Third Ride : 70km and beyond ....

Third Ride : Adela – Sg Rengit – Tanjung Pengelih - Adela
Date : Wednesday, 18/06/2008 Distance : 72.59km Avg Speed : 22.4km/h
Max Speed : 43.5km/h Time: 7.30am-11.30am

This is the extended ride from the first ride. A 19km ride Adela-Sg Rengit ride, plus 16km coastal ride to Tg Pengelih. Tg Pengelih is the second most southern tip of Asia continent, facing the South China Sea. From the shore, I can see Changi, Singapore clearly. I believe anyone who is fit can swim cross the channel without much problem. The channel that separates Malaysia and Singapore is Selat Tebrau.

This time, the ride feels shorter. Probably because I was on the same route several days ago. The coastal road from Sg Rengit to Tg Pengelih is dead flat. I cruised at 23km/h comfortably for half an hour each leg.

Second Ride : Adela – Desaru Golf – Adela

Second Ride : Adela – Desaru Golf – Adela
Date : Saturday, 14/06/2008 Distance : 49.53km Avg Speed : 20km/h
Max Speed : 59.6km/h Time: 9.30am-1.30pm

On the second day, I cycled near to 50km from Adela to Bandar Penawar to Desaru Golf. I did on average 20km/h, slightly less than the day before. I realized that I did not consume any food before any ride. This may affect my cycling speed, but I am not use to eat early in the morning.

Usually I started the day with morning prayer, then little bit of stretching. This includes The Sun Salutation (Surya Namaskar), one of the Yoga practice that I read from book. I am a complete beginner of Yoga and wish I can learn more about this ancient practice.

Then, I prepare the necessities for the ride. Check the tire pressure and refill the water bottle with water.

Desaru Golf :: A lonely road towards the beach.

For this ride, I chose a route with a long descent on my way out of Adela. At this particular slope that stretch about 150 meters, I cycled (technically doing nothing, just let the gravity do its trick) at maximum speed of nearly 60km/h. It brought good feeling when you are at speed. And I need to be careful, even a small pothole can bring disastrous outcome.

My New Ride

2008 Giant TCR3

I had ordered my new ride, Giant TCR3 on Monday, June 9, 2008. It took two days for the bike shop in Kota Tinggi to get the bike delivered from Johor Bahru. It cost RM 2300, relatively low compared to my initial budget. Probably because this 2008 model did not include carbon fork. I also being told that by adding another thousand Ringgit, I can get Fuji Roubaix which is more geared towards high end performance bike.

Fuji Roubaix

But I settled down with compact frame Giant TCR3, so that I have more cash for other things and kept my expenses low. All other accessories cost another RM4++. This included bike computer (Cateye Velo 8), pump, saddle bag, bike stand, spare tubes, grease, helmet, puncture kit, Allen key and water bottle.