Photography and foldies

One of the twin joys of being on a bicycle, not just foldies (there, I've said it), is being able to capture beautiful scenery before our eyes as we glide on the saddle. That makes photography a very complimentary hobby to have.

Steven, one of the guys I just got to know last year on our ride to Bintan, has gotten himself a new Dahon D7 and cycled himself silly around the island. He got up early today and snapped this pic of Singapore city in the wee hours of the morning.

I think its a masterpiece, considering its from a fellow amatuer photographer. Apologies for the tiny pic as I got it straight out of FB.

The Dahon Show

Its quite normal for new car launches to have race queens to grace their occasion and add some glamour to their product. Well, that has now come to folding bikes too.

Enjoy the Dahon show in Japan!

Small wheels are better?

Bike Friday NWT in touring mode

Change is good. Instead of using a foldie, I took my Bridgestone XO5 hybrid for our Wed ride to Point Walter today. It has 700c wheels, the standard issue for racers and it was a most satisfying ride. It seemed to glide effortlessly on the road and because of its largess circumference, it offered a more comfortable ride compared to the 20" or 16" offerings I'm used to, especially over road irregularities. On the other hand, I found it a bit like cycling on a Penny-farthing - hard to steer and not very responsive. This was apparent when maneuvering around pedestrians on the shared path.

Its interesting to note that the reason for the popularity of the 700c tire today can be due more to a "sheep" mentality rather than for its obvious advantages, argues Velocio, a French bicycle designer who lived 100 years ago. Then, the logic was to fit the biggest possible tire onto the standard bicycle diamond frame.

The famed British designer, Alex Mouton, challenged this sacred belief and went about to re-design the bicycle to make it "more pleasing to own and to use". His idea was to use high pressure small tires with suspension (Sir Moulton after all, designed the Mini's unique suspension system). The results speak for themselves when his Moulton bicycle broke the Cardiff-London speed record in 1962.

It would be foolhardy for me to discount the advantages of big wheeled bicycles but my point is, for all intent and purposes, small wheels are often under-rated by the normal cyclists as well as bicycle manufacturers. They offer so many benefits over the "normal" wheels and you can read more about it in this excellent article by US Cycling Journal Cycling Science.

Velocio's words, some 100 years ago, are a fitting conclusion for the case of smaller wheels.

"That universal agreement has fixed on 70 centimetres as the proper size for wheels does not in any way prove that this diameter is best; it simply proves that cyclists follow each other like sheep.... Make no mistake, uniformity is leading us directly towards boredom and towards routine, whilst diversity, even though it distracts us, holds our attention, our interest and the spirit of enquiry always on the watch. To change is not always to perfect, and I know that better than any others newly come to cyclo-technology. But to stand still, to sink into a rut, that is the worst of things for industries and for men."

So are small wheels better? For the type of riding I do, I would say yes most times. They may surprise you.

Who envy who?

An article about the widening gap of the rich and the poor in the news today caught my eye. The picture of a Ferrari vs a 300Y locally made bicycle, and that is suppose to highlight the difference in economic status among the Chinese.

I beg to differ. In traffic grid-lock Beijing, the bike is definitely faster than the Ferrari around the city. Its got no worries getting a parking spot. Much more reliable than the hi-tech super complicated technology laden Ferrari. Infinitely lower running costs. Won't get kidnapped by the gangsters. And most of all, a far healthier option of travelling around the Chinese capital.

Now who is envying who?

Why we ride...

Ok, so this is about riding bikes with engines unlike the more noble human powered ones we like, but the message is the same. Our rides and trips are not so much about the impressive bikes we owned or even the breathtaking scenery we experienced, but rather, it is about friendship, love for one another and making great memories in this rather short life.

Enjoy this video from Taiwan. Its supposed to be based on a true story.

For a more detailed reflection on this clip, check out Tan Soo Inn's musings here, dated 23 Feb, "Death vs Love".

Note 8 March Tues: It was really tragic for me to find out that one of my dear friends YK passed away on Sunday 6 March abt 630pm after a game of badminton with his family and friends. He had a heart attack and was only in his early 50s. He was a keen cyclist and his last long ride was to Mersing, Malaysia from Singapore done last year. I am saddened by his lost and miss his friendship dearly but find comfort that we will meet again soon, in the presence of our Creator. 1 John 5:12

First ride in Fall

We are officially in Fall season but its still blistering hot - 35c today. So it was an early start for our Mandurah ride and I left my home at 545am. It was great to have KC with us. He has just gotten interested in foldies and asked if he could test the Brompton. As it is my mission to share the Gospel of Foldies, I invited him for a very long 46km test ride.

I never get tired of this beautiful ride as the scenery is never the same. Different clouds, different colours of the sea, different people we meet, different winds and this time, a new section of bike path was completed so quickly as can be seen in this video.

For some reason, we ended up taking a break from the heat under the shade of the Mens Toilet. And the conversations went on to keeping a healthy lifestyle when Ken the Wisecracker piped out, "A moment of pleasure at the lips is a lifetime of burden at the hips." There's always many barrels of laughter on our trips which make our rides so enjoyable!

KC remarked how amazed the small 16" wheels handle, giving sharp and responsive handling. Although his bum was rather sore (the furthest he rode before meeting us was 20km), he did rather well. A testament to the performance of a good foldie.

With hopefully cooler days ahead, I think our cycle days can only get better.

Bike Art

I was in Fremantle today taking some friends out for coffee/cake at the famous Cappuccino strip and came across this striking road bike. Could not resist taking a pic of it especially with a most artistic wall behind.

Nice ya?