Turbo Snail's experience in Bukit Timah Mountain Track, Singapore, 29 April 2001
Ever since I know about that track , I always want to go to Singapore to try the Bukit Timah MTB track. Something tells me that the trail is going to worth the visit, and I will not regret it. So I decided to give it a try in my last visit to the city of lion. It took me six hours travelling down South from Penang on my trusted Daihatsu Ascend, cruising at a constant speed of 140kph. By the time I reached my aunty's house, time was already 11pm at night. So I would have to forget the ride on the day of arrival! I left a message to my contact in Singapore, Max and then went straight to the dreamland after a nice cold shower and delicious fried oyster and fish ball soup at the Newton Circus hawker center.
I did not sleep well at my aunty's place. It was because of the noise coming from outside. It seems like there were never ending of passing traffic at Bukit Timah road. Gosh, I swear I would kill anyone! The ride did not happen until the afternoon. I met Max at the entrance to my aunty's house. To my surprise, he proposed to ride to the trailhead instead of driving there. I was open to the suggestion. He's the boss. So we rode together to the trail head on Bukit Timah road!
It took us fifteen minutes to reach the trailhead. Along the way, we encountered countless cars, running at speed much faster than us. I nearly hit Max from behind on several occasions. He had a tendency of slowing down in the middle of the riding. I was not in full alert when it happened. It was not his fault, he was too concerned of me being left behind. Anyway, I did not have any problem to follow him since we were actually going at casual pace.
We finally reached the trailhead after we turned into a quiet lane from the busy Bukit Timah road. It was a welcoming sight since I had grown worried of being knocking down by the passing vehicle. The trail was well shaded and tarmac laid. I did not have problem to catch up with Max although he was in front of me. I decided not to go fast as I was not familiar with the trail. Also, I wanted to spend some to enjoy the view and to take pictures.
We met another group of riders after 5 minutes of easy ride on the trail. I was introduced to the riders. They did not show any surprise that I drove all the way down to Singapore. I suspect they were actually expecting me. Man, I sensed trouble when I saw the way they looked at me and my Diamondback. Their face expression read out loud that "let's give this kampung boy a lesson on what is mountain biking all about in Singapore!" kind of thing! Hair from my back stood up when my glance met theirs. After a brief introduction, we continued our ride to the second half of the trail!
I decided to go easy. Not that the trail was highly technical. I was just tired. Also my gut feeling told me to be careful. All others were screaming down the trail like a walk in the park. I was always the last rider who left far behind. They must be very disappointed from the way I rode. Well, sometimes I have to listen to my instinct. It told me that the day was not my day! The trail was an undulating six kilometer loop. If I were in the top form and not as tired as that time, I would switch on my twin SCRAM jet and sweep them aside. Any KOTRTs would have no problem to ride at that trail in high speed. I really pitied Max as he had to stop and wait for me at several occasions. Although I had told him countless times that I was doing okay and I just wanted to take it easy, he just patiently waited me when I was out of his sight. I really appreciate his escort. I hope I did not spoil his ride! Oh yeah, the Bukit Timah Forest Reserve is also a playground for rock climbers. I saw a couple of natural walls, which are apparently prepared for such activity. They are located at the open space in the track. I stopped at the road sign to take a picture of it. Yeah to show I was here!
The ride did not end after we completed the track. Max suggested to continue the ride to another track, which was at the abandoned quarry. Though I was tired, mentally, my body told me that I could continue. Everybody was looking at me since I was always the last one appeared from the trail. I told them to go ahead and continue the ride. I thought it was time for me to switch on my turbo unit to show them what Turbo Snail could do in the trail!
It was a fierce race. There was this Brit who rode a yellow Intense, who was always sweeping the trail with awesome speed. I decided to test him. I let him go first and then I came from behind and gave him a surprise. I think I did give him a surprise. A sissy who was having trouble to catch up with the rest was now a fearsome rocket screaming down the trail like nobody business! I hope I did not give him a heart attack. Or maybe he decided to give me a chance to claim back my dignity? I did not know. All I knew was I swept everybody in the trail. But it was a short one. After only less than three minutes of fun, the trail ended at the gate.
The ride from the trail end to the quarry was just uneventful as usual. I felt more and more tiring as the time passed by. I was already at the point of no return now. Either stop at the road side, call a cab and go home or continue the ride to the quarry. I decided to continue since my plight took over. The ride at the quarry did not end up as more difficult than Bukit Timah MTB track. We stopped at the middle of the ride, took few pictures and judging from the time we had spent on saddle, we decided to go home.
The ride back to my aunty's house was a road ride, and it was where I had an accident! It was a fast pace ride since everybody was eager to go home to enjoy their mum's cooking. At first I was the last rider in the group, and I was having problem to catch up with them(I did not know how to pace with them.). I decided to go to the front after a few tries. And then Max and that "kuailow" with yellow Intense broke away. I gave chase to them and succeeded. What was that guy name again? Mike? Think so. And then Mike left the group, leaving me and Max. Remember I mentioned in the beginning that I had problem to pace with him? He did the stop in the middle of the climb, again. I was at full speed climbing up and very close to him. Little did I know that he was already slowing down. Imagine, a rider at behind was already charging at full force and the front rider decided to slow down to see if his partner could catch up or not. My front wheel banged into his rear wheel, tires rubbing each other and I lost my balance! There were cars behind. If they did not manage to stop on time, I would be history. Next day paper will be head line saying a promising youngster from Penang with bright future ran over by cars! Wow... It did not happen. God blessed me it did not happen. The Merz behind me managed to stop just inches away from me and my bike. I quickly picked up my bike, whatever left over of my "Kamelbak" and sat at the road side to catch my breath. Max came to my rescue after he realized what happened. I told him that it was not his fault, really. I was just too close to him. I should not ride in the first place. I later discovered that I had my right wrist dislocated. Luckily I asked my high school friend in Singapore to take me to see a Chinese Medicine man afterwards. Though my wrist is okay now, I think I will be out of action for at least a week or two!
It was a fantastic ride. If I were not that tired, I would have been able to enjoy the ride and come out one piece. But too bad la, I was not in the condition to ride after that 7 hours of driving a day before and a bad sleep afterward.
What am I going to do this week? Remember I said I would have to be out of action for at least a week?
Stay tuned!