Saturday, October 22, 2005
2:23 PM
Kudos to Jefri for bringing me on a most exhilarating bike ride i've ever been to.
Leavig home at approx. 710 yesterday, Me and Jef first cycled to Little India MRT station, where we met up with the rest of the central riders. There was Andy & his gf (4got her name), Eric, this guy with tattoos all over his body (4got his name too), and another 2 guys whose names I have forgotten. A minute of brief introduction before we set of for Harbour front MRT station didn't really hammer their names into my brain. I'm bad at this kind of things, okay?
Anyway, from little india to Habour front was already pretty exciting, that being the first time i'd ever cycled on the road alongside so much traffic. We were going through the CBD and quite a few bridges, and there were loads of cars travelling alongside us. Big junctions and intersections were quite scary too, cos I usually cycle past midnight when there are only a few cars on a stretch of road. But this was different, and it was most exciting too. Thanks to the guys who were cycling behind me to make sure i didn't kill myself one way or another, and to warn me when cars were turning or not attempt to beat the red light. Clearly experienced cyclist, they helped me alot on my first major distance ride.
At Harbour front, we met up with the SPI, which stands for the Singapore Paranomal Investigators, headed by a nerdy bespectacled bloke who carried with him a large flashlight, photogs of "ghost sightings" and walkie talkies supposedly for the use of contacting with the sweeper (last man). As this was a
annual ghost hunt/trail, there were a total of 40-50 people cycling all together, with us the central riders, the speed whores from Sembawang riders (who use MOUNTAIN BIKES and can go up to 40 kmph wtf! Even people who use slim/sleek tyres cant hit that speed easily. They train like mad every week apparently), a bunch of bukit timah riders, and some who intersected and joined us halfway on the trail at the eastern areas. In total we had arnd 50 riders, and it was really an awesome sight to behold, as we cycled together on main roads and passengers in cars would look out at us in awe =D
We took up like a whole lane as we cycled, and stretched out so much that we occupied the space of 5 buses at least. And besides we all had backlights and frontlights blinking, making this convoy of bikers even more outstanding. Simply awesome experience, and I'm gonna do it again soon too =D
We cycled really far into some boyemian graveyard, apparently a sub-race of malays who had travelled to singapore in the past, and had a history of practicing dark/black magic. They had graves in this really pitch dark forest like area in the midst of some housing, and a few daring guys even walked into the tall grass (seperated from the road we were on by a small canal) and walked right up to the graves and took pictures. Later on when we took a look we saw that these graves actually have intricate designs on them, and look more like small figurines/statues than graves. Most interesting and most spooky too =P
After that we continued on for a looong while, and took a pit stop along the way, and finally reached expo. There were looong stretches of road and highways and all this was overcome with extreme l33tness & endurance. Finally, we reached a corner of expo and sighted the 2nd ghostly thing of the night: A giant tree. This tree stands in the midst of a field, which is rather barren and devoid of any developments. As we look around the surrounding areas have projects and buildings, but it is solely this field that the giant tree stands on that is not used or even touched. And as we went closer, we saw indian people, clad only in towels and performing a purifying ceremony through sprinkling water on their heads, take off their shoes and walk up this path which leads the the tree which is on a small hill. Some of us also took off our shoes and walked up to watch the ceremony which was being performed. There were a few fires crackling merrily as the base of the tree, and these men were apparently being possessed by the spirits, which they believe were good for them in some way. Then they proceeded to cook some kernals of corn with black pepper which smelled really good, and offered them to the spectators of this most unique spiritual activity as a blessing. We were forbidden from throwing any of the food given to us, as it would signify bad luck and ill omen. Not tat we would have wanted to, cos the corn and black pepper tasted as good as it smelt =P
After Expo, the majority cycled along Coastal road which passes by changi airport and is REALLY REALLY LOOONG all the way to changi foodcenter. A smaller bunch approx. 15 of us took the main roads and a part of the highway as we were already tiring. But the highway wasn't easy either, there were some bits where we had to push hard up slope, and go whizzing down the slope through this long stretch of road. Exhilarating, I tell you, it was madly fun to go at such speeds that even at the highest gear i couldnt keep up with the rate at which my pedals were spinnig. I think we hit 50kmph at one point where these was a decline on the slope. Terminal velocity really leaves ur stomach miles behind and your eyes water. Lucky I wear specs man...
Changi Village was sweet...food not ripoff and affordable, and best of all delish! We reached there earlier as the rest went on coastal road, and had a great time laughing at them as they came in 15 minutes after us only to be stumped as to how we beat them here, not noticing that we had broke off wayy behind and taken another path.
Rested, we went on the the Changi Abandoned Barracks, which used to serve as a kempentei area for torture and interrogation. Many had died on the grounds we stood on, and we also went into the barracks which was pitch dark and freaking scary. The corridors inside the halls were narrow and could barely fit 2 men side by side. It smelt musky too and was definately very very spooky. Dun wanna comment in case the ghosts of the dead come back and haunt me >.<
Okay thats about it...after that we cycled all the way back and it started raining. We had to hide under an expressway for a good 30 minutes before we could continue, and we had to slow down lots cos the roads were very wet after that. In total, the whole thing took 10 hours (7pm-5am) and was very tiring but rewarding. ALright! Gogo biking!
