15 September 2009 ride report - Riding roads

Roads. We cannot live without them in the modern world. Roads connect communities together in a way that nothing else can. The earliest paved roads were built in Ur back around 4000 BC. Notably, the Greeks built a 50km road linking Knossos (in the northern part of Creta) to Gortlyn and Lebena (a port on the southern coast of Creta) through the mountains around 2000 BC. The earliest roads are made from bricks, stones, or just flattened earth. Regardless of their construction, roads enabled higher traveling speeds and shorter transit times. Road building technology has come a long way. The roads that we use today are constructed out of asphalt or concrete. They are wider, smoother and better regulated. But not all roads are created equal - some are special!

I watched an episode of Top Gear some time ago where they were searching for driving heaven. They were basically looking for a stretch of road that was pure bliss to drive on in Europe. I have found some great driving roads in Singapore over the years. Now that I have my bike, I have been looking for riding roads too! You see, some places are not really that fun by car...but is extremely fun by bike! So drivers out there...you might wanna consider learning to ride so you can have a more complete experience. Hahaha!

I have found some very fun and interesting roads to ride on over the last six weeks (yes, I have only had my license for slightly more than a month, thank you). I decided that it was a good idea to string together some of these roads and ride them late in the night when traffic is lighter and air is cooler. That is exactly what I did tonight with three other biker friends.

We met at the usual spot (the Esso station along Upper Thomson Road) and set off at 10:30pm. The mix of bikes was interesting.

There was me on a trail bike with super fat tires, Jackson on a super cub with clutch-operated gears, Najib on his huge Varadero that looks so imposing, and Warren on his sexy red Ducati Monster. Of course, my bike was the slowest of the lot...and I was leading...so while I am certain I will enjoy the ride...I was not so sure about Warren on his Monster...I simply hoped he would not get a cramp! Can you figure out which bike is which? Don't worry if you can't...just read on and I'm sure you'll find the answer.

The route tonight would include some great riding roads around the island. Starting with old faithful (Old Upper Thomson Road). For those we are not familiar, this is a good road for beginners. There are enough bends to thrill and they are not sharp enough to scare. The combination of longer sweepers and tighter corners make it ideal to start off the journey of great riding roads.

A relaxing ride followed that as I headed for Kheam Hock Road. This is a road that many are not familiar with. However, it is a nice way to beat the traffic getting from Lornie Road to Dunearn Road. A detour into Lorong Halwa might be fun but I did not go there due to time constraints.

After another relaxing ride, I got to two of my favourite roads for riding and driving in Singapore. I call them the Dynamic Duo of  Portsdown Road and South Buona Vista Road (aka 99 Bends). It was here that we made a stop for a break and some photography. I wanted to capture the bikes (you already saw that picture) and the bikers (you'll see that at the end). It was nice to stop and chat and check out the different bikes!

From here, I went on to Mount Faber. This is my absolute favourite riding road in Singapore. Some people like 99 Bends more but I feel there isn't another road on the island that offers such a spectacular view AND amazingly tight turns! I was very tempted to stop here and make a little detour (by foot) onto the Henderson Waves for a spot of photography...but I decided not to because we were tight on time. I will make a trip there one day to see the sunrise (yes, another sunrise).

From here, I headed off towards another duo of roads: Jervois Road and Orange Grove Road. The riding on these roads were much easier, especially coming from Mount Faber and the 99 Bends. It was very nice to cruise down Orange Grove Road at this time of the night when there was hardly any traffic!

The final riding road for the night was also one that is least known by the group: Gymkhana Road. The only way to access this road is to head into Mount Pleasant Road. I think most people would not elect to travel into Gymkhana Road because of how it looks from the outside. But once inside, it became a very pleasant and fun road to ride on. This is an example of a road that I wouldn't want to drive on very much. While there are bends and it made for great fun on a bike, it wouldn't (I feel) translate to a car.

Obviously, getting from one good riding road to another along a route that spanned close to 50km meant that we would encounter interesting situations along the way. Two of them stood out for me. The scooter rider who decided to turn into Seah Im in order to beat the traffic light and ended up stuck at the next one as I rode up; and the fella on the Phantom that was lit up like a "getai stage" complete with neon blinking lights and alien headlamps. These folks made me chuckle in my helmet...sorry I can't describe this more...you had to be there to know what I mean! Oh yes, there was also this lady rider on a Suzuki GSR (I got it wrong, it seems. It was a Suzuki Bandit 400. Thanks, Warren for clearing this up!) along Upper Thomson Road. I thought it was a Monster and couldn't believe my eyes...seeing two up close on the same night...what were the odds?

As usual, this ride ended with supper...this time round, it was at one of the Indian shops along Sembawang Road. I had prata, mutton soup, mutton curry AND chicken curry. I was starving by then and simply could not resist ordering for everyone to share. Hahaha!

For those who could not figure out which bike was which earlier on, here's another picture of the bikes and the bikers.

I am on the extreme left with my trusty trail bike. To my left was Warren and his Monster, Jackson and his X-1R super cub and Najib with his Varadero.

I remember a thread in the Singapore Bikes forum where some people said Singapore was a boring place. I cannot help but disagree with that view. After all, with so many good riding roads around yet to be discovered, how can this island be boring? Go try these roads and let me know when you find others...and let's go ride together one day!