RIFLE RANGE BOY

Live to 100 (Secrets of the Blue Zones) Netflix, Docuseries   We always complain that life sucks and hope our next life will improve. If rebirth is not an option, then perhaps less time in purgatory or hell. For that, however, we have to leave our mortal bodies. That nobody wants. Instead, we cling to our dear lives as long as we can, 80, 90 or beyond a century. Society has always revered our senior citizens. We may be giving our salutations to the years of experiences they have learnt and life lessons they have acquired in their time on Earth. With increasing life expectancy worldwide, we noticed there are certain zones on the globe where people not only lead long lives beyond 100 but happy, independent ones. Endurance cyclist Dan Buettner, who has cycled the world many times over, has a keen interest in this subject. In this 4-episode documentary on Netflix, he identifies areas (Blue Zone) on the map with the most centurions, makes a trip there, interacts with its people and ex...

Powerman Malaysia 2022 SK does not know whether to laugh or cry. If he laughs, it hurts. It is painful when he moves, and he is even afraid to sneeze. Ever since he cracked up a rib in a freak accident, he senses that his naysayers, who have been telling him to slow down with all those extreme sports at this age, are having a field day. They are secretly happy that he is grounded. Short of saying, 'I told you so', he can see the sheer delight in their eyes. Some are even emblazoned to ask, " why this Kolaveri ?** " Yeah, sometimes SK too asks himself, "WHY?" In the same breath, he also replies to himself, "why not?" Homosapiens, by design, have been made to be agile and mobile. Through many prototypes which failed and multiple disastrous trials runs, Nature has remodelled and re-fashioned Man to be ambulant with such ingenuity. Only over the past 30 years, through the same thinking caps that make Man leap to greater heights, have we become couch po...

With the single click of the cleat, I knew we had taken our relationship to the next level. After a year of trying to tame the shrew, I had taken a plunge deep in the unknown, rightly or foolishly, smitten by the latest craze around town. Drawn into the quicksand of recreational road cycling by a group of mad friends, who, as if by fate, happened to live just a few doors from each other, it has been quite a journey thus far.  Getting up as early as 4.30am on almost every Sunday to cycle in the misty countryside of Hulu Langat and Genting Peras is not 'ride in the park'. It also took the group traversing the 633km track in the heart of the Korean peninsula. And not to forget the handful of cycling competitions in Penang, Cameron Highlands, Putrajaya and Lekas Highway. I guess I must have listened to my mother when she used to say, "Choose your friends wisely!" But then, she also said that not everyone who is clad in saree is a lady. I wonder what she really ...

S2B: Seoul to Busan It is not a race. Ep #1 Meet the P-stars. Ep #2 Fighting the demons! Ep #3 Episode 4: Bare necessities that we need! It has become a weekend routine to go grinding and spinning around the treacherous hills of Peres, off Hulu Langat, on our vehicles to build up stamina and to prepare ourselves to what may lay ahead in unexplored Land of the Kimchi. The sight of us, five or sometimes six, saddled with our panniers sticking out erect from our rears (of the bicycles) must have stirred the curiosities of many fellow cyclists.   During one of these outings, a few curious bicyclists inquired about our set-up, accessories and all.   When we told them of our intentions of touring South Korea on bikes and what they saw were what we were carrying all along our week-long trip, they were understandably astonished. With the usual travellers who try to bargain through the airline staff with their excess baggage, here we were squeezing one week’s require...

S2B: Seoul to Busan It is not a race. Ep #1 Meet the P-stars. Ep #2 Episode #3: Fighting the demons! It seems that humans start off life being fascinated with Nature - toddlers like to get their hands dirty with grime, dirt and soil, and as they grow older, they find union with Nature too. Is this a reminder that we are one with Nature or a hint of the adage 'ashes to ashes, dirt to dirt'! What started as a weekend outing to Penang to partake a cycling race evolved to something that brought out the memories of the bygone care-free days of our youth. And we were itching for more. The agony of the heat, the sweat, the discomfort, the aches of sore muscles, the tan and the potential fall of the perch were no match for the post-race euphoria of accomplishment and the immersion in the high of endorphins. Our resident techie, during one of his moment of bore, googled of a secluded highway in South Korea dedicated just for cyclists. It boasts of a 633 km picturesque tra...

S2B: Seoul to Busan It is not a race. Ep #1 Episode #2: Meet the P-stars. It is time to see our pedalling stars. Officially there will be seven cyclists. The seventh participant will be joining us from Australia. A young punk teeming with adrenaline and power, he is Coach's son and is doing his secret training to 'keep up' with the oldies. Coach @Coach Spending half of his adult life on the hockey fields, he continued to keep himself fit even after hanging his boots. After his retirement from work, rather than lazing around counting his end of days, he found pleasure in the outdoors. He remains the driving force in pushing us to explore our true grit. Like Jesus Christ, he goes around recruiting same-minded people who are willing to fight a good fight against surrendering to effects of ageing.  Wayang @Wayang He is the second most seasoned rider in the group. He is nicknamed 'Wayang' (Theatrics) not because he is showy but precisely the opposite r...

Uncle Hooi at his best © The Star I remember the barrages of concerned pep talks from my family members when they discovered that I, at the tender age of 43, slowly started indulging in competitive distance running. In not so many words, they were obviously trying to tell me that I would just drop dead by the roadside to be found by passersby as if I were just roadkill. Another old friend, obviously overweight and looking much like Peter Griffin of the 'Family Guy' fame was even generous enough to offer free anaesthetic services as and when I need a knee replacement.  As a last resort, my family went ahead and gave me a 'stress test - CT angio' combo as a birthday present on my 50th birthday. When the cardiologists gave a clean bill of health after silently cursing under his breath for wasting his precious time from his more deserving patients, they essentially gave up and let Nature take its course.  This must have been what Fauja Singh must hav...