Scratching itches together

Pic courtesy from En Route

Planning is FUN!

There is something addictive about bicycle touring. Reading about Mike Khor's itch to tour again after his amazing European trip on his blog Wheelsopher, got us boys together to plan for our next big ride at Christoph's new home today.

The Bolaven Plateau, located 1000m high up in Southern Lao, promises a ride that is unforgettable. ChrisT who has done this in 1997 still remains awed. It is a must do for all of us with any taste of adventure. Amazing waterfalls, gradual climbs and descends, challenging unpaved roads and the best coffee this side of heaven. Throw in the kindness and charm of the lovely Laoatians, one must be daft to miss making a trip there, if given a chance.

Weather wise, the rainy season ends Sep so thats when we plan to hit the Plateau. Still undecided on which bike to use as some of the unpaved roads, especially after the rains, can be daunting. The Surly LHT seems like an obvious choice but we forsee a lot of travelling on planes, trains, buses and perhaps even Tuk Tuks (motorbike taxis) due to the difficulty of reaching remote Pakse.

I'm plumbing for my Bike Friday Expedition as it seems the perfect weapon for this mission. Wide tires, exceptional gearing, generous carrying capacity with front and rear racks plus the world famous folding ability into a Samsonite.

So far 4 of us, Chris, KG, ChrisT and I have signed on! Mike, care to scratch this itch together with us?

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Pic courtesy of Factoidz.

Belting Up in Cambodia

I've often wondered what is the perfect drivetrain for conditions like Cambodia. Hot and dusty during the dry season and wet and muddy during the rainy season. Many of the bikes used at COSI Orphanage disintegrate under such hash conditions, with a reported life span of 6-8 months of regular use with the traditional chain/sprockets drive system.

On my last trip, I was fascinated when I came across a Bridgestone Albelt bicycle when the kids were playing. It was parked non-descript with the other bikes and what caught my eye was that it had no chain. Instead, it uses a belt system cleverly matched to a 3 speed Nexus hub.

The belt system is not new to the world of foldies and the Strida, designed by Mark Sanders, incorporates it from day one since 1987. Its benefits - greaseless, maintenance free and quiet in operation, seemed perfect for the Cambodian conditions.

Lion riding a Strida - seems that way from this pic!

I didn't have the chance to take the Bridgestone Albelt for a ride but I would stick my head out to say this is much more suitable for the the kids at COSI. Sure, it won't give the direct feel or power delivery system of a traditional system and may squeak a little from time to time, judging from my 1 year ownership experience of a Strida. However, I will postulate that when dust and mud are part of your daily riding experience, this is the obvious choice. Even better if its fully enclosed.

Belting up in Cambodia seems the only way to go!

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Harsh but serendipitously beautiful - the Cambodian countryside.

An unexpected reunion

Probably the only 16" folder that can be ridden while checking one's nails! A bit of skill helps too.

Where is the other fork? Easiest bike to change a flat tire...

Every minute a plane comes to land at Changi International! And note the large no of ships docked out at sea. Not the best beaches understandably...

Here during the monsoon season, planning for a ride can be a touch and go affair. It poured kittens last night and our morning ride today was uncertain as the roads were still wet. It was no wonder that Chris and I, on our Bike Friday Tikits, were the only ones at our usual start point at East Coast Parkway at 0815, enroute to Changi Village.

This was the first time that my Tikit had the privilege of riding with another Tikit and we took the opportunity to shoot some pics. The morning lighting was perfect and we had lots of fun with the lens when a passe of foldies came cruising by.

From a distance, Chris spotted them and exclaimed, "Hi-end foldies approaching...." and that got me excited. Lo and behold, they were none other than Rich and his wife Jenny, on a Dahon Helios and a Giant Halfway respectively. Just a little while later, Keong showed up on his Dahon Vitesse.

We enjoyed a hearty breakfast at Changi Food Centre and I tucked into my fav Nasi Lemak washed down with fresh lemon juice. There, we met up with roadies Jimmy and Peter as well who seemed undetered by the weather, which did not looked promising earlier on.

It was really great to ride with the usual ECP guys once again after a long break and this unexpected reunion of sorts was truly an enjoyable bonus. Seems like we were all determined to ride despite the possibility of heavy rain, and that speaks volume about this bunch's attitude to all weather riding!

A Birdy in Angkor Wat

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One problem of having Foldinitis is when the marvels of the great temples of Angkor Wat, somehow do not quite take my breath away compared to spotting a foldie gliding effortlessly in front of my eyes. Well to be honest, I have been to this world heritage site a few times and even took part in a race on my Brompton once.

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Nevertheless, I was walking past the ancient ruins of the Elephant Temple when a silver Birdy cruising in the glittering sun stopped me in my tracks. The distinct parallelogram fork gave it away instantly. It was a good thing my Canon Ixus 120 IS was at hand and I managed to get a quick shot of this rare bird, feeling very pleased with myself. But what really made my day was when Yoji turned around a couple of minutes later and landed right in front of me.

It was my joy to have a friendly chat with this Japanese foldie rider who has ridden an impressive 1000km and just came from Pakse, Laos. It was with great reluctance when we had to part - he flying on his Birdy and I, back to my tourist mini-van to join the rest of my super-fun Oz team. Yoji, if you are reading this, ride safe and God’s blessings on your adventure.

That chance meeting really gave me a big itch that needed to be badly scratched. Scouting around the various bike shops in Siem Reap, I saw an old Panosonic foldie with 20” wheels screaming, “Rent me! Rent me!” A mere US$1 was all it took to get it for a day’s use.

It was pretty neglected like most things in Cambodia and the worn out tires were severely under-inflated. One had a Schrader valve while the rear had a Dunlop valve and it took a while for me to figure out the Chinese made foot pump.

With a bike, what required 10 mins of sweaty walking to get from my fav hotel, Auberge Mont Royal, to the Old Market became a mere 2 min breezy moment.

It was also a delight to cycle along the river in the coolness of the morning. “Old Pan” came in very useful when I had to take my son shopping for gifts and it was really cool to pull up for lunch at the Red Piano (Angelina Jolie fame) two up.

After lunch, we treated ourselves to an incredible "out of this world" invigorating $2 foot massage (30 mins), getting there courtesy of "Old Pan".

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Siem Reap and Angkor Wat are definitely must dos for everyone with some sense of adventure and for those like us with Foldinities, we should take a leaf from Yoji.

Cambodia with no bikes

I shall be in Cambodia for 2 weeks for my annual visit to COSI Orphanage and thereafter to Siem Reap with my Australian church. This time, I'm not bringing my bikes due to lack of luggage space. This is the first time I'm travelling without my foldies and I feel like I didn't bring along my "legs".

Fortunately, I have left "Blackie", a Bridgestone foldy that I bought in 08 and I hope its still in working condition. Phomn Penh sells plenty of used bikes from Japan and I got mine at US$60 only and left it for one of the boys to use.

I guess in Siem Reap, where the famous Angkor Wat is, I will try to get rental bikes but somehow, it wont be the same as having my own foldies. So apologies for the lack of postings for the next 2 weeks but I will get back online when I can.

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Awe-some 2010!

My new awesome young friend, Lynette from Penang!

Welcome to a brand new year! 365 brand new days ahead of us given by our Creator like daily presents* to be opened, enjoyed and lived. I don't know about you but being a mid-lifer, day to day living can sometimes be mundane and routine.

That is why I really look forward to my cycling adventures or even just short rides. Being out in the open to enjoy the elements of nature and its beauty never fail to bring a sense of awe to my heart.

Being in awe wherever we are and whatever we do, just like a curious child, is important because there is so much to learn, to discover and to experience from life.

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May you have a truly awe-some 2010!

*Wise words from Rev Dr Mark Chan at Watchnight Service yesterday.

Penang anti-clockwise

There is something about overeating that makes one oversleep. We didn't get up till 9am and started a little later for our attempt to cycle around the island. Penang is just slightly smaller than Singapore and the circumference can be 80km if you loop behind the airport.

Our first stop was to Batu Ferringi, the main beach area 15km away which was pretty deserted when we got there at 1030. The route was pleasant with a few gentle hills skirting the coast under shady trees.


We were determined to eat more healthy after last night's sin of gluttony and settled on a fresh orange/pineapple juice and a delicious plate of cut papayas and watermelons at a friendly cafe.


We met a retired Australian couple from Adelaide who were once stationed in the RAAF airbase in Butterworth in the 70s and enjoyed a short chat with them.

Many people will turn back after this point and that is a shame as we found the other side of Penang fascinating. A steep but short climb after the turn off from the coast saw us reach a beautiful dam.

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Here, the road becomes narrower and climbs into the hills offering cool respite from the afternoon heat. It was special to ride inside the canopy of trees with crickets singing and the gurgling of streams.

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At some points, there are breathtaking views and we were so glad we did this route for the first time. Discovering, exploring, adventuring are what makes bike touring fun. What goes up must come down and come down we did. It was exhilarating carving through the corners at high speed but I was careful not to scrape my brand new Ortelib pannier hanging on my front rack around the bends.

Our target was Balik Pulau, a small town 40km south of the island where we enjoyed another round of the famous Nasi Kandar. All those hills really made us ravenous and we wolved down our spicy lunch with great satisfaction. We thought that it was going to be an easy 20km ride back to town, cutting through the central part of the island but we were dead wrong!

The road began gradually for the first 400m, and then it was a cruel climb of 940m in only 3 short km. Despite my valiant attempt at riding up, I had to get off the tikit and pushed ALL the way up. My left knee was somehow hurting badly so I guess that was the perfect excuse I needed not to ride.


Even with the smaller 42t chain ring, it was tough to climb this stretch. Both Mike and I perspired profusely and we were so relieved to find a drink kiosk at the top of this torture. The Langkawi Cable Car peak was only 700m so we did felt a sense of accomplishment, even though we pushed.

Once again, such hard work uphill resulted in a blast of a downhill where my tikit exceeded 60kmh easy. At such speeds, I truly appreciated the stability and rigidity of its well-engineered frame and it helped too that the brakes were meaty and could scrub off the speed when needed.

Mike who rode the Expedition also commented on how secure and confident he felt on his Friday! I guess hills are like pregnancy - though the climb was hard and painful, the wonderful end result made it all worth it and the pain is quickly forgotten.

We arrived back at our hotel just after 5pm but not before battling the heavy evening traffic. After a quick shower, I rewarded myself with a Thai foot massage to soothe those aching muscles. It was really kind and magnanimous of Mike's school mate, Chor Kooi to host us a sumptous dinner at the Penang Swimming Club and we enjoyed getting to know his warm extended family and especially his lovely children.

Being Penangites, they were bemused that we actually cycled this crazy route and came back in one piece. Ignorance, they say, is bliss but I will recommend this anti-clockwise route to anyone who loves a challenge.