Cari2 Makan Angin Kuala Lumpur part 1

The 2010 Jetstream P8's second flight to KL's city centre yesterday

Rise and shine...
As a prelude to our round island ride in Penang next week, we planned a distance ride to the city centre on our Jetstreams.
Michelle and I were clad in our Orange Raceready Alta long sleeve shirts and since we had to ride out at 06:00am in the morning, we had rigged the bikes with lights and blinkers.

Oh, the long slopes!
It never hit me that the road leading from our home to Persiaran Tujuan was a long slope.
I found myself panting as we crunched our gear towards USJ 4 and SS19 in Subang Jaya before making an exit to the Federal Highway motorcycle lane.
It took us nearly 45 minutes to get to the area as we gradually moved towards Petaling Jaya.
On the second day of Raya and Hari Merdeka (Independence Day), the roads were clear, but we can never be too sure.

Jetstreamers: Michelle and I at the Jln 222 exit in Petaling Jaya

The bike lane
We rode on the darkness of dawn until daybreak and I noticed that the motorcycle lane on the Federal Highway was quite well-maintained. 
Michelle was apprehensive on the idea of cycling from our home to Stadium Merdeka where ride organize Jimmy Chow had set up the meeting point.
But it turned out allright. 
We cycled towards the Bangsar exit and made our way towards Brickfields.
Traffic was light as we have 20 minutes to spare before reaching Stadium Merdeka at 07:45am.
From Brickfields, we made our way towards the edge of Jalan Bandar and the last section was a steep slope and banked right to the stadium. 
Back in the days, I used to cycle from my aunt's home in Setapak to school at Victoria Institution. 
So, this was a familiar route.

A hardcore foldie: Mr Silversurfer and his steel folding bike with all the bells and whistles

Making new friends
I have met Mr Jimmy Chow numerous times and even had the privilege to have lunch with him at Sungai Way's thai shue thou, but I have never ridden with him or taken part in any of his events.
Meeting up with him and some of the Urban Cowboyz regulars at Stadium Merdeka was a good opportunity to expand our friendship circle.
By the time we got to the stadium, we had rode for nearly 25km.
This was more than warming up, and while we waited for the others to arrive, I caught up with Swofinty, Rivern Yong and Mr Chan -- a group of foldies whom I've met much earlier.

The gang

Riding KL
By 08:30am, there were more than 20 cyclists with Jimmy leading the way and John Ng as sweeper. 
We made our way towards Jalan Loke Yew and turned towards Jalan San Peng.
The gang then moved towards Jalan Tun Razak and made its way to Taman Tasik Titiwangsa.
I haven't been to this place for Monkey years and by the time we got there, some of the ladies who cycled with us were already getting hungry.
Since most of the shops are closed, we settled for makan at McDonald's in Jalan Pahang...

Team Starmetro & Team OCBC Ride Desa Park City

Starmetro's team captain Kevin was one of the first on the scene

Michelle and I had little sleep from our night out at Sumi-Ka yakitori restaurant last night.
With whatever thrown-in, we woke up at 05:00am, packed our bikes and made our way to Desa Park City.
This place is located somewhere near Kepong and we've been there once some years back.
Much has changed at this self-contained homestead. 
It was chosen by the OCBC team as their training ground.
They are also the organisers of Cycle Malaysia which is expected to take place in mid-October.
Our cycling team captain Kevin Tan had invited me to join in the ride and get to know the OCBC sponsors (the bank gave four places for our media team in the 48km race).
There, I met Mr Chan Kok Leong, a very sporty and easy going fella who liaised with Kevin to get our team registered with the event.
I also met my old schoolmate Yap, who is employed with the bank.
The OCBC team were led by their head honcho Mr Jeffery Chew, who is one helluva fit cyclist.
We rode for 10.6km before regrouping with the rest of the cyclists.

Yap (far right), my former schoolmate

Later, we were led to climb at a slop with 10% gradient. 

Some of the cyclists had broken off from the main group for the flatter area.

Michelle and I were crunching our gears on the climb and made it all the way to the top of the hill.

We then rode back to the Joo Ngan Son's bicycle shop where the cyclists re-grouped and had a late breakfast.

Fighting fit: OCBC's Chew

At Desa Park, I met a few foldies. One of them were Will Ong, some bank employee dude on his Dahon Eco C7.

Another guy I met with his Red Dahon Speed P8 was a dude called Patrick. 

He told me that he would be going touring on his folding bike and I wished him all the best.

Seems like the Desa Park City would be a suitable training ground for our cycling team for the OCBC event in October...

Team Jetstream is up and running!

I am happy to report that team Jetstream is now officially on-line.
We are going to ride in the countryside with our full-suspension foldies.
To borrow a line from a fellow foldie on the Dahon Forum: "Team Jetstream - The Few & The Proud..."

2010 Dahon Jetstream P8 - first impressions

My wife's new ride: The 2010 Dahon Jetstream P8

I placed an order for the Dahon Jetstream P8 a month ago.
It was worth the wait as a phone call from my contact in Le Run Industries had confirmed its arrival here in Kuala Lumpur.
The wait was nearly a month as Michelle's Jetstream P8 made it all the way from Indonesia.
This one is intended for our CFAL ride in Penang.
I wasn't going to ride alone with my Jetstream EX and wanted my wife to have her own full-suspension folding bike.
The Jetstream P8 seemed like a perfect choice for her.
Pound for pound, its more solid and better handling than any bike of its class including the entry-level Birdy bike from Pacific cycles.
I dare say this because of the Jetstream P8's overall built and quality..

The version that came in has a single RST front fork coil suspension

The German-A elastomer suspension was not part of the 2010 Jetstream P8

As far as appearance is concerned, the Jetstream P8 does look odd with its RST suspension. But there is an advantage when it comes to using such a system. Compared to elastomers, you don't have to replace them every now and then. 
The German-A gave the Jetstream its unique look and personality. Without it, the Jetstream P8 is more 'gentle' and subtle in appearance.
I must say that when it comes to handling, the Jetstream P8 would easily top the Birdy folding bike. 
Its a much more solid ride. And with the gear inches ranging from 32 - 93", you can literally go anywhere with this bike.

The suntour epicon adjustable rear shock

Another interesting aspect of the Jetstream P8, is the adjustable rear suspension. You can tune it to suite your riding style. 
It has a positive and negative return for light offroad settings.
I have tried this in the park and it worked for me.
We took this bike straight from its shipping container to an easy 16km course including 
On the whole, at a pricetag of RM3.9K, this is a moderately-priced full-suspension foldie. 
Its bound for the Rodalink store in Bangsar and Seri Hartamas sometime in mid-September.

Camelbak Octane series hydration packs

The Camelback Octane Scudo

The Camelbak Octane series hydration packs are perhaps the best there is.
I scored an Octane 24 last year to haul my gear. 
In it, I am able to pack 3-litres of drinking water. 
Later, I retro-fitted the pack with an insulated hose and a flow meter.
With a cargo space of 27-litres, the Octane 24 can be used as a daypack.
I carry my first aid kit, bicycle tools, extra fuel bars and gels including my survival gear whenever I go for a ride with the pack.
When your life depends on it, you cannot stinge with a hydration pack.
I've met some people with 'high-powered' connection who also rode with me. 
Instead of getting the best money can buy, they prefer to use some cheap China-made crap.
I can't say much because its their prerogative. They spend their money whichever way they see fit.
Way I see it, spending top dollar on some crappy sleek road tires that bursts easily when hit by road debris, instead of investing on a good hydration pack, seems so wrong.
Even on lights, you can't depend on cheap stuff. 
Anyways, back on the Octane packs, the latest offering from Camelbak is the Octane Scudo. 
I doubt it very much that I would be able to see it here in Malaysia. But if there is a chance to check it out, it would be cool...

Ortlieb Hip Pack

Cycling companion: My Ortlieb 2010 Hip Pack

It took me a while to grasp the concept of lugging a hip pack.
And I am certainly no stranger to the lumbar bags.
My first was a Mountainsmith Backcountry Express which I bought back in 1996 from Campers Corner in Singapore.
The bag had deteriorated due to wear and tear and our 95 per cent humidity is not friendly at all to the polyurethane coating on the bag.
Since then, I've shied away from bumbags.
My Sealine waterproof pack also gave way. The waist strap had peeled off and what's left now, is the main pouch.
I didn't really fancy the roll-down design.
Now, having said that, I'd slowly warmed up to the older Ortlieb hip pack design.
It was the Ti-Zip waterproof zipper that convinced me on packing one.
I had some good experiences with this zipper design, especially with my Patagonia stormfront waterproof backpack.
And speaking of cycling in rain, the Ti-Zip packs have proven its worthiness.
Most of my gear including paper-based writing pad were dry.
The only thing you must avoid, is opening and closing the bag in wet conditions.
So, what all those good points factored-in, I scored a black-colored Ortlieb hip pack from Fall Factor, an official Ortlieb dealer in Singapore.
This is my daily carry on my cycling trips. 
Its capable of swallowing an Ortlieb snap camera bag, my knives and tools including wallet and coin bag. 
I can also carry my bicycle tools with the hip pack.

The 2011 Roll-closure hip pack. Improvised and sleeker design

To sum it up the Ortlieb hip pack is an indispensable bag for lugging all the gear. The only sore point, is the mesh hip belt design and its compression straps. The first thing that is going to give way, is the mesh as its prone to tearing. I think this has been improvised with the 2011 hip pack which is much more compact and sleeker. The only drawback I see, is the roll-down flap design which I don't quite like... 

Thank You 1520!

There is not a single doubt that the New Balance 1520 trail shoe is one of the best footwear that I had ever wore.
It went to many place places including my North America tour in 2009. 
The 1520 protected my feet in Arizona's Grand Canyon and the arid desert of Nevada.
I wore this footwear to many places around the country.
Although it didn't come with an affordable pricetag, I must say that the 1520 had lived up to its expectations. 
Unlike the crappy Nikes and Adidas trail shoes, the New Balance 1520 is comfortable and best of all, if you have wide feet, it's available in 4EE sizes.
Since I don't want to buy back the same shoe, I landed myself with the much more simplistic cousin of the 1520, the 1320.

This show is as comfortable and rugged as the leather skinned 1520, but it has a sophisticated lacing system.
Both shoes are lined with a Goretex membrane making it water resistant. The other attractive aspect is the Vibram soles. 
These are found in premium priced shoes -- hence its hefty pricetag.

 With the 1520 as a benchmark, it would be hard to find a worthy replacement. 
That said, enter the New Balance 851. 
This is an affordable incarnation of the 1520 which has since, long gone from NB's line-up of trail shoes. 
Minus the Goretex lining and Vibram sole, the minimalistic 851 takes the same appearance as its predecessors, in fact, I love the colour combination.
Its subtle appearance and rugged construction made it a good choice.
As to how long this shoe would last, well, it'll have to live up to the 1520's lifespan of 3 years...

Bike Wars Part 2

I received a lewd message on my MSN Messenger this morning.
It was linked to my Facebook account and so far, I've been using this feature to talk to my friends and other people whom I know.
The user 'Lamborghini Evolution' had use the 'Fuck' word and thought he could get away with it.
I didn't know that this is the same guy that spends much of his time at a bicycle shop in Damansara Perdana.
The first thing that came to mind was 'why?', what compelled this rather quiet and seemingly 'nice' guy to go completely bananas? 
Did someone prodded him to go ape? Or did he do it to get a hard on and cream in his pants? 
I found out that on his Facebook profile, the user was listed as 'Match Chin'.

Well, 'Match Chin' is screen name that some dude uses when he goes on-line to play games.
Best of all, he explained about the nickname this when I asked him.
Whether he is innocent or not, the fucking ape who blasted away on the MSN Messenger must first learn how to spell and construct his sentences properly.
Obviously, he didn't know who he was fucking with.
So, I send out a barrage of insults. 
Before he could do anything, I removed him as a friend on my Facebook account.
I've also removed Folding Bike Trading from my list as I don't want to have anything to do with that bunch of losers.

 Whether he denies or admit sending out the messages, Match Chin is swimming in a pool of shit. Better still, he can expect a Rallyart bicycle seatpost and a 55T chainring up his ass. Fucking retarded ape!

USJ26 - Tg Sepat Ride Part 4

Getting a massage by a master in Jenjarom

Pain management
My left leg was badly damaged from a motorcycle accident 10 years ago.
I had a class-3 compound fracture and underwent four major and one minor surgery to overcome the injury.
Since then, I've hiked fairly and scaled Mount Kinabalu last year.
When I took up cycling, my overused left leg may have developed tendonitis or at least that's what I think it is.
From Tg Sepat to Morib, I noticed that the pain on my left leg, especially on the side of my knee near the platella, was intense.
I kept feeling sharp pain each time I stretched my left leg and this was pounding all the way.
At Morib, Michelle had to go to the ladies' room.
While she was relieving herself, I spotted a place where we could rest.
I found a stall and ordered some young coconuts.
An old timer, who was nearby, watched as we rested.
He joined our table and engaged in small talk.
Pak Yackob, who is probably in his 70s, asked about our bikes. 
As we downed our coconut juice, I got up and walked over to the stall owner to pay and get two bottles of water to refill our emptied ones.
That's where I felt the pain and couldn't bend my left leg.
"Are you okay? Shall we scrap the ride?," asked Michelle.
"No, we'll decide in Banting," I said.

No pain, no gain
The 10km ride to Banting was paved with pain.
I never felt so banged-up and each time I pedal my bike, the pain just kept coming.
At this point, we have done 100.5km with another 50km to go.
As we slowly cruise past the junction to Banting, the pain was unbearable.
We stopped at a bus stand.
The first thing that came to mind, was my Deep Heat rub ointment.
I dabbed some on the injured part of my left leg and started rubbing.
It was instant pain-relief.
Just as we thought that we were getting nearer, there's the Banting bridge.
We climbed this in the earlier part of the day and its one more session before we roll down towards the Jugra stadium.
Slowly, I started crunching my gears, riding ahead of Michelle and made it all the way to the top of the flyover. 
I felt much better and pushed for another 15km towards Jenjarom town.
The Deep Heat treatment was temporary.
By the time we got to Jenjarom, it was back.
I made a hand sign to detour towards this town.
We have never been to Jenjarom, so, it was a perfect opportunity to explore the place.
This place is identical to Tg Sepat's town layout and I was surprised to find so many food outlets there.
There was a coffee shop not too far from a junction near the main road.
Michelle had pointed it and we decided to pull over.
While downing a can of 100PLUS sports drink, I pulled out my tube of Deep Heat rub.
An elderly man asked what it was for, I politely told him that I had strained my leg.
"Here, let me help," he gestured in Hokkien.
The man place my damaged leg on his lap and started to give me a rub, while he was at it, he told me that my muscles were strained.
I never thought that I could experience such hospitality in Jenjarom and offered to buy him a drink which he politely declined.
After the rub down, which was another temporary relief, we continued with our journey....


The final push
The reading on my Garmin EDGE800 GPS gave 125km.
It was getting late in the evening as we slowly made our way towards Teluk Panglima Garang.
Even with the pain, I knew we were getting our objectives achieved.

On the KESAS motorcycle lane

Traffic was heavy on both sides of the road and Teluk Panglima Garang was within reach.
We cycled past this town and headed towards Sijangkang.
The weather was getting hot, but fortunately for us, it was cooler in the day.
Slowly, but surely, we rode past Sijangkang.
There was a bicycle shop on the opposite side of the road, and one of the guys there waved at us.
As the light was failing, we turned on our rear lights and the LED safety vest.
Now, here's the best part: The entry into KESAS motorcycle lane was a right turn. 
Before that, we had to climb a flyover with our heavily laden bikes.
This was a tricky manouver as we slowly squeezed our way to the right-hand side of the lane.
On the KESAS, we have been on the road for nearly 13 hours.
It was getting dark as we rode on the motorcycle lane near Bandar Botanic.
To get to Shah Alam's Section 23, we have to ride past at least three exits on the KESAS

Light at the end of the tunnel: Cycling on the KESAS highway

We only have an hour to go and with the agonising pain, every meter gained on the road is a step towards our goal.
Slowly, we cycled our Dahon Speeds towards the Puchong exit.
Then, came the tricky part of veering left towards the Proton factory.
I led Michelle who was afraid of the heavy traffic towards the safe side of the road.
By the time we rode past the car factory, it was already pitch dark and it was also drizzling.
Our LED vests, my Cateye twin lights and Reflex rear light made a difference.
From Section 23, we were about 4km away from Putra Heights.
At 147km in total distance, either your bike breaks down or you fall apart.
My wife muttered: "Aiya! No more crazy things after this ah!"
I knew that my doctor's appointment was up. It's gonna be a trip to the orthopaedic specialist..
After clearing Section 23, the next tricky part, is to ride across the road, against the flow towards the Putra Heights entrance.
Its also a gradual climb towards the junction to USJ 26.

Final lap: heading home...

We did it!

After being on the road for 14 hours, we reached our home. We clocked 153.2km. With this, we broke our previous record of 133.2km ride in a single day. For the record, it was our second century ride and we made it. The feeling was ecstatic.


Post ride recovery
I'll be lying to say that everything was fine.
My left leg felt like raw meat and my butt was aching.
But for all intent and purpose, it was a ride well worth the effort.
I for one, am proud of Michelle for her mental strength and endurance.
As I jokingly mentioned about the 200km tour, she snapped at me and said it was a crazy idea. But who knows? If the left leg gets treated, we are talking about some serious long haul ride!


Ride statistics
Total distance: 153.2km
Number of stops: 10
Number of puncture: 0
Average speed: 16km/h
Top speed: 31km
Moving time: 4hrs 20minutes

USJ26 - Tg Sepat Ride Part 3

Some poor motorcyclist dude caught in the heavy rain

Tg Sepat at last!

Rain, rain, go away
Dark clouds loomed ahead as we pedalled our bikes past Kg Tali Air.
Half-way towards Batu Laut, a stray dog gave chase.
This brown bitch with its tits hanging and swaying violently was fast!
I can hear in the distance someone shouting: "Whoooaayyyy!!!"
But that didn't deter the bitch from giving chase.
I didn't panic and kept my ground speed at 20km/h. 
Even with four legs at top speed despite the wind resistance form the swaying tits, the dog had no chance to catch up.
It was barking and gnarling and as I picked up speed, I smoked the bitch.
Sensing that it was out of range, the dog turned back. Close call.
As we were nearing Batu Laut, I shouted at Michelle and told her that we had to pull over and sought shelter.
Barely seconds after I settled my Dahon Speed P8, it started to pour.
Our timing was impeccable. 
I can see in the distance, a guy on a motorbike trying to put on his rain gear.
When it comes to touring, its not wise to ride in the rain.
While waiting out the storm, I took the opportunity to charge my Garmin EDGE800 GPS with my powermonkey explorer external battery.
By doing so, I managed to restore the GPS to 70% of its power


Arrival at Tg Sepat
It took about 20-minutes for the rain to settle. 
We rode in the drizzle and reached the Tg Sepat junction.
I saw a good photo opportunity and set my camera to take some shots.
Then, came this Perodua Kelisa car. 
In it, a guy waved in a friendly gesture to introduce himself.
He said: "Hello Sam! I am Rivern Yong..."
We returned his courtesy and chatted with him.
Yong said he just concluded the Carey Island ride with another group whom we ditched earlier.
He also told me about the bad experience he had at the Fish Kut Teh stall.
In Tanjung Sepat, we were headed towards the Pau shop. 
The iced coffee there was really good.
After exchanging some conversation, Yong took off. He was headed towards Sungai Pelek.
We continued our Journey towards Tg Sepat town...

Cycling into Tg Sepat

Lunch hour
As the sky cleared, we rode past Tg Sepat town.
On a Saturday, this place is busier than Mid Valley Megamall in KL.
True to Yong's description, the Fish Kut Teh shop was closed.
Our destination was the pau shop and it wasn't difficult to spot it.
Iced coffee was on my priority list as I wasted no time in quenching my thirst.
We had a Mui Choy pau (preserved vegetable), prawn and crab fritters.
When I tried to order a vegetable pau, the Uncle who was manning the pau stall was busy.
Some thai-thais (madams) had taken over. 
One of the ladies had a tattoo on her ankle. I thought she had a bad ringworm infection.

Deep-fried sotong kia with Marmite sauce

From the pau shop, we rode towards the Tg Sepat 'love' bridge.
This place is another tourist attraction and by the time we got there, it was already packed with people, mostly tourists from the Klang Valley.
Michelle and I made our way to a restaurant called 'Ban Joo Hing' and placed an order for three dishes.
We had fried sotong kia (cumit-cumit), deep fried sarr chooi (whiting or ikan bulus) and fan shue yeep (sweet potato leaves).

The makan place

Deep fried Sarr Chooi

The food, especially the fried squid and whiting was not bad. Our bill came to RM41.10 which is rather okay for a small town. 
But the fried vegetables sucked. Worst I've had so far.
I think there are some good makan places in Tg Sepat which we can explore. 
Perhaps an overnight trip would do some justice for our food trail.
After our fill, we rode off, this time, its the return trip to USJ26...

USJ26 - Tg Sepat Ride Part 2

Old and new: Cycling past a commuter in Banting

At Morib

Surf's up: The wave at Morib

Riding into the storm

Resuming the ride
We had our fill in Banting and it was time to hit the road again.
Cycling out of town, we headed towards Morib beach which is about 10km away.
The weather allowed us to cycle non-stop to the Morib junction where we slowly proceeded towards the Klanang beach.
Barely an hour into the ride, we arrived at Morib.
This place was deserted. 
Few people were around as we made our way to a wakaf.
There, we met a Malay guy, probably in his 30s. He said he saw us in Sijangkang.
We chat with him a bit, and went on to take pictures of the surf.
It was amazing as the waves went crashing into the retaining walls.
"It has been like that for a few days," said the guy.
At Morib, we had enough time to check on the bikes.
Our Dahons seemed to be in a good shape.
So far, I've cycled the Schwalbe Big Apple tires for more than three years and its really holding out fine.
The only thing that is slowly wearing out are our brakes.
I guess its time to have it changed.
Tanjung Sepat is about 17km away from Morib. 

USJ26 - Tg Sepat Ride Part 1

Leaving our home in USJ 26

Night ride rig: Nite Ize LED vest, Topeak helmet light

Making an exit near Bandar Botanic

Breakfast in Banting

Plan B
I managed to squeeze a day off on Saturday.
Was supposed to lead a ride in Carey Island, but due to my erratic schedule, I called it off.
And this had turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Some guy had grabbed the idea and made this his event, so, I let it be.
Instead, Michelle had suggested a ride to Tanjung Sepat instead, I jumped at it without much hesitation.
Initially, I suggested Bagan Lalang. That would make our return trip about 200km. I pushed  for it, but she said it was a no-go. So, we settled for Tanjung Sepat.
The plan was to leave from our home, head towards the KESAS highway and shoot straight to Morib.


Executing the plan
The alarm rang at 5am sharp. Our bikes were set-up the night before, the packing was done with spares and recovery kit on our Ortlieb front roller panniers.
We had some bananas for early breakfast and I downed two endurolite capsules for the road.
At 06:30am the road was still dark.
Michelled had the Valo light on her Dahon Speed TR which was powered by a Joule dynamo.
This worked perfectly.
For low visibility, we wore a Nite Ize LED vest. This came with a 3M scotchlite strip and our Topeak Helmet light. 
In short, we were well-covered and there is not excuse for motorcycles and cars not to 'see' us.


First leg of the journey
From USJ 26, we rode down part of the LDP, joining Section 27 of Shah Alam.
Then, we made a turn towards the Proton plant which connects to the KESAS highway.
This is the scariest section of the ride. The road was pitch dark. 
Half-way through the ride, Michelle's water bottle fell off.
I picked it up and improvised by securing the bottle with a velcro strip.
The sky was beginning to brighten up as we hit the motorcycle lane at the KESAS.
We stopped at a bridge near the Kg Jawa for a short break and by daybreak, a roadie zipped by. He waved at us.
About 45-minutes into the ride, we reached the Bandar Botanic and Banting exit.
This is a short climb before we roll down towards Sijangkang and Teluk Panglima Garang.
Since the day was gloomy, riding the distance was no issue at all.
We reached Banting by 9:45am and found a Hainanese coffee shop where we had our breakfast.
This was timely as we took a longer break. Next stop: Morib beach...

Pro Tec Cyphon trail helmet

If I ever upgrade my cycling helmet, the next one would be  Pro Tec Cyphon.
This is one of the most technologically advanced head protection around.
Its lightweight and the no-frills design sets it apart from other helmets in the market.
Unfortunately, its not available here in Malaysia and the only means of getting it is by mail-order.. 

Team Starmetro for OCBC Cycle Malaysia

Team Captain Kevin Tan (far left) and his roadie gang

I've concluded round 1 of talks with a sponsor for my team Starmetro who will be taking part at the OCBC Cycle Malaysia's 48km challenge.
We've formed it with six other guys from the Editorial Department with blessings from Starmetro's Senior Editor.
In the weeks to come, the team, led by its Captain Mr Kevin Tan, will be training for the 4 x 12km course in KL beginning with a series in Desa Park City and Hulu Langat Bt 18.
As team publicist, I have the task to round up our sponsors and carry on the good name of The Star at the event.
Having said that, the Star cycling club is born..

Tiru macam saya..

Imitation is a form of flattery.
Its never easy to be an original with ideas that flourish when you execute it.
I've organized a few rides with some newcomers and they are quick to take my routes and use it as their motivation.
No issues with that as good things are meant to be shared.
But when people rip you off, there is cause for alarm.
I was supposed to go for a ride this weekend at Carey Island.
Its a simple 40km return trip. 
But due to work commitment, I am unable to do it.
Running parallel to my plan, is another guy who had announced the ride on Facebook.
This became his event now since I am unable to see to it.
Still, no issues. My style of doing things, planning and execution has always been copied. 
Ethics wise, I think its utterly shameless for a guy who thinks he is held in high esteem to rip off my plans..
Nevertheless, its an open plain. People are free to do what they feel is right.
On a hindsight, we will carry on doing what we do best: Keep on truckin'!

Post ride recovery

If you are embarking on an extended tour with your bike, recovery is very important.
Why? Because after you had cycled for 100km, your legs are raw and feels like minced meat.
Which brings me to the subject of recovery.
The natural way is to have enough rest. This is also affected by your age and how fast you body can heal.
For the fogie, its much harder to recover after a long ride.
One of the proven supplements that promotes a quicker recovery time is the Hammer Recoverite.
This consumable supplement comes in powder form.
It tastes horrible, but works in a way that you tend to experience less muscle aches.
I tried a sachet after a strong recommendation by the Yong brothers of Tukang Basikal Fook Sang.
After a 74km ride, I took a glass of Hammer Recoverite.
The effects of sore muscles - especially my thighs were greatly reduced.
That said, I now pack a small sachet for my tours and have a large tub at home for recovery after a long training ride..