Rolling weight

I upgraded my wheelset, from 1988 grams to 1696 grams, and yeapp.. I sound like weight weenies. Mathematically, that is a weight saving of 14.7% or more than half a pound.

The new wheelset consist of:
Mavic XC717 silver rims
DT Swiss Competition double butted spokes
Brass nipples
A set of Ringle Flea hubs

It might not be as light as the XC racer wheelset, but I chose durable components like more durable nipples and spokes. I could have gone to alloy nipples and DT Swiss Revolution spokes to save another 80 gms, but I saw to many of those failed.

I had two rides with the new wheelset. Both rides were on wet and muddy trails. It performed far better than I expected. Climbing was definitely easier now. Cornering felt so much better. A downhill rolling felt like butter.
However, I think I need to test them on dry trails to see its true potential.

Even the lightness can be felt when fitting the bike onto the car rack. That must be good.

Trail Maintenance 02/2007

I'm beginning to like trail maintenance. The wet weather in April just going to ruin the trail if something is not done.

On Monday, I compacted some soils (with outslope) at Carnival trails to try to force the water away from the trail surface. I also re-arrange several rocks (about 1 foot in length) to avoid water from puddling around them. After that I reinforced them with smaller rocks and pegs. That was hard work.

It started to rain when i was about to finish. I saw the water just drain away from the trail surfaces, and I was smiling.

Trail Maintenance 01/2007

The Plan C, Rumpy Bumpy and Barakuda trails are in bad shape, after DBKL widen the trails to accommodate horses.

DBKL just widen the trails, but didn't carry out any soil compacting work. The result is just muddy and soft trails, and unsuitable for mountain biking. It is also probably not suitable for horse riding.

In my opinion, the Plan C and Rumpy Bumpy trails are important trails in Bukit Kiara. Both of them give access from Hartamas to Taman Tun Dr. Ismail and vice-versa. They need to be in good condition.

Friday, 20 April 2007 is also a birthday for my friend, Normy Marziah. I send her SMS for birthday wish. But, it's also the day that I committed to repair Plan C.

These are what I did:
1. Six trail-side retainers with compacted soil filling,
2. About 15 meters of soil transfer and compacting (uphill).
3. Four on trail retainers.

It was a little bit though job because it rained heavily the night before. This made the the soil muddy and heavy. It was also difficult to compact them. I just hope the weather is dry today so that the compacted soil bed in.

It took me about 3 hours, 1.5 liters of isotonic drink (Excel) and lots of layers of mosquito repellent.

Heart Rate

I'm 34 years old. As I'm getting older, I must train my heart accordingly. So, lets do the Karvonen Formula on training based on heart rate:
Maximum heart rate > 220 - 34 = 186
My resting heart rate > 80

Therefore, my working heart rate > 186 - 80 = 106

The following are the start of the training zones:
Start of aerobic zone (70% effort) > 80 + (0.7*106) = 154
Start of anearobic zone (80% effort) > 80 + (0.8*106) = 165
Start of red zone (90% effort) > 80 + (0.9*106) = 175
Must stop > 80 + 106 = 186

Yesterday, I bought Sigma PC9 heart beat monitor, and these are the number that I crunched into it:


Maximum heart rate > 186
Start of health zone > 134
Start of fitness zone > 154
Start of performance zone > 165
End of performance zone > 175

If you have any positive comment about the calculation, please e-mail me.

Hot Bash

On Sunday morning, when Kimi Raikonnen was getting ready to battle with Fernando Alonso (2 times F1 world champion), and here I'm torturing myself on the longest and hottest bash I have ever ridden in 2 years.

[From left: Lim@Bike Pro, me and others]

[Asri]

I also like to say that this is my 3rd bash with my new KHS XC604 bike. I must admit it is one hell of good trail bike. Just look at the GPS profile below, lots of climbs, but my XC604 didn't dissappoint me.

It downhill performance also flawless for a 4.2 inches bike. It rear suspension didn't feel stiff during downhill braking... just pure terrain tracking. Sweet.

[The profile: Lots of hill climbings]

[One of the long climbs]