From 51 to 15

Round island#10, 1.75x, 222 km. I start out reaching over 51 km/h, trailing a transporter after dropping out of the ANZA peloton that takes the lead in Singapore's first 24 hour charity ride. By nightfall, I'm crawling along at 15 km/h; my iliotibial band (ITB) and calf act up with every pedal stroke. While I'm on my second round, two guys overlap me as they go on their third. At each pit stop, I stretch and rest. A volunteer asks me if I have ITB; she can tell from my stretching (she says it took her two months to get better. I say I have a full marathon in one month). I struggle not just with the cycling but about whether to quit. When is being steadfast, stupid? Near midnight, I call it a day and drop out. I'm so tired ... of bananas and isotonic drinks. I can't even cycle home and radio for help on my sponsored walkie-talkie cum GPS that tracks my mileage.

3 R's of a charity ride: Raise money. Ride. And Regret? Not really. Sure, I ask myself "why am I doing this", when there's pain. But then, I meet interesting people. Like T, whom I met while cycling to the start line. I ask him if he's joining the ride and he decides to on the spot. That means forking out a 3-figure "entrance fee" / donation. And the volunteer who'd signed up herself and a vehicle after hearing about the ride on radio; she didn't have to volunteer but she chose to. And with each ride, I learn something. This ride, I chose to drop out. Children with Down Syndrome, can't drop out; they're born with it. Their mothers don't drop out from caring. Others have stopped caring for a lot less. Those who care for a lifetime, are the real champions.

Sleep deficit, ride deficit

Almost round island, 110 km. When I'm sleep deprived, I catch up on it during the weekend. When I'm ride deprived, I do the same. Why all these deficits? Work stress = sick. I load up my trunk bag, clip it on my bicycle and ride on my squishy tyres. Singapore is getting more crowded. The traffic-light-free Tampines Road and Old Tampines Road are now punctuated by lights. The road outside Vivo City on Saturday night is like rush hour. My throat is hoarse as I yell at pedestrians and a driver. I exceed my lactate threshold with a fully-loaded century ride. I even ride up Mount Faber. I overdid it but I'm glad I did it.

Black death

Round island#9, 122 km. It's "Seventh Month" of the Chinese calendar. The month the gates of hell open. The month when mortals make offerings to appease the spirits. RebelXH tells me I'll be psychologically affected. I get goosebumps going past Singapore's biggest cemetary. At some stretches of Lim Chu Kang Road, the street lights are out. Two cyclists have died here. I look back to see if anyone is following. When I see white by the roadside, I look askance. I sing Jesus songs. At Kranji, I cycle in the middle of the road. Black death lurks in the shadows. Black shapes wait outside a gate. One shape inside the compound ducks under the gate towards me. It doesn't bark. I can hear it panting for my blood. I outrun it on my faulty drivetrain. All in all, I cycle past 10 dogs scattered throughout Kranji. I taunt those that ignore me. I take a break where a couple watches Hokkien karaoke DVD. On my little red Tank, I break my 2004 round island record. I was hoping to do it in 5, since roadies do it in 4. But I was wary of pushing too hard, lest I injure myself again (see 29 Jul entry).
Apr 2004 record: 6 hours, actual cycling time 5 hr 4 min, ave speed 24.2 km/h.
Aug 2005 record: 5 hr 25 min, actual cycling time 4 hr 49 min, ave speed 25.4 km/h. Includes time spent during four breaks and traffic lights.

Limping home

To Changi and Lim Chu Kang, 108 km. Broken bone, broken heart and broken spirit are bad, but broken record is good. Since I'm reasonably fit (having come back a few days ago after riding to Kuala Lumpur) and I have a rather new toy (my little red Tank), I try to break my 6-hour round island (120 km) record. I start cycling furiously at 35 km/h and above. Changi Coast Road is alive with cyclists. "Yes, brother," one calls out to me. My left hamstring hurts. I stop at Kallang to stretch, my first break after cycling two hours. It is too late. The pain gets worse. At the rate I was going halfway through the ride, I could've completed my ride in five hours. After Jurong, I abandon my quest, as my speed drops below 25 km/h - too slow for record breaking. Adjusting saddle height no longer made a difference. And I'd thought that after cycling 400 km to Kuala Lumpur, I'd gotten my seat height just right. I "limp" home, sometimes pedalling with one leg. Still, it's a momentous occasion. My Tank has covered 1,000 km within a month.

Won't I ever learn?

Round island #8, 139 km. I'm just asking for it. I behave myself at first, drafting the roadies from Casuarina Road on the last "official" training ride for Bike N Blade. At Kranji, a lorry overtakes. I'm drawn towards it and breakaway at 45 km/h. But I can't keep up the pace. The peloton picks up the pace, overtakes me and I feel the heat from my hubris. I throttle back after Jalan Buroh and it becomes a solo ride. I wait for coach to cycle with him for a while before he heads home, then I wait for the last cyclists. I never see them again and cycle alone the rest of the way. So much for auld lang syne for the last training ride and it serves me right. Nonetheless, it's an interesting ride; my first time going round island anti-clockwise.

Short breaks, heartbreak

Round island#7, 123 km. The roadies are out in full force at Changi. Some of them draft behind a motorised bicycle. The two roadies I draft behind have really long limbs. The lead cyclist seems to be languidly moving his legs, while the second rider seems to be working his legs and his cranky clanking crank overtime. They u-turn and I'm alone again. While this is my seventh round island, there are several firsts. It's my first in daylight and with contact lenses (using rewetting eyedrops at the start helps). It's my first in 2004, with ant-infested snacks ... and with 1.25" slicks. But I'm still taking almost six hours to complete the ride, with four breaks (actual cycling time: 5 hr 4 min). My breaks are barely 30 minutes in total, so the rest of the time must have been waiting at traffic lights. Why am I so slow? Average speed is 24.2 km/h, max 41.9 km/h. Should I blame the traffic, the heat, or simply old age? I'm so tired, my mind drifts and I almost run a red light. Looks like the guy floating beyond the barbed wire at Kranji, collecting stuff in a box, had more fun.

Irony

Round island#6, 122 km.
I'm going below 30 km/h for most of the trip. Two groups of people pass me by. Group#1: mountain bikers at 32 km/h. Group#2 have two-stroke engines, and I don't mean their legs.

Tech note I spend the time trying to know my bike; its personality has changed since my upgrade of 1 Nov. I don't break my speed record; max speed on a flat road is 41 km/h, not 47. Why am I slower? Lighter bike = less momentum. Lighter rims = no "flywheel" effect. And I do have a dirty chain. But I break my time record for round island: 5 hr 50 min instead of 7 hours; faster ascents and efficient pedalling = shorter breaks. Perhaps the heavenly blinkers called lighting spurs me on to get out of impending rain. Butt hurts after 10 km despite bike shorts. What irony: I upgrade my bike to go faster but I'm slower. I upgrade my seat and end up with a pain in the ass. I bike to forget my woes but my bike becomes woe. But I finally get silent service: I tweak my front d and the niggling sound is gone.

Sat-Sun 8-9 Nov: The mist
Round island#5.5, 147 km. I thought my glasses are fogged, but no, I'm cycling into the mist at Seletar. The dew condenses on my shifters. Besides dew, other things fall: two bicycles and their cyclists. Blood is shed, but not tears. There are 15 of us, (led by Bikerboey on her touring bike) but most fall out along the way. At the 100 km mark, there's just three of us. I fall out too - I log the round island mileage, but fail to go around.

Tech note I've been cycling to fix my bike thrice today. First, the casette came loose. Before I get home, the front d shifts. The kung fu master (see below) says I should return to sender - it's the wrong size. I get to upgrade my Deore front d to LX for another $5.

A little bit of grit, a whole lot of grief

Sat-Sun 17-18 Oct
Round island#5, 124 km. With Status Quo's "Paper Airplane" reveberating in my mind , I'm really high. At Pasir Ris, I stop at the biggest display of bikes I've ever seen at a bike shop. Bikeshop boy says: "Is that an Iron Horse? That's a classic." At Changi Coast Road, I draft a motorcyclist: 41, 42, 43 km/h ... At West Coast, my blood sugar plummets. I eat and I refuel again at Jurong. At Jalan Bahar, pain shoots up my left leg. I stretch, massage, pedal with one leg. At Kranji, I rest for 20 minutes until 2 am. Pain remains. It's eerie as usual at Kranji. As usual, dogs greet me joyfully, four of them rushing across three lanes and a road divider to welcome me into their rabid mouths. At Mandai, I have an epiphany, remove my left cleat and the grit, then put back the cleat. A tiny change (the width of a grain of sand?) that leads to a big difference. From barely being able to put my foot down, I can complete my ride.

Anticipation, awe, agony and adventure

To Batu Layar (Johore) and round island#4 Singapore, 198 km. I didn't know so much can be packed into one day of biking. I'll give today's ride an "A" grade.

Anticipation: AD's email on Friday was a sight for sore eyes, since I've been wondering how to spend the weekend in Singapore instead of Thailand (see 13 Aug entry). I sign up eagerly for his ride to Desaru and I anticipate meeting his pals - who knows, we might become regular bike pals.

Awe: AD's pals show up early - quite a feat compared to some bikers I know! They are mostly roadies and cruise along at 38 km/h. One of them, Belgian W, rides a Canondale with 1.25" slicks and I hear he can go at 40 km/h. My crusing speed is 35 km/h and I strain to keep up. I do keep up, but it's taking a toll. I'm glad when the road turns stony and I'm awed by the sight of the roadies pedaling along. What does it take to stop them? They're charity riders who've gone on the 1,000 km "Riding for Life" trip to Pahang this year. In Johore, they take turns to break the wind. AD, on his 24" bike, cruises along at 32 km/h.

Agony: we take a short break at Batu Layar. "Let's take the uphill road," says TSY on her old but trusty carbon Giant. And off they go, uphill and against a strong, constant headwind. My speed drops to 16 km/h. The roadies disappear into the distance and I'm alone. I try to enjoy the scenery but wonder about getting lost and stories about robberies haunt me. This is the first time I'm cycling solo in Pengarang. But since this isn't my first time there, I make it back safely to Sungei Rengit.

Admiration: two of the cyclists didn't join us for the ride; they'd crashed earlier on soon after landing in Johore. Both ride cromoly bicycles - all ligher than mine. LYL has a reconditioned 6-year-old KHS; it is in showroom condition. It got scratched while being stacked on the boat and must've gotten knocked about when he crashed into a ditch, taking his friend HWM with him. Both shed blood, with HWM sporting abrasions on her chin. Both don't make a fuss.

Anxiety: my tyre is punctured. The first time in the 8.5 year, 6,500 km history of my bike (that'll teach me to pump my tyres to 50 psi - another record). Over my protests, LYL changes my tyre. I'm embarassed, because he's the injured guy. AL helps to find what caused the puncture - a tiny fragment had penetrated the tyre cover. AL is really helpful, despite suffering from a stomach ache. He'd offered to let me draft behind him as we head for the jetty at Tanjong Pengelih. I'm drained and can't catch up with AD. Since it's only 4 pm, I decide to go round island Singapore. I'm ill-equipped; no lights, no map, no route, no compass. Still it's going to be an adventure; I hope the tyre puncture is the worst thing that happens to me today.

Adventure: I buy a rear blinker at Mr Bikes Enterprise. At 5 pm, after snacking at Changi Village (it's too early to eat after that heavy seafood lunch), I draft behind AD at Changi Coast Road before breaking off to continue on my round island Singapore. I'm drained; I can barely go at 32 km/h and soon drop to the mid 20s. At Shenton Way, it pours. I take cover at a bus stop and tuck into rice biscuits. This might well be my dinner ... Fortunately, the rain stops after about 30 minutes and I continue on my way. My bike is a mess from all that rain; to think I'd cleaned it thoroughly only last week. At East Coast, I meet SL - what a surprise. He asks me why I'm training so hard when he's content with just 70 km a day. I tell him I want to know what it's like to log 200 km in one day. I get lost in Jurong and it's only after asking a few helpful people that I'm back on track. It's deja vu as I follow the NPCC round island route. (In fact, if I travel faster than the speed of light, at some point in time and space, I'll overtake the sight of us going round island.) I seem to be making good progress though I'm going below 30 km/h. "Dinner" is just another snack from a petrol kiosk in Jurong. I cycle warily in Kranji, listening for the sudden rush of dogs. Sure enough, I come across a pack but the head monster merely barks a warning. I make it home just after 11 pm. The ride has taken 7 hours, including the one hour ride from home to Changi in the morning. Just as I reach home, it pours - for hours. I take off my socks, which were already soaked in Johore. My feet are white and wrinked.

Tech note Headset is loose again. Bike shop boy at Pengarang says I can change the thingy at the top and bottom of the headtube for RM10. I decide to get it fixed by my regular bike man.

Small girl, big spirit

14-15 Jun

I don't think she's going to make it. When she starts this weekend's National Police Cadet Corp / Police round island trip (round island#3 for me) from National Stadium at 6 pm, C wobbles down Nicoll Highway. She pedals and coasts, pedals and coasts - and this is a flat road. Barely minutes after leaving the start point at National Stadium. I race after the other 19 riders in Team Alpha and tell the next cyclist (already several hundred metres away) to slow down. C's friend, J, stays behind to accompany her while I start the first of my "race ahead, wait for the laggards" tactics. When C starts coasting, I tell her to keep pedalling. It's going to be a long, long night.


I expect C to drop out at the first rest point, at West Coast. But she wants to go on. And so she does. She doesn't wail, whine or whimper to me (though I overhear her saying to J in Jurong that she's frustrated). The further she rides, the quieter she becomes. As I cycle from behind her to beside her to ask if she's OK, she just nods slightly, as if to save energy. At the rolling hills of Mandai, she stops to push. If she has problems at Mandai, she'll have problems at Tampines. I manage to persuade her to ride in the safety vehicle to Pasir Ris to resume the ride. At Pasir Ris, C rides towards Changi.

At Changi Coast Road, she stops. She's too tired to dismount. She just stands there. She looks at the road, which stretches ahead with no end in sight. I wonder what she's thinking. It's hard to keep going when the road ahead and the pain seems endless. But she wants to go on. We stop a few more times. I ask her to sit by the roadside. By this time, it's just the two of us on the road; I tell the rest to go on so they can reach the rest point earlier and rest longer. More riders pass us by, including a few Togoparts riders (I recognise them from the Friday East Night Ride).

At East Coast, she's too tired to cycle on the dirt track leading to the park. We push our bikes in the darkness. She's so tired, she stumbles against her pedals again and again. I offer to push her bicycle, and she passes it to me in a flash. She sees me having problems pushing two bikes and turns back to help, tired though she is. I wave her away.

She's only 15. She hardly cycles and even when she does, it's just short rides. And she signs up for this round island ride on a rental bike. And she keeps on going! She'll go far in life (and I don't mean more long distance cycling).

Another rider, T, has multiple attacks of the cramps. Even after a rub down by medics, he has problems. He tries, but rightly recognises his limitations and chooses to abandon the ride totally at Hougang. He didn't train for the ride at all. There are other riders who have cramps - whenever there's a hill to climb. One cyclist went down at the first hill as we went west towards Jurong. I discover these chaps haven't discovered how to use their gears. So I start cycling beside them, trying to see where their chains are on their freewheels and then telling them whether to use the left or right thumb shifters. One guy who doesn't have any problem at all - no cramps, no struggling with heavy backpacks - is a fat kid. He's bubbly from start to finish.

More significant moments about the ride:

• Fastest moment: from Hougang to the end of Tampines Road. When T chooses to abandon the ride, we wait quite a while for the safety vehicle to pick him up after I used my walkie talkie to call the command post for help. Two groups of cyclists pass us by. When the vehicle arrives, I race after Team Alpha, overtaking the two groups in the process. Heh heh. I love tearing up and down hills like Tampines and Mandai.
  
• Slowest moment: Walking with C on the East Coast dirt track - probably around 2-3 km/h. At East Coast Park, we cycle at 10 km/h.
  
• Painful moment: watching C agonising at Changi Coast Road. Though I'm with her, she's alone in her pain. Also, my fingers hurt after fixing so many bikes: jammed rear derailleurs and chains that fall off chain rings (these chaps don't know how to switch gears) and adjusting seat heights.
  
• Happy moment: watching C come back to life at the end point, at National Stadium around 6 am. There's energy in her movements and she talks again, while some of the other cyclists have collapsed into silence.
  
• Grateful moment: to be the one holding onto the walkie talkie. At first, I didn't want it because it adds to the weight I have to carry, and having an earpiece in my ear all night long isn't fun. But hearing what's going on elsewhere during the ride involving 200 cyclists keeps me awake. It's really punishing to cycle soooo slowly - there's a tendency to fall asleep or fall off the bicycle. I'm also grateful I remember most of the route - as the sweeper, I discover that I end up leading from behind when the rest of the riders are nowhere in sight. Also to be grateful for: the bananas, bread and powdered energy drink powder at some of the rest points.
  
• Embarrasing moment: trying to fix V-brakes for the first time in my life. One cyclist's brake is hanging on by just one strand. I'm know caliper and cantilever brakes, but brakes without a "c" in it are too high tech for me. Anyway I manage to fix it after some struggle. Also, I feel inadequate at East Coast Park. I hate the place, because people there walk, ride and blade regardless of race, language and collision.
  
• Anxious moment: at the end of Mandai, when a fast-changing traffic light cuts Team Alpha into four groups, with me alone in the last group. As group 1 follows bike leader M, stragglers form groups 2 and 3 - all of whom miss a turning. Group 3 is within yelling distance. I yell at them to stop and wait, while I race after group 3. When group 3 reaches the turning point, group 2 has disappeared. I should've removed the bike chains and chained them to the nearest lamp-post. As it turns out, group 2 somehow made their own way to the rest point. Well, that saved me the trouble of reporting they'd been abducted by aliens.
  
• Proud moment: no bloodshed. Sure, people had cramps and some fell, but there was no blood. And I lost no bike through mechanical failure. And only one rider (T) dropped out of the ride. Another proud moment was when the bike leader of another group said to her group: "Look how Alpha rides in single file." That discipline didn't happen naturally. I chewed out the team at Kranji after they meandered all over the narrow roads there.
  
• Honoured moment: bike leader M tells me, before the ride starts, that she's honoured to ride with me. I wonder why.
  
• Ironic moment: riding with the cops. Now and then, a police van (the safety vehicle) would follow behind us. After midnight, a traffic policeman rides with us to block traffic at some junctions. Ooh, see how well behaved the drivers are. Most of them anyway; the policeman yells at one of them. Cops make me nervous (must be a hang-up from my childhood when I was pulled over by a cop while cycling around my home), and here I am cycling in a police event.
  
• Unexpected moment: when someone pushed my bicycle over at the start point! Horse's bar end got scratched. Guess it must be hard allow as it wasn't dented. I also didn't expect that this horse rider would get hoarse riding a bike, with all that yelling and pep talks. So, a sweeper = bike mechanic + safety officer + communications officer + disciplinarian + motivator.

Tech note I modify my NPCC-issue 100% cotton t-shirt by doing the usual: cutting off the bottom part so air can flow under the t-shirt. The guys marvel at this sartorial innovation. I tell them the t-shirt shrunk in the wash.

Slow agony

Round island#2, from National Stadium to National Stadium (and Ang Mo Kio to Ang Mo Kio) 152 km. Since AR asked me to be a sweeper for this NPCC ride, I practice being a sweeper today, hanging around the back. After a few hours in the saddle, the agony of going slow builds: you spend more time in the saddle and brake a lot more. And you don't cycle at your own pace. And you stop to do some basic bicycle maintenance. Fiddling with bikes isn't that bad, but going slow is agonising.

At Lim Chu Kang Road, I can bear it no longer and take off on my own, past the cemeteries (two cemeteries, two nights in a row). I see lots of candles in some spots; elsewhere, it's dark and shadowy. I hear the sound of my breathing and the smooth working of my bicycle. There's nothing else on the road. Kind of spooky, but I try to ride faster than my fears. At Kranji, I stop and wait for the rest, just taking in the sight of Johore.

At Kranji, the roadie has a blowout. I stop to help, then ride like the wind to catch up - and then some. I push myself and my bicycle up and down the hills of Mandai Road. All of us get chewed up at the next official rest stop. At Pasir Ris, we get chewed out again because a couple of cyclists are unaccounted for. I feel bad about it all.

At Changi Coast Road, we are all good boys and girls. Even the dogs are well behaved; they bark but don't give chase. At Pasir Ris, one cyclist - from Singapore Mountain Bike Forum breaks away. I take the opportunity to do the same. Together, we tear down the roads above 30 km/h. Try as I did, I couldn't shake him off. It turns out he's modified his mountain bike with a road crank and 1 inch slicks. Well, on the actual ride (14 Jun), I guess I'll be too busy worrying about the newbie riders to agonise about anything else. I haven't lost a cyclist before and don't intend to start. Still, there are some interesting things about this ride: first time I've cycled with a police "escort" - a van that follows behind us. And I was wondering why vehicles were giving us a wide berth! Today is also the day I cross the 5,000 km mark on my Iron Horse.

Tech note Tonight, I wear Climalite. It feels more uncomfortable than cotton, but I'm game for trying new things. I don't regret it. I feel less sweaty. During my first round island, I wore cotton and it got soaked with sweat - it's heavy and it stinks.

Chasing the tail

Round island #1, from National Stadium to National Stadium (and Ang Mo Kio to Ang Mio Kio). Supposed to be at National Stadium at 7pm. But I'm working today though it's a Saturday. I reach the stadium at 8 pm and of course everyone is gone. How ironic. I join the ride because I haven't really cycled to south and south-west Singapore and now I have to chase everyone without even knowing the route. I don't even have the tail lights of the last rider as a directional beacon. But thank God for mobile phones; Gentle Giant and Togoparts rider J help put me on the right track.

This is a training ride for a National Police Cadet Corp charity ride for the bike leaders - plus some Togoparts riders (some of whom have been up Mount Faber like me last night). Tonight's ride is supposed to be a leisure ride, but I'm impressed by the discipline, caring and teamwork. They're of different ages (some secondary, some tertiary students) but they've bonded because they've cycled around this little red dot that's Singapore about six times. And this is my first round island - looks like I'm the newbie, not them. Most of the time, I don't even know the route, so after I race ahead, I wait for them or the safety vehicle.

At Tampines, I hear this is where the fun-loving Togoparts riders break off. As for me, I keep going though I'm tired - poor sleep for three nights in a row. While waiting for the rest, I try to snatch some sleep. The bike leaders sail on by, keeping a "slow-and-steady wins the race" pace of about 20 km/h (some on rental / borrowed low end bikes too, which makes it all the more impressive). But at Changi Coastal Road, all of us end up racing, because of a pack of dogs. No one panics, no one crashes. That's discipline. But I laugh at myself how my speed jumped by 10 km/h. At East Coast Park, it's still dangerous even at 6 am. People walk and ride regardless of race, language and collision. I have a close call there. I really dislike cycling there.

So, another dream fulfilled - cycling around Singapore (though I note this is a smaller "circumference' than the routes I've been checking out eg we didn't go that far west or north). Other dreams that came to pass: cycling 100 and 200 km. Dreams that have yet to be fulfilled: 400 km ride - and solo round island.

Tech note I really have to do something about my rims. Might as well change the wheelset to some decent hubs. The bearings in my no-name hubs must be shot by now.