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Due to the fact that I got nothing much to do, I have recently taken up city cycling. However, 1 major issue with city cycling in Singapore is the amount of traffic at any given time (except maybe in the wee hours of the morning) along almost any road. (and of course the number of traffic lights). So if you are not careful, it is very easy to get involved in a car accident (and believe me, you will be the one to lose out).

But today, I have discovered a new cycling route that has very low amount of traffic (even on a Saturday). It’s about 5.8KM long, and is only has a few traffic lights along the route.

Here’s the route (from my house): (Image from Streetdirectory.com)

The route got a few uphills and downhills, and the wind can get very strong at times. (esp. near the reservoir), but otherwise it makes a good short distance cycling route. Moreover, you get to enjoy a sea view along a stretch of road about 1KM long. So pretty much the ride is rather enjoyable.

I am thinking of getting an unlocked iPhone now. I really can’t wait for it any more.

Till next time,
cheers

I realized 2 things from my biking trip today: Life is short and biking is really dangerous.

As you may probably remembered, I brought a new hybrid bike about 2 weeks back. It’s rather good for city cycling, and before today, I have went on 2 medium distance (medium as in for a amateur road cyclist like me) of about 20KM each (10KM and 10KM back) along roughly the same route.

But today, I decided to go on a slightly longer route, maybe about 25Km in all. So instead of cycling the usual direction (from Khatib to Bishan and back), I decided to cycle in the opposite direction. (from Khatib to Woodlands and back). You can refer to the map below (follow the red line):

Anyway, while I was cycling back from the Woodlands area, I was going relatively fast so as to clear a bus stop quickly. A bus was exiting and I don’t want it to wait for me to pass (but more importantly I don’t want it to bang into me.) However, very near to the bus stop was a traffic light. All of a sudden the light turned amber and then red. In my shock, I reacted instinctively and applied the front brake first BEFORE applying the back brake. (a bad habit developed from riding my old mountain bike, which is not capable of reach high speeds). I must have been doing about 30 - 40 KM/H at that time, so when the front brake was applied, I completely flipped from my bike into the middle of the bus lane. If not for the fact that I was wearing my helmet, and that the bus had just exited the bus stop and traveling slowly, I would have either split my head or get hit by the bus behind me. So I must say I was really lucky to have survived with only a few minor cuts and bruises.

I nearly died at the tender age of 16 years and 7 months. Luckily my bike was also rather sturdy (and covered by warranty too!) , so besides the chain coming off the gear, everything else was pretty much OK (as far as I could see). The chain was replaced easily, and after a short while to recover from my shock, I was on my home again. But the incident made me realize life is not so predictable after all and I should get the most out of it (while I still can). Indeed, a near death incident always make you think about your life. And it adds some interest to my otherwise boring holiday life

Now I fully understand why my friend told me that traffic lights in Singapore will kill the cyclists.