So You Think You Can Drive.

The Moose-stang is still dirty. Say it with me: Respect!




In other news, I've made it home again from another day, another ride. Without lights, without a helmet.

Don't get me wrong. I believe in road safety. Although I've had bicycles since I was 6, my dad never let me ride on the roads till I was 13. Given the twit that I was until then, it was a good idea. My idea of fun was to ride without brakes.

I'm not much of a genius now either. To prove it: I still don't think helmets and lights are necessarily going to be very helpful in a collision.

On the way back I rode behind an ang moh (that's Caucasian to you non-locals), who was riding a commuter bike, with thin wheels/tires and real metal fenders. He also had on a really bright blinking rear light and a helmet that I swear, looked like a beanie hat:



What's the idea? If a car hits him, he's going to fly out of trouble?

Ok ok, my bad. I just think helmets look blinking ridiculous. If I get one, and I will, I'm going to get one that's all black.

Because I'm vain like that.

To continue the story, we were going past the old NUS at Dunearn Road (formerly SMU) and this car pulls out from a turn into the main road, cutting off our dear friend. So the guy pulls the brakes, then speeds up alongside the car and pats his mirror to make his displeasure known. Whatever happened to flippin' the bird?

You have no idea how often that happens.

As visible as our friend was, I must have been literally invisible to numbnuts and fuckfarts like that driver.

Which is why I ride like I *am* invisible. I don't wait for drivers to make mistakes.

Another thing that happens a lot is with those long-bodied buses. They're so long that my heart sometimes literally stops when they overtake. It seems to take forever to see the tail-end of those buses, for them to pass me safely.


I'm thinking of getting an egg-launcher. That'll get their attention, then.

Peace out.

The King of the Hill.

So I decided I would see how the Moose-stang likes to play in the dirt. I've never brought the bike down to an off-road trail before, but I did try a track off of Singapore Polytechnic on my Marin Muirwoods once.

I didn't like it.

This time around, with a smaller, more comfortable frame, the Moose-stang proves why getting the right equipment is essential to enjoy the great outdoors properly.

The story at 6. But first, gratuitious shots of the 'Stang.





These pictures aren't just purely gratuitious. They represent the last time in a long while that I have the 'Stang properly cleaned and polished. I don't know if I will have the time to clean it up properly after this.

Besides I do like the look of dirt. Mountain bikes ought to be dirty. It means they are being used, as they are meant to be used.

Because of where I stay, a lot of you are probably wondering why I haven't done this sooner. Bukit Timah is a mere 4 kilos away from where I stay.

It just simply never occured to me.

The ride there took all of ten minutes or less and I arrived with plenty of fresh energy from the rain, and all set to take on the hill, on its own terms.

Which is to say, muddy, dirty, and very wet.

On 2nd thought, I shouldn't have worn slippers. They... slip. Like a lot.



I think this is a good time to note that the Moose-stang is not a conventionally configured mountain bicycle. The fenders and rear rack give away the commuter and tour status, but less obvious is the frame geometry.

The rear triangle is tight and smallish, and it transfers power from my legs to the rear wheel extremely efficiently. However, the long top tube and relatively shallow slope angle means that the bike is not as race-oriented as most hard-core mountain bikes you can get off the rack. But they add to a longer wheelbase for better stability. This bike rolls on rails.

The modest top tube slope means I won't be stressing my body as much on a long trip touring.

Or so I hope. I may have to get a shorter stem.

I'm using this bike for the tour I'm planning, because while I want a bike that can do everything from trails to roads, I don't particularly like hybrids.

Let's put the bike through the off-road test today shall we. Can it, or won't it, scale a hill?





Below: About twenty minutes of slow riding (boy, there sure is a lot of mud) I arrived at the first map.






Below: Where I been.



Below: Where I going.




Below: Moose-stang seemed eager to press on.



And I soon found out why. Never having been to the trail before, it took me by surprise to see this:



Where I been:






Awesome. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is why I want to tour on my bicycle.





But the road beckons.














Then, disaster struck.








Using my compass to orient myself on the map:





Getting stuck in the mud. (Note to Self: Self, don't be wishy-washy when it comes to mud ponds. Build up some speed and ride the heck through them. That's what freaking mudguards are for.)









The King of the Hill.





Dirt Bike.

So the Moose-stang survived Bukit Timah, muddy, no less. I enjoyed it tremendously. The brakes made a sound like only a Moose-stang would make, as though it was mating season, but I'm not about to put the 'Stang out to stud duty yet.

Here, you can see all the mud that's caked up:









What I would do better.
First, better tires for the rear, and proper footwear, like below. The tires were semi slicks and really had no place in mud or dirt.








I should really have packed my water bottle along too. And tightened my waist pouch a little more to accomodate getting off and on the seat so often.

It was a sweet day of singletrack riding. I'll be back next weekend.

The Verdict:
Yes. The Moose-stang is fully capable of traversing dirt trails, from really steep inclines to the muddiest downhills. And far from being a really crummy fork, the first generation Rockshox Quadra fork performs admirably. Granted, I'm not bombing down the trail like there's no tomorrow, and like my ass is on fire.

But who would do that on a fully loaded bike anyway?


That's all I guess. Seacrest, out!

Return of the Fender Bender

Now I realise that not every cyclist is as lucky as I am. I have a qualified bike mechanic at home. His name is Dad and for a small fee, he'll even cook you dinner, wash your laundry and give you advice on relationships and life . Just your regular bike mechanic.

But don't get on his nerves.

Here he is in the Kitchen, fixing my broken fender mount.






What he's done is to reuse one of the numerous thingamajigs that's left over from one or other of our many projects for this that and what not. This metal S-shaped piece of junk was used to secure the front fenders, but we tossed it, for reasons I don't recall anymore.



A couple of holes drilled in the wooden board, a long screw sawed off to make the right length --




Tada.



Now, the broken bike light mount might prove impossible to fix. I'll need to find something 'L' shaped that will clip on the back of the rack. But I am thinking of getting these lights:



so I won't really need a rear bike light mount. They run without batteries and auto-start and stop. Perfect.

Now I realise some people, especially those with thousand dollar rides, might look at my bike and think, what a piece of junk.

At the local bike shop, some guy said, toss all that junk componentry, clean up the frame and I'll buy it off you, scratches and all.

But no.

I rather enjoy the whole process of working on it, getting it to do what I need. Etc. Which is why I think I'll rather enjoy putting on the lights.

Bishop.

So this is Bishop. He's a money plant. My colleague bought him in January because she thought our office could use some colour. We pretty much left him at the window. He likes light, as some plants do. I hear its good for the complexion.

Anyway, he didn't seem to be doing very well. We thought it was coz there were cockroaches laying their eggs in him, and colleague brought anti-pest pellets.

They didn't work out.

Hence today, she was going to toss out the plant (Bishop is named after that 'Aliens' android who got ripped off at the waist) and I said, I'd bring him home and see if my dad can save him. Dad likes plants. They bond.




I didn't bring my bungee ropes today, so he was held on rather precariously by the wire sprung whatchamacallit.



I had to ride slower than normal (well ok, 25km/h was the average. Would you say that's slow? My bag was bumping against my thighs. Ok, Me Slow. You Tarzan.)

An experience. For one thing, packing a bike for touring clearly requires a lot of work. For another, the added weight is going to make the bike move diferently.

But frankly I think I was overly worried about the load shifting. I didn't want to break Bishop's pot. I haven't grown eyes on my butt yet, last I checked.

In other news, I broke the rear fender mount AND the bike light mount today. Back to the Kitchen for a way to fix this. I avoid having to spend money on new stuff, where possible. Already spent too much on the bike this month. Commuting to work is supposed to be saving me money!

I have to learn not to force metal.

That's that, for now.