Singapore Trip - Jan 23- Feb 8

[weisan]

That's interesting Moses pal. You might have told me but I don't remember your wife being from that part of the world. This trip reinforces to me the importance of bringing my bike wherever I go. For me, I treat it no differently as my toothbrush and shaver, it's one of my essentials. I know some of my pals would disagree, that's why you are no weisan, there can be only one.

[weisan]

[lucieli]

Glad that you made it home safely. Thank you for sharing your journey!

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by lucieli

Glad that you made it home safely. Thank you for sharing your journey!

+1

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[weisan]

My pleasure. Glad y'all enjoyed it.

Brought back some goodies for my people...

[weisan]

Singapore's most famous 林志源 "bak-gua" - sweet BBQ pork jerky

[weisan]

When I left almost three weeks ago, I weighed 160 pounds...

[m_moses]

Originally Posted by weisan

This is what I like most about CNY in Singapore.




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[weisan]

[weisan]

[m_moses]

Great video, Weisan! It makes me want to visit and bring my bike.

When did you record the video while riding downtown/Orchard Road? Traffic seemed very reasonable.

I’m not sure how many groups you rode with but let me ask you this: did you find that many of the groups are somewhat segregated? Do ang mos and locals prefer to stay separate? I’ve heard through my wife that many locals perceive the serious cyclists to be privileged foreigners with fancy bikes and kits who hold up traffic—obviously an opinion not exclusive to Singapore. But when I do visit next, I don’t want to be seen as such as much as I can avoid it.

Mick


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[MURDERF4CE]

Looks like a good time.. I'd love to travel out of the country one of these days

[weisan]

Originally Posted by m_moses

When did you record the video while riding downtown/Orchard Road? Traffic seemed very reasonable.

We started the ride around 5:30 AM. By the time we get to Orchard Road, I would say it's about 9 AM. Now, the road that we rode on is NOT Orchard Road itself but they intersect at the junction. You can see cars lining up on the right at the light, that's Orchard Road. It starts to get busy around that time already. I have ridden on Orchard Road on a Sunday at around 7 AM but that was 20 years ago - I have the whole road to myself and I use it to time trial from start to end, it was exhilarating with all the billboards and shopping malls flying by in a blur. I probably went through a couple of red lights.

did you find that many of the groups are somewhat segregated? Do ang mos and locals prefer to stay separate? I’ve heard through my wife that many locals perceive the serious cyclists to be privileged foreigners with fancy bikes and kits who hold up traffic—obviously an opinion not exclusive to Singapore. But when I do visit next, I don’t want to be seen as such as much as I can avoid it.

I don't think so, in fact, they welcome foreigners esp. AngMos to join them. If you look closely enough, there's actually one angmo in our group ride, he's wearing the orange-colored jersey and at the front. He's an expat from the US. If anything, you are stereotyped as being "stronger and faster" whether you are or not. So, instead of segregation, AngMos tend to join the faster group rides. Make sure you train hard before you show up at the local ride, because you got some pretty high expectations to meet.

My friend Kenneth is a four-time national champion back in the days in his early 20s. Two years ago, as a way to celebrate turning 50, he got back serious on the bike and trained very hard and won the national title again in his age-group. On the podium, he was flanked by two AngMos.

[mingc]

Originally Posted by weisan

I left in '81, when that skyline didn't exist, except maybe for Raffles Place, which was being built, as I recall. There wasn't any bicycle infrastructure to speak of then and it doesn't look like there's much today either. Looks kinda scary actually. Maybe my standards have changed.

That bike shop is humongous floor-space wise. American sized!?

On another topic, here's a good reason not to eat raw vegetables in S'pore. My old man took me to a market garden outside JB in the early 70s. The farmer kept a large earthernware jar that he and his workers peed into. That was their fertilizer. I don't think things have changed that much.

[weisan]

Originally Posted by mingc

There wasn't any bicycle infrastructure to speak of then and it doesn't look like there's much today either.

They have developed a network of bicycle paths that connect all the major parks around the island - it's called Park Connector Network (PCN). Check it out: https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-pa...nector-network

That was after I left. I wouldn't call that nothing or not much. It's pretty extensive and substantial, but probably underused....because you know...it's hot in Singapore.

That bike shop is humongous floor-space wise. American sized!?

Yeah, it's definitely not your typical bike shop floor space in Singapore.

good reason not to eat raw vegetables in S'pore...I don't think things have changed that much.

That picture was my salad taken a day after I got back to the US, not in S'pore.

When I eat, I try not to think too much about the supply chain...because if I do, I might not leave my house...er...my room even! You think raw vegetable is bad...you haven't seen anything yet.