Cycle Bali Chapter One: First Night, First Ride

Bali, one of our favorite islands in the world. Beautiful beaches, good food, friendly people and not too far away from home. Since we first visited Bali 3 years ago, we try to go back once a year. 2011 was no different. We bought our tickets to Bali a couple of months ago, before we got our bromptons.

It was only a few weeks before our trip that we figured, "Hey why don't we bring our brommies along?" I know it probably sounds a bit crazy for some. Why would you want to bring your bicycles across islands for a holiday? Will it be safe to ride in Bali? We just thought it will be kinda cool...

So like ardent students before exams, we crammed up on last minute practicals with basic bike repair like how to change a spare tube. Thanks to Steven from Diginexx who readily agreed to teach us how and Taiwoon, who advised us to practice in a peaceful state of mind, in an air-conditioned room, we successfully dismantled and reassembled our brommie. Learn how to change spare tube checked!

Next we had to decide how to pack our brommies. There were 2 options. Buy a Logel suitcase or use the official Brompton cardboard box. Suffering from deep "poisoning", we were working on a tight budget. Cardboard box sounded good. Not too shabby and does the trick! =)

Here is our brommie arriving in Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, Bali.

Another reason why the box was a good option is because being the official Brompton box, the bike fits nicely without having to dismantle any parts. Also, because it's a box and labeled fragile, it doesn't go onto the same conveyor belt as all the other luggages/suitcases do. It gets special attention. Personal transport via the airport crew. No joke, we saw it!

We were to spend our first 2 nights in Seminyak. Here are our bikes and backpacks checking in at the lobby of Amadea Resort and Villas.

One thing we noticed about Bali this time round was everyone's general interest and approval for bicycles. Being tourists traveling with 2 cardboard boxes, it drew a fair bit of attention from the locals, ranging from the guy at the airport to the cab driver and hotel staff. The following conversation probably happened at least three times on our first night in Bali.

Balinese Local: What is in the box?

Me: Bicycles.

Balinese Local nods with extreme excitement and gives the thumbs up.

The trip got better during check in. The superior room that we reserved turned out to be fully booked. They had to upgrade us to the next level (Deluxe), which turned out to be fully booked as well. So they had to upgrade us to the next level (Deluxe Pool Terrace), which turned out to be fully booked as well. So they had to upgrade us to the next level. Junior Suite. Yes, you read it right. No typos. We were upgraded 3 classes to the Junior Suite at no extra charge! Now, how can we not love Bali? =P

Gwyn got right on with business. If there was something tough about traveling with bikes, it has got to be pumping the tyres. As a regulation, all tires have to be deflated before check in onto the planes.

Slowly but surely, we go there to the right pressure. Here is Apple and buck settling down nicely in our Junior Suite.

It's a nice room, spacious and all.

Only one strange/amusing arrangement. With all that space, you would think they would not place the toilet seat centimetres ( And I mean centimetres) away from the wall. But they did...

One aspect we missed about Bali was the food. The Nasi Gorengs, Ayam Bakars, Grilled Seafood, Chilli Corn, etc . It didn't long before we headed down the road to grab a bite.

Bee Hong Goreng, Ayam Bakar and some pineapple juice.

While we kicked off our Cycle Bali in style, concurrently another big kick off was happening in the UK; The English Premier League. Amadea's a nice resort but it doesn't carry the right sports channels. How can any nice resort not show live football! Undeterred, we found ourselves across the road in one of the pubs(Rumours) to catch the live game.

The next morning, we were up early and ready for our first ride.

During our trip from the airport to the Villa on the previous night, our cab driver told us about this cycling event in Denpasar, whereby the roads will be closed and all cyclists in Bali would ride towards Denpasar. That sounded like a fun thing to do.

So we headed off in the general direction towards Denpasar, in search of this interesting cycling event. We had no idea where the exact location was. We just rode towards Denpasar thinking that we would be able to spot some cyclists along the way.

The first few minutes of riding in Bali was crucial. Crucially amazed by the wonderful culture on the roads. Drivers actually give way. And they look out for cyclists. Where we come from, this is not a given. Drivers in Bali actually share the road with motorists and cyclists. In Singapore, drivers horn when you fail to move off within split seconds of the green light. Drivers horn when they see cyclists slowing them down. In Bali, drivers horn (in a friendly manner) to tell you they are coming from behind.

Adapting to the road conditions was not difficult with such a well mannered driving culture backing it up.

The biggest challenge was the pot holes in the ground. There were aplenty. And it was important to ride carefully. We did come across this construction area along the ride from Seminyak to Denpasar. What did we do?

Carried our brommies and got across it! It was a bit of an Amazing Race moment there. Like a Road Block or something.

True enough, there were many riders moving towards/away from the event in Denpasar. Foldies, Roadies, MTBS...

It was after about an hour's ride when we noticed that the cyclists we were following were all cycling in different directions that we realized we were lost. Well, technically, can you be lost when you don't even know where you're heading to? We knew there was some cycling event in Denpasar , but had no idea where exactly it was...

So we stopped by a market, took out our map and started looking which was probably not the best thing to do considering the tons of native balinese eyes all on you.

Then this angel from heaven approached us on her motorbike. Speaking in a mixture of Mandarin and Bahasa Indonesian accent, we communicated like chicken and duck talk for a while before finally finding the right frequency. Her name is Ah Hua and she was tremendously kind enough to lead us to our destination.

From the Fujian province in China, she relocated to Bali with her family many years ago. She was like an angel sent down to lead us in the right direction.

So here we were! Finally after about 20km of cycling from Seminyak to Denpasar and with the kind help from Ah Hua, we made it to that cycling event we heard about.

The turn out was huge (and I mean it!) There was at least hundreds or maybe thousands of bikes at the event. We came to realise that the event was called 2gether We Cycle.

Teams and throngs of riders turned up...

Roadies, MTBs and Foldies were all present...

The folding bikes culture in Bali is actually really really strong...

Riders young and old made the trip...

Gwyn couldn't resist the balloon on the bike shot...

It was a fun first ride in Bali. We adapted comfortably with the road conditions in Bali. Got lost but found our way in the end. Met nice people along the way. Got to experience first hand how strong the riding culture in Bali actually was.

We hung around for a while at the fair before making our way back to Seminyak, smiling, heart content and finding our way this time round.

Till the next Chapter, ride on! To read about the rest of our Bali adventure, click here

NDP Punggol PCN Ride

9th August 2011 was a special day as we commemorated 46 years of our Country's independance. There was a morning introductory ride through the newly constructed Punggol PCN organised by Park Connector (on facebook).

Our day started early. The start point was at Punggol Park, 7am.

Gwyn and I had planned to take the train from Marymount to Buangkok station and ride to Punggol Park which was about 1km away. However, when we reached Serangoon, to our horror, we saw on the first world standard LCD screen that the next train towards Punggol will be arriving in 21 mins. Yes, 21 freaking minutes. For a second, we thought if it was some kind of mathematical display error. Then, we thought, maybe it meant 21 mins to get to Punggol. It sure didn't take long to realize it was neither...

The first train departing Serangoon towards Punggol was due at 640am. Seriously, this didn't and still does not make sense to us. If you have trains coming towards Serangoon from elsewhere, shouldn't the trains departing from Serangoon to elsewhere be functioning as well?!?!

We didn't have time to wait for the train. We found ourselves with two options. Flag a cab or Ride. Not sure where the courage and adrenaline came from, we opted to ride. It was completely impromptu. We practically unfolded and rode.....down Upper Serangoon Road towards Hougang Ave 10 and Punggol Park.

Said hello to a couple of slopes along the way, we got there, slow but steady and 10 minutes early! In the spirit of National Day, most of the riders turned up in shades of red and white.

The spirit of National Day was truly in sight.

The ride took us on a loop around Punggol PCN. It certainly is one of the more scenic PCNs in Singapore. Definitely a good reason to move to/live in Punggol!

I thought the bridge at Lor Halus was stunning. If not for the ride, we wouldn't even know of the existance of such a beautiful spot in Singapore. Not to mention that it's a brilliant shortcut to get from Punggol to Pasir Ris.

Some parts of the PCN was still incomplete though. Just as in life, when you hit obstacles, you work around it. We literally did that.

At some angles, it sure looked like the NDP contingent arrived 8 hours early.

Here is KC on his Recumbent bicycle with the national flag and all. We still have no idea how he managed to manoeuvre the slopes encountered along the way. RESPECT.

The final distance travelled was 31km, from Punggol to Changi Village. The same adrenaline that possessed us in the morning got to us again as we decided to ride home from Changi Village to Marymount. That (60km) battered our longest distance traveled previously set during our trip to Pengerang.

And as if God knew and wanted to give us a pat on our backs or stomachs, we were greeted with the pleasant surprise of home cooked curry courtesy of our fantastic neighbour, Helen. It was our best ever National Day yet. Many thanks to Park Connector (Facebook) and lovecyclingsg for the ride. Love is what makes the world go round. Whatever you do in life, all you need is love! Group photo credits to Francis

Brompton Midweek Movie Date

On Tuesday, our Bromptons Apple and Buck went on a midweek movie date. AMK hub, a 10 min ride away was the venue of choice. Pushing the bromptons around the mall certainly drew some attention from curious onlookers. It reminded me of an encounter we had previously on the MRT platform.

As we were entering the elevator with our brommies, this guy dashed forward and placed his hand on the elevator door to prevent it from closing. For a split second, I thought we were either doing something very wrong or we were about to get mugged in broad daylight…

Then He exclaimed in a very strong accent: “How much did you buy your bikes?”

We went "___" Thankfully, there was no repeat of that incident in this elevator... Here is Apple and Buck, posing with the Smurfs. Bringing our bikes into the theater wasn't a problem at all! We booked the rear seats as the brommies were too precious to be left behind! The ride experience was short but great. It’s actually a lot faster riding to AMK hub as compared to taking the bus or train. With the Bromptons, pushing it around was no problem at all. As for the movie, allow me to share my nutshell review. Bridesmaids is a movie about relationships. It talks about issues, ranging from friendships to marriage, courtships to friendships with benefits. It covers just about everything in relationships. With the crazy gang of bridesmaids hitting Vegas for their comic-laden, eventful hens party week, it did remind us of Hangover; the female version.

However, do be mentally prepared to witness how Annie, the female lead goes into free fall from the get go. She hits new bottoms when you thought she could not go any further. And it does get frustrating at times by merely watching. I did wish for the good times to last a little longer than the bad ones.

On a positive note, the movie does bring about a very simple yet telling and important message that all of us can bring home and apply in life. No one can help you, if you don’t want to help yourself.

That's right, pearls of wisdom from the Bridesmaids.

Pengerang Boleh

Sunday 31st July 2011 marked our first overseas ride experience. Pengerang, Malaysia is a one hour bum-boat ride away from the Changi Village Ferry Terminal (the same one that takes you to Ubin).

The day started way before sunrise for the both of us, gathering at the ferry terminal at 615am. It was a riding trip organised by the good people at lovecyclingsg. A total of 60 plus riders would participate. Slowly but surely, throngs of cyclists rode their way into the ferry terminal.

Here are our bikes neatly tucked in on the bum-boat. Can you spot our brommies?

At around 8am, we arrived at Pengerang, Malaysia.

Buck posing upon arrival.

Our first stop would be the resident kampong kopitiam in Kg Jawa for breakfast. It was about 6km from the ferry terminal. Once we hit the road, we immediately felt the strong head wind leading to resistance as we rode against the wind. With the long stretch of seemingly flat but really gradual inclining road ahead of us, it didn’t take long to question what we had signed up for. It didn’t help that our thighs were still feeling the ache from 2 consecutive days of cycling. All we had on our minds were kampong chickens and kampong chicken eggs! That kept us going…

The kampong eggs are amazing. This is how eggs should look and taste like. Notice how different the kampong eggs look compared to the ones we get from our fair prices, cold storages etc. They’re generally smaller in size and paler. However, do not be deceived by its size. They may look small on the outside but when cracked open, the yolk is huge. And the taste hovers along the lines of heavenly. These are happy eggs, produce from happy and healthy chickens at their own time own target, unlike the line of egg producing lines of factory chained chickens we have in mass today. Gwyn was never the biggest fan of half boiled eggs, but for these, she actually asked for more! The only problem was that there were not enough eggs for all 60 of us. There weren’t enough eggs in the kampong to go around!

Who said that lady's best friend only came in a little blue box? Sometimes they come in little brown packets too!

The Mee Siam was simple yet delicious. Again, like the eggs, they were pretty much on a first come first serve basis. We were fortunate to share a packet.

Shortly after a delightful breakfast, we headed out for our next stop. The initial 6km of strong head wind proved to be a much needed warm up for the day’s ride ahead. After starting slow, our bodies began to adapt to the new riding conditions.

We pedalled another 15 km to the Ostrich farm in Sungei Rengit. Never happier to see Ostriches in my life!

There were Ostrich burgers, Ostrich steak and even Ostrich Bakuteh.

We came across this poor little fella showcased in a little container. Not sure why they had to put him through the physical torture of confined space and mental torture of witnessing his fellow species being served on a plate. =(

After the Ostrich farm visit, we made our way to the highlight stop of the day. Lobsters. Yes, food again. We ride hard...for good food. There was a feast awaiting us.

Steamed Lobsters

Lemon Chicken with some spices

Oyster Omelette

More Lobsters, fried butter ones.

Bittergourd with salted eggs. Wild boars / free ranging pigs.

A push cart soya beancurd stall came by...

Someone is very pleased!The situation was exactly what was claimed on the signboard.

All in all, we clocked a total of 43km, which by our standards is a new high. Again, we’ll like to thank the team at lovecyclingsg for organising this wonderful trip where we got to meet a lot of new friends and fellow riders who have come together in the spirit of one passion. Ride on!