20 September 2009 ride report - Murphy shows up!

Fail to plan and you plan to fail. That's what they say. What they do not tell you is that even if you do plan, you might not succeed. After all, Murphy is always trying to crash the party. Oh yes. I am very familiar with Murphy. He seems to have taken a liking to me. I wonder why....

I planned this morning's ride a number of days earlier. The idea was to set off at 5:30am in order to catch the sunrise. I guess everyone should know by now that I do this quite a bit. Anyway, it was to be a group of four bikers and we were going to explore the sunrise at the Lim Chu Kang cemetery. You see, someone told me that the Muslim cemetery there was very beautiful at the crack of dawn. So I was really eager to see for myself!

The meeting place was the usual Esso station along Upper Thomson Road. This is a really good place to start off because everyone could fill up with the petrol of their choice. There are three stations lined up side-by-side (Shell, Esso and Caltex) and another station (SPC) across the road. I do not think you will find another place in Singapore with so many options within a stone's throw of each other. Unfortunately, one of the guys could not make it at the last minute because of a minor emergency...and another guy...well...let's just say he was not contactable. Hahaha! Murphy struck again! Interestingly, somebody (whom I did not expect at all) turned up at the station to join the ride. So that made three of us! Oh yes, Murphy struck last night too because one of the riders also had a problem with his bike and could not ride with us...so he turned up with two additional wheels!

So off we went at 5:40am. As usual, I started the group off along Old Upper Thomson Road. Everything went smoothly. I led the way to Mandai Road, BKE, Turf Club Road, Kranji Road, across the Kranji Dam, through Neo Tiew Road, Lim Chu Kang Road, and eventually we arrived at the Muslim cemetery while the sky was still dark. It was immediately clear to me that it would not work out at this place because the tree cover was pretty dense. So we headed over to the Chinese cemetery instead. The place held much more promise!

We stopped here for quite awhile waiting for dawn to break...and eventually it did. Unfortunately, the sun never quite showed up because there was heavy cloud cover at the horizon. Almost half the sky was covered with thick and heavy clouds! Despite this, I captured as many images as I could possibly capture...hoping for the best. Eventually, I decided it was time to move on with our ride and headed off towards Tuas.

Along the way, I managed to spot a few areas with good promise. We stopped along the side of the road a few times to take pictures. These were new stops that I have never tried before and I was pleased as a peach that I found them!

Another place we had wanted to visit was the beautiful beach that many spoke about in Tuas. We found the place alright! And the light was beautiful! However, there was no space for parking and the place looked all fenced up. So we rode around to find an alternative place to park, hoping also to find an access point. Eventually, we found a road leading up to the beach area but was told that we could not park there, and that the entire place is out of bounds due to road contruction! We decided to head back to the original spot where we saw the beautiful light. When we got back there, the light was no longer beautiful...it was glaring...flaring...and the entire scene had lost all of its beauty and charm. It looked flat and boring in this strong and direct light. Ten minutes was all it took for the light to disappear! Oh well, its simply not to be, I suppose.

Soon, I realized I was running on empty - my tummy, that is - and decided it was a good time to have some breakfast! And so we had some at Jurong West. After breakfast, we continued back to Lim Chu Kang for more riding, eventually ending the ride at the car park at the Kranji Dam. At this point we stopped to take a group picture and some pictures of Andy's bike. That marked the end of the ride!

Fast forward to photo editing...and I realized Murphy was one sneaky fella! Although I captured some images at the cemetery and the other spots, I found that the pictures were unusable! There were many dust spots, funny looking pieces of hair, bad colour balance and impossible exposures. I've never had such a huge batch of photographs go to waste due to these things. Argh!

All is not lost though. I did manage to get some pictures...hehehe!

Remember I was at the Mobil Refinery area one night? Well, we were back there again today. I could not take any pictures in the first spot that I scouted out. This place has guards looking out on elevated guard posts much like the prisons! AMAZING! And there were "No Photography" signs posted all along the perimeter fence! I suppose this prompted me to simply take the scene all in without being distracted by the photography. And it was a BEAUTIFUL scene! What with the industrial pipes and drums and lights dressed up by the beautifully lit morning sky!

I did manage to grab a photograph as we were leaving the area though. After turning out, I looked back to see this scene.

While it isn't quite as dramatic as the one I saw earlier, you can clearly see the beautiful colours in the sky and how the clouds accentuated the beauty!

A little further on, I spotted a little road just off the right side and saw a bridge over a waterway. I decided to give this spot a try as well. So we parked right on the bridge and started clicking away.

I liked the reflections on the water. I have always liked reflections on water - of light, of buildings, of clouds, of the sun, the moon - they all fascinate me! Don't you think the reflections looked grand?

And just to show you that I am a little crazy when it comes to reflections...here's another one.

If you look carefully, I am sure you will realize that you have seen this boat before! Where though? Hahaha!

Well, that's about all the pictures I took today of the places that we were at. Interestingly, I have gotten really fond of taking pictures of the people who went on the ride. So I took a few shots to give you a better sense of who was on the ride today.

So that's me on the left with my faithful TW200, Andy is next to me with his Phantom, and Ethan next to him with his sporty Civic. Now you're probably saying...this picture doesn't give you any better idea of the folks who were on the ride...hahahaha! So here are two more pictures that, I guarantee, will give you a better idea.

This is Ethan with his sporty Civic...

...and this is Andy...

...on his super relaxing Phantom.

So that's the way it was this morning...Murphy, my best friend, did not fail me after all. He showed up and did a swell job of changing the plans. But in the end, I am convinced it was the best way to have spent the morning...riding along...solving problems...enjoying the company...and just being alive!

Come join in the next ride!

13 September 2009 ride report - Daybreak!

I have been getting quite a number of people asking me the question "Where do you get the energy?" over the last few days. It seems I have been out riding a lot, many times till very late in the night (or rather the wee hours of the morning), just to do it all over again the next day. I have often wondered myself why my two boys are so energetic...chip of the old block maybe?

Anyway, I got up early this morning because I wanted to capture the sunrise. Yeah, I do have a fascination with the sunrise...and now you know I wasn't lying...hahaha! There is something special about it that keeps me going back for more. It doesn't matter how many times I've seen it before, each new sunrise brings back the same feelings of awe, rejuvenation and hope.

I took my bike out, as usual, on my little morning adventure. I took the shortest route to the Marina Barrage, praying that I would  make it on time...and for beautiful cloud cover. You see, I always check the weather forecast before I leave and this morning's forecast was "partly cloudy"...perfect for sunrise photography IF the the right kind of cloud decides to show up. I got there just before the sky started to brighten and quickly scouted out a location for my shoot.

I decided that I would station myself on the roof garden and capture the sunrise from here. I had one of my favourite lenses on my camera this morning (AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm 1:4G ED DX) and I was looking forward to some beautiful wide-angle shots. After awhile on the roof garden, it was clear to me that this was the best I could get...because the cloud was not covering the right part of the sky.

Can you see how the bottom and top parts of the sky is brightening up in a bluish hue while the middle part is starting to get a little orange? This is caused by the low and thick cloud cover at the horizon, blocking the sun's rays. The cloud cover thinned out the higher up you look at the sky. That is why the orange part began in the middle and not right at the bottom. Still, I loved the way the lit structure contrasts with the (still dark) sky. It looked pretty to me and I was pleased as a peach!

I decided then to move down to the ground level for some other angles since I wasn't going to get what I originally envisioned up on the roof garden. Once on the ground level, I scouted out another location near the water side and practically camped there waiting for the colours to unfold. I did not have to wait long (well, only about 30 minutes or so) before this showed up.

I would normally have slapped on a telephoto lens on my camera to capture the perfectly formed sun. Fortunately, I managed to improvise with my only lens (which happened to be a super wide-angle lens) to capture this scene. I sat there for a long while just watching the day break...it was spectacular!

When the sun got higher up in the sky, I decided it was time for another photograph of my bike (haven't done those for awhile)...so I rode out to a place nearer the Marina South Pier and found this spot!

Don't ask me why I like this dark photograph where you can hardly see my bike...I just like it. After all, while I wanted to show my bike in the picture, the bike isn't the point of the picture. Yup, it was the sunrise I was after and I wanted my bike there because this will fit into my "bike landscape" collection later. Hahaha! Anyway, isn't it grand that I can get the bike so close to water? No way I can do that with my car!

I found this gem of a spot where people come to fish in the evenings, I think. There weren't many people there at this time of the morning so it made for a perfect spot for some light trail riding. I did not want to disturb the folks who were there to fish so I did not ride long at all...just five minutes...and I parked my bike to walk around and take pictures.

Many boats were going and coming to the pier while I was there. I realized suddenly that this pier replaces the original Clifford Pier! All the boats that used to dock there are now docking here instead. I even saw the Cheng Ho junk boat coming into the pier! Cool!

I was going to call it a morning but I suddenly had the urge to go to Mount Faber. I haven't been there for awhile and thought I should take the opportunity while I was within the vicinity (kinda). Riding up Mount Faber was fantastic! The roads were winding and the air was fresh. I took a slow ride up this morning...enjoying the start of this brand new Sunday. As I rode around the hill, I saw this off to the left side of the road.

I just love how that big cloud added so much drama to the otherwise plain looking sky. The entire city looks to be bathed in golden light. I felt that the drama unfolding in the sky reflected the life that was beating within the city below. I was thankful that I captured this shot quickly as this particular scene only lasted a minute...phew!

Daybreak. My favourite part of the day. Though the light show moves fast, the effects of it remains with me long after...and I believe that I am far better off having witnessed the splendour of it all. My hope is that more would experience the inspiration that daybreak has in store for us, everyday, without fail. I made a little promise to myself, then, that I would bring this to as many as I could...and that I would return...many times over!

30 August 2009 ride report - Sunrise surprise

There is something about riding a motorcycle that liberates me. I can't really put my finger on it thought. Maybe its the freedom of being able to go where many cars are not able to go. Or maybe its the feel of the wind blowing through the hair...can't be...cos helmets are compulsory in Singapore. Well...whatever it is, it sure is addictive!

I had just completed a late night 70km ride three nights ago. I wanted to capture some images of industrial lights and was at the south-western part of Singapore. I went on another ride just last night covering the southern part of the island. And this morning, I went on an early morning ride with two biker friends.

My alarm went off faithfully at 4:30am, jolting me from a wonderful dream that I can no longer remember. I have had my share of mornings when I "snoozed" my alarm clock several times over because I need a little more rest...but today I sprang out of bed enthusiastically. You see, I had an ambitious route planned and am very eager to get on with the riding!

The plan was to meet at the stretch of petrol stations along Upper Thomson Road at 5am. The route promised a lot of fun involving many old roads with minimal expressway runs, incorporating a stint of hiking up Bukit Timah for the sunrise, topped off with a hearty breakfast and a nice cuppa. Meeting at a petrol station would give everyone a chance to fill up before this 70km adventure. Have a look at the route in Google Maps for a better idea.

We started on our journey with a nice ride long Old Upper Thomson Road. It was nice to start with this as the road has a good series of bends that were easy to negotiate. While I have enjoyed this stretch of road many times in the pass, riding together with others made the journey more meaningful. Somehow, seeing everyone negotiate a bend successfully made me feel happy. Go figure! Seriously though...I felt really happy seeing everyone complete a bend on my rear-view mirror. Hahaha!

It was going well. In fact, it went well all the way until we hit the Kranji Dam. You see, I had requested for one of my biker friends to let me know when we approached 5:30am. You see, in my route planning, I had forgotten to include the half hour required for the hike up Bukit Timah into my timing calculations...and when did I realize this? Yup...at the Kranji Dam. Why? Because 5:30am crept up on me while we were there.

Thanks to this miscalculation, I rationalized that we had to hightail it to Bukit Timah if we wanted any chance to catch the sunrise, and that we will get back to Kranji Dam after that riding our original planned route in reverse. We took the most direct route possible to Bukit Timah to make up for the time we didn't have, eventually arriving there twenty minutes later.

After parking our bikes and removing our helmets and gloves, we started our hike up the hill. I knew it would be dark as the sun wasn't out yet, but I was completely blinded by how dark it was. While there were quite a number of people walking up and down the path with flash lights, it was still too dark for me to see my own fingers without turning on one of our own flash lights! It dawned on my then that this was, indeed, a nature reserve! The fact that the Parks Authority took this stand made me smile...though I'm sure nobody could see even my teeth!

In a way, the blindness turned out to be a blessing. You see, the hike up Bukit Timah starts off by taking your breath away...literally...with a slope so steep it could make an ant sweat! This would have been a challenge for any hiker, irrespective of fitness level...and here I am...hiking up with my full riding gear (jacket, pants and boots) on and my helmet in my hands! Hahahaha! What in the world was I thinking? The blessing though was that the darkness stopped me from looking ahead and worrying about how long the slope was going to be. I ended up focusing on what was tangible to me at that time - the next step. And so, one step at a time, I conquered that slope...and promptly encountered another! So it was uphill all the way. After lots of heavy breathing...the three of us eventually made it to the summit, and immediately, I could see that we will not be captivated by any sunrise this morning!

If you have been up Bukit Timah, you would know (and probably remember - unlike me) that the summit is completely surrounded by tall trees. It was a wonderful spot in the afternoon to cool off after a sweaty hike. But it was an impossible spot to see a sunrise! I was just glad my two biker friends did not get annoyed with me (at least not visibly since there wasn't much light still) for lugging them all the way up here, to see what they can probably see in the comfort of their bed at home!

As they say: "no point crying over spilt milk". So with the spirit of making the best of what we had, we went about taking pictures. As the sky was taking much longer to brighten up than a snail would take to travel from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, we took our time to scout around the area for interesting photograph opportunities. I walked around and eventually found an angle for this shot.

I wanted to take a picture that makes it clear that I was at the "Summit of Bukit Timah". I did think of that radio tower that is so synonymous with Bukit Timah. But since some people have absolutely no clue what the summit looked like, I decided that this picture would say it better. I had to crawl on the ground to get this angle. I think its nice to see the carving on the rock together with those trees lit by the brightening sky (now you understand why there's just no way we could see the sunrise!)

The clouds happened to be low and thick this morning...this means the colours of the sky is subdued and desaturated. In fact, there isn't any real colour at all! So I decided to focus on things that are less dependent on the colour of the available light.

I've always enjoyed macro-photography. Actually the term is a misnomer since "macro-photography" is the act of photographing small (micro) things. So strange is the English language! But I digress. I walked around and soon found this dried leaf lying on the grass and I thought it looked really pretty. I could not resist capturing this. I have always loved the way a leaf looks. They're so beautifully formed...even to the very end!

I was all over the place, walking around, looking up, looking down, on my knees, on my elbows, on my back...taking pictures...just minding my own photography business. Suddenly, this set of steps grabbed me and refused to let go!

Captivated, I spent some time examining the steps, admiring the stone work. It was really pretty. Surprisingly, it was colourful too! But I thought it would be nice to stick to black and white for today. So you will have to hike up Bukit Timah if you want to see the brilliant colours! Remember to do it in the early morning or the colours will be different...hehehe!

Not wanting to be outdone, everything else started grabbing my attention. I tell you, there's nothing like taking photographs. After awhile, everything wanted my attention. So I gave my attention to everything that called out to me. Unfortunately, all the pictures I took had that faded "old year book" look. So this is the only other picture I felt you should see.

I try to do my best and give justice to everything that I photograph. This was my best effort for this particular subject. I love it though...its so...its so...its so...ahhh!

Well, soon the whole place is bright and starting to fill up with other folks. I decided its time to head off and get some real riding in before the morning is over. The foot of the hill could not have been more different from earlier. It was now bright, of course, and more interestingly, it was PACKED with cars! Who would have thought this place would be packed on a Sunday morning? People obviously love nature! Wow!

I led the way and off we went according to plan...the alternate plan, that is. We went on many interesting roads...beautiful scenery (sorry no pictures)...great curves...no cars...cool weather...and super dark clouds. Silly me checked the weather forecast up till 7am and was so happy it would be a dry and partly cloudy morning, forgetting that the ride will only end around 9am, and that rain was forecasted for that time. Still, I had to take a stop when we got to the end of Lim Chu Kang Road...for this.

This scene was right in front of us and it would be a crime not to let it slip by without sharing it with you. It was like a scene out of an old Bruce Lee movie (I did mention him sometime ago in another article, didn't I? Hmmm....).  I love the way that jetty is so ragged and how the storm clouds look so threathening, and yet the entire scene is just so serene!

We headed off again soon after trying to avoid the inevitable rain that would come. Our target was a breakfast place at the Kranji Industrial Park nearby. So after making a wrong turn and the first signs of a long shower, we ended back at Kranji Dam.

Yeah, there is more light now and I could not resist taking a picture to show you how big that dark cloud cover was! It wasn't long before the rain would start pouring down!

And rain it did soon after. We got pelted with huge, cold raindrops! Good thing the breakfast place was just a few minutes away. Some prata, dosai and noodles quickly filled us up, while our kopi and teh gave us the perfect excuse to stay dry and chat as the rain continued to pour! It was the perfect end to a wonderful morning ride!

Come join me next time!

23 August 2009 ride report

So early this morning shunoski suggest that we should catch the sunrise at Punggol Jetty. Since it was raining heavily when I saw his post slightly past midnight, I thought it made for a good opportunity for photographs...IF it stopped raining by then. So we agreed to meet up at the jetty at 6:45am. Unfortunately, I got hooked watching some documentary about warships (don't ask why) and stayed up till 2:30am. Anyway, I set my alarm (3 alarms actually) for 5:45am and went to bed.

It was still drizzling when I eventually got up at 6am. I could hear the pitter patter of the rain drops outside my bathroom window. The sound was very pleasant and the air was light. I wasn't sure if it was such a great idea to ride early in the morning in such wet conditions...but an agreement is an agreement and I quickly prepared myself. It takes me awhile to get into my gear...especially early in the morning when I'm trying to be quiet and not wake the house :-)

Eventually I set off. I got to the jetty around 6:40am and the light was already out...as usual...my bed was a little too comfortable for me to want to leave it in the early morning. So I quickly made my way to the jetty and started shooting.

I was shooting for a little while and then I noticed this little motorboat coming into shore. I realized it was picking up some passengers, probably for an early spot of fishing. I waited for it to move off and snapped this picture as I wanted something in the foreground.

I walked around to the west-facing side of the jetty and found that the other side of the beach was strewn with rocks and that someone was walking towards the rocks. I thought it looked very idyllic and serene. So I waited till he got into the frame and snapped this picture.

This picture really reminded me of the many times I went diving and went out early to catch the sunrise on the jetty of the islands that we were at. It also reminded me of the times I was at Bali when I spent the entire morning walking around the beach when the tide was still out. It was fantastic!

I decided to get onto the beach for a different perspective. I had forgotten how slippery the steps were on jetties and was reminded in a very painful way when I slipped and fell down five or six steps. I landed heavily on my back and slid down to the sand. Luckily for me, I was wearing my riding jacket/pants combo which had armour on my back and hips! Still, the fall did take the wind out of me.

Around this time, I noticed a series of waves coming in. You see, it was nice and quiet earlier and I think the tide was just making a move to come in. So I went close to the water edge and snapped some shots with the stones.

I don't know about you but I love stones. They just give me a feeling of strength and beauty. These stones were much larger before. They got to be this small due to the erosion that happens after many years of being washed by the waves. I am sure they will turn into beautiful, smooth pebbles one day, much like the one I saw in the movie Departures.

As I was going to move off, I saw a boat coming in again, this time to disembark a passenger. I thought it was fitting (since I started the series with a boat departing) that I end this series with a boat arriving. I quickly got into position and snapped this.

This reminded me of some old pictures, especially an obscure Bruce Lee one where he came from some part of China and landed in Nanyang (Singapore, I suppose). Of course in the movie the jetty was a much smaller one made of wood. Still, you get the idea.

We headed off after this. On our way out, I noticed the sun was peeking through the clouds and was SO BEAUTIFUL! Unfortunately, I have already packed my camera away. So you will have to wait for another day to see that sight.

Until next time, have a great day!

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