Riding into the Night

It was time for the annual cycling trip. My third year in a row after Changi last year and a all nighter in 2004.

It’s indeed an exhilarating feeling cycling on wide open roads, with the wind in your hair and the thrill of speed in your blood. Well that doesn’t quite explain why I only do it once a year, but a yearly dose is better than none.

Flag off.
So there we were, twelve adults of varying ages gathered at a crowded East Coast Park on Saturday night. We got our bikes(plus blinkers) for $7 per bike for overnight rental. There were a few beginners among us so we anticipated a slow ride. At around 11:30pm, we started our journey.

One for the road. A ‘Before’ pic.

Tanjung Rhu Mishap.
We cycled down ECP until we hit the Fort Road exit. From there, we turned into Tanjung Rhu Road. That was where the unexpected happened – two bikes met with broken glass pieces and ended up with a punctured tyre each. We scratched and searched our heads for solutions.

With no tyre patch available at the nearby Petrol Kiosks, we had to send two among us to get the bicycles fixed. Wee Loong’s plan was to get one bike fixed up by replacing the bad wheel with a good one from the other, and also using his own racer at home. So, we hailed a cab, got the two bikes into the boot, and sent them off.

To the Bay.
The rest of us took to the roads again. Our journey took us across Geylang River, through the Stadium area, across Merdeka bridge and along Nicoll Highway until we reached the Esplanade. There we waited at the Merlion for Wee Loong and Alice to join us.

babyface @ one fullerton. the new centro.

After a few drinks at ‘babyface’, the local icon couldn’t hold his licqour.

Kopitiam Supper.
Back as a group of twelve, we decided to fill our stomachs at the 24 hour Kopitiam along Bras Basah Rd.

Supper Stop

After drinks and dim sum, we headed for Orchard, cycling along the tiled pavements fronting the many shopping centres and offices. We made a U-turn when we hit Scott’s Road.

The Journey Home.
It was a long ride back to ECP. We took the relatively straight road that passes through the MRT stops from Bugis to Eunos. We reached back at ECP at around 6:20am. After returning the bikes around 7am, we had breakfast before calling it a day.

All’s well. A ‘After’ pic

All in all, it was a relatively easy and tireless ride this time round. (No sore thighs on Monday!). Maybe due to the many stops along the way and the slower pace to accommodate the first timers. Nevertheless, it was a fun ride in a big group. Other than the trouble of the punctured tyres, the ride was all smooth sailing save for some minor accidents involving skirmishes with road-side plants and one collision with a traffic light pole (mainly by the same person).

Well, let’s see whether we can keep this up next year. Malaysian Roads perhaps?