Although I ended 2007 with a 70km run, I definitely had no intention of starting 2008 with a 70km ride.
New Year's Day. A leisurely morning ride followed by a nice lunch. That was the plan, according to our discussion with Alvin, Eddie and gang. A slow, short 50km ride at 25-30kmh. The reality was that I woke up still aching from the ultra run and was in half-mind about not going for the ride. Alber had a headache and was not riding. I had not rode on the roads with my cleats except during the Powerman race. I was apprehensive if I should use the cleats and kept thinking I might fall. Excuses flashed through my head. In the end I convinced myself that it was a good opportunity to practise my cleats in the company of other riders on a no-rush ride. I checked with the rest and after lazing in bed for another 30min, I decided to join the guys for the ride. Afterall, it was meant to be slow, relaxed and short.
How wrong. I rode from my home to the Bukit Batok swimming pool to meet with Alvin, Eddie, JinYe and a few others. I had been staying at my new place for 3-4months and still not familiar with the area. We cycled to 10-mile Junction to join up with JunDe and continued riding to Neo Tiew area. The guys were fast. Eddie rode his MTB, as per originally agreed with Alber. Even then, he was way ahead of me, very strong and fast. I was clumsy on my cleats and could not clip in promptly on a few occasions. I had to pedal with one leg and fiddled around with the cleats with the other until I heard the familiar 'click'. Thankfully the traffic was light, and I remembered to keep the clipped in leg moving. At one point, I rode in front with another guy when the road ahead split into 2 directions. He turned right and I went straight. I hesistated to follow him, and suffered a stationary tilt-over onto a grass patch, grazing my knee slightly. I shuddered at the thought of a high-speed crash and fly-over.
We stopped for a break at a coffeeshop near Kranji Reservoir, and caught up with some jokes, courtesy of Eddie. He was such an entertainer at social gatherings. We continued towards Upp Thomson Road, Woodlands, Mandai and Sembawang Road before heading into Yishun new town and Seletar Reservoir. There were numerous long stretches of slopes, some with very strong headwind where my speed plummeted to 16-17kmh. It was tough just trying to get the pedal strokes going. By the time we reached Seletar, it was already 50km. There was another 20-odd km between me and my bed. My legs were feeling the fatigue from the run and slopes by then. I took a Gu-gel, a deep breath, and we set off on the return ride. I almost contemplated flagging a taxi back, but thought I should not give up. Eddie was still going strong on a MTB, and he had covered 50km at the ultra too. I visualized the ride as a climbing descent to basecamp and that 1h would pass very quickly. Hmm... my Mustagh climb provided a lot more imagery and motivation than I had bargained for. :)
We were supposed to end at some coffeeshop for lunch, but the group split up on the way back. I was lagging behind after being separated by some traffic junctions and I rode alone. I only had a homing device and did not know where the lunch venue was, so I headed straight home instead.
Total distance: 75km.
It was a good recovery ride and a chance to practise my cleats. I was glad I made it for the ride. A great start to the new year.
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