Cycling is one of the many outdoor activities I enjoy immensely. This skill that once you acquire you will never forget has enabled me to explore parts of Singapore I might not had gone if without a trusty bicycle - the ends of
East Coast Park,
Changi Beach,
Pulau Ubin,
Marina Barrage at night,
Coney Island and most recently, the
Central Catchment Area. Had not even planned on ever seeing that last one! 🤣
One good thing about working close to home had been the feasibility of cycling to work. Skip the crowded buses and unreliable bus schedules and get some fresh air and exercise at the same time! Thus when I moved into my own place, a bicycle was on my to-buy list. I was very blessed to have one of my closest pal to gift me with one as a birthday cum housewarming present. And that is how my bright red mountain bike came to be at my humble abode in Hougang.
Since changing my marital status, the address needed an update as well. As I had no need to hire a mover to shift my belongings, my first (and only) option of moving my bicycle was to cycle it to its new home. A bicycle is a form of transportation after all! Moreover, a new
coast-to-coast trail of Singapore's Park Connector Network was just announced so I was reassured that there would be a safe route for me to cycle from Hougang to Bangkit.
A quick search online brought me to
Bikemap which planned out a route within seconds! I was so happy that I briefly skimmed through the more obvious checkpoints on the route and decided on the best day to execute this targeted 1.5 hours journey. Long distance or duration cycling is not foreign to me especially after the overnight cycling excursion I once completed with my Pathlight colleagues. However to be on the safe side, I set a journey time of 2 hours for myself to complete the 21 km route.
The day came and although I was excited to begin, I was deterred by the blazing hot sun. I had no wish to faint from heatstroke with my bulky bicycle in the middle of nowhere! So I decided to wait till late afternoon but it started to drizzle too. 😦 Oh well, at least I would not be burnt and it was kind of refreshingly cool as the raindrops fell.
Other than the sudden downpour, the first half of the journey was relatively easy and smooth. There was only one moment when I was cycling along Lentor Avenue that I felt incredibly small beside the multiple buses and big trucks passing by me at high speeds. It got somewhat challenging when I came to Mandai Road as the route got increasingly inclined. Thankfully, I was able to will myself to continue by dismounting and pushing the bike along.
On a positive note, I was greeted with various pretty scenic views near the zoo, military camp and even at a highway overpass! I also met some fellow cyclists who were all much more better equipped than me with helmets and working lights. Incredibly thankful to one particular uncle who stopped his bicycle at a crossing to signal to drivers that another biker was on the way.
1.5 hours in when I should have reached Bangkit, I finally arrived at what I thought would be the final leg of the route. To my horror, I discovered that rather than the usual park connector paths which I am used to, it was through the off-road condition bike trail in the Central Catchment area! I was not ready for it. It was also nearing nightfall and my headlights had ran out of battery on me... I got to admit that I panicked a little.
Aware I had no other choice, I put my foot on the pedal and pushed on. Ill-prepared for the conditions present, I stayed safe and dismounted to push my bicycle both uphill and downhill whenever necessary while keeping an eye and an ear out for possible visitations by
wild boars. I pedaled furiously against time whenever the path was flat and smooth with the single hope of seeing familiar grounds before it turned pitch dark in this forested area with dense overhead canopy.
With each turn that led to disappointment (and anxiety), the emotion I felt when I finally recognised the exit near Chestnut Trail was impossible to describe. So that was what laid on the other path which I had never taken when Axel and I go for our nature walks... I was drenched, exhausted, filthy and grateful. I made it!!
With still a little bit of daylight left, two-and-a-half hour after a 21 km bike/hike journey, I slowly pushed my muddy bike and my spent body the final few hundred metres back home. Not quite the journey to the west but this journey towards the west turned out to be quite the adventure I did not expect.
