Cycling is like life. Cycling with no goal is meaningless. What meaning is there cycling in circles? Or living aimlessly? Meaning comes from direction and destination. Join me in my life's journey on a mountain bike :)

Blogging since 2003. Thank you for reading :))

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Black and white

Mar distance: 218 km

Woodlands, 58 km. There's right, there's wrong. What if, in the absence of information, a decision is made and progress is made in a certain direction because it seemed right? Then, information that was previously withheld is made available. The direction, while wrong in the light of "new" information, seems to make sense anyway, at least without the benefit of hindsight. We don't know what the future holds, what we have are educated guesses about what could happen. But can anything good come out of something wrong? Can something perfect happen amidst imperfect information?

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Inside, outside

Woodlands, 53 km. In deep sorrow, people seem to reach deep down inside to look for strength. They may say little, perhaps even stay indoors. It's as if, to avoid going out of their minds, they keep it all in. Or maybe it takes a lot to take in what has happened, when the world outside is shaken down and washed away, leaving only the detritus of what was, and a mucky brown smelly world. In the physical world, the hurt lie still, saving energy to rebuild within. I guess it's the same in the emotional world.
In my little world where I can do something, I've washed away the dirt that has encrusted my bicycle for ... wow, I can't recall when was the last time I washed and waxed it. But there's a crank-side squeak that's driving me round the bend. Still, contrary to the weather report, it didn't rain on me today.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Win some, lose some

Woodlands, 53 km. Getting out to cycle felt like a chore and as I head out I am already looking forward to coming home. I plod along uphill, feeling lethargic after the late morning rain, when a cyclist on a folding bicycle blasts past me. I start up and keep up. There is a slight downhill and he clocks 38 km/h. Big guy on tiny wheels, with a weight advantage when going downhill. I think to myself, he'll be disadvantaged when there's an uphill because of his weight, but then, he's the one who pulled ahead of me uphill. I'm not sure how long more I could've kept up the pace on my fat tyres, and I'll never know as I peel away eastwards at a junction then throttle back while he keeps heading south. Not that it matters. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. What matters is how the "portfolio" does as a whole.

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Making up for lost time

Woodlands, 54 km.I've been up past 1am the past few nights, going online for information on what gizmo to buy. Then I'm up earlier than I like yesterday, not to cycle, but for some housework and family obligations. This morning, like yesterday, I skip breakfast but for some tea. And ride on an empty stomach and a deficit of sleep, surging up slopes like I'm half my age just to see how far I can push myself. As the saying goes, "mind over matter, if you don't mind, it doesn't matter". I suppose the corollary of that is, "If it doesn't matter but you mind, it matters"- which could result in a coronary :o