Summary and Return!

It's been a while since the last post... but this is a summary of what's happened since then...

My second boy arrived on 23 Nov

Went to UK

Attended LCSG Lelong! - here is my cousin and daughter

Tampines Brommies at West Coast!

Support the fund-raising! Makes nice gifts too!

First time cycling to Punggol Waterway

Beautiful Place!

My First Helmet

Ventured West

Westside kaki and Tour Guide!

Cycled to MBS

LCSG City Ride + 2011 Summary

Pasir Ris - Yishun Loop

Bike Maintenance

City Ride

I'd missed the City Ride with LCSG a week ago as it was Hari Raya Haji, and this was a ride I really wanted to try, so I checked out the route map on Taiwoon's blog and had a relaxing morning ride with my brother. I rode on the Brompton M2L and brought the Dahon MuP8 for my brother. All pics are taken with the iPhone using the Camera+ app.

Childhood Neighbourhood - Photo Essay

The weather was fantastic today so I got on the Dahon to visit the neighbourhod where I grew up.

En route from Tampines central

Our first family flat. Stayed here during my Kindergarten and Primary School Days

The Econ Minimart is now a bike shop.

No more sand at the playground. After playing, we used to buy ice lollies from the makcik on the third floor.

We used to play table-tennis here, but the tables are gone. We didn't have paddles all the time, so we used anything we could, even Tat Sing slippers!

Even the Mama Shop is gone.

The NTUC is still here, but now open 24 hrs.

A pinoy store? Integrated!

The video rental store is now half its size. And can handle your laundry.

I used to walk this long stretch many times, most of the time to buy our favourite chicken rice. The stall has long disappeared.

My primary school. Looks so grand now.

No more Dragon playground, but I guess the kids can now play when it's raining.

On the way back, grabbed some chicken rice from Afghanistan, one of the oldest and most popular food joints in Tampines.

Much has changed, some remain.

LCSG Sunday Ride 30102011

This was my second ride with LovecyclingSG, and another good one! The ride was led by Boo, and the planned route was ECP - Changi Village - Monster Gun! - Changi Chapel - Tampines / Simei / ECP.

For a few of the members, it was their first anniversary ride. On a sad note, we also observed a minute's silence for fellow rider Henry who has been called to God.

Sunrise at ECP

You can check out Taiwoon's account of the ride here, and also his photoset.

For this ride, I had chosen to go on the Dahon, and what a good decision it was! This is also the first long-ish ride for the Dahon, and I wanted to put it to the test.

At Changi Boardwalk

This Dahon is an 8-speed bike, and proved to be really useful when tackling the seemingly endless Changi Coastal Road, and also the killer slope up to Old Changi Hospital. I would have suffered a lot more on my 2-speed Brompton.

The Dahon developed some worrying creaking when going up slope once we hit Changi and I couldn't really figure out where it was coming from, but definitely around the stem / front fork area. On a more positive note, after dismantling the wheels / mudguard / chains and giving it a good clean, the creaking seems to have disappeared. Will continue to monitor in the time being.

The highlight for me though, was this:

LCSG rider Israwi Eshak - photo by Woon Taiwoon

Our friend Israwi came for the ride on his handbuilt cargo bike! It is still in the works, now only single-speed, but very promising and impressive! Really looking forward to see how it develops.

If you are interested in cycling, do join the Sunday rides. As you can see, all bikes are welcome!

Family Cycling

One of the most important things about cycling is that I get to do it as a family. After trawling the Internet, I came to the conclusion that fellow local cyclist Matt Chia has found a reasonable solution. I first read it on an older post but he has an updated one you can check out here.

Fixing up is easy and quick, 5 mins max. All you need is an allen key. This is how / where you attach the clamp to the seatpost.

Then you slot in the seat rails.

My wife rides the Brompton, me and son on the Dahon.

Making bubbles in the park.

The child seat is a Bellelli which I purchased from My Bike Shop. It is rated to carry a child up to 22 kg.