Night Cycling
Night cycling was loads of fun! The entire Kent Ridge Hall cycled by block. My block, D block had the most representatives at 24. Coolness. And Korinna and Ivy too were there with A block, plus of course my other hall friends, so it was bound to be a blast.
I'm lousy with directions, so although I originally planned to trace the route and post it up here using some S'pore maps on the web, my memory has failed me. All I know was that the ride was a totally exhilarating experience.
We set off from NUS around past 9pm, arrived at East Coast Park at around 10pm. D block was the first to leave at around 10:30, but walau, due to some hiccup with the accounting for the 80+ bikes, we were called to stop twice before we even exited the park. But never mind, the breaks were time for block bonding anyway.
The cool air was perfect, the park's big trees gave an idyllic aura seemingly uncharacteristic of SG, and the sea at nighttime was such a refreshing sight as it zoomed past. We crossed a bridge and then we found ourselves amidst the city's bright lights. We passed through Suntec City, beautiful romantic bay beside the Singapore Indoor Stadium (I'm lousy with names too), took photos, passed by some bayside areas where lovers cuddled, cycled more into the city, passed the Esplanade, avoided some big buses, got into the major financial district at Shenton Way, and went for our first food stop at this outdoor hawker center Lau Pa Sat.
My neighbor Yishu likes to come up with stuff to cheerfully tease people. He's been sabo-ing (sabo is Singlish for sabotage of sorts) Sarah, this other blockmate of mine all throughout the ride, and this time at Lau Pa Sat, he told the group I was wearing a thong, and later sang Sisqo's Thong Song. (He's been singing while cycling too, I even joined him when he sang a [gasp] Backstreet Boys song) Haizzz, so the rest of my block bent down and checked my ass. Ugh, I was resigned. Hehe, but all the name of fun anyway. (For the record, I don't own a thong, nor have I ever worn one!)
I ate ice kachang only, since we'd have another stop at Newton. As it turned out, we never stopped at Newton to eat. Instead, as we cycled on after the food break, we stopped a long time at Orchard, outside the big Takashimaya mall. Haha, photos again, and we played games (Polar Bear was a particularly interesting strategy game). We spent so much time there that the rest of the blocks caught up to us, and were already nearing Newton! Haha. So we cycled again, reached Newton, but decided not to eat since we were still full anyway.
The next leg had some the nature-y part as well, as we approached Bukit Timah and its nature reserve. I remembered passing through this part on the 151 bus, as images of soon-to-be-relocated SMU (a.k.a S'pore Management University, which is giving NUS Business School tough competition), Hwa Chong High, and other hawker centers sped by. My legs and hands were beginning to ache as this was a particularly long stretch, and, as we stopped at McDonald's to take photos once again, I realized that most everyone was suffering from certain pains already, although butt pains was the most common complaint. Haha the sad truth.
We didn't eat at McDonald's, but ate at this Indian Prata shop uphill. Cheese prata and iced milo it was for me. And oh yes, I distributed my Philippine chewy dried mangoes for everyone to eat. Glad they liked it, I think. It was 4am when we finished eating, and the JCRC president came to tell us that we were the last block already! Hah! It was fun anyway, so never mind.
It was the final leg, and walau, the toughest! Our legs were aching, and it was a nasty uphill road, and, with the knowledge that I'd get more tired if I biked up slower, I mustered all my energy to go up, and thankfully enough, it was a goooood ride downhill after that. Another uphill ride, and then down again. Finally, the town I know so well came into view: Clementi.
By this time everybody wanted to get it done as we were all too tired already. It was almost 5:30am too. And yet, more uphill rides to come! I had to stop a couple of times to get some blood going on in my legs, and drink a good gulp of water. And just as NUS came into view, there was this very nasty uphill slope that drained the life out of me, but I pressed on and realized that this might very well be the climax of the ride. And true enough, the long sharp downhill ride was a most rejuvenating thrill to the senses.
Fong Seng came into view, a post office, and finally it was back to Heng Mui Keng Terrace. We cycled uphill for the last time, as we returned the bikes to the BizAd carpark. Michael, this final-year, threw nice cold water as I finished, and as soon as I parked the bike, I plopped down on the cement and rested my tired legs (and butt). Everyone was sweating profusely, but it was such a whoa time we didn't mind.
The rest came up, and again we took photos! The guys all pounced on Michael for throwing water on everybody. Haha good fun.
It was 6am, and after a good shower, it was finally time to go to bed. I was drained as hell, but ironically, I felt rejuvenated, especially after these recent long weeks.
I'd do it night cycling all over again, just give me some time to recover. :D
