Home and Job

I have been home for a little over a week now. It's good to be with family and to have plenty, and I mean plenty of time to do cycling. Whether I get enough in is another matter, because it is SUPER hot here. In fact, I normally leave home by 6.30 to 7 am to beat the heat and by 9 am, the heat is often too much to handle. Cycling is huge here. I am amazed at the number of cyclists and the amount of pro looking people here (by this I mean their cycling specific muscles). I joined a club that offers rides everyday of the week. However, to reach there I have to cycle 10 miles on the bike path with tons of obscure signs and turns. I went to scout out how to get there with my little brother, who has grown so much this past year that he is already taller than me (and has lost a lot of weight). Thus I thought that he would be faster than last year, not so. We left home at 8 am and I calculated conservatively that we would be home by 10 am, at a pace of 10 mph. However, we were home at 11.30 by which time both parents have gone out looking for us. My brother later went on to have breathing problems (from exhaustion) and didn't want to go cycling again, not that he particularly wanted to do so in the first place. In fact, all my siblings (maybe not my littlest brother) avoid anything to do with exercise. My mum thinks that my cycling is ridiculous and my dad's idea of fun is relaxing in front of the TV. So strange that my family is so different from me. Back on track, many of the cyclists in the club are very fast. I will give an update later on cycling in Perth as I have ridden more myself and more with the club.

I wanted to talk a bit about my future job and the search for it. Initially I wanted to go to Germany, because people are more straightforward there and because I wanted to do cycling in Europe. However, after I learnt that the pay check is on average 50 % that of in the US, I decided not to go. After this, there was a period where I was confused about where to live. Then it popped in my head that I could go to Denver, CO because of the great cycling there. Yet, that ended at the same time as I found out just how dry it is over there. Not keen on having dry skin and bloody nose and premature aging. Then for a couple of days I had a strong inclination of becoming a lecturer in Perth because you can earn 100 k a year and work schedule is of course light, such that I would have lots of time to pursue cycling. However, life would be boring without any intellectual challenges and I don't particularly want to live in Australia. Later I settled on SF. The weather, the people and the cycling culture all seem to be a great fit for me. There was one job that I really wanted. Yet, the job spec says that they are looking for a person with 5-10 years of industry experience. I still applied and surprisingly I got an email asking for scheduling a phone interview. The phone interview went well. I liked how the company gives its researchers plenty of freedom, and they liked me too. So off I went for an onsite interview. I can wholeheartedly say that I enjoyed the interview. I wasn't nervous and was eager to learn more about the company, its research and its people. Everything I learnt I liked. I waited for the job offer - this did not come easy. This is because I am a foreign national and of course there are others competing for the position. Thankfully, I got the job. I think I have been very lucky in my job search. I know of two ChE PhDs (both US citizens) in bio research whom were jobless for 9 months. I have to say that the pay is pretty good too :) Now I have a bigger budget in buying my new bike.

When everything was falling into place towards December (finishing my thesis, finishing my papers, and landing the job), I felt that a higher power, perhaps God may not let me to stay happy for long and take everything away from me. This is strange, because when my research didn't work, when I broke my back, and when I wasn't happy I never thought that I was unfortunate or that they were anyone else's problems but my own.

An Era Has Thus Ended

Yay!! I finished my thesis and defended last Friday. I think my talk went pretty well. When I arrived 5 min before my talk, my advisor and labmates were already there. Knowing how last minute I am, he has already set up the projector for me. But what he doesn't know was that I am always prepared. I have tested the projector and practiced the talk. I was not a bit nervous, it was after all, my fourth talk. My talk lasted 29.5 min, perhaps the shortest thesis defense ever. After some questions from the general public, I was in the room with my advisor and other thesis committee members. They asked a few questions. There was one question where they wanted to know the actual number, for which I did not have. But I didn't want to have to do that experiment, so I provided a guesstimate, to which they laughed knowing what I was trying to avoid. Thankfully, no extra experiments were needed. But I quote from my thesis section 'future directions and recommendations' '...as with all scientific endeavors, the more we learn about a system, the more question arises....'(as you can see, I got pretty bored from all the writing). Anyway, no changes were required to be done to my thesis either (even though I took 1 week to write it)! I have sent my thesis for proofreading and later to get it bound. Also submitted two papers - finally.

Last Saturday, I went for the much anticipated final Montrose ride. I was to finish riding with the medium paced group without getting dropped. The night before, I didn't sleep well because my little sister snored more than usual. In the morning, I didn't hear my alarm through the ear buds. Thankfully, I got up. Mum said she heard the alarm but since it was nothing important (it's only cycling), she didn't wake me......I hurried and thought that I would be able to make it. I arrived at my usual waiting spot at 8.17 (they passed at 8.20 the last couple of times). But when 8.25 came and went, I had the dreadful suspicion that I probably missed the ride. I rode with another cyclist further up Huntington. After a bit, I saw 2 cyclists waiting by the side and asked if they were waiting for the medium paced group. They were waiting for the fast paced group, the medium one passed 10 min ago :(. I was so disappointed for not having a chance to finish that ride. I talked to these guys a bit, and they said that the fast paced ride is much faster and are generally more experienced cyclists, Cat 3 or above.... I thought oh well, let's see how long I can keep up with the fast group for. A few guys who broke away from the group rode by and we joined them. Soon the group caught up, actually, it engulfed us. There were so many people! The pace was indeed fast. But the ride was smooth and I was pretty confident. At one point, I nearly got dropped but stayed on. Then came the Encanto Park area where I got dropped last time from the medium paced ride. I made a mental note to NOT get dropped there again. However, I just could not keep up. After I got dropped I realized just how fast they were going. Within a few minutes, they were out of sight. Luckily I remembered the route. Soon I caught up with another guy who got dropped. He was quite upset and complained about how the group was faster than usual. I was pretty happy with my accomplishment. I look forward to coming back one day to finish the ride and to perhaps lead it :)

This week has been more tiring than when I was writing up my thesis. I had to finish everything up in the lab, teach and pass on things to others, pack up and sign off, clean up my apartment, sell furniture, send things to the airport (since my car is not big enough)....yet my car was still stuffed full. We drove over from LA to SF this morning, and left everything at a public storage. My mum and sister helped me so much with tidying up the apartment and packing up everything. I am already sad having to come back with my lonesome to unpack things from the storage.

Cycling Update 12/2/12

This morning I went for the Montrose ride, same route as last week with the goal of completing the ride with the group and not getting dropped. It has been raining the past few days, so I wore my new Rapha wind jacket. It's super light and is supposed to be waterproof for around 45 min. Thankfully it didn't rain. However, after riding for a few minutes, I realized that the jacket may keep water out, but it also traps water in. All the sweat had no where to go. So yep, I was steaming after about 30 min into the ride. So I opened the zip and was riding with the jacket flapping away - like a pro. Except pros only open their vest or jacket during climbs, because there is too much resistance otherwise. I spotted another girl cycling, she was very random and dangerous, which probably lead to someone complimenting me for riding in a straight line. One would think that it's common sense. I have to say that I wasn't feeling as good as last week, maybe because I haven't been working out the past week. In total just 40 min on rollers and a weight lifting session....so sad. Anyway, at around Encanto park section, the guys sped off like last time. Last time, I was able to keep up, but this time, I was exhausted and a gap opened. I rode about 30 m behind the group for 2 miles. It was a great workout but a lost cause. The wind resistance created by my jacket flapping around didn't help either. I should have put in a bit more effort in closing the gap when it first opened.

As time passed, the gap widened, and I had a hard time keeping track where the group was. All would have been fine if I know the route, but I don't remember directions unless I have to and there are many turns in this ride so yep. At one point, there was a car behind me and I wanted to keep to the right as much as possible since I was by myself, but I was going fast and before I know it, I rode into the uneven section (again). This time it was worse, my bike tilted by maybe 20 degrees with screeching metal on concrete sound, thankfully I saved myself. Idk why I always do this, I need to be careful. Then as I was speeding away, I checked to see if the group turned right at an intersection, and sure enough they did, so I did my sad crazy ass wide turn and doubled back. By which time, I couldn't see any cyclists anymore. After a bit, I caught up with this guy perhaps 100 m in front of me and I followed him. Then came an intersection, if memory serves me right I should turn right, but he went straight head, so I followed...wrong choice. I doubled back again. Then I rode on Foothill for what seemed like forever, I knew I had to turn right just not sure where. Then behold, I saw a vague outline of a cyclist in front of me, and saw that he turned right ahead, so I followed. It was indeed the correct route. I was so happy that I saw him. At least I will finish the ride, all is not lost! He was very easy to talk to and must have been around 60 yo. He used to be a pro cyclist and raced with Greg Lemond!

At the stop, we rode over to my coach and he asked me about a few things. Then the triathlon coach I met last week came over (he must have waited a long time) and we rode back together. I told him how I got dropped etc, he said it was his fault and apologized cos he was leading. Lol it's obviously not his fault that I couldn't keep up. I have one more chance left to see if I could finish a ride with this group.

Which leads me onto other things. I handed in my thesis yesterday, took a total of 1 week to write everything up. So efficient. There is nothing like a deadline to make me work. I'm pretty sure that if I had 1 month to write the thesis, the quality would have been the same. If say I had finished my thesis a day in advance, I would have felt that I needed better time management because the less time I have, the more efficient I am. So happy to be finishing up soon! Counting down the days.

Cycling Update 11/24/12

Now that the weather is getting cold and rainy, I borrowed some rollers from my coach. He believes that I couldn't learn it myself so he made sure that the other guy would help me. I really don't like to get help unless I have to. And I don't want him to touch me. The more I think about this, the more angry I become. How could he be so selfish? For one thing, he is old enough to be my father! Anyways, I practiced on the rollers. At first I just could NOT let go of holding onto something to keep me from falling. But I heard that it helps to look straight ahead (instead of at your front wheel!). So I looked straight ahead, counted to 3, too chicken to let go, then to 10, I let go....and behold, I am on the bars and cycling away! I did it for 5 min then I got bored and stopped. Needless to say that I am very happy with myself. I told my coach about it, he just said that I should be able to ride comfortably for 20 min...

Yesterday, I went to take a recovery test at the gym with another student from my coach. That kid could push 700 lbs on the leg press!! Well, he is a Cat 1/Pro cyclist. Anyway, I told my coach that I cycled on the rollers for 25 min (yep, 5 min more). Then my coach asked the kid how long it took for him to learn, he answered a long time. So you can see why I am very proud, more so because I proved my coach wrong in expecting less of me. The recovery test involved measuring the resting blood pressure, then doing 20 squats and measuring the blood pressure again to see how long it takes to recover to baseline. I took 2 min and 10 sec. Not sure if this is bad, but the kid took 45 sec to recover. One thing to note here is that 20 squats for him is probably nothing, maybe 100 squats would be the equivalent to my 20. So this test is not just a recovery test, but a combination of recovery and strength test.

This morning I did the Montrose ride. I didn't want to drive to TJ because that meant I have to ride in lots of traffic when I return. So I left from my apartment and stopped at the intersection of Sierra Madre and Huntington. I conservatively calculated that it would take me 20 min to get there. Instead it took 10 min. I was there at 8 am and the ride starts at 8. So I waited and waited. During the wait, more people came by. It looks like that spot is a popular joining section. Looking at their bikes and looking at mine, I could see a major difference, they all have these thick rimed wheels. I'm sure their bikes are thousands of dollars to match these wheels. The guys all seem to think that I am a very mediocre cyclist (without looking down). So I randomly told them about my rollers story (since I was still bathed in its glory). One guy was amazed and made sure that I was talking about rollers instead of trainers.....At 8.20, the group finally appeared and we joined in. This ride was so fun! I felt like I was playing a computer game maneuvering inside the pack. And I was hardly tired. There was one time where someone was verging to the right and I had to squeeze through the gutters, nearly crashed due to the uneven ground there. Don't ride too close to the gutters - lesson learnt. A dude said he thought they nearly lost me there and how I got out of it like a champ. Then came a part where there was some climbing, this was where I and many others lost the group :( Yet at least 5 guys told me how good I am etc etc. I think people should seriously stop saying good things about my cycling, because whether I want it to or not, it does go to my head :P At the stop, I chatted with this nice triathlon coach and we rode back together. A very fun ride, I loved it!

Breaking Benjamin - Forget it

so awesome

Training Update

I have gone to weight lifting 6 times now. After 2 times I could already see increased muscle definition on my quads! The first time I went weight lifting, I had no clue what all the equipments were. My coach showed me what to do, how to do it and how many repetitions. We first did legs, then arms, then abdominal and back. The next day my whole body was so sore! I practically fell off my bed when I tried to get up in the morning because my abs were rigid lol. Surprisingly the second time I went weight lifting, the day after I was fine. Apparently this is because my body adapts fast :)

Before I've been so stupid and thought that the best training is where I go all out and where I climb mountains. My heart rate likely averaged over 160 bpm all the time. The truth is that you need to have a strong base. I of course have no such thing. So it was odd that my body still burnt fat as the main source of energy! Now I'm supposed to train within the aerobic zone, with heart rate under 140 bpm. As well, I can't go climbing because that would defeat the purpose of muscle building. However, we went climbing up to Newcomb's ranch on the weekend. My friend seemed to know everyone even in the mountains. The others all assumed that I must be very good to ride with him. Ha! Not so! Even if I was going at 4 mph, he would have cycled alongside me. We finally reached the destination, had some food and went for the much anticipated descent. Previously when I descend, I would be on the bars, in aero position and not pedal. But this time, I was in the drops and pedaled hard, chased a car and we averaged 38 mph! It was so exhilarating and so cool!! I can't wait to do that again.

Whenever I tell people that a really good cyclist is riding with me, the first thing they ask is why is he so nice, he must want something from you. I wish I could prove them wrong....He is very nice, considerate and I feel like I could be myself around him. But I don't like him that way. I have to put a stop to this because the path he is headed would only lead to disappointment. And I can't help but feel that my cycling with him is taking advantage of him. I'm more than willing to give up cycling with him to avoid any hurt feelings. I tried to talk to him about it a couple of times, but he was always so nice and I just couldn't bring myself to say anything to hurt him. Instead I acted bad and distanced myself, and hoped that that would make him stop liking me. Ahhh I'm so lame. If he was anywhere close to an a-hole, I would have had no qualms. Sigh :(

Awolnation - Sail