End of the Road

To part or not to part?

I brought my trusty "iron horse" to have its wheels checked by my favourite bicycle shop guy because it seemed to wobble at high speeds ( I am sure it is not because of my weight :p). After aligning the tyres, he looked me in the eye and said, "Your wheel bearings are going……you have probably about 6 months."
Those words seemed surreal. I looked at him in disbelief and said, "How can that be? She still rides well……still rolls very fast and smooth." He told me the parts could not be changed as the wheel hub was already out of production. I would need to change the whole wheel set. That day, I left a bicycle shop a sad person. This is unusual as I usually leave happy, mostly because I usually buy something new from the shop each time I am there. Yes, I think my friendly bicycle shop guy likes me that way too. Hahaha.
This encounter was about 3 months ago. I have not been back to the shop since but have been giving a lot of thought to whether I should just change the wheel set or change the whole bike.
This bicycle holds wonderful memories. It started out as my son's bicycle when he was a teenager back in 2004 and over the years, as my son moved on to a road bike, this bicycle was abandoned and left to rust. About 5 years ago, I decided to do some off road riding and sent this bicycle for a complete overhaul. It cost a tidy sum but the bike was given a new lease of life. It has seen its fair share of off-road tracks over the years - Bukit Timah, Pulau Ubin and Tampines. Then the inevitable happened. I became too old for off road biking and decided to take to the urban jungle. This time, it was I who abandoned "iron horse" for a carbon fibre road bike. She was sleek, fast and responsive. After several close shaves on the road, I decided to give up my road bike and I once again looked to "iron horse". After changing the tyres from the knobbly off road type to slicks, she was good to go. I took her out to torment the park connectors of Singapore. She still rides like a charm.
She has her quirks. For example, when I need to change my  gear up, I need to flick the gear lever twice. I do not have this problem when I change down. She has her geriatric quirks but that's character :)
I must admit that one of the factors which contributed to my mixed feelings about this bike is the anticipation that I could get a full carbon fibre replacement. Maybe she will go faster and will definitely be lighter. There are many choices out there. Admittedly, I have been looking around abit but have not found the right one. It looks like "iron horse" has left very big shoes for my next bike to fill.
To part or not to part…..that is the question :)

A Special Watch

I have a modest collection of watches which were acquired since the 1980s. Some watches were bought while others were presents. I wished I had watches from earlier on. However, being an "engineer" at heart, I developed a curious knack for dismantling anything mechanical just so that I could see the inner workings. Some of the time, I ended up with some spare parts after I try to put it back together :p I have always been fascinated with the intricate inner workings of mechanical watches.
I would like to dedicate this blog to my trusty Casio watch. As it states on the face, it is a Casio Digi Graph 100m. This watch was a present from my wife in the late 1980's. I loved the unusual graphical display. I wore this watch on weekends and during my National Service stints (it was known as reservist during my time). Oh yes, this was the watch I used to time all my 2.4 km run during my IPPT (Individual Physical Proficiency Test). I must have taken at least 15 IPPTs during my reservist stint.
As you can see, it has taken its fair share of wear and tear. However it still works like a charm. All it needs is a battery every 3 to 4 years -  yes, the battery lasts that long. It has never broken down in the last 25 years. The interesting thing is it is a perpetual calendar. This watch knows which are the leap years and that there will be 29 days in February during the leap year.
This watch has a special place in my heart because my son loved to put it on when he went swimming as a young child. He must have been around 5 years old then. He was amazed that this watch could stay submerged without sustaining any damage while is Mickey Mouse watch stops working whenever he accidentally (so he says) plunges it under a running tap while washing his hands.
I started to collect watches formally in the late 1990's. I am not one of those with hundreds of watches. I collect reasonably priced signature pieces from major watch brands. These are some of my personal rules for collecting watches:
1/ They must be mechanical (I do not buy quartz watches)
2/ They must be made by true-blue watch companies and not fashion houses
3/ They should be signature pieces (i.e. the model should pop into you mind when the watch brand is named. This makes it easier to resell the watch.)
4/ I must like the face and feel of the watch
If I were to run my Casio watch through this checklist, it only qualifies under item (4) mentioned above. Technically, it does not make the cut as a collectible watch in my books, yet it I have grown a strong sentimental attachment to the watch.
I realise that the things we truly treasure are not the expensive things we own, but the simple items that have seen us through our journey in life. It is the same with friends - those we value are the ones who gave us a helping hand or a leg up when it was needed.
Life is not about seeking perfection but about experiencing and appreciating the journey, no matter how pleasant or difficult. If we get too caught up with our personal setbacks, we will miss the forest for the trees. (...or as one of my former bosses would say, miss the trees for the forest :p .... that's a story for another day :)