Rogue Rider - projek Bagan Lalang, part 1

Is it possible?

Commuting guru and Brompton God Ng Chor Guan told me that he had done a 200km ride..

I'm not sure whether his attempt was a one-way ride or a return trip.

I've done 150km, it wasn't easy.

Seeing that it was feasible, I gave it a shot.

It was a cool morning, I started late (which proved to be a grave mistake) and headed out towards my planned route.

I was to ride from my home in USJ 26 to Bagan Lalang and back.

When I plotted the route on Google maps, it was a clean 100km single-journey ride.

If you have a GPS log to track your ride, then its verifiable.

I am not sure if Guan had logged his on a cyclometer, which is inaccurate at most times. But I would never doubt his sincerity on this.

Ride hard, Ride far, or Die..

This was to be my second solo ride.

I did it the first time from my home to Jugra Lama. It was enjoyable.

The road to Banting was paved with danger.

There are inconsiderate drivers on the road, trailers that could sweep you up and make a pile of minced meat out of you.

So, its either you, or the trailer.

I set out at 9am in the morning. The sky was gloomy. It was a good day to ride.

Half-way reaching Kota Kemuning, I noticed that my Ashima PCB disk brake was dragging.

Even after bleeding it, the problem was apparent.

In our weather, the Ashimas are useless.

The road to Banting

A detour

I had a decision to be made.

Either scrap the journey, or head to Bandar Botanic to get the bike fixed.

The option was clear. 

Even with the brake drag, I can't get home without losing lots of energy.

So, I picked the option of getting the bike fixed.

I knew the store supervisor EK at Rodalink Klang. He's good.

So, to get the bike on the road, I had to first remedy the brake problem.

I am not sure if the guys at Rodalink are capable of doing it, but hey, no risk, no gain...

While the boys were tending to my bike, I had the chance to fill up my tummy.

Its the wantan mee at a corner coffee shop behind Rodalink that made my day! 

Wantan mee for the soul...

Catching up...

I utilised the down-time in Klang to chat up with EK.

He told me that since the Tern bicycles were launched at the Rodalink in Bandar Botanic, they have been receiving plenty of requests for the Verge P18.

Seems that my 'first impression' preview had generated some interest.

Its a shame that Le Run or K2 Asia depends solely on their customers to do their work.

If the marketing people there have half the brains, they would be aggressively selling their Tern bicycles instead of using the local cycling magazines...

I hope that they will deliver when the Terns arrive in March this year.
Yeah, I am still sore about being used, abused and conned into helping these buggers!

We talked a bit, and I wished EK all the best.. 

PIPR series 13

First cycling event of the year.. 
We've been laying off cycling events a bit.
Michelle's been traveling on her job and she hasn't been riding for at least two months.
She got back from Taiwan last week and I've planned to take part at the Putrajaya Interparks Ride which was held for the 13th time...

Michelle on the road

Mr CS Wee and SK Yeong

Team Jetstream

Old friends... 
While I was mingling with a bunch of people at the flag-off area, I met Mr CS Wee, one of the pioneer folding bike owners who rode a Dahon Speed P8.
I met Mr Wee in 2010 at the Dahon Folding Bike Club launch (Well, sadly, this club is as good as dead..) where we spent some time discussing about folding bicycles.
Mr Wee, a veteran cyclist, lives in Butterworth and Kota Kemuning. He cycles a lot in the North and the East Coast.
Another person whom I met at the event was Mr SK Yeong.
A long-distance cyclist, Yeong is one of the organizer of the "Smell the Roses" tri-state tour that will take place on February 4.


Newbies...
The folding bike crowd at the PIPR ride was amazing.
There were at least 40 bikes, twice as many compared to previous events.
We met a few people who are new to folding bikes.
At the event, I also caught up with some Tern bike owners...


The ride...
Spare the poor sods who crashed their fixies along the way, the course was really smooth.
Having rode most of the easy and moderate courses in the PIPR series, I must say that the organizers had done a good job.
Basically, the PIPR is a social ride and also an avenue for me and Michelle to catch up with some old friends.
After completing the 25km ride, we shot off to Broga for lunch.. 

G-Zilla!

Canon's frontal assault...
Canon Cameras announced their new flagship compact camera: the Powershot G1x.
As far as high-end compact cameras are concerned (I am not comparing this with micro four-thirds). Canon is way ahead in the pack.
And with the large-sensor G1x, its clear that Canon is leading the way in this category.
Having said that, its current contender: the Nikon P7100 is nowhere compared to the G1x in terms of features and design.

Monster compact camera: The G1x and its predecessor, the G12

Better image quality, top-notched features
People would have high expectations on the G1x.
Unlike the previous model, this one has a 4x zoom lens which roughly gives you the focal lengths of 28mm - 115mm. 
This is enough to cover all my basic needs of having a walkabout camera without sacrifcing weight and bulk.
But, having said that, the G1x is slightly larger than the G12.
This is apparent in its larger image sensor, said to be able to produce better quality shots.
In this case, its enough to fulfil my needs when it comes to getting some good pictures for my food articles.


Gallery

Summary
Well, I guess that its still too early to tell how this baby will perform.
I can definitely look forward to its debut here in Kuala Lumpur in the months to come as it is a timely replacement for my battered and used Powershot G12!