jalan jalan pegi berendam

Isnin 29 Disember 2008.
Ma'al Hijrah.

Aku sekeluarga bercadang untuk pergi berendam di Starhill resort (kawasan Kempas, arah ke Seelong). Lambat jugak kitorang keluar, dalam pukul 10 pagi.

Sampai aje kat tempat tu, abang jaga kat situ kata kolam tutup setiap Isnin.
Hampa.

Tukar arah ke Pulai Springs Resort pulak. Dah berapa lama aku kat JB ni, tak pernah berkunjung pun ke situ. Macam biasa lah, terbuka hanya pada ahli kelab sahaja. Ada laa dalam rm8k setahun yurannya.

Perjalanan diteruskan ke Gunung Pulai pulak. Info dari anak sedara aku yang kampungnya kat Pontian, katanya tempat tu dibuka. Info dari kawan sepengayuh kata tempat tu masih ditutup ekoran kemalangan akibat banjir kilat 2001. Aku baca suratkhabar semalam, masih dalam kajian 10 tahun sebelum dibuka semula. Ada lagi 2 tahun nak kena tunggu. Errkk...
Tapi aku tau, ada aje makhluk yang selamba naik ke situ dan menikmati alam anugerah Allah. Aku tetap teruskan jugak ke Gunung Pulai tu. Saja-saja nak tau jalan dan macamana rupa tempat tu. Rasanya aku ke situ cuma sekali, 10 tahun lepas... itupun jadi penumpang dok kat tempat duduk belakang tanpa menggunakan talipinggang keledar (masih belum menjadi kesalahan). Nak ke Gunung Pulai tu kena la pulak lalu Pekan Nanas. Heheheh... maka aku pun singgah le jugak jenguk-jenguk kedai beskal yang tersohor kat situ.

Sampai je kat Gunung Pulai tu ada papan tanda 'Dilarang Masuk'. Maka aku pun tak masuk le. Setelah berbincang, kami pun sepakat untuk ke Kota Tinggi. Pun, aku dah lama tak ke sana sejak dinaiktaraf pengurusan (dan harga tiket). Untuk itu, kami menghala ke Kulai. Kali pertama aku lalu jalan tu, dan kali pertama jugak le aku tau kat mana tempatnya Felda Taib Andak. Jauh jugak siut... padan le Mawi suami isteri naik heli nak ke sini untuk hadiri kenduri sendiri (hey, it rhymes!).

Perjalanan diteruskan ke Kota Tinggi dari Kulai. Bab ni, aku agak familiar siket pasal ada laa 3-4 kali jugak aku dah ke Air Terjun Kota Tinggi. Dalam pukul 2 petang kami sampai kat pintu masuk. Lepas bayar tiket untuk 2 dewasa, 2 kanak-kanak dan 1 kereta, kitorang pun menuju ke tempat parkir dan bersiap solat zohor sebelum pegi berendam.

Fuhh... Punya laa ramai orang kat situ. Iye la, cuti umum kan...

Kitorang naik ke tingkat atas dan carik tempat sesuai untuk berendam. Agak cuak bagi aku pasal kena handle 2 budak tak berapa kecik dan sorang mak budak. Kali pertama aku bawak Marsya dan Adam gi berendam kat air terjun. Dengan batu besarnya, dengan lumut kat batu jadi licinnya, dengan air yang sejuknya... fuhh... best dengan bahaya bercampur. Nasib baek anak2 aku tak komen kuat2 pasal couple2 yang shame-shame kat situ. Rasa macam overprotective pulak bila aku dok pimpin diorang masuk kat tempat berendam tu. Tapi bila tiba masa nak pindah kat tempat lain pulak, aku amik keputusan untuk biarkan Marsya & Adam cari jalan diorang sendiri (aku jadi guide aje) untuk melintasi bebatu besar dan licin.

Ada 3 tempat kitorang berendam. Sebetulnya, aku & Naza je yang banyak berendam. Penghujung air terjun tu ada gelungsur lebar. Aku turun kat situ, memang syiok. Last call, kononnya, sebelum balik tinggalkan air terjun. Marsya nak cuba jugak, tapi takut-takut. Pastu bila aku setuju turun sama-sama, dia pun beranikan diri turun kat situ. Penyudahnya, 2-3 kali jugak kami dok naik-turun kat situ.

Kami balik dan cari makan kat bandar Kota Tinggi. Jumpa restoran Nasi Padang. Lepas makan, aku ternampak ada pulak satu kedai surfing kat tingkat atas. Tangganya betul betul bersebelahan dengan kedai makan tu. Aku naik ke atas saja jenguk-jenguk, Naza pulak belek-belek kedai baju kat sebelah.

Aku turun cari Naza, dia takde. Padan la takde... dia menyorok kat dalam fitting room kedai baju tu. Maka aku pun ada laa lesen untuk berkunjung ke kedai beskal Lim. Terus aku telefon si Jai tanya kat mana letaknya kedai tu. Berkunjung ke kedai Lim tu, ada pulak tuas brek Avid SD 7. Aku pun angkut le sepasang... (maka lengkaplah cockpit SRAM aku sekarang ni).

6.30 petang kami pulang dari Kota. Dah balik baru la terasa penat. Tapi aku rasa berbaloi. Ada pengalaman baru untuk aku, Marsya & Adam. Dan ada baju baru untuk Naza. Dan ada barang mtb baru untuk aku.
Keh keh keh...

spelling contest finalist

Yesterday, as I was plotting the route for tonight's night ride (and daydreaming about this coming Sunday's bike hash in Plentong), I received a call from Ms. Chiu.

She informed me that Marsya is one of the ten finalists for the spelling contest.
Wow! Yay! Way to go, girl!
Seems that all her effort (and my nagging about her handwriting, plus sacrificing my Sunday ride) came into fruition. At least half way for now. I don't know how many students took part last Sunday, but I guess it was surely more than 50. An achievement so far.
I pray that she'll win the contest.

I, as a father, am really proud with my daughter.
But I, as a rider, was perturbed. There goes my bike hash this Sunday.

Never mind, there'll always be another one. Err... the bike hash, I mean.
I'm sending Marsya with the family to her spelling contest in Danga City Mall this Sunday, insyaAllah.
As a consolation, I'll be doing a night ride tonight.
All the best to Marsya.

Special thanks to Adam for helping her practice the 100 words list. You guys make a great team.

new blog for cycling adventure

my main intention for having 'typed thoughts' is to publish my rants on whatever is on my mind, with occasional photos from time to time.
of late, there were many posts on my cycling adventure.
so today, i've created a blog for that. all cycling related posts in here have been transfered to:

www.akmalbikepark.blogspot.com

all dates are retained, but sadly i can't transfer the comments on the posts to the new blog.
so i'm keeping those posts in here still.

GT Avalanche 3.0 17" Hardtail

Not yet completed, but I'm posting it anyhow for I'm sooooo happy with the outcome.

Haven't bought the FD yet (thinking of LX or Deore).

So until then, the chain is not fixed yet.

I like the colour scheme: white - black - grey - and a hint of gold.

 

Original plan was to have this hardtail for myself (thus the 17" frame).

I decided to build this bike for Naza, and I'll have the Schwinn Mesa instead.

 

Naza's Schwinn Mesa

Only this morning i managed to snap photos of Naza's Schwinn Mesa.

Currently I'm building another hardtail. When it's finished, I'll swap that with her Mesa.

 

Oh, and that's Johnny the cat. He accompanied me while I was busy over the nights building this bike.

 

cycled to work!

inspired by BC Kelolo and Yusof's bike-to-work experience, i finally gathered all strength to cycle to work yesterday (see "what are you looking at/for II - cycling").
by 'all strength', i mean mental (most important) and physical.
it doesn't have to be a day-to-day fare. it could be a saturdays-only recreation.

i chose saturday to cycle to work because:
1. not much traffic
2. it's not a school day - no need to pick up my daughter from school

basically, those two were the main things halting my plans to cycle to work. although there's another one, i chose to ignore it: cycling home in the hot afternoon (saturday being a half day).

there are enough reasons for me to cycle to work.
the obvious ones are the usual - save petrol, being green, health benefits, etc.
other than those, these are the things that i have at the office to support my cycling to work:
1. shower
2. shelter (use the pantry just beside the office to store the bike safely)
3. air-conditioned office (phew, alhamdulillah!)
4. saturdays are dress-down days - no need to wear pressed shirts and slacks in the office

perhaps it would make it easier if i cut my hair real short a la prisonheads - no need to worry about my hair, should i ever don't have the time to shower. just change to collared t-shirts and spray a li'l bit of perfume.

i used naza's bike as it is lighter than my t-bolt, and wouldn't make a front page news. her bike is not equipped with a meter, so no stats of the ride. a rough estimate of yesterday's ride time to work: 35 minutes. i originally thought it would take me 50 minutes. coming home, i didn't bother to gauge the time. happily spinning home under the hot sun (pant! pant!).

this inspires me to cycle to work every working saturday (2nd, 4th and 5th of the month). and, to build myself a hardtail for that.
heh heh heh...
;)

roll of honour

here's a list of names - people who helped me in building my first bike from ground up.
I'd like to thank you all.

In no particular order:
Apis - my brother. Got the stem, seatpost, wheelsets and v-brake bosses for front brake.
Hj. Ali - sold me the frame and headset, with seatpost clamp thrown in for free.
Zulhisham - sold me the crankset with pedals extremely cheap. Also for getting me the v-brakes. i appreciate it very much, bro!
BC Kelolo - wisdom, knowledge, tips and tricks, insight, and v-brake bosses for rear brake. Oh, and the teh tarik.
Ron - thru BBS sold me the FD, RD, shifters, cassette and chain. Delivered to me, some more.
Ah Meng - from Glenmarie. sold me the brakes with lever cheap2 one.
the bike building really started from those.
Pyan - thru BBS sold me the fork.
Auntie - bike shop in Tmn U. Well, I paid for the tires and other bits. Included in the honor roll because she gave me discounts.

what are you looking at/for II (cycling)

i'm very much into cycling nowadays.
because of that, i think, everything i see is about bicycles.
i noticed that i my head would turn whenever i see a pedaling machine, whatever kind it is.
this scares me a bit.

on the other hand, i think, cycling is picking up pace in Malaysia.
a few days ago, a newspaper covered about Bernard Chandran. It was also highlighted that one of his passion is cycling. the fact that he owns a rm24k bike is another thing, though. the main thing is that people takes up cycling. doesn't matter if it is for weekend foray offroad, or riding to work.

well, in the topic of celebrity cyclist:
there are three more i know of:
azlee senario, the comedian (owns a bicycle shop in tambun, perak).
riezman khuzaimi, the actor (also selling bike parts online).
haliza misbun (rides mountain bike, as well as roller blading, etc.).

well, i'd like to think that cycling is picking up pace and as a guy said it: it makes sense as an alternative transport.
obvious benefit to your health, and wealth.
read more here:
www.kelolo.blogspot.com
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2007/6/13/central/17949987&sec=central

nite ride - danga bay

(l to r):zudi, akmal, isaac. not in picture (taking photo): yad.
the ride started from plentong.
route: plentong - permas jaya - bridge - bakar batu - pasir pelangi - stulang darat - ring road - dataran bandaraya johor bahru - lido coastal line - danga bay.
had supper at a stall in jln sungai chat before going back.
going back: danga bay - bukit serene - ring road - stulang darat - taman pelangi - bakar batu - bridge - permas jaya - plentong.


roughly started from plentong at 9.30pm, reached dataran around 10.15pm. danga bay around 10.30pm.
nobody has a meter attached, nor taking the time of the ride.
so, no stats other than that.

Naza’s bike – completed!

I was on mc for today and yesterday – eyesore. I don’t really know from whom I got it.

Anyway, it was kind of a blessing in disguise because I can finish off with Naza’s bike – dialing in the derailleurs.

I had no big problems in setting up the derailleurs. It was done quite fast, really.

The bike for my wife completed yesterday evening.

Hmmm... should I build a hardtail for myself, next?

Building Naza’s Bike II

I went to work with Naza’s bike last Friday, until way past midnight.
This time I wanted to finish off with the shifters. I tried to cut the cable housing with a normal cable cutter for electrical wiring jobs. It was a futile attempt, and I made a mess out of the cable housing. Uh oh, I really need a bicycle cable cutter, and just in case, a new shifter cable.

Oh well…

I’ve got an idea what to do with the wheelset’s rims. I filed out the valve holes with a set of small files, legacy of my late father-in-law. Thanks Abah.
Bit by bit, the valve holes are filed bigger to accept Schrader valves on my inner tubes. It worked pretty well. Both tires were in place, and wheelsets completed.

Last Saturday, Yad – my office mate, asked me to bring him to a bike shop - window shopping for a new bike. He’s keen on taking up cycling again. As I am babysitting my kids, I brought them along to Auntie’s bike shop in Taman Universiti, Skudai.
Yad brought along another office mate, Isaac, and Dafi.
Next, we went to Md Noor’s mother’s shop in Tampoi. Not much different, really. At least now they know the place.

Yad asked me to take a look on his steel bike. He had that bike since he was in form 4, and never been serviced. That was the first time I’ve seen a Shimano Biopace crankset.
Anyway, the major problem with that bike was the sluggish crankset.
With the bike tool at hand, I started working. Much of it was guesswork, really. Surprisingly, the bike tool is quite complete to do the job. And many were used for the first time, working on Yad’s crankset. I took off the bottom bracket (bb). It appeared that the bearing housings had broken into pieces, and the grease inside the bb had hardened into gunk. The best step forward is to get a new pair of ball bearings with races to replace the old ones. Job done and new knowledge gained.

I’ve got the v-brake bosses from BC on Monday in KL, over teh tarik in front of his office building. He agreed to give me those for free (thanks, bro!) under one condition: repay him by doing deeds to fellow bikers. I gladly told him that they are already paid in full last Saturday.

Yesterday I bought the cable cutter from a hardware shop in Masai. It was gathering dust, and tagged at rm45. The shopkeeper offered at rm40 (which is normal, by the way). Knowing that it hasn’t moved for quite some time, I asked for rm35 - and got it! That very same night, I tried the cutter with the cables. It cuts beautifully, both the cable and the housing.

I worked on the rear brake straight away. Cable cut into lengths, and bosses put into place. V-brakes hung, and cable tightened. The rear wheel is quite bent. It took me some time to adjust the brake pad positions.

Installation of the rear derailleur was quite straightforward, really. I think, that’s the beauty of SRAM’s derailleurs. The front derailleur is actually a Shimano Alivio. That too, was quite easy to install. Anyway, it was really way too late to finish up with the derailleur setting.

But as of last night (technically early morning today), Naza’s bike is complete. Took a spin, and stowed it away nicely beside my T-Bolt.

Went off to sleep (the few hours of it) feeling very happy.

naza's bike - photo

here's a shot of the frame of the bike - what it's supposed to be.

a (replica) schwinn mesa hardtail.

Building Naza’s bike

Last Sunday, the parts for Naza’s bike were mostly complete – I took the frame from Hj. Ali after the usual ride in Pasir Gudang.

To my dismay, however, Tajudin’s bike shop in Nusa Damai was closed, and my numerous calls to his handphone went unanswered.
Much earlier, I’ve entrusted him to assemble the bike, with a few more items from his shop to complete the bike:
• One tire – Maxxis Larsen TT
• Rim tapes
• Inner tubes

Well, there might be something in store for me, this ‘misfortune’. I’ve been contemplating of assembling a bike from scratch. Perhaps, this is the right time. Albeit, the headset and cassette (8 speed) have been assembled on the frame headtube and rear wheelset respectively – much easier for me!

Monday morning before going to work, I attached the fork – Rock Shox Judy TT - to the frame complete with stem. It was a job done in haste, so it didn’t turn out good – a piece of the headset was not securely put on the bottom part of fork steerer tube. It seems that the tube diameter is a bit bigger right there. It was not obvious, until I had that problem. It makes the headtube ‘floated’ through the steerer tube for about 3mm. Well, I lay that to rest for now. After all, my itch for assembling the bike, for now, has been scratched a bit – and it feels good.

On Tuesday, I had a chat with BC Kelolo on bike assembly. Quite a few pointers he gave, especially on the tools needed.
So, yesterday I bought a set of bike repair tools (Bike Hand) and other parts needed to complete the job. I managed to get a good price for all those, and a dollop of grease courtesy of Auntie’s bike shop in Taman U Skudai.

Last night after dinner at 9.30pm, I set out with the parts and started wearing my bike mechanic hat. First task: to try out with pulling out the crankset and bottom bracket (bb) on Apis’ K2 Proflex frame. It went very well, and I’m quite surprised at how easy it was - most of it because I have the right tools, of course.

Confidence gained, and on to the second task: putting on the rim tapes and complete the wheelsets. By having the wheels ready, I can mount the bike on the bike stand, thus making my job easier. It seems logical, and that came to mind as an afterthought. The rim tapes were nicely put, and two inner tubes (Schrader valves) ready at hand – half inflated. Tires were ready, and I’m getting excited.

Starting with the rear wheelset I placed the tire bead inside the rim, and the half inflated inner tube inside the tire – starting point: valve, and around the rim. First casualty: the rim’s valve hole is a tad smaller than the valve. Perhaps a presta valve would fit very nicely. Wheelsets aside, then. Eventually, I took the wheelsets from t-bolt instead. Et voila! I have a frame with wheels, so I can mount it.

Prior to that, I went with the bottom bracket and crankset. It went well, much from the confidence of the trial from the K2 frame earlier. In fact, it went quite well I don’t have much to say about it here. Except that it looks good :)

Now that the bike is on a stand, I moved on with the cockpit – handlebar, shifters, brake levers and grips.

Back to the fork. I suddenly had an idea on what to do with the headset piece (‘ring’) to the steerer tube. Employed simple science lab procedure in the kitchen – heat it up for a minute, let it expand, and place it back to the fork. It was good! Science really works!! The ‘ring’ went down straight to the bottom of the steerer tube.

Next, the chain. The one that I bought is for a 9 speed drivetrain. This bike (because of the shifters and cassette) is meant for 8 speed system. So, the chain has to be shortened. I discovered this after painstakingly connecting the chain with the chain tool (my first ever) – the chain was ultra slacked. With the chain tool, I went on with the job.

To complete the drivetrain, pedals were installed. Soon after, I went for a short spin, without brakes. It went smooth.
Pat on my back, a smile on my face, confidence and sense of accomplishment in my heart.

Brakes. For this bike, I’m using v-brakes instead of disc brakes. The bike is intended for on-road cycling around the housing area and Tasik Layang Layang. Wheelset hubs are for v-brakes. Anyway, they are what I have. Most important of all, the driving factor – Naza’s criteria for her bike – lightweight, and not tall (unlike mine) for her to ride. So, v-brakes it is…

Alhamdulillah, I still have the v-brake boss hangers from Apis’ Manitou fork. They were put into good use on the Judy. The front brake was easily installed, and the plain bicycle now ‘upgraded’. Another pat on my back, another smile, another short spin. On to the rear brakes, and this was where a snag occurred. I don’t have the bosses for the rear brake. This morning I asked around – and BC Kelolo came to the rescue. He agreed to give me the bosses for free – to fellow biker. Thanks very much BC! One caveat: I have to repay him by doing the same to fellow biker in need, in bike parts or in kind. Next Monday & Tuesday I'm attending meetings in KL. So, it is just nice to collect those bosses.

So far so good, and I'm quite happy with the progress thus far.

seri alam ride 8th June 2008

start from restoran ruza in nusa damai.

• tarmac
• trail
• tasik
• titi
• tower pencawang
• trail again
• turun bukit

photo credits: shahrin a.k.a. melake.

thanks, man.

 

 

proton t-bolt

Yes, you're reading it right. This mountain bike is from Proton.

Well, can be said as a Malaysian product.

Albeit, none of the parts that came with it is made in Malaysia - except perhaps those Shimano components if they were churned out of Pekan Nanas factory.

The body is a monocoque carbon fibre - thus the burly profile. It is actually an EPX Australia design.

 

I got the frame secondhand from Hood thru BBS - with the plush Fox Float R rear shock.

The frameset comes with Shimano Deore LX front derailleur (E-type) and FSA Orbit XL II sealed bearing headset.

Thrown in for free WTB saddle, UMF seatpost, WTB grips and the assembly service.

Handlebar and stem taken from Apis' bike.

Assembled in Putra Heights by bro Yazid.

All at a very good price. Awesome!

Added a little bit more for Shimano Deore LX drivetrain (crankset, cassette, chain, rear derailleur and Deore shifters), Tektro mechanical disc brakes with Deore XT levers, and RST Omega Air-assist fork.

Had to hunt for the wheelset, and got myself Mavic 719 rims with Formula hubs and stainless steel black spokes.

The tires are Maxxis Larsen TT 26/1.9 (front) and Panaracer FireXC Pro 26/2.1 - complete wheelset from Yong's bike shop in Sungai Way.

 

This bike is quite special for me, although it is a used unit.

The journey of making it into a complete bike took me to many places. In the process, I made many friends in mtb circle of brotherhood.

The most precious of all I guess is the knowledge and tips siphoned out from those bros.

nite ride: jln tun razak - titiwangsa

here's the reading for last night's ride:
ride: 17.3km
ave: 20kmh
max. speed: 35kmh
route - the forum (jalan tun razak) - taman tasik titiwangsa - the forum

not a long ride, just to see the functionality of my new meter.
:)

polygon xtrada

This is my mtb.
An imported 24-speed Polygon Xtrada. It's imported from Indonesia, that is. Bought it secondhand from a friend's friend for a few hundred. Would cost me RM900+ brand new. For now, I'm not ready to fork out that kind of money. Well, I don't have that much, anyway... :)

So far, it's been a good purchase. Although there's a little annoying sound coming from the crankset. I suspect that the crank is a bit hammered. Anyway, for the sum I paid, there's nothing much to complain, really.

Well, here's the spec:
Frame: Aluminium 6061
Fork: Polygon
Handlebar & Stem: Polygon
Headset: Ritchey
Grips: Tioga (upgrade)
Saddle: Selle Royal Energy
Seatpost: Polygon Alloy
Drivetrain: SR Suntour Crank, Shimano C050 FD, Altus RD
Controls: Shimano Brake + Shifter combo
Brakes: Front - Tektro IO Mech Disc, Rear - Tektro V-Brake
Wheelset: Araya rims, Shimano hubs, Kenda Kwick 26/1.95 tires