1196 The Wigo

I'm really thankful we got a Toyota Wigo. With the recent non-stop rising price of fuel per liter, the fuel-efficient Wigo is helping a lot.

At best we've been getting over 10km/L but the caveat there is that my daughter spent the past three or so weeks either online schooling or on a week long break. It's still a big help to spend a relatively smaller amount to fill up the Wigo.

At worst with all the traffic bring and fetching my family to and from their respective schools the Wigo can still give me around 8km/L. Bad yes, but still way more efficient than the Rav4. Don't go thinking driving style affects consumption, because I'm not the one driving most of the time.

So yeah, I've grown to like the Wigo even more than when we first got it. I set a budget, researched what cars fit that budget, and chose the Wigo. I do have some minor regrets but they're more nitpicks than anything. I would still pick the Wigo over the other options, which were basically the Suzuki S-Presso and the Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback.

Out.

1195 Thoughts

The year is almost over. Depending on the situation time seems to either move oh so fast, or oh so slow. A lot has changed this year for me, personally.

I've come to change my perspective, and I've been constantly mindful of how I think and react in the hope that my consistency will help me become a better person overall.

A lot of things have happened as well this year. Some good, some bad, everything a learning experience. I can only hope I can continue with my newfound perspective in life so that I don't go back to my old self. I guess I can allow myself some moments to fall back to my comfort zone, but only to release the negativity. Everything else must be done moving forward.

Out.

1194 2x Dream Groupset

I keep jumping back and forth between 1x and 2x for my "dream groupset." While I like the simplicity of a 1x groupset, I do sometimes think about the smoothness of shifting using a cassette that doesn't have relatively extreme jumps in the number of teeth between gears.

This I think is the biggest advantage of a 2x system over a 1x. So if you go for, lets say, a 46/29T chainring with an 11-34T cassette, you'd get a 1:4.18 ratio for speed and 1:0.85 ratio for climbs. Now imagine trying to achieve this with a 1x, you'd need a 46T chainring and 11-54T cassette. If you had a 10-speed bike then the jumps in number of teeth to get from 11 to 54 would be a lot more jarring than going from 11 to 34.

Anyway I'm just theorycrafting here. Considering groupsets for a bike I'll probably never own. Hell, I don't even ride a bike anymore. But if I were to find a huge sum of money I'd probably get the Microshift Sword groupset. Sure, I like Sensah's groupset but then again I think Microshift is an upgrade over Sensah and other components I could buy from Shopee.

So without further ado these are the Microshift sword parts I'd get.

• Sword 2x Rear Derailleur 9/10 speed. I was originally thinking of getting the 1x RD so I could have even bigger gears for the cassette, but then knowing it's a 2x I already have a ratio of 1:0.85 and I think that's more than enough.
• Sword Front Derailleur 2x10. Probably a band clamp, but depends on what frame I'll be mounting it on.
• Sword Left Drop Bar Shifter 2x10 and Sword Right Drop Bar Shifter 2x10. I have no idea if the other Microshift drop bar shifters are compatible with the Sword Derailleurs so stick to Sword it is.
• H-Series 10-Speed Cassette 11-34. The cassette featured on the Sword page is an 11-38T cassette, and with a 29T smaller chainring that would be a ratio of 1:0.75, maybe something I won't need.
• Sword 2x 46/29 Crankset. Then I'd try the 165mm crank arms. Right now I believe the crank arms on my bike are 170mm.

So you may be wondering why I didn't consider Shimano, SRAM, or Campagnolo. Well, they're expensive is the plain and simple reason. Sensah or L-TWOO groupsets don't feel like upgrades, more like lateral movement. So Microshift Sword it is.

Out.

1193 My Adjusted Exercise Plan

My back is feeling a lot better, however there are still moments when I plant either of my feet in a certain way that I will feel some tweaks on my back.

This means that I guess this coming week instead of going on my usual interval jogs, I will be walking instead. And I have no issue with this. While I do believe I should rest my back, I also feel like I'll be wasting whatever progress I had with all my jogging activities so the next best thing to do is just walk to get my heart rate up.

I'll be doing this for this week unless my back starts feeling even better. If it does then I shall be trying to do my interval jogs again, with a twist. I increased the jog duration from 3 minutes to 4 minutes.

Out.

1192 My Back

I hurt my lower back last Wednesday morning. I was loading my wife's stuff in the van and since there were dog droppings on the ground I maneuvered my right leg and planted it I guess in an awkward angle to avoid the poo. The pain was instantaneous, and stabbing.

I could walk, but at a limp. Planting my right leg sent pain through my lower back. Fortunately it wasn't so bad that I needed to go to the hospital. I took pain meds and added a hot plaster strip on my lower back. I was in pain the whole day.

Thursday morning I was feeling better, but my lower back felt tight. I still got sudden surges of stabbing back pain depending on how I moved my body. I still took pain meds. By the afternoon I was feeling good enough to go out for a nearly 3 km walk. I know I won't be jogging any time soon in case I accidentally re-aggravate my injury. Plus I need to bring my daughter to an important event on Saturday so I need to be physically ready.

Today is Friday morning. My back is still tight, not as bad as yesterday. I'll be resting until maybe Monday and if I feel good enough, I may just go jogging. Or doing kettlebell core / lower back exercises.

I have no idea if it's a flexibility thing or a weak lower back thing, but I want to avoid experiencing this kind of pain again if possible.

Out.