ouch ouch

pulled a muscle on the ride to Mornington last week. the ride coulda gone a lot better. such was a day for hardmen. it's taking quite some to recover. at this bloody rate i should just get used to injuries, they seem to come half yearly.

met a paracyclist along the way down, he races for Australia. He's a real champ, keeping up with me. Plus, he's a great bloke, following the short conversation that we had after we hit Frankston. Felt embarrassed to be beside him, really. Nothing short of inspirational.

could this really be it? I'm trying my best to believe it.

motivation you say...

Times are tough nowadays. Sometimes I really feel like I never came back from HK. Went for a solo 5 hour trip to Mornington the day before. I can't really feel my legs. You know what, scratch that. I feel them screaming each time I go up the stairs. That ride wasn't too bad though. It's rides like these that make me think: Before this, when was the last time you actually spent 5 hours on your own, with absolutely no social contact? (cue Guns and Roses - November Rain) I had strange urges to listen to Behind Blue Eyes during the ride back.

I asked a certain friend of mine on whether he though I was bragging to him each time I told him I went a little further, perhaps a little faster. He said yeah it definitely could be misconstrued, depending on the audience and the context. He added that unless your listeners aren't athletes, they wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the kind of joy and pain that comes with cycling (or any other sport for that matter). But being the ex-school runner, he was simply happy to know I've reached new heights.

It's good to know I'm right up there in the Singaporean cycling scene. It's good to know the form I have 6 months ago is nothing compared to what I am now. It's even more awesome when I've done all that while rehabilitating my left knee injury. The thing that takes the cake though, is all the friends and support I have, walking me through out this tiring 6 months.

You know all too well who you guys are. Just wanna say a big thank you.

fresh starts, new beginnings

Most people have new beginnings often, usually on a sat morning with a hangover. But sometimes once you've crossed the imaginary line, there's really no turning back. New beginnings always start on every ride, every pedal stroke, and it doesn't stop till u are bent and broken.

Not many can appreciate the joys and torturous ideals that this beautiful sport places on us, but many who do don't just carve out sculpted legs reminiscent of Greek statues. Rather, each ride is an epiphany, well-timed among the chaos of what we call life. For these people, riding is the only joy they can describe as being constant.

hopefully, this would be a true reflection and account of the things that have passed and are soon to be.