Gosh how long has is been, I have almost forgotten the existence of my virtual self here. Number of things have been happening, travels, bike trips etc., in the midst of regular commutes. Don’t wait up, the documentation will happen at its own volition.

When I started cycling, I figured there are things I would change frequently, like break pads, bar tapes, tubes, tires, and some more infrequently like chains etc… But once one starts riding, it hits home that the bike is a pretty efficient machine and requires less than a casual, hose down and grease up to keep it chugging along. The only thing I have had to change (also less than frequently) on my bikes are break pads. The rest of the additions / upgrades that have happened is less due to necessity and more due to want or vanity. Until recently.

I have been commuting on my Trek XO in the recent months and I enjoy the zippy feel that the skinny tires provide. The trouble with skinny tires is that I have to be careful pumping the tires to high pressures regularly and also look out actively for potholes and ruts on the streets. But it is zippy. Being the bum I can be, I ride under low tire pressures and also stay careless on maintenance, and it was a matter of time when the tires start to show signs of wear.

The first was a classic ‘snake-bite’ that I had to fix late night in the red-light district (A whole another story). The patch was not perfect and was followed by a re-patch in better circumstances the very next day. After a couple of weeks, the tubes started to leak slowly and messed up my return commute. After this happened a couple of times, I realized that I have actually, ridden enough for the tires to start feeling like tissue. Not bad, I have ridden my bikes enough to necessitate a real update.

So it happened this evening, I had run out of patches and my tires were flat. Pumping air did not solve the problem for more than a 100m. The last straw was drawn when I had to push the bike a couple of Km to get to a bike shop. I figured its about time I switched on to a new pair of tires and as it happened, it is a mildly hipster joint and had funky colored Schwalbe Duranos. A bit of funk is not a bad thing and I ended up with a pair of brown’s that nicely match the Brooks Honey I sit on. Schwalbe says it has good speed (?) and is extremely durable. I don’t know about the speed part, it rides well for now. But I hope they are correct with the durability.

Oh, in other news, I have been doing regular 400-500 Km commutes these months.

It is a real bummer that the gaps between posts are just getting longer and longer. 6 weeks since the last post is not something I like to see. But there it is. I think I will be posting a few more stories from my recent travel to keep the blog a bit busy here.

But firstly, my commute stats. Jan was a good month, I wanted to make it a 500 Km month, but I chose to relax at the right times instead of pushing too hard and also lost a couple of days at the end of the month for some travels. After all the dust settled, I have a pretty good 470 Km during the month on the saddle. The distance is exclusively commute and the average speed  hovers in the 22 Km mark (slower than the usual but thats what comes of pushing for distance )

Vacations have a strange way of tiring one when they get back, Must be the strain of flying long distances I guess. But in my case, though I was tired and a bit jet-lagged, I was revived into action after a crisp commute on my bike on a gloomy Monday morning. I guess all said and done, time on the saddle can really be therapeutic. With heart pumping, fresh blood, adrenalin pumping through the veins and music pumping through the ears, it is a joy to be out and about biking. Even though the destination is a dreary day at work, lol.

It is a great month to be out and about in Singapore. The weather is excellent with really cool mornings, rainy afternoons and pleasant evenings. There is the risk of a wet ride once in a while, but that adds to more fun in the commute.

The thing about riding in Singapore is that if you ride more than 6 Km and you work in an office, one needs to have a change of clothes at the destination regardless of weather. Summer invites strong perspiration and the monsoon always threatens a wet ride. It is nice to have facilities like the bike boutique to shower and change before heading into work… If I have not mentioned it before, I used to have access to a nice shower room at work which was yanked out of usage in the pretext of security (I call it “jock-strap security”). I have been using the lodging facilities from the Bike Boutique and been enjoying the services. It is not a money minter but I am sure a few more parking services in town can easily survive.

I have been having an enjoyable ride generally devoid of any incidents. But, due to a marathon participation in the early part of the month and the holiday season in the later, this has been a low mileage month. About 350Km at last count. Speeds are hovering at 24KmpH which is around average for me, it seems.