General Cycling Discussion - Vacation without the bike

Man, last three vacations- I have taken along my bike.. July 3 head to Singapore, Sulewesi, and Malyasia.. No bike. What is this..? Have about 4 days of diving on Sulewesi. My legs will atrophy. Wife says can only take one set of toys- dive gear this time..
We hear no decent rental bikes available in Singapore and anyway, I am a roadie...... Road bikes not practical in Singapore...? But maybe will try, mountain biking.... Asia biker, hope you can help me out with any ideas.. Any my Nevada tour is pending in six weeks...
Maybe intense swimming can keep me in shape. Be there two weeks...

Originally posted by cyclezealot

Wife says can only take one set of toys- dive gear this time..


Wife=Boss :D :cry:

Who planned this and where do you get off calling it a vacation? :confused:

cyclezealot,

Just think of all the leg work you're gonna get
fighting current, (yeah I know, what current)
Just revel in the fact that due to your riding your
air usage is gonna be way down (long bottom times!).
Where in Malaysia? I suggest Sipidan, Palau Sipidan
Resort, but stay at Kapali.

relax, take some pics and enjoy

Marty

Lotek.. Think our time in Malyasia, will mostly be driving up to Kuala Lampur to get to the airport for flight to Sulewesi... Think our nephew wants to show us some tropical garden in route..
I picked up a recent copy of Skin Diver- issue of 'years best 'amateur photography.. Noticed lots of shots were from Sulewesi.. Sulewesi is east of Borneo, lodged between that and New Guinea.. From my nephew' s bragging- we expect a lot of the waters of Sulewesi. Looks sort of trapped between adjacent islands. Not sure how that might effect currents..
Cars are impratical in Singapore. Our nephew has offered me the use of his mountain bike.. He left his car, back in Europe; before his move to Singapore.....Not sure where to ride it.. Singapore is urban and the city encompasses all of the island, so I understand... Hope to get in at least one day of biking..

well, not sure that i can offer much help, but i can relate... in Spring 2000 i spent 6 weeks in SE Asia and was really worried about getting out of shape. i was w/o my bike, backpacking mostly by train and the biggest problem i had was the humidity... despite being from Texas and even having lived in sticky Houston (although i hated it) i was still struck by how hot and humid it was.

in Georgetown Malaysia i rented the best bike i could find after walking around a while and it was junk and way too small - it was almost like riding a K-Mart kids bike... but i rode it a lot anyway

In Bali Indonesia because it's really touristy i was able to rent a mountain bike and it was even 'normal-sized' but still too small for me (i'm 6'1" and ride a 58cm or Large MTB).

i tried to run 3-4 times a week to maintain fitness and i would run right around sunrise but i still found it difficult to run for more than about 25 minutes b/c of the heat. swimming worked well until i put my hand into a jellyfish and got a nasty sting on my arm, shoulder and back. then i went back to running and one day a cool storm blew in and i was excited at the chance to run and then got bitten by a stray dog while running on the beach in Thailand - 2 dogs just decided to come along for the run and after a few minutes one just suddenly lunged and sunk his teeth into my leg.

i'm not a diver although i did some cool snorkeling.

in the end i wasn't as unfit as i had feared, and did a climb of Mt Hood the day i got back and then some MTB races starting 2 weeks later.

Our nephew did bring his bike with him, when he moved to Singapore from Spain. I do intend to use it, if I can stand the humidity...
About the jellyfish, not sure what will work. Kelvin says Lycra? Head to toe..? I do have a shortie. That will probably not work.. Diving great experience. Not sure it keeps you in shape.
Our nephew- 15 years in Europe. European food. Diving not helped him... Do hope Indonesia does not have the box jellyfish..
To get ready for my 2 weeks away from exercise, climbed Palomar Mountain today...

Moderation in everything, including moderation.....

What's the problem with taking your bike on a diving vaction? I do it all the time... (see photo below)

http://66.197.195.35/diver.jpg

have fun!
tt

Tom. That is so cool.. Bravo for your addictions.. You know that is the stuff they make post cards out of.. In fact some artsy T shirt maker advertised a long time ago in Skin Diver- a T shirt with cyclists on the bottom of ocean. All kinds of sharks were about..
Photo is really cool. I will email it to all my dive friends...
By way what kind of mileage did you get and what kind of lube would you use.??

Now I'm looking forward to my next dive/bike vacation.
Thanks for the picture!:roflmao:

Originally posted by cyclezealot
Man, last three vacations- I have taken along my bike.. July 3 head to Singapore, Sulewesi, and Malyasia.. No bike. What is this..? Have about 4 days of diving on Sulewesi. My legs will atrophy. Wife says can only take one set of toys- dive gear this time..
We hear no decent rental bikes available in Singapore and anyway, I am a roadie...... Road bikes not practical in Singapore...? But maybe will try, mountain biking.... Asia biker, hope you can help me out with any ideas.. Any my Nevada tour is pending in six weeks...
Maybe intense swimming can keep me in shape. Be there two weeks...

I was in Singapore about a month ago and bought some used bikes.

Ask for the outdoor flea market area. I bought three bikes there for about $17.00 each. My friends and I had a scream of a fun time bicycling around Singapore. You could take your bike from Singapore to Malaysia.