There I was in Singapore with Sani2C a month away. I had to do something to get a long ride in. At least I had packed my cycling shoes and helmet; all I needed was a bike and somewhere to ride. Google showed me that the best ride in Singapore could be had on Pulau (island) Ubin just off the East coast of Singapore. A bicycle could also be rented right on the island.
Being 137 km from the equator Pulau Ubin is a relatively undeveloped tropical island. Now, whatever you imagine a tropical island to be, one salient attribute is that it is hot; steamy hot to be precise. I was already sweating (you do that constantly anyway when outside in Singapore) when I got onto the ferry or bumboat as it is called at about 10h30. On the island you are greeted by the sight of rows of bicycles for rental and I was quickly approached by an oriental woman offering me one. The MTB was quite basic, but it had a front shock and gears and only Sing$ 10 for the day. The saddle was as broad as Africa, but that was all that was to be had. When I asked if they could offer me cleat peddles, I was shown another one with flat pedals. Okay, that would have to do then. I started off on a tar road to get used to the bike, but soon landed up on a dirt road. This was quite nice; riding in the jungle with the sounds of cicadas and birds all around. The road was not flat at all; it had nice up and downs forcing constant gear changes. I saw a number of signs cautioning me to get off the bike and push down the steep descent, but they must have been joking; the downhills were neither steep nor technical. After an hour's riding I headed off to the main attraction: the Ketam mountain bike trail with a Blue trail section and then two Black trails marked Diamond and Double-Diamond. To be on the safe side I started off with the Blue trail which was fun, but not overly technical. At one point I had to wait for a long black snake to cross the path. I did not deem it necessary to go close enough to try and identify it; I don't know a lot about snakes for that matter. One section of the Blue trail followed after Black trails so I decided to attempt them and discovered that I would have to push a lot. It was now mid day after two hour's of riding. Did I mention that a tropical island is hot? Somehow I strayed off the trail and landed on a dirt road which took me back to the Blue trail - just as well. I studied the map and saw that I could get to the rest of the Blue trail via a tar road, but halfway there the road was blocked with a no-entry boom and I had to turn back. By now my water bottle was empty and I was in dire need of hydration. Heading back in the direction of civilization I came across a dilapidated stall claiming to offer cold drinks and indeed, the old Chinese man opened a rusty cooler containing isotonic drinks and bottled water. After selecting one of each and paying for it, he switched on a rusty fan and offered me a chair - bliss! Rehydrated, cooled down and rested I decided to search for another road to the elusive start of the remaining section of the Blue trail. I soon found myself alone in the jungle on a dirt road with attacking mosquitoes if you dare stop for a moment. I scared a number of wild pigs that made high speed escapes. Eventually I landed up at the shoreline and thought that I would proceed along the narrow beach with gravelly sand until I reach a path again. At this stage I was reduced to pushing the bike as riding was not possible on the sand. And then I got to a river that blocked the way. Bundu bashing was out of the question; did I mention that I was on a tropical island? So it was back to dragging the bike over sand the way I had come. On the way back I found a dirt road that seemed to go in the direction I thought I wanted to go and I even spotted a trail that could have been what I was looking for, but by now I was so hot and tired that I gave it a skip. Did I mention... oh, yes I did. My suspicion was confirmed when I arrived at the road block that stopped me before from the other side. By now the heat and the broad saddle had only one effect on me: getting to the Chinese stall as fast (and it was not very fast) as I could. After another isotonic drink and another bottle of DaSani water (how did they know I was trying to train for da Sani?) and another relishing the stream of air from the rusty fan, I made my way back to the bike rental shop. I had been at it for nearly four and a half hours and it was time to get back on the bumboat, followed by a bus ride, a train ride and a kilometer walk back home where I clocked in at 17h30. I guess I will not soon forget my Pulau Ubin ride. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/darkanddirty?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
