Going round and round

To Old Upper Thomson Road, National University, 92 km. Today, I go for my first training ride with the Precision Cycle Racing Team (PCRT), whose coach is also coaching the Charity Bike N Blade bikers (420 km charity ride to Mersing next month in aid of St Andrew's Mission Hospital). The ride starts well enough; I see some roadies (not yesterday's) streak ahead. I start drafting, then drop behind. More roadies show up. I hang on a little longer, then it's a solo ride again. Deja vu, just like yesterday. The first group of roadies overlap me twice. I'm distressed, though I thrash the mountain bikers in the group and some triathletes. It's only when the first group remove their helmets and shades that I realise they're kids. Two of them are apparently Singapore's best in the women's open. It seems they train six days a week, covering 400 km per week. In the afternoon, I ride to the university for the centennial ride training. There's just three of us, with no official in sight after the "coach" left the university. We chat for half an hour, then scoot off. I'm exhausted.