I am starting to have insomnia thinking about Baikal. The thought of a bike tour around the lake is taking strong roots and I am totally convinced that it is something that needs to be done. In my mind, it seems like a seed is being planted to kick start a nomadic lifestyle.

Baikal, sharp, crisp, bi-syllable, banana shaped fresh water lake seems to be taking over my thoughts. There is something magical and alluring about this lake. When I was on Train-007, something strange happened while passing through Baikal. I guess it was a combination of train fatigue, heat and the extremely annoying change to the direction of sunlight. I was looking froward to the views of the frozen lake and once the lake came into view, the sunlight started playing tricks. The train passed along the coast and was constantly changing directions from NW to SW and back to NW. The cabin was a toasty 30C and the blindingly bright sunlight reflecting off the frozen lake was increasing the temperature and made me squint. When I peeked out of the train, all I could see was the sky and the frozen lake reaching out at the horizon. The urge to get out of the train was at its peak (like I said, It could be the heat and fatigue, but I prefer to consider it the Baikal Allure).

However, a few hours of torture later, the mysterious Baikal disappeared from view and all was normal again.

Now that I am back, I get flashes of light and shadows and constantly see the vast landscape of Ice, sky and Sun. It is as if Baikal has a spell over me. I am forced to check out maps and stare at the lake. I am strangely starting to read Cyrillic. I religiously research about the lake, the people settled around, the weather conditions, climate patterns etc… I dream about biking along rough roads and camping among conifers. I feel the warm sun on my face and I realize I am at home and over slept.

It is difficult to look forward to the daily chore when you know there is a different life out there. It seems like I am getting flashes from a parallel Universe or may be from the future.

I wish to think it is from the future, and if that is the future, I need to prepare for it. I have strategize my life towards being a nomad. Need to find a source of $ to sustain my life. I do not need much money, just enough to survive and a few additional bucks for the rainy day. Generating savings for survival is trivial. I don’t think  that is a concern. What is a concern is that I am afraid the dream may disappear. I want this dream, I have always spoken about being a bike nomad but now I have a strong urge to be one.

I think Baikal is the key. I have a feeling that it is going to open the door to my future.

Came across this article in ‘Today’.

Latest estimates put the population to 17 million. I have been to Beijing and I should say it is a pretty congested town. It seems like they go through extreme measures to keep the vehicle count on the road down (similar to our weekend COE idea).

China is probably the largest car market right now and there is obvoiusly lot of money to be made in selling cars (They can have a COE system and an ERP system and I suppose the demand for car would not go down. It will be a good revenue stream for the Beijing Municipality. They can build better roads and better Public transportation with that money.

But it seems like they are doing neither. Instead, they plan to inconvenience car drivers by bringing back bike lanes.

Makes me wonder. If China (who are fighting for their right to develop at a rapid pace) can think of solving their traffic and pollution woes by introducing bike lanes, why does Singapore think the other way around?

I am not saying bring us bike lanes. I am just saying divert your attention from cyclists (and educating them) to Drivers (and how they can be made responsible for their actions on the road).

It is how one views things. I saw this on one of my favorite blogs (ogle at hot, stylish girls on bikes – whats not to like).

I do not expect this to happen all over the world. However, it is a measure of how much the notion of cycling as a means of transport has seeped into the public conscience.

The problem as I see it in Singapore is that the authorities and public view cycling as either a sport or recreational activity or at the very most, a mode of transport for the extremely poor and dare I say it, foreign workers. The second part of the equation is the notion that the people who ride are unwilling to learn the local traffic rules and will flout the rules even if taught.

Now seen from such clouded perspective it is easy to understand why the authorities are trying to ‘fix’ the cyclist instead of the drivers and more importantly the infrastructure. The typical cyclist is viewed as one with low economical value and hence there is very little need to provide for them. This idea also spreads in other areas. A colleague commented on how someone from LTA was quoted as saying that providing amenities for handicapped people was cost prohibitive (I quote without basis here). The notion of economic value add is at play here again.

The same is true in the rest of the world too. I suppose Copenhagen city council is willing to invest in infrastructure since the ones cycling are teachers, lawyers, doctors and tradesmen, all contributing to the economy and it is ‘worth it’ to keep these lives safe.

I sound morose but I guess that is how things are.

Getting back, I am not expecting very fancy railings or segregated lanes (it will be great to have them and will encourage more cyclists). But I can live without some middle manager quoting to the media and media misquoting to rest of the world that cyclists are endangering their lives and others.

This is a real pity.

I quote from the Channel News Asia Article:

More often than not, cyclists are at fault when it comes to fatal or serious road traffic accidents involving them.

This has been the case in more than 50 per cent of such accidents between January and September of the last two years, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary of Home Affairs Masagos Zulkifli in Parliament on Tuesday.

Common causes for the accidents include changing lanes without due care, failing to keep a lookout, and failing to give way to traffic with right of way.

The rationale is akin to saying (for lack of a better comparison) that women with short skirts are at fault for being molested.

Oh Please this is an amateurish argument. If you cannot provide proper infrastructure, you might be better off keeping the mouth shut.

It is totally possible that this is simply bad journalism (from what I see being published on local news papers, I will not be surprised). It is also possible that the parliamentary Secretary is quoted verbatim. Either way, it is a step in the wrong direction.

I am not absolving cyclists of faults but any argument that blames the victims is a weak mechanism to shrug off ones responsibility and avoid a sensible debate.

Apple IPod event came and it went. Usually, this part of the year has been very exciting over the past several years due to the tremendous innovations that came from apple with regard to their iPods.

Better form factors, newer hardware, smaller iPods, better iTunes, more features… You name it.

This time, the expectation was high but apple decided to show off better marketing instead of technology. Duh… What we have is a high capacity iPod and more features in iTunes, I am sure no one really cares about. Music is all about songs, giving off liner notes is not going to sell an album. Apple taught us that, now they are buckling under music label pressure.

So we get souped up iPod Nano. Well, the features are nice, video recording, fm radio (what took them so long?) and audio recording. But none of it for the iPod touch. No tech breakthroughs here. But a more clearer market seggregation.

iPhones have video rec, why not iPod? Well it is because iPod touch is already eating into the traditional iPod product line and nano struggles to live between the shuffle and the iPod touch. Well, marketing comes into play and attaches features to spur nano sales and makes sure the touch does not get the features to compete.

Very clever but ultimately sneaky. Not good for the consumer. If you want games, get the touch. If you want video/radio, get the nano. If you want both, go F@&$ yourself.

I wish the technologists get out of their plateau soon…

There are times when you settle into a nice rhythm for your morning schedule that you dont think twice about what you are doing. It has been that way for me for my morning commute to work. Once I am done with my wake up routine, I look for my cycling tights, Jersey, pack my pannier with my work clothes (puncture kit and pump are resident in the pannier), wear my clipless shoes and scoot out on my Surly. Most of the regular stuff I use on my commute like the GPS / speedo, lights, locks etc are on the bike and I dont even think  about them. I have had very few times when I realize that the batteries are dying or may be I forgot a plastic bag protection for my saddle etc.. and these are easily fixed when I get back home in the evening.

Now, most of you know that I regularly ride a Surly LHT and a Trek XO-1. I am not sure I have mentioned before that I busted my rear wheel on my XO-1 as a consequence of riding it with a bent wheel. I ahd put the bike up for sale and so did not bother much about fixing the wheels and the bike had been lying idle for a long while. Recently, I was inspired to not let the bike lie idle and wait for a sale, instead get some wheels and ride it around until I can find a suitable buyer.

After searching for a week, I found a nice set of used light weight wheels, Bontrager race lite. I was thinking of upgrading to a heavier wheel but I think the bike will have better value with lighter wheels. I swapped out my old wheels and set it up with the race lites. the new wheels came with tires too, that was a good deal to have. Once I have a ridable bike, my feet gets itchy and I have to take a ride. So I figured I would commute on this light, skinny wheels for the week. Trouble is that it kind of interrupted my morning rhythm.

Things seemed to go fine, I took my bike through the elevator, pannier fitted and all and was about to pedal off when I realized, shucks, I am wearing my Mountain shoe (SPD) and my XO-1 is equipped with a SPD-SL road pedals. OK took the elevator back to the house, swapped my shoes out and out I went again. As I was about to pedal off, I realized the saddle was too low. Damn, I had earlier let a friend test ride the bike and I have not restored the saddle for my height. Luckily, I carry a couple of standard allen keys in my handlebar pouch and got the saddle back in its position.

The ride was very nice in the morning with crisp air and mild sunshine. I reached work and was about to hook the bike up to its usual lamp post when I realized, damn I am missing my lock. I had a chain lock attached with the bike which I removed a while back. I had forgotten to bring it today. Though the parking area is under the security guard’s nose, I know better than to leave a unlocked bike out of my sight and did the only thing I could. Rode the bike out. Of course, I had a good plan B. a little further from my work place is a shop offering a BikeLodging service, you can park it in their shop and take a shower for 10$. That is realy cool. I have mentioned The Bike Boutique before and I still think it is a good business to be running. I am not sure if the Lodging services is profitable, but it sure get them karma Points and some really good exposure to the spending public. I was glad they exist and after a quick shower, managed to get into office not too late.

Well, all this simply because I decided to switch my bike. I need to have a more streamlined process to endure such ‘mishaps’ can be avoided in the future…

Pom Poko is an environmental awareness film from Ghubli Studios, directed by Isao Takahata. Takahata also directed the very moving Grave of the Fireflies. Well I say environmental awareness, Takahata makes is a lot more interesting with fun loving, shape shifting racoons  causing riot when they realize their living space is being encroached.

One of my regular fun rides was to follow the Serangoon River and head into the farm lands off Punggol. The roads are good with couple of short but steep hills and ends up at the beach. One could detour and head down along the unused LRT line and end up at a seafood restaurant. If you are lucky, you will be chased by very aggressive dogs and that will give you the fill of adrenalin and exercise for the day. The ride is usually enjoyable due to the fact that the place is very calm except for the occasional bus passing by and cuts across a decent patch of forest and grass lands.

I went there recently and was disappointed to find very heavy construction going on. I understand that Singapore is a city and thats what happens when population increases and the city has to provide living spaces for all. But still, it is really sad that a nice bit of peace and quied is being disrupted by heavy trucks and constant construction and the greens have turned to yellow. I could not help but feel as helpless as the racoons. If you have watched the movie, it deals with learning to live with changes and I suppose I will too.

The issue to ponder for me is this. There is such massive development going around the world. If it continues, what will be left out in the next few decades? I guess one should be out there when there is opportunity and soak in the nature before it is gone for good.

Yes it is a cheesy title, but live with it.

Vs.

As is the case with most things in the developed world, choices do not satisfy people but initiate debates on which is better. In case of cycling, Helmet debates are probably the fiercest of all. Recently, I nearly got into a serious name calling when I made my opinion known.

There are various schools of thought some backed by experience and others simply a case of paranoia or carelessness. Everyone seems to have an opinion on helmets and tend to think their point of view is right. The problem is that people do not realize that the idea is to be out riding and not to debate how you are riding. There are some issues that will never see the end and this is on of them.

Coming to my point of this post, my opinion is that the need of helmets is firmly subjective. it is impossible to say that certain situations demand one and others don’t. It is also a function of anyone’s risk appetite, paranoia willingness to wear, fashion sense, biking conditions etc…

Living in the tropics, and after visiting places where bicycles are used for transportation and everyday commute by a large section of the population, it is easy to see that helmets as a product are not essential. They have their niche uses in extreme sports, mountain biking etc… but for getting from your home to the grocer, heading to the cinema, getting to work, going multi modal to commute, helmets offer very little.

Reality is I used to regularly wear a helmet but now, my helmet use is relegated to long distance biking only. That too as a backup to protect the head from the sun. What I wear now is either a bandanna or the Buff. They are extremely convenient, occupy no space, good to wash the face with, easy to maintain and extremely cheap. Helmets were useful when I started off biking on Singapore roads, when I was under the impression that the roads were unsafe. I realized that people respect others on the road, regardless of ho0w big your vehicle is. There are careless drivers and there are downright morons, but they are a distinct minority and even then they are not out to kill. Accidents happen regardless of whether you wear a helmet or not and the best form of protection is prevention (by being predictable and careful on the road and by ensuring you are visible).

But if the lack of helmet is preventing you from riding, ignore my point of view and go ahead id with a helmet on. Because I think it is important to get more cyclists going about their work than to worry about whether one is wearing a funny hat or not. Note the case I try to make is not whether helmets are effective or not but whether there is a need to wear one or not.

Anyhow, regarding wearing funny hats on the other head, well that is a whole different question and not for discussion here

Mark Sanders is the designer of the popular strida bikes. Recently, he has presented a keynote address at the Taipei Bike show. Here is his presentation with notes of his speech.

I like his comment on Universal design, it applies to all sorts of products including software User interfaces to bikes, cars, toilets and what not. There are tons of examples of good design and tons or extremely bad ones. I like Apple computers for the simple reason that they employ consistent design principles though out their product lines. Think of Google and their simple, accessible home page. Now look at yahoo and live search, ugh.

Like mentioned in the presentation, it should be simple, universal design but the engineering may be complex. The end user need not worry about the engineering. Now that’s what will get people to use the products.

Getting people to adopt cycling has to be addressed in various stages, bicycle design, marketing, infrastructure development and education. The presentation addresses the designers and manufacturers. But for people to focus on the 80% of the untapped blue ocean market, thy need to be assures there will be return in investment. This assurance can be provided by town planners focusing on infrastructure and Traffic planners focusing on multi modal commute. Bike marketing should start focusing on utility biking rather than imagery sports cyclists.

The bicycle uptake cannot increase if there is effort put in on area alone and it is high time everyone stepped up the game in promoting biking.

I cant imagine the number of times I have woken up with this dream.

I have numerous variations:

• I prepare well for the Math exam and I realized it was an English test.
• I am sitting in a language test and realize I do not know the language.
• Getting delayed to get to school and realize it is Quiz day and I am delayed.

I guess I have had a fairly troubled schooling…