la merde en direct: 6+6=12

12. The number of bridges I crossed in Batam today.

Went biking at Batam today. Event was organised by Robson of TriZen. Hehe.. Thanks to his "imaginations", we all had a very good and fulfilling ride.

Met the rest at 645 at Harbourfront this morning. Was supposed to warm up my legs beforehand with Harn Wei but in the end I went to feed mosquitoes at our meet-up point instead. Had 21 going up to Batam, including Jacq, Bingyi, Chin, Sharon, Esther (naval diver), Andy, Tobias, Craig, Harn Wei, Robson (of course!), Calvin, Kwan Ho, etc.

Got out first surprise after arriving when we found out that our support "van" turned out to be a taxi instead! Oh no! Looks like my plan of faking cramps and taking the van on the return leg (supposed to have bad headwinds) was going to be doomed from the beginning! Cycled out as a group all the way to the first bridge, taking in all the sights and sounds of my first Batam trip. Seriously, I cannot imagine this place being a hotbed for illicit affairs and one-night stands! After the first bridge we all broke up and cycled at our own pace to the sixth and last bridge, whereafter the plan was to have lunch. Going from first to sixth was relatively easy, especially when you have a strong tailwind aiding your pedalling. At one point I think Bingyi clocked 79kmh on his bike whilst zooming down!

Reached the sixth bridge after 3 hours and sadly it did not look like there was anything for lunch! There was a little roundabout and that was just about it. Rather deflated, I turned back and immediately got slapped in the face by a strong gust of wind. Damn! Worse yet, as I had planned to eat something at 80km, I had only brought along with me 2 powergel sachets, one of which looked like it was going to last me for the next 80km!

Eventually Harn Wei caught up with me and following our support vehicle's lead, we found a place for lunch - Lucky Seafood Restaurant (you're lucky if you even see any food at this restaurant!). Food was nothing to shout about and I didn't even manage to finish my plate of rice. Decided to push on after lunch to try to take the 1715hrs (1615hrs Batam time) ferry, 1.5 hours earlier than what Robson had planned. Nobody else wanted to follow, and all the elite riders had not stopped for lunch, so I had to hotfoot it back alone. Well, with 56km more to cover, only 2 hours more to 1715hrs, strong headwinds and relentlessly undulating terrain, it looked like there was an uphill task for me right from the start, if you pardon the pun.

The way back was filled with the loud whirring sound of the headwind in my ears, punctuated by complete silence as I struggled to keep my balance on single digit speeds and trying not to be flung off my bike by the ferocious crosswinds. So there I go, up-down-up-down, sometimes up-up-and-more-up and once in a while, downslopes where I just cruised along.

Missed the 1715hrs ferry by 10 mins, but amazingly I could change my ticket to another company's ferry which was going to leave at 1745hrs (with a $5 fee of course!). So I took the ferry back to SG alone, and reached back about 1830hrs.

Today's ride was super good! Thank you Robson and the rest who made it all so fun and enjoyable! Although the route was kind of "siong", it is precisely these kind of non-stop-in-hot-weather-strong-headwinds-and-undulating-terrain courses which I have to ride if I want to improve my bike! I will definitely do this one again.. Anyway Robson, either delirious from the heat or rubbed off by Harn Wei's craziness, was already planning for another ride (2 x 160km in 2 days) during lunch time! =O

Well, I have a killer 10-hour school day tomorrow. Going to print some notes, finish my tutorials and get some rest. And stay tuned to this space for reports on future overseas biking trips!