Out of breath

To Changi, 100 km. On a creaking grey bicycle, the white man cranks out a constant 41 km/h along Changi Coast Road on his racer. No matter how much my chest heaves, I fail to keep up. No wonder, I've already logged 30 km into my ride. In a flash, I drop behind. Another roadie sweeps past me on his SACA time trial. I slip into his slipstream. But not for long either, as he's going at 40 km/h. By now, I'm spent. I wonder how I'd have fared if I was on a racing bicycle instead of a mountain bike. I also wonder what it'll be like to accompany my companions today from Bike-Aid, who are cycling 1,400 km (Singapore-Kota Bahru, Malaysia-Singapore) next week. Sweet charity! Today is the last training ride before the stalwarts head north.