Left low and dry at the Pinnacles

Singapore is renown for its skyscrapers and I wanted to check out the latest offering - the Pinnacles at Duxton. This is an impressive 50th floor high public housing that has just been completed right in the heart of the city. Its design has won many awards but it was the view that promises to be magical.

Pic taken fm Flickr Simon Photography

I rode my Carry Me there hoping to take some shots of it in the sunset, high up in the clouds. In my mind, I was picturing what angles to shoot it from etc and the soft lighting was almost perfect. Alas, when I was at the ticket office to pay the $5 entrance fee, the security staff said I couldn't bring the CM up to the Skybridge as it was a bicycle.

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Despite folding it up into its most compact upright stance and promising not to ride it, they refused to budge, stroller-size notwithstanding. Rules are rules! Thus, my little excursion was scuttled, leaving me low and dry. O well, we live and learn.

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ps: This blog post depicts the awesome scenery 50 floors up.

Roadwalk-ing 7000km!

Big stomachs & short legs are hindrances for cycling

I'm a firm believer in personal chemistry when it comes to friendships. Roadwalker and I certainly seem to have that in fizzles and it was a great privilege to ride with him this morning along the beautiful ECP, together with Keong.

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We met in Aug 2008 at a foldie bike meet in Singapore where he was riding a Strida. RW has since changed to riding a Birdy LX and I was shocked to learn he has put 7000km on his snow white foldie just riding around Singapore over 2.5 years. Considering he also has a Pacific Reach and a road bike, and did only a few overseas trips, it is quite a feat.

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RW has a most gentle disposition and is a talented graphic designer. It shows in his choice of the Birdy, a truly beautifully German designed foldie with unique parallelogram front suspension system. He has just installed a small but ingenious front rack capable of taking 2 Orteliebs and still fold. One would expect a bike with such high mileage to be pretty scruffy, but RW's Birdy looks like it is just out of the showroom thanks to his meticulous care and attention. So far he is on his second set of Marathon Racers and chain.

He showed me his little notebook of cycling where he pens down his thoughts and musings ever so neatly. Unfortunately for me, its written in Chinese but his pictorial illustrations and patient explanation fascinated and illuminated me.

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"Good grief! I'm rather porky but good thing my bike is light as a feather..."

One of a weight weeny trying to shave off grams on his carbon fibre bike while he himself was "sumo-rish" brought lots of chuckles over our Nasi Lemak breakfast this morning.

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RW has also been a great friend to me as we journey together through the ups and downs of life. I look forward to celebrating his 10000km acccomplishment and somehow, I sense that will come sooner than later.

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Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 1 John 4:11

The first shall be last

Pic from Planetearthdailyphoto.

Sometimes in life, coming in first is not necessarily a good thing. In ultra-competitive Singapore, not many will agree with me.

We all know that crossing the road at such a designated spot like a Zebra crossing is supposed to be safe. And it is most times. I was on my way to meet a friend on my Tikit for a morning breakfast chat in Singapore. While crossing at the zebra in Clementi, an orange bike and I waited for traffic to stop and it did. The bus signalled for us to proceed. For some reason, I wasn't the first to cross as I usually am, and the orange bike shot across only to be T-boned by a huge motorcycle. To be fair, the motorcyclist's vision was obstructed by the bus and he proceeded to pass the bus on its right side only to hit the bicycle.

The impact carried the orange bike and its rider 3m leftwards and miraculously, no one was hurt. It was very decent of the motorcyclist to dismount and offer help to the unfortunate cyclist.

I'm very glad and thankful that all went well for everyone but I learned that being second can sometimes save your life. Please ride safe and be extremely vigilant, even at zebras.

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The words of Jesus in Matt 20:16 are worth reflecting upon.

“So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last.”

Another foldie travels north

Like teenage kids, it seems my foldies have taken to travelling without their father. First was the Brompton in Perth and now in Singapore, my Carry Me stick folder. One of my buddies asked if he could borrow my CM for his morning rides as he will spend a week in Phuket, Thailand, holidaying with his wife.

For someone who has 2 very top end foldies - a Tikit and a Brompton, and too many other bikes, it is for good reason that he very discerningly wanted the CM. As a tiny folded package weighing only 8kg, it travels remarkably well in planes and taxis, and is perfect for exploration rides. It is also capable of light touring and I did a 40km short tour with the Carry Me some years back.

Guess the kids are growing up too quickly.

This video gives you an idea of how compact the CM is folded.

Brompton goes north for the winter

Pic fm Holiday-WA.net

Its quite common for many West Australians to head up north for warmer weather this winter. My friend Rod and his wife are doing just that, taking a 600km drive for a winter holiday. He was worried about not getting enough exercise so I offered him my Brompton.

Folded into a compact package in an Ikea Dimpa bag, its easy to transport just like another piece of luggage in the boot of his Forester. And it comes into its own forte for morning discovery rides around beautiful Kalbarri.

There was only one request I ask of Rod, and that was to take some pics of the Brompton in action up there where it is comfortably much warmer. Stay tune for hopefully great pics!

Cold here, wet there!

Its official! Winter is finally here with a vengence. Sadly, there goes my morning bike rides. Today, it hit minus 2c at 5am and at 8am, it was still a freezing 1c.

I really look forward to my trip to Singapore next week to ride in warm weather for a change but then again, I'm hearing flash floods everywhere in the island. Probably need to get a folding canoe if this keeps up.
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Think its time to take global warming seriously and we all do need to play our part.

Onwards to Freo

Freedom to discover! This is what cycling is all about. In our usual rides to Point Walter, I've often wanted to press on 8km more to Fremantle, the historical portside city of Western Australia but somehow couldn't. Well recently, I managed to do just that.

Fremantle has a really old world European charm about it. Founded in 1829, the many heritage buildings such as Fremantle Prison, Round House, Clock Tower together with abundance of Victorian and Georgian styled architecture sprinkled along the quiet lanes make me feel like I've just teleported myself to a small town in Cornwall.

The bike path straight to Freo was excellent and clearly marked, skirting along the beautiful Swan River until hitting Freo. I was amazed to cycle pass the holding area of the Fremantle Port where hundreds of brand new cars from all over the world were awaiting their new owners. Going pass that led to E-Shed Markets where it is the tourist/shopper's paradise.

I was particularly charmed to see all the artsy designs along the quay and this one about a woman's need for man and bicycles really got me in stitches.

Fremantle is also famous for its original markets, which is more than 100 years old. They open only on weekends and sell clothes, art and crafts, fresh food as well as all sorts of nibbles.

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There is also a very strong coffee culture with numerous Italian sidewalk cafes, trendy beer cafes and great restaurants serving signature seafood cuisine. The famous Cicerellos proudly states they serve WA's No 1 Fish and Chips. I can't vouch for their claim but seriously,I think there are so many creative ways of cooking fish than just deep-frying breaded fish, popular as it may be.
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When it was time to go home, I took the easy way out. I jumped into the train unfolded with great wonderings about catching the ferry to Rottnest Island for my next discovery!