I Am Specialized

It's been quite a long while since my last post, bidding adieu to my old friend. This post is long belated, regarding my new ride. Yes, a new bike.

It took some time saving up the money, sourcing the parts and getting them all together. In the end it was all worth it though. A full black anodized frame deck out with red and whites to bring in some color. I present to you, the Specialized Allez, or Speccy as I call it adoringly.

It's the 2015 Specialized Allez E5 Smartweld frameset, with Shimano 105 11 speed (5800) and American Classic 420 Aero 3 wheelset. The whole build came up to about 8kg. I've been on a few rides with it already so far, and I can say it's a very very nice ride.

It's light, it's responsive, and it's good looking. What else can I ask for?

Shifting is close to effortless, as smooth as you can get for the 105.

All in all, I can say that this is a very amazing machine. Can't wait to ride further and faster.

Adieu to an old friend

11th August 2015

That was the day I made the decision to let you go. Just two days before, I was reunited with you after being away for 21 days. You were  a part of the greatest adventure of my life and for that I am grateful. I bid you farewell, and hope that you will be treated well wherever you may go.

Adieu~

Thus, with that out of the way, I guess I should explain what it all means. 

I have recently just sold off my Raleigh. Yes, the road bike. It was barely two days of me returning to Kuching and being reunited with it that I made up my mind. That two days of maintenance and patching up the lovely bike to a presentable condition was tough, knowing that I'd be letting it go soon.

I guess, I'll always remember the journey we've had together. The places you've brought me and the speed you showed me. The thrill of the ride, so to speak off.

These here are the just the few of the many many adventures we've had. Adventures that I will always remember you by. The one bike that got me into road biking.

Thank you, Raleigh. (Thank you Raleigh Raleigh much) :'D Pun

Half.A.Year

It's already June. That was awfully fast. My last post was last December. That just shows how much I care about my blog. Guess this might be a long post, or maybe not.

So far, what's new? I started my third year in university, which literally means, final year. First semester. It was hectic. It was tough. Most of it was also mainly caused by my poor time management (no surprises there). I've also started going a little serious into cycling. Nothing intense yet though. Just a few long rides here and there, a race once in awhile, and just cycling. Got myself a new bike. A road bike to be exact. 

My road bike(left) compared to my hybrid(right)

I'm pretty happy with it. Been riding it for six months, I can say I'm getting very familiar with handling a road bike. A lot of people say that, an expensive bike is the best and fastest. I would say, yes, an expensive bike with great features is in fact better, but it all also comes down to the rider. Although a lot of people argue that a carbon fiber bike is lighter and thus faster, there's nothing that says an alloy/steel bike can't be just as fast. In my view, the bike is only about 25-30% of the overall factor that makes a cyclist. 55-65% is the cyclist him/herself. So while most of my peers are talking about their shiny new bikes, and carbon fiber frames, I'm content with what I have and how my performance is without a doubt, on par with them.

Every weekend (Sunday), we will have long rides. So far, I have been to Damai Beach, Kampung Serikin(near the Indonesian border), Samarahan, Bako, and Muara Tebas. It was great riding out far, proving the quote "Have bike will travel". In fact, the second photo above, was taken at Tasik Biru, which translates to Blue Lake, because of the blue waters. Taken while we were heading back from Kampung Serikin.

I've made a lot of great friends in the Cycling Club here in Swinburne Sarawak. We ride, we laugh together. They're the best company during the long rides.

See these people I ride with. These crazy bunch of people I ride with

Riding with them = Best weekend spent. I seem to have fallen in love with cycling a lot. So much that I can literally say that "Cycling is love, cycling is life". To some extent, that sometimes when people ask me if I would ever get a girlfriend, I can just nonchalantly say, "Nah, I have my bike. I'm happy enough." Weird huh?

Another thing that happened was that, since joining the cycling club this semester, I feel like I contributed in bringing more life to it. This was done via what I learnt in my studies. Design. Best part of it? I loved doing it. Wait, I LOVE doing what I do when I can do it for what I have passion for. The weekly ride poster promotions was nothing big. The thought of designing a club cycling jersey. That decision and the agreement from the club members was a great moment. After the many discussions and idea generation, we finally decided on one design. May I present to you,

 

My pride and joy. My creation, and design brainchild. Swinburne Sarawak Cycling Club jersey. There will be the sense of pride of putting this jersey on, knowing it was my design and also knowing that, we are a group, a team, and a club.

Cycling is also a means for me to relax and rightly so. The things you see while on a ride, breathtaking. 

Yup. Beautiful. Also, these views are different. You only get to see this and experience it once.

I also took part in a race with a distance of 120km. This was last May. The experience riding amongst professionals was great and also an eye opening one. Seeing them ride and the pace of speed they ride, showed me that there are better cyclists out there, and I want to be as good as them.

I guess, cycling has become a part of my life again right now, and it's going to stay.

Cheers,

Vincent

"Go fast or go last"

"Go fast or go home"

"Don't stop pedalling"