Brommie Yummie

I have been corresponding with a folding bike shop in New York City called NYCE Wheels and they pointed me to a very interesting folding bike club called Brommie Yummie started by a Steven Huang. Here, fellow foldies apparently ride around the Big Apple in search of good eats.

Really sounds like my cup of tea or more aptly, my bowl of noodles. I think there is no greater joy than exploring for yummy food on the saddle with like-minded folks. Don't you think?

When there is a will, there is a way.

Ben & Pru, "welcome" relatives of ours are here for the hols and of course, one of the must-dos for anyone visiting Perth is a bike ride. Trouble was that there were 4 of us and only 3 full size bikes. Laying around my backyard was a kid's BMX bike, left here by one of our young friends. Ben immediately suggested that he could use it so ALL of us could ride together. I was shocked.

With some adjustments to the seat post and handlebar, and a layer of very thick skin, it was actually quite ridable for Ben. We went to Heathcote, some 8km away for the great views and managed a very decent 20kmh. Ben, being an excellent racing biker, had no worries adapting to the very smallish bike albeit the comical stares. The "sacrifice" he made for his wife was truly admirable.

Bearing one another's burden is a trademark of good buddies so I volunteered to ride it for a while to share the "shame" while Ben hopped onto my Brompton. I found the kid's BMX quite fun actually to ride and was surprised it rode decently though spin out came rather early being a one speed bike with a wobbly rear tire.

All in, the four of us enjoyed a lovely bike ride along the Canning River proving that when there's a will, there is certainly a way - getting strange stares and giggles notwithstanding.

A bright Red Light

It is said that visibility is a cyclist's only defence. During the day, wearing luminous yellow or orange jerseys, white helmet and even reflective vest play its part to help make us stand out to traffic.

At night, good lights are essential. The brighter the better for both front and rear lights. It also helps that they blink especially the rear so that drivers can notice us from behind.

My best friend got me The Fibre Flare tail light for my birthday. It gives out 360' of illumination and can be seen up to 300m away. Its operation is simple - just a button to choose between a steady light or a blinking one. Easy to mount, it won the 2009 Eurobike IF award. The USP is unlike other rear lights, it can be seen not just from the rear but the side as well. This can make a difference between being seen or not! Being alive or not!

Check it out here:

Sunday along the Singapore river

The Singapore River has historically been the heartbeat of early Singapore, where ships from all over the world would unload their goods here with the help of many bumboats and even more coolies or labourers. Today, it has been transformed into an absolutely beautiful place to unwind and cycle.

Littered with all sorts of trendy sidewalk cafes and restaurants, together with modern skyscrapers of the financial district and the colonial presence of grand old government buildings, as a whole they make for an architectual visual treat. It was also special to ride across 100 year old British built bridges like Cavenagh and Elgin Bridges. There are also interesting sculptures strategically placed to add to the pleasant ambience.

Mike and I took the opportunity to explore and breath in this delightful part of Singapore last Sunday on my very brief 6 day visit. Our foldies were the perfect vehicles to slowly cruise and meander the shared paths from Havelock Road all the way to the Singapore Flyer, a very nice 4km route. Because of the need to negotiate through very tight corners and through pedestrains, its small wheel ability to turn on a dime put big smiles on our faces.

On the evening of weekends, there are live performances and I particularly enjoyed listening to the melodious sounds from the 60s, with the Singapore skyline in front of me and cool breezes along the river.

I reckon this is a perfect way to spend a Sunday evening if ever you are in this part of the world, on small wheels of course.

Outback at Mandurah

We had the privilege of having Keong, a fellow foldie rider (Dahon Vitesse) from Singapore join us for our regular ride to Mandurah. He was in Perth for a visit with his family and gladly accepted the invite to ride overseas for the first time.

Keong was thrilled to use my Speed Pro while I used Chris' missus' MTB, a Marin with a very special AMP fork.

Catching the 607am train was a challenge but we made it and rode to Uncle Ken's home 4km away from the Mandurah Train Station. As usual, Ken was there waiting for us, grinning like a Cheshire cat, all ready to dance.

It so happened that the weather got really warm and it hit 30c at 10am, making it like a typical Aussie outback. Still, there were enough cool breezes to bring some relief. Both Keong and Chris were taken in by the beauty of the coastline and I truly never get tired of doing this ride. We took it easy and Chris was really keeping his camera busy.

I was enjoying a good yarn with Ken on the saddle and noticed that our guests were nowhere to be seen. That got me worried and after 15 mins, Keong showed up with his left knee all banged up and bleeding. He had misjudged one of the downhill hairpins and crashed. Fortunately, Chris brought a first-aid kit and we spent the next 10 mins playing ER.

Despite this, Keong was sporting enough to continue. We rode through some dirt path and I nearly lost it as the front wheel got bogged by the soft sand.

Morning tea came 5km early at Dawesville Cut given the crash. We carried our bikes down steep long stairs to picnic at the lovely jetty.

With the heat rising, so did the number of flies. Not wanting to hang around longer than necessary, we made our way up and headed home. I felt for Keong but he seemed alright. A really tough cookie he is! Schwarnager's famous words, "I have no time to bleed" wouldn't be out of place here.

We had to take more water breaks than usual and rode past a huge brown snake! That got everyone excited. Just before town, my bike somehow lost its chain and it laid on the ground, like a metal snake. I was spinning like the Flintstones for a while before realising what had happened.

It had snapped but once again, Chris the saviour brought along a spare link (he is truly a mobile workshop) and fixed it in no time.

At Ken's house, we were so grateful for cold drinks and warm fellowhip. It happened that Barb, Ken's wife is a retired nurse and when she saw Keong's injuries, she brought out the largest first-aid box ever and started to have fun cleaning and dressing him up.

Ken very generously fixed us a lovely lunch of cold meats, bread and salad which we woofed down hungrily.

While we laughed and joked over lunch, Ken remarked that this ride with the heat and all the adventure and excitement made this a truly outback experience. As we returned home in the cool aircon train in 36c heat, I couldn't agree with him more.

Keong - you are the man!

Photo credits of Pics 1,2,4,10,11,15 & 16 - CW

The hills are alive...

Its always great to meet new friends on the saddle. Tony, a very seasoned MTB and World Tourer, took us to Kelmscott to do his favourite Brookton Highway loop, with 8km of climbing awaiting us. This is where the famous Araluen Botanic Park is, renowned for its beautiful tulips in August. Tony mentioned that this part of Perth reminded him of Europe so that got me sold to give it a go.

We caught the train to Kelmscott which was painless enough and being a Saturday morning, we had the whole train and the stations all to our three selves plus bikes.

After my trip to Laos, I have grown to appreciate hills and climbs, as it rewards often with magnificent scenery. The Brookton Loop did not disappoint.

Tony enjoys eating wild fruit and introduced us at the beginning of the ride to juicy, sweet, black Mulberries. It was a great novelty for Chris and I to be able to eat fruit plucked from the roadside without paying. Typical city folks we are! Just ten minutes after the first fruit stop, Tony pulled over again to feast this time on golden loquats. I enjoyed this better as its yellow flesh was really refreshing and its sweetness gave us the necessary boost to start out climb.

Chris’ Surly LHT tackled the climb effortless and my Speed Pro did very well too with a low 27" gear range, with Tony in the lead on his Giant MTB. I found the long climb to the top manageable despite being warned that at some stages, we may "die". The challenge laid in it being almost continuously uphill with some granny gear stages. I supposed when we have survived many mothers of all hills in Indonesia and Laos, we don't "die" that easily.

Halfway up the climb though, my steering started to feel very unresponsive. Closer inspection revealed a possible headset problem which could not be resolved. At the top of the climb, we borrowed some tools at a local garage but still could not overcome the stiff steering.

This was most unfortunate as I could not enjoy hammering downhill on the return leg as the bike had a very unpredictable weave. This proved harrowing when tackling long sweepers at 40+kmh with cars passing close by. I knew I should go slower but alas, the need for speed prevailed. Needless to say, both Chris (56kmh) and Tony left me behind in their wake.

We enjoyed a nice lunch break of ham sandwiches, hard boil eggs with fruit and swop bike stories (what else?). Tony explained his new found passion of recycling used bicycles. He has about 10 in this house awaiting his attention.

I was very pleased and grateful to Tony for showing me this new bike route. It is a welcome change indeed from the flattish rides of Perth.

To use the famous words of Julie Andrew’s song in the 1965 musical production, “The hills come alive, with the sound of music (from bicycles cranking uphill and flying down)”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPnMNLyOTks&feature=related

Update 2 Nov: I'm delighted to report that the Speed Pro had a new ball bearing head set replaced by George's Bike Shop at Willetton and running like new again. Great service! Thanks Ellis.