Cycling 8th August 2009

Woke up at 4.10 am.
It wasn't till 5:09 am before I made my way out of the house.
Why do I always have to leave it up till the last minute?
Am I being over-confident?

Reached LH before 5:30am, bathed in sweat.

Will be leading Adri through her first century ride. =)
She was just a few kms short of the century the previous time due to the numerous shortcuts we took. =p

We started off in the middle of the pack.
Adri is more confident in overtaking riders now.

Climbing up Prata Hill, I rode past Joyce.
Joyce commented "Never take care of your girl ah?"
"Will wait for her at the top", I replied.
A reply "Right here!" caught both Joyce and me by surprise.
Adri is right on my tail.
Hehe... she is becoming good at climbing. =)
A few more weekends and she will sail through the slopes. =)

Very soon, we find ourselves drawing closer to the lead pack.
We rode up Sembawang slopes at a steady pace.
Riding through the Mandai slopes, I feel that Adri's pace through the slopes is actually helping me control my pace as well!
I dun feel so exhausted after the Sembawang slopes and the subsequent Mandai slope just after.

Once again, I stressed to Adri about the use of momentum to conquer the undulating Mandai slopes.
This is my home territory.
I am kinda glad that I live near Mandai.
Adri only have the Coastal flats to contend with.
She is enjoying herself whenever she comes to LH.

Adri is a pretty natural rider.
I always hear the gear clicks at the appropriate time.
A check on her gears, she never once overstretch herself on the gears.
Her spinning is very natural as well.
With the right training, she will become a formidable rider.

With a 6:40am train to catch, we din rest much at Mandai Shell before we proceed on our way again.
The lead riders has already left.
We were left chasing dust....again....

Along Bukit Timah Road, I was egging her to use her aerobars.
To me, I find that one need to practice more to find back the confidence that we lost.
She preferred to leave the chance to another time.

Reached LH at 6:38am. =)
Hehe... we have a few minutes to spare before we need to roll off again.
Had a drink and it is time to leave.

Along Yio Chu Kang Road, Adri is commenting how comfy this ride is.
It is very different from the 5:30am ride that we have just completed.
During this ride, we were within the pack throughout.

Riding through Sengkang, Adri was taking in the scenery.
The parks, the SengKang Sports Complex etc...

We rode through the outskirts of Punggol.
I found that Adri is checking her cyclometer frequently.
Hehe... I guess it is hard to believe.
Neither do I.
We were cruising in the pack...
Pedal...cruise....pedal....cruise.... at 32kmh!!!
We hardly broke a sweat.

Cycling along Hougang, we overtook an ANZA group.
Pointed out to Adri how organised ANZA group is.
Not a single rider is out of formation.

At the KPE exit, I pointed out to Adri the shortcut we took.
She seems a bit lost though.
Won't blame her, it is too much to digest.
Especially since we were on a chase mission the other time around.
(I still cannot understand the whole situation though.
We took a 5km shortcut and we still did not catch sight of the 7am pack during our last ride.
And the fact that we lost sight of the pack only along Jalan Kayu made the whole chase sounds incredible.)

Stopping at the TPE Flyover traffic junction, Joyce was surprised to see me.
She was even more surprised to see Adri. =D

Riding along Pasir Ris, Adri is starting to tire.
The smile is gone...
I am getting worried.
As if she is reading my mind, her smile came back on again. =)
Give her a choice of stopping at Shell Loyang or continue with the group, she choose the latter.
Making sure she has enough fluids to last the distance, we proceed to turn left.

Interested to find out YF's claim of 70kmh down Loyang slope, I find myself coasting down at >40kmh down the slopes.
I was only later in the day that I realise that I hit a top speed of 61kmh! All without spinning!!!

Just past Changi Village, the 7am group overtook us.
Highlight to Adri how the group rode.
They were literally riding single file. A lead rider leading an entire peloton.
That is the only way to ride economically and maintain a high cadence and pace at the same time.

Adri is taking it all in.
Her mind seems to be churning out calculations as we chat. =D

Egg her to try her aerobars again. =p
She is still hesitant.
Just after Changi Ferry Terminal , she went down on her aerobars.

She never cease to amaze.
She is holding the aerobars ever so lightly.
She looks totally natural on aerobars.
Very relaxed...

Greeted Roonz along East Coast Park, forcing her to slow down to check who is the rider yelling. =D
Keke... I thought a fat guy on a yellow Cervelo bike won't be hard to recognise. =D

Reached East Coast Hawker Center just before 9am. =D
Great timing.
Unfortunately, I can't give you a breakdown on the ride.
My watch decided to go bonkers for this ride. =(

Joyce was so thrilled with Adri's performance this morning that she came forward to make Adri an offer. =D
I suggest to Adri to give it a try.
Adri mentioned that she will give it some thought. =)

After chatting for a while, we break for home.
I took the Kallang, Lavender, Balestier, Thomson, Marymount, AMK route home.
Good ride, great company.
A good start to a long weekend. =)
Thanks, Adri! =)