Thursday, July 03, 2008

Bike Trailing East


Where does it lead to?

A question that always played in my mind whenever I was at the bus stop at Changi South Lane... going back home after meeting my Customer at their site.

I got fired-up whenever I saw bikers appeared from behind the Richfield Warehouse building, a distance away from the bus stop... dismounted from their bikes, crossed the road and continued on to somewhere great.


Last Friday, I told myself that I had to explore the trail soon or bust. And explore I did last Sunday afternoon.

Wifey was with her Sis, while Sonny was at his Malay language tuition, so I went off on my bike alone right after my afternoon prayers.

Armed with the usual essentials - my iPhone, my Lumix FZ10 camera and a bottle of ice water to discover other parts of the island using the bike trail.


Took the route along Tampines Avenue 5, I passed by Changi General Hospital at Simei and then came to pass the bus stop where the bike trail was.

The signboard said "East Coast Park." My heart jumped for joy. To enjoy the serenity a park offers is one thing good, to be at the beach... my favorite haunt, is heaven.

I got to cycle fast and hard as the Simei Park Connector track was flat and wide... I had a good cardio workout.


I was sweating like a pig as I dismounted when I came to the tunnel crossing the Pan Island Expressway or PIE.

That part I felt like I was competing in a rugged mountain bike competition where one had to dismount and carry one's bike down the rugged terrain. I had to carry the bike down into the tunnel to cross the highway and up a flight of stairs again.

I felt the burn in my thighs. It was a nice workout! Totally worth it.

The sight of the sea and the fresh, cool sea breeze were a welcomed reprieve. Serenity felt like heaven.


I then realized that it was not at all that far from our home in Tampines if we were to use the short cuts the bike trail offered. Then again, living on a small island... a dot in the world map called Singapore, I guess, nowhere is too far.

Though we had been to East Coast Beach for picnics many times before, last Sunday was the first time I actually went further along the coastline, towards the direction of the city and it was also the first time I set foot on Bedok Jetty... the haunt for weekend fishing enthusiasts I have heard so much about.

Discovering this route made me felt like a soldier doing recce work before the battalion of Wifey and Sonny can come forward to wage war against daily stresses.


We never attempted to cycle from our home to East Coast Park knowingly so that it will take a great distance to use the road. The Simei Park Connectors have made it possible to do so easily and conveniently... especially for Wifey.

The tarmac tracks made for joggers and cyclists are wide and in fact cooling under shades of the tall trees along routes, that stretches all the way to the beach park. I am thrilled for her.

I am planing for all three of us to set off on our bikes early morning one weekend to cycle to the beach.

We only need to pack our picnic essentials in my backpack and take our time to enjoy the sights along the tracks and have a picnic together at the beach. A swim in the sea will be refreshing after a good sweat.

We will get our required exercise, relax our minds enjoying nature while build closer bonds with one another... not to mention no transport money is required.

Just happy, healthy living. Life is sweet!


















5 comments:

  1. Imran,

    What a lovely story of your bike journe! It all sounds so beautiful. I wish we had bike and walking trails here without cars constantly zooming by. I think your country has worked out a very nice transportation system...for cars, walking and biking trails..and it all looks so beautiful and clean!

    Your photos are beautiful as per usual. Your very talented.

    I wish I knew how to make my blog all set up special the way you and so many do..but I have no idea how to do it..terrible at pc stuff..and I've also only been able to use someone else's pc for quite a while now. Any pointers?

    Have a blessed weekend,

    Rhiannon

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  2. So loved this post! I too have a mountain bike that does not get ridden very often. Bad me. We don't have bike trails here and people act like we are not allowed on the roads. Husband rides to work and I worry daily for his safe return to me.

    Love the pictures! Maybe hubby and I should visit some day....and bring our bikes.

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  3. sounds like a great thing to do - wish I had the energy! my bike is covered with dust :)

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  4. healthy most definitely!
    Fab pics. What camera do you use?

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  5. Hello All,

    Thank you for stopping by and leaving your messages.

    Rhiannon | The citizens are aware that the authorities are doing their best to have places for everything for efficiency.

    After all, Singapore is so small and without natural resource. Her people is her resource, so she takes care of them to he happy and healthy for the country's sake.

    The island-wide park connectors connecting all the parks scattered around the island have made exercise fun when they become conveniently accessible to all.

    Pictures of flowers and landscape are always inviting and invoke joy. My camera and the subjects did most of the job. I just took the pictures in auto-setting mode.

    What I did for my blog is the features BLOGGER offers. Playing around with the given features when you click CUSTOMIZE and LAYOUTS let you create the already fixed template more to your liking.

    You can play around with background and text fonts, colors and sizes and preview it before you press SAVE.

    Else you can discard it and play around with it some more until you are happy with how the blog look overall.

    Have fun with your creations. Your beautiful poems deserve a tranquil blog layouts.

    DeeJay | Great! Weekends are the most fun time when I get to ride and be close to nature... its tranquil settings.

    Going there was quite a hassle for me too until the authorities recognized the need for a balanced lifestyle and provided such amenities to its citizens island-wide instead of just the pockets of parks everywhere.

    Andrew | I have to make time for it or the bike and home-gym will become clothes hangers or become duct collectors.

    I need my exercise is my brain doesn't work yet my body become restless. I'd be useless to anyone.

    Tanie | I love to exercise. It gets my happy cells going. My daily drug high after a cup of coffee in the morning.

    I use Panasonic Lumix FZ10 Digital Camera. The best camera I ever invested money in some years back.

    Simply because I am not good at taking photos, the camera does most of the wonderful job. I just point and shoot.

    It doesn't perform as fantastic as desired poor light, but tolerable.

    Now, there are even more intelligent & foolproof cameras out there that make casual photos look like travel postcards!

    Wonderful prospective, don't you think?


    Thanks again everyone. Have a great weekend!

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Hello Everyone,

Thank you for stopping by and leaving me your messages. I will also try to answer any questions you may have for me.

Thanks again and have a good day.

Regards,
Muhd Imran
PAL Blogger