Today, we rode in the west...
The crew gathered at the open area in front of Vivo City today before heading towards West Coast Highway, making a left detour midway towards Keppel Bay.
It didn't take long before we were informed by the resident watchmen that we were treading on private area, even though there was no barrier/check point of any sorts between the path and the main road.
Keppel Bay, not the most visitor friendly place on earth, but offers quite stunning scenery.
Here in this private area, you'll find many yachts which is quite a rare sight in Singapore...
A few weeks ago, we rode past some traditional and rustic shophouses along Joo Chiat. Today, we witnessed some quite stunning futuristic architecture within this private area...
Here is KC doing his best impression of mowing the lawn of the private area...
As we couldn't stay too long on the private area, we promptly made ourselves scarce. We then proceeded towards Labrador Park, one of our country's oldest parks.
Here is a machine gun post built during the World World II in an effort to defend Singapore against the opposing Japanese forces. It also proved to be one of the biggest mistakes and became an apt case study. The post was deployed facing south towards the sea. The Japanese invaded from the north.
And speaking of irony, we saw this guy rock climbing in front of a danger sign warning of falling rocks...
Our regular hunt for good food found ourselves at Telok Blangah market this week...
A solid bowl of good Lor Mee. Certainly worth a try if you're in the area...
We ride, we eat and we ride again! Burning those Lor Mee calories away, we rode past Henderson and Depot road towards Hort Park along Alexandra road.
Here we met our first friend for the day along Hyperadad Road.
Riders cranking up slope!
And when you thought it was over, here comes friend number 2! and one heck of a steep slope I must add!
The fruit of our peddling labour was a nice and relaxing ride along the quiet streets of Canterbury road where colonial black and white houses stood in their finest glory.
Here you'll find Singapore's only remaining tennis clay courts. Rafa Nadal will be pleased.
The original plan was to explore along the Southern ridges but because of the recent heavy rain resulting in a minor landslide, plus the emergence of an aggressive alpha monkey in the vicinity, the bridge was closed. Hence, we reverted to plan B, Haw Par Villa.
It has been ages since we last visited Haw Par Villa. The last time we were here, there were entrance fees and a theme park. Now, admission is free and the theme park is a thing of the past.
A steady stream of visitors could be seen flowing into this historic premise, now made even more accessible via the newly opened Haw Par Villa circle line station.
We weren't allowed to cycle within the villa, but allowed to push our bikes around.
The Ten gates of Hell...it certainly would be some venue for a spooktacular Halloween event...
The Chinese culture omnipresent throughout the villa...Chinese proverbs can be seen everywhere...
The founders of this stunning iconic Haw Par Villa, Mr Aw Boon Har and Aw Boon Par.
We haven't been riding much in the West and this was quite an enjoyable ride. The scenery along Keppel Bay was picturesque. Labrador Park was nice and complete with its history fix. Hort Park was peaceful and beautiful. Haw Par Villa, as always was quite something.
It was the perfect weekend ride before a brand new work week.
Today marked our first ride along the Bukit Batok PCN.
A short briefing was conducted by ride lead, Steve at the start point, West Mall Shopping Centre.
The love for riding was out in full force. The slight drizzle did little to dampen our fiery spirits as we cautiously made our way through the park connector network from West Mall to Bukit Batok Nature Park.
The cliff at the end of the trail was really quite stunning. Here, we performed our ritual TW pose.
To the left! Strangers meet.
To the right! New friendships made.
Freestyle!...
...and then this happened...
A bouquet of flowers popped out from nowhere, Han Boon got down on one knee and proposed to Yvette. Always expect the unexpected for LCSG rides but I think it's fair to say that nobody would have imagined this.
Han Boon had been secretly planning for this with Taiwoon and the secret operation was now in full play. Last night, Gwyn and I were mobilized to find a tune with our Ukes. We were more than happy to play our part in this romantic moment...
If you're wondering how we transported our ukes, here you go. All thanks to our mighty T-Bag.
Congrats to the newly engaged couple, Han Boon and Yvette! Love was all around and both of you just raised the bar for LCSG rides...
No LCSG ride would be complete without the show of love for food as we arrived at Ghim Moh hawker centre for lunch. It's another great place for good food. It's also one of the few hawker centres that I've come across with long queues at almost every stall.
The love for poison followed shortly after at Treknology, off Henry Park. Got myself a pair of "Bob Marley" gloves.
15 bicycles fitted in 1 car park lot.
Tadah!
Love for family was evident throughout. Daddys and their daughters sharing a moment at the playground outside Treknology.
Daddy's girl!
There was some time left for the love for music when we couldn't excuse ourselves in time. Arrows were flying all over in every possible direction and we were caught off guard.
We unofficially announce that Kevin and Gwyn are available for adhoc services for future proposals. And they are not restricted to engagements or marriage. Husbands, if you're thinking about proposing to your wives for permission to get new bikes, we'll gladly help out too!
It was a lovely sunday morning. =)
stunning pictures credited to Taiwoon and Francis
Today, lovecyclingsg turns 1 and it coincided with a short 1 hr ride around Pandan Reservoir, coupled with a special workshop organised by MyBikeShop, which was in the vicinity.
If there is one thing that we've learnt through riding, it's to always expect the unexpected.
The trail around Pandan Reservoir was flat but "pebbleful". We rode along slowly and steadily (with both fingers and toes crossed). A puncture was the last thing on our minds.
I do have to say that we're delighted with how our Bromptons handled the terrain and pebbly conditions. Thumbs up!
The scenary around the reservoir was quite stunning, though the extremely hot weather conditions (near noon sun) made it a bit harder to enjoy the view.
Riders rode on...everyone determined to complete the loop.
Hide from the sun! Most riders seeked refuge in the shade...
For a while, it did seem as if the workshop had started early and off site.
It turns out that someone suffered a puncture but fret not, George Lim to the rescue, illustrating how important/fortunate it is to have experience within the group.
With the intense heat building up, we broke away from the group for a quick chill down at Ayer Rajah hawker centre.
Came across this very interesting drink. Have you ever tried ordering a "Michael Jackson"?
That's right, Micheal Jackson = Soya Bean + Chin Chow...We learnt something new today.
The workshop at MyBikeShop got underway...
Here is Gwyn's first encounter with the pink moulton poison...
Riding around Pandan Reservoir offers a mini offroad experience with quite a view of the scenic reservoir surrounding. Just make sure that you have the right tyres and preferably, do it at the right time of the day to fully embrace your surrounding.
We interupt our sequence of Bali adventure entries with a recollection of Sunday morning's Kranji Countryside ride with the good folks from LCSG (lovecyclingsg).
Bollywood Veggies, a home grown organic farm founded and managed by Ivy Singh Lim and her husband, was top on the agenda.
A short ride from Kranji MRT station took us past Kranji Reservoir into the countryside towards Bollywood Veggies.There were parking lots available for bicycles.
I have to admit. The BV (Bollywood Veggies) concept is too cool. If anyone tells you that farms are passe or it's impossible to farm your own crops in Singapore, ask them to visit BV.
Set up a farm, live just next to it, grow your own food and at the same time educate and spread the green message. Now that's a way to retire in style! We like that!
Visitors are allowed time to walk through the farm which showcased countless types of flora.
What caught our attention were the many quirky yet inspirational signage located throughout the farm. The Eco-friendly, green message was evident for all to see.
"Let Nature be the Driver of the Future"
"Life's Good"
"Back to Nature is the Future."
"Gentle Woman or Gentle Man is a Genuine Person"
More green messages...
And a tribute to our Nation's birthday...
Ivy is ex-president for Netball Singapore and it was nice to see her passion for netball still evident in her farm...
Not often do you see scarecrows in Singapore...
It was like going back in time and felt like a class excursion as we walked through the farm on a guided tour.
Had no idea Aloe Vera could grow in our local climate...
The classic Papaya tree...
Overheard near this blue flower: "this is what you use in your Nonya rice dumplings. (Nonya Zhang)"
A huge gourd...
We love our chilli...
Cat's Whiskers!
We had breakfast at Poison Ivy, the in house cafe within Bollywood Veggies.
Western breakfast with scrambled eggs.
Some samosas to go along...
After BV, we headed down the road towards Hay Dairies, one of the last few standing goat milking farms in Singapore.
If you do make your way there, do try their fresh goat's milk. It's $2 for a small bottle, but the freshness is second to none. Must try!
After Hay dairies, we moved on to Lim Chu Kang jetty. The thing about joining the Sunday LCSG rides is that it brings you to places where you never knew existed. And more often than not, these are beautiful locations.
I would never in a million years imagine myself at Lim Chu Kang jetty had not for Sunday's ride!
There's a wooden platform that you can walk on. Very picturesque.
It was an enjoyable and insightful ride. The terrain at Lim Chu Kang is worth mentioning though. Enroute the farm tours, there are a couple of rolling slopes.
We bade farewell with the pack after Lim Chu Kang jetty as we headed back towards Boon Lay. The long stretch of Lim Chu Kang road (rumored temporary runway) was quite a killer. I used to think that runways were supposed to be flat. It was on this fateful Sunday morning that we realized that it is not flat at all!
Do think twice before trying to ride along this seemingly never ending, perpetually inclining stretch under the scorching rays of the 12 noon sun.
We know we certainly will!
