awesome dankie oupa gert!! Lekker om so 'n storie te lees....!! Amper gevoel of ek saamry so mooi is dit vertel
On 4/20/13, Gerrit van Niekerk <[email protected]> wrote: > 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. > > > -- Donald Klopper [email protected] -- 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]. 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