19,000km ride and Life Behind Bars ep 16

Read an article on The New Paper yesterday about a Swedish dude, Mr Erik Ohlson riding from Sweden to Singapore (how does the roads even link?!). Anyway he arrived in Singapore yesterday which is the final stop of his riding expedition. Salutations to him for completing a feat this crazy, a longer distant then the Chinese students that rode to Singapore from China the other time. More information can be found here.

Anyway it's the Tuesday where everyone is stoked to view another episode of Life Behind Bars, this time Semenuk and Peat take on the streets with their new BMX frames. They seem to be able to ride any kind of terrain and bikes thrown at them, great episode watch it right here.

2013 Bikes - Santa Cruz V10c / Banshee Rune

Seems like there's an increase in the announcement of new bikes recently.

On a side note, the Evil Undead Carbon featured here the last time was actually ridden by Cam Zink in Chatel Mountain Style (just realised it after watching Mountain Bike Chronicles again).

Ok back to the topic where there are several new bikes on the rising, 2 of em that caught my attention will definitely be the new Santa Cruz V10c and Banshee Rune.

The new banshee rune looks pretty sweet, with a rear travel of 160mm, is more than what you will need to ride any terrain available in Singapore. It also has a version for the 650B wheels, seems like those wheels are gaining popularity, however I've never had the chance to try them yet, and on magazines the review states that there isn't a noticeable difference from the usual 26" wheels that we're used to.

The 2013 Banshee Rune ©pinkbike

Another bike that really caught my attention would definitely be the Santa Cruz V10 Carbon. There are much criticism about its frame looking retro, ugly and stuff, but hey! Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, to me it's pretty damn chio (gorgeous in the Hokkien dialect).

2013 Santa Cruz V10c

And here's a video introduction of it.

God, I've been a good boy this year, and I'll be stoked if Santa Claus hook me up with the Santa Cruz this X'mas :p

This is Peaty Season Finale!

"This is Peaty", the show featuring Steve Peat, legendary downhill mountain biker has come to an end. Hilarious episode (well so to speak every episode is funny as hell), showing Peaty and Brook Macdonald heading to Chiang Mai in Thailand for some crazy fun and hitting the local trails.

At the Chiang Mai Downhill Challenge, Peaty took the first place at the downhill challenge, and some local guy won the big air.

Watch the episode yourself to find out more!

For other episodes of "This is Peaty", click here

And it seems like every single brand that Aaron Gwin wore in World Cup races is promoting his autographed products as contest prizes. Previously there was the jersey and now, Bell helmets autographed by Gwin! Just log on to facebook and does the following steps for your chance to win.

Birthday Weekend: The Contour and Gardens by the Bay

Was off for awhile, hence no updates. Busy with presentations and of course my birthday weekend!

Not much of a riding this weekend, went to Gardens by the Bay, and it was indeed a astonishing sight (Cloud Forest). The Cloud Forest has a man made waterfall which simulates that of a real mountain landscape, lots of cool flowers and plants growing on the cliffs, was quite a sight. The flower dome was however less impressive.

Did I mentioned that I just got myself a contour camera? So here's a few pictures of the contour and the Gardens by the Bay.

Life Behind Bars - Episode 15

It's the Tuesday where you get a new episode of Life Behind Bars. Lots of Rampage action and Semenuk goes rally racing and finished with amazing results. Guess he's talented with anything that calls for speed.

Life Behind Bars - Episode 15

Catch all episodes here

Cedric Gracia

Previously, I posted my thoughts about Urban DH races, and in these races, there are legends such as Cedric Gracia. Cedric Gracia, or commonly known as CG, is a legend in downhill mountain biking. He can be seen in most UCI races, Redbull events such as Rampage and urban downhill races, and never fail to impress the crowd with a trick or two during his race runs.

This is one of the insane races that CG had taken part in, takes someone with balls of steel to ride down a course this gnarly.

CG pulling some tricks  in his UCI DH run at Fort William, 1:00 onwards.

However in a recent practice run, CG had a massive crash and will probably take awhile to recover despite him being a beast. Get well soon dude.

Gee Atherton

The Athertons have been a powerhouse in the downhill, 4x, and recently the enduro scene. They are arguably the most celebrated family for the sport, as their team is very much different from the others (formed by family members, until the recent adoption of Marc Beaumont).

The series of four by three films featuring the Atherton family has finally come to an end. The last rider featured in the series by Clay Porter will be none other then Gee Atherton, 2008 World Champs (Silver this year, 2012) and 2010 UCI Overall Title Winner.

Gee created the famous step-down to wall-ride in the 2010 Rampage where he was placed 2nd, that particular spot in Utah is now known as the "Gee Gap" today.

Redbull Moments: Massive Step-down to Wall-ride

So Gee was set for the 2012 Rampage in the latest four by three episode, despite his injuries he is still determined to ride, till a gnarly crash finally got the better of him, and he decided not to take any further risk.

Here's a trailer of his episode featuring the gnarly crash.

For the full four by three series, click here

Their signature series, The Atherton's Project is a must watch for avid mountain bike fans.

A Gift and Macpherson

Finally got time for a long distant ride with my girlfriend again.

Rode to Ubi Vertex and she bought me a gift! Was so happy with the gift, a new pair of pants for riding.

After, we decided to ride to Macpherson food market, as it had been awhile since I visited and dined at that location. After some riding we arrived! There's lots of food store to choose from, and we had difficulty deciding on what to have for dinner, resulting in a table full of dishes!

Here are some pictures of the "scenery" around that area.

Rode home afterwards, after a sumptuous dinner, and my crank came off somewhere on the ride. Managed to fix it on the field luckily...

Urban Downhill - Singapore?

Recently, there is a significant increase in urban DH races around the globe. In Singapore, we have the Mettle Games previously, and the Yew Tee Flat Out. I would encourage more events like this to be organized in Singapore, since we don't really have a mountain here or a proper DH track. And most riders have to travel a certain distance in order to get to a proper bike park. Urban DH events would further strengthen and publicize DH as a sport in Singapore, rooting in the very soul of the heartlands.

Such events are extremely fun to ride in despite it's risk factor. There is a high potential for variation in the courses, as each event craft their own unique ones, running the course through familiar places of a mall, park, district, etc, which is the very essence of such races.

With the progression of the discipline, we might someday spot more high travel full suspension bikes than hard tail bikes in the neighbourhoods and heartlands perhaps.

Recent Urban DH events.

Red Bull Descendo Del Condor 2012

Red Bull Big Duel 2012

Riding through a palace in Bulgaria. How about the Istana? (Not going to happen IMHO)

Through a slum in Brazil. (Not recent, but I'm a Atherton fan after all)