Going Pro

One of the joys of going on an adventure is getting new toys to enhance the trip. CW just helped me to get the latest GoPro video camera that can be mounted from all sorts of interesting positions on a bike. Its even more joyful when this is an early birthday present from the wonderful missus!

I've seen it mounted on surfboards, radio control planes and boats, cars, motorbikes and of course, on bicycles. The video is super high quality and an absolute hoot to watch. Check out CW's spin on the Bike Friday Tikit and the beautiful Maserati at the end of the video.

Can't wait to use it in our epic Mekong trip next week!

A puncture in the wilderness

As part of our training for the upcoming Mekong ride in 2 weeks, we needed to push the envelope. The route this time was from Bull Creek Train Station to Mandurah. I cannot believe the WA Government would invest in such an infrastructure, 75km of pure bike path, linking Perth to the beautiful coastal town.

At 705am, the regular 4 showed up plus a new big and burly friend Colin, on a Giant MTB.

The station inspector kept an eagle eye for bikers who failed to dismount and it was entertaining watching her lie in wait for her next prey. The weather unfortunately was cold (10c) and wet but heh, small things like that don't deter the all weather birds (does not apply to me as I'm a bird of the Kentucky kind when it gets too cold).

We were in high spirits as we battled the early morning drizzle. It was fun whizzing in total freedom compared to the bumper to bumper traffic crawling its way into the city. I learned my lesson on my last wet ride and rode my trusty Brompton, not because it was ideal for long distance riding, but because it had the very necessary fenders. A wet bottom is a cyclist worse nightmare in my books.

We only had to cross 2 intersections. It was a hassle to cross these!

After that, it was an easy straight south all the way. The route is clearly marked and the various distances sign posted were welcome bits of encouragement.

It was great to see so many bicycle commuters all decked out in their rain gear going to work, panniers and all. Riding through every tunnel, we rang our bells like little boys, enjoying the echo of different sounds bouncing off the dark surroundings.

While the 3 of us were going along on a nice clip, poor Colin was suffering. Being new to cycling, his bike was not properly set up and his seat needed to be badly adjusted. Lets just say the future of his offsprings-to-be were at great risk. At the midway break of 35km, a quick surgical procedure with my Topeak multi-tool brought instant relief. But by that time, Colin had had enough and called it a day. He rode to nearby Warnbro Train station and headed home. I hope he won't be too discouraged and trust we would see him again.

With the cold and wet weather, I was ravenous. As I had a 130pm appointment I was in a bit of a hurry and had to rush through my rice with curry.

Curry in a hurry!

Washed down with hot tea, and finishing off with some rum and raisin chocs, I was all revved up and ready to go. While Rod and I were busy peddling and drafting, I got an unexpected phone call. It was to tell me that Ken had a puncture so we back track to find him fiddling with his rear wheel.

The most unfortunate news of all was that Ken forgot to pack a spare tube! And we were about 40km from his house. This was truly a case of being stranded in the middle of nowhere! He was kicking himself in the butt and so was I for not bringing along at least a patch kit! I had a 16" tube while Rod had a 700c tube, both were useless in this situation. The other Ken, a newbie, grinned naively as he too had not bring along any spare tube. Ignorance is bliss until something happens!

In Australia and the UK, bicycles are also known as push bikes. The name must have come from someone who had to push his bike because of a puncture! So poor Ken did just that while the 3 of us rode on to Mandurah where Rod had to pick up his car to rescue him, with an estimated wait time of 2 hours.

It took us just over 4 hrs to complete the nearly 70km ride, with stops and all. The train ride home took all of 40 mins but it was a great sense of satisfaction to have made it. This was the furthest I've ridden on my Brompton.

Getting caught without a spare tube is a lesson which all of us will certainly not forget. I will say that bringing one along is as necessary as wearing a helmet! If not, a puncture in the wilderness can certainly mean an unexpected "game over".

Creative marketing for Bromptons

Recently, I've been very impressed with 2 videos about the British Brompton bicycle. The first one is done by a Japanese Brompton owner on 3D animation.

Another one is a feature video about niche bicycle companies in the UK by the BBC, "Made in Britain". It shows the commuting Brompton flying around BMX style ridden by stunt riders. Very entertaining indeed. I was delighted to see many of the Bromptons waiting to be exported had the Diginexx label on it, headed for Singapore. Kudos to Steven for his role in helping many people to discover the joy of being Bromptonites in the Lion City.

It fits!

After our regular ride today to Pt Walter, K came over to my house to see what is the best way to pack his folder for our upcoming Thai Mekong ride in 3 weeks time.

I remembered an old suitcase with airline approved dimensions I had in the shed. Removing the seat post and the 2 wheels, we were pleasantly surprised that the Ventura fitted straight into the suitcase with no worries. However to be extra safe, I suggested dismantling the RD and wrapping it up in bubble wrap, just to be sure. It took all of 5 mins to put everything together again.

Looks like K is all set to go because it fits!

ps: Those of you going for the trip, I hope you have practised packing your folder. Mine is all set and ready to go!

Police cracking down on Melbourne cyclists

The good news in Melbourne is that more people are turning to bicycles as their form of transport. Ranked consistently as the world's top 10 liveable cities, you can imagine the traffic jams. I have been to beautiful Melbourne several times and the last time, I took my Bike Friday Tikit to roam around the city. Beats taking expensive public transport and much, much faster. They have great bike paths there. However, even then I encountered a bit of a bicycle jam while crossing a traffic light intersection at peak hour!

The bad news is that as more people take to cycling, more rules are being flouted and today I read an article about the police targeting errant cyclists. My first reaction was oh no, police bullying the small fish once again but I realised that it is for the safety of the cyclists and fellow road users. It is heartening to know however, that compared to other road users where 80% flout the rules, only 5% of cyclists do. The fines are not cheap here in Australia:

Bike-related laws to be enforced include failing to wear a helmet (a $146 fine), not having lights ($146), failing to obey a traffic light ($292) and riding in a tram safety zone ($292).

One particular law that I support is the use of helmets as I'm beginning to see many cyclists especially school kids here in Perth who dangle the helmet on the handlebars, and wear them only if the authorities are around. Yes, my wife who is presently in Amsterdam tells me that no one wears helmets there but I'm a firm believer in the safety of a helmet. I have experienced how a helmet saved my life first hand, and seeing it protect a friend's head too. More about helmet protection here by TreeHugger.

Another area of concern is motorists opening their door carelessly and causing cyclists to crash into them, resulting in serious injuries. I hope the Police look into this aspect of safety as well.

So for those cyclists who ride safely and obey the laws, I think we have nothing to worry about as far as the Police is concern.

Disclaimer: Just in case I give the impression that I'm always the perfect law-abiding cyclist, I have to confess that I'm not.

The most stylish folder?

I owned the Strida 3.3, some years ago. It is a brilliant design by Mark Sanders, a renown UK bicycle designer and it appeals with its simplicity. 3 poles put together in a triangle. Slap on 2 wheels and a greaseless belt-drive system and voila, presenting the ultimate lifestyle commuter. Never before has a bicycle look so pleasing to the eye. There is remarkable beauty in its uber stylish design but is it just looks and no go?

First, the bad news. The main reason why I no longer own it was because it used a plastic crank and BB then and its squeaking drove me nuts. Truly a design flaw but the good news is that it has now evolved into the Strida LT which promises to put "squeaky" to rest.

Its weaknesses are probably the handling which takes getting used to, mounting on and off the bike is not the easiest and its limited luggage capacity.

That out of the way, all things considered, they are a small price to pay for the most stylish design folder available now and for its ease of handling when folded. The Strida for all its quirkiness begs to be ridden, is certainly high on the fun factor and user friendliness. You just want to be on this bike somehow! It is geared to cruise a leisurely 18-22km/h which in all fairness, is a decent clip. What is the hurry anyway?

And opps, did I forget cleanliness too, with its greaseless belt that takes the yuck out of cycling. Goodbye greased stained pants! You can now wear your expensive designer jeans for the ride to get your Expresso fix, looking as cool as can be with no worries. Gee-Jay in this video did a comprehensive analysis of the Strida that is worth 6 mins of your time.

The best news is it retails for a very reasonable US$590 in Singapore and though it understandably won't be everyone's cup of tea, I think its certainly one stylish stick-folder that deserves to be in my already crowded fold once again.

Pedalling to "Korea"

A good friend who runs the Phill Bean Korean Restaurant in Shelley Hub needed some urgent help tonight as she was short of staff. It was the perfect reason to go out for a bike ride and capture the beauty of the setting sun. Winter can be deary as the sun sets at a very early 540pm. A quick skip across Leach Highway and I was along the Shelly Foreshore bike path.

This ride never disappoints with its delightful river charm. I rode past two men fly fishing, a couple of kayakers, saw someone water sking and many joggers with their dogs in tow. It was also therapeutic to see a Pelican glide along the river and I have even seen dolphins here before. Such is the rich wildlife of this place and I cannot believe its at least 15km from the sea as the crow flies.

The 5km ride ended too soon. I performed the Brommy magic and placed the package at a corner of the restaurant, totally invisible.

One of the kitchen hand rides a bicycle too and she has to park it outside, at the risk of it getting nicked. No such problems with a foldie!

One of the perks in helping a friend out in a restaurant is that she always let me try all the wonderful dishes Phill Bean serves. Its great that at least I had a mini-work out to ease the guilt. I was wanting to ride back but being blessed with food to take home and no panniers, the kind boss drove me home with Brommy in the boot. She remarked, "Wow, your bike is so small".

Getting to eat delectable Korean food and riding along awesome scenery is life as good as it gets. I hope she calls me again to "Korea".