We cycled from the Shell station at my house out towards the MRT tracks, then after the NEWater treatment plant, turned towards ECP and onto the endless road. The upslope there was a killer, but after reaching the top and gliding down for a full minute at high speed, gave me a rush as the night winds chilled my face to the bone. Not to mention the cars whizzing by had no intention of slowing down, that was the scary bit. Perhaps they thought that during the "seventh month" there wouldn't be night cyclists.
Don't move! (That's before the police came) Me, Andy, Ho Wai, Jeremy
Along the way, we stopped to take pictures using a Fujifilm Finepix and Konica Minolta Dimage, minus my poor Canon Powershot that is going for repairs. Of all places, we chose the perimeter fence around the airport, and before we knew it, a police squad car headed towards us and an officer took down our particulars, telling us photography was not allowed. He also warned us that the road we were embarking on is accident prone, that many cars speed there and they had recent mishaps. We kind of experienced that already, so on the return route we went another way.
Then it was on to the notorious endless road where we cycled without seeing an exit, as its name aptly suggests. We saw the Changi Airport control tower from where we were on the road, and it looked minute. We finally reached the end through sheer tenacity, and I think it was an hour into the journey already (1.30am, and we set off around 12.45am). Then we passed by a place that held many memories just 2 years back. The Singapore Ferry Terminal, where most boys had to visit and loved leaving there more than entering. It was the place where we took the fastcraft to Pulau Tekong for basic military training, and for the 4 of us yesterday, SISPEC training as well. No one seemed to be on guard as the whole place was fenced and locked up for the night.
After the Ferry Terminal, we reached Changi Beach Park and did not manage to see any couples making out there (boo). We also lost track of the cars and motorbikes that zoomed past us that we got sick of worrying about the next vehicle that approached and whether or not the driver was i)drunk ii)asleep iii)plain reckless. We cycled on the pavement for a while, in the park anyway. We took more photos on a bridge before going to Changi Village for some supper.I had roti prata with onion and one with egg, together with a glass of ice cold teh tarik that Ho Wai recommended. Told them about SLC and they seem pretty enthusiastic about, let's see if they will be helping out next year. That they will get to know more HK girls may be their vested interest. HA! Not many of us have HK classmates, having come to Singapore so early in our childhood. The first near miss occured on the way to supper. My front wheel slipped into a deep gap in the pavement and I did an emergency brake. Lucky Jeremy who was behind stopped in time.
That's Andy and me, see the cars that still roam the streets at night?
Jeremy and Ho Wai, with the legendary Teh Tarik in their hands!
After the supper we headed home, 3am or thereabout. We went via Tampines St 32, the bus 18 route past Safra and into Bedok Reservoir, sending Andy home first. The second near miss happened after I spotted a toad on the pavement. Having narrowly missed running over it, I looked back to tell them about it, then the bike drifted right off the pavement and I flew off the bike. Luckily I cleared the off-balance bike in time, but both the blinker lights were destroyed, including the one Baby bought for me for Valentine's Day in February (sob sob). Lucky I still have the receipt for it, should be able to claim warranty, since there wasn't even direct impact - the handlebars went sideways before it landed on the ground. No more events until we reached home and called it a night. 5am into this Saturday morning.
Nevertheless, the new bicycle has its merits over the older, in that the suspension made the rough patches more bearable, despite it being heavier and not being able to run on its own momentum for long. Still getting used to the reversed brakes system where the right handle controls the front brakes.
More heart-stopping than the first trip, that's for sure. That's understandable as the first time, we were cycling from within East Coast Park itself so it's safer. Photos coming up! Looking forward to the next adventure!
