Bike Hike!

I've been out of touch with the world for some time. Where shall i start? Hmm.. Ok.. Bike hike on the 30th of May.

Let's see.. Bike Hike 2009 - Velocity Redesigned was a huge success i dare say. We broke the Singapore record for the most youths cycling on the road overnight by a huge margin! 314 participants completed the hike and made me back to East Coast Park the next morning! On that day, Bike hike officially started at 10pm, but it started as early as 6.30pm for some of the participants, earlier for the instructors and assistant instructors and even earlier for the bike hike comm and Alex. For the 35th OASIS OAC it started about three weeks earlier and for the seniors (34th WHOA OAC), it started way before that. With all the hard work put in by all parties, we awaited that day with trepidation.

We started gathering at Big Splash at around 3.45pm. The sun was blazing hot. Some of us sat down and started mugging the route, while some of us caught up on some sleep. As time passed by, the sky grew darker and the fear of rain set in. At one point, it even drizzled when we were having our "little picnic". Thank goodness it didn't rain!

Acting dao

Oasis assistant instructors minus Guen

At 6.45pm, we gathered at the bike shop and i caught a glimpse of Delta for the first time. They seem like fun people who would not make my whole night cycling a boring one! Lol. We introduced ourselves as the instructors for their group. Zhen Rui was happy to learn that 7 people from our group will not be coming. Truthfully, i was relieved because it meant a smaller and therefore easier to manage group. We tested our bikes and after much fuss and mistakes, we made our way down to big splash.

As we waited for the other groups to arrive, we practically dao-ed our group and let them have their freedom to do anything they wanted. They did a sweet thing by dedicating "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz to Zhen Rui and me. Lol. Looks like team Delta is a nice team! As time passes, the atmosphere heightened and everyone couldn't wait for flag off.

Participants waiting anxiously to set off

For some weird reason, i felt a bit nervous at that point, because it felt like "this is it!". Managed to calm my nerves.



Team Delta was the 4th team to set off. Before the end of East Coast Park, we have already caught up with team Charlie as they were experiencing some difficulties and we overtook them. Being a sweeper was not as boring as i feared it would be, especially since i had to shout "Keep to your left" every other minute. My team was LOUD! Seriously loud. Especially Xianrong. I would just say "Bus behind" and he would amplify it so that the whole team could hear it. As expected with a team of guys, some don't really listen to instructions. (Actually, only one.) I got tired of asking him to "keep left" and just reminded him whenever there was a car approaching from behind. We reached Lau Pa Sat as the third team, having overtook them Charlie previously. By the time we reached Ridout, we were second as team Bravo took a wrong turn somewhere. You could tell that the guys were dying, even at the slack pace we were going. Felt kinda worried for them for Initial D.

Oh ya, i love mountain bike! So much more than road bike. It felt so much more stable, and i could control it so much more easier! I was happy with myself for not getting down the bike at all. Even during upslopes where some of my team members had to get off their bike and push them. Being the sweeper, i stayed on the bike and cycled at a snail's pace behind them. I was extremely happy with myself=) And i am also happy with myself for finally having an accident-and-incident-free bike hike!=)

Initial D was not as fun as the previous 2 times, because i was going at such a slow pace. We made a few stops at bus stops and along the road because of cramps. The guys spammed Counterpain and i can smell it in the air even as we are cycling. They found out about the "negative effects" of counterpain the hard way as they started howling at the heat and then the cold=) Lol. I told them that the feeling was 爽and they proclaimed that i had a weird definition for that word.

We reached Prata shop. Zhen Rui and I looked after the bikes while the rest of them took a break. A crazy man started shouting loudly and walking towards our direction. I was afraid and panicked as i thought that we was shouting at us. There was no doubt in my mind that he must have been a bit crazy (or stressed out, whichever word you prefer). Was contemplating what to do when he motioned to us that he was not shouting at us. A sigh of relief there. I wonder what would have happened if we were his object of shouting.

Felt sleepy at the stretch along school. Sweeping ain't much fun especially when one had to cruise for more than half the journey. I pedalled once, twice and cruised. Even cruising, one had to keep one's hands on the breaks. That was how slow we had to go. (We found out in the end that one participant had a punctured tyre=.= that partially explains the pace we were at) The stretch along Orchard road was slightly better. Was more awake. We reached breakoff point at 4.47am=)

Being the first team to reach Kovan, team Delta was roaring to go and wanted to finish first=) Lol. In the end, we didn't reach there first but i was proud of my team. This was the team that said that they wanted to give up at Ridout, but yet they persevered on and completed the whole journey! (Long route!) This was the team that suffered numerous cramps and one tire puncture but yet they managed to hang in there till the end. You could tell that they were tired and some of them were really doing their best not to slow down the whole team. I was proud of them for supporting each other and constantly shouting "加油" to encourage one another. When one of them was slow and lagging behind, they would encourage him and go slower for him to catch up, those behind him would shout words of encouragement. At the end of the day, i am proud of my team and i do like my team!=)

10 hours of biking passed by in a flash. Not feeling tired for some reasons, the batch hung out at KFC for breakfast. Thanks again Guen for that ride home! Before long, i find myself making my way to the airport, waiting for the flight that would bring me home.

Reaching the airport 2 and a half hours before my flight, i was bored and had nothing to do. Met someone at the airport who greeted me but i can't recognise her, what more remember her name. (I am feeling real bad for not remembering who she is though. But i know that she was from Kwang Hua because she mentioned friends i know from Kwang Hua. OMG! I hope she never reads this!)

And now here i am, back home in my comfy bed. What have i been up to this pass few days? Outings with friends? Nil. Long phone conversations to catch up with friends? Nil. Been out of the house? Once. To go to the shopping mall opposite my house to buy something. Movies? Nil. Bowling? Ice skating? Nil. Nil. So far, i've been eating, sleeping, watching tv and reading story books. So far managed to watch 6 movies on HBO and finished 2 story books=) Ok! I shall start serious work after the run in Ulu Kelantan. Proposals and mugging, here i come!