Riding Pics and Updates

The Mythical, found.
Genuine SingleTrack, in my neighborhood. This is my local trail.
For you local folk: this is between Mt. Austin, JP Perdana, and Pelangi Indah.

Fixed Shrek. Had a breakthrough with my HED Big Deal Wheels. Like so many breakthroughs, it was preceded by a breakdown.
HEAD B D Wheels rely on a layer of Gorilla Brand Duct Tape to seal the tubless system. Otherwise, your spoke nipples just become dozens of little teeny leaks, and you drain your sealant. Well, eventually my Gorilla tape gave up the ghost. After much looking, I resigned myself to the reality that you can't get Gorilla tape in Malaysia. Not even on Lazada, which is like Malaysian Amazon.
A week or so passed where I was in a real funk because I couldn't ride. Then a week passed with food poisoning. Then I had two breakthroughs.
One: the owner of a local bike shop recommended the brand they use. The best brand in Malaysia for duct tape: Apollo.
Two: I had a cool idea. Even with the Gorilla tape, the spoke nipples are a problem. They push the duct tape away and create a space where it doesn't seal to the rim properly. They're also sharp on the inside, and they cut the tape away after a while. Solution: use Tack-It. Tack-It is that blue stuff that you use to stick posters to the wall, usually in university dormitories.
I took one small square of Tack it, and mounted it around each spoke nipple on the inside of the rim. This softened the edges of the nut, and it also created extra stickiness for the tape, instead of a negative space.
Now they seem to have the best seal ever. SWEEET!!! So, back out on the trails.

Found an amazing temple on the side of the amazing ST. It's clinging to a hillside in the middle of the jungles and plantations that border this northern part of JB. It's being swallowed by development like something out of the cinematic low point of The Lorax, but for now this temple stands guard over some of the last remaining stashes of wild land in North JB, like a beacon of sanity above a world of madness. 

The views stretch all the way to Singapore, over the entire town of JB.

There are some cool unique features to Urban Mountain Biking. Scary. Fun. Scary Fun.

Favorite Fruit

I've changed my opinion on this subject several times, and reserve the right to do so again, but for three years now I've settled on a new favorite fruit.
Mangosteen.
For my American friends who haven't had the pleasure, imagine a texture like a lychee or a grape, but softer and less stringy. Imagine a taste somewhere between a berry and a pineapple. It has the sharp and vibrant notes of tropical fruit, and the herbal and green notes of berries and apples. It's like Rose: the best of both worlds.
And the season started today. First time I saw them this year at my local fruit guys. Stoked.

Peel away the royal velvet, burgundy colored rind by pressing into it like you're angry at it.
Even peeling this fruit is fun.
Just when you think you're doing something wrong, it gives way and reveals a treasure:
pearly white segments, laid out like a floral white orange.

Most have not pit, just pure goodness. About one or two per fruit does have a pit,
like a small, smooth nut. 

My Definition of Fun

Last time I lived in Malaysia my definition of fun was tons of Tiger beer.
This time it looks more like this:

Midnight ride though the scariest parts of JB. Alone. At night. From the northern suburbs to the skyscrapers downtown. From the quiet roads to battling with traffic.
What a ride!!!