It did not occur to me to do this although I know eventually I will have to , if I want to do a Ironman 70.3. For this race, you will need to clock a 90KM ride which till date my longest ride is 70km.
It all happens when good friend BC say to go for a ride during our holidays. I simply just thought of going for a ride up to TMCR, the Tanah Merah Coastal Road which ends up at Changi Village. Originally just wanting to eat the legendary Nasi Lemak there. Then to realise, actually the shops in the hawker centre are not open till much later in the day.
The Route
From my house to the East Coast Park, I usually take the same way through the Green Line MRT, along Alexandra road. Once I hit the Central Business District area, I will go into Marina Bay sands , Gardens by the bay and all the way to ECP where the fun begins. TMCR is a brand new thing to me. There are riders of all types in this place, but coming here on a weekday is less crowded. Wind can be harsh here if a storm is coming.
The laborious ride ended at the Changi village Hawker. It was still early so we had the usual breakfast, kopi bread and BC had some Lor Mee. Nothing fancy. Some scenic points at the Changi Beach Park are definitely a must go for some photo shoot especially its day break in the East.
Breakfast
Changi Beach Park
Jurassic Mile
It has opened since the circuit breaker last year, but it is until now that I actually went there. Just out straight from the NSRCC, the mile consist of Jurassic dinosaurs statues for instagram moments. It leads you all the way to Terminal 4. So maybe next time you can cycle here to take a plane instead of taking the MRT.
Our day was quite lucky as there were only grey skies and very light drizzle. We thought a storm was going to hit at the Jurassic mile, but thank god it didn’t. The cool wind made the morning ride a pleasant one.
Another one more pitstop at the Starbucks in Marina cove. And we hit on the final leg towards Chinatown. Didn’t know that the Marina Barrage was closed, so we had to U-turn back and went through the Nicoll Highway to end for lunch at Chinatown hawker centre.
It was really a good ride if not for my mistake of drinking the day before, alas , again and I know right, I should be really careful about not drinking and wasting time and money on alcohol. But I do find after that, when I stopped drinking so much, my sports performance was much better and I felt better also. Maybe this is something with age, you just have to cut down somehow.
After thoughts
There are still many things about riding that I am not good with, especially with the maintenance and the mechanical parts of it. But I think, it comes with practice. I am getting a little more confident on the roads, but that doesn’t meant that I have to fast and compromise safety. Singapore motorist are still not very benevolent towards cyclist so it is best to be careful and lay low.
Here are some tips for good safe ride.
I kinda like this channel on riding, GCN, or Global Cycling Network on YouTube. It is good for noobs like me. Just starting out and not really knowing what to do much. But if you drive, the rules are generic the same as driving a car.
The total distance for this ride was 100km with another 10 km ending with the green corridor home. Till the next ride!