Who wants to be a millionaire?

The trusty Surly is finally packed into a regular-sized bike box. My mom commented why its so huge. Arh, she is too used to seeing me travel with my foldies. Usually, its just the Samsonite or a half-size golf bag.

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Weight is the cyclist's enemy so each item carried is carefully considered. My panniers filled up quickly and measured about 6kg for 10 days of travel. Not bad, light enough even for cabin luggage.

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But the best part so far in the preparation is changing into Indonesian Rupiah. S$1 gets Rp 6647 so I'm technically a millionaire, with 3.5m to blow in 10 days. That sounds like fun!

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Flight leaves 0645 - so its early to bed. Not sure when I can write next but stay tune and keep us in your prayers as we attempt to tame the Sumatran Volcanoes. Alas, too excited to sleep...

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*This verse in Deuteronomy 31:8 may very well be Strida riders fav promise in the Bible, but its good to know that the Almighty is with us, wherever we go :)

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"God is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down; he won't leave you."

He needs reporting, he does!

PC Goon - The Five Find Outers 1947 Enid Blyton

SGA 832A - the one that got away, for now.

As with every fisherman who has a fishing story, we cyclists too have our versions. But more than ego boosting "the one that got away" ones, ours in Singapore will most likely be, "the one that nearly killed me". And so my story begins...

On my last 72km Sumatra training ride along Dunearn Road, I was riding happily with Paul cruising at 25kmh when a big black SUV cut into our lane suddenly and stopped in his tracks. We had to jam our brakes to avoid flying into his rear windscreen. Thank God for His protection and powerful LX V-brakes! The purpose of his reckless manouveour - to drop off his precious MGS princess at the overhead pass. It was clear that he was aware of our presence as Mr Inconsiderate did not allow her royal highness to come out of the Korean Bentley for a good 30 secs, waiting to see if it was safe - from us that is. Meanwhile, I was stuck behind him and so were other vehicles.

Obviously, the driver does not consider bicycles on the road to be part of traffic. He did not apologise but sped off nonchalantly. Paul is fuming mad and is planning to wait for this idiot next week at the same time, same place 0715 to take a photo and show his "displeasure". And Paul can look menacing... As much as I would like to join him, I will be on the plane enroute to Medan at that time.

In the famous words of PC Theophilus Goon, the goofy policeman in Enid Blyton's 5 Find-Outers (I love this series and still do), that driver "needs reporting, he does!". Hope he will soon hear from the Traffic Police.

Riding Surly Silly...

What's the top speed of a Mac truck? Who cares!

The uncool tray on rack - function over form.

Max Speed of the 27 speed Long Haul Trucker!
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Come Apr 14, I will be catching a really early morning flight to Medan, Sumatra with Chris to begin a 10 day cycle tour around Lake Toba and the surrounding volcanoes. Plenty of downhills, hopefully more than the uphills and a total of over 500km. Therefore, I've been disciplining myself to train and today, I enjoyed an early morning 61km long ride around the quieter parts of Singapore on the Surly. Passed reservoirs, rode on the famous Upp Thomson race track, whizzed by Sungei Buloh Wildlife Reserve, Tengah Airbase, cemetries, saw an army tank, fish farms etc - heavenly!

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Riding on my usual Mandai "top speed" stretch, I could not resist flooring the Long Haul Trucker to see what it could do. This porky 14kg touring bike is certainly not set up for all out speed especially mine with the most uncool, senior citizen plastic market tray on the rear rack (however so useful in carrying precious packets of food and soy bean drink from the hawker stalls). But it managed a respectable 56.5km/h!
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My fastest foldie the Dahon Speed Pro's record is 61.9km/h while my old Giant OCR racer has hit 68km/h. Yes, I can hear you ask what's the purpose of this pointless attempt? Why compare a Mac Truck with a 350Z or M3?

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Just being silly on a Surly, I guess... and you know what? It was FUN!

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Update: The plans for the exciting Sumatra adventure from Apr 14-24 posted here by Chris. Amazing photos. Definitely worth a lookie:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=3Tzut&doc_id=3470&v=6j

Customer service par excellence - Bike Friday

Tikit in Pai, Northern Thailand - Pic courtesy of Chris

Back to foldies, I made a trip to Eugene, Oregon in June last year. It was mainly to bring Jem to see my alma mata UO and to "show him off" to my elderly friends who took great care of me when I was a young undergraduate in the mid 80s. Since the famous Bike Friday HQ was located there, I had had to check out their new model, the world's fastest Folding bike - the Tikit. After a very enjoyable 2 hour test ride (yes, that long!) around the quaint city and the beautiful campus, I was sold. I took the only showroom model available, a perfect UO duck green. It was that or a 3 month wait.

Bike Fridays are pretty much custom-made "suitcase packable" bikes that are right up there as one of the best foldies around. The Tikit combines their legendary performance with a 5 second fold. I'm very impressed with the nimbleness of its handling and ride, even with smallish 16" tires (essential for a compact fold). My Tikit has travelled with me to Cambodia and Northern Thailand and proven itself marvellously, even on some off road jaunts.

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However being one of the first models, my Tikit had some minor teething problems. Latches broke, twisted cabling and recently, some flex on the handlebar stem. This was when my ownership experience became really satisfying.

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Many companies pay lip service to customer service but Bike Friday handles it with immediate action. All the problems I brought to them were duly solved, no questions asked. Necessary parts sent without delay through FedEx, arriving at my doorstep within a week or so. Amazing commitment to customer satisfaction. They also respond almost immediately to your queries, giving you utmost confidence in your Bike Friday. I get the impression that I'm not just a customer, but I'm a member of the Bike Friday "country club". Priceless!

Hugh, Walter, Hanna, Lynette and all the good folks at Bike Friday, if you are reading this, my grateful thanks to each of you for giving us Bike Friday owners such joy of ownership!

Check out: http://www.bikefriday.com/ for more info.

My brand new China dream - slightly shattered...

A portrait of my new bride by Chris

Bend rim (hard to photo)

Smashed left shifter

Right shifter also kaput!

Coming back from Kratie, I could not wait to touch down. Like a groom awaiting his new bike, I mean bride, Chris (he has one too) informed me that my custom fitted Surly Long Haul Trucker Touring Bike was finally ready. Each part was carefully selected, from Brooks B17 English leather saddle, Mary On One Bar, the controversial love it or hate it handlebar, Shimano 2008 XT componentary on most parts and Maxxis Overdrive Kelvar protected tires. It was a joy to ride it back from his home in Lakeview on a lovely Saturday evening and I took the long road home. Comfortable, crisp, responsive, sturdy and oh, soooo smooth - ready for my ride to China.

One crazy Malaysian guy has just successfully rode home from Duke University to Malaysia, a total of 27000km over 10 months on the Surly LHT. I can't wait to test mine over a longish ride which I am planning soon to Mersing, a Malaysian town 200km for a fund raising event for Cambodian children.

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=3Tzut&doc_id=2405&v=2Ig

Unfortunately last night, I made a mistake of lending this pride and joy to a 18yo teenager who in turn lend it to his 16 yo friend without permission. The result was disastrous, my one week old China dream ticket crashed. My heart was pierced and I was fuming mad! It was not a pleasant sleep I had to say the least. I wonder if anyone has had such an unpleasant experience?

Guess this Easter, the learning point for me is forgiveness. Also, to put people before things but ah, this is my "bride". Anyway, a closer inspection of the damage revealed smashed up LX Shifters (good thing I did't opt for XT), scraped Avid brake levers and a bend rim for now.

I hope my young friends will learn something about valuing and respecting the trust given to them. And if they can learn a little about being a wee bit more responsible in handling other people's things, then this painful experience of mine will be worth it, shattered dreams and all...

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The message of Easter is - the death and resurrection of Jesus brings life to us and strangely, I believe that message of hope is relevant here too.

Small town Kratie, big time memories.

Elegant boulevards thanks to ze French!

Our dolphin spotting boat.

Glorious sunsets everyday - pic by Jem

Bringing hope to people in need...

Duck foetus anyone?

Kratie, 1958 or 2008?

Good luck or answered prayer - our Dolphin spotting trip was a success. The launch point is 15km out of town and we scootered there 3 up, passing quiet and friendly villages. Not longer than five mins in the mighty Mekong River, a family of 4/5 dolphins surfaced and played around our boat. It was exciting spotting these beautiful mammals just coming up so gracefully for air and it was a challenge to take their pic. Several other boats too immediately gathered around us and we just were awe strucked to see such magnificient and graceful animals. In this part of the Mekong near Kratie lies numerous islands (esp during dry season) and we landed on one measuring about 10 by 4 m.

This little expedition for the Kratie Dolphins apparently made the top 20 best outdoor Asean adventures in this US travel site -

http://gorp.away.com/gorp/location/asia/seasia/top_twenty18.htm

Our gracious hosts, Tokyo and Sith, later brought us to the Kampi Rapids where bamboo shaded shelters lined by the fast flowing river. Lying on a hammock, listening to natural water symphony and just enjoying the cool breeze was a delight words cannot adequately describe.

Rural Kratie is a peaceful 3 street provincial town by the Mekong that seems oblivious it is 2008. We rode on a horse drawn cart, passed languishing French bungalows along wide tree-lined boulevards and savoured the serene country lifestyle for a few days. I enjoyed cycling my CM micro-bike in the morning and was surprised to see how busy and bustling the market was. As usual, squealing kids were fascinated to see a 8" wheeled bike and crowded around for a photo.

It was also a joy to visit the Provincial Hospital to see Cil at work - providing consultations to Cambodian Physios and helping out with patients. They taught an elderly lady who suffered a stroke several months ago, to learn how to walk again and the smile on her face was heartwarming. Also, a little Celebral Palsy toddler was treated and his young parents were shown techniques to help his physical development. Its times like this I wished I had the healing touch!

We were introduced to two types of Khmer food while in Kratie - Duck foetus and Beef on hot plate. As much as our Cambodian friends tried to persuade us to eat the foetus, I was squirming as it looked like those shock tactic ads by anti-abortion groups. Eating the foetus was supposed to make you "strong". But we truly enjoyed this hot plate dinner called "Ko Lam Phnom" or Cow on the Hill (literal translation) where small slices of fresh beef are cooked over a hot pot that looked like a small hill. Eaten with a special fermented soy bean paste and washed down with cold beer, it was heaven! Jem insisted we had to have it again for our last dinner there.

Our trip ended too soon but I am reminded again that our Creator is keenly interested and involved in all aspects of our life, even spotting dolphins. Who needs luck when our lives are in His sure hands?

Visiting the Irrawaddy Dolphins

CM carried on Tuk Tuk - Angkor Wat

Hope to see you!

We're off again Fri Mar 7 - this time to Kratie, Cambodia to see this special dolphins. I'm no Jacques Cousteau but its fascinating to learn that fresh water dolphins do exist in China, Vietnam, Burma, Amazon among other places. National Geo reported that only about 160 of these magnificient creatures are left in the Mekong and if nothing is done, they risk extinction. Thankfully, the Cambodian authorities have banned net fishing and this is a big step in the right direction.

Kratie is 340km north east of Phnom Penh and my wife Celia is assessing a Rehab Clinic there, so that is the "work" reason for this trip. Its also Jem's school holidays and what better than show him that reality is far more superior to virtual reality, at least in the case of this science excursion. Keeping my fingers cross that we will be able to encounter those lovely dolphins.

I hope to do a spot of cycling in PP with my buddy Stephen, Principal of Cambodian Methodist School. This is my preferred way of discussing and planning the Father's business. He always seems to know all the nooks and crannies of PP's backroads so new discoveries await. As there will be a fair bit of travelling in taxis and tuk tuks, my folder of choice is once again the Carry Me. I know, its not fair to my other folders but its 8kg and exceptionally compact.

Size does matter!

"All things bright and beautiful, the Lord God made them all..."