Cycling to work hits a snag..

Curiosity and a chance encounter with the company''s security chief...

I went into the elevator and bumped into the company's security chief.
He's an ex-cop and is in charge of the overall safety of the building, this includes the workplace and its interior.
"I need to talk to you..," he said.
My immediate response was to listen to what he had to say.
"You cycle to work? Some people complained that you took your bicycle into your workplace. We don't allow personal transport to be brought in," he clarified.
I told him that the only time I brought my bike to work was on a public holiday and on weekends.
On two occasions, I cycled to work and it coincided with "World Car Free Day".
Well, that was basically on assignment.

From last year's car-free day

My most recent foray

Be kind, be civil..

The security guy was very nice.
I returned his courtesy by clarifying the fact that on two occasions, I cycled to work on assignment. 
Well, at least I did it all the way.
The other fact that I raised was that I made sure that the tires were clean and left no markings on the floor.
He was appreciative of what I had to say.
The man further suggested that the building and property services would allocated three parking bays for motorcycles and bicycles. 
My justification for bringing the bike to my workstation: 

1. The bikes are expensive.
2. Its foldable and doesn't get in people's way.
3. I test bikes and its part of my job.
4. I made sure the bikes are not dirty.
5. I am the only guy who cycles to work.

I further clarified that I had permission from my superior to bring the bike to work. The man was quite understanding and said that he would appreciate it if I could get my big boss to issue an instruction to the security team to allow me to bring my bike to my workplace.
I thanked him for being a good listener and said that I would take this to the top honcho and see what he has to say.
At a company that promotes Green Living, it would be a shame that employees are not encouraged to cycle to work and temporarily store their bikes at the workplace.
He said he had no issues if I were to get the green light with an approved paperwork from the big honcho.

Cycling to work series 03 - Part 2

When the day is done..
My target was set at 05:30pm.
That's my que to leave the office and head straight towards the Federal Highway motorcycle lane.
But there were some technical issues.
The lamp assembly on my Cateye HL-EL520 broke. So, I had only one set of lights left.
That was not a big issue as I was taking full advantage of the daylight to move.


Shortest route possible
I began with a short climb on Section 16 towards Section 13 in Petaling Jaya.
After clearing a slope, it was a smooth downhill roll towards Section 14 as I made my way towards Jalan 222.
The trick is to get across the Federal Highway via Jalan Templer and connect with the motorcycle lane.
There weren't many motorcyclists on the road as it was a public holiday and my journey was really smooth.
It took me about 20 minutes to get from Menara Star to the highway. I did good with the timing on an average-speed of 23km/h.

Dangerous stretch: the widow-maker near Sungai Way

Resting underneath a flyover

Dangerous places
Its not all rosy along the Federal Highway motorcycle lane.
There are several hotspots along this area and if you are not careful, there is a very likely chance for you to get hurt.
One of the worst stretch is located along the Guiness-Anchor brewery.
There is a bad patch here and speeding motorbikes can be seen thrown off-balance.
I took a break at the area before continuing my journey towards the Subang Jaya exit.

On final approach to USJ 26

Total time and distance clocked

The nick of time...
Earlier, my wife had offered me a ride home.
I declined because I wanted to complete the cycle to work experience.
That said, the journey home was shorter than expected.
From SS13 in Subang Jaya, I began a slow and gradual climb towards USJ 1.
At a distance, the Summit USJ building was already in plain sight.
From this point, its a simple 7km ride towards the end of Persiaran Kewajipan.
After clearing a few traffic lights, I can see my car workshop at USJ19.
By the time I cleared USJ21, I can see a new shopping mall taking shape in USJ26.
The last push was a short climb on the Putra Heights flyover towards USJ24.
With the momentum from the downhill roll towards a Petronas station in USJ 23, home sweet home was already in sight.
I completed the ride in over an hour. 
My wife was already waiting to head out for dinner.


The future of cycling to work...
I think I can make it a point to cycle to work on public holidays as the dress code in the office is not strict.
Panniers bags would certainly come in really handy to store some spare clothes as well as extra lights and recovery gear.
So far, the Speed P8 had held up really well and my Schwalbe Big Apple tires are well into its third year of service.
Compared to the Jetstream EX, the P8 was a rougher ride. I missed all the comfort of a full-suspension ride...

Cycling to work series 03 part 1

Car free public holiday
Its Awal Muharam and Monday don't feel like a work day.
Fresh from my ride in Raub, Pahang, I had to set up my Dahon Speed P8 for a ride to work.
The plan is to get to the office via Persiaran Kewajipan's inner road and head towards the Federal Highway.
Now, last Friday, cycling to work was pure torture.
The SRAM Dual-Drive II sytem on my Dahon Jetstream EX had failed.
I knew that there was no other choice than to count on my trustworthy Speed P8.
This is one bike that is built like the Hercules C-130H 'Charlie', tough, robust, able to haul cargo and survive long-distance trips.
For the record, I have circumnavigated the world on an RMAF C130-H30 and this plane can really take the punishment!
That said, after rigging up the Speed P8 with two Ortlieb frontroller panniers, I was on the road.


A test of endurance...
The Speed P8 was making some creaky noise.
It came from my chain and I guess that it was dirty and in dire need of cleaning.
Othewise, everything had turned out the way it should be.
On the average, I was doing 20km/h with the high gear on this bike.
It was a smooth as silk and it took me about 35 minutes to get to the Federal Highway motorcycle lane.
While I was making a turn towards Persiaran Tujuan from USJ1, I saw three cyclists on the road.
One of them was confused and made a U-turn towards USJ 2.
Then, in the distance, I heard someone yelling my name.
"Hey Sam! I am Victor!"
So, it turned out that the guy is Victor Loo from USJ Green Riders.
These are a serious bunch of cyclists whom I have met at the Putrajaya Interparks Ride a coupla times.
I wave to them and turned towards USJ4 and began my climb at SS19.
With only 8 gears, the chore was simple - grind and spin.

A slow day on the highway
The motorcycle lane on the Federal Highway is designed in such a way, you can access places like Shah Alam, Klang, Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur with your two-wheelers.
But, as a precaution, always ride on the left-hand side of the lane. The white line closest to you is a guide.
So, there I was, at an intersection, setting up my camera.
While I was at it, I noticed a roadie gliding by.
It took me less than 45-minutes to reach Sungai Way and while I was preparing to climb towards the back road near Tukang Basikal Fook Sang, I noticed a middle-aged man on a Yellow-coloured Brompton folding bike.
I waved at him and yelled: "Good morning!"
The man replied my courtesy as I crunched away on the bike, pulling further into Jalan 223.

signs everywhere: at the Subang bike lane...

 The hunger..
My attempts to fill up my tummy was unsuccessful. Most of the coffeeshops were closed. 
From the Federal Highway, I turned towards Jalan 222 and cruised towards Section 14.
It took me about 1:30:00 to reach Section 16 and the last push was a climb towards Menara Star in Phileo Damansara.
My legs were already sore from the Raub ride, but since the Speed P8 was performing, climbing the short slope in Jalan Datuk Abu Bakar wasn't that bad.
As soon as I hit the office, I changed into my part working attire and went to to do the day's chore.
Later, I had lunch at an Indian restaurant near the office and continued with the day's worth of work...

Finally! At my workstation

In proper perspective..
Well, I reached my office just on time to carry out my work. There's a long day ahead and plenty to be done.
The bike blended well with the environment and since I had to close my pages for the regional edition, I had set my target to leave the office by 5:30pm...

Cycling to work...

Desperate times calls for drastic measures...
I sent my car in to Mr Siew's workshop in USJ19.
Fearing the radiator would blow-up, I took every precaution.
When I got to his workshop, I told him to give me the diagnostics.
My only ride to work, is my trusty Dahon Jetstream EX.


SRAM Dual Drive II and water..
Lessons learned from previous outings: Never dunk your SRAM DDII internal hub gear.
While pushing the bike to my car, I noticed that the rear wheel wasn't free-rolling.
It resisted every move and this proved to be painful in the 23km ride from USJ19 to my office in Section 16, Petaling Jaya.

Break at USJ4

Futile resistance
I think the internal gears on the SRAM DDII had been jammed up.
This made climbing the undulating terrain from USJ19 to SS19 really tough.
I must admit that after taking a break from cycling for nearly two weeks and the lack of sleep had really slowed me down.
With the sun directly above my head, I took short breaks at every 5km intervals.

Taking a short rest underneath a flyover in Sungai Way

Pounding the legs
The 'tight' feeling on the rear wheel presisted throughout the ride.
After 10km of cycling, I can feel the strain on my thighs.
When I reached the old Trebor building at Jalan 222, Petaling Jaya, my thighs began to suffer cramps.
This was remedied with a dash of Deep Heat cream.
All through the ride, the pain persisted...

Sharing the road with bikes and cars

The final push
My cellphone was screaming and I knew that the office was trying to reach me. There's work to be done to close the pages for an early weekend print run.
What that would typically take about 1 hr 30 minutes had doubled.
The heat, the pain, the resistance. 
All three became a factor and since I wasn't really pushing for time, I was already planning to get the bike to the workshop.
One car down and one bike short.
If the mechanics can fix the bike in time, its bound for Raub in Pahang this weekend. 
Otherwise, it will be spending some time at the workshop while I cycle my Speed P8.

Made it!

World Car Free Day, Sept 22, 2011

September 22 is 'World Car Free Day'.
I never heard of this until Ronnie, a folding bike kaki of mine had mentioned it.
My co-worker Andrew Sia confirmed this with a phone call today.
He wanted to write a piece about commuting to work on a bicycle.
I was rather hesitant because the road leading from USJ26 to the Federal Highway motorcycle lane is laden with danger.
Its like a videogame trying to get from Persiaran Tujuan to the SS19 interchange.
Subang Jaya itself, for starters, isn't bicycle friendly at all even though the town council had organised cycling programmes for residents living in the area.
I've attended two events so far, and found that the roads are literally dotted with potholes and uneven surface.
To make it worse, some sections have missing drain covers.
And to incorporate a bicycle lane around this part of the Klang Valley sounds insane.
Economically-speaking, the only people who cycle to work are foreign workers.
Everyday, I can see a handful of Bangledeshi and Nepali men cycling along Persiaran Tujuan and Kewajipan.


Known hazards
On the road, many motorists are disrespectful to cyclists. They tend to force bicyclists off the road even when they cycle along the white traffic lines. I've witnessed a few 'close calls'. 
But not all is lost. On the Federal Highway motorcycle lane, the motorcyclists tend to avoid bicyclists by giving way. 
They indicate their presence by applying their bike horns.
Missing drain cover gratings is the number one hazard for road bikes. Since they have very diameter on their tires, the gratings are a death-trap. 
Many have injured themselves.
Another apparent danger are potholes. These can damage your rims and bust your spokes.
Road debris would pose a problem if you have tires that don't provide puncture protection.
Glass, metal shrapnel, nails, even animal bones can cause downtime during your commute.


The brave ones
I know a few guys who cycles to work. 
One is a music composer who does an average of 20km daily and is also proud to declare that he is not a car owner.
He has a Facebook group called: "Cycle to work Malaysia" and organizes events. The last biggie he had was a Malaysia Day ride on Sept 16.
Another dude is actually a Rockstar. 
He's a landscape architect who lives in Bangsar and owns a sackload of bicycles.
I met him in Shanghai recently and was told by him that he had completed a ride in Beijing and Shanghai.
He cycles a Dahon Mu Uno around the Bangsar neighbourhood.
I know for a fact that some of the guys in Putrajaya are campaigning for lockers, bicycle parking space and showers at work. Good luck to them..


Will I do it?