In the video:
application on the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8, an Android phone which I’ve been trying out. Wanted to try a new platform and see how the apps were on this baby.

Was trying out the Endomo application which can be downloaded from the Android Marketplace. There’s a cycling mode which has real-time GPS tracking of time, distance, speed & calories. It works with the Polar Wearlink® + transmitter with Bluetooth®. Haven’t used all the functions but it looks cool.

Above taken from Sony Ericsson Website

Key highlights of the Phone
- Lightweight
- Very Social (i.e. Facebook, Twitter widgets)
- Touchscreen controls
- 3.2mp camera
- PlayNow™ to download music and games
- They have a similar app to soundhound but free
- including all the other bell and whistles you’d get with a normal phone

I reckon the biggest pull for this phone is the apps in the Android Market place. Keep you posted if I find anything else cool about this phone.

Just a couple of clips and a good tune.

Great to be cycling again after the back sprain and knee pains. Am slowly easing back into my exercise routine.

Went on a Vesak day ride with Andrew and Janice in the afternoon just to find our legs again. Ja hasn’t ridden in awhile too, so we both felt completely n00b and uncertain. After a couple of climbs and downhills, we definitely got back into the groove. Had a great time chatting and reminiscing our old-er cycling days.

Will have to cycle this route more often these few months. Soon I’ll be moving out of the hood, ,and Bukit Timah won’t be as close as it is now.

Am looking forward to another ride this Sunday! Who’s in?

Lizard count is back below. Did see another baby snake on the trail, but a dead one. Black body with a red/orange head. Anyone know what species that is?

It’s that time of the year where we make our yearly pilgrimage up Penang Hill for the Kayuh Lasak Penang Jamboree. Last year, the organisers took a break. So we were all pretty psyched when we heard it’d be back this year.

Day 1 was spent doing the necessary such as race registration, breakfast shopping and preparing for the big ride on Sunday. It was Jo & Grace’s first time to Penang, so we made sure to cover the famous makan spots around town on Saturday too. That is a separate blog post all together.

Day 2 – Race Day!
5:45am: Wake up, shower, wiggle into cycling shorts, get water bag out of freezer, breakfast, pump tyres, check bike, spray lube, check I have all supplies in bag: spare tubes, tool kit, hand pump, energy gels, happy food.

And we’re all set to go!

We stayed quite close to race central, so it was a 15min warm up cycle to the start point. Met up with the rest of the crew and before you knew it, start horn begun our several hours of torture.

This is the first year I was doing the Penang Jamboree without Wayne, and I did feel anxious knowing there was no one but myself to rely on. For the past couple of Jamborees, it was always comforting to know that he was just a phone call away. This year, I spent most of the ride solo.

It was Me Vs Penang Hill.

As usual, if you don’t manage to get in the front pack, you quickly get bottle-necked at the climbs. What you will see are hundreds of people pushing their bike up 30 degree tarmac climbs with the hope that every hairpin turn would reveal a flatter gradient or downhill section.

Here’s an elevation map from Ming’s bike computer.

At every checkpoint, marshals will give you a little sticker on your race plate to indicate completion of that section. And only if you complete the whole route do you get to be entitled for the grand lucky draw.

A few picturesque highlights of the ride would be at the top of Tiger Hill. There was one point of the ride I just stopped and watched the fog roll in between the hill peaks, nature’s air-con at work.

I finished the race broken and humbled. Clearly my inactivity was showing at my poor performance especially on the climbs. As usual, the hill claimed many victims; riders with cramped legs were sprawled in pools of mud, scattered on the side of the trails like litter. And every now and then, you can hear screams of pain and agony in the distance. Ah, another cramper!

For me, I went home with chaffed inner thighs – friction from my cycling shorts. It’s not pretty and definitely not comfortable especially in the shower when water touches the raw skin.

Again, as I say every year, I’ll be back Penang!

I’m about to post a Penang Jamboree 2009 entry, and realised….. I HAVEN’T POSTED THE ONE I WROTE IN 2007!!!!

Here it goes…please remember this was written in 2007
It’s been one year since the last Penang Jamboree, and I don’t know what possessed me to do it again!

We booked out a 21 seater coach that left on Friday night from Singapore. I’ve been on these coaches before, so I knew how cold it could get. Thank goodness for the IKEA throw that Wayne and I bought the day before.

10 hours later and I’m back to the motherland!

There’s just too much to write about the Jamboree, best way would be to just describe the trail and include a video below.

On Dec 2nd, the main event, the “Beyond Limits!” challenge will start at 8am from Penang Municipal Park(Youth Park). The first part of the event is the “Pain-nang Hill Challenge”, where riders will race to the top of Penang Hill via the Jeep Track. Top riders will complete the climb in under 40 minutes while the average rider will take 1 to 2 hours.

This is probably the toughest mountain bike hill climb in Malaysia. The reward is not in cash but the pride and bragging rights of winning this event.

At the top, riders be greeted by the cool air and spectacular scenery, weather permitting. From there it’s a wild roller coaster ride down on another hidden Penang State treasure, Woodcutter Trail via Moniot Road(more of this later), back down to Air Itam Dam.

Then it’s a scenic and breathtaking ride back up Penang Hill via Len Chiau Yen/Die-ger Hill trail to Summit Road. Feeding/watering stations will be provided at the Die-ger Hill/Summit Road junction rest stop with cold drinks and snacks courtesy of our sponsors.

Then it’s back to the winding trails via Moniot Road which was constructed over 150 years ago for the use of horse carriages up and down Penang Hill. This surely must be the oldest Mountain Biking Trail in Malaysia.

A second feeding/watering station will be set up at Point 84 to replenish your burnt glycogen and spent legs by then. You will be treated to our famous Penang Hill Chic-Pie and other popular Penang Nyonya snacks.

After that riders will have a hard time holding down their food as they take on the challenging Moon Gate Descent before finally exiting at Taman Perbandaran MPPP via “Staghorn” Trail.

The total ride, lasting from 4 to 6 hours for the average rider, will push him/her beyond his/her limits of endurance.

from the KOTRT site

Here’s a video Ming put together which sums up the whole Jamboree 2007!

One afternoon, I made my way down to The Cathay at Orchard to get myself some shirts from the Taylormade golf shop. (On a side note, did you know that Taylormade is under the adidas brand? That’s why you’d see adidas attire in their shops.)

Anyway, I was tempted and decided to just browse through the new collections at the adidas store next door. Then… this baby caught my eye, and I was in love.

It encompassed everything I love: adidas, cycling and a fantastic price tag. Carrying the message “Watch out for bikes” just made it extra special.

Sold!

Not sure if there’s any stock left, but you can try finding it from the shop I bought it from

adidas
The Cathay
2 Handy Road
#02-06/07
Singapore 229233

A weekend ago, we all went over to the Tampines trail for a couple of rounds, a trail which we’ve all gone round plenty of times. But not too long ago, PLing had a pretty bad spill on a gnarly section near the bridge.

So on the first round, Rebecca, thinking she should go slow and easy, still had a pretty bad spill down the rocks and got her shin pretty badly chewed up.

On the second round, it was my turn. I was going too slow too and the bike was taking me down the left into the water. But luckily I managed to throw the bike away from me and grabbed on to the bridge. But the fall didn’t come without injuries.

As my nephew would say it, I got an Ouwweee! The bruise was there for a week! Which meant no skirt or dresses for a week! That part now is almost un-ridable due to the weeks rain and erosion.

Here’s adidas Wayne, i say that because he actually took time this morning to match his shirt with his shorts with his socks with his shoes!

Check out my new cycling shoe from Adidas!! Talk about a pimped out shoe!

Limited edition Beijing Olympics 2008 cycling shoes.

It comes in two different editions i think – road or tri. This one is the tri ones.


It’s so white and clean, I’m afraid to wear it out to the trails! But seriously, that’s what its made for, to use and abuse! Not as a display in your shoe cupboard. Wish there was more information about the shoe online. I want to know what its made of, and the design elements of the shoe.

So Sexaaaayyyy

Day 1
- Long drive up to Penang in a mini van

- Arrived penang

- Dim Sum breakfast at Lai Lai

- Race registration to collect goodie bag and number tag
- Check-in to hotel
- Walk to nearby lanes for famous Penang Chendol, Laksa, Kueh Pai Ti, Fried Kway Teow, and Sng Bui drink.
- Komtar for foot reflexology
- Evening ride to Gurney Drive for Bak Kut Teh dinner at Zealand
- Ride to race site for briefing
- Ride preparation
- Sleep

Day 2- Breakfast
- Ride registration
- Baaaaab… OFF WE GO
- Climb climb climb
- Down down down





- Shawn was so nice to give me some excellent photos he took that day
- FINISH
- Back to hotel to wash up
- Walked to McCalister street hawker food for late lunch

- Komtar for foot reflexology
- Dinner at ride site
- Sleep

Day 3- Breakfast at Air Itam market
- Chee Cheong Fun, Prawn mee, Herbal chicken, kueh chap.
- Kek Lok Si Temple

- Grandma’s place, where we accidently took a branch off the rambutan tree

- Check-out
- Heading home

- Late lunch, best wanton mee in the world
- Home sweet home

Ride Time: 5hr 18min 49s
Distance: 35.9km
Calories: N/A
Max HR: N/A
Avg HR: N/A
Avg Speed: 8.2 km/h
Max Speed: 36.7 km/h

I managed to put a few videos and pictures together, so if you’ve got the patience download it, i’d suggest the higher resolution one HERE, and download the original file.

If you’re a quick quick chop chop “who-cares-about-cycling” sort, then watch it below.

To look at more pictures, just click HERE