYP was a computational one, and so yes, it did not involve the iconic student stuck in the lab wearing a labcoat and playing with testubes and cylinders all the time and with some elaborate set-up of glassware and coloured liquids.

Well, having said that my 'lab' can be pretty impressive also (although it may be due to my disorgnisation). here's a look and some description:

As is pretty obvious this is my desktop. The icons and objects literally grow and grow. For the sake of convenience, My simulation codes are readily accesible on the desktop. And so are the key reference files, their dependecies and their subsequently generated data files. Old data is archived, but still....

Anyway I'm running on Ubuntu, a version of linux. It allows to have multiple interfaces at one go. I set my up to have 4 interfaces:

- Interface 1: My FYP report + Firefox + KolourPaint+Online reference+Rhythmbox music player
-Interface 2: 10 terminals simulating 10 programs simultaneously + 1 the program code editor
-Interface 3: GNU Octave (a linux version of Matlab) + various data txt files + data plots from Octave
-Interface 4: Emesene (linux version of MSN) + 1 terminal + 2 or 3 other program codes open for editing

Yup the computer doesn't explode, and I've pretty much left it on for days. just setting up the the above interfaces is a chore, especially navigating the commands in each terminal. And as usual, programming wears the brain because you're just staring at code, and have to force yourself to adopt logical thinking in the midst of careless mistakes. And repeated trial and error attempts to debug errors, especially those which allow you to compile the program. Basically error in logic. File I/O is another cumbersome aspect trying to get the data or stored as desired. Sometimes its fast, sometimes it takes forever.

Anyway the majority of my FYP was not actually spent on the experiment proper. In my opinion it was spent on salvaging my computer after I destroyed windows vista while attempting to install a 2nd OS which to allow for a more convenient programming interface, and installing Ubuntu and getting the wireless card to work, and figuring out that the Fortran codes I was using could only work with an OLD edition of compiler, and not the latest one, and, yah actually figuring out Fortran syntax and recaping some C and looking at some non relevant part of the project that my sup later told me to drop, and then putting FYP on hold before realising my sup ran off to India for 4 weeks uncontactable, and then exams and not a single program working with no results whilst other friends say they are about done...

Phew.

Alright, now it's time to tidy up the mess. clear the desktop, CLEAN up the impromptu edits of the code. organise and keep track of relevant codes and banish obsolete ones. and perhaps think about the poster?

And yes, get down to backing up my hard disk and the portions stored on the crashed windows vista, format that partition and install windows xp. perhaps i should buy a new hard disk and revive my old laptop too. argh! school is starting. so much for my very last school holidays of my life...

2008-12-09T18:19:00.002+08:00

I'm sure there are more photos somewhere.... Hur hur. Anyway the photographer at the end point needs to brush up his skills: he cut off the finishing clock for the last picture! (although that did help censor my timing, heh)

2008-12-07T13:32:00.003+08:00

The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon was this morning, and it's finally over. I pretty much ran once a week for training, so am pretty lucky I survived.

There are so many fast runners out there... Well, actually it's more like I'm a slow runner. It's really like comparing non-canoeists and canoeists in terms of paddling speed. Some people are just way faster. Even gender inequalities can be overcome through training.

2 or 3 ladies literally just ran past me at some point, and I could not do anything about it. Some, I did not even see from start till race end as they were way ahead. Basically it boils down to training and passion for the sport. I guess if I ran consistently everyday for a year, I would most probably be some where nearer to the front? But this is easier said than done. If there's no passion, it'll be impossible.

Anyways, apparently 3 of my AHM teamates ran timings of like 3:01, 3:02, and 3:05. The 3:01 guy bonked at about 39-40km, and the 3:02 guy had diarrhoea and had to make a toilet stop. And they ALL lost to a Singaporean girl who I heard ran 2:56.

For me a spent about 35km virtually running with some tall lady and another tall guy, basically sort of yo-yoing around each other. Just glad to complete without cramps.

I didn't like the parts where the 42km merged with the 21 and 10 km runners. It was stressful weaving in and out of people, and I brushed a few peeps aside in my haste. Sorry, but I really don't like the idea of walking 'runners' blocking me. (Jen said I was a running snob for saying things like this) Taking water with these peeps was even more of a drag.

*yawn*

Wish everyone who ran the marathon a speedy recovery!!

2008-12-05T12:32:00.003+08:00

Consultation / discussions with my phd sup turned out more to be a teaching session / revelation of my ignorance.

Struggling to implement something that's so simple to another person. And 'discussing' my partial insights with someone with a full understanding of the code.

More like just messing around and waiting to be spoon fed.

2008-12-04T23:18:00.002+08:00

Acceleration of Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging

Experiments in silico:

22 cycles of
{ 2^[nth cycle] loops of
{SSA loops till W>7000
+ Hypergeometric mtDNA division
}
}

2^22 cycles of
{SSA loops till timecount>980
}

Initial attempt was to replace the SSA loops with Tau-leaping, and SSA loop reduction by generating and using reaction probability based on smaller sample size.

But it turns out that because the reaction isn't as complicated as anticipated with only 2 reaction routes and reaction species, SSA might be faster than the above 'accelerations' after all...

The reaction time 980 may also not be substantially large enough to make tau-leaping cost effective, especially due to tau-leaping's need to generate the poisson random number per loop.

The large number of cells (2^22= 4 194 304) appears to be the largest source of computational time... Need some way to circumvent this.

2008-12-03T21:25:00.002+08:00

Sweating freely during exercise is a healthy phenomenon, as it shows the body's ability to regulate heat and move fluids.

The past 2 times I went cycling, I couldn't really break up much sweat, and even weirder I did not feel thirsty. And yes, my performance during those 2 rides was subpar.

Anyway upper upper bukit timah towards kranji and neo tiew is undergoing some form of heavy road works, making me turn around and not enter neo tiew / lim chu kang area.

Also, I saw some Malay youngsters trying to sell presumably illegal cigarettes along Mandai Road. A car was tailing me as I passed, when someone shouted something and the youngster who was brandishing a huge plastic bag plus a carton of Malboro got a shock, screamed and ran into the bushes!

2008-11-30T16:52:00.002+08:00

Alas, success yesterday was followed by semi-failure today. Hit the wall, cramped, limped, walked. I underestimated the brutality of running, untrained.

My plans to start serious cycling training have to be pushed back till after this weekend's Standchart.

Time to do FYP!

2008-11-29T22:31:00.002+08:00

Today's first cycling training was pretty successful. 10 laps Mount Faber. No power though after the 3rd lap and was on 39-24 for virtually the rest of the laps. 39-27 for the last lap. Speeds were super slow around 14kmh-16kmh for the later rounds. It seems like ever since they built the park connector, there are now quite many more people walking around mid way to the peak. Nearly crashed into some unsuspecting tourists who were crossing the roads with their backs towards me as I was descending. The coach buses were super slow.

Reminder to self: oil and lube the chain prior to such reptitive climbing sessions. It's been creaking wierdly.

2008-11-28T20:52:00.002+08:00

Registered for OCBC Cycle Singapore (Thanks to Jasmine for the OCBC card!)!!!
Less then 3 months to train. Shall commence tomorrow after the paper!

2008-11-21T15:17:00.002+08:00

Random updates:

Paddling: Trying to twist my body more, but still exceedingly slow. Super slow and unable to react to any increases in speed. Already poor stroke totally disintegrates when trying to sprint.

Cycling: Went for Rodalink West like 2nd time this entire semester. Was slacking behind when front group split off and started chasing. Just like canoeing, my cornering leaves me gapped all the time. Cornering technique subpar once again, due to fear of my grabby front brake. Was dropped before the the start of final sprint due to stupidity following an attack when I had no stamina base. Passione has a new team attire, but i'm broke...

OCBC Cycle Singapore: 22nd Feb, but the entry fees for most categories are crazy. Lucky got student price, but still ex. Need to find ocbc credit card. Some cool rules in the rules and regulations: eg. 'event will carry on even in inclement weather', 'participants are advised not to follow the speed limit'. haha.

Engineering Professionalism: Stupid module. No idea how one is graded. Perhaps the more crap the more marks. Cheat sheet is a total waste of my time and effort, it should just be an open book module. This paternalistic enforcement of 'learning' is utterly unethical.

Petro Refining: 0%

Unit Operations in Fine Chem Synthesis: 0%

Cybercrime: 2nd test was an utter disaster, due to failure on my part to guess the lecturer's intention in phrasing his questions as such.

Science of music: Very weirdly, the first test which was considerable harder had 19% full marks, whilst this 2nd test which in my opinion was very easy had only 7.3% full marks.

2008-11-16T00:35:00.002+08:00

While I continue my online escapades from reality (where exams not studied for and fyp not done), I reflect on how the lowering of my seatpost by somewhere between 5-10mm relieved the knee ache I've been enduring the past 2 days.

Basically since Round Ubin, I've switched to my single speed Bridgestone 450, and the back of my knees are aching. Especially after yesterday's short run / this morning's ride. I figured it was due to overextension at the downstroke of my pedal stroke, and so went to lower my seatpost at the next moment study boredom hit me (which was like very soon).

I don't like the design of the saddle on this bike. I'm unable to sit on the 'sit bones' due to the convex shape of the saddle. It's uncomfortable, and may border on hurting if I did longer commutes.

Procrastination was a success (as always...).

2008-11-11T00:09:00.002+08:00

Round Ubin turned out quite Ok this year. The weather conditions were near ideal.
The day started with mixed feelings, as there was heavy rain through the night. However, the rained stopped just before morning, and I got a lift to PRSSC via Jori's sportscar (wow). It was due to my extreme tiredness the day before, a friend advising me against that I finally dispelled the idea of cycling there. Seriously, given the condition I was in, I might have been done for by the time I reached...

Interesting things to note was that my body positively ached as I moved off to the start line.
The start was expectedly a mess, and we had a little fratricide with our T2s. Well, I did a decent start, but soon found myself going left and right once the T2s passed me. Weili was well ahead and in a safe zone. On my left though I saw another T1 creeping past. I couldn't do anything but just continue paddling. The T2 washes were too chaotic to ride.

Once past the channel crossing Weili was a few hundred meters ahead. The T1 that sneaked past was about maybe 7 boat lengths in front. By this time I was behind all the NUS boats except the girls T1s and K1. Most of my effort was spent controlling direction and moving in the desired direction. I was simply maintaining the distance with that T1. Around me were some K1 guys in Nelos, who prob started conservatively in fear of capsizing. Soon enough the K1 guys were ahead, and I was still chasing the T1 to no avail. A girl K1 was slightly ahead, and I thought of using her wash to catch up, but in the end it turned out that she was drifting back a bit. Finally some help came when belle came past. I struggled to keep on her wash, and she pulled me on par with the T. It was then that we saw dom and derwin enjoying a cool dip in the sea. In the end I was sort of thrown off belle's wash. I was too tired to struggle back onto it anyway, probably as her wash wasn't that big to start with. Yup, and that's where I started losing ground. Simply put, I realised my maintenance pace was just not up to par, and the weather was too warm to put up a fight all the way to the line. Going at my own pace, I was soon 150m behind. What came next changed my race.

A mixed T2 was creeping up behind me, and was I glad. I was soon on some good steady wash. Except for some directional problems, I was soon paddling with lower effort, but moving at higher speed. Before I knew it I had caught up with the T1 ahead. The water conditions changed once round the reverse straight of Ubin, and I as thrown off the wash, never to regain it (although I made a few attempts). But anyway the tide was now in favour, and I had regained my strength. Bar the one time I thought I might capsize, the rest of the race was just a controlled hard paddle back.

Recovery was a 13hr sleep.

2008-11-08T16:50:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, having seen that my left foot had recovered considerably on Monday, I attempted a conservative long run. 1hr 17 mins to school, and 1hr 25 mins back. I can't remember the timings on my bike, but on my bike I'm pretty sure the 'back' time is a lot quicker, thanks to down slopes etc. It was the opposite for the run cos I was on the 'wrong' side of the road at farrer road, which forced me to have to negotiate some weird multiple storeyed carpark / hdb area to get to st margarets...

And I almost got myself knocked down by a bus due to my own stupidity. Tired + confused sense of estimation made me attempt to run (literally) a red light. But bike and running speeds are so different, that i was basically just throwing myself into traffic. Hur hur. I should thank the bus uncle for stopping his bus.

Today was bad... Woke up super late (basically had some weird plan to go cycling first, but aborted and went back to sleep), and subsequently forgot to bring my paddle to PRSSC. Toe was hurting due to T1 footstrap cut + 2.5 hrs of rubbbing it while running the past 2 days. Cycling there was debilitating, sub par speeds + tiredness. Paddling was so so. Cycling back was on empty... Saw speeds like 15kmh, 18kmh.... ZZZzzz......

Shall amazingly recover for tomorrow! Just a small glipse of a day out of the few weeks of a stage race.

2008-11-06T23:16:00.001+08:00

My FYP phd sup seems to have disappeared........ Along with the program code I need to actually break 0% progress for my FYP.

2008-11-06T23:08:00.002+08:00

I paddled in a T1 today, in full force fueled by angst. It's really quite a different game from K1. The posture I adopted and stroke I used seemed different. The kicking motion was actually reduced due to the size and position of the footboard. The stroke was slowed down considerably due to the slower speed of the T1, but yet allowed for easier application of force because the boat was so stable. Well, the boat actually rocked a lot from stroke to stroke, but its stability made it OK. Ts glide on the water, vs how Ks tend to be semi submerged and cut through it. I think there was a more noticeable difference based on water conditions. Strong waves were harder to penetrate on the T1, but its stability allowed proper application of force.

Only bummer now is where to squeeze that foot pump.

2008-11-06T00:30:00.000+08:00

The stakes are too high.
I can't wait for this to be over.

2008-11-06T00:09:00.000+08:00

I have become dysfunctional again. Shit.

2008-11-05T21:21:00.002+08:00

I am disappointed at how weak-willed I truly am. I guess I 'deserve' it after all.

Anyway, I realise whenever I'm particularly frustrated with myself, I ride my bike differently. It seems as though the vehicles on the road turn hostile, and I forget that cars are but people in metal boxes on wheels. I suddenly feel as though these people, or things, are getting into my way on purpose (much like how many drivers think I'm getting into their way on purpose).

But the demented part is I seem to half-want them to run over me. It must be another one of my subconscious desires towards escapism.

Not good.

Ah, exams seem to be coming. So far results: below expectations, average / under average. FYP 0% completed.

On other news another spoke broke today as I was swimming to school. Botheration.

2008-11-03T11:34:00.002+08:00

Interviews reveal some things about myself, to myself. Namely my unpreparedness, lack of knowledge and lack of tact.

Ah, my foot still hurts. But oddly, now my knee is aching more than my foot.

Anyway, yesterday I watched Avenue Q. Well, it touched on modern themes such as internet pornography, gays, inherent racism, dreams vs reality etc. Well, while it was funny (though I didn't get all the jokes) and well delivered musically and graphically, there were times when things felt odd.

I mean, it troubled me slightly that the modern crowd cheered wildly to themes of premature sex, internet pornography and gays. Well, obviously the show was meant to be funny, and we were there to enjoy the satire. But sometimes I was left wondering if people really felt any regret when they see the world as it is, deep inside. I guess some do and some don't.

The mere fact that these themes were brought up were good. In the sense that it makes us think about them, and realise our own opinions of them.

2008-11-02T03:01:00.002+08:00

The past few days have been rather frustrating. Nothing done, nothing achieved. Didn't even make any attempt to do anything meaningful in the first place. Short and long term goal setting / planning are very important parts of life... They prevent you from wasting it away!

2008-10-30T19:36:00.002+08:00

It's weird by my foot hurt more today than yesterday. The only difference was me wearing shoes in school today. So perhaps the shoes are partly responsible?

Anyway, I wonder why girls like to gossip so much sometimes. While each is entitled to his own opinion, sometimes I really think it's quite selfish how they openly risk the image of someone else just to create small talk. And when they become the topic of such gossip, they can feel offended.

Weird.

2008-10-27T14:49:00.003+08:00

Went cycling for the first time in like nearly 2 months... My TCR composite was a bliss to ride, compared to my daily commute. The shifting was immaculate, and of course it felt light. There was no fear of the chain falling of the crank or getting stuck. But well. the digits on the speedo were low, most of the time around 33 i think, sometimes struggling at 28. Even the fast stretches returned values of only 43kmh. Think I'm about nearly 5kmh slower than normal (ie if i rode for 1 hr, I would be 5 entire kilometers behind!!). That's nearly 10 minutes behind? Having said that, I felt technique wise I was still ok while cycling on the saddle. The revolutions were smooth. Out of the saddle efforts still felt a bit weird, but I had always been weak in that area I think, which explains my inability to sprint. Out of saddle efforts seem to be more of a relief of the strain on my normal riding position, especially my lower back.

The fish farms along neo tiew rode were wierdly crowded today, perhaps there was a deepavali sale? Cars were parked along the road side there, which was rather unusual. And I met Weili while stopping at a traffic light junction. He was riding pillion on a friend's scooter.

By the time I crawled home I developed a dry cough, the kind that effects itself when you try to inhale deeply. Probably the result of prolonged exposure to road dust after such a long while.

My left foot held up well with no pain. Seems like it's good enough for cycling. Running is a no no though. Oh well.

2008-10-26T02:55:00.003+08:00

Damn stupid, I did the SOM essay like 1 month ago, but ended up submitting 2 hrs late cos the uploading feature only appeared like 2 days before the deadline and I forgot about it! Shit.

2008-10-24T22:45:00.002+08:00

I decided to go on a 2 hr run today. The plan was West Coast Park then Pepys Road and back, but after coming down Vigilante Drive my watch showed 1:08... Crap, I felt like I had been running forever and still had 52 mins?? Sigh. Did some extend route to SP and reached back NUS 1:38, so I figured I had to do a reverse PGP... Well, that when I suddenly just gave. Ha ha. I dunno how, but my body went into 'give up' mode and I found myself like practically jogging on the spot and then walking at 1:41.

Running attempt failed.

Think I may really be better off doing multiple 10ks a week instead of like a 2hr run once in a blue moon.

Oh, and on other news I had to swerve and skid my read wheel twice to avoid crashing myself into the back of a stopping/u-turning bus on a downhill section... Stupid rain extended the stopping distances. Lucky my front wheel didn't give. Bet the car driver behind me must have been amused by my acrobatics.

2008-10-18T23:31:00.004+08:00

No room for error it seems... I got 1 out of 25 questions wrong and am now behind 19% of the cohort. Fantastic.

2008-10-15T22:04:00.002+08:00

After looking at how bike manufacturers keep on pushing out new models every few years, and how they keep 'going back to the drawing boards' to totally change their concept, it's saddening that many brands are, to me at least, loosing the characteristic flavours that made their bikes so different from each other.

In a short span of like 3 years, a bike brand can totally revamp it's lineup, so we really don't know how to judge how bikes should anymore, except once again based solely on the looks of the tubes and the geometry. All the marketing techno jargon is just nonsense to me. I mean, no matter how a bike looks, they always say how good it is.

It's even worse than writing a resume / cirriculum vitae. It's like the ONLY write the good points, but this time so many of the points seem trivial and bogus and totally blown out of proportion to me.

And guess what? Once again consumers will never truly know, because it's impossible to really test ride a bike ( i need to use it for at least say a few rides, a few hours each) before making a purchase. And it's hard to admit you made a sucky purchase of a few thousand dollars. Even subconsciously it will make you just believe your ride is good.

Heck, the truth is, there may not even really be any difference due to the DESIGN or MATERIALS of the bike. Sometimes, it may just be because of the different geometry, that the whole new sensation is felt.

Ok. Yes, a post of meaningless random thoughts that bare no consequence for me at all. I mean, not as if I'ld be getting a bike anytime soon. Heck, I hardly even go cycling anymore. Crap.

2008-10-08T22:48:00.001+08:00

Things are still the same. Still can't get my act together. FYP is on hold!

Flying wheel and riding over someguy's bike and then up onto the railing. Amazing stuff in Keirin races...

2008-10-02T21:53:00.002+08:00

Average number of trainings I do a week: 1

Let's see the exciting events in store for me:
1 Week: Science of Music Test + Job App deadlines
2 Weeks: Petroleum Refining Test
3 Weeks: Engine Prof Term Paper / Concert Review
4 Weeks: Unit Operations in Fine Chem Synthesis Test
5 Weeks: Round Ubin
6 Weeks: Intro to CyberCrime Test / Midi Deadline
7 Weeks: Eng Prof Exam
8 Weeks: Petroleum + Unit Ops Exam
9 Weeks: Stand Chart Marathon
12 Weeks: FYP

Which, well, is actually quite a slack schedule for an NUS student. Just that some things like FYP open up this immeasurably large time vortex that devours every bit of potential void in my schedule.

2008-10-02T16:51:00.002+08:00

Terrible, I spend 90% of my fyp time getting stuck trying to overcome syntax errors and understanding the file system of things like linux, fortran and c... And still get stuck.

2008-09-24T14:21:00.001+08:00

Argh. I should be shot for stupid translation errors when copying codes! What a let down...

2008-09-21T21:59:00.002+08:00

Apparently my previous post was my 255th. The number 255 used to be the max value for many rpg character attributes, in the times when I used to play lots of computer games.

Anyway, in more trips back to the past, I watched a Chinese Orchestra concert: "十大华樂世纪金曲” (Top Ten Chinese Classics) by City Chinese Orchestra. Why I watched it? Thanks to GEK1519 Science of Music... I have write a concert review.
But anyway here is my non-graded, non-objective review of my experience.

Some background. Well, I spent about 5 yrs in Chinese Orchestra before abandoning it for Canoeing. I played the pipa, which is basically a 4 string chinese lute: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipa

This was the line up:
西北组曲（一） Songs from Xibei (1st movement)
二泉映月 Reflection of the Moon on the Erquan Spring
瑶族舞曲 Dance of the Yao Tribe*
月儿高 The Lyric Moon**
茉莉花 Jasmine
龙腾虎跃 Leaping Dragon Crouching Tiger*
梁山伯与祝英台The Buttefly Lovers
春江花月夜 Blossoms on a Spring Moon-lit River**
十面埋伏 Ambush from All Sides
花好月圆 Full-Blown Blossoms Under The Bright Moon*

*=played before in CO, ** have the mp3 somewhere

The concect was held on Sunday 5pm - 7:30pm at Esplanade Concert Hall.

Well, to be frank, many of the songs which I heard for the first time were a bit Zzz... mostly due to their length. One particular thing about classic Chinese Orchestra pieces is their lengthy sequences of trying to express certain boring or low points of life through music. Yeah, and that's what it sounds: unmelodic and even quite bizarre at times. But the melodic parts that reflect jubilation etc literally send positive vibes through my body. Somehow the Chinese scale and timbre just has a certain magical, very characteristic element to it. The yangqin, the erhu, gaohu, dizi, guzeng, and of course the pipa all have this very unique quality. Of course I still think the cello is a very cool instrument. Some of the other instruments I sadly could not really here or identify during the performance due to lousy seating position (3rd row from the front, but near the side). So I couldn't really pick out many parts that the zhongruan or liuqin played. The gaosheng and zhongsheng I also could not hear much. The suona of course was very evident. It was the frist time I saw a disheng though. And there were a unique set of ancient looking bells / gongs being used too.

However my most significant experience was this weird, nostalgic feeling when I witnessed the performance of songs I used to play in CO. I mean, I could literally imagine myself playing many of the pipa parts! And the attachement to these pieces was at a totally different level. It's like how I could imagine myself waiting for the cue from the symbols before the next part begun. And how I paused as the cellos took over the melody. Hmm, but actually now when I relive those moments, it's still different, because the people actually playing the instruments were familiar faces! Actually CO is pretty cool in that sense. You and your friends, everyone playing their own part to construct a musical performance.

Alright, back to the actual Chinese Orchestra pieces, 3 instruments in particular were highlighted through solo (with accompaniment) pieces: Gaohu/erhu (二泉映月 / 梁山伯与祝英台), Drums (龙腾虎跃) and Pipa (春江花月夜). Interesting to note though, was how many of the songs were adapted from pipa solos: 月儿高, 十面埋伏.

Well, my personal favourites were easily all the songs I was familar with, haha. Somehow nostalgia and familiarity just add so much more enjoyment to a song.

On the whole I think City Chinese Orchestra is a good orchestra. Just based on my unprofessional obsevations lah. Their key players are all very highly skilled and composed. The soloists were renowned players in their own right. However, a very large number, maybe half the orchestra consisted of young people, many teenagers who were maybe 15/16 yrs old? They seemed competent lah, but definitely did not carry the high level of the seniors. This reminds me of the trip in lower secondary to Beijing. I can't remember the name of the Middle School orchestra, but they were really in their own class. You could just tell from the style of playing, the confidence they eluded from their strokes.

Ok, enoungh random blabber, time to get down to writing the actual concert review.

2008-09-18T12:02:00.002+08:00

School is in full swing and i'm in for some rollercoaster ride again.

2008-09-08T14:06:00.002+08:00

The body marking queue was really long, but moved on at a reasonable pace:

Aviva Ironman 70.3 uses special stamps to put the body markings on:

Yeah, it was really dark as I prepared my bike:

Lots of movement and bustle in the darkness:

Just after the race:

A pretty big crowd was present near the finish area:

Wai Boon:

Kevin Goh:

The recovery area:

2008-09-06T17:59:00.003+08:00

2008-09-06T08:12:00.001+08:00

2008-09-06T02:21:00.001+08:00

Going to hit the beach and take a walk in the park this Sunday. Heh.

2008-08-21T20:45:00.002+08:00

Ah, a Dura-ace 10 speed chain cost me $45...... Wanted to buy a chain tool so I could do such operations in future myself, but didn't like the $30 price and overkill-looking tool.

Anyway, it was a little sad, cos my chain had already stretched and affected the cassette, so changing the chain actually caused a slight drop in shifting performance instead. But better than continuing to eat the cassette out...

Moral of the story is:
1. Frequently degrease, clean, and relube the chain
2. Keep track of chain mileage and use a chain stretch tool to check frequently after 2000km (every 40 group rides?)
OR
3. Just change the chain every half a year of regular usage. (ie annual expense of $90 just for the chain)

2008-08-17T19:40:00.002+08:00

Today I DNSed for runNUS. No point going there to walk right? haha.

Yup, it happened due to yesterday's 'Ironman 50.0'. Thanks to Kevin for giving the chance to join in his SAFSA training =). It was really quite a blast.

The lead up to the event was less than ideal, with me sleeping like 3 hrs plus and having to time trial for 45mins down to race registration. Breakfast was eaten ON the bike, consisting of sneakers and some red bean bread. An ironically every one was even later than me. Crap.

The swim was expectedly bad due to lack of practice. Poor technique and nobody to ride wash. Navigation wasn't that bad going out although coming back was a bit poor for me. At least there were still a good number of bikes as I got to the transition.

I had to cycle with sand in my shoes but it was fine. Had problems with my rhythm at the start of the bike, feeling kinda full perhaps from the late breakfast. And I was positively irritated with some guy drafting me. I mean, I didn't really feel like giving a stranger a free ride when I was feeling less than ideal... What I did next was kinda extreme, an act just out of pride perhaps.... I simply sat up, and practically stopped pedalling, and let him past me, following which I followed him at about 5 bike lengths back. After catching my breath and seeing a drop in his pace, I put in an attack to 'dislodge' him for good. Seems like guys here love to draft, when Ironman 70.3 is a non-drafting race. Had to ration my powergels in case i run out for the actual event. I had to make a few stops for water too, as the race proved quite long. In the end I just could not catch a pair of riders up ahead, as they were doing a 2 man TTT. My right inner thigh cramped at one point and my speed plunged to 31kmh. It refused to go away when I slowed, so I had to just force my strokes back up to pace. In the end moving forward on the saddle proved to be the trick. This happened at around the 40 km mark, which proved similar to my experience at last year's race. In the end I rode conservatively back to the transition area.

What happened next was just funny. As I took out my feet from my bike shoes, my entire left hamstring cramped with my whole leg out stretched. I just could NOT move my leg, and was forced to take the last corner in a weird position. I even skate scootered my bike in, as I simply could not pedal. Following which, I stopped and just stood there for about 30s. The marshals stared at me and I stared at them. Hur hur. I even stared at other partipants coming in, putting on their shoes and running out -_-''

The run was just agonising and boring. 2 loops. I simply just kept a slow pace that would not lead to cramps. And it was over.

2008-08-15T00:11:00.002+08:00

Something's weird. I haven't trained since Monday, and slept the entire afternoon away despite having an 11hr sleep the night before.

Anyway, during CN4201 lecture on Wed, the lecturer was talking about how happenings in US affect their business. His example was how a small group of people in US were starting to practice reduced usage of their cars, and I guess this activity may have caught on for a while, and it has been partially responsible for the company's NEGATIVE return of sales, due to the price of gasoline falling.

Wouldn't it be ironic, then, if i intend to work in the petrol refining industry but believe in a cycling utopia?

And the lecturer's advice on priorities in: Safety, then Commercialism. What happened to the environment and global warming?

2008-08-13T23:05:00.002+08:00

Technological limitations the past few days:
3 punctures
1 broken spoke
Could not stream the cycling ITT livefeed in school today.

2008-08-12T00:17:00.001+08:00

I've pushed my saddle nearly all the way to the forward and re-mounted my aerobars on my bike.

2008-08-12T00:01:00.002+08:00

Ok, I slacked off the first day of school. Anyway I was busy looking through the olympic broadcast schedule and listing down the events I would be interested in. There's this Live Feed channel at http://olympics.mediacorptv.sg/index.htm that is apparently the HD5 channel. It'll be my number one source of olympic coverage. The next 2 weeks are looking busy man.

After looking through the schedule and comparing with the actual run of events, sadly there will be no live streaming of canoeing races. By at least they'll be showing it on 23rd Sat late afternoon.

There's sadly no coverage for track cycling this time. I'm just not interested in Mountain Biking nor BMX. There's instead quite a lot of showing of the heats for track and field events though. And this is ironic, but it'll be impossible to catch both the women's and men's marathon live due to runNUS and AHM.

The major track finals are all spread out through the week at night.

2008-08-10T02:51:00.002+08:00

Having not moved for a few days (watching anime, k drama, olympics), I drew inspiration from watching the road race and went out to shake some legs loose. Round island, 5hrs and 30 mins of moderate riding. Speeds were slow at 32kmh on the flats, hr hovering around 128bpm. 3 powergels. 1.2L of water.

My new road position with near maximum seat aft limits my speed significantly. Stroke feels smoother, but not sure if it improves endurance.

And oh, I was kinda dazed at 4hr 30min: I stopped without unclipping my left foot in time, and fell over the kerb onto the grass by the road side. -_-'' Hope I didn't scratch my left chainstay when I dragged the bike (which was still attached to me) up the kerb -__-''

2008-08-09T17:49:00.002+08:00

Olympic Road Race: Samuel Sanchez (Spain) won a closely contested uphill sprint over David Rebellin (Italy) and Fabian Cancellera (Switzerland), with Alexander Kolobnev (Russia), Andy Schleck (Luxemberg) and Michael Rogers (Australia) 4th,5th ,6th respectively.

The race was like 240+km, with the winners coming in at 6:20+ mins. 6 whole hours out of which about half was upslope. From this view point, a runnin marathon doesn't look that daunting compared to a cycling road race. And 140+ starters, only 3 medals were to be contended. Not suprisingly, that meant about half the field dropped out and did not finish the race.

The race saw a few strong breaks develop, before Italy reeled in the break. Spain then pushed the pace, which greatly reduced the field. In the final 20k of the race, Andy Schleck split open the field via numerous short attacks, and in the last about 10k Sanchez, Rebellin, Kolobnev and Rogers. He made use of the remaining upslopes to reduce the group to 3 by dropping Kolobnev and Rogers before the final downslope run in of about 5k. The 3 then rode a TTT for the remaining k, but were probably also concerned about saving energy for the final sprint. Their pace was around 57kmh. At that moment, bronze, silver, gold, looked to be divided amongst the 4 of them. Rogers and Kolobnev though were doing a 2 man TTT and closing the 15sec gap slowly. With 2K to go, Cancellera (World Time Trial champ) had attacked out of the chasing peloton and dragged Rogers and Kolobnev up to the front group. Andy Schleck was noticeably frustrated crossing the line in 5th, slamming his fist on his handlebars.

2008-08-05T22:28:00.002+08:00

Wah, today's cycling was tiring.... The sheer duration is debilitating, as is the constant change of pace. Zzz.... But the turn out was great! Well done weiling. Ha ha.

Anyway I found out this morning that I am running 10k competitive instead of 21km for AHM. Honestly, I think it's nonsense lah. Oh well. I guess next time when I start working, I may be better off running on my own.

The army is still, afterall, the army. Not very flexible nor long sighted in their training methods I say.

2008-08-04T23:46:00.001+08:00

Phew, took me like 3 hrs to clean, grease and assemble my bike from bike bits. The chain is too horrendously stretched, it doesn't even sit on the chain ring properly. I need a new chain.

2008-08-03T16:44:00.002+08:00

Saturday's time trial was a disappointment. The result was hardly even meaningful. I have to be honest here and say that the administrative support was as good as non-existent. Complacency in it's full form.

Firstly, the route briefing was very poorly done, and we had conflicting ideas of the turning point. So during the actual run, we didn't know where the turning point was.

Secondly, there was no water point planned until the 10.5km turning point. BUT even that failed, and only SOME of us had water at the 12k mark (it was late). Those who were ahead simply didn;t have ANY water. Anyway, those very same guys who were ahead also exceeded the supposed turning point also.

Thirdly, the remaining, existing water points on the return leg were as good as non existent, with the water point marshalls being totally non-proactive in handing out cups, and also situating themselves 10m away from the running track. WELL DONE. And oh yah, I didn't even know how they looked like prior to the run, so it was a miracle i could identify them anyway.

Fourthly, there was talk a week before the run about powergel. It never happened. And no one even bothered saying anything.

Fifth, at the end point, there were like 3 cups for 20 people to share to drink the water from the water dispenser. Very well done.

Yup, so in the end I tried to execute my race plan but blew up due to lack of water. I didn't even bother finding out my time after completion. It was one of those runs where I wanted to walk after the half way mark.

One NSF PTI even had heat disorder after that.

Calling for a time trial for team selection WITHOUT water points is totally inexcusable. People are pushing their luck really, especially given the current climate about safety.

2008-07-30T16:12:00.002+08:00

I was destroyed by the Sun today. Even running at a slow pace becomes difficult. I couldn't run continuously for the required 2hrs. Walked at 1:40. Ahhh.... Give up. The sun is just bad, evil. I shall avoid it.

Ah, and I've learnt the hard way that bikes (and also boats) have to be maintained as often as possible if you want their shine to last. I think at least once a week. Today I brought down the bare frame of my TCR for a wash....... And it looked exactly the same -_-'' . There was no removing of any of the blackstain marks unless I was going to use scotch brite to rub of the layers of clear coat and paint again. Well I could do that then try to put on turtle wax, but in my opinion turtle wax is really just a cosmetic layer that'll prob just fall off right away in face of the elements.

Ok, maybe I shall touch up my other 2 bikes later. My, this is taking quite some time.

2008-07-29T21:08:00.003+08:00

Bored.... So I brought my workhorse to pieces:

As you can see, I'm not exactly the neatest in disassembly, but got the job done. I think the neighbours must have been wondering what this guy was up to...

Yup, so here's the bare frame. TCR size L (2003) frameset. It was last in this stripped down state i guess at least 4.5 yrs ago, before I even bought it. And my, it sure feels light just holding on to the frame. There are numerous spots where the paint has been rubbed off. I'm not even talking about the protective clear coat, but the actual base layer for many parts actually came out to expose the aluminium! These were most likely caused from tire rub, and chain suck when the chain got wedged between the outerchainring and the driveside chainstay (i'm sure zhihao and jiansheng would remember something similar at the ubin trip). Other areas, I think my sweat and the abuse of locking the top tube to trees, metall railings, pvc pipes must have nicked of the layers bit by bit.

The major damage on the bike would have to be a small dent on the right seat stay. I suspect I might have unknowingly slammed the door on the bike during some rushed hour leaving hall for training last time.

Also, taking out the bottom bracket, I realised that true enough, water and sand indeed accumulates over time inside the frame! Old water mixed with grease and sand fell out when I pulled the bottom bracket cups out... Yikes. All this stuff mysteriously enters the frame via the gaps in the seatpost collar and the fork area. In the long run, it'll actually corrode the frame from inside out! I guess aluminium has it easier than steel though. This makes me wonder how my 1987 Bridgestone steel frame survived.... I wonder how it's doing internally.

Anyways, I shall spend tomorrow cleaning up the individual parts, and then figure how to piece it together again

2008-07-28T22:59:00.003+08:00

The past 2 days have been debilitating. It's another one of those times when you feel kinda empty because something ended. My centralised training ended, and I'm looking to keeping and improving the current running form. Yesterday afternoon's run showed my apparent weakness once again. I intended for a 2 hr run, but ended up walking after 1hr 30mins. There was really no point in pushing, cos the tiredness came from my knees. It was just a feeling of over use, and I believe pushing it further would only result in imjury.

Then this afternoon, I went cycling for the first time in about 3 weeks. Even during IA, I only cycled about once every fortnight. Today's ride was truly debilitating. My speed was noticeably slower than before and the more I rode, the weaker I became. I was glad to reach home after then 2hr 30mins. But even after some refreshements it was weird as I was still feeling kinda faint. Even lunch didn't really help. The then bed did the trick I suppose. But considering that I slept 8 hrs prior to cycling I wonder what's wrong.

And oh yah, my bike was creaking the entire ride. Wonder what's up with the drive train. Or perhaps it's just the pedals? I wonder.

2008-07-27T22:44:00.001+08:00

Focus.......... What a tough word.

2008-07-25T23:52:00.002+08:00

I current project my running ability around 1:37 for AHM. Need much more work in the endurance department to last the distance at target pace. Target remains at 1:30.

Ironman 70.3 looks sadly to be self-funded again. DRATS. Inflexible army selection criteria i guess.

Registered for Stand Chart. This year's NUS exams are not in the way. QUICK! Everyone hurry go sign up NOW! (Noticeably though, the fees have inflated once again.)

2008-07-23T18:08:00.002+08:00

Training hasn't been too good. It's weirdly tiring, and performance seems to yo-yo. One moment I'm up for it, the next session I'm just destroyed.

Struggling with my readings and making progress at snail pace. Spent a few days in camp now and it's kinda boring, a little sad. Actually, I'm not really very focused on my runs, but still thinking more about FYP and the impending CORS module registration.

Lost my hair to the barber here too. Guess it will make a good start for school. It's indeed more cooling, but not really too.

2008-07-20T21:20:00.002+08:00

FYP readings make me when to scream........

But more than that, my procrastination and inability to get down to work is even more infuriating...

Went down to support / watch NCC on Sat. The team looks to be holding up despite the every-growing competition from junior paddlers. Keep it up guys.

Also, I had the sudden idea of jumping into a K1 to paddle. So I did so in 3/4 pants and t-shirt! It must have been the 1st time I paddled in 7 months.... It felt pretty good actually........., paddling slowly that is.

Ah, time flies and there seems to be a lot of school work / decisions to make already!

2008-07-18T23:06:00.003+08:00

Centralised training continues... Well, actually, running training wise I've only had like a few long runs, 1 short intervals and 1 aqua jog. And oh, one intro session to the AFC gym, haha. Rest of the time I've either been sleeping or doing my IA report 4, which I managed to finally get signed and uploaded today.

Ran (cycled actually) some errands and met up with some old army friends for lunch too inbetween this very flexible in camp. It's good this way, especially for some folks who actually have exams during this period. But crap, I've gotten like ONE page out of like 50 pages of FYP readings done. And out of the ONE page I understood less than 30% of the terms? My FYP PHD student sup must be wondering when I'll actually get back to him....

Interesting, for this year's AHM, we have Mental Skills Training again. It's pretty interesting, the stuff said. But basically it's equiping oneself with methods to psyche yourself up. The 2 take away techniques from the 2 sessions are Visualisation and Emotion Anchoring.

The first, Visualisation, is about cheating your mind, your sub-conscious, into believing in and getting used to the sensations of a successful effort. The assumption here is that the mind doesn't really differentiate actual performances and visualised / imagined ones. As such, visualising an event can have the same psychological advantages as having actually performed the training.

The second, Emotion Anchoring, is about thinking up various important emotions that will aid performance, and looking for a means to anchor the emotion. The clenching of one's fist for example, can be constantly performed whenever one visualises or encounters a postive emotion. This will, to some extent, allow for the same emotions to be called upon next time via the same action of clenching one's fist... Well, it's just a way to psyche yourself up lah. Like a reminder to get your act together, similar to all the screaming and shouting we here during races.

On other matters, I finally acquired a good pair of brake calipers in Shimano Ultegra SL. $100 2nd hand is an OK deal lah. Now I don't have to share brakes for my bridgestone and TCR workhorse, and can also swap out the grabby Zero Gravity front brake of my TCR composite in times of need...

On other news, I have 40% off Mizuno, 30% off Adidas, 45% off Saucony from the team. Perhaps I shall get a pair of lightweight trainers to use for racing. Although that would add to my many many many pair of shoes....

2008-07-16T05:49:00.002+08:00

Weirdly tiring day in camp today. Was too tired (or is it lazy?) to come home, nor read my readings again, and ended up unconscious from 7pm till 5am. It's been super long since I last slept like that. Feels weird.

An my lousy 6 year old nokia non-camera phone 6250? had problems after running in the rain with it. Needs some redrying but i don't even have a small screw driver here.