Preparing yourself for Loveyclingsg Round island night ride

Next week 13th Dec 2014 is Loveyclingsg Round island night ride. It's a much awaited event and big fun crowd. 
Here are some tips to make it enjoyable and safe. 

Rider aspects 
-By now you should have completed minimum a 50 km ride. This will allow you to be physically conditioned( buttock not so pain)
- It's a night ride, so do have a early afternoon nap if you can't keep awake after 11pm. The expected time to complete is around 6-7am 
- Prepare some gels, snack and keep in your  bike pouch. We will be riding for a long time and you will need to snack a little to replace the effort.  Snacks like nuts, museli bars, bananna are great. Just make sure you try it out earlier the week and not try something new which you have not done before. 
- Top up water bottle, if your bike have 2 bottle mounting, its a good idea to have 2 bottle. There are some stretches (lim chu kang  area) that has not 7-11. 
-Some form of isotonic drinks are also good to hydrate fast but no necessary 
- Bring some cash($50) in case you "punchek" mentally and want to take a cab home 
Bike stuff 
Give your bike a check over. See if all the parts are in good condition. Specifically please check
- Tire for small cuts, nails or funny bulges. If  you do see its no right/no good, change it before the ride. Don't tempt fate.  It's not fun to have a flat on long rides and have people to wait for you. Esp when you could have avoided this. This is the single most common issue we see on rides. 
- Pump up the correct pressure. 
- Spare tube, patch kit, tool kit and pump are in good condition and packed onto the bike
- Brake pads. Check if they ok and not too worn. Make sure to also tug it a little to see if they are secured and tighten. They can  sometimes be loose and not aligned properly
-Go over all the moving parts. Some places to check are Crank bolts(I see before whole crank arm fall off), Stems, Seat post binder bolts. 
- Oil your chain 
-  Test ride your bike. It should not have strange squeals or funny sounds or difficulty in engaging your desired gear. If there is issue, GET IT FIXED BEFORE THE Round Island Ride
If  you maintain your bike regularly and observe the mechanical sounds,  you will know very quickly something is not right and get it fixed. 



Specific to night riding safety
-When was the last time you replace bicycle light's battery? Put in some fresh battery for you front and rear lights
- Point your lights (Front and rear 3 degrees down to avoid blinding people) 
- Wear bright, light colored clothing so that you are more visible to drivers
- Wear safety vest if you have. They work. 
-Stay in your allocated  group. Help out the designated group leads and sweeper
The uniqueness of LCSG ride is the team integrity. We ride as a group. Encourage folks who are struggling and help them achieve a milestone. We all have gone through that before and this is why cycling as a group is so much fun. 

Hope this entry will help you have a great round island ride. Drop me a note if I miss out anything critical. See you!   

22nd Sept 2012 LCSG Night 128km Round island ride

The much awaited LCSG 128 km night ride finally came.
Photos are all here.   Route we took is here. 
This time prior the ride, we decided to do it with qualifying timing. Reason being with the last few 128km ride, the groups were strung out very far, which made the sweepers task very very challenging. Over the last 2 months, many"Q" rides were organized by the Westie warriors, Eastie bunnies and also PNR. The Qualifying ride was a 50km under 2.5hrs... and all made it. This training made the transition to 128km so much smoother.
Thanks to Boon Chun... we also have video footage(yeahhh!!)  to remember the nice 128 ride!

The route around our Sunny island

Register and emergency contact... just in case 

PNR information counter.. 

As the people came in, West Coast Park Mac Donalds was bustling with activities. Those who came later had trouble find parking... so next time come earlier:)  Registration was handled ably by Andy and Zack and for Team PNR, Lisa and Tiger did it with min fuss.
Every one was laughing and raring to go! Zack did the safety briefing- obey traffic lights, no beating of red lights and I shared again about the LCSG spirit. This is not a race. We ride as a team, eat as a team and complete as a team.

Andy and Zack manning the registration 

Speedy Gonzales team

Speedy Gonzales led by Zack, assisted by Uncle KC and Ming Zhi went first. They skipped many stop s and their first pitstop was at Kranji 7-11. They were so quick that by 2 am, they completed and was thinking if they should do another round...  gulp.

Team Wild Boar

Vince doing a great job leading Team Wildboar

Team Wildboar was led by Vince Li, assisted by Louis Lee and Ming Tian. Also made good time and chop chop finish the ride by 3 ish.

Team Turtle 

Lighted like Xmas trees.. but for a good reason!

Team Turtle Led by Encik George Lim, assisted by Boon Chun and Boo very rude went on a ride and very very shiong eating expedition. They even stopped at Chinatown in the early morning to have a super duper porridge. Steady lah.

Team Snail

How it looks from the rear

Team Snail was intitally led by Darren Siow who knows the West section of SG very well. Thanks mate for stepping up. Assisted by Desmond Chia, Andy and myself. The team made good time and I was very impressed by the overall cohesion. Ejin Brompton gears was stuck in gear 5 and she still kept on going. Many of us had sore bums but we gamely pressed on. Nice. Even nicer when George Kee drove behind us taking photos and providing some level of safety. Thanks George!

Team PNR 1 and 2 were impressive. With their yellow black jersey combo, walkie talkies and flashing lights... it felt like an army operation. Their smilies and laughter was quite infectious too. Esp when we gathered at the pitstop and chit chat. They were very very prepared, Keng Yong and Edmund drove safety vehicles loaded with drinks. So when the group stopped... the riders could get the hydration easily. Very thoughtful and excellent planning. Well done PNR team!

Overall,  I am very impressed by the level of fitness and kampong spirit. Leaving no man behind and riding as a team. Also with the kindness by many folks. GL and his family stood at the Admiralty MRT waiting with bananas at hand.. that was quite a special moment for me. Thank you GL and family!

GL , Peifern and his two Angels.. cheering us on! How cool is that? 

The "Q" rides definitely helped and let's keep the LCSG kampong spirit burning proud and strong.  Hmmm... maybe we must add more challenge to this event.. maybe KODH section too? hahah. ... rock on!

Yeahhhhh we did it!

 

WTF? 128km!!! R u crazy? Why??

"Harrrr, huuuhhh? That's the reaction I get from most people. And then when I say there are also about 70 "normal" riders joining me.. their face will be like ..."harrrr?  Next, I shared that many will be doing on "joker" - foldies...their mouths would be wide open. Crazy? Perhaps abit... but I feel that there is a pent up desire from everyone to move out of their comfort zone, push themselves just  a little bit. And I am not talking about scaling mount everest.  Just a ride around our tiny little dot called Singapore.

The route of slow and steady ride de singapore

Boleh? I think can... , I think we all can!  See the route detail and grouping , got time come by and cheer the folks on. This sunday, no event tee shirt, no medals, no ra ra girls. Just a bunch of friends doing a long ride!