Aug: 815 km

Sun 31 Aug: 10 months in the saddle
To Johore, 64 km. We see a couple of heavily-laden Fuji bikes and go over to talk to the Korean couple. They are on an epic journey covering Europe and Asia. They have cycled from China to Johore and are going to Thailand to buy air tickets. It's cheaper there, they say, compared to Singapore and Malaysia. We wish each other safe journey and ride on. Today's ride is a "welcome back" ride from AF; I hadn't cycled with him since 2 Feb, until he returned from abroad. So I don't miss this ride, though I have only four hours sleep after my 30 Aug ride. Joining the ride are some cyclists I've met before: W and LYL. Looks like I'm getting to know more and more serious riders; those who can ride for hours non-stop. Bike rides with them are a pain in the butt unless I wear bicycle shorts!

Tech note One of the cyclists on 1.25" tyres has a puncture. OK, I give up my idea of such tyres as they blow out more frequently. That's why I literally dumped my racer in the first place at the garbage dump in 1995 to get horsey.

Sat 30 Aug: Starry starry night

To Jurong Hill, 66 km. The multitude of lights on Jurong Island is more than any stars seen through the cloudy sky. Outshone, Mars looks on forlonly as the dozen or so of us perch on the tower at Jurong Hill. It's the first time I'm on the hill. LCT points out the sights to me. Jurong Island looks like a jewel. No wonder it's a potential terrorist target. No wonder we're not allowed in. I start tonight's ride by leading part of the group from Yio Chu Kang, and get a little lost in Sungei Kadut and Choa Chu Kang. Well, at least I don't really need a map and compass now; I just use the GPS in my head (Guess, Persevere and Search!). (At Jurong, some of the cyclists ask why I ride so much, don't I have a life? Well, cycling is my life.) On the way home, I draft 40+ km/h behind an old man on an old bicycle until we part ways. Today, I break the 7,000 km barrier.

Photo courtesy of Gentle Giant

Wed 27 Aug: Mars, here we come
To Sembawang Park, 33 km. Mars is closer to Earth than it's ever been in the past 60,000 years. We cycle to Sembawang Park to check out the red planet. It's a bright dot in the night sky, like someone far away pointing a torch with a bright yellow beam. Besides Mars, we also see cyclists who gather on Saturday nights at Bishan Park 2, 7.30 pm. They're serious riders - just look at their gleaming, well-used bikes. Reminds me of me. Joining the ride for the second time is D, on a Titanium Merlin. He's 56 years old but I struggle to overtake him sometimes. Speed is relative. I go at 40 km/h. The roadies zip past me as usual. A Porsche appears and cruises past us; I don't even get to draft behind it for a micro-second.

Tech note I test drive a Trek 7500FX. Bikeshop man (Orchard Road ) says it's the bicycle for me, judging from the smile on my face. At $1,700, it sure rides better than the $900 Marin with lower end parts (my horse can beat the Marin anytime). On the Trek, I crest a steep little slope in my office clothes without breaking into a sweat. RN tells me this is the bike Koo Swee Cheow is riding to Beijing.

Sun 24 Aug: From soft light to strong sun
To Bukit Panjang and Lim Chu Kang, 82 km. It's 7 am. The soft dawn light caresses the still waters of Seletar Reservoir. The quiet waters mirrow the mood of the dawn sky - gloom. There isn't a cloud to be seen in the sky, just a vast expanse of grey. Somehow, there's beauty in melancholy. The joggers and cyclists are out on the streets. At Bukit Panjang, the hustle and bustle of Sunday market marks the start of the ride - it's just Bikerboey and me, with a handful of joggers. For the first time, I meet Tim of BOAC. We take to our wheels and part ways towards the biking trail, including a flooded track with tadpoles. What a mess. For the third week in a row, I've to clean my bicycle.

Tech note I feel tired today. Maybe I'm tired of my horse; I'd ridden it for 6,920 km. It's better equipped now than it has ever been, yet I can't ride with the roadies and have to forgo a ride to Batu Pahat next week. How can I go at 38-40 km/h constant speed?

Sat 23 Aug: Road rage
To Sims Ave, 32 km. It's midnight. The couple saunter across the road which belongs to their grandfather. Not knowing their ancestry, a motorist honks them. The couple scurries away - right into my path. I brake and shake my head. The guy yells at me and wants to fight. His girlfriend calls him back like one calls a runaway dog. I follow my standard procedure when meeting a rabid dog: pedal away. The guy has no road sense and is a road pizza candidate. I'd just come back from a durian supper with the 16 NPCC fellows and guests including Gentle Giant and LCT (the latter tells me about the Thailand ride I'd missed and the wonders of XTR components). This is the second ride I'm leading after the NPCC round island. On both occasions, I lead them astray. Somehow, I manage to find my way home in 30 minutes even though I'd no idea where I was when supping on durians.

Wed 20 Aug: ???
To Kranji, Lim Chu Kang, Bukit Timah, 61 km. It's sounds impossible. I see it with my own eyes but still find it hard to believe. J, on a Titus titanium bike and 2.1" knobbies, cruises past me while I'm going at 41 km/h. And this isn't just a flash in a pan. For most of the ride, he's out there in front with the roadies. I draft behind them but soon get left behind. I'm glad I can draft behind WH to catch my breath before zooming off again in search of the roadies. Four of the cyclists, including two guests "picked up" along the road, drop out at the end of Mandai Road. The rest of us go on to Kranji. Though there's seven of us left, it still feels spooky along the roads there. I'm almost glad to see the occasional truck go by! At Bukit Timah, a reckless driver turns and almost turns G into road pizza.
Tech note Menthol lip balm is mmmmm.

Sun 17 Aug: Bike fix
Ang Mo Kio, 5 km.
Tech note I drop by my regular bike shop man after an exhausting day of chores including cleaning and lubing my bicycle. He swaps a nut on my headset and waves away my offer of payment. I ask him if he has tyre patches and ask him how the should be fixed. As he doesn't sell loose tyre patches, I go to another shop and spend $1 for five patches and $1 for a large tube of glue.

Wed 13 Aug: Foreign talent
To Marina and Kallang, 38 km. His chain fell off and he stood on the left lane trying to fix it. I motion to him to move onto the grass verge so he doesn't get mown down by traffic. With my eloquent sign language, I help him to put the chain back on. "Thank you", he says in his accent (Bangladesh?). I cycle on. Along the way, I see his compatriot in slippers on a heavy steel bike. Despite his getup, he's going at 30 km/h. I wonder why they are cycling - did they just get off work at 11 pm while I ride for fun? Tonight, there's just three of us night riders as there was no e-mail notification. We turn up anyway and I lead them via Dyson Road to Evans Road. RN (on his carbon full-suspension Trek - no wonder he's so fast) takes us up the steps to the Marina viaduct. We then head towards the Indoor Stadium for a break. Doesn't really count - I'm supposed to be on my way today to Thailand with Bikerboey & Co for rides and durian. But duty calls - for the fourth time in a row, leave is canned.

National Day, Sat 9 Aug: Fireworks

To Bukit Panjang, Choa Chu Kang and city, 116 km. With a crackle like small arms fire, the fireworks streak into the sky and explode. The night air reveberates as, in their death knell, the fireworks paint the sky with multicolour streaks of light. Ironic how an invention often associated with death (gunpowder) can be such an uplifting sight. Watching the fireworks "live" for the first time in my life sure beats all those years of watching them on TV. Quite a fitting end to a ride which started badly in the morning.

I forget my helmet and go home to get it. I forget my water bottle and go home again to get it. I get lost in Bukit Panjang. Twice. I am 40 minutes late and 14 of them wait for me. After cycling 40 km, I don't even have a chance to empty my bladder and fill up my water bottle. Our first guide for the day, "Norman", takes us to some place around Bukit Timah. There are thorns and roots all over. Still, I get to see a butterfly landing on road queen's colourful watch. After lunch, I take over the ride. And get lost in Bukit Panjang - again - this time with everyone following me on an unmerry go round.

Though I am on slicks at 46 psi (first time), I don't't fall or shed any blood at Bukit Timah like some of my pals. LX has a bad time; she doesn't unclip in time and gets a few long scratches. She loses her $300 glasses too. Another rider doesn't unclip in time and breaks his XT rear d. And in the afternoon, Gentle Giant is so knackered she decides not to see the fireworks. Today, I lead them to Turut Track. Though I ride with trepidation, guess what - no dogs!

Tech note The trails is so bad, my headset is shaken loose. I go to the bike shop at 9 pm and it's still open. Bikeshop man sullenly lends me his spanner. It's only when I buy a floor pump and lizard skin that he opens up. I ask him what happens if the threads on my headset are stripped away. He agrees that'll be the end of my horse. I wonder if and when that will happen. At Bukit Timah, the Avianti rider shows me a crack on his headset - a candidate for catastrophic frame failure. Another cyclist, J, is on a 10-year-old Clark Kent titanium frame. Maybe I should get a titanium frame, if it lasts for such a long time.

$25 floor pump works like a breeze. When I attach the hose, the gauge tells me how many psi my tyre is right away. And the pump supposedly goes up to 160 psi. No problem going up to 50 psi, which is the highest I've ever gone. Wait till I ride with the "padre" again!

Wed 6 Aug: Keep pace or lose the race
To Changi, 62 km. The three roadies streak ahead. I gasp to stay on their tails at 38 km/h throughout all of East Coast. W stays on my tail. Somewhere along East Coast, W drops out but I respect her a lot for keeping up thus far - she'd done a triathlon over the weekend. The "padre" is surprised I'm still around. But soon after reaching Changi Coast Road, I too drop out - I suddenly think about a crummy meeting tomorrow and I just lost heart, dropped the pace and in seconds it was too late to catch up. Tonight, we dine at Changi Village instead of Casuarina Road.

Sat 2 Aug: Smiling in the wind
To Changi, 58 km. The wind roars past my ears and buffets my face, lifting it into a smile. Above the wind, I hear the hum of knobbies from my fellow riders. It is sheer joy to be on the road. Tonight, I cycle with a group of togoparts riders I've never met before. It'd rained, but it stops and the nine of us brave the red sky to roll on the roads. At Changi Village, they ply me with food and drink, and refuse to accept payment. They even ask if I've plastic bags for my phone in case it rains. Thunder rumbles and lightning flashes. At East Coast, fear of a squall overtakes me and I break away for home. I break my flat road speed record, from 42 to 46 km/h.

Tech note How did I break the speed record after months of trying? Perhaps because I lowered my bar ends and raised my seat past the knee pain point. I also pumped my tyres to 45 psi for the first time, thanks to advice from J, whom I met on 30 Jul.

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.

Jul: 543 km

Wed 30 Jul: Stressed if you do, more stressed if you don't
To Admiralty Road West, 46 km. It's stressful rushing for the Wed night ride; it's like trying to beat a deadline. I wolf down my dinner and rush to grab my bicycle instead of having a leisurely dinner. But I know I'll be restive instead of rested if I don't cycle. It's stressful trying to keep up with the roadies. I'm bound to fall behind, as sure as everyone fell behind Lance Armstrong five times on the Tour de France. Tonight, I ride at 51 km/h but still see the three roadies pull away from me. I cycle and breathe so hard my diaphragm hurts. But I know if I don't push myself as hard as I can go, I'm not being me. It's stressful trying to keep away from chendol and char kuay teow. After all, Lance Armstrong avoids ice cream. Clogged arteries don't go with good performance. But if I don't give myself a treat, work stress may get me first.

Photo courtesy of GKT

Sun 27 Jul: Golden bike, folding bike
To Changi, 73 km. I cycle alone to Changi, looking out for AD, whom I've been trying to contact. I don't even know what he looks like. Changi Coast Road is full of solo cyclists. I see a car up ahead drafting(!) behind a Caucasian lady. She's going at a steady 26km/h. I overtake her. But something's wrong; I can't go my usual 30+ km/h. Then, an "uncle" complete with silver hair and plastic bag on his handlebar overtakes me on his spray-painted golden racer. I draft behind him. He stands on his pedals to shake me off. I hang on, but as he heads towards East Coast I u-turn. I head for Tanah Merah ferry terminal; first time I'm there. AD finally makes contact and we meet; he rides an Airnimal. First time I've ever seen a performance bike that's foldable. He hollers to a couple of Europeans - their jerseys tell me they've done some charity ride in Thailand. One of them buys us sugarcane with lemon. Sheer pleasure. Merci!

Tech note Back home, I shift my headset down so I get a little more aerodynamic. Wedge is rusted solid!

Fri 25 Jul: Slow ride to slow food
To Holland Village, Bukit Merah, 36 km. The 14 of us cycle slowly (25 km/h or less) to Holland Village. Some are from NPCC, plus guests. At Dyson Road, we go slower. "It's so steep!" one cyclist says, as if I made it so. Well, I'm the bike leader. At the village, the guys don't want fast food; they want "slow food" from coffee shops. A couple of us scout around but couldn't find halal food. We mill around on our stationery bikes until ride organiser TKL suggests we go "ABC", which turns out to be at Bukit Merah. I buy some of them drinks as a "thank you" for the wonderful round island experience. We rest our legs and move our jaws eating and chatting, then us older types go home while the younger ones ride on. The night is still young for them. I wanted to keep cycling, but it's been a rough week for riding. Last Sun's ride to the southwest corner of Singapore was a washout thanks to rain. And I've been in solitary confinement all these weekday nights in the office, missing my Wed ride. Almost missed tonight's ride too ...

Sat 18 Jul: Old acquantainces, new people to avoid
To Mt Faber, Kent Ridge, Mandai, 65 km. At Tiong Hin where we start our ride, a couple walks up to me. It's K and D. I remember K because she broke my bike leader's crash-free record. Mr Trek OCLV is also there. He's come a long way - and quickly too. In a matter of months, he's transformed from a wannabe roadie into a full-fledged one who cycles in Malaysia. After we soar up the hills of Faber and Kent Ridge, we break away at Mandai. I draft behind him, until he spins off at 60 km/h. Now, he's the one who's waiting for me. During the ride, a couple of guys look at my horse and marvel. Solid frame, comfortable ride, they say. I also come across a couple of chaps worth avoiding for safety's sake. An honest mistake when cycling is one thing; reckless disregard when changing lanes is another.

Tech note Cycling with a freshly oiled chain is sheer pleasure.

Wed 16 Jul: Spin cycle, drip dry
To Mandai, 21 km. If a biathlon is two sports in one, perhaps cycling in heavy rain is a biathlon - part cycling, part swimming. It's hard to breathe with all that water running into nose and mouth. It's hard to see with all that stinging rain pelting down on eyeballs. My eyes redden, like when I swim. I shake violently, as if going off-road on my rigid bike and 40 psi tyres. But I'm just shivering from the cold of being drenched, as the wind whips about me. We're just die hards, the eight of us who ride in the rain. First, the night sky turns pink, giving Seletar Reservoir a strange hue. Lighting lights up the sky. Storm clouds rumble like someone is going to have diarrhoea. And soon enough, the portals of the sky open. Water pours down. So, this is fun? I have to clean my bicycle before it rusts. And you could rear fish in my shoes.

Sun 13 Jul: Smurfs in Sentosa
To Sentosa, 77 km. Mountain biking is fun, but I didn't know it'd be so fun just watching a bike clinic - conducted by "smurfs" dressed in blue. Credit goes to Papa Smurf N, and his entourage including a mechanic smurf, stunt smurf, Shrek the medic smurf, Archer the ride smurf (who also dramatised the various crash positions of a casualty) and poser smurf. It's an eventful day, with several firsts in my life, including going off-road in Sentosa with my slicks and remaining upright. LSH had a worse time; a couple of cyclists crash into her. She loses some skin but doesn't lose blood. As for her bike - its modesty is outraged.

Fri 10 Jul: The Road Queen
To River Valley, 37 km. I've heard about her from different groups of cyclists, but I've never met her. Until today, when LSL introduced me to the Road Queen. She rides an exotic bike - Sintesi. She's bubbly, full of life, friendly, but not to be trifled with when it comes to road safety. And safety, or the lack thereof, is what gets us 40-plus riders chewed out by bike leader N tonight, after we ride like kings of the road all over the place. Tonight's ride is larger than usual, because it includes Friday West Nite Riders on top of the usual Friday East Nite Riders. K asks me what's the difference in the psychographics between FWNR and FENR cyclists. I tell him some of the differences , then reflect further. FWNR usually has a dozen or less riders and seems more closely knit than FENR, which is like a loose group of sub-groups. It's is like being at Bukit Timah, where different species of humans (bikers and hikers) interact more since there are few of each other. Compared to being in an HDB estate, where interaction among strangers is less understandably because it's hard to interact with so many people at one go.

Wed 9 Jul: The gathering
To Woodlands, 45 km. A dozen cyclists meet today, including Bikerboey. I haven't seen her for half a year. She's a big girl with a big heart - she's back after trekking alone for four months in South America, including a stint with Operation Raleigh. R is back too, stitches and all, after his crash two weeks ago on another ride. That doesn't stop him from outpacing me (for a while anyway) on his full-suspension bike fitted with 2.35 /1.95 knobby tyres. We have a new rider join us for supper; it's W, who's emailed me before while I was caretaker for BOAC rides in Bikerboey's absence. She was cycling alone and was invited to join us. She remembers me as "the one with the Iron Horse". Tonight, I set a new personal speed record: 60.2 km/h.

Sun 6 Jul: Serendipity - a journey of discovery
To Tuas, 109 km. The bar off Portsdown Road is a wooden house all decked out in blue. Outside, you can dine alfresco and be one with the elements. Inside, it has two large rooms for dining, on small wooden tables and an assortment of chairs. You can choose your meals from a menu with names I've never seen before. This may well be the only bar in Singapore that serves Marmite sandwiches. I order a Magnum ice cream. So creamy, no wonder it's called ice cream ...

But all this will be no more come 13 Jul. After decades of existence, Col Bar will close down for good and fall down in pieces, as bulldozers come in to build a road. The picturesque, idyllic Portsdown Road will become another raging road, as torrents of traffic pour into the area.

We've come down Portsdam Road after exploring various hills eg at Marymount Road, Toa Payoh, Dyson, Coronation and Kent Ridge roads. Today's ride is the sequel to my first hills ride. I lead the first leg, while LCT leads the second leg around Jurong, which is his turf. I want to go to Jurong via Jalan Buroh; I've seen the scenes when I cycle on this road during round island rides at night, but never by day. Cycling on bridges across water is scenic. And the air in Jurong can be aromatic, especially around the coffee and toiletry factories.

We stop by Pasir Panjang, where we lunch courtesy of Gentle Giant, who graciously agrees to treat us as she is busy trekking around dreamland in the morning instead of cycling with us. Our last stop is at Raffles Marina, where we see white boats and tanned bodies. On the way home, LCT shows us a few attractions including Discovery Centre and SAFTI.

What a pair, LCT and I. Together, we probably know most corners of Singapore.

Tech note The mystery of shredded rims has been solved. LCT tells me XTR brake pads are called "rim eaters", because they gouge rims. Just as well I replaced the pads (see bikelog 25 Jun 03).

Wed 2 Jul: Heavy shelling
To Sembawang, 34 km. Bad day today; got caught in a cross fire. I barely make it out in time and in one piece for my ride back towards serenity. Tonight, we have a guest star for our ride - someone who's been seen regularly on TV and (surprise surprise) had been on the NPCC round island ride. The "padre" is also cycling tonight, but we seem to have run out of places to go to. They don't want to go to Toa Payoh Rise, so off we go again to Kampong Wak Hassan. I draft and overtake most of the roadies, but today isn't really a good ride - couldn't get past 40 km/h on my own steam. Must've been all that artillery fire.

Jun: 660 km

Sun 29 Jun: Prequel to the sequel
To Holland Village, 32 km. Today, I recce solo the route for The Hills Are Alive 2: The Urban Jungle, the sequel to The Hills Are Alive 1. Putting on sunscreen feels strange as I've been cycling at night for months. The hills are fine (many thanks to LSL for showing me these routes). Today, I break my speed record: 86.2 km/h. Hard to believe: computer glitch or just a microsecond at this speed? I'm addicted to speed (not referring to drugs here). I try to draft behind motorbike, bus, car, anything faster than me. But they all accelerate faster than I can. Speed is of the essence - though it's sunny, suddenly I see angry black clouds. It's a race against the wind, which whips the leaves into a malestrom. The leaves dance in the wind, swirling and rolling on the road, then rising to say hello to my eyes. Back home, I almost come to grief. I'm drafting behind a van; suddenly it brakes and swerves left with no signal. I yell but he's oblivious to basic humanity. And I'm oblivious to basic common sense, risking my life for speed. Still, I make it out of the rain in the nick of time: it's a squall, with rain and branches pelting down.

Fri 27 Jun: Misty, spooky road
To Telok Blangah, 42 km. On my way to start point at Adam Rd food centre, I pass the cemetery at Kheam Hock Rd. This time, the street lamps cast an eerie yellow glow on the night mist. The wind rushes past me. It's chilly and spooky. Brrr! Tonight, there's just ten cyclists, with J leading again. Up Telok Blangah and down they sprawl when they reach the top. I sit beside D and he asks if I'm the one who wrote "the article about Iron Horse". He's referring to my website and I wonder how he tumbled onto it. He's a connoisseur of old bikes and restores them. Tonight, he rides a modified high-tensile steel racer. I also meet a rider who's got $1,200 wheelset and $240 saddle. Money can buy happiness ...
Tech note By front d is battle-tested tonight on one of the steepest hills in Singapore. It shifts so well, I couldn't believe it and had to do it again.

Wed 25 Jun: Leading from the middle

To Seletar, 39 km. The "padre" is absent again today. "Where shall we go?" asked the flock. "To Seletar," said I and off we went. Though I was supposed to lead, I ended up in the middle since M said I cycle too fast. G and GKT just streaked ahead of me. G is now the fasted: Canondale on slicks is hard to beat. GKT tells me he likes the place I led him to, but tonight, no free supper for me.
Tech note Tired of pieces coming off my rims onto my brake pads and causing more damage to my rims, I replace the front XTR brake pads with the original eight-year-old no brand brake pads. And they work fine so far. As does the new rear d I bought on 22 Jun :-)

Photo courtesy of GKT

Fri 20 Jun: Danger on the roads!
To Changi, 69 km. For the first time tonight, Gentle Giant joins togoparts' Friday West Night Ride. She agrees with me that the chaps here are different. She likes it too. From Adam Road, we head for Orchard Road enroute to Nicholl Highway. And I discover I've been wrong about the most dangerous roads in Singapore. #1 is still Lornie Road. I thought #2 was East Coast Park, but I was wrong. It's #3, while Orchard Road on Friday night is #2. We have safety in numbers, about a dozen of us, so motorists tend not to molest us. Still, on the roads, danger lurks everywhere. In Ang Mo Kio alone, a pedestrian brushed against me - I saw him and rang my bell twice. He tought it was Tinker Bell asking him to sleep. So he sleepwalks as he crosses the road. Either that, or he's cross-eyed. Whatever it is , I'm cross!

At Changi, I race with some cyclists, playing leap frog on the road as we take turns to overtake each other. So it's true: there are people who clock 35 km/h on knobbies.

Thu 19 Jun: Balik kampung

To Sembawang, 34 km. The "padre" who usually leads his flock of bikers isn't around tonight. Where shall we cycle to? I suggest Sembawang park connector and off we go, with me leading the way. I talk to J, who tells me part of her yoga story. Interesting story from an interesting girl. At Upper Thomson Rd, I break away - I gravitate towards hills (a feature of having a heavy bike; mass attracts mass). Looks like none of them have ever been to Kampong Wak Hassan, which is at one end of the connector. GKT likes it, and treats me to the usual prata supper at Casuarina Rd.

Wed 11 Jun: From 9 to 1
To Changi, 60 km. Tonight, there are nine cyclists - including P and D! Haven't seen P since the Kluang ride. D now rides a racer with some MTB parts including handlebar and crankset. Hmmm, a mutation just like the X-men. We split into two groups, then three, then four. Not really by design. The roadies want to go to Changi. P goes one way and I follow the rest - if P is fast on an MTB, on a racer he'll be like Flash. I think that with the "padre" and R, at least I can see their tail-lights. And that's how we end up in four groups, with me cycling solo down East Coast Park and Changi Coast Road. At Changi, I pass a rider in red. No, it isn't a Man U fan. He nods a greeting to me as we pass like two ships in the night. At 7-Eleven, I treat myself to a Milo freeze and Snickers ice cream (a first time taste for me). I tease Gentle Giant via SMS, and she socks it back to me.
Tech note I modify my new gloves by stuffing some sponge. Seems to work.

Sat 7 Jun: Bittersweet

To Marina South, 54 km. This is the last ride before the actual NPCC Charity Cyclethon next week. There's a briefing today, so I reluctantly forgo a ride to Pengarang with C and CN of the Wednesday night bike gang. The briefing is at the Police Academy. There, I learn how much work has been put into the ride. Really impressive planning and logistics. After the briefing, we put butts to saddles and cycle to National Stadium, then all over the place including Esplanade, Tanjong Rhu and Marina South. I pig out after that, to make up for the hunger all day (should've eaten after last night's ride; I was so hungry I couldn't sleep). One of the girls doesn't join us for dinner; she sits by herself by the bikes - she's too tired to eat. Another girl leaves our table to keep her company. Us guys do what we do - we stuff our faces and talk about cycling. I reluctantly scoot off before the rest leave - this is the third night in a row I've been cycling and I'm tired (I've never before cycled three nights in a row ). Before I go, I snap some photos. Soon, all these will be memories.

Tech note My palms hurt. I bought a pair of branded gloves - but wrong model - they seem to be for road bikes!

Fri 6 Jun: Long and winding road
To Kent Ridge Park, 43 km. This is what a Grand Prix must feel like. We speed down the long and winding road of South Buona Vista, twisting and turning. Suddenly, bike leader J of Togoparts (Friday West Night Ride) shoots past me and shouts "left!". So I turn left, as the roadies I'm tagging behind shoot past the turn. First time I've ever cycled up Kent Ridge Park. Beautiful sight of night lights, plus the incongruous sight of an AMX13 light tank too. The tank was brought into Singapore in 1969. It's more ancient than my bike! Sigh, too bad we don't stop to take in the sights. As we head downhill, I clock over 50 km/h. I misjudge my speed on one of the tight turns. Not sure what happened next, but I find myself standing on the grass patch beside the kerb. My pedal strikes the kerb and the impact dislodges the chain. J asks me a few time if I'm OK. Yeah, my first crash of 2003. Not a scratch on me, since I land feet first. My crank and bottom bracket seem OK too. Well, it's a charmed ride, since I am unmolested along the cemetery of Keam Hock Road (well, I was singing to God) and along Lornie Road on the way home.

Thu 5 Jun: Short and sweet
To Sembawang, 32 km. Tonight is a short ride with the Wednesday night gang (cycling on a Thursday night). The "padre" takes the lead as usual, being the only roadie. We try out Sembawang Ave, a nice, broad and straight road. I scoot off early to catch some sleep and ride with C part of the way as she heads for home.
Tech note My brake pads continue to pick up debris, peeling slivers off my brand new rims. I drop by to see Bikeshop Man, who is having a late night. He declines to sell me any brake pads. Instead, he removes the pads and starts filing them. I do the same for my remaining pads. He declines to take any money. What an honest man.

Great expectations, great disappointments

To Paya Lebar Airbase, 65 km.

The expectations
Every year, the airbase is a magnet for thousands of riders and roller bladers from East Coast Park and other parks. They come from all corners of Singapore regardless of race, language or collision. This year, the first 300 who complete the 45 km route stand to win five Scott bikes worth $3,000 each. So, if I win a bicycle, can anyone say I've been unfaithful to my old faithful Iron Horse?

I prepare my bicycle for the ride last night and skip a movie with the NPCC chaps. Today 7.30 am, I'm at the bus stop waiting for the NPCC chaps. At 8 am, we give up waiting for those missing in action and cycle to the airbase. What a jam. Because of thermal scanning to catch severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) suspects, we end up shuffling our feet for an hour. By the time I get on my bike, my legs are stiff. And I miss the sight of seeing thousands of bikes around me all raring to go.

As the ride has been in progress for an hour already, I try to overtake every living thing in sight. I succeed most of the time, but some mountain bikers over take me. Hmmph. I try drafting some roadies and if they're too slow, I skip to the next roadie ahead. I hear a strange noise, it gets closer and soon it's behind me. Something wrong with my rear wheel? I look back and see a blader drafting behind me. What a strange sight. A roadie in front, then me on a mountain bike, then the blader. I see another roadie I know and ask him to join our circus. It's great to draft behind a pro - besides breaking the wind, he is an early warning and chooses the best route to avoid all those human land mines strewn all over the place. I even see a blader pushing a pram - the kid is asleep!

The disappointments
I pass the NPCC chaps as I go on my second lap. But I don't get to go on the third and last lap - the marshalls close the route so they can close shop on time. So disappointing. Even if I don't win a bicycle, I want to finish what I start. Also disappointing is the dissolution of the fellowship of the spins. Though we were at the bus stop, the magic is gone. Perhaps because H is abroad much of the time. Gentle Giant has stopped organising rides. M prefers sea sports now. B is working much of the time; I hear he's got a girlfriend too. And LSH rides with togoparts.

The saving grace: the NPCC chaps. Though we ride separately today, I join them for lunch and chat with ZL. She must love her job a lot, because she's been losing sleep the past several weekends for months to prepare for the round island . And she spends much time with the cadets: ride debrief last night (about three hours), then dinner, then the movie. Well, the cadets are truly a nice lot to be with. But this is probably the end of it.

Tech note I consider getting "egg beater" pedals which cost $99-120 depending on where one goes - all because of the race on 20 Jun where I had a hard time playing leap frog on the road. But I hear these pedals need maintenance, and I already have fuss free Power Grips (so far, I've never seen anyone else using them). So I decide to change my rear d instead, because I hear noise when I pedal. And I like my bike to hum along nicely. I end up with (drum roll please) an eight-speed LX rear d (instead of a seven-speed Shimano SIS which costs less than half the price). It escapes me why changing the rear d affects the alignment of the front d; after all, the freewheel hasn't shifted. Bikeshop man spends a lot of time trying to get the gears to shift properly.

Finally, he succeeds (after taking out the bottom bracket and putting it back in). And now (drum roll please), the chain goes up and down each chain ring with only a bit of fuss. As I do a short road test, I notice lots of wires sticking out of one shifter. I go back to the bikeshop; it turns out my front d is hanging by one strand! So I had to change that too.

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.

May: 884 km

Fri 30 May: Roads of death
To Mount Faber, 42 km. Cars and taxis that cut in front of you. Buses that swerve into your path from the right or from bus bays on the left. It can be deadly on the roads for cyclists. Tonight, I have a few close calls. It doesn't help that at one junction, there is a "fatal accident" police notice. Tonight, I also cycle on Sime Road, with tombstones on either side. Ironically, this route is to escape the deadly road that is Lornie / Adam Road, with its slip roads leading to the expressway. LSL and his pal W lead the way for me to Adam Road Hawker Centre. This is my first Friday West Night Ride (FWNR). The Togoparts cyclists on this ride have different psychographics compared to the FENR riders. What's common to both however is the high end bicycles, eg Canondale and Klein. And, of course, the only Iron Horse - mine.

Tech note Managed to get my front d to shift to #1 this time, by pedalling slow. Of course, there's a risk that if the chain doesn't shift, I'll stall in #2. My new wheelset performs beautifully. It's quieter, smoother. I hit 42 km/h easily. One of my brake pads has a tiny speck of metal on it. Hope it's a leftover from the old rim. Bikeshop man has adjusted the pads well - no squealing at all despite having old pads on new rims.

Tue 27 May: New toys
Ang Mo Kio, 5 km Tech note To find a solution to my rim problem, I go to two bicycle shops today. One of them, in town, quotes me $250 to upgrade my wheelset to Deore, plus derailleurs, shifters and 8-speed casette. So cheap - calculation error or misunderstanding? After work, I cycle to my regular shop, which quotes "at least $300". The shop has another pair of wheels - Alex rims, just like my old ones. For freewheel too. The difference: new wheels are double walled (instead of single walled), 32 spokes (instead of 36) and aluminium hubs (instead of steel). The new ones are broader too. All of which mean I don't save any weight - bicycle is still 13 kg. To change or not to change? I decide that changing to eight speed plus other parts introduces too many unknown variables. So I go for the Alex wheelset. Clearly, my old front hub is wonky - must be all that pounding on the trails. The old rear hub seems OK. Anyway, with my new set of wheels, I can feel the difference. Can't wait to road test it. Cost me $150. Looks better too.

Afternote: I go back to the shop in town to check the price again. He assures me I didn't misunderstand. I go to another shop and am quoted $350 for Deore parts. Well, it looks like there's hope for the horse yet, except perhaps if the fork goes.

Fri 23 May: Five firsts
To Mount Faber and Telok Blangah hill, 48 km. What an eventful night. First time cycling with Togoparts. First time cycling up Mount Faber. First time up Telok Blangah. First time cycling down Orchard Rd. And first time cycling three abreast on the road. We thirty riders take up an entire lane. At times, motorists get nervous, instead of the other way round. There's safety in numbers. Well, sort of. Got to watch out for unexpected movements within the pack when other cyclists get too close; like when someone cycling on the pavement jumps out beside you. Or, when going up the hills, riders stall suddenly in front of you. Worse, one cyclist to my right stalled and fell, still clipped to his pedals. Good thing his limbs didn't flail under my wheels. I meet some pals K, H and LSH, and make some new friends: A and generous J who buys drinks for five of us. I also introduce myself to bikeleader N, who has a cyclist's physique: long wiry limbs and aerodynamic torso.

Tech note Front d as usual gives me problems. It's no joke trying to get up Mount Faber on a heavy Horse without chainring #1; fortunately, I don't stall. It's also no joke getting down Mount Faber without front brakes - some metallic debris as usual gets stuck on the pads and I don't want to shred my rims.

Wed 21 May: Two by two, near the zoo
To Seletar and Mandai, 33 km. Just as the animals went into Noah's ark two by two, we cycle two by two for self-preservation at times. There's safety in numbers and from the back, hopefully drivers will think there are road works ahead when they see multiple red blinkers. But as we cycle on busier roads, the feeling of vehicles whizzing too close for comfort makes me stick close to the kerb and it's single file again. Tonight, I ride with roadies "Padre" and "R". Actually, it's more like trying to chase after their blinkers, which wink teasingly at me in the night. I almost catch up with R along Upper Seletar Reservoir. Then, he stands on his pedals and leaves me way behind again. Anyway, cycling on my semi-slicks is exhilarating. It's a kind of magic, to balance on two wheels at up to 41 km/h on flat roads, with the wind in my face. Plus the companionship of nine other cyclists tonight, including M, whom I've not seen since 16 Feb. We stop by Casuarina Rd for supper as usual.

Tech note My front d seems to have two modes: on road and off road. On road means the chain shifts only from #3 to #2 or vice versa, but not from #2 to #1. Off road means the chain shifts from #2 to #1 or vice versa, but not from #2 t #3. What a joke! And my white watch, which has been with me for hundreds of km, conks out too. It's corroded with all that sweat and is beyond repair. What a pity. White watches are rare and mine matches my home-made sweat-absorbing "turban", t-shirt and socks. Sigh. Wonder what I'll feel if my Horse is beyond repair too.

11 May: Mission accomplished!

To Seletar and Sembawang, 55 km. This is the last ride I'm organising on behalf of Bikerboey before she returns from South America on 25 May. Today's ride (the fourth in as many months) comes full circle - the first ride I'd ever led was to Sembawang too, on 3 Feb. This ride is also the most fun ride I've ever led. It's the slowest ride ever, with no need to cycle fast and no pain from lactic acid buildup. I ride at average 18 km/h, sometimes just coasting along without pedalling and sometimes going at around 10 km/h, which is like stalling speed. We cycle on the road and do some off-road. We see wide open spaces, birds and butterflies, streams, the sea and the sun filters through the cloudy sky, shedding light without scorching skin. The ride is also memorable because of the riders:

• G, on an A-frame Trek, knows Yishun and the places to eat
  
• G, on a hardtail purple Trek, gets the helpful rider award for "back marker", looking after newbie H
  
• H has Unlimited generosity; she buys satay for all of us
  
• The two Giants, for sheer good-natured entertainment. I'm pleasantly surprised to see Carbon Giant join a slack ride like this - he usually goes above 35 km/h. And Gentle Giant is "fined" for being late - she buys drinks all round.
  
• Gentle Giant tells me she should go on more rides with me, because she's regained her joy of cycling today instead of racing. Sure, we cycled about three hours, but we stopped to take in the sights and to talk to each other too. Which is part of the fun of cycling in a group.

My journey from being a solo rider (cycling over 1,000 km solo last year) to bike leader started in Dec-Jan 02, when Bikerboey said she's going away on Operation Raleigh for four months and needed help to keep the BOAC bike rides going in her absence. Somehow, I agreed, though I'd never led bike rides before.

Tech note Another first - today is the first time I'm wearing a branded jersey. Supposed to be cool. Maybe it looks cool, but cotton feels better ... and it's way cheaper.

Thu 8 May: "Church of the Knobby Tyre"
To Admiralty Rd West, 47 km. Office meeting ends and I flee like the wind so I can ride like the wind. I meet more people, including "the padre" of the "Church of the Knobby Tyre". His jersey shows a medieval monk, with a halo, on a mountain bike. All with a stained glass effect. Well, the monk may be on a mountain bike, but the padre is on a Trek OCLV. He leads the ride. At first, he goes at about 16 km/h. Hmmm, that's slack. But as it turns out, that's to warm up. Soon, we're tearing up the hills of Sembawang Rd at 30, then 40 km/h. Soon, he pulls away, a little blinking red dot on the little red dot that's Singapore. We reach Admiralty Road West. It's beautiful by day and more so at night, as the lights of Johore reflect off the black waters of the Straits of Johore. Too bad about the dogs though. While they ignore the other bikers, one of them barks at me. And on the roads, we pass by a few BMX bikers. One of them shoots out and cuts in front of me, with less than an elbow length to spare, then laughs maniacally.

Tech note My XTR brakes seem to keep picking up bits and pieces from my alloy rims. I find these itsy bitsy shiny bits embedded in the pads, which make an awful sound whenever I brake. Are they braking or breaking?

Sun 4 May: Alone again, naturally
To Pasir Ris and Tampines, 50 km. I don't know if my pals are organising any rides, so today is solo day. Group cycling can be fun, but going solo has its advantages too. I cycle as hard and fast as I want, or not. I stop to explore, sometimes on foot eg Tampines Ind Ave 2. It's a road with barely any traffic. When I'm solo, I can soak in the atmosphere as long as I want. Hills, trees and the lullaby of trickling water. A toad looks at my bike. I ride on, then stop to check out interesting scenery. What lies beyond that hill? I tread carefully on the soggy ground. Up the hill, I spy a road. But it's gonna be tough getting my bike up there. Silence. Any dogs lying in wait? Near Lor Halus, signage indicates pet farms in the area. I hear barking but somehow, it doesn't sound threatening - maybe it's because I know the dogs are locked up. Or maybe I've heard enough dogs baying for blood to know when it's time to flee.

I meet H, LCT and his friend K at Tay Cycle. LCT shows me a Kona chromoly. After lunch, we cycle to SCH but ... it's closed! H asks me when I'm getting a new bike. I say, when a critical component fails and I can't find spares.

Tech note Just out of Ang Mo Kio, while I'm still fresh, I hit 44.6 km/h. Could I have gone faster? Maybe, but for the red lights ahead. Today is also the first time in my life I cycle with arm warmers. Actually, they feel cool :-) except when I stop and the sun beats down.

Sat 3 May: Mutually scared
To Seletar and Sembawang, 46 km. It rained buckets today. So when the sky clears in the evening, I hop on my horse and recce for May's BOAC ride. At Seletar West Farmway, I turn ... and see a couple of dogs ... and a dead end ahead of me. Gulp. I turn and pedal oh so slowly, so gingerly past the dogs. One of them actually jumps when it sees me, but they all leave me alone. I guess it isn't werewolf time or not there isn't enough dogs for critical mass. The area is really a maze, and amazing too. Down to the airbase, past the beauty of Yishun Ave 1, then to Sembawang. I've been cycling non-stop for two hours, then stop by Cheap John's and hey, they have a pair of arm warmers. Goodbye sunburn pains - I apply sun block but I guess the noon day sun is too strong even for SPF30? I admire the bikes there - a Marin for only $650?

Thu (Labour Day) 1 May: Off-road on slicks

To Ubin, 69 km. I take a chance of road rash and face plants by going off-road with my slick tyres, because I'm too lazy to change tyres after last night's ride to Changi. I only have about five hours sleep, then back to Changi again. At Changi, I meet Gentle Giant's colleagues, most of whom ride fierce-looking bicycles. And me on my rigid, ancient horse. For the first time ever, I ride a trail with slick tyres. I take a pounding on the trail, especially downhill. Worse, my front d isn't working well - it refuses to shift from #2 to #1. My right knee hurts after last night's race with G. Anyway, I have some thrills without spills. Back home, I snatch some sleep, then clean my chain with "Chain Gang". Wow, my chain looks like new now but all that muck is all over the floor. And as I dispose of the muck, I end up having to clean the toilet too ... The ride doesn't quite make up for the ride to Malacca, which is supposed to start today, led by P. But my leave isn't approved. There goes another record-breaker - I could've cycled 400 km.

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.

To the waterfall

To Kota Tinggi, 126 km (Woodlands to Kota Tinggi by car). For the first time in Iron Horse's existence, it gets strapped to a car. And this is the first time it's going to Kota Tinggi too. At Kota Rainforest Resort, we unload our bikes and we're off on whatever trail looks like it leads somewhere. Several times, it leads nowhere. But no matter, my Horse is here to ride. Hospital D and LCT take us further afield. Rubber and oil palm plantations, even farms. Dirt tracks leading everywhere and nowhere. We head for the road towards the waterfall for lunch and the ice kachang is great stuff - never had such heavy duty stuff in Singapore. At the waterfall, people stand below the falling water - a vertical jacuzzi on the cheap. The weather is sizzling; the water must feel good.

We head back for the resort and chill out as the sun beats down on the outside. When it gets cooler after a few hours, we head for some new trails - at least there's shade among the foilage (and mosquitoes, who have a giant feast on Giant). This last leg of the trail is the messiest I've ever been on. Mud. Holes in the ground, big and small - and places where the ground simply falls away (I had a few close calls, whew - when I'm bouncing that much, so do my spectacles, my brain and my eyeballs). Branches on the ground. Branches overhead. Twigs that whip me as I ride by. Hilly, bumpy ground - so bumpy that one of my waterbottles bounces off. Horse protests at the punishment by creaking (headset? handlebar? fork? I don't know). Once, I am forced to dismount - the deep tracks made by trucks, the branches and stones make the going tricky. Worse, it's uphill. Now and then, AZ and her friend L zip past me. Strange; they'd pushed their bikes uphill earlier on. Anyway, I come to bike, not to hike. I mount my Horse and try to pedal uphill. My rear tyre loses traction (I'm using semi slicks). My foot slips and I get a "bear trap" when the pedal swings around and gashes my shin. Ouch.

We go deeper and deeper into the oil palm plantation. It's going to get dark soon. Somehow, Hospital D's global positioning satellite thingy doesn't quite help us find the way out - the foilage is too dense for the satellites, I guess. He and LCT decide to backtrack. So here I go again, bouncing back from whence I came in.

Back at the resort, I marvel at how AZ and Hospital D lovingly wash their magnificent machines (both Specialized). Me, all I have is a Specialized helmet and bottlecage. I'm going to throw away the aluminium cage - someone tells me about aluminium poisoning ...

Half of us head for home that evening. The other half head for town (the resort is too expensive) to spend the night. Next morning, we head south for home. Along the way, a puppy zooms after LCT like a heat seeking missle. Target acquired, but lost. Missle turns to face me. I bend down and shout at it. I think it's winded; it looks at me blankly. Wonder why it targetted LCT but I'm glad this dog didn't go after me.

Thanks to Giant, who suggested I feed Horse with lube, my machine is frisky again. The lube must have been washed away as I sprayed my bike yesterday. I'm also surprised how much air has gone out of my tyres too; must have been the pounding on the trail yesterday.

Hills, hills and more hills. The morning mist dissipates, the cool morning air melts away as the sun - and temperature - rises. The roads around Johore Bahru become filled with hurtling metal monsters, anyone of which can make mincemeat of LCT, Giant and me. While rolling uphill, a bus stops. Darn, gravity has a love affair with my heavy Horse. I weave around the bus and a heavy truck blares its disgust as it bears down in my direction. (That makes two well-deserved chastisement - the first one being on the way to Woodlands yesterday to meet everyone.)

Giant is getting winded. LCT and I slow down to wait for her (LCT leads, because he knows the way home). Back in Singapore, we have a long lunch break - over an hour. We then taunt the noonday sun and ride our last leg home. I escort Giant as far as I can in Ang Mo Kio, then break away for home to clean my Horse. Well, that's the end of a trip which I'd waited agonisingly for. Sometimes, I wish I didn't know about cycling, because waiting for rides like this is painful. I survive by telling myself I should be feeling the joy of anticipation instead of the agony of waiting.

Tech note LCT and Hospital D comment about my bike being a rigid one, while they ride in relative comfort on the trail. At Bukit Timah (15 May), Giant's colleagues say that if my rides are filmed, bike shops will close and if I change to a better bike, I could be "Singapore's best rider". Yeah yeah, one day I'll get a hardtail. But not now, while Horse still has life in it. Anyway, who knows, it's a man-machine interface thing. I know how my Horse performs. Who knows if my next bike has that same frame geometry and everything else that makes my bike what it is today.