Singapore has 5 million people cramped into a small island. Yet, instead of a concrete environment of bricks, glass and mortar, it has earned itself the name, The Garden City. I was reminded of this in my recent Sunday morning ride.
It was great to catch up with my Bavarian friend Christoph on our 16" foldies, my Tikit and his Curve.
We started off on the Ghim Moh bike path and veered into Old Holland Road which is one of the quieter parts of the island. Here, we rode through a canopy of beautiful trees and gliding silently through the greenery in the cool air, was a very special experience.
By chance, we met up with a bunch of roadies coming out of a newly constructed road and we stopped for a chat. It seemed that this road was worth discovering and a real treat to ride on.
We had the whole road to ourselves and Christoph was relishing it. Rarely in Singapore do we have solitude in public places. This new road ran parallel along the railway track and we had had to do a sticky beak.
The governments of Singapore and Malaysia have recently concluded a deal of a land parcel swap. Thus sadly, the 100 year old railway will cease operations mid 2011.
We soaked in all the nostalgia we could and took a picture in the small rickety Bukit Timah Train Station, technically in Malaysian soil.
The need to climb hills led us to Rifle Range Road where Christoph trains regularly for his Tri. The greenery here is absolutely thriving and thick, and the healthy and active tribes of monkeys attest to this.
All in, a most satisfying Sunday morning 15km ride through the greener parts of the Garden City.
All things bright and beautiful, the Lord God made them all...
2 comments:
very nice! I didn;t know this place existed!
the Bavarian has very intimidating calf muscles !
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