My first road bike!

I got my new Cannondale Synapse Women's Alloy 6 51cm road bike from REI last Sunday and I couldn't be happier. I never thought I'd say this for something manmade - but this bike is absolutely beautiful! Every time I look at it I can't help but smile! I took it for a spin around the block this morning. Got up at 6am (there are not many things that can motivate me to get up 'so' early). I was riding on the pedestrian pavement which was a good practice cos it was bumpy and uneven. And so I nearly crashed a few times (ok I did actually crash into some bushes). I will try out shifting the gears tomorrow morning on the road.

My Cannondale Synapse bike! (with it's oh so reflective reflectors which I was encouraged to remove - otherwise the 'pro' cyclists will have more reason to be snobby towards a newbie lol)

The gears (Shimano Tiagra)

A Fun Filled Weekend

Last weekend I went for my first road bike ride and my second horse riding competition.

In preparation for the bike ride and future rides, I got a pair of cycling shorts, helmet and cycling gloves. The pair of Pearl Izumi Attack shorts I got are a good fit but wth, at the back it looks like I'm wearing an incontinence pad! And it sure feels like carrying a huge diaper when I walk around in it. But compared to others it is the most comfortable shorts which made up for its more padded appearance. I picked up a rental road bike, Specialized Ruby at Incycle which cost around 3.5k. The service person helped me adjust the seat and taught me how to take off and on the wheel for loading into the car. It seems that each time I go there the cutest guy in the shop is happily helping me which I'm not complaining about.

Early Saturday morning I met up with two long-time and very fit cyclists and we drove up to Glendora Mountain Road for my first time road biking. I was so excited but also a little apprehensive in that I didn't want to be too much of a burden for them. Also I didn't want to embarrass myself too much because I have problem getting on and off the bike (similar problem with mountain biking). It just doesn't feel comfortable with the seat so high such that my feet can bearly touch the ground without me leaning to the side.

We went up Glendora Mountain Road which is 8miles long. I was surprised when we got to the top - I thought we'd have a lot longer to go. It was even more surprising when everyone kept on saying how fit I must be for my first time road cycling and already going up GMR!

The descent in a sense was more tiring than going up. I was braking throughout in case I pick up too much speed and do a flying dismount. Everything I do is hindered by my rather unfounded EXTREME fear of falling - hell, I even had nightmares about falling off cliffs. So we went down at 10mph initially and reached around 20mph at the end. It felt good going down, I can imagine it must feel like flying descending at 40mph!

This cycling experience was so much fun! Now I know why people love it so much - I'm already getting addicted to it! You get to see the scenery while working out while feeling that you are getting out more than you put in (on a nice road bike) not to mention the amazing speed.

The next day I had my second horse riding competition. This time it was Walk/Trot/Canter. There were 6 people competing and I was surprised to see some of them there cos I know that they've been riding forever! So I was nervous and it didn't help that I was late for the show (no surprise there!) and we had to quickly tack up the horse. It also didn't help that Virginia the horse that I'm riding has trouble picking up the correct lead when she's tracking right. I just learnt how to tell leads in my last lesson and my instructor told me that if she picks up the wrong lead when tracking right (which is 100% of the time) I should slow down to a trot and try again such that the judge knows that I know that I'm on the wrong lead and I'm trying to correct it. That was exactly what I planned to do in the competition.

The competition was divided into 2 sections, Equitation and Pleasure. In the first section, when we cantered tracking right I tried several times to correct the lead but to no avail. At the end of the competition, the judge said to me that I have trouble picking up the canter. I explained to her that this horse always picks up the wrong canter when she tracks right and so I had to slow her down to a trot and start again. You know how some people just look like bitches - well she was one of them and she certainly didn't disappoint. Anyway the results came back and I was pronounced last - f%#@. So in the next section of the competition, I totally ignored whether my horse was on the correct lead or not and just went with it. I knew I wouldn't be last this time round - I came 5th, second last which was still bad!

It's not a good feeling to not come first and an even worse one to come so behind! Yet the people that I'm competing with has been riding much longer than me. The person with the least experience has 3x the experience as me. Still I can't help but to feel disappointed...On the bright side, this motivates me to improve.

I just got back from the gym, when I started working out on the cycling machine, next to me came an extremely fit looking guy dressed in full cycling gear. As we were cycling he kept on looking at my display to see how many calories I'm loosing. Is he trying to compete with me?! He should pick someone his own size. In 35min I lost 350 calories and he lost 580 calories. I don't think I can compare with him, but the fact that he is so interested in what I'm loosing perhaps means I'm doing pretty well. During the cycling he was sweating profusely and at the end he proceeded to rest on the floor of the gym. Anyway, in summary I lost 457 calories in 45min on level 15. I should up my game next time.

Things to do Before I Turn 30

Here goes my list of things to accomplish before I turn 30. I'm sure I'll think of more things I want to do in a few months if not a few days from now!

1. Backpack in Europe (after I graduate)

2. Sleep under the stars without a tent

3. Get scuba diving license (this summer IF I have the money)

4. Swim with giant turtles/sharks/whales

5. Truly help someone (eg turn their life around for the better)

6. Live in the jungle for 48hours (sounds feral I know)

7. Go hunting, prepare and eat my catch (getting more feral)

8. Aggravate the Queen's guard and get in trouble for it

9. Get arrested and spend a night in prison (very easy to achieve)

10. Go fishing and actually catch something

11. Ski without fear of crashing into some random tree 10m away

12. Get my resting heart rate to below 50bpm (currently it's around 58)

13. Gallop in the wilderness with jumps across rocks and creeks

14. Get a tattoo without regretting it

15. Fall in love (hardest to do on the list)

Major Earthquake Imminent for California

If the observations are indeed triggers for and caused by upcoming earthquakes as Jim Berkland believes then it does sound convincing - let's see how it all pans out the next few days.

A Random Wednesday

Yesterday I had to revise for and take an exam at home. Normally when I'm at home, I'd turn on the radio or play something on my laptop so that I'd feel less bored and isolated. But I couldn't concentrate with the radio on when I was revising and taking such a boring exam. So it was utterly quiet in my apartment with me counting down each question as I go along and imagining the things I'd rather be doing. It was boring beyond my tolerance! I thought I may have died (I admit I do have a rather low tolerance for boredom).

It was finally over and I got to go horse riding at night which was a whole world of difference! I rode a huge Paint horse called Oklahoma, 16.1hands, okay so he's similar in height to some thoroughbreds I have ridden but he is just plain bulky and oh so adorable (orange with white patches). He is very gentle and rather lazy but I got him going with my ever increasing leg muscles and I cantered on him. The canter was nice - his strides were big so my feet flew around in the stirrups and got into wrong positions. I need to work on keeping my heels down while cantering. Last time I cantered on New Mexico and to start the canter I kicked him instead of just squeezing (in order of 'strength': a squeeze, a kick and then use of crop) which I shouldn't have done cos he went into a very fast canter (or a gallop?) so I pulled on the reins for him to slow down but nothing happened - we were still going at full speed even while turning on a tight corner. I thought shoot I'm gonna fall, I wondered how I should do it so I won't get hurt badly. The acceptance that I'd fall made me more relaxed and when I pulled on the reins he listened to me and slowed down to a trot and that was how I avoided the fall. It may seem counter initiative and hard to do in practice but in 'out of control' situations like this the rider should be relaxed so that the horse would in turn be relaxed otherwise he'd become nervous as well and keep going! Horses are extremely sensitive. I explained to my instructor that I had to cancel my lesson last week cos I had a little accident while mountain biking. She said how she's envious of me that I do all the dangerous sports like horse riding, climbing and mountain biking. I guess I'm really lucky to be able to do what I'm interested in!

Speaking of mountain biking, the wound on my leg is healing great but the wound on my arm not so much. I develped a yellow scab on my arm and a couple of days ago in the shower it fell off which may not sound like a big deal but the skin beneath it was white with numerous red spots. Upon closer examination the red dots were blood vessels! I freaked out and would have fainted except I've never fainted in my entire life. Soon I will decide whether to get into mountain biking or road biking. I will make that choice once I try out road biking. I'll then buy a bike which reminds me I'm spending over 2k on replacing my dying turbo engine in my Saab! Arghh with 2k I could get a really good bike!

Japan Earthquake & Tsunami 2011

The magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck off-shore Japan at 2.46pm on March 11th local time. It is the largest quake in Japan's recorded history and strong tremors could be felt in Tokyo 230miles away from the epicenter. The seismic activity triggered a massive tsunami which swept into the east coast of Japan. As of now the combination of shocks and flooding has resulted in a death toll of over 1,000. The entire Pacific region is expected to be effected by the tsunami. Indeed, here in the US, states on the west coast, Oregon and California have issued tsunami warnings, evacuations are carried out and beaches are closed in response.

Where the tsunami is expected to travel across the Pacific Ocean. The dark black and purple indicate the highest rise in sea level (NOAA)

Mon premier fais du VTT en Californie

Samedi dernier, j’ai fait du vélo tout terrain avec des nouveaux amis à Mont Wilson.

J’ai loué mon vélo à Incycle pour $35 par jour. Apparemment, on a coûté près de $4000! C’était très fantaisie et il y avait beaucoup de fonctions que je ne savais pas utiliser. Donc, le vendeur m’a aidé avec le vélo. Il était très doux et patient avec moi et il a pris une heure pour m’apprendre de faire du VTT.

Alors j’étais prêt pour mon premier fais du VTT en Californie et j’ai rencontré avec trois étudiants de Caltech. Nous sommes allés au debut de la piste au canyon de Eaton.

Il faut avoir de siège haut du vélo pour grimper une colline, mais c’était trop haut pour moi de monter et donc je passais trop de temps jusque pour le monter! Aussi, il était tout en montée et c’était plus faitigant que je croyais. Je pensais que mon coeur allait s’arrêter de batter chaque seconde! Donc j’ai décidé faire du vélo à mi-chemin et le pousser à mi-chemin. Les autres étaient attendre pour moi mais je leur ai dit aller d’avant sans moi parce que je leur voulais du plaisir. Finalement, je suis arrivée à Hennigner Flats mais les autres étaient loin devant sur la route Toll du Mont Wilson, alors je continuais.

A Hennigner Flats avec mon VTT

Je les ai rencontré et quand nous descendions je pensais que je peux aller vite, mais soudainement, j’ai perdu l’équilibre et je suis tombée sur mon vélo. Mon corps a glissé sur le terrain pendant longtemps avant que je me suis arrêté. Quand je me suis levée, j’ai pu voir du sang suintement de partout. C’était peut-être le jour le plus embarrassant de ma vie, d’abord j’étais mauvais à vélo, aussi j’ai été lente et maintenant je suis tombée de mon vélo!

Pourtant, j’ai eu un grand temps et il n’y avait pas de regrets! J’ai aimé les gens et ils m’ont aidé beaucoup. A la fin de la journée, nous avons dîné à l’une de leurs maisons que j’ai vraiment aimé!