My World. My Life.

Monday, May 28, 2007

{*ntu bike rally 2007*}

128 gruelling kilometres. heat, windy conditions, distance standing between us and the finishing point - it was a island-wide cycling event which started from east coast park at 6+am and ended ard 5:30pm for jefri and i. a real achievement! really!

the bike rally started pretty early, as mentioned above. eyelids laden with the lack of sleep, jefri and i reached east coast park ard 6am and registered. were given our numbers, which we had to attach to our singlets and bike. WIND resistance ok lol! long distance we had to walk to visit the toilet, while jefri's daddy looked over our belongings.

eventually the event started! lead cyclists clad in yellow singlets naturally, led the way. excitement and anticipation was in the air, almost everyone was laughing, leisurely cycling since there simply wasnt room to accelerate smoothly due to the massive number of people. hit the roads eventually and there was when the fun started! jefri and i drafted behind P143 and P144! hahha we were debating towards the end, whether they were a pair or were brother & sister since they had the same bike (save for one having a disc brake, e other v-brakes) and bottles. somehow, they made the wrong turn and headed towards AYE, but we couldnt alert them from behind even after having made a ruckus. so yeah we had to accelerate towards the leading pack to catch some draft :)

plain cycling until after the ntu checkpoint - PURE madness! the route went from ntu, alongside murai camp, towards sungei gedong. lots lots lots lots of up-slopes! sapped our energy, was tedious. i was really glad when we reached the checkpoint at kranji. by then, we noticed that the number of cyclists was gradually lessening - more people were either dropping out or riding shotgun on the air-conditioned bus while the lorry carried their bicycles.

nothing eventful until we hit the mandai road stretch - again, it was one of the more tedious leg. up-slopes all the way and given our already battered bodies, was hardwork. by then, i was physically and mentally fatigued, mostly from the lack of sleep. however, with jefri there, we had to finish the 128km - it was no question!

i found the serangoon-changi route really tiring - having broken free of the chasing pack, i had to face the head-winds myself, pushing through the irritatingly strong winds until i reached the leading pack - by then i was so tired that i began to drop back a little and this meant that i was again, alone to face the winds! was chatting with this guy on a road bike, who had a sprained/overexerted calve/thigh, nice fellow, hope he was okay.

changi seaside checkpoint. wolved down the bread they provided, as well as close to a gallon of liquids. was completely dehydrated though i kept a constant intake of water throughout the journey. jefri, being the heavy sleeper he was, fell asleep on the bench. hahha amazing leh! by then, we were already extremely sticky and there was no way i could have done that.

finally, the last dash to the finishing line! drafted behind P143 and P144 again, broke free and overtook quite a few riders before deciding to draft behind this rather athletic man on a blue bike. extremely fast. he soon got tired, so i overtook him shortly after hitting the east coast park area. sped all the way, heaviest gear in front, 2nd heaviest gear at the back. and YAY! finishing line - was one of the few first to complete : ) jefri joined ard 1 minute later.

collected the goodie bag, slacked till jefri's daddy came to fetch us. the sense of accomplishment was ever so present - though we cycled frequently and even cycled from bukit panjang to east coast park on 2 occasions, we never came close to the 100km mark, let alone 128km. the thought of giving up was ever present(esp when my left eye kept watering whenever we stopped) but im proud that we did it. so what if we rode on mountain bikes? so what if our bikes were significiantly heavier than the roadies? so what if we slept late and this was our 1st long distance attempt? we were always in the leading pack or at the front of the chasing pack. having said that, WE DID IT : )

nevermind the sunburn. nevermind the aching shoulders, legs, bottoms. it is an experience that doesnt come very often. we were one with our bikes, and they did not fail us. well done NTU bike rally participants! you may have been fast, or slow. but that doesnt matter - you completed the event! thank you ntu and sponsors!

PS: too bad the full team of teamspeedvirus din follow us to the finishing line - they are really good rollerskaters! its hard work to cycle, let alone to rollerblading.

Gabby | 11:08 AM

Comments: Post a Comment

www.flickr.com

This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from gabbytoh. Make your own badge here.

About me:

22m(FREAKING old man)
me a long time ago
me now
gab_toh@hotmail.com
MY facebook
MY friendster
smu, 2007-2012
ex-hpps
ex-acjc
ex-acs(i)
ex-acjc
ex-lifeguard
ex-RSAF

Loves:

cycling
milk
chocolates
chics
my family
my friends
music
guitars
chilling out
reading
chatting! :)

Dislikes:

liars
cockroaches
lizards
backstabbers
perverts
people who slurp when eating porridge/noodles/drinking soup

Wish List:

WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES WISHES