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!

Pedalling Across Malaysia - Preparations

Hello! My name is Benjamin Choo, I'm 24 years old this year. I'm a medical graduate currently awaiting placement in government service. In January of 2017, I plan to embark on a solo ride across the country, from the northern tip of Perlis in Padang Besar, right down to Johor Bahru in Johor. At the moment, I'm expecting to complete the journey within 10 to 14 days. I can't give out too many details yet for precautionary safety reasons but I will continue to update this blog with my progress up until the day of, what I think will likely be, the most epic ride I'll ever embark on in my life. Yay?

This ride has been a dream of mine for quite awhile now. Medical school took up the bulk of the past 6 years of my life, so many missed family trips, gatherings, adventures and experiences. I've always had an enthusiasm towards bikes, leading a healthy life as well as a bit of adventure. It's not so hard to imagine then that I would want to go on such a trip with what limited amount of free time I have on my hands at the moment. 

In the mean time, I will continue my preparations up until the day of my departure, which mainly consist of regular amounts of daily cycling (I'm doing about 10 - 15 hours a week now) with regular doses of jogging and swimming, route planning, lodging details, equipment gathering and other bits and pieces. However, all this planning isn't going to get me far if I don't have the necessary funds and equipment for it. Which is why I'm writing this post, rather shamelessly if I might add, to request for any form of sponsorship possible. Whether in the form of donations (not necessarily RM2.6b) or actual physical equipment down to biscuits I can munch on during the ride, anything and

everything will be greatly appreciated and will go far in helping me achieve this little dream of mine.

At the moment, this is what I have so far:

• 1 bicycle that's in pretty good shape
• 1 helmet
• 1 pair of cycling shorts
• 1 pair of cycling shoes
• 1 rucksack to carry everything in
• 1 saddle bag
• 1 multitool + chain breaker (to fix a potential broken chain) - Thank you Desmond, Edward and Carmen.
• 1 set of tyre levers (to change a flat tyre)
• 1 mini-pump
• 2 500ml water bottles
• 1 bicycle lock
• Front light (plus additional equipment) - Thank you Aunty Peng!
• Some chain links (to mend a broken chain)
• Financial aid - Thank you Mr Edmund Lim and other anonymous donors!

Equipment still needed:

• A few spare tyre tubes
• A spare chain
• 2 tyres

Additional useful but non-essential equipment:

• An extra pair of cycling shorts 
• A rain jacket 
• A back light
• Energy bars/gels/electrolyte drinks
• A pair of cycling gloves
• A bell
• Anything else which you may think is useful

And that's about it. Feel free to contact me via this email (benchoo92@gmail.com) or leave a comment down below and I'll get back to you. Again, any form of sponsorship would to mean a great deal to me and will definitely be helping me out next year. Thank you for reading!