I was just too tired last night to write an entry after helping Bro print his passport photos. So, here is my take of the happenings yesterday.
I jumped out of bed when my phone rang at 5.15am. After some breakfast, I met up with Alrasvee and his friend at Northpoint. Pan had overslept so he decided to meet us at Paya Lebar instead. Hence we set off for Hougang Mall to meet Daniel.
It was just around 7.10am when we arrived at Paya Lebar Air Base and shortly thereafter, they opened the gates and we proceeded through the security checks. Soon, Pan arrived with his road bike. Zi Kai and Jing Kai came and they proceeded to collect their new bikes.
I jumped out of bed when my phone rang at 5.15am. After some breakfast, I met up with Alrasvee and his friend at Northpoint. Pan had overslept so he decided to meet us at Paya Lebar instead. Hence we set off for Hougang Mall to meet Daniel.
It was just around 7.10am when we arrived at Paya Lebar Air Base and shortly thereafter, they opened the gates and we proceeded through the security checks. Soon, Pan arrived with his road bike. Zi Kai and Jing Kai came and they proceeded to collect their new bikes.
The sun was just rising and it looked like it was going to be another beautiful day. True enough, the weather was fine in the morning but became dreadfully hot towards noon and in the early afternoon. The morning view on the runway was actually quite scenic, surprisingly, as we were in an "urban" area.
Zi Kai was unlucky enough to collect a bike with a faulty gear shifter and he had to get it checked at the Shimano Service Booth before they "certified" it faulty and allowed him to get a new set. By then, we were just in time for the flag-off but were way at the back. Pan and co filtered their way to the front and I soon lost sight of them as Jing Kai and Zi Kai were still at the back. Halfway through the first lap, I decided to try and catch up but didn't spot them (I didn't know they had stopped out of boredom until I was on the final lap).
Zi Kai was unlucky enough to collect a bike with a faulty gear shifter and he had to get it checked at the Shimano Service Booth before they "certified" it faulty and allowed him to get a new set. By then, we were just in time for the flag-off but were way at the back. Pan and co filtered their way to the front and I soon lost sight of them as Jing Kai and Zi Kai were still at the back. Halfway through the first lap, I decided to try and catch up but didn't spot them (I didn't know they had stopped out of boredom until I was on the final lap).
I witnessed a couple of crashes and there were some unhappiness among those involved. Many a time, the faster and so-called more serious riders were blocked by slower cyclists and their bids to overtake the leisure riders resulted in crashes. Some of the "pro" riders yelled at the other parties in anger and some even shouted for people to get out of the way. I was quite disgusted at this.
Although I was going fast, there were times I had to slow down rapidly due to the vast numbers of cyclists around and in front of me. I overtook only when a clear opportunity presented itself. After all, it was just a leisure, non-competitive ride. No one will stop you if you choose to speed, but it is not right to blame "lousier" cyclists for causing your crash since you are the one speeding in a heavily congested area. I was one of them who went almost recklessly fast, but no, that is my choice, and I won't blame anyone for blocking me. Some jokers just have over-inflated egos. So what they own a $10k bike.
Some of the discounts offered at the booths of various retailers promoting their wares at the event were attractive. Zi Kai and Jing Kai bought front lights for $10 apiece, which was a good bargain. It was great to see familiar faces around too. I ran into Jasper, Jingjie and Xeno Cai.
Zi Kai, Jing Kai, Daniel and myself headed for Tampines after the event. We intended to have lunch at Hougang Street 21 initially but Daniel proposed a much faster route to Tampines and we had lunch at a coffeeshop close to the mountain biking trail. Then, it was one short round of Tampines MTB Park, just the outer perimeter and the jungle portion, for Daniel and myself. I went through the dirt jump park a couple of times then it was back to the hut to rest and watch Daniel pull off his amazing jumping skills.
Although I was going fast, there were times I had to slow down rapidly due to the vast numbers of cyclists around and in front of me. I overtook only when a clear opportunity presented itself. After all, it was just a leisure, non-competitive ride. No one will stop you if you choose to speed, but it is not right to blame "lousier" cyclists for causing your crash since you are the one speeding in a heavily congested area. I was one of them who went almost recklessly fast, but no, that is my choice, and I won't blame anyone for blocking me. Some jokers just have over-inflated egos. So what they own a $10k bike.
Some of the discounts offered at the booths of various retailers promoting their wares at the event were attractive. Zi Kai and Jing Kai bought front lights for $10 apiece, which was a good bargain. It was great to see familiar faces around too. I ran into Jasper, Jingjie and Xeno Cai.
Zi Kai, Jing Kai, Daniel and myself headed for Tampines after the event. We intended to have lunch at Hougang Street 21 initially but Daniel proposed a much faster route to Tampines and we had lunch at a coffeeshop close to the mountain biking trail. Then, it was one short round of Tampines MTB Park, just the outer perimeter and the jungle portion, for Daniel and myself. I went through the dirt jump park a couple of times then it was back to the hut to rest and watch Daniel pull off his amazing jumping skills.
We soon split ways with Daniel and the three of us headed to Changi to check out the bike shop there. As expected, the prices of stuff there were very reasonable but too bad the ATMs were not working! In the end, the two of them bought small stuff like bottle cages, rear lights and chain-stay protector. We had a drink before proceeding down the coastal road to East Coast Park and on to West Coast Park.
It was 7.30pm when we reached West Coast Park. I was just famished! A hamburger and milkshake was just enough to revive me for the return leg. The traffic lights were mostly in my favour and I took only about an hour and ten minutes to get home.
Total distance: 152km (including 45km Endurance Challenge)
Money spent: $10.25
Participants: LSH, Zi Kai, Jing Kai, Daniel, Alrasvee, Pan and co
It was 7.30pm when we reached West Coast Park. I was just famished! A hamburger and milkshake was just enough to revive me for the return leg. The traffic lights were mostly in my favour and I took only about an hour and ten minutes to get home.
Total distance: 152km (including 45km Endurance Challenge)
Money spent: $10.25
Participants: LSH, Zi Kai, Jing Kai, Daniel, Alrasvee, Pan and co
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