His
nickname is Holyman. It use to be Nutz but we changed out when we
discovered his true calling. He is not called Holyman because he
"rests on the Sabbath", meaning there's no training or racing on
Sundays for this guy. That's why he can't call himself a 'roadie' yet, but
he figures that if he prays hard enough, and goes to church long enough,
SACA will change the race days to Saturdays. Hey, if the Triathlon
Association of Singapore (TAS) can do it, why can't SACA do it too? He
is currently unemployed, and living on his parent's payroll (and
goodwill). He is waiting to go on a full-time mission for his Church. So
that'll take him away from riding for 2 years, since they don't allow
missionaries to ride their own bikes.
He
met Sandman while window shopping at Treknology Bikes 3. Sandman then
convinced him to come down for TTT and the rest is history. He’s been
riding since he got his current ride which was on Christmas Eve 2001, so
that would put it at about one and a half years. Made for a very nice
Christmas present for himself. His current bike is a Giant TCR 1, 2002
which is also his only one.
Even
though he’s only been riding a couple of years, he has a pretty good
idea of his dream bikes. His dream road bike is a Litespeed Vortex with
Deda's carbon integrated handlebar Synapsi, with full Dura-Ace components.
To round it all up, Fi'zik Alliante saddle, and Spinergy Tilium Carbon
wheels. His dream Time Trial Bike is a Cervelo P3 with Deda's Clip Black
carbon aerobar and Aero black carbon basebar with Dura-Ace
components OR a Lotus Time Trial bike, with the same components as the
above. (this
sounds like a quite detailed shopping list so if there is anyone out there
with deep pockets, you know what to do – webmaster)
And
since he doesn’t mountain bike anymore, he doesn’t have any dream
mountain bike… yet.
Holyman
reasons that it was not a "who" that inspired him to ride, but a
"what". The Trek 2000 catalogue was lying around at home for
over a year after getting it from Treknology. He took it even though he
thought he would never be able to afford any of the stuff inside.
He
finally drummed up enough motivation (and cash) to get a bike, and spent 6
months dreaming AND researching the bike market before settling on his
Giant. Got it because it gave the biggest bang for the buck. (but
he knows better now, don’t you Holyman – webmaster) And
he did all of this while he was still serving his nation. Then, he trained
as a triathlete, and only raced as a triathlete. That all changed in July
2003 when he took part in the SACA Team Time Trial where along with Lippy,
Sting and Porky, he came in 2nd on the Open Division.
His
best bike related purchases are Oakley Pro-M frames and Polar HRM, because
he can take it anywhere with him, even when he's not riding.
His worst bike-related purchase are his X-lab Saddle Wing with Elite
bottles/cage (Rear-mounted bottle cage system). He bought it because he
thought it would make him more aerodynamic, but after reading an article
in Triathlete magazine regarding different bottle cage positions, he found
that mounting your bottles onto your saddle actually INCREASED drag.
Besides that, he also found out that the water bottles they gave out at
aid stations during triathlons were your standard water bottles, which
couldn't fit onto his 'cool' Elite bottle cage, which would mean that he
would have to go without water for 5-6 over hours during the bike leg of
the Ironman. It is definitely not the way to go if you want to complete
the race.
His best non-bike related purchase is a JVC Digital Video Camera. Actually
it was a gift for his birthday. Can't say he bought anything non-bike
related from the time he bought his bike. He'd been blowing his monthly
allowance from the SAF on bike-related products every month. As with most
t@ members, he suffers from bike-lust as well.
His worst non-bike related purchase is his Polaroid camera, which he's
used only once. Willing to let it go for almost half the price. (shameless
sales pitch)
His best cycling moments came when winning a mountain bike competition
held in Pulau Tekong, which is basically a military training facility. He
won the race despite having zero experience with trail riding and despite
crashing twice. And for winning the Tekong Challenge (which is the title
of the event), the organisers gave him a bicycle, which he promptly sold
so he could get better bike upgrades for himself.
His worst cycling moment came in that same race when he crashed twice, as
a result of which he had to put up with the agony of bloodied palms,
bloodied elbows, lacerated knees, and bruised hips; all of this while
riding. Which explains why he's sworn off mountain biking. But he would
have to say, that he’s glad
he has the scars cos as the saying goes ‘ No Scars No Proof!”
For
some reason he has not received any good advice (that
he can remember - webmaster)
from the rest of the T@ guys but he has some advice to give which is to
wear gloves whenever you ride, because bloody palms make mountain biking
(and most other activities) extremely difficult. But if you only ride on
the roads, like him, then maybe it's okay.
