High on meds

I've been very sick since the beginning of february. Was down with fever with only a couple of days but throat is sore until today and its like wat, 2 weeks already. the constant coughing, throat clearing, spitting, swearing, and mood swing this past 2 weeks was a major distraction. had to cut down on a lot of stuffs. and the meds.. ohhh.. i've downed a few paracetamol, a lot of cough syrup, one for the phlegm, no, on to my third bottle now, lots of antibiotics, ventolins, flu meds, and lozenges - lots of em. from strepsils, to fisherman's frens, to dequadin, and some other lozenges from clinics. yeah, clinics. went to 2 clinics - family doctor, and company panel doc. went to my family doc first but it got worst so i went to panel doc twice and he gave me lots of meds including 4 different types of antibiotics. 2 types each visit. but my condition doesnt improve so i went back to the family doc yesterday. asked me to stop the meds from the panel doc and he gave me a strong fluid syrup for the phlegm, a pack of ventolins, and prednisolone - some kind of steroid. this actually works and i have to strictly follow its daily prescription dose. i'm feelign much better today. gotta get back on singulair once i've completed this new course from the family doc. darn. thot i've overcome my sinus but it came back. singulairs are expensive. myr190 a box now.

february seems to be my sick month. was sick same time last year too. exactly the same time. my 2nd visit to the panel doc is the same date as last year's - 13feb. was given a jab on that same date last year before i was referred to a specialist. no jab this year so i guess i'm much stronger. ha ha. but looking at the amount of meds that i've taken these past two weeks, i feel like a junkie. there were times when i feel i was shaking as the meds were taking effect, as if i'm high. ha ha. i hate waking up in the morning with lots of phlegm stuck in my throat. clearing it up was hell. i had to cough up until i cry almost every morning.

amazing thing is my supposedly sore throat, felt okay when i went out cycling. each time. ha ha. but the moment i stopped, it'll come back like a shadow. darn. its only a couple of days thru the steroid course but i'm feeling some improvements.

monday's cardio day. will continue with my training regime today and i'm gonna start running again. jogged for a couple clicks a couple weeks back and the bad knee felt fine. will jog at a faster pace and slowly increase my distance. hope i cud sweat all the meds out. ha ha. i feel dem weak and heavy. my limbs are sore and i feel fat. or am i?

Pendas :: Conquered

ok so its not actually a big deal for some. but it is for me. it was my first distant ride after getting back on the bike. aint that far, really. route taken was from McD Sutera - TUTA - Lima Kedai - Gelang Patah - Pendas - Gelang Patah - Lima Kedai - Tmn Sutera - McD. Total distance : 70++km.
had only just return to cycling for 2 weeks and there's still a little tingling feel of discomfort in the knee. in these 2 weeks, had only cycled lightly around my area and of course at the Impian Emas circuit prior to this Pendas ride. got my bike ready the night before. rode the CVS to pendas. had to replace front tube as it's busted. luckily its still early and i got time to get the tube replaced as i sent my other bike for service. went for dinner with my darling and loaded up on meat and noodles.
prepared my powerdrink aka ribena and get my riding attire all ready for the next day before i went to bed but not before i set my alarm for 6.30am. also told my mom and my darling to wake me up at 6.30 am just in case. he he. nyawa pn dh standby dua tiga life pack. ha ha. woke up just before the alarm rang. its funny that i can wake up easily for ride or for trips or watever planned events on weekends but i'd always had difficulty waking up on weekdays. ha ha. showered, subuh jap, suit up, load my stuffs into the car and headed off to the RV point - Petronas Tmn Sutera.

reached there on time, ate a twiggie bun, stretched a bit, unload the bike, and rode a few laps around the area there to warm up while waiting for the others to arrive. there were 10 of us - one went ahead first. the most so far in the sunday rides i've joined. was a lil bit sceptical at first with the knee injury and all tapi kalao dh degil tu, pegi jugak la. just want to see if the knee cud take it - which it did, and i survived this ride after a long break.

departed from petronas at about 7.30 am and rode at a steady pace maintaining between 25-30 km/h. saturday morning traffic aint that bad and the weather was gud. hilly areas were only at lima kedai and leisure farm, which is most part of the route. haha. aint that bad considering the elevation wasn't steep and there's only a couple of really steep hills. the last few kms to pendas was the only really straight roads. really like how the bike handles on the hills. its light -carbon, mesti la light, and it aint that punishign to the knee. one rider suffered a puncture duirng the ride up which was replaced there and then before continuing with our ride.

stopped at the end of the jetty to take photos and for breakfast. this time round, i had roti kosong and roti telor. owh, and a twiggie bun. not gonna make the same mistake again of eating just paper thosai like i did during the ride to pontian last time. ha ha. this time, the breakfast lasted the whole journey back to RV point. he he. ribena proving its worth here too. CVS = superb. feels so gud on hills and elevations. but still, am a beginner on a pro's bike. much to learn. tried new stuffs and technique each time. still got a lot to learn. straight road no problem. on hills, still with the bad knee, i can go faster.

cadence - tried to maintain 90-100 rpm. works well. i can last the whole distant without feeling half dead. am more aware of my pedalling speed now and i can learn to save energy.

took a short cut thru to CIQ on the way back to gelang patah. the weather was beginning to get hot and i did not wear my sleeve or apply any sunblock. huhu. was much slower in the ride back coz of the strong headwind and fatigue setting in. stopped for a short break and to regroup at the Lima Kedai bus stop just after the long hill climb before continuing our ride. split up with some of the guys at nusa bestari-bukit indah junction and continued the ride back to the RV point. reached the petronas at around 12.30pm and was back home before 1pm. enjoyed this ride and would definitely ride again to pendas. the knee felt just fine but i'll still be using the knee support in future rides until it's strong again and properly healed. showered, zohor jap, was then out again until late at night. it wasnt until the next day that i get to get a proper rest. i know i'm eating right so far, so i'm not worried here. am slowly building my fitness and pushing my limits further up. still a long way to catch up with the big boys but i'm working on it. still 5kgs over my target weight and i got another 3 months to shed it. ha ha.

am selling my giant ocr 3. lemme know if you're interested. would probably get a tsprint cvs or a colnago primavera. carbon vs alloy. hmmm..

these are some pics courtesy of Nik.

Weapon of choice

Back on the bike

hoohaaaa!! am back on the bike. 6 weeks of rest which i think is sufficient enuff, and also coz i cant hold in that urge any longer. was scared at first but i rode anyway. knee hurts a little bit the first few kms which i eventually stopped after less than 5kms. tried again the next day and rode a little further. fitness level dropped quite significantly, legs felt heavy, and deep down felt a little bit disappointed. after a couple of weeks now, i'm almost back to my best. but of course, my best so far is still far off from seasoned riders at Impian Emas. i'm just happy to be back on the bike. will wait another couple of weeks until i would start running. i have a tsprint as a loaner which i'm very happy with. feel and ride is much better than my bike. felt it's faster, of course, since its lighter and i cud go on elevations or hills much faster. i cud also maintain a higher speed on flat roads. i might go on a long distance ride this weekend. the boys are going to pendas. not that far, and they'll start riding much earlier than usual. its mostly flat roads and i guess its not too punishing. distance is only about 70km.

now that i have a loaner bike, i'll be sending my white bike for service and tuning. it wont match the tsprint but hope it'll be just as smooth once tuned. 2 days of rest and hopefully i cud make it for the ride. i'm still having cramps for last sunday's ride.