The Sembawang Circuit

I did three laps of the "circuit" this evening with Dad. Short and sweet, it is perfect for leisure rides, high intensity laps or even a test ride.

Wellington Circle - Montreal Gardens: 1.4km (Flat section)
Montreal Gardens - Simpang Kiri (Canberra Link): 0.9km (Fast section with a slight down-slope)
Simpang Kiri: 2.8km (Flat, susceptible to land and sea breeze)
Simpang Kiri (Jalan Mempurong) - Montreal Gardens: 2.6km (Rolling section with a couple of climbs and down-slopes)

Total distance: 22km
Money spent: $0
Participants: LSH, Dad

CF Group Outing to East Coast Park (25 April 2009)

I left around 8am for East Coast Park Area C4 to meet up with my colleagues for a ride to Changi Village. When I arrived at the PCN bicycle rental kiosk slightly after 9am, they had rented their bikes and we set off soon after.

We covered the 16km PCN to Changi Village where they returned their rented bikes at the kiosk there. They were looking forward to a next trip and I raised the possibility of Pengerang and seafood. Hence, it was suggested that we cycle Pengerang on 23 May. Further plans are to be made.

While they had a meal at the Changi Village hawker centre, I grabbed a sugarcane drink (thanks to Justin who helped me buy) and checked out Changi Cycling Services before heading for home.

Route taken: Plotted on Google Maps
Total distance: 80km
Money spent: $1
Participants: CF colleagues, LSH

Climb! Climb! Climb!

With a couple of weeks more before our Genting attempt and just slightly over a week since our last long ride to Malaysia, it was great to have Dad out hitting the hills and acclimatising to longer and steeper climbs.

We had breakfast at Tiong Bahru (the hawker centre below the block where granduncle used to live) before taking on our first challenge of the day: Mount Faber. Although slow, Dad managed to ride up without stopping and at a consistent pace. That was a good start. We went on the Mount Faber Loop once and Dad decided to take a rest while I went on a second round. It was a fast flowing loop without the steepness of the Mount Faber Road.

A buzz of activity on Mount Faber (left); Dad helping soldiers of the Malay Regiment (right)

As expected on a Sunday, the peak was packed with people, mostly China tourists. After a rest, we continued to Labrador Park where we hit another upslope, to the vantage points where the gun emplacements were built during WWII. It was a good place to explore what's left of the historical fort, take a few photographs and chill out.

I am a gunner!

We then headed for Kent Ridge Park and of course, tackled the infamous Vigilante Drive. That short stretch was by far the steepest climb of the three places. Dad started to wobble a little and drifted out towards the middle of the lane. Most cyclists who are not acclimatised to long climbs tend to exhibit these "symptoms". It will be a worry as I believe we will see such gradient on the way up Genting Highlands.

By the time we reached Buona Vista MRT, it was slightly pass 11am, hence we stopped to have lunch at the Holland Drive hawker centre, after which, we took Woodlands Road home.

Route taken: Plotted on Google Maps
Total distance: 69km
Money spent: $12.60
Participants: LSH, Dad

Off-roading at Bukit Timah

Personally, I felt that my performance today was nothing short of dismal. The scorching sun only made matters worse. After a one month break from the trails, I seemed to have lost some motivation, skill and guts. Perhaps, I pushed a little too hard and fast on several sections, exposing the limitations of my rig and causing a loss of control on at least two occasions.

I was lucky that I didn't crash but I did hit a branch on one occasion, resulting in a solid thud on my helmet. On the first lap, I took a bend too fast and my worn out tires lost traction, sending me off the trail and I teetered on the edge, desperately trying to regain control and slow the bike down. I managed to stop but slipped on my footing.

Today's ride exposed several key weaknesses in my bike when traversing difficult terrain at high speeds. It is akin to using the analogy of a Toyota Corolla AE86 racing against a far more modern Subaru Impreza WRX. While the Corolla can be modified to boost its race performance, there is a limit to this. Once its potential has been fully tapped, there is no way to make it better. Likewise, there are limits I can push my ride.

Compared to XC rigs featuring high-end air suspension systems and groupsets, my Raleigh is a far cry in terms of speed, control and traction. Sometimes, I wish my bike is equipped with a Fox fork or Rockshox SID. Then, at the end of day, I realise I have to be contented with what I have. At slower speeds, my bike is not that bad and in fact, performs reliably. It is not as if I am racing to win every time I take my bike out for a spin. It is time to enjoy the ride.

Total distance: 14km (off-road), 40km (on-road)
Money spent: $0
Participants: LSH

Recovery ride

Sembawang Park - Simpang Kiri

Total Distance: 14.5km
Money spent: $0
Participants: LSH

Saturday Night BBQ

We were going to have a BBQ on Saturday night as Bro will be enlisting on Monday. Someone had to get 50 sticks of satay, the gravy, the ketupat and 60 sticks of otah from BBQ House at Ubi Ave 2. Of course, the task was assigned to me and in order to meet the "target" time, I selected the NRWC Polygon hybrid.

It took me an hour to get down to Ubi, another hour to get all the stuff and slightly more than an hour to get home. I was almost dehydrated by the time I got home as forgetful me did not bring a bottle of water along. I was already slightly dehydrated from Friday's ride and the scotching heat of the mid-day sun made matters worse. At around 23 cents per stick of fish otah / chicken satay, it wasn't too bad a deal but the weight nearly killed me. I couldn't help but recall the experience of cycling uphill with two haversacks during the December expedition to KL.

After a cup of grass jelly (I had no choice but to grab a drink else I wouldn't have made it home), I set off and arrived back home at 1pm.

The rest of the day was spent in preparation of the BBQ (at Montreal Green). The weather refused to cooperate until around 6.30pm, hence we started late and ended around 11pm. I had a great time.

Total Distance: 49.6km
Money spent: $1

Participants: LSH

Kukup and the Perfect Storm

I must admit, it was tough getting out of bed and somehow, we only set off close to 5am. Nonetheless, the jam at the checkpoint did not affect motorbikes (and bicycles =P) so we were soon in Johor (around 5.30am).

It rained when we crossed the causeway but it stopped soon after we reached Pusat Bandaraya. Taking the "usual" Jalan Skudai route, we headed in the direction of Senai before taking the trunk road to Pontian. I suddenly felt my rear oscillating (just like on a full suspension bike) and I initially thought my seat post was about to give way! We stopped and I realized it was a flat on the rear.

It took us a good thirty minutes to change the flat, no thanks to my Kenda knobblies which were impossible to remove without tire levers and an incredible amount of strength. It was another daunting task to fit the tire back on but at last, we were on our way.

Good Friday was apparently not a public holiday in Malaysia as the kids were on their way to school in their yellow Bas Sekolah. Another common sight, especially in the rural areas, were kids in uniform on their BMXs (not BMWs =P) or pillion-riding on their parents' motorcycles. As we neared Pekan Nanas, we could see groups of workers walking / cycling to their workplaces, a myriad of factories situated away from the trunk road. Most notably, the Shimano factory which manufactures high-end bicycle components is located there. Take a look at your Shimano parts, if they state "Made in Malaysia", you know where exactly it was manufactured.

We had breakfast at an Indian Muslim coffee shop (they call it Restoran in Malaysia) and were lucky enough to spot a Shimano truck moving out to the main road. I wonder if the factory entertains walk-in customers =P

After a meal of prata and ice Milo, we continued on our journey to Pontian and it was about 9.30am when we reached the major town. Of course, it was time to chill out at the bay beside the Hotel Pontian and we spent a good half an hour there before moving on to Kukup (21km away).

I was really tempted to explore Tanjung Piai, the southern-most tip of continental Asia (mainland). At that point in time, Kukup was just 4km away as compared to Tanjung Piai which was 8km away (16km two-way). I turned into the road leading to Tanjung Piai, hoping that Dad and Bro would follow blindly but apparently they did not! =P They are always quick to shoot down my idea of taking the longer route and Dad suggested that we could consider exploring it on the way back if we had the time. Obviously, I didn't get to explore Tanjung Piai in the end!

We reached Kukup around 11.15am and spent some time showing Bro (who had not been there before) around the "floating" kampungs, before having the much awaited seafood lunch. Coincidentally we "chose" (or rather, we got touted) the same outlet as the one we patronized on our previous visit.

This time round, we had sweet & sour fish, seafood soup, deep fried squid and sambal kangkong. The dishes were quite good but I think I prefer chilli crabs. Anyway, the restoran was crowded with Singaporeans. They arrived shortly after we settled down and from the looks of it, they were on a RC organized day tour.

It started to rain before we finished our meal. It did not seem as if the rain would stop anytime soon hence we decided to set off for the return leg. That was when the fun started.

Halfway through to Pontian, the skies poured and in no time, we were soaking wet. Visibility started to become poorer hence we switched on our lights. The weak batteries on my Topeak Redlite died on me.

The currents of the groundwater were quite strong. On steep climbs, I could feel the resistance from the on-rushing water and it became an energy-sapping irritant after awhile.

The rain increased in intensity as we neared Johor Bahru. Visibility became so poor that I could not see more than 50m and I was drinking a lot of rain water. Then we encountered the flooded areas which proved a nuisance to traffic. By then, it was so cold and wet that I didn't care when passing vehicles threw up a wall of water over me. In fact, I just plowed through the flooded areas as fast as possible. There were some parts where the water levels were amazingly high, something seldom seen in Singapore, which is a testimony to the effectiveness of our drainage systems. I nearly stalled in one stretch where my wheels were totally under water. Shifting gears and pedaling out of the saddle, I managed to get the bike to shallower waters. It was a good test to the reliability and performance of my drive-train when submerged in water!

The cendol stall was open! It had not been when we passed on 2 separate occasions.

It was 5.30pm when we reached Pusat Bandaraya. Dad wanted to cross the causeway first and probably head for home (since we were cold and wet) while Bro's main concern was to find a toilet. I was very hungry and would have loved to grab a meal at KFC before heading home. We settled on a meal at KFC eventually since there was a toilet there!

My foresight put us in good stead as there was an unexpected traffic jam on the road towards the Malaysian checkpoint. The good thing about riding bicycles was that we managed to wiggle through the chaos. At the Malaysian customs, we ran into a trio of Caucasian cyclists who were returning too.

I was so glad to cross the causeway. When we encountered a jam at the Singapore customs, I heaved a sigh of relief - it was great that we had dinner earlier. Nonetheless, the jam did not dampen my spirits - we were home.

p.s. Dad skidded over a slippery metal drain cover at Woodlands MRT, giving his bike its first scar.

Total Distance: 200km
Money spent: RM100 for 3 pax
Participants: LSH, Dad, Bro

The day before Good Friday

In my research, I stumbled across an article entitled Mountain Men (and Lady) written by Nick Swallow on 3 September 2002. It was close to what I was looking for - the article detailed Nick's experience up Genting Highlands with 5 of Singapore's national cyclists - and if you read closely enough, the descriptions provided valuable "intel".

Extracts from the article:

For those who have never been to Genting, imagine riding from Orchard Road to Woodlands and going up and up the whole time! There are almost no flat stretches . The first 12km is a never-ending slog up through the trees until you reach the cable car station and a short, flat part which is blessed relief. It doesn't last long though.

The short, flat patch mentioned is Awana (resort and horse riding range) and cable car station refers to the Genting Skyway (Awana Station).

After a left turn the road kicks up again. The nature of the climb changes here. It becomes a series of steep sections divided by vicious switch-backs. The gradient is very tough and it's just a matter of slogging away. The final 5km are the hardest, the speed dropped as low as 8kmph or 9kmph! If you look up, you see the road zig -zagging into the distance above you, it's best to look down.

My favourite part of Nick's article (reminds me of a certain Warrant Ben back in BMT):

The only thing that keeps you going is a stubborn pride in your head telling you to keep pushing, one pedal stroke at a time. Slowly, very slowly the metres tick by - "I love the pain! I love the pain!"

Of the 10 riders who started the climb, 8 made it to the top.

That is a pretty high success rate! =P I can't wait to get there =)

By the way, Genting is rated as the 5th hardest climb in the world by the Pro Cycling magazine.

AJC 25th Anniversary Run

It was 5.45am (wall clock in the living room) when I left for AJC. I took 20min to cover the 11km to school and managed to get permission to safe-keep my bike together with the bags in LT5 =)

It was a good 25km run and I was glad to see the festivities in AJC again =) Those were the days man.

I couldn't stay back for Family Day hence I headed for home, stopping by at Orane Concept to check out the SPD shoes. Unfortunately, they didn't have my size.

I went with Mum and Dad for lunch and grocery shopping at Sheng Siong in Woodlands. It was still raining when we got home, nonetheless, Dad took his new bike out for a spin. I accompanied him for the ride.

Total Distance: 31.9km; 25km (run)
Money spent: $0
Participants: LSH, Dad

Bike Review: Jamis Ventura Elite

On behalf of Dad, I went down to Hup Leong to take a closer look at the Ventura Elite. After some discussion with Gordon, I decided to give it a go-ahead. I bought quite a bit of accessories too and had to stuff all into my backpack.

List of purchases (total cost: $1760)
1. Jamis Ventura Elite (with Shimano PD-A530 pedals and stock metal pedals)
2. 2 bottle cages
3. Cateye Optics Cube front light
4. Cateye 5-LED rear light
5. Lizard-skin for chain-stay
6. Louis Garneau road bike gloves
7. Giro Indicator helmet
8. Fizik Plateau saddle
9. Kenda 700 x 23c inner tube

A look at the bike's specifications, the best part will be the aluminum frame with carbon fork and seat-stays. At a decent 8.5kg, the heavier parts will be the aluminum Eason EA30 handlebar and headstem as well as the Shimano WH-R500 wheelsets.

I took the chance to test the bike as I sped home. True to what was claimed on Jamis' website, road noise and vibration were very much reduced by the carbon seat-stays and the bike was very quiet at high speeds.

Shifting was reliable enough, though a little slow on the front chain-rings. I believe the Shimano 105 shifters, front derailleur and the vast height difference between the largest and second chain-rings all played a part. Nonetheless, I don't think it is a big issue.

A notable issue to raise will be the responsiveness of the brakes. In direct comparison to a MTB V-brake (this may seem unfair as the two technologies are distinctively different), it definitely takes longer for a road bike's U-brakes to slow it down. However, this issue will lie with all road bikes and not just this one.

Although the bike came with road SPD pedals, I requested to have the metal platform ones fixed and have the road SPD pedals exhanged for a set of MTB ones instead. Dad won't be using clip-ons, hence I will have them on my MTB instead.

It rained when I was on the way home. The bike had its first taste of water and also mud when I ran over a huge patch scattered across the first lane. What a christianing! This was definitely my fastest ride on a bike yet. Somehow, I still prefer my MTB.

Total Distance: 23.3km
Money spent: $2.50
Participants: LSH, Gordon

Deuter Bike Bag II

I just bought the Deuter Bike Bag II saddle pouch for $22 from Hup Leong in the afternoon.

According to Deuter.com:

These small saddle pouches will easily store a mountain biker’s spare inner tube, keys, change and essential tools. And thanks to the light colour of the lining material, even those tiny little screws are easy to find again. New washable outer material on the spray zones makes them easy-care. With Velcro straps for easy and secure mounting on the saddle.The Bike Bag II version has an additional zip for volume expansion. With 3M reflector.

- Grime Resistant Zipper

- Reflective Deuter Logo

- Expandable

- Material: Microrip

- Weight: 120g

- Capacity: 1.0 + 0.4l

- Dimensions: 10+4 by 12 by 16 cm

The lack of graciousness in our society

I read this letter to the Straits Times Forum with interest.

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Home > ST Forum > Online Story

1 April 2009

Accident victims ignored till foreign workers lent a hand

ON SATURDAY, my wife and I were on our motorbike travelling from Lentor towards Yishun when the car in front of us braked suddenly. To prevent crashing into the car, I turned right and hit the curb. Our bike went up the sloping grass patch and we fell off.

I suffered a gash which needed five stitches. I sat on the grass patch while my wife checked if I had other wounds. Many passing drivers looked out of their windows, but did not stop. When my wife started waving for help, a few drivers drove off, while others ignored her.

Finally, a Malaysian lorry driver stopped. The few foreign workers on the lorry ran over to help us. They carried our bike out from the drain and tended to my wounds. They even pushed my bike to a safe corner across the road onto the pavement.

A while later, another man stopped his car and tried to calm us down.

Both my wife and I would sincerely like to thank them all.

However, we are utterly disappointed with the other Singaporeans. Singaporeans usually despise foreign workers, but when we needed help, the foreign workers were the ones who extended their hands to help us.

They may not be as educated as we are, but they have a heart of gold.

Kelvin Toh

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As a cyclist, I try to avoid Lentor Avenue. My fellow cyclist friends feel the same way. Particularly busy with vehicles moving at high speeds, it is difficult and dangerous for slower-moving vehicles to filter lane due to the constant stream of vehicles entering and exiting from the expressway.

The crux of this topic is not about how dangerous Lentor Avenue is.

Reading Mr Toh's account reminded me of two incidents which happened yesterday.

The first was around 1.30pm when I was walking towards Amoy Food Centre. A motorcyclist lay in the middle of the road, apparently knocked down by a car which had emerged from a smaller road. While he was conscious, he appeared immobilized and the ambulance paramedics were trying to secure his leg which had obviously taken the impact. It is difficult to pinpoint whose fault it was in causing the accident since I had not witness the whole sequence but chances are, it lay with the car's driver.

Many drivers just fail to obey the "Stop" sign. I believe the driver was guilty of that and he emerged from the small road, only to see a motorcyclist cross his path. Too late.

In fact, just yesterday, I waited at the zebra crossing for a few cars to pass. They did not even bother to stop, despite the blatant "Stop" sign and zebra stripes. It is an accident waiting to happen.

I boarded the MRT train at Tanjong Pagar (towards Eunos) in the evening. The doors closed and as the train pulled away, I saw an Indian man (most likely a foreign worker from the way he was dressed) lying at the foot of the stairs leading from the platform to the upper level. Obviously, he had fallen down the stairs, face first. And he was struggling, or perhaps, muttering in pain. Yet no one helped him. Our dear Singaporeans just stood fixtated to the spot, as if shocked.

It takes just a couple of seconds for the train to pull out of the station. In that short period of time, I could completely comprehend and assess the situation. Unless the people around him were all suffering from some form of mental retardation, there was simply no excuse to stand by and do nothing.

Many have raised the lack of graciousness displayed by Singaporeans, yet each letter / post online is met by strings of insulting comments. Apparently, most of our fellow countrymen cannot believe these disgraceful acts are committed by their fellow citizens and are more than willing to push the blame to foreigners.

Obviously, this is greatly unfair and severely tarnishes our country's image. True, there are black sheeps in every society but we must be willing to take the blame if we are at fault. We should stop our childish acts of putting down foreigners when they are commended for their kindness.

If Singaporeans are jealous of the praise foreigners get, then it is time for us to reflect.

There are many societies which are very much less well-off than ours. Yet, they exhibit the "human" touch. For a start, we should look at our neighbours.