So a couple of weeks ago I decided that I would like a bicycle so that I could travel around the island more quickly. After a quick glance on craigslist, I found a great deal on a mountain bike so I traveled across the island to pick it up. The purchased the bike at Pasir Ris, which is on the other side of the island, about 30 km from our apartment. Bicycles are not allowed on public transportation, so I had to ride the bicycle back, and this is where the adventure begins!I picked up the bicycle around 2 pm near in Pasir Ris and headed to Pasir Ris national park. It was easy to find the park, and once I was there, it was really beautiful! I am always amazed at how Singapore is able to have these beautiful, natural places in the middle of a huge city, that is surrounded by shipping ports. Anyway as soon as I entered the park I passed this little guy hanging out in some water, looking for a yummy snack!
After I snapped this picture he flew away to another area to find a snack. I followed the path which crossed this waterway and found this beautiful site!
After crossing the bridge on foot, ($500 fine for biking across the bridge!) I saw something red moving around in the bushes. Of course I move closer for a better look and what do a find but a "wild" rooster running around the brush!
The picture is a little blurry, but this guy was not liking me being near him and took off as soon as I took one step to get closer. After that I wandered around the park for a while taking in the sites on my way to the beach for lunch! On the way I found this tree
These trees grow larger trunks by growing roots from their branches that reach the ground. Once they reach the ground, the root grows into the ground stabilizing the tree. They are really cool looking trees that give off a lot of shade. After I found this guy I headed to the beach for lunch.
This was my lunch spot. Across the water (Serangoon Harbour) you can see one of Singapore's Islands. I believe this one to be Pulau Ubin. I also discovered some coconuts on the ground! After this I decided to get started on the trip home, which turned out to be much more difficult than I had anticipated. As soon as I got on my bike to head home I realized that my front tire was cracked down the middle, and would most likely burst on the long journey home. I meandered through the park looking for a bike shop. The shops in the park said I needed to go to the bike shop outside of the park to replace the tire, so I took one last picture of Pasir Ris park, and headed to the shop.
Finding the shop was no problem with my smart phone, so after a quick tire change, I was on my way again. My new bicycle came with a compass bell, so I decided to get home I should just head west. I soon found out that singapore had many roads that were U shaped that led back to the road it originally came from, and that there was a lot of construction happening on the roads which made it nearly impossible to go where I needed to! After checking my location on my phone, I discovered that my compass bell was not working properly and was sending me in the wrong direction. After this I decided to just follow the directions my phone was giving me to head home, after making a quick stop at the Bedok Reservoir Park. There are many reservoirs all over singapore, so at this one I sat down, had a snack, drank some water, snapped a couple of pictures, and was on my way again
After running into construction over and over again, it took me several hours to cross the main highway in Singapore. Soon after I made it across, it was getting dark, so I parked the bicycle at the closest MRT station and took the train home. The next day I went back out with a new game plan. I had purchased a mountain bike, so I decided that if I could just make it to some more of these parks I could bike along the paths. This would make for a quicker, less traffic filled trip home. So as soon as I got my bicycle I headed for MacRitchie Reservoir. I passed through a small fountain park in the middle of the city, and took a picture!
After this I biked through Geylang, where I had the fruit and dinner on one of my first days here. Through this area I had to walk my bike because people were setting up their stalls to sell their goods for the day. These stalls extend out onto the side walk a lot of the time. I discovered some really cool stalls, including a nice coffee stall that I have since returned to to get Patrick and I some decent coffee. After this I stopped and had some delicious curry and naan at North Indian Curry House, and was back on the road home. I then came upon my goal, MacRitchie Reservoir. I thought that I deserved a break, so I sat and read for a while under a pavilion with this amazing view!
After reading several chapters in A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin, I continued on my journey. The map said that the trail was 10 km long, but I was ready to do some mountain biking! After a pleasant 1km journey I came up to a sign that told me bikes can't be ridden on the trail! The fine was $1000! I decided that perhaps pushing the bike through the park instead of riding through city traffic would be a more pleasant experience. Boy was I mistaken! The rest of the path was marked by the no bikes sign, so I was pushing the bicycle for the rest of the 9km of the trail! I stumbled upon this structure in the middle of the park which provided an amazing view of the park, and exactly how far away from the city you can get!
Although pushing the bike though the park was not ideal, it did provide me with views like this one!
The park was a beautiful place and I will return, but I was ecstatic when I found the end of the trail and the large PAVED hill I was then able to ride down. After about a 10 minute down hill ride (which was awesome!) I found myself just an hour walk from our apartment. After a quick refreshment and a few more chapters of a Storm of Swords and I was on my way again. Here is a picture of the bike once I made it home! I was very excited to lock it up outside our place!
Overall this was a great adventure that got me out of the house and traveling around Singapore. I do believe that parts of this trip had me the most frustrated that I have been since I arrived, but overall it was a good trip! I am very excited for Patrick's bicycle to come in so that we can go on some adventures together! I believe that having Paddy around will limit the amount of times I get lost on a trip! Ha ha anyway I'm sure that there will be more bicycle trips to come so get ready!
After I snapped this picture he flew away to another area to find a snack. I followed the path which crossed this waterway and found this beautiful site!
After crossing the bridge on foot, ($500 fine for biking across the bridge!) I saw something red moving around in the bushes. Of course I move closer for a better look and what do a find but a "wild" rooster running around the brush!
The picture is a little blurry, but this guy was not liking me being near him and took off as soon as I took one step to get closer. After that I wandered around the park for a while taking in the sites on my way to the beach for lunch! On the way I found this tree
 |
This was my lunch spot. Across the water (Serangoon Harbour) you can see one of Singapore's Islands. I believe this one to be Pulau Ubin. I also discovered some coconuts on the ground! After this I decided to get started on the trip home, which turned out to be much more difficult than I had anticipated. As soon as I got on my bike to head home I realized that my front tire was cracked down the middle, and would most likely burst on the long journey home. I meandered through the park looking for a bike shop. The shops in the park said I needed to go to the bike shop outside of the park to replace the tire, so I took one last picture of Pasir Ris park, and headed to the shop.
 |
| Something (a monkey?) was screaming so loud in the bushes that I decided not to linger here too long! |
Finding the shop was no problem with my smart phone, so after a quick tire change, I was on my way again. My new bicycle came with a compass bell, so I decided to get home I should just head west. I soon found out that singapore had many roads that were U shaped that led back to the road it originally came from, and that there was a lot of construction happening on the roads which made it nearly impossible to go where I needed to! After checking my location on my phone, I discovered that my compass bell was not working properly and was sending me in the wrong direction. After this I decided to just follow the directions my phone was giving me to head home, after making a quick stop at the Bedok Reservoir Park. There are many reservoirs all over singapore, so at this one I sat down, had a snack, drank some water, snapped a couple of pictures, and was on my way again
 |
| You can see the city across the reservoir in this picture! |
After this I biked through Geylang, where I had the fruit and dinner on one of my first days here. Through this area I had to walk my bike because people were setting up their stalls to sell their goods for the day. These stalls extend out onto the side walk a lot of the time. I discovered some really cool stalls, including a nice coffee stall that I have since returned to to get Patrick and I some decent coffee. After this I stopped and had some delicious curry and naan at North Indian Curry House, and was back on the road home. I then came upon my goal, MacRitchie Reservoir. I thought that I deserved a break, so I sat and read for a while under a pavilion with this amazing view!
After reading several chapters in A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin, I continued on my journey. The map said that the trail was 10 km long, but I was ready to do some mountain biking! After a pleasant 1km journey I came up to a sign that told me bikes can't be ridden on the trail! The fine was $1000! I decided that perhaps pushing the bike through the park instead of riding through city traffic would be a more pleasant experience. Boy was I mistaken! The rest of the path was marked by the no bikes sign, so I was pushing the bicycle for the rest of the 9km of the trail! I stumbled upon this structure in the middle of the park which provided an amazing view of the park, and exactly how far away from the city you can get!
 |
| This is how high above the tree line I needed to be to get a view like the first picture! |
The park was a beautiful place and I will return, but I was ecstatic when I found the end of the trail and the large PAVED hill I was then able to ride down. After about a 10 minute down hill ride (which was awesome!) I found myself just an hour walk from our apartment. After a quick refreshment and a few more chapters of a Storm of Swords and I was on my way again. Here is a picture of the bike once I made it home! I was very excited to lock it up outside our place!
Overall this was a great adventure that got me out of the house and traveling around Singapore. I do believe that parts of this trip had me the most frustrated that I have been since I arrived, but overall it was a good trip! I am very excited for Patrick's bicycle to come in so that we can go on some adventures together! I believe that having Paddy around will limit the amount of times I get lost on a trip! Ha ha anyway I'm sure that there will be more bicycle trips to come so get ready!
