It's with some reservation when we set out for our LNY ride yesterday with WL. You see, WL just started cycling and his first road ride was a 30k with us last Sat. And that was Changi coastal, which is easier than the Mandai route. So we made plans to accommodate him for a 40k and the rest would do 70k.
We kept our speed reasonable just to make sure that WL could keep up. At the Mandai Shell station, we had a decision to make - for WL to continue with the group or to head back to Bt Timah. Much to my surprise, he opted to continue with the group, and he hung in there for the entire way! Credos to WL. For the record, it took us about a year to reach 70k, and WL achieved this milestone in two rides. I think we have a potentially great endurance athlete here!
On the ride - a few interesting observations.
Some of us need therapy. The slightest provocation would spark off a speed fenzy. Not good.
AY and three other friends overtook us along the West Coast highway. They were on their 120k round-island ride. AY invited us to ride with them, but let's not kid ourselves. We'd be dropped less than 10km into the ride. Not there yet. But it was a cheap thrill just to follow in their draft for 500m or so. The excuse we had for not keeping up was to break for prata at our favorite shop along Clementi road. :)
We went up the Keppel viaduct again. One cyclist overtook us and we decided to ride his draft until he stopped. Didn't realize it then, but we were doing upwards of 30+ kph during that stretch. At the down-slope towards Keppel Road, we encountered strong winds.
Riding through Robinson Road and the CBD area was an experience in itself. Good thing the traffic was light.
Didn't really understand how the 2:53 ride would burn up 2,700 calories. That was more than 300 cal higher than the 125k ride last Sat.
Overall, another good ride.
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