Today, 26th July 2013, is memorable day as I received some replacement parts for my Mark II.
As you all know, I've been using my leg for almost two years now (You can read more about my leg HERE) and considering the duration and active lifestyle that I lead, two years is quite impressive.
I received a call from my trusted prosthetic shop "WARISAN JASAMEDIK" in Pandan Indah letting me know everything was ready and I went straight there
The major items that needed replacement were the stump socks and rubber foot. Both were already damaged due to wear and tear. Below are the comparison between the NEW and OLD :)
After fitting the rubber foot on the leg, it looked brand-spanking-new just like when I first got it in 2011 :)
Here's a closer look at my Mark II from the inside. Carbon fiber y'all!!!! :D
So the replacement parts couldn't come at a better time since Eidulfitri or Hari Raya is just around the corner. Yaaaayyyy!!!!
I guessed I've posted a lot of 'Epic Road Trip' Episodes these past few weeks, so now let me write about something else.
After I got comfortable with my Mark II (my post about my leg is HERE), I feel that I wanted to try new things. Things that I thought I was unable to do after my leg was gone.
One particular thing was running. Initially with the Mark I, I had tried to run but it was too difficult for a few reasons:
The leg is kinda heavy
My stump wasn't as developed
It will be very painful due to the impact
My leg gets undone easily
With my new leg, I feel that I can run because it is significantly lighter and it is more secure. So, I had a few practice around my housing area and felt it was OK. Mind you I still cannot run for long because it will still be very painful. However, it was waaayyy better than before.
To take it up a notch, me, my back-then-wife-to-be and a good friend of mine, Elin, decided that we should try to run in a proper marathon. So, we registered ourselves for the Brooks Marathon and I bravely signed up for the 10km run!
The day came, 11th March 2012, time to run........and I ran!
The marathon started in Bukit Jalil at 6:00am and finished in Bukit Jalil. I was very nervous but what the heck. I was already there.
Elin ran ahead of us and my back-then-wife-to-be accompanied me all the way. I had to run slow because it was still painful and from time to time, stop at the side of the road, take off my leg and stump socks and put em back on again. I was feeling rather down but because she was there to support me, I never gave up.
When we arrived at the Bukit Jalil stadium, there was a junction where the 5km runner will proceed to the stadium to finish the marathon and the 10km will have to do another route to complete the distance. I was contemplating whether or not to continue because I knew I was behind due to the stoppages.
Then I saw a couple of people wearing the 10km tag in front of me and thought "wait a minute.... I'm not the last, there is still hope!!!". So I told my back-then-wife-to-be to continue running.
Along the way there was a feeling of regret in me saying "why didn't I took the left turn together with the 5km people"... but when we were joined by the 21km runner and some of them pat me at the back saying stuff like "way to go bro!" and "good job man" and "salute laaaa"....it fueled me to continue running.
About 1km from the Stadium, I saw a group of 10km runner walking (due to exhaustion) and I overtook them. There was a feeling of achievement in me and then I saw a few other 10km runner so I tried to catch them.....and I did! Long before I knew it, we were at the stadium finishing our final mile.
As I was running towards the finish line, I heard cheers from the runner who had finished but saw me earlier. I felt like Usain Bolt running towards the line! It felt good. I did it! I FINISHED A 10KM RUN, FIRST TIME, WITH NORMAL LEG INSTEAD OF A PROPER RUNNING LEG!
Officially a 10km finisher!
My mom came to give her support
The three of us
Guess what? Eventhough I passed a couple of people, a week after that when the official results came out, I found out that there were 21 more runners behind me. TWENTY ONE!!!! I wasn't the last eventhough I had never run for the past seven years as an amputee and I didn't have running leg like Oscar Pistorius!
I am king!
and now I know exactly how Forrest Gump felt when he ran for the first time! Run Forrest Run!
Over 2 years and close to 30,000km of riding which includes a few long distance trips and frequent Awana/Genting trip as per vid below (mind you each trip to genting is about 200km for me) I finally decided to let go of my DINOSAUR
One of the ride going down Genting
It was a hard decision but I had to do it because I needed a more comfortable bike for long distance riding. Something that was more upright and can take a lot of luggage.
I looked through a couple of options. Something that suited my need, wasn't too heavy and most of all was according to my budget at that time. Finally, I found 'her'. A Ducati Multistrada 1000DS.
I have never owned a Ducati before and didn't know what to expect. However, at that time, the bike suited my budget and I can handle it because it was the lightest as compared to others in its category.
These are some photos during the early stage of ownership. I didn't do much modification except installing a pair of SW-Motech panniers. Notice the stock windscreen
The next modification I did was installing handguards. For this, I bought a used KTM handguards and it looked right on the bike
I found out that the stock windscreen was not sufficient for highway travelling as I feel and hear a lot of wind noise through my helmet. So, out with the old and in with the new.... Oh wait! Where to find a windscreen? No problem. I still have my old touring windscreen from my DINOSAUR...so I modified it to suit the Multistrada and it looks great!
Now that I am all set for touring, I need a name for the new bike. It needed to be bad-ass because my previous bike was a dinosaur. It need to have a connection with Ducati Multistrada and MOST IMPORTANTLY, it had to be a girl/female name. After long and hard thought, I figured nothing is more bad-ass than..... MEDUSA! Yeap, the Titan that changed men to stone herself. Its a Female name, Its bad-ass and it starts with 'M' which is the same as Multistrada.
Here's a video I made for this bike. Check it out!
Tick tock tick tock....how time flies. Before you know it, it has been a little over a year since I owned Medusa. During that time, I covered over 20,000 km of which 95% are cross-border mileage. I will tell you some of the Epic Road Trip I did with Medusa so stay tune.
In the meantime, I added a few more things to the bike such as CRASH PROTECTORS, FOG LIGHTS, TOP BOX AND BRACKET, GEL SEAT, A CUSTOM MADE BASH PLATE and CENTER STAND. I also slapped on a pair of Michelin Pilot Road 3 which are brilliant in the rain!
Time for another FLASHBACK, but this time it's a bit special.
This episode of my Epic Road Trip is special because I get to be part of an AMAZING JOURNEY. My friend, Nic Cuthbert embarked on an epic SOLO RIDE FROM SINGAPORE TO LONDON.
It all started when I got to know Nic while servicing my bike at the The Big Bike Shop (http://www.bigbike.my/ ). I later invited him to join one of our weekend breakfast ride when he showed me what he had planned. I was so amazed and it was from this point I started to take interest in cross-border-riding.
A trip of this magnitude requires extensive preparation
Nic started his journey on the 24th March 2012 from Singapore. My Epic Road Trip started the day after, 25th March 2012. We gathered at The Big Bike Shop early in the morning. I packed some clothes and stuff em inside my Dinosaur. I am all set! :)
Nic with 'Snow' and Donna
Mom, Dad and (back then wife-to-be) came to show their support
Group photo before we set off
* some of the nice photos you see here are courtesy of Ramon Fadli. Thank you man! *
After the flag-off, we proceed to make our way to the North-South Highway heading north to Thailand
Our first stop was the Tanjung Malim exit because we wanted to take the trunk road to Ipoh.
We regrouped somewhere at a petrol station in Tanjung Malim and then Donna continue to drive to Ipoh and all the bikes took a more 'scenic' route
Donna drove this car
Here are some Go Pro shots along the way
We arrived in Ipoh around 3pm, had our lunch at the "Nasi Kandar yang terkenal di Ipoh" which literally translates to "The famous Nasi Kandar in Ipoh"
After that, we split into two groups where me and a buddy of mine rode first to Thailand as there was another guy waiting to arrange the accommodation. Nic's convoy continued shortly after and was escorted by my friend, Syed Hassen from Penang. Nic's convoy arrived in Dannok, Thailand around 11++pm at night and we checked them in to the hotel which was about 200 meters away from the border.
The next morning, we all had breakfast together before saying goodbye. We headed home whereas Nic went further up north to continue his journey
Having some nice 'roti canai' in Dannok, Thailand
Nowhere to go but up! :)
Nic went all the way and completed his AMAZING JOURNEY. I am so proud to be at least a little part of this. I quote Nic's statement from his Facebook on 31st July 2012:
" To all my friends, family, sponsors and
supporters as well as the people I have met riding my motorbike from
Singapore to London. Donna Adair and I have arrived home in London after spending the last week driving through Scotland to finish my
trip, 4 months and 28,200km by land from Singapore at a wet and wind
swept John O Groats. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone
that has been involved in either making it happen, making it the epic
adventure that is has been or donating to ActionAid via www.froma2b.com.au.
I hope to get a wrap up done shortly but in the meantime I would really
love it if you were able to help me hit the $1,000 mark (or more) in my
fundraising effort. If there have been two constants for me in this
trip it has been the jaw dropping and confronting poverty of many of the
places I have been to but also the heart-warming care and selflessness
of an even wider population. If there is anything I could wish for it
would be to help bridge that gap and make a difference. You can do this
by donating to ActionAid who work to alleviate poverty in many of the
areas that I have visited. "
Here are some more photographs during his AMAZING JOURNEY:
