Thursday, December 20, 2007

CHIN WOO BIATHLON 2007

Sunday, 16 December 2007
Took some time off from Ironman training and enjoyed myself at Chin Woo.
(Sources - Tey's & KC's)


Home Ground
Cute Stuff

Rescued
Cute
Well Done Young Man!!
Hey, That's Me!!
Iwata - The Guy Who Beat Me Thoroughly In My Age Group 30 - 44


Eugune - 2nd In My Age Group

The Chase Is On
Too Late - Carmen Overall Ladies Champ
Great Sport - Iwata Congratulating Barry

I Got 3rd Again - (thanx Azwar for the rezeki)
With Last Year's Trophy

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

POWERBAR MERDEKA RIDE FOR PRIDE PART 5


The Support Crew - Front (L - R) Lee, Eric, Eason, AhMeng (photographer1) & Don Junior; Back - Norman (photographer2), Chin2, Janet, Michelle, Mrs Don, Shirley

Who were the 2 Fools?
Don & Jacky Loh

What happened to the RM100 (collected by the Head Fool)?
Refunded. Everything was taken care of by sponsors, Chin Woo, PowerBar and Selesa Hotel.

Was it harder than Ironman?
No.

Will I do it again?
You Bet !!!!

Thursday, September 06, 2007

POWERBAR MERDEKA RIDE FOR PRIDE PART 4

THIS ENTRY IS DEDICATED TO THE SUPPORT CREW WHO TOOK CARE OF US THROUGHOUT THE RIDE
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STAGE 3 : YONG PENG - JOHOR BAHRU
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2.30 p.m.
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We took off again and headed for JB. Things started to turn bad for me at around km300. I was dropped by the main group at a long climb that stretched for 5-6km (I think). When I looked around, I realised I wasn’t suffering alone. Some of the younger riders for LeTua were seen hanging onto support vehicles and was taken for a free ride. I remember vaguely that someone offered the same to me but I declined. Instead, I drafted behind a support car driven by Eric (with Chin Chin and Tan Lee Lee inside).
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Ah Swee
Chee Kai Mun - Dropped
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4.35 p.m.
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Eric & company stayed with me until we reached our next stop. I was too blur to figure out where we were. I remember checking the time and exact mileage but the info didn’t register (must have been around km320 because I vaguely recall that someone said we had another 50km to go and I got the time of 4.35 p.m. after reviewing the photos taken by Norman). I also did not sms my wife (otherwise I would have the details).
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Family Portrait
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It was only a short break and we didn’t get any food at this stop. Everyone seemed to be smiling and in high spirit except me. I didn’t talk much and quietly walked to one corner (with my bike) and sat down to rest my tired legs.
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AhKong
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4.50 p.m.
We pushed off for the final stage of the ride and I was told that the main peloton was instructed to go easy as we were going to approach JB town area. Unfortunately, it was really difficult to ask for such a thing when everyone seemed to be in great shape (still) and was eager to complete the ride. Shortly in the ride, I was dropped again inevitably. I rode the remainder of the ride with one other rider from the LeTua. Eric’s support car plus one of the ambulances stayed with us and the traffic got rather heavy by then.
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The guys in the ambulance came up to me and ask if I want to quit and jump in. They must be really bored and tired after such a long day and driving at snail pace. But I wasn’t going to give up. I swallowed my last PowerGel and kept going.
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6.33 p.m.
We reached the final regroup stop at an ESSO station 2km from Selesa Hotel, JB. The guys who were already there applauded. If there was a tortoise award, I would have shared it with that Le Tua rider. Azhar and some JB cyclists came out to receive us at the ESSO station.
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Azhar
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7.01 p.m.
We rode into Selesa Hotel at around 7.00 p.m. Staff from the hotel came out to receive us. By then, my cycle computer read 373km (inclusive of the 6-7km from Don’s house to the official starting line), my average speed dropped to 28.7km/h (from 29.7km/h at Yong Peng) and my total bike time was 13:00:10 (excluding stoppage time). A check with the others in the main peloton showed that their average speed was about 30.0km/h. And according to the other support cars upfront, the main peloton actually went faster in the final stages of the ride.
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> Babe, We Made It !!!
> Ah Soon
> Randy
> Sam & Carmen
At the post ride presentation, we received our completion certificates which stated that our official finishing time was 14:52:00 (inclusive of stoppage time).

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

POWERBAR MERDEKA RIDE FOR PRIDE PART 3

THIS ENTRY IS DEDICATED TO THE SUPPORT CREW WHO TOOK CARE OF US THROUGHOUT THE RIDE
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STAGE 2 : TAMPIN - YONG PENG
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8.10 a.m.
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We took off and headed for Yong Peng. This turned out to be the toughest stage of the ride – 157km and the sun only got HOTTER. As instructed, we went to the front and started taking turns to pull the pack.
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Off We Go Again


Sam Moving Up

Simply Unforgetable !!!!
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Then, not too long into the ride, one of the more senior and experienced cyclist from LeTua went to the front and started waving two fingers at us. At first, I was clueless with what he was trying to do. Then, it became apparent that he was giving instructions to ride in a 2 by 2 formation.
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Don And Randy Falling Back After Pulling In Front

2 By 2 Formation

Jacky-Easy Ride For Him?
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The formation worked very well. It was easier to pull upfront with someone beside you. The peloton picked up speed and averaged around 35km/h without much extra effort.
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Eason & I

Eric, Mrs Don, AhSoon & Chin Chin

AhWah-The Animal

AhBen

David

AhBeh & AhKong Opening Up
Entering Town

Move Aside !!!

Wish You Were There Ehh ????
Azwar
View From Above
Thanx PowerBar !!!!
I Shouldn't Have Come
We've Gone Too Fast
Easy-Lah

Chee Kai Mun - No Comment
Barry

Things Got A Little Tougher


Finally !!!
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1.45 p.m.
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Arrived at Yong Peng for lunch and I sms my wife again:-
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“Reached yong peng 145pm now 261km av spd 29.7km/h total bike time 8:47:31”
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We had gone faster in this stage. Average speed increased from 28.1km/h to 29.7km/h. Naturally, we weren’t as fresh as we were at Tampin. But our spirits were still high as we now had only about 112km to go and it was not even 2.00 p.m. We were ahead of schedule and if we could maintain our pace, we would reach JB before dark. We had duck rice and cold drinks and again everything was paid for by the organisers.