Riding along Taipei Park Connectors

4 amigoes.. George Lim, Desmond Chia , Aunty Audrey and me(behind the camera)

It is day 8 of our Taiwan Trip. 0530 am, Encik Lim George, Desmond Chia, Audrey Cheong and myself went for the a morning ride along the Dan shui river from Xin Meng Ding. We reached the turn off point to Kee lung port and turn back.

Desmond cycling along the PCN, enjoying the cool breeze

all is quiet and calm... this is Taipei city!

Capturing the moment in time

Frankly it was bit of trouble to muster enough energy to cycle, having cycled for the past week. However I was glad I did. It was a really pleasant ride but abit too chilly (18c) just with a jersey. Peaceful and another perspective of Taipei which I like more of.  This is why you bring a folding bike.... if u have a hour to spare, u can do a relaxed ride and see more of a place.

Morning light makes everything lookso beautiful

 One interesting observation on the Taipei park connector is the mobile bike shop. It sells bicycle nick nacks, jersey and all things relate to cycling. Even have a "courtesy"floor pump in case u need to put some air in your tyres. I find this is a good idea as it provides a good convenience to the park users and cyclists. Have a look.

Mobile bike accessory kiosk

Aunty Audrey doing SG proud by drawing first blood.. she bought a basket and something..

Pump for all to use.. 

Left or straight? a moment of confusion in Taipei maze like network of road. 

Later we went back hotel, rested abit and headed to Eslite(Chen Pin) to look at the books and just relax. There was an exhibition of drift wood and how the artist used scrap to create nature scenes. I like that a lot. More photos of the day here 

Beauty in the purity of idea

NParks to develop 150-km recreational route (RIR)

Wonderful RIR 

Why am I so excited about Nparks efforts? 
And this is why...   :)  Round Island Route = RIR http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1185154/1/.html
We can expect more links and most importantly, is how they are getting public engagement to help fine tune and get feedback. This is good news because it is all about the people. If people respond and are engaged... I know the solution would be much more relevant to the surroundings. With Lovecyclingsg, we can link Nparks to the common folks and real cyclists... so that their voices are heard. And if you have some thing to say and share... Please visit Nparks website and put in ur comments!
Also visit Lovecyclesg website to see more photos...
Talking about speedy replies... here's Bernard's -- " The project is on! The route alignment and development timeline is works in progress which means your feedback is important and will be useful. Over the next 2 mths we will conduct focus grp studies. I will need 20 pax from cycling and grps so here goes - those who want to be heard - let me know i will extend an invitation to you.... If response is overwhelming, we will have to draw lots.
The sessions will be held after office hours and for a start it will be useful to have cyclists from diverse background :
A. with different bikes
B. Stay in different areas in spore - East South and northwest
C. Different age grp
If you are keen, do respond here and give me your email address......thanks!"

Singapore Park Connector map and exciting times.

coming together now...

looking good!

We don't have bike paths in Singapore but we have a hybrid of sorts. It is called the park connector system(PCN) which skirts around most neighbourhoods. The folks led by Bernard Lim at NParks have been working steadily to link more of them together so that the whole of Singapore can transverse using the PCN.  Yes I know it is still not the same as bike paths and many areas are still not served...But let's give them the affirmation and credit for making the inroads. On Saturday morning, Lovecyclingsg will gather at Punggol Jetty and do a short ride(with HPA) in support of Nparksnorth eastern route. Details here. Together, let's make it better!