Back in the mud groove

Pergh! Lama sangat aku tak kembali ke alam mountain biking. Since sekarang dah bercuti berlari for a while, aku terpaksa beralih pandangan ke interest aku yang dah lama ditinggalkan. Pelan-pelan aku cari alasan untuk mencetuskan semangat mtb semula.

Ianya bermula dengan alasan untuk tukar frame. Walaupun agak berat untuk aku buat keputusan nak melepaskan my trusted 2002 xtc team, alasan punya pasal, aku layari kembali semua sources mtb yang ada. Kononnya nak cari saiz yang ngam untuk aku, which should be smaller than my current 17". Bicyclebuysell.com aku lawat hampir setiap jam. Puas aku cari frame yang reliable, susah betul nak jumpa yang berbaloi. Suddenly ada pulak mamat nak let go xtc team 2008. Sekali pandang memang mantap, tak macam design xtc team yang sebelum ni. Color hampir ke charcoal with very minimal stripes etc. Saiz S. Hmmm...is it worth a check?

Appointment made at PCP. My first visit to the now most talk of the town among mountainbikers especially freeriders & downhillers due to it's designed trail. Jumpa Zul whom to be a proud owner of 2 xtc team bikes! Fanatic agaknya. Technical knowledge memang A. Unfortunately the size S have the same geometry as my trusted steed. Disappointed bercampur lega pun ada jugak. Lega sebab selamat duit aku & tak payah aku sedih nak melepaskan frame aku sekarang. Kecewa sebab susah sangat nak jumpa frame yang best.

Since frame is not a good option untuk aku carry on my search, aku cilok idea dengan improving my riding position by playing around with the contact points. Despite his crossride ST, XT hydro brakes & SLX crank, Zul gave me an idea about his contact point. He attached in a 70mm X4 Thompson 0 deg stem & mild rise carbon handlebar. That made his bike compact & nice for handling. OK, stem & handlebar will be my next search. A quick browse at LBS & bbs. X4 tu mahal ler, RM250 beb! Tapi memang nampak mantap ya rabbi. Carbon bars tak payah citer ler harga dia. Pencarian aku terbantut before the weekend mtb ride sebab something came up kat rumah.

Come Sunday, our long lost trail was revisited. Kemensah. With some help from Achong & his local buddies, we discovered a whole new world of sweet awesome trails. Thanks to Pak Agus (a nickname for an expat who discovered the trail), Din, Teh & Amri. The gang were Alwin, Saiful, Bacin, Zamry, Pi'e & me. As usual, we were the machas in the wild. Crying out aloud, be it climbing the grannies or the long roller coaster ride descending. 20km from curry house to curry house. We finally had a feeding frenzy at 12.00pm. The feeling of being together & laughing our way into the trails reminded us of old times. Something which is rare lately, eversince we seldom go off-road. Eventually, we were looking forward for a few future events like the PCC-Presidential Ride & Penang MTB Jamboree.

Despite the excitement from the session, I anticipated that some expenses had to be made very soon, which is considered a priority. My 3 years old Sidi Dominator showed signs of fatigue & old age. Tapak dah serupa road shoes...hahaha! Hampeh. Looks like dilema mencari kasut cycling akan berulang kembali. Problem besar untuk aku. Anyway, Zul's SLX looks tempting jugak...hehehe :D