Cycle. 100km. 6 hours. Pengarang – Desaru
So.. it was an early Saturday morning, the sun has just risen over the horizon..
.. and we arrived at Changi ferry terminal to take a, early ferry to Pengarang.
I’ve been to Pengarang once, but this time, it was for something totally different.
Roadtrip!!
We’re off!
My newly-acquired Shimano mountain bike shoe, with Jasbir Baby’s road bike shoe
Bryant’s parents, who have very kindly agreed to drive the safety vehicle for us
what they were taking a picture of
Guess what? You guess it.. the heavens decided that we’re too dehydrated.
Wet grounds = unreliable brakes. This photo was taken shortly after hy crashed into me.
rain + tired legs + cold winds + altered vision + kena crashed = blur kat
but we still cycled until our clothes and shoes and underwear dried.
Dont let our smiles fool you, we had hell of a time battling the hills.
Whoever said that the road to Desaru was hilly said it as an understatement. That’s me in pink struggling to keep up with Bryant.
Accomplished. 108.85km.
–
Strategy rocks my world
Yesterday marked the last lesson of Strategy summer class. As Prof was giving a sort-of thank you speech, I cant help but let a temporary wave of emotions wash over me. This module is probably the one that I’ve enjoyed the most, with all thanks given to the prof. It ended way too soon.
He read something to us at the end of the lesson, as a take-away for all of us:
He has achieved success.
He,
who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much;
who has enjoyed the trust of pure women, the respect of intelligent men, and the love of little children;
who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;
who has never lacked appreciation of Earth’s beauty or failed to express it;
who has left the world better than he found it,
whether an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;
who has always looked for the best in others and given them the best he had;
whose life was an inspiration;
whose memory a benediction
- Bessie Anderson Stanley
Project group with prof
Team Zero Limits
May 21, 2008
We did our team photoshoot last weekend.
The family shot.
It’s more to showcase the youth in us, and how we all come together to do this expedition together.
This set is of us as students of SMU, with Leong as the representation of the cyclists in us.
This one is for our sponsor – Skins. Our official sports recovery wear.
argh.
May 17, 2008
I cried during training today.
I was rather shocked by myself, and I think I scared the guys a little.
The lack of sleep was affecting my performance during training. I think.
The last straw was when we were at Dunern Road, and I just couldnt keep up no matter how hard I was pedalling. I remember gritting my teeth and sprinting towards the group, hitting 37km/h at one point in time even (on a flat stretch of road, mind you), but the group just seemed as far away as ever. Finally, when I managed to join them, it was just a one second sense of accomplishment, and I lagged behind again.
I was pushing myself so hard that my legs didnt feel like mine, and my body felt like it was collapsing, yet I was still behind. Going across a small little bump on the road drained a ridiculous amount of energy in me; a sense of despondence began to creep in.
I remember feeling confused;
I remember feeling frustrated;
I remember asking alot of questions in my head;
I remember doubting myself;
I remember feeling really, really fatigued.
I’m sure feeling like this is a learning phase in this entire training program, and I’m sure I’ll emerge from it more or less stronger mentally. But the feeling during that time, is like fuck.
It’s really not easy juggling a summer module together with training, especially since my summer module chose to be project-intensive during the time when training was intensive. My sleeping pattern is screwed; heck, I dont even remember a good night’s rest for a long time – sleep was probably averaged at about 4 hours per day.
It’s easy for someone else to tell me, “well, you shouldnt have taken summer in the first place,” or “you should have known.” But, summer terms were crucial for me if I wanted to graduate a semester earlier; and quite honestly, I didnt know that school and training will be this precarious a balance.
There’s always this saying “mind over body”. I mean, I’ve said it a dozen times that it’s the strength in the mind that pulled me through certain trainings. But I’ve learnt, in this past couple of weeks, that the body still triumphs sometimes.
sleeping beauty… not.
May 16, 2008
Summer class and projects demand my time in the day.
Trainings demand my time at night.
How am I supposed to find time to sleep?
my life has changed with four words
May 15, 2008
My life has changed. Drastically.
With these 4 words – Team. Zero. Limits. Alaska’08.
Sleeping at 8pm and waking up at 12.30am to prepare for training is now normal.
Cycling 40km used to be a huge feat; now, it’s not enough.
Juggling summer class + projects and trainings – normal sleeping hours are now officially a luxury.
No, many people think that cycling is just cycling - you know, it’s just simple pedalling. I mean, no offence taken; I used to think this way too.
But my life has changed since training started.
When it comes to cycling the long distance; when it comes to chasing the person in front of you even if your thighs are burning; when it comes to climbing that yet-another-slope -
cycling demands a whole new respect.
======
It usually takes some lag-behind time for me to ponder and really appreciate how all of us have gone this far together.
Without my teammates egging me on, I wouldnt have completed my 110km today.
While circling Mandai Road with all its slopes, my thighs were killing me, and I was this close to giving up. But I know my teammates will never let me do that; and I’m glad.
No matter how hard we were panting to get over the slope, words, like really short words of encouragement were still uttered.
This is a team.
=====
My favourite time of training?
It’s when the day breaks.
When you see the world coming alive; when wispy clouds are coloured blue, violet and orange; when you look into the distance and you see the blazing sun; when bird songs start sprouting from trees; when we welcome the smell of a new day.
http://zerolimitsalaska.blogspot.com
same-old brand-new
May 1, 2008
my room is finally up and running, after 5 days of..
- cleaning everything of it’s aged dust
- moving everything out
- covering most surfaces with masking tape and newspaper
- painting
- cleaning everything up again + vacuuming surfaces
- moving everything back in
..with inclusion of
- swearing
- grunting
- sneezing
- scratching
- bucket-loads of perspiration
this was the tornado-strickened sty..
..and then the brand-new abode
The paint-work came out better than expected, though i got a little lazy at the end and didnt apply enough coatings on certain areas. I kinda regretted not taking photos of the “in-process”. This should be quite the last time i’m doing this.. either all the things they say about getting old is happening to me, or i forgot how brutally tiring it is to revamp a room.
Summer class has started. My prof is like an anthony bourdain double – speech wise. Mostly unforgiving honesty, dark-humoured, and he’s sarcastic as hell; but he makes class interesting and he absolutely cracks me up.
p.s. I hate to be cooped at home, rushing to meet assignment deadline, on such a gloriously sunny day.
