Current Equipment Setup - Fizik R5B Cycling Shoes

I've had these shoes for slightly over 2 weeks now and have done about 200 kilometers in them. My older pair of Sidi mountain biking shoes (picture below) had seen better days. Even though they were a little over 2 years old, the state in which they were in was terrible to say the least. In fact, by the time I began writing this blog, the soles of the shoes had pretty much disintegrated to the point where I was walking on the metal cleat and the inner nylon midsole. The velcro straps (both) on the right shoe had pretty much lost their stick and leather uppers of both shoes were slowly separating from the midsole that you could feel yourself slip ever so slightly forward in your shoes when you brake hard whilst standing.

They've seen better days.

If you've read my review on my Crank Brothers Eggbeater pedals, you'll know that I got the shoes from the same bike shop in the Damansara Uptown area. Now, I have no definitive way to prove it, but I sincerely believe the store sold me a very old pair of shoes they had kept in stock at a ridiculous price. But I won't go too much in to that. Long story short, I felt cheated.

Fast track to today and I've learned a little more about the cycling world and have improved my decision making a tad bit. Which is why for my new pair of shoes, I did a fair amount of research online, reading up on numerous reviews and watching a number of video reviews on YouTube. Eventually, all of that lead me to my current and first pair of road-specific cycling shoes, the Fizik R5B.

Fizik, initially known for making high-end saddles, decided to enter the shoe market only a couple of years ago but practically hit the ground running and have since been able to put out top-quality shoes since then. If you subscribe to cycling-oriented YouTube channels like GCN for instance or read cycling-specific magazines, you may be familiar with their top of the line full-carbon R1B model with an organic leather upper, which is the exact model their sponsored riders use and retails for about RM1100 here. Unfortunately for me, not only is such a shoe way out of my price range, but honestly speaking, such a shoe would be 'too much shoe' for me, or rather I'd be 'not enough rider' for the shoe.

Fortunately for most of us mere mortals, Fizik also has their entry level R5B, which is the one I decided to pick up. However, don't let the 'entry level' term fool you. These shoes, priced around RM480 (which was the price I paid), still cost a decent premium. From the start, the packaging alone is pretty unique. A simple cardboard shoe box yes but the extra attention to detail with the quotes and what not definitely add a sense of prestige to it.

Inside the box, you'll find an instruction booklet written in a couple of languages regarding general shoe care, warranty, and how to operate the Boa dials. Apart from that, of course are the shoes themselves, wrapped in white crepe paper.

Within moments of picking them up and holding them in your hands, even though they're no where near the price range of an S-Works 6, Shimano Sphyre, or the R1B, you can't help but be impressed by the degree of quality they possess. And lets not forget that 'new shoe' smell!

The R in R5B stands for Road, as in road cycling while the B stands for the Boa retention system or Boa dial that's on the shoe. Boa technology has been around for quite sometime now although they've only made their foray into the cycling shoe scene a couple of years back. Essentially, the dial you see in the picture below tightens the wires that go across the shoe in millimeter increments, allowing for precise adjustments not only when you put them on but on the fly while you're riding as they can be operated with just one hand. For those of you who are skeptical about the structural strength of the system, the Boa Systems company has a lifetime guarantee on the Boa dial and laces (wires) but I'll talk about that a little more later.

The uppers of the shoe are synthetic, which is expected for most shoes at this price point. Just anterior to the Boa laces in a conventional-looking velcro strap that, in my opinion, does very little to add tightness or compression around the foot. This doesn't mean that the stickiness of the velcro is inadequate or that it comes loose or anything. It's just that the Boa system, while appearing to only provide 2/3 of the compression, is actually sufficient to provide an ample amount of uniform compression over the entire foot without any hotspots, almost making the velcro strap an unnecessary addition.

The possibly unnecessary velcro strap. 

The heel cups are able to hold the heels of my feet very snugly even during periods of out-of-the-saddle aggressive sprinting. On the outside, they have a layer of reflective grey material on which the Fizik logos can be found. These bits of grey act as built in reflectors and add a small but appreciated layer of safety to the shoes, especially when cycling at night.

Reflective heel cups.

The inner soles of the shoes are relatively stiff for what they are, with a spongy material underneath where the balls of the feet (metatarsal joints) are located. I assume that it's to dampen vibrations and provide more comfort to the rider. The back half of the sole has a softer material composition, presumably to add more comfort too. I'm no shoe scientist but I can confidently say, for whatever it's worth, these shoes are significantly more comfortable than my old mountain biking shoes when I first put them on.

The soles of the shoes are carbon-reinforced nylon and are, in my opinion, stiff enough. Sure, they're not as stiff as a pure carbon sole but then again, stiffness doesn't always equal performance. In this particular pair, they're stiff enough for you to not be able to bend the sole by hand. When out on a ride, flex is noticeable when climbing out of the saddle but only if you really try and pay attention to it. Otherwise, it's pretty stiff to me and significantly stiffer than my older Sidis. 

Overall, the shoes are just plain fantastic. Fizik offers a premium product with exceptional design and value for money and I think you'll be hard pressed to find anything better at this price range. I would strongly recommend them to anyone looking for a pair under RM500.

Coming back to the Boa dial. The reason why my mileage isn't more than it currently is is because the dial on one of my shoes broke about a week ago. I had just finished a ride and sat down to take my shoes off. I pulled the dial outwards in order to undo the laces (which is how you're supposed to undo them) but the entire dial came off instead. Now when I bought the shoes at the Rodalink Putrajaya store, because Rodalink seem to be the only dealers who carry Fizik shoes here in Malaysia, the store attendant at that time told me that the Boa dial and laces have a life-time warranty covering them, which of course, was very reassuring to me. 

However, when I went back to the store to claim my warranty, not only did the attendant I spoke to (a different one from before) say that the warranty only covers, and I quote, "manufacturing defects. If it breaks the first time you use it, then you can claim the warranty. If not, then it's not covered", but he kept suggesting that I "used excessive force" when I undid the dial. 

I thought this was just complete bullshit. Not only that, he brought out a replacement dial and told me it would cost RM100 to replace the dial! RM100! For a tiny piece of plastic?! At this point, I was getting quite pissed. I told him that the previous attendant mentioned the dial has a life-time warranty and asked him to at least try to claim the warranty. After awhile, he agreed and told me he'd get back to me.

Fast forward a few days later, he calls me back, telling me that he has contacted the manufacturer, who I'm assuming is Boa, and claims that the warranty can't be claimed. However, he's offering a 50% discount on the dial. In other words, I was bullshitted before when I bought the shoes, almost conned of RM100 when I tried to claim the warranty, and now, as a form of customer service, they're offering me 50% off for something I shouldn't have to be paying for!

At this point, I was pretty ticked off. I told him no thank you and that I'll be coming by soon to get my shoes back. Then, I immediately went online to Boa's website to find out more about their warranty policy. Within half an hour, I was able to claim the warranty for not one but a few replacement dials and laces that will be shipped to me from the US, all free of charge.

At the time of writing this, I made the warranty claim a few hours ago. The website says express international shipping should take 5 to 7 business days so I'll update this space here when/if they arrive. As for now, back to running shoes.

UPDATE (29/5/2017)

Within 5 days of placing my warranty request on the Boa Systems website, the replacement Boa dials arrived! Their service has been nothing short of great as, despite having no contact with them other than the request I made on their website, they kept me informed regarding the progress of the shipment via a couple of emails as well as the FedEx shipment tracking number.

In the package, I found the 4 Boa dials I ordered, 2 dials for each side (left and right). Inside each packet, you'll find the dial itself, a replacement lace, the lace reel, a small plastic screw driver for the tiny screw in the dial, and an instruction manual that very graphically and concisely guides you through the process of replacing the dial.

Two for the left and two for the right.

A spare lace, dial, lace reel, screw driver, and instruction manual.

.

After examining my broken dial, I figured out that the lace reel (picture below) was still intact and functional. The lace was still well threaded in the reel and neither had to be replaced. 

However, the Boa dial itself which interfaces with the reel, was noticeably broken as the one that came in the package was in one solid piece while mine (picture below) was in three pieces.

My broken dial.

The replacement dial.

So, it was just a simple case of screwing the new dial onto the lace reel with the tiny plastic screw driver that came with it. Voila! As good as new! 

You'd never have thought it was ever broken!

I kept the spare lace and lace reel that came along with the dial as well as the other 3 spare kits just in case I need them in the future. 

Overall, my experience with this pair of shoes has been somewhat of a roller-coaster ride. In the end though, I'd still highly recommend this shoe as the warranty policy on the dials did prove to hold weight and the process of getting the spares wasn't too difficult at all. However, I did wish the Rodalink store attendants knew about this policy before ignorantly asking me to buy something that would've possibly cost RM100. 

Either way, if there is a moral to this story, it's that it pays to know about what you're buying into as it may end up saving you from potentially wasting money to replace something you needn't have to pay for. 

Johor Cycling Accident - 8 Lives Lost.

It has been about a week or so after the incident on February 18th 2017 along Middle Ring Road (Jalan Lingkaran Dalam) near the Mahmoodiah Muslim cemetery in Johor Bahru that claimed the lives of eight young cyclists. The atmosphere surrounding the issue has since settled down a tad bit. Facts and details of the incident have since surfaced in the form of police investigation reports as well as actual gory pictures of the crime scene on social media and video clips of the antics of said children.

For those of you who are a little hazy on the matter or have not kept up with the issue, here's a brief recap:

On February the 18th 2017 at approximately 3.30 am, a group of 20 to 30 (some sources say 30 to 40) avid young cyclists, with ages ranging from as young as 8 years old to 18 years of age were involved in an accident with a Nissan Almera car and it's 22 year old female driver who was on her way home from work from Taman Pelangi to Jalan Skudai. The cyclists, according to  numerous sources who have since opened up to various media bodies, are regularly know to ride extremely dangerously on main roads in the area in the wee hours of the morning on their modified bicycles dubbed 'basikal nyamuk' or mosquito bikes. In fact, some even claim they (the cyclists) have been around for a good 10 years or so already.

These bicycles are typically a few sizes too small for the rider, resulting in a lower center of gravity and the misinformed idea of increased stability. They're modified by moving the handle bars downwards and forwards from the top tube of the frame to the tops of the fork of the bikes, allowing the rider to assume a very low riding position and making them more aerodynamic when coasting downhill. Some of these bikes also have their brakes removed with the aim of having a minimalist-look as well as reducing weight, increasing aerodynamics and adding a certain 'style factor' to the bike.

Image taken from http://hangpataudak.blogspot.my

Image taken from thestar.com.my

The accident resulted in the death of eight cyclists, the youngest being just 13 years old, while eight others were injured and were sent to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital for treatment. The car flipped and turned belly up while the driver escaped with minor injuries. The police have since concluded their investigation into the case and have cleared the driver of speeding, using her mobile phone while driving, or being intoxicated at the time of the accident. Despite this positive bit of news, I have very little doubt in my mind that such a horrific incident will leave her scarred for the rest of her life.

As both an avid cyclist and road user, this incident hit a nerve in me and I wanted to pen my thoughts on the matter and share some of my opinions on the issue.

In such instances involving lost of life, no amount of finger-pointing will ever be enough to satisfy any party. My intention here is not to single out any one or more parties to point blame at. However, with that being said, it would be equally wrong to just sweep something of this magnitude under the rug and chalk it all up to bad luck. Such incidents require discussions and analyses to determine what went wrong and how we can prevent the occurence or, at the very least lower the risk of such disasters in the future. The entire outcome could have been different had certain parties acted differently.

Parents
First of all, what were the parents of said children thinking when they allowed their kids to go out at such late hours to ride their dangerously modified bikes in the middle of major roads? Were they even aware of their children's whereabouts or midnight escapades and, if they were, why would they still allow it? Excuses such as 'My child would throw a tantrum if I forbade him from going' or 'I've warned him time and time again but he still goes' are not nearly enough.

They are children and children throw tantrums. A parent's job is to be on top of such things. Don't think that just because you have a child, that you can automatically call yourself a mother or a father. Such roles come with responsibilities and such responsibilities don't just encompass midnight bike riding. According to some news sources, some of the children were school dropouts too. Is a child's education not a basic life necessity that every parent should ensure his or her child receives? What about the underaged kids who are still riding motorcycles without helmets, especially in the more rural areas of the country? Should these parents continue to play ignorant until another similar tragedy occurs?

Image taken from http://hangpataudak.blogspot.my

Such kids remind me of the shooting of 15 year old Aminulrasyid a few years back by policemen when the car he was joyriding in in the middle of the night hit another, causing him to panic and flee which led to a police chase and ended with his fatal demise. When are certain parents going to realise that just because their children are mature physically, that doesn't mean they've got nothing left to learn or are fully aware of the dangers of their actions? When are we going to stop being a reactive society and start becoming a proactive one?

Authorities
The authorities, especially the bodies that look over youth, sports and cycling in this country, are also responsible and have their own parts to play. I'm looking at you too, Malaysian National Cycling Federation. Perhaps a little more effort should go into the cultivation of local cycling culture rather than just lazily popping your head out once in awhile when Azizulhasni Awang wins a medal at the Olympics.

Such 'basikal nyamuks' have been around for quite awhile now and are nothing new yet why has little to nothing been done up until now to curb their presence on the roads? Countries such as the UK and even our neighbors down south, Singapore, have clear and established rules regarding cycling. Compulsory helmet use, bicycle safety specifications, front and rear lights when riding at night, as well as orderly riding when riding on major roads are some of the many basic rules that make up most traffic laws for cyclists in said countries. So why have these not been implemented here?

The construction of well-lit protected bicycle lanes and not just lines of paint on the road, education on the proper conducts of a cyclist when on the road such as signaling and riding in a group as well as spreading awareness on the importance of helmets and lights to school-going children are some of the many efforts that can be taken to not only ensure the safety of all road users, but to encourage the growth of the cycling culture here in Malaysia, which will foster a new generation of local professional cyclists, keep kids interested in the sport and benefit urbanites in the near future as cities become more and more congested and petrol prices climb, pushing up the cost of living.

Image taken from http://www.seattlebikeblog.com

Drivers

Soon after hearing about the incident, I couldn't help but notice the large amounts of hate and prejudice directed towards the driver on social media for the first day or two after the incident went viral. Almost everyone, including myself, immediately assumed that the driver was the one at fault, guilty of one the many road-traffic accident tropes our drivers are so infamously known for; using the phone while driving, speeding, driving under the influence, etc. Take your pick. Heck, I'd be willing to bet even you initially thought it was the driver who was to blame.

Despite the police having cleared the driver of the car of any wrong doing, the borderline stereotypical view us Malaysians have regarding drivers involved in accidents is definitely alarming. Why are we such terrible drivers? 

Even though the driver in this case was innocent and the fatalities were all cyclists, that doesn't mean that motor-vehicle users have nothing to learn from this. If anything, it still hammers the fact that road accidents have become a natural phenomenon here in Malaysia, occuring as predictably as the sun rising in the morning. In a recent article published by the Star regarding reforms to motor-vehicle insurance premiums, it stated that we have a death rate due to road accidents of almost 20 deaths per day. That's almost one death per hour. As I'm writing this, 3 people would've died already.

I'm no expert on this matter. I don't know what we can do to improve the quality of our drivers and to bring down the death rate other than the basics; don't speed, don't use your phone when you drive, don't drink and drive. But maybe that's just it. Maybe that's all we really have to do to make a change. And of course, as I am a cyclist and this is a cycling-oriented blog, let's not forget to give an ample amount of space between yourself and a cyclist when over-taking.

Children
And last but by no means least, I, of course, have to talk about the children involved in the incident. As much as I've tried to convince myself that they were merely just the victims here, they, unfortunately, were not. Sure, even though they were still technically underaged at the time of the accident, how old do you have to be to realise that riding on dimly lit roads at 3am in the morning on a bike that's nowhere near road worthy without any safety gear on would be a good idea? Don't they have exams to study for or homework to do? And even if they don't, I'm sure there are other more productive and less daredevil-esque ways to spend a Saturday night.

Ride your bike all you want, heck I would even encourage it. How else are we ever going to get a world tour team out there? More than half my childhood scars were from falling off my bike. But do it responsibly. Even up until today, despite having a helmet and bike lights and more than two decade of riding under my belt, I would never go out on a bike ride at night. The only exceptions to this are organised bike rides on closed and well lit roads such as the RHB Shimano Lekas Highway night ride.

Image taken from soscili.my

Come on kids, we don't expect you guys to be rocket scientists even before you're old enough to drive a car but the country's future depends on you guys. And even if you couldn't care less about the country or yourselves for that matter, at the very least, think of your parents. Even if you can't appreciate all the effort they've put into raising you, at least know that one of the most selfish things you can do to them is having them attend your funeral. To paraphrase what the Sultan of Johor said in response to the incident; "Don't let it come to a situation where we cry for our children instead of the other way around."

And that's about it. Again, I must emphasize that my intention here was not to target or antagonize any side or party as issues involving death tend to be sensitive issues to say the least. Instead, I wanted to share with you my opinions on the issue as well as what I believe can be done not just as means to prevent such a tragedy from occuring again but also for the betterment of the local cycling scene here in Malaysia.

That's it for now. I'm still working on the 'Pedaling Across Malaysia' posts and I'm sorry for the delay, I have been rather busy the past couple of weeks. Keep an eye out for the next post soon.

Pedaling Across Malaysia - Mission Accomplished!

For those of you who don't follow me on Instagram or are not friends with me on Facebook, on January 17th 2017 at roughly 5.30pm, I reached the southern end of Johor Bahru near the Woodlands checkpoint bridge, facing the Strait of Singapore and Singapore itself in the distance, marking the end of my 2 week long journey which started on the 5th of January at the Malaysia-Thailand border in Padang Besar.

The Padang Besar checkpoint

The experience was as grueling as it was rewarding, and had it's fair share of surprises. I've made many fond memories during my short time spent cycling across the country and it's an adventure I'll cherish deeply and never forget for the rest of my life.

The Strait of Singapore and Singapore itself in the background

I just want to thank everyone who has helped and supported me during this entire trip. I know it's a cliche, but there were so many things I could not have done without the helping hands of others. At certain points during my ride, especially on day 1 itself, I ran into serious trouble that could have spelled the end of my ride entirely. But thanks to the kindness of a few, I was allowed to continue riding and kept riding until the very last day.

1145km travelled, 20,000 calories burnt, hundreds of daredevil lorry drivers, 2 crashes (1 of them due to being hit by a lorry), a broken seatpost clamp, a punctured inner tube, cut tyre and sunburns galore. I thank you all again for being there for me and for being the kind souls that you are.

I plan to gradually upload posts regarding each individual day over the next few weeks so if you're interested in learning the entire story, stay tuned!

Top 10 ways to make marginal gains

The term 'marginal gains' was made famous by Team Sky and their philosophy of leaving no stone unturned in their quest to go ever faster. From providing handlebar stems in milimeter increments to their riders so as to optimize comfort to the way they cut the bike numbers that are placed behind the seat tubes so as to make them just that much more aero, from sticking stand paper on pedals to increase the friction between the cleats and pedal surface to bringing it's own mattresses and pillows to major races so as to guarantee their riders get a good night's sleep, hardly anything is left to chance.

Regardless of what some have commented about their methods be very calculative and cold and the team being very bland in general, it's hard to deny their results. Despite having only been around for 7 or so odd years, the team have already, among other successes, amassed 4 Tour de France victories, 1 at the hands of Sir Bradley Wiggins and the other 3 by arguably the most famous Sky rider of late, Chris Froome. They were also the pioneers of certain practices that were deemed unnecessary at one point of time but have become common place among most if not all professional teams. Warming up with turbo trainers before a race and then warming down with them after and off-season training camps have now become the norm with most pro teams.

All this got me thinking, what are the various kinds of marginal gains some of us could make on our bikes? Theoretically speaking, if what separates a win from second place can often come down to fractions of a second, then wouldn't being just 1% faster be enough to grasp victory? So, here's my list of 'strategies' that will each grant you a fraction of 1%, culminating in the full 1% you'll need for victory! (Assuming you're already fractions of a second slower in second)

Cleaning your bike
One of the most invaluable things you can do to go faster. A dirty, rusty, squeaking drive train is going to eat up your precious watts as you pedal against all that extra friction which could be going to your rear wheel, not to mention the added weight of all that dirt (since we're talking about MARGINAL gains). Give your bike a good clean, degrease your drive train then put a fresh coat of lubricant on it. In fact, Team Sky have worked with MucOff in the past to create a special friction reducing chain lubricant for those extra bits of gains. Not only will all of this make the squeaking disappear and the drive train smoother, riding a clean bike will boost morale which, I'm sure, adds a couple more watts of power (MARGINAL!)

Slamming your stem
All the pros do it. The science behind it is simple, lowering your average riding posture improves your aerodynamics which in turn reduces the number of watts your have to put out to fight against all that air resistance. Not only that, if you can truly commit to the lower stem height, then cut off the excess length of fork that's left to reduce weight! These adjustments will allow you to go faster for the same amount of power. Plus, it makes your bike look pro, which again, boosts morale (so marginal!).

Removing excess cable length
As with slamming your stem, removing excess cable length on your bike will mean there's less air resistance to deal with.

Do your brake cables really need to be that long? No? Then trim em'.

That cable sticking out the back of your rear derailleur, can it be shorter? Yes? It's trimming time!

Regreasing your bottom bracket and wheel hubs
Over time, the grease coating the bearings  in your bottom bracket and wheel hubs will need to be cleaned out and replaced as even grease 'wears out'. A fresh new application of grease is sure to make your drive train a little more friction-free and your wheels buttery smooth.

If money is on your side, perhaps you can consider swapping out your standard bearings for ceramic ones, they last significantly longer than steel ones and are known to be smoother. (Almost a full 1% now)

Removing excess seat post length
Assuming you're never going to sell your bike or know how to get a replacement seat post in the event you do, trimming that excess amount of seat post that's just sitting in your frame and weighing you down will make you a tad bit lighter, there by improving your power to weight ratio and bringing you one step closer to a full 1%!

Inflate your tyres to the right pressures
When was the last time you checked your tyre pressures? Are they always at their ideal pressures? If not then you're wasting precious watts when you stomp on your pedal in a sprint only to have all that energy go into turning your underinflated sluggish wheels.

Having your pressures dialed in right will reduce your tyres rolling resistance against the road, thereby saving you precious watts. So plug in that track pump and check the pressure gauge, add a pump or 2 extra to make sure the pressures are just right, then reap the benefits of those saved watts!

Shave

That beard and leg hair are costing you precious seconds. Shaving it all off to expose that silky smooth skin underneath will reduce the turbulence around you as you cut through the air, effectively saving you some watts. No only that, it will make massages easier and all the pros do it, so you'll end up looking pro too which itself is certain (probably) to make you faster.

Plus, if you don't mind going a for radical change to your hair game, consider chopping off that man bun/afro/bush too, it only adds weight. Heck, going bald will save you cash on hairprodcuts, allowing you spend all that hard earned money on further upgrading yourself and your bike.

Polish your bike
In Formula 1, the cars are all polished to a mirror finish so as the allow the shell of the car to be as slippery as possible as it speeds down the track. So why can't that apply to cycling too? When every last bit counts and you just need that fraction of a second to win, a smoother frame over a 100km stage will leave you a slight bit fresher as you approach the finish line over your opponent, allowing you to go on the attack a little longer or harder to claim that victory!

Do yoga
When we suffer on our saddles, we tend to do so in a relatively extreme position that's held for a prolonged amount of time. Even riding on the tops all day will get your back aching and shoulders weak eventually. As a result, our power output may diminish as time goes by due to the physical discomfort were experiencing or at the very least, hamper optimal pedaling and power output.

This is where yoga comes in. Increasing our body's level of flexibility gives rise to hamstrings that are a little more compliant when on the bike, even if we're riding on the drops. Professional time trial riders spend hours doing yoga to further hone their bodies into aero weapons. This results in a higher threshold for discomfort and an overall increase in power output, resulting in those extra gains

.

Cash!

Like Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark, if you've got a shit-ton of cash to blow, then money is your super power! Splurge on all the aero and carbon goodness the bike industry just wants to jam down our throats until the next big trend/gimmick comes. A full-on carbon aero monster coupled with a pair of deep dish aero wheels with an aero helmet and a skin suit are all sure to add multiple percents to your gains. A devastating combination that's sure to clinch that race winning sprint.

And that's about it! I had a fun time writing this, smirking away as I came up with the ideas and points. Professional riders must have it tougher than we think if they have to do even half the things on this list, all for the sake of that extra second or two.

That's about it. As always, leave any and all comments or questions in the comment section down below and I'll be happy to reply you as best I can. Thank you for reading!

Pedaling Across Malaysia - Final post before departure

Alright, so this is it. The final post I'll be writing before I head off to Padang Besar. The bike has been washed, lubricated, inspected, wrapped in gleeful amounts of bubble wrap and stowed away safely in a reused bike box that has been secured with industrial-grade plastic wrapping wire. 

I had a hard time getting the seatpost to come loose, pretty sure it froze on the inside of the seat-tube. However, with a little WD40 and a lot of elbow grease, I managed to get it out after half and hour or so, cleaned it and reapplied a new layer of grease on it before wrapping that in bubble wrap. Didn't want to just shorten the stem because that would risk scratching the carbon seat post. Apart from that, I also took off the rear derailleur and repositioned it within the frame with a layer of bubble wrap around it to reduce the risk of the mech hanger or the deraileur itself getting damaged. I've also mounted the mountings for the front and rear lights. 

Snug like a bug in a rug.

My bag packing is almost complete. My brother has loaned me his water-proof 20L Hypergear bag to store my clothes, phone charger and relevant other things that don't fair so well in the wet in it. It'll be going into my trusty Karrimor ruck sack along with my helmet, my faithful bike lock and my toiletries. 

Nice little magnetic reflective fluro patch from my aunt for extra visibility 

20L of water-proofing

My trusty lock, been with me since secondary school

I'm a simple man

I'll be bringing my Bontrager Ballista with me for the ride over my old Bell mainly for 2 reasons; the old Bell has already broke and I've fallen many times wearing it so it's far from being considered safe by any safety standard and seeing as that I'll be cycling about 100km per day, I'll get more Watt and time savings with an aero helmet.

Will be taking the Bontrager Ballista with me.

And finally the miscellaneous stuff. Some of these items could've been left inside the cardboard bike box but I've got very little faith in airport baggage handlers and in the event of a tear or rip in the box, these tiny parts might fall out. So, I'll be carrying them in my bad until I land and then fit them back onto the bike there. Apart from the stuff in the picture below, I'm charging up my power bank and action camera as well as making sure I've got all my necessary cables and charging stuff.

That's about it for now. I can't give too much information away as this is still the internet and you never know who might reading your content. All I can say for now is I'll be flying soon and I've already checked-in. Everything is pretty much settled. Just going to go over a couple of things to make sure everything is prepared and I'll be off. Again, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been so supportive of me over the past few months, the sponsors Mr Edmund Lim, Mr Siew and family, Ms Elizabeth Loke and 2 more annonymous individuals, my friends and family. (here's a link to a more comprehensive post) I'm so grateful to be able to do this and I hope I don't let any of you down. Thank you all so very much!

It's going to hard for me to blog while I'm out on the road as I won't be bringins a laptop or tablet with me, just my phone. So in the event you're interested in following my progress, I am pretty active on Instagram (click here to go to my page) and will be updating my profile there with regular pictures throughout my journey. Alternatively you can follow the hashtag #pedalingacrossmalaysia .

Pedaling Across Malaysia - Bike status update

With only a couple of days left until I start my ride, my bike has developed a hiccup. The gear changes on the rear cassette are not as smooth and consistent as they were before I sent it in for its service. Occasional missed shifts and the sound of the chain rubbing on the adjacent sprocket when it's close to the ends of the cassette (not the front derailleur) have got me a little concerned and despite hours worth of attempts at remedying the issue, I still can't quite get it to sit right. Not only that, I suspect theres something wrong with the barrell adjuster. So I'm going to have to bring it back to the Specialized store and see if they can solve it in time. If not, I'll just have to settle with the funny gears and maybe get it fixed along the ride.

Definitely not the best condition for a bike to be in days before a major ride but also not the worst. Hope everything can be resolved tomorrow so I can start wrapping up the bike and packing it into its box.

Otherwise, everything else is going quite well. I've checked through all the spare tubes, tools and equipment, everything seems to be in working order. Hopefully no more surprises until Day 1.

The next post will be just before departure, with the bike packed and stored away in a, hopefully, sufficiently-sturdy box and by bag packed with all the necessities and me ready to go.

Pedaling Across Malaysia - Progress up until now

With only a few days left in 2016, here's a brief summary of what I've prepared up until now and what I've yet to do.

Bought the following equipment:

• 2 spare tubes (was initailly 3 but I'll get to that later) RM54 (RM18 per tube)

• 2 Continental Gatorskin 23mm tyres - they're known for their high degree of puncture-resistance. RM320 for both tyres. The outgoing pair was riddled with holes, cuts and tiny pieces of metal stuck in them. Quite surprised they were in such shape. I'll be hanging on to them though, to use as potential spares on the ride should I need them.

New Gatorskin tyres, will probably do a review of them soon 

Couple of holes on the old treads

Didn't notice this sliver of steel in the old tyre

Amazed it didn't pierce the inner tube

• 1 spare 10 speed chain - the current chain on my bike is already worn out but my shifts are still crisp and the chain has yet to jump under load so I'll keep the old chain on first. In the event it snaps along the ride, I'll switch to the new one. RM100

Loaned/sponsored equipment:

• Sony HDR AS300 Action Camera - I've gotta thank Mr Timothy Gan from Sony Malaysia and Carmen Cheong for mentioning me to him. Would never have gotten such a cool camera without either or you.

• Bicycle lights - Front and rear lights sponsored by my aunt, thank you Aunty Peng!

Already owned items:

• A mini pump
• 1 spare inner tube
• Multitool with a chain tool
• Tyre levers
• Chain quick links X 2
• Saddle bag
• Ruck sack
• Bicycle lock
• Helmet

Sent bike for servicing - I normally do my own servicing but I thought that I had best let the professionals have a look at my bike at least this one time. Just in case I missed anything. So I brought it over to the Specialized Concept Store in Petaling Jaya to let the guys over there have a look. Plus, it came with a wash and wheel truing all for RM50, pretty good deal considering they normally charge RM45 per wheel, excluding other services like the wash. Although if I'm being fair, they did accidentally puncture my inner tube and replaced it with a tube I purchased as a spare....so I guess that sorta makes up for the price. 

Booked my flight ticket (Air Asia) along with check-in baggage (RM67- No sponsorship from Uncle Tony) - Good thing bikes are relatively light. And I managed to find a bicycle box that was going to be thrown away to store it in so it doesn't get too roughed up during the flight. Pedalsport Taipan (check out my shop tour of the store here) was cool enough to just give it to me. So in return, I bought an extra inner tube from them since I always planned to have 4 in total anyway. Thanks guys!

One big empty box - check!

Things yet to be done:

• I've yet to make hotel reservations.
• Check all the equipment 
• Wash my bike prior to leaving
• Pack my bag

So, up until now, I've spent approximately RM591 on gear and travel expenses. That's a big bite out of the almost RM1000 (RM985)  I received from very generous sponsors. So in no particular order, I'd like to thank the following swell human beings for their generosity and kind-heartedness in helping me out in this little endeavor of mine. You've all helped so incredibly much and I'll never forget your kindness. Thank you all so much! :

• Mr Edmund Lim
• Mr Siew and family
• Ms Elizabeth Loke - all the way from the Land Down Under
• 2 more donors who wish to remain anonymous. 
  

And that's about it for now. I think there'll be 1 more update post after this one and then the ride begins! I'd like to extend my gratitude to everyone who's given me support and encouragement up until now. As Day 1 draws closer, I must admit that I'm getting a little more nervous day by day. But maybe that's my body's way of telling me I'm ready. Only time will tell.

To all my readers, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2017!