What a great weekend at Bintan! I really enjoyed myself and was happy to be united with the team again.
It was so much fun with everyone, just like the old times. Qiqi, Lem, Ah huat, Adi, Jud, Kee Meng(+his "Heeh" girlfriend), Ah Gu, Marcus and Daniel. Nice!
Most importantly, I am back on track. Nothing is impossible, looking forward to next race and training camp in december!
It seems like a long time since I last updated. Anyway, this week, Calvin and I will be doing the L'etape Du Tour, and we will be climbing 3 mountain passes, ending on top of Col Du Tourmalet.
So in preparation, we are now staying in Luchon, at Damien's house on top of a hill in the midst of the mountains. His house is big and cosy, a 100 year old house nicely refurbished. To get to his house, it is a 5km climb, with a gradient of 17-18% in the last 500m. How's that? We are afraid to go to the supermarket now as we have to climb up everytime we go down.
Yesterday we rode 200km in 6.5hours from Agen to Luchon, and it was CRAZY. The rain came and Jud and Junrong were shivering. Oh, I forgot to mention that our reinforcements, Junaidi and Junrong, arrived last Monday, and now the 2 men team has upgraded to 4 men, soon 3 men as I will be heading back first.
It's nice to live in the mountainous village side, so peaceful and there's a sense of tranquility. I hope to come here again, maybe for a training camp next year. So till then, wish me luck for Sunday's race! Ciao.
I was at the Bordeaux Wine Festival last weekend and it was a really good experience, even though I know nuts about wine types and tasting. I tasted about 5 to 6 types of wine, and I can't tell any real difference. Some are sweet, some are strong and that's it. I know you'll like the sweet ones.
Calvin and I went back there at night to catch the fireworks at 11pm, and it went on for a good 15-20mins. The fireworks made me recall one of the New Year when we went to Faber to catch the fireworks from Sentosa, and it was really really nice to be able to just watch the fireworks with you.
You are just like fireworks in my life, ever so spontaneous, ever so impactful and always lighting up my life. I hope it stays this way for a long time. Missing you.
As we all know, this coming Sunday, the National Championship will be held at Sengkang. Now lets take a look at the potential contenders.
Men's Elite:
1) Low Ji Wen - Defending Champion
Last year's winner Low Ji Wen has been racing hard recently in Japan with his new team Geumsan Ginseng Asia and is showing really good form. Tim's rating 10/10.
Just look at the form, scary stuff eh..
2) Junaidi Hashim
Ever consistent Junaidi Hashim is still hungry for a win this year, will he get to wear the National Champion Jersey again? Tim's rating 9/10.
Can he charm his way into victory?
3) Ho Junrong
This up and coming OCBC rider has just got a "heavy burden" off his shoulders this June. Without the extra load, I'm sure he will do pretty well. Tim's rating 8/10.
Yes,yes, no more booking in...
4) Lemuel Lee
Lemuel has been racing well this year, coming into form just in time for the mid year races in Malaysia and Indonesia. A breakaway with Lemuel could be a dangerous one and watch out for his attacks! Tim's rating 8/10.
Apologies for not updating. The past 2 weeks have not been so good, as my quad injury became worse. Other than that, all's been good and I went up to Paris last week to visit my brother-in-law. It was truely an eye-opener, seeing all the monuments in real life.
Eiffel Tower, everyone wants a piece of it when they get to Paris. It was nice seeing it, but I didn't get the chance to go up because the queue was really long and I would hope to go up there with my special one. Anyway, I got to touch the top of it though, I mean from afar. The amazing thing about the Eiffel is how they built it in the past without the necessary machinery and technology, what a piece of metal it is!
Next up was the famous Champs-Elysees. I must say that on the TDF, they make it look real easy to ride on these "smooth" cobbles. I kept on going up and down and up and down, trying to 'feel' how the PROs feel. The first day I went there close to noon after training and it was packed with cars!! The second day I went there again around 7am before I head out to training to avoid the traffic and did some nice loops there!! Uphill to the Arc du Triomphe and down the other side to Concorde. Nice!
The POLYGON, looking sharp as always, not afraid of the cobbles.
Ok and I am kinda lazy to explain the other stuff, but a picture paints a 1000 words doesn't it?
The Louvre, what amazing creativity and imagination to build this place.
I travelled around in 1 of these bicycles sometimes, cool stuff, 1 euro per day, free for next 1/2 an hour, so must change bike every half hour if I was going to take longer than that!!So yes, you have to charge along the cobbles to save time and money, now you know why the french cyclists are so strong!
It was also really nice to see part of my family again. I really miss home alot, and to see my brother-in-law was really nice. We had meals together, walked around abit and he showed me around abit as he knew the place better than I do. On the way back, I took a train and had to cover the bicycle. So I have to use a bedsheet, and don't ask where I got it from.
Hope all's going well for the rest of the OCBC guys. National Champs this weekend at Sengkang! My favourite loop for doing intervals! Bon Courage!!
Looking forward to seeing Junrong and Jud next weekend!
Many nights we prayed, with no proof anyone could hear In our hearts a hopeful song, we barely understood Now we are not afraid, although we know there's much to fear We were moving mountains long, before we knew we could
There can be miracles, when you believe Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill Who knows what miracle, you can achieve When you believe, somehow you will You will when you believe.
In this time of fear, when prayer so often proves in vain Hope seems like the summer birds, too swiftly flown away Yet now I'm standing here, my heart so full I can't explain Seeking faith and speaking words, I'd never thought I'd say
There can be miracles, When you believe Though hope is frail, It's hard to kill Who knows what miracles, You can acheive When you believe, somehow you will You will when you believe
They don't always happen when you ask And it's easy to give in to your fear But when you're blinded by your pain Can't see the way clear through the rain A small but still resilient voice Says hope is very near
There can be miracles When you believe Though hope is frail It's hard to kill Who knows what miracles You can achieve When you believe Somehow you will Somehow you will You will when you believe You will when you, you will when you, believe Just believe, just believe You will when you believe.
It's almost the mid of my stay here in France and I am really use to life here now, training, racing, eating, resting, going grocery shopping etc. I'd just like to thank God for keeping Calvin and I safe thus far, and hope that He will continue watching over us.
Thaddeus's birthday this Sunday! Hope he'll have fun!!
The weather here has changed!! It's been so hot the past few days, yesterday was 29 degrees, really hot and dry relative to the past weeks we've been here. But I like the sun, especially when training and you start sweating, you feel like you're really training!
The downside is, it is also hot at night! This is not very nice because you don't have to use the blanket, and your best friends, called the Mosquitoes will come and find you, especially me!! So you either get bitten alive, or suffocate to death....haha...oh well..
Anyway, I've sort of settled down here already, know my way around, good cycling routes etc etc. Looking forward to the group ride tomorrow! Hope we can find them and not miss them again, because we have missed them 4 times in total, for the past 2weeks!!
CAM Bordeaux Skinsuit. Saw this in a shop, reminds me of us.... My Salad. Park connector route. Le Velo - Ghislain Lambert Big slice of bread from our 2kg loaf=)
I have been in Bordeaux(France) for about a week already and am enjoying quite abit here. Got our bikes a week late due to volcano ashes in Northern France resulting in closure of some airports in Europe.
Cycling here is really nice. Nice weather, nice scenery and friendly people, although I'm still unable to speak French, I can feel that the people here are pretty decent. Our new club here is CAM de Bordeaux, and we met the president of the club, Sylvain, who looks like a climber and use to race with Damien when they were junior cyclists. Sylvain speaks quite good english and tries really hard to talk to us. Really appreciate that!
Damien has really made us feel at home. He brought us to take the city train and rented bicycles for us and rode around with us when we didn't have our bicycles. He also bought us nice food and even cooked for us. Also, he gave us his house keys so we can access internet from his place and watch TV as well. What a nice guy and I will definitely bring him around Singapore when we're back, to find nice food of course!
On tuesday, we went to the Bordeaux velodrome to do track riding for the first time! It felt really different, because you have to keep pedaling even when you don't want to, and to stop will cause some damage to the knees if not done properly. This velodrome is a world class one and riding on the 45 degree bank for the first time was quite scary. Really good experience overall and will want to do it again!
That aside, I think I injured my knee slightly from the session at the velodrome, and it hurts when I stand on pedals and when I use heavy gear. So I guess I should take it easy for now and spin more. Au Revoir!
Hello all. This week is finally recovery week and i've been recovering really well, maybe too well. I feel like I am undertraining abit because of so many miles over the past weeks and suddenly the volume of training drops. But I think it's good that I get some rest now and chiong again for the next 3 weeks, and i have faith in my boss.
Today's ride was crazy. It was the first time that I experience such heavy rain in Australia and I was suppose to ride 3 hours including some nice climbs. 1.5 hours into the ride, the rain came and it came full on. I could barely see anything and was a bit worried because of many big trucks passing me but I still rode on, just keeping as close to the side as possible. It got worse when I found myself lost and I went 1 big circle, not knowing where I was, and by the time I found my way, my hands and legs were numb and i was really cold. I guess it was a blessing in disguise as I also found a 10min climb in the process of getting lost and rode 5 hours in the end!
Anyway, I will be missing the CNY goodies, and I hope to smell some when I get back! Take care all!
Last week's training was good and I am getting use to everything here, the food, the roads, the winds etc. The race over the weekend was not very good. On Saturday, the rain came and went and came and went, so the race organisers have to stop and continue the race several times. The race stopped for a short while when the rain got heavier and we waited for about 5mins before the organisers decide to continue the race for another 30mins(race suppose to be 50mins, and we already rode 30mins). So the race went on and i felt really good, despite getting on a bad start, having to close many gaps in the strong winds as I AGAIN didn't start at the front. This time I forced my way to the front, and with about 10mins to go, I broke away alone, opened a gap about 1/4 of the course. The pack didn' t think i was strong enough, because I was reeled back many times during the start of the race. This time I stayed up for 2 laps, and when the A graders came by, I leeched on them. The gap was opening up slowly, but guess what, the rain came and they stopped the race. haha..
Sunday's race was at Torquay Bay and it reminded me of the Yew Tee "hotdog" crit, but it was L-shape hotdog this time. I know it's not my cup of tea, but I decided to use it as training because it required a lot of accelerations and I really suck at it. And so the race went on, I was drafting behind this big guy, really huge fella which cannot U-turn and always open a gap at every U-turn. It was more tiring then anything to follow him because he was not so "smooth". I was getting really tired, and saw that david was the last guy behind alone, about 20m away, just relaxing and i decided to join him. We worked together and slowly inch closer to the pack. More people dropped back to us and we soon have 4 riders, but they were not working. I made a move to bridge up to the group ahead. At this point, we were about 20mins into the race, and I took my time to recover. Then I decided to attack. I did it the first time, and lasted about 1/2 a lap, then another time, lasted 1 lap, then another time, 2 laps. I was really tired but it was good training. With 5 mins to go, I went again, hard before the U-turn and lasted 4 laps, and there was just 2 laps to go. I didn't finish in a good place again, but I felt strong.
Ok, enough of race updates.
Yesterday I rode a very very long ride and went to the Great Ocean Road by myself. I almost got lost on the way there but manage to find my way in the end. The GOR was not as windy as I thought it would be, but the view and scenery was really awesome. I've never come across anything like that before, so it was very nice to ride by the ocean. I also came across a 20mins climb that felt like GAP, and it was a good training climb, too bad that its too far from home. So I rode 170km yesterday and felt really satisfied.
I went to the gym today, and my weight was 59.6kg, not a very good sign because I think im losing weight very rapidly. Hope i dun lose the muscles.
Ok time to sleep now. good night my friends. Will update soon and I hope to race better this weekend and learn more in the coming weeks.
hello people, its been a week of long hard training and racing over the weekend. As Daniel (Plews) said, I have to do more un-singaporean things here, and so I did eat un-singaporeanly, ride un-singaporeanly on the roads and raced un-singaporeanly. The racing over the weekend was an eye opener, and I raced in B grade criteriums on both Saturday and Sunday. It was a good experience and I learnt alot from it, and I will do it again this week! I also went to THE velodrome for the first time in my life and rode on it, and did some sprints. Very nice indeed.
For training, the winds are getting stronger each day because of the cool change and it has been very very cold for the past 5 days. I was so happy to see the Sun again today, although it was still cold.
Today was a good day, did some tim-trialing and gym after that. Bonked twice, once at the 3hr 15mins mark and another time in the gym. Quite a hectic start... I am looking forward to training tomorrow..and talking to U later..
Today, I got up at 515am then had a nice breakfast before heading to the gym. Got there at 7am and I must say that the facilities are good. Slightly different from SSC's though. I though I might be the first and only person there but gosh..the gym was quite crowded already!
After gym, went back to meet ADI and then we did a 4 hour ride with some intervals that Dr Plews gave us. The winds are exceptionally strong today as there will be a Cool Change soon, which means a sudden drop in temperature. Strong winds make you want to bite you handlebar and eat bar tape, even though they are very dirty. Anyway, I didn't really sleep well last night. I don't know if they showed it in the news in S'pore, but last night was one of the hottest nights in Aussie in dunno how many donkey years. Temperature didn't drop below 30 deg I think. Time to show you guys one of my meals, not too pleasing to look at but after a ride, anything goes!
This is the first time in my life I felt lost in time when we came here. I always thought that the australian time is 2 hours ahead of Singapore time and since the time we touched down, I've made that assumption. On Saturday, we were suppose to go riding at 9am in the morning with David's colleague and other room-mate, Klaus. I planned to get up at 730am but somehow got stuck in bed till 8am. Then I heard someone knocking on our door, all geared up to go riding. "Tim, Adi, are you still going to ride?" (with a slight German accent) We jumped out of bed and told him it was only 8am, but he said it was 9 and confirmed with David as well that it was 9am.
We then quickly changed up and decided to ride at 10am instead. Indeed, the australian time is 3 hours ahead of Singapore time and we have been late for 1 hour on every occasion since we touched down. What a sotong....
Ok, I shall talk more about Klaus. This German chap is a 40 year old engineer that speaks pretty good english but still learning and gets lost in his sentences at times. Anyway, I found him really irritating at first because he gets really to comfortable with people at times and always like to lay down "ground rules" before doing anything. For instance, before saturday's ride, he made us sit at the table to standardize the signals we will use when riding on the roads and it was really detailed, like having to keep the extreme end of the handlebar 0.4m from the white lin by the side of the road......what the...
I really felt uncomfortable with him at first, but i thought that he had really good intentions, just that he gets abit too nervous and intense at times. Over a short 2 days, I got to know him abit better and understood where he's coming from. Klaus is not that bad afterall, at least for now.=)
Oh yes I found a gym today, abit expensive but nice. I think it's worth it. I'll be gyming alone here...no Junrong..
Today we went to watch the Elite Men's Road Race of the Australia National Championships. Prior to that, we took part in a ride, had to pay 30bucks and it was not suppose to be a race..BUT...we had number tags and there was a MTB to be won! So whether its a race or not..its up to the participants to decide.
The 'ride' was a 2 hours ride around a 10.2km circuit of the National Championship course. There was a King of Mountain section, about 1 km of climbing and before that, a uphill section of 1.5km. So lots of climbs! It started out with about 50 plus riders, didn't really count, and as the race went along, people started dropping off like bird droppings on the climb especially. I was really struggling at first as my legs felt really tired from yesterday's 5 hours ride and we didn't really warm up properly and it gets really chilly here in the morning. I started cramping up on the 4th lap, then it was like 12 of us left and Adi was also struggling. This was the exact same feeling I felt during National Champs in October last year. I told myself that I must get over this otherwise it will keep coming back and I just pushed on, trying to use more of my hamstring instead of my cramping quads. During the 5th lap, I felt better and it was down to 8 of us, Adi stopped as he cramped up and someone just took off to the front! I wanted to go with him but if I push any harder I'll just cramp up and its all over so I just stuck to a riding rythm till I got better. On the last lap, there were already 2 riders up ahead and I was with 5 others. I felt much better and David was with me as well. I attacked as soon as we got up the crest of the climb as I know I can't out sprint the rest. They caught me really soon as the wind was strong and they were all so big, so while they glide down the descents with the help of gravity, I have to keep meshing on the cranks. Close to 4 km to go, I attacked again, this time on a slight bump but again they caught me. I really ran out of ideas, half of me wanted to wait for the sprint while the other half kept telling me not to. So at 1km to go, I went really hard, just to get swallowed up about 300m from the line and I finished last in the group. Really good experience, but just not enough effort to win the MTB...oh well..
More on the elite race: Travis Meyer won the race with a courageous attack on the hill on the last lap. He was really thrashing himself and fighting to the end with a 21sec gap. What a rider and it was really inspiring to see all the other elite pushing themselves to the limit. Mick rogers was a disappointment, just sat in, waiting for something to happen, oh and did I mention that the winning break went from lap 2 of 16 till the end? Seems like early breakaways are the in-thing now.
Ok I'm tired now and don't feel like writing anymore. Miss eating coconut bun.
Hello friends, this is my first post and I have a lot to share=). I can't blog alot as there is a limit to internet usage here, so bear with me.
Anyway, the trip here was not a very smooth one. We got delayed 2 hours, yes 2 whole hours at Changi Airport, lost some precious time with THE family and friends. Then due to this delay, at Brisbane, we missed our transfer to Avalon, Melbourne. We thought we were finished for a moment. We had 2 options: 1 was to take a flight to Tullamarine (80km from where we want to be compared to 15km from Avalon) which Qantas offered for free, the other was to fly by Jetstar which we were suppose to but pay 120AUD. We decided to go for the latter, which was a blessing in disguise bcos the lady at the counter took pity on us and decided to give us the tickets for free! Oh it must be blessings from somewhere...
Finally, met David at Avalon and we drove to pick his room-mate aka German guy aka Klaus (will blog about him sometime soon, as you all should know about Thomas...) from Baum Cycles and guess what? Met Mr World Champion aka Cadel Evans and took a pic with him. I walked in and my eyes fell out when I saw the fella sitting there, it was so unbelievable. We then went on to watch the men's criterium and some guys called Aaron Kemp won it. Nice violent sprint finish=). Robbie McEwen was pretty impressive but he dropped out of the race, bcos he was constantly working as no one wants to close down any breaks and he decided to stop.
Yesterday we rode 3 hours, David brought us around, nice cool weather but sun was scorching hot. David got a puncture and we stopped by the World Championship Road Course, some random hill and I saw a rainbow jersey guy cycling by. It was none other then Cadel on his BMC racing, not looking so lean but somehow the rainbow jersey makes him look good anyway. We went grocery shopping and bought a whole cart load of stuff ( copy calvin and lem).
Rode 5 hours today to the beautiful-jaw-dropping-Torquay Bay and then the World Championship Time Trial Course. Very tough with some climbs. Adi bonked.
Ok thats a mouthful but I'll update again guys! In the meantime, to all my teammates, train hard and eat well! Am going to do the 2hours ride as long as you can on the road course for the Nat champs tomorrow. Wish me luck!
To my love ones and family, I love and miss ya'll especially mi amore. Love you always. Ciao.
This is the world champ and the no champ. World's apart?No just 2 inches=).
