Monday, July 6, 2009

From 2c to 32c...




It's the 2 week school hols in Australia and we are in Singapore catching up with family, friends and of course, cycling. Coming from the dead of winter into the sweltering humidity of the tropics gave me a migraine, literally.

The first thing I did was to fix up the new rack for my Bike Friday tikit and this morning, I tested it with a touring pannier fitted on. I was mildly disappointed to open the package from Bike Friday only to find it was a commuter rack and not the dual touring one I had wanted. Anyway, it proved to be quite adequate as my panner is pretty generous and its one sided design meant it could still maintain its unique *hyperfold ability.
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My usual cycling buddies came along, all 6 of us for the ECP/Changi ride of 32km round trip. The weather was cloudy and I'm thankful for small mercies as it meant I would not be baked by the merciless tropical sun. I had to quickly get conditioned and used to the humidity as I shall be cycling off to Bintan, Indonesia in a few days time.

It was a complete joy and delight to ride my tikit again and I appreciated its razor sharp handling, even with one pannier in front. The ride is plush and the power delivery responsive. Soon, I was leading the pack together with my friend SC on his Surly LHT without realising it. I got carried away with riding the tikit! This is without a doubt, the best 16" foldie money can buy.

Whizzing along the excellent bike paths of the Changi Park Connectors, we skirted the busy international airport and enjoyed watching the huge planes landing and taking off so gracefully. It was also magic to ride along the coast with fresh breezes on our faces.


Today was also special as I met Theseus, a regular foldie cyclist on a Dahon Speed Pro TT. He rides there almost everyday with his wife and I took the opportunity to snap a picture with him. Somehow, the bond of smaller wheels must be celebrated.
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At Changi Village, we had our usual breakfast and I tucked into a huge plate of Nasi Lemak (coconut rice), washed down with fresh pineapple/orange juice. At the bike shop there, I installed a new model bar end on the tikit and Jason fitted it on very professionally. For US$16, this was truly what I needed to make my commuter tikit into a touring one.
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Richard who bought over my Dahon Helios 2 years ago showed me his latest gadgets. A saddle with a nifty pocket to contain his tools, phone, spare tube etc
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and an Otomo MP3 Player mounted beautifully on the handlebar cockpit. The sound was powerful and impressive and for one recharge, it gave 25 hours of play! I'm going to need that for my next touring trip. (Silly me shot this video vertically... so please excuse the wrong angle)
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All in, my first bike ride in the tropical heat after being in Australia proved too enjoyable. In the company of a good foldie and good friends, the heat can almost be ignored. Its great to be back!


*I had a chance to demonstrate the tikit's 5 sec fold to Peter, a curious cyclist at the Changi Village Food Centre, and he could not believe his eyes!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Alvin,

Can u give me your email as i can't access Facebook anymore office hours.

My email is thomfong@gmail.com

Thomas.