Singapore celebrated her 44th birthday yesterday. And a bunch of riders in their 40s took to the roads in our celebration of Singapore's national day. SY enthusiastically mapped out the 40 km ride through east coast, Changi Coastal Road, Loyang Ave and Upper Changi Road. This was our largest group thus far, with AY, IN and PK joining us making a party of 6.
We went slowly initially, just to get comfortable. The service road along east coast was quiet, although there were more parked cars along the side than I'd thought. Going past that stretch reminded me of last Sunday's ride for the OSIM tri.
A brief stop at NSRCC and we took off onto Changi Coastal Road. I was point, but not for long. AY overtook me just as I went into the big chain ring, and I followed. For about 2 minutes, and I was dropped. Even so, the I managed the following average pace for that segment: 31.2, 32.7, 33.7, 33.2, 31.1, 30.4, 29.0, 30.6. AY was probably clocking 35 and above.
Encountered strong headwind at the turn before Changi Village, and it felt like rain. Indeed it rained after we crested Loyang Avenue. We regrouped at the turnoff into Old Tampines Road, and that's when the sky opened. We took shelter at a bus-stop for 15 minutes or so. Then we resumed, only to stop again at another bus stop along Upper Changi Road North. A caucasian cyclist gave us the thumbs up sign as he rode past. He's probably thinking that we were whimps.:( So be it. Better safe than sorry.
We restarted when the rain subsided. But our respite was only temporary. It literally poured. There was like riding through a wall of water and the wind plummeted us with water making visibility an issue. Thank God we navigated the tricky stretch with the two turnoffs to PIE without difficulty. The highlight of the ride - a nice down hill cruise - would have to wait for another time. With rain running like streams under our tires, we gingerly feathered the brakes. Safety first.
We decided then to cut short the ride and rode to haven at my place - towels, hot coffee and refreshments. And time for man-talk (MBH called it buaya talk).
Incidentally, there is a strange coincidence here. PK likes running in the rain. And biking as well, from what we can tell, from this ride. Hhhmmm... :)
View our ride.
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