That was the fateful night when I was told I was going to learn to cycle. It had been my little new year resolution to pick up cycling. Yes, a little embarrassing as I couldn’t cycle. I had been practicing a little on my own, going round the carpark with my 10years old bicycle and trying out on the beach. It was tough to keep my balance.
Of course, I need good friends who were willing to be patient and put up with my nonsense. Actually I think they had no idea I was really that bad. :p
Met up with the girls, Christy and Caitlin for a hearty meal at Katong. As usual, overeating is a must. We really should never have left the ordering of food to Christy. A 3 person meal and we almost did not have space left on the table… that was scary.
And back to the real purpose of our outing… teach Panny to cycle. Off to East coast park carpark C to rent bicycles. I went to the toilet while the girls settled the rental. Another bad decision. Came back out and it was all settled that we were renting the bicycles overnight. What?!! I was shocked. I thought they were teaching me how to ride and I really had no idea what made them think I could last an entire night. And that is if I could even cycle.
And so I was stuck on the opposite side of the bicycle track while the 2 of them cycled over easily. I was freaking out as there were so many people at the bicycle rental shop and I could not even balance the bicycle properly. I decided the best way was to push it out of everyone’s way so I could wobble enough to finally get the bicycle straight. Christy came back over to me and asked me to try slowly. What had I gotten myself into? 🙁
With lesser people around me, I was a little less jittery and I managed to get onto the bicycle successfully. Christy was leading the way while Cait stayed behind me. So sweet, I was fully escorted. 🙂 I think Cait had a harder time as I would keep braking every time I lost balance and felt I might fall over. I wondered how many times she had to e-brake behind me.
And so, without even knowing how I did it, we manage to reach the bridge going across Fort road to Marina bay area. Christy suggested we should move on further since we had the bicycles for the night. I thought the initial idea was to just get to the bridge. And in a shot, Christy was gone. I really really tried my best but I just couldn’t go upslope without losing my balance. I ended up pushing the bicycle to the top of the bridge where we took a break.
And because we did not follow up, Christy got worried and back tracked. She cycled upslope from the other end and was puffing away when we saw her. It was funny as she scolded us. It was obviously double effort for her. They taught me how to go down slope to the other end, braking to slow the bicycle down. It was a little scary but I made it. And yes, we got to the park.
Toilet break time and I had innocently thought we were heading back. The 2 of them almost unanimously agreed that we had not reached Gardens by the bay as this was only the entrance. Majority win and I wasn’t about to head back on my own.
We kind of weave through the tracks to get to the river and I was relieved as it was a straight road from then on. I had been driving for quite a number of years now so I would hardly walk along these areas. I do admit that we have a fantastic city night view. The skyline was really impressive. Alright, the decision to cycle on was definitely all thumbs up.
The cycling part was fun and the girls were accommodating. It was also made easier since we took a lot of stops taking photo and just fooling around. Mostly making fun of Cait. 🙂 and of course my cycling skills, or rather, the lack of it.
And by now, I knew there would never be a real end to this. We were obviously in the park and definitely destination reached. By now, it seems our ‘destination’ was the end of the park.
With some dark and blurred photos, we finally found the right way to do this. It was hilarious. Christy had to hold the phone, Cait had to run over to check the angle, leaving a corner for herself before running back for the shot. Well the iPhone had much better photo quality from the back rather than the front camera so we figured this was the way to go. 🙂 Worked really well and Cait was now the expert in photo framing.
And we moved on….
I had always felt a special attachment to this bridge and for a very strange reason. It really resembled my Year 2 architectural project (Orphanage and asylum) I couldn’t recall why or how it came about, but I had designed this ‘worm-liked’ structure with the ribbed effect that really looked pretty similar. Well, it did look pretty back then too. 🙂
By now, I had given up asking where our destination was. It was always a little more and and a little more. I guessed with all these photo stops we were making along the way, it wasn’t really all that tiring.
It was getting a little scary for me now as there were more human traffic and there were also these metal humps all over. Christy and Cait said to lift my bums off the bike seat a little so it wouldn’t be painful. I tried but almost fell and it definitely wasn’t a good idea. And so I had to endure every painful little hump. :p
My greatest achievement would be weaving through a street side performance that had drawn a crowd and I didn’t stop once. Woah!! achievement unlocked.
We had a little break where we went to get Gong Cha. Naughty Cait moved our bikes to the riverside while we went to get our drinks. Luckily we were smart and spotted her when we came out.
We had a little discussion and realising we had to still make our way back, the decision was to make a turn around at customs house. Phew… I was getting worried…
We did a turn around. Maybe a photo with the olympic rings will motivate us. Do we look like contestants?
And we cycled back slowly, retracing our tracks. Unfortunately, though we were now passing through Gardens by the bay, we still did not catch any otters. My dear Cait could only satisfy her wish by taking photo of the signboard. No worries, I think you will see them one of these days…. just wait 😉
For some strange reason, Cait decided that we should do something different on the way back, like a little detour round the park. And we all thought it was a good idea. So after checking out the side map, we cycled into one of the small roads that was to veer back into the main cycling track just a little further up.
And so Cait led the way while we cycled along behind her. On hindsight, we should never have followed Cait’s instruction or suggestion…. almost nothing good every came out of it. And this time without fail too. The park security came after the three of us in their park cabby. No cycling within the park and we were warned that there were security cameras everywhere and we could face a hefty fine. We could only apologise, dismount and walk through pushing our bicycles along. After the security left us, we burst out laughing…. Cait did it again!!!
But since we were already in the vicinity, it was again photo time!
It was a long ride back and I could feel my knees giving way. Always had a bad left knee and it was now hurting a little. I got the girls a little worried. Once we reached the park, I told them I’ll try to pick up speed and head back first. And I did… the only reason why was because the park was empty and there was no one.
And so it was the end of cycling lesson one. It was great and because I was pressurised to keep up, I actually ended up cycling which was really amazing. Thank you, my friends!! I can finally cycle.
