Wednesday, August 31, 2005

midnight cruiser

it's 2:40 a.m. and what am I doing up? Well, a short 9:30 pm ride turned out better than expected. While going up St. Paul's I caught up with a group of riders called the "Metal Malisya"...I've met some of them before (and one of them is the head bike pimp at the Local Bike Shop), so I said my hello's and next thing I know I am tagging along with them in their urban ride.

My original plan of riding around my area, doing intervals in the climbs, and testing my new lights was set aside as the night ride took us from Pasig to Greenhills to Quezon City and back again. The night was cool and not much traffic on the roads. It was a fun ride with lots of laughs. Good company certainly makes the miles seem shorter - not that I was counting!

Being bike nuts we spent the last hour or so chatting about what else. Most of them were riding Santa Cruz's, but all decked out with different set ups. It was great riding with Ef, Augie, Gogi, Mike, Joseph and Rob.

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Monday, August 29, 2005

slow ride

Didn't get to ride any dirt this weekend thanks to the weather. But I did accomplish some things Saturday:

1) bought a new helmet! (Bell Sweep XC...thanks fam!)
2) bought cushy Oury Lock-On grips (the Cane Creeks were tearing up my gloves!)
3) bought a new chain (big burly Shimano one)
4) bought a rear blinker and headlight (for secret nocturnal training rides)

Sunday rolls in and I decide to cruise around the city. Headed off to the CBD and swung by the old location of Lava Lounge...a place me and some friends put up circa 1999. The building was still there, but all vestiges of the lounge was gone. Funny thing is, the same security guard was there too! I started getting nostalgic, so I pushed off for some more mileage.

Headed to All Terra and hung out for a while and congratulated them on their first year anniversary. Man, how time flies.

Squirelled home under the rain, oh and the sun was out at the same time. Strange. Figure I did at least 30km...sorry, bike doesn't have a cyclocomp!

So not much bike action this weekend. Oh, check out Keith Bontrager's diary on the Single Speed World Championships 2005. KB is a bike industry guru/god, by the way.

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Thursday, August 25, 2005

single speed weekend

Pics first:





Rode last Saturday and hit the usual area at Sta. Rosa. Hooked up with a group that included 3 Turner bikes and a Foes...due to muddy conditions we decided to ride the conservative trail and ended up with a 18km. trip. Polly then suggested that we head back the way we came, which included a 4km climb up moderately graded dirt roads. It felt daunting at first (only did that way once before, and that was on a geared bike). Two of the Turner boys and the Foes rider didn't come along due to "curfews" (hehe), so it was just me, Polly and my bro grinding our way back. Felt pretty good until the last part of the ride (headed back to the parking lot) where my legs were giving warning signs of the cramps. I did survive though, but it was the longest ride I've done on the Tingle so far..perhaps around 40km (give or take a few k's). LASPAG! and I promised I'd join Jay in inaugurating his rigidized Hard Rock SS (see pic).

Good thing Jay rang me the next morning, as I was in dreamland and failed to get up in time! Got ready in a jiff and off we headed back to Sta. Rosa for some more SS action. We hit the short trail, and we were actually riding at a good pace. Had my second chain breakage since building up the Tingle (I think it's time for a new chain).It was fun, and a bit muddy.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to me! I think I'll get a new helmet, new grips (saw Oury's...the Cane Creeks are murdering my gloves, and...

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Monday, August 15, 2005

warning: items in pictures are muddier than they appear





After more than a week of rains brought about by a passing typhoon, I decided to ride. Nary a drop fell on Friday and Saturday, and I was hoping the trails would be in good (read: dry and ridable) condition on Sunday. As you can see from the pics, that was hardly the case!

The ride started pretty much as it normally would- dancing on the pedals with Mary to get up the climbs...I did have to dab on the second climb as I picked the wrong line heading up. Not good. Walked the bike a few steps and then hopped on with a curse.

Soil conditions going up were pretty nice. Loads of traction. The same couldn't be said once we entered the singletrack, though. Ruts and thick mud are not the best trail companions. And believe me, I ended up with around 5 pounds of mud on my ride. Not to mention the loss of traction. I had to stop twice to scrape off Mother Nature's goo...

The downhill sections were fun though. I was trying to catch up with Polly on his blinged out 5-spot! Got nothing to lose! I already don't have gears and suspension hehehe

Altogether a good ride, despite the mud. It was great to be out, and the mud was a welcome challenge (even though it smelled, uhh, funky). Hope things dry out next weekend, so Jay can give his now-rigid Hard Rock (hehe) a run out.

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Tuesday, August 09, 2005

rain rain rain

no posts of late, because...I haven't been riding!!!

Trails are all mucked up due to the incessant rain. No time for the trail to dry out = chocolate pudding conditions.

Hopefully we'll see a spot of good weather soon, and the trails dry out. One thing to look forward to is that the lines would definitely be different, thanks to the water runoff.

Must pray for sunny weather from now till the weekend!

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Monday, August 01, 2005

DIY does it

Ok, I've decided not to wait around for the mechanic, and did the retrieval myself. With the help of some patience, a tiny screwdriver and most importantly a hammer (now one of the most useful tools!), I was able to coax what was left of the bolt out of the brake bosses. That done, I used a bolt I salvaged from an ancient set of cantilever brakes. I also replaced the corresponding bolt on the rear Magura, just in case.

Pat myself on the back, I saved myself a few hundred! Now that money can be spent on say, a Boone Ti Cog!

Best thing about it? The Tingle's ready to tango once again with the Turners and Ellsworths and Intenses hehehe