My Fascination II

Yikes!

My Fascination

hey E

hey man! so how's the weekly schedule coming along? does it suit your personal financing needs?

Ode to BX

ok this post is not a morbid one. The object of focus is this bike in the pic. BX, it embodies what u had wanted in a bike; made of steel, have panniers, racks and aero bars to hang your plastic bag! cool boh?!?

My Friend/Baggage

I crashd XR's room last night. I'm used to be a nuisance around him and I'm glad he is easy-going and don't mind my intrusion. As we sat on the corridor eating and talking, I realised that I can talk about anything and everything with him. So there I was, using my mouth to eat, and at the same time releasing my verbal diarrhoea. He must really like the mess I made because this time, he actually invited me to sleep over.

I had chained Blackie to a railing outside the hall, so now I had to go retrieve it and leave it somewhere near XR's room. The corridor along his hall is really narrow, and it was made even narrower by the clothes rack, shoes and miscellaneous stuff.

This morning I had to navigate Blackie back the same way through the narrow corridor, this time with my bag and helmet and the works. It was really difficult to handle so many things.

It would be easier if I had a broad way.

Enter in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter through it.
Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it.
Matthew 7:13-14

It struck me that to walk on the constricted way, one cannot bring along excess baggages. My bicycle is difficult to walk cos the steerer is loose. My bag dangles all over the place. It'd be so much easier to walk along that narrow corridor without all these.

Can I let them go then?

I do appreciate having a form of transport that keeps me healthy and is relatively cheap. However, if I see Blackie as anything more than a form of transport, then I have some serious think coming. The aesthetics, the weight, the bling blings and even the brand names. Those will cause me to value Blackie for more than what it is really worth.

So I'm saying this: If one day I need to go through the narrow gate, and the constricted way; then friends, baggages, they have to go.

XK (7) Pump your tires

keeping them pumped enables you to go further, better, faster, stronger.

have you pumped yours today?

My Climb

The peloton will be making their way towards the final climb for Le Tour de France 2009.

Mont Ventoux has a little bit of history that dates back to TDF 2000.



Exams coming up in a week.
Maybe it's time I start climbing really hard instead of waiting for things to be gifted.

XK (6) Tired Tyre....

so i blew out old hag's rear tire. blew out as in totally gone. wasted. wiped out. shredded. annhilated. obliterated. whacked out. goner. finito. hasta la vista baby.

i was cycling and there was like this piercing shreak right behind me, almost as if a glass bottle had just landed two inches from where i was. i looked down and started wobbling like crazy. i got off, looked at the tire, and saw the webbing of the tire. as in the white stitching that was used to make the tire in the first place.

i went to get it replaced, and realised i had to change the entire wheel. there was an original problem with it in the first place - it was wobbling. i didn't really pay much attention, cos i could still cycle. turns out, i had 6 broken spokes, which caused the tyre to wobble, which (could have then) caused the constant grating of the tyre against the belt, which (could have then) resulted in the a/m incident.

so many lessons.

we are that tyre. going on day after day, trudging through life and routine. then we spot a problem. it seems small. we disregard it. it grows. and it explodes in our face, leaving us to pick up the pieces, when all this could've been avoided had we addressed the spokes first.

a simple lesson really. one that we've heard many times no doubt. yet we fail to heed. the thing is today, it's just a burst tyre. but what if that burst tyre had led to a burst head? sometimes, we do not value the worth of considering consequences.

then there's the issue of striving. putting in your best efforts. never slacking. 'WE ARE CALLED TO EXCEL'. but we are called to excel over the entire course of our lives. sure, you probably could've done better for this or for that. but had you, would you have been able to continue doing so? would you have been able to excel in the other areas that you did?

don't beat yourself up. value the power of rest. for the act of closing your eyes is not to say 'i give up', nor 'i shall live to fight another day', but really 'this is the secret to excelling.' by addressing each spoke as it breaks, that tyre would not have tired, that accident-waiting-to-happen would not have been a possibility, that life would not have been potentially destroyed.

watch your spokes. the time 'wasted' is worthwhile.

take a break. the time 'wasted' is wraught with beautiful tomorrows.

My Plea

My First Crash

Saving you a few thousand words with 3 simple pictures.

My Decision

Recreational.

It's easier this way.

XK (5) The right dude

this post was inspired by "My Mechanic".

so my bike broke down one day. this was some time back. actually, she's broken down more times than i care to remember, but let's just stick to this one.

i brought her in for my guy to look at. he's this dude who's like the only one within a 5km radius, so he's super convenient. but the problem is, after getting serviced, other problems popped up. which brings me to my point-which-i-get-to-in-a-roundabout-way.

you gotta get the right people.

the right dude, is what matters. don't be swayed by looks, charisma, or in the a/m case, convenience. you'll only suffer for it in the long run. effort is much better spent in the initial investment, the laying of the foundation, in order to avoid the heartbreak of future. this applies to virutally every aspect of life.

life partner. business partner. leader. follower. mentor. advisor. and also, friend.

i got some really 'right' people, and that includes you ;). bugandang eh.

P.S. heard about you and your mom E! congrats once again. the restoration of relationship is truly the rainbow after the storm. i totally geddit.

My First Step

... to being a Flahute.

Millions of raindrops. 50km. 2 hours. 1 collision.

1 happy rider.

My Mechanic

Allow me to introduce my favourite bike mechanic.


This man has the best pair of hands for all situations. You can trust him with your bicycles. Be it a mis-aligned chain, messed up rear-deraileur, mucky brakes and mechanical failures, this is the man you want to see working on it.

Of course, that winning attitude of serving will make your (bicycle) troubles disappear.

Thankfully he's also my friend and buddy.

Thankyou E, for the countless times of support and listening to my (bike) problems. ;)

Ride safe guys. Remember who to look out for when you've got a problem with your bike.

E's random post

Saturdays are usually the busiest day of the week at work. All sorts of people stream in. Some come in flustered, unable to ride due to a flat caused by road shrapnels. Some come in to buy that first bicycle for their birthday boy/girl. Some come in ready to splurge on that lightest/most talked about racing mountain bike. Some come in to simply shield themselves from the heat outside.

3 out of 4 are usually expats. You learn to get accustomed to the different accents over time, like repeatedly asking the old indian lady whose buying a new bicycle and has a thick british accent:

"isitwordit?" (O.I.L.)

"sorry mdm?" (me)

"isitwordit?" (O.I.L.)

"hmmm...?" (me)

"is...it...word...it?" (O.I.L.)

"oh! heh yes its worth it" (me)

The best part or rather the part i always cross my fingers for is doing deliveries or short trips to the ware house. Its time away from work while still working. A trip out would usually lasts for at least 45 min. That is time for me to breathe and just enjoy the drive. Away from the busyness of the shop and the boss. just one of the perks working as part sales man, part delievery man, part store man.

Grad day is coming. It marks the halfway of this long break from school. 2 and a half months later it be time to hit the books again. The past months have not been the easiest of months at home, having endless arguements with mom over money issues. sigh. and now she is giving me the silent treatment. this is one thing i am powerless over. the principle of lacking one thing. *wink wink*

How will the next half of the year be like? Praying that the school weekly schedule will be favourable for me to continue working to finance myself. BX, Xiong Kun do pray for me.

sidenote: wicked new tri frame design from ceepo; the Viper. Dealer's in Changi. http://www.ceepo.com/frames_viper.html

http://www.keypowerintl.com/brand_ceepo.php

My Excuses

It's been very long since E and I rode in the morning.

On Tuesday, I could not wake up in time and E had to do ride by himself. Felt really bad so I scheduled to ride again this morning.

Woke up with a terrible headache. I think it's because I closed most of my window and left a small gap. The wind last night was never seen before in Singapore. (since when do you 'see' wind?)

I had enough of excuses so I washed up and gave E a morning call. Turned out he was sleeping when I called. We decided to cancel again.

Thought about the kind of headwind cyclists faced. Tonight will be a good time to experience that, if the winds decide to blow again.

Hopefully, we're not going to blow this chance to cycle by giving excuses.

Xk(4) relationships

today on the mrt, a man asked me about old hag. i gave him the old spiel, but now updated with the patent expiry and slashed prices in the market (where exactly, i don't know). we continued talking cos i didn't wanna stop. and it turns out he's in publishing like my dad! then he said "tell you dad what he's doing is wonderful". well i smsed him, and i hope it put a smile on dad's face. hopefully taking that chance blessed my dad.

take (wise) chances when it comes to (potential) relationships. be really interested in people. for who they are, and not (just) what they can do for you. you never know where God might lead you.

My Reasons

are uncertain now.

Race or Recreational? Why do I like to compete so much?

XK (3) True love

i used to own a yellow bmx. it served me really well. especially with the training wheels. then one day, i decided enough was enough. i'm a kid no more! the wheels came off, and i was officially a cyclist.

soon my fingers started getting black and blue. they were being abused by my kneecaps. huh. so out went the yellow kid, in came the blue. bigger, better, faster. wow! totally fogot about the little guy.

then my parents bought mountain bikes themselves. WOW. biggerer, betterer, fasterer. blue? what blue?

and then came the silver bike. and another yellow bike. and you know where this is going right. in came da bike. and now, old hag.

my bikes kept getting replaced. i no longer appreciated them, cos they couldn't fit my needs, wants, desires. i had no loyalty to the bike - only to myself and what i required.

is that what love is today? why do we fall in love? "because you complete me". sure you do. but what happens when "do" becomes "did"? do we then throw them away, like some... bike?

the power of commitment - to have and to hold in sickness and in health, till death do us part - goes beyond the condition of the bike. it goes into the very heart of the bike. it goes into your own heart.

and therein lies the power of God's love. it is unconditional. U-N-C-O-N-D-I-T-I-O-N-A-L. it don't matter if you've got a BBB (broken bottom bracket :p), it don't matter if you're punctured, it don't matter if your spokes come off, it don't matter if your brakes don't squeeze, it don't matter if your gears can't work, it don't matter if your chain clinks and clanks, it don't matter if you're dirty, too old, too small. it don't matter.

it don't matter if you can't say what you mean, or mean what you say. it don't matter if your actions never fit your intentions. it don't matter when they do. it don't matter when your evil heart reigns above your super-ego. it don't matter when you've lost faith. it don't matter when you don't believe anymore. it don't matter when you find yourself in a dark place. it don't matter when you're stuck it a rut. it don't matter when you'd rather stay in the well than come up for air. it don't matter if you're drowning in unbelief, in sin. it don't matter if you've got low self-esteem. it don't matter if you're selfish and you know it. it don't matter if you're proud of being humble. it don't matter if nobody likes you as much as you'd like. it don't matter.

God still loves you.

the problem is, you gotta accept it.

will you?

E is nostalgic

the days of bar end shifters and bright orange bar tape. haha its hilarious looking at the pictures taken before we gave our steeds the make over. and recalling how bent on going fixie/single speed we were that we spent moolas over it. much wasted. but also derived the best memories. and now that we are going the way of the STIs and of HRMs, we are on to the new phase/season of cycling in our lives. training!!!