Cycle a Tern to work day - Part 1

Getting psyched-up..
Thursday morning. With one day to go before going on my break, I have worked for 12 days straight.
Its taken a toll on my mental health. Cycling is a way to blowout some steam and unwind.
My plan was to take my evaluation bike for a ride to work on a route I knew too well.
The day before, I stocked-up on two spare inner tubes.
For the test, I've divided it in three stages.
First, there's the short distance cruise where the Tern had passed with flying colours.
Second, a middle-distance ride. 
The commute from my home to my office is roughly about 45km two-ways.

Getting ready to leave my home in USJ26

It was a wonderful morning. 
The sun was covered in heavy clouds, so, it wasn't that hot.
My plan was to ride to USJ2 and make a turn towards Persiaran Tujuan where it joins to the Federal Highway motorbike lane.
The Shimano Alfine 11 drivetrain needs to be run-in so that it would yield a smoother ride on the Tern Eclipse S11i.
And since this is a 24" wheeled ride, rolling was much faster and smoother.
As far as puncture protection is concerned, the Schwalbe Big Apple tires are doing its job.
I've also transferred my water bottle cage and a Topeak Mini-morph hand pump to the Tern.
Everything looked good at this point...

Entering Persiaran Tujuan

A new tunnel on the Federal Highway

Changing landscape..
There is a new stretch along the Federal Highway opposite Empire Gallery.
There are two more tunnels along this route.
In the past, there is no need for these, but now, there's a new Shell petrol station along the highway.
And like any other commute, the bikes would whizz by, just clearing inches away from you.
After riding for 10km in 25-minutes, I finally reached the motorbike lane and rolled down to my favourite spot where I usually take a snapshot to remind me the ever changing scene on the motorbike lane...

My favourite photo spot

From the Federal Highway, the rest was an easy ride to the office in Section 16, Petaling Jaya.
The journey to the office is roughly about 23km one-way.
When I arrived at Jalan 223, I made my way to Section 13.


Expect the unexpected
The Tern Eclipse S11i came standard with a pair of MKS EZY Quick Release pedals.
These are really strong and only the premium-priced items would have it.
I don't know what the deal was with the Eclipse as it came with a pair of Wellgo plastic pedals.
So, while waiting for the traffic lights to clear opposite Colgate-Palmolive factory in Section 14, I started cranking the pedal and heard a loud crack.
When I made my way across the road, a piece of the pedal fell off and was left behind.
At this point, I had one and a-half pedal to work with. 
With another 3km to go, I decided to push forward.
I had a meeting with the OCBC people and Chris Robb from Spectrum Worldwide at 11am.
An appointment I had to keep or my ass would be on fire!

Broken: the cheap Wellgo pedal

From Section 13, its a short climb towards Jalan Dato Abu Bakar in Section 16. 
After that, it was a smooth downhill roll towards the office.
I made it in time and pushed the bike towards the elevator and moved up to level 3A.
At this point, I was upbeat about finishing my daily chores.
After working straight for 12 days, I can look forward to my break and I am not due to return back to work till May 31.

Another day at work

So, I spent the rest of the day at work, trying to close as many pages as I could.
Even with a broken pedal, I wasn't about to give up.
This is good training as far as mental preparation is concerned.
I could have rang up the K2 Asia guy and fucked the hell out of him. But its not a big issue.
To complete the evaluation, I might change the Wellgo pedals to my MKS EZY QR pedals. 
All I need to do, is to swap it from my Dahon Curve SL.