A Knight's Tale: Ipoh Fellowship Ride 2009
KOTRTpit view by ST

Overall, it was a great outing for the veterans as well as the newbies. Of course, while everyone did much better than their personal best from last year, everyone also wished they could have done something more, or differently, with the benefit of hindsight.

Chen would have wished his room-mate had injected more protein into him the night before, as his supply ran out at the 140km mark, and his fresh oral injection required 15km before it took effect, by which time the front pack was long gone. He could easily have gone sub-5, if his room-mate had done his job properly.

Adrian would have wished he rode more smartly, instead of volunteering to be the domestique and ran out of steam halfway and left him cursing at the peleton for not waiting for him. He is also easily a sub-5 candidate

Kevin VP would have wished he upgraded more than his wheelset to Bora and ceramic hubs. He got it right with the gel-gel though. Next year he will be smarter and will upgrade his knee-set to ceramic, as it seized up 1km from the finish line and cost him valuable time. Another sub-5 candidate.

Moon thought he got it right when he splashed oodles of cash for 2 sets of wheels which is supposed to be lighter and faster(1 for the trainer and another for the race) and a new pair of shoes. Maybe next year, he will consider investing in some quality time with Marie France for a slimmer, lighter and faster engine. Easily a sub-6 rider. 

Jason would have wished he had spent less time hanging out at the watering and checkpoint stations ogling the hot chicks and cool mamas there. It cost him valuable time and added to his delayed arrival at the finish line. Easily a sub-5.5 candidate

David bailed out at the 120km mark, but what can I say? When you are young and the hormones are raging and you have your girlfriend with you, riding on the road is not exactly the best way to spend your mornings. Not when you can get to ride someone else somewhere else. Maybe next year when the novelty has worn off, he'll return to road riding with a vengeance and give Jason a run for his money. Another sub-5.5 candidate.

Pang would have wished his Pinarello was in ICU instead of his Ellsworth, so that he would have a legitimate reason to skip the ride. However, he made up for it and is in the running for being the best support driver. Jokes aside, thanks for being there for us. Next year, hope to see your newly acquired camera skills put to good use. Easily a sub-5 candidate if he had chose his jockey well.

 As for me, I wished I had avoided the water splash at the 120km mark by the bomba, which was designed to cool down the riders. Yeah, it cooled me down alright, so much so that the sudden cooldown caused my legs to start twitching, which is a sign of impending cramps. Hopefully, next year with a new carbon bike and bora wheels, I could go sub-5. BTW, my birthday is in May, just in time for the century ride in July, so faham-faham lah!

 The only ride who got it right was Rin, who because he tak dapat, did not weaken his knees and did not commit any dosa the night before. That pleased the gods so much that "HE" blessed us with nice cool weather and strong legs for Rin. In return, he was easily the best KOTRT rider with 4:33. easily a sun-4.5 rider.

 As for some other riders, they would have wished their training was conducted on weekdays, instead of weekends, so that they did not have to skip the century ride, or is it the ride of the century. Ahhh, there is always next year................rgds, st

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