Bike to Basics

24th January 2010

My first experience riding with SMUX Bikers in Singapore proved to be an eventful and enjoyable one!

We gathered at East Coast Park at an uncomfortably early time of 830am. Many of us had not woken up that early in a long while and that was evident from the array of sleepy faces. My face of sleepiness quickly turned to one of slight disappointment as 5 of the 11 participants in my group did not turn up. I could not help but wonder if it was because they had caught wind that Lim Yun Lu, also know as Blur Queen Lim, was going to be leading our group!

Nevertheless, being the nice SMUX people that we are, we put 100% faith and confidence into our fearless group leader and set off for Seah Imm Food Centre at 915am.

At around 916am, our group leader missed a right-turn and led us on a super-long detour towards Kallang Stadium. This proved to be a blessing in disguise as we realised what an enjoyment it was to be cycling around like lost sheep for close to 15 minutes! We finally reached Seah Imm Food Centre which was roughly 15km away from our starting point. In spite of the fact that we got lost along the way, we still managed to reach our mid-point destination ahead of schedule. The group sat together and chatted over savoury Singaporean cuisine (at the hawker centre) while some of the more adventurous bikers decided to challenge themselves by cycling up Mt. Faber (an additional up-hill climb that added a total of 3km to their mileage).

After we had had our fill, and restocked our water bottles with delicious Bandung from the famous Bandung stall, we hopped on our bikes and rode back with renewed purpose in life. I could feel the bonds of friendship being forged and couldn’t help but smile as the participants chatted with each other while riding (while observing safety precautions as listed in the safety briefing and keeping both eyes out for traffic, of course).

Before long, we arrived at the place where our adventure began – ECP Kit Runners, to return our bikes. At that point in time, Bike to Basics had already left me with a deep impression in my heart, as I really witnessed the ethos of “Adventure, Fun, Family” being displayed in front of my very eyes that day. While the journey itself was enjoyable, what made it memorable were the people that cycled together with me. The jokes, the sharing of experiences, and the new friends found will stay with me for a very long time to come.

Special thanks to:
Christina Boon who provided unrivalled safety support to our group throughout the ride
WeeKee Toh without whom we would have no world-class photos to journalise the event with
The organising committee who made this entire event possible

Written by:
George Loo

Pulau Ubin Offroad Welfare Ride

Date: 30 Jan 2010

The weather was great as I met up with 9 other adventure enthusiasts not knowing what would await for my very first off-road cycle with SMUX Biking Team. We reached the Ubin Jetty at about 11am and wasted no time in renting our bikes from the bike shop, which costs us about 10 dollars for an entire day.

Our ever awesome, Training IC, Kelvin with the safety brief before we embarked on our journey.

After meeting Kelvin, who recce-ed the place before we reached, I was starting to look forward to my ride, thinking how tough could it possibly be. Clearing the first few slopes was still relatively easy, until we started to go down slope. WOW, not as easy as what I had imagined. Nevertheless, it was still exciting and thrilling.
Reaching the first peak after about 20 minutes, I started to feel shag even though we had just started cycling not long ago. Thus, we took a short break and started on SMUX’s favourite past-time, CAM-whoring:)

Camwhoring at our first rest point!

After that 20 minutes of rest, we proceeded on to a tougher challenge, as Wei Yuan claimed that what we had just went through was only an introduction, and we had to go in deeper so as to experience what off-road biking is about. Thus we started on the next part of our journey and it was then where the real fun began. We started to encounter slopes that were 60 to 70 degrees steep, and I must say that on several occasions, some of us had to dismount from the bike and push it upslope as it was almost impossible to ride up the track. Along the way, the bikes that we rented started to had some problems such as the rear wheel coming off for mine and other minor ones, however, with experienced off-road specialists like Junyi, Kelvin and Wei Yuan, I could always be rest assured that any technical help that I need could be solved by them.

Occasions when it was too steep and riders had to dismount and push their bikes up.

Due to our in expertise at off-road, it was inevitable that we suffered from several falls. I feel that it was just part and parcel that we suffer from cuts and falls when we cycle off-road. Nevertheless, it was still enjoyable despite the falls and worthy of a second round for me. PULAU UBIN OFF-ROAD ROUND 2, I WILL BE BACK : )

Awesome Seafood Lunch at the restaurant in Ubin

Written By:
Chang Si Yuan
Survivor of Ubin Off-road

Penang-KL Ride!

Day 1

December 4: Penang to Taiping (Perak), 87km

We set off at 9am after an enjoyable buffet breakfast at the hotel. The ride starts off at a smooth pace. It’s flat ground in Penang, though fairly sunny as we left late. As we crossed the border into Perak, a strong headwind emerges. My lack of preparation for this ride soon shows. Around the 30km mark, I struggle to keep up. But I persist, pedaling doggedly when the hills come. After another 50km, we enter Taiping. It used to be the capital of Perak, but it’s now small and quiet town as Ipoh is now the capital.

Lunch is Bak Kut Teh, Ipoh style. It’s pretty tasty but it contains much more liver than we are used to. We refuel at one of Taiping’s main shopping centres for dinner. Amazing that such a small town has Starbucks and Tesco hypermart, among other stores.

Day 2
December 5: Taiping – Ipoh (Perak), 88km
We rolled off at 6am. After a few km, the street lights of Taiping fade away and we plunge into near total darkness. Soon after Padang Rengas, we encountered a 6% climb that seemed to last forever. Even the lorries struggle to go up the slope, their engines chugging furiously. One of the team gets into the support car, but the rest plod on. What keeps me going was my memory of a harder climb up Genting Highlands (gradient 10%) in 2008.
What goes up must come down. It took very long for the downhill to come, but it was an exhilarating experience. On the long, straight road down, I hit 50.5km/h. That’s nothing: some hit 57km/h.
Stopping by a petrol kiosk in Kuala Kangsar, we admire the scenery. Clouds float on top of a hill that looks like “Big Guilin”. It’s like dreamland, like heaven. If only we could sit on top of the clouds.
For some reason, I turn sluggish again in the middle, my pace dropping to around 20km/h. But after a rest stop where we eat chocolate bars, I’m recharged.
We soon reach the outskirts of Ipoh. The city is the size of Singapore despite having a population of only 700,000. On the way to the hotel, we pass by the civic district and the central business district. Lorries horn to greet us, and ask where we are from. It’s so different from Singapore, where a horn means “get out of my way”. There’s an exception though – a lorry whose cargo was not secured properly spews small granite stones at us. Even I am tempted to hurl vulgarities at that lorry.
After cycling 20km from the north of Ipoh to reach our hotel, we arrive at noon. Lunch is delicious and cheap Yong Tau Foo at the hotel coffeeshop.

Day 3
December 6: Ipoh to Lumut (Perak), 59km

It’s a recovery ride today. We set off slightly later at 6:45am at a slower pace. The road is flat and the weather is good. The sun doesn’t even come out; it’s blocked by the clouds.The ride ends uneventfully when we reach Ayer Tawar, on the outskirts of Lumut at 11am. That’s too early, we can’t check into the hotel yet. So we do one hour of bike maintenance. After lunch, we stopped by Old Town coffee. Its motto, “take your time” has a completely different meaning today as compared to when we were in the army. Dinner is a “coffeeshop buffet”: we stock up on carbohydrates for tomorrow’s long ride.

Day 4
December 7: Lumut (Perak) – Sungai Besar (Selangor), 108km

Setting off at 5:30am, we chiong south. I grudgingly start pedaling, wondering if I can survive today. However, my fears prove unfounded. My legs move as smooth as butter. It’s once again good weather and excellent flat terrain. Halfway through the ride, we are surrounded by beautiful fields on both sides. We stop for photos. For almost three whole hours, we ride on never-ending roads that run as straight as arrows. Padi fields stretch interminably. It’s simply picturesque. We stop once for photos.
Around the 80km mark, there’s an odd structure in front of us. It seems pretty tall. Is it a building? A tower? No – it’s a bridge! Some of us gasp in horror and crank up speed. I, however, take my time. The view from the top of the bridge is indescribable. A gorgeous river is on my left and right. To my front, a coconut plantation stretches as far as the horizon. I’m in awe of both God’s and man’s creation. Another river, a few km away, has water buffalos swimming inside. We finally reach Sungai Besar at noon, after having made a 6km detour due to erroneous GPS. After 3 days in Perak, we finally reach Selangor. It’s as if this ride is a “Tour De Perak”.

Day 5
December 8: Sungai Besar (Selangor) to Kuala Lumpur, 126km

We pushed off at 5am, hearing the Islamic call to prayer at the mosques we pass by. Some of us give thanks as it hasn’t rained yet for the past four days. Oops – a drizzle starts, turning into a downpour. We rest at a petrol kiosk until the rain stops. Soon after we set off, the rain starts again. Ouch! We continue pedaling and decide to stop at the next petrol kiosk, but that only occurs in Kuala Selangor, some 15 km away.

We pause in Kuala Selangor very briefly to regroup and drink water. The next 30km are straight roads, flanked by open fields and by plantations. For once, the sun appears out of the clouds, just as we are taking our group photograph. Some 40km after Kuala Selangor, we reach a road that could’ve been used to film “Initial D”. Twice as shiong as South Buona Vista Road, cycling up and down felt like Daytona.

The rural scenery gradually fades away as we approach Kuala Lumpur. On the last day of Tour de France, the riders enter Paris. On our last day in Malaysia, we enter Kuala Lumpur. Hmm… At the first flyover in northern KL, I can see the towers of Genting Highlands in the distance, and the Petronas towers to my right. But I can’t admire any of them – the traffic is extremely heavy, far worse than in Singapore. My mediocre bike handling skills become also evident here. Not only that, the GPS fails us too. We are forced to stop at a petrol kiosk while the support vehicle searches for the hotel. The car finally locates its after more than an hour, and we cycle the last 5km to our destination. We reach our hotel at 3pm, tired but glad. Dinner is a Japanese buffet near the Petronas Towers. We learn the meaning of “spoilt for choice”. It’s as if the long highways of Malaysia have been changed to long lanes of food.

Day 6
Kuala Lumpur – Singapore

We spend our last day in Kuala Lumpur viewing a bikeshop. Owned by former Malaysian national cyclist Edwin Ng, its sign displays prominently the virtues of cycling: No License needed. No Road Taxes. On the bus back to Singapore, I reflect upon what has been a wonderful trip. I’ve met 13 new friends. Rode through 450km of beautiful roads. And got my legs and butt more seasoned.

And I’m thankful too: thankful for the organizing committee for putting together a fantastic tour. Thankful to each member of the team for making the experience a memorable one: Jamie, Terence, Lionel, Calvin, Gerald, Fengru, Benedict, Jeremy, Zao Yi, Kelvin, Marcus, Kheng Yew, Ce Wei. Thankful to the numerous motorists who gave way to us. And thankful to God, through whom all things are possible.

Finishers!

Top (L to R): Kheng Yew, Weiwen, Ce Wei, Kelvin, Terence
2nd Row: Benedict, Marcus, Calvin, Zao Yi, Jamie
Bottom: Jeremy, Fengru, Lionel, Gerald

Written by: Leung Weiwen

Forest Adventure 2010

Forest Adventure – 23 Jan 2010

Location: Bedok Reservoir Park

A truly thrilling tree-top adventure! We climbed a series of obstacles built high up on trees and zipped around in mega zip lines around Bedok Reservoir! There were many obstacles each varying in difficulty and testing in their different ways. Swinging logs and walking on steel lines are examples of the constant challenges thrown at us.

It was really a hair-raising experience to traverse the course, but safety was never an issue. With two points of security at all times, and safety drills being constantly re-iterated by the instructors, we all knew that it would be a safe experience.

The mega zip-lines, resembling flying foxes, are perhaps the best of the course. Besides the amazing scenery and the cool breeze, its landing involved a parachute-like landing style which required us to run while landing. There was also a near- free fall feeling when attempting one of the ‘tarzan swing’ obstacles!  The rest of the course, although requiring quite a bit of arm-muscle, should be manageable by everyone. All in all a wonderful experience trumped only by the new friendships made and company enjoyed. Its all part of the Xseed experience. When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Written By:

Mok Zixuan, Jamon

Organizing Committee I/C

XSeed Combined Camp 2009

4 – 6 December 2009

My experience at SMUX Xseed Combined Camp 09/10 was good fun at a good price. The $250 each participant has to pay was reasonable for transport, accommodation and all the activities that were listed.

The ‘Pain(t)-Ball’ arena was spacious and appropriate for our group, and it was good fun coordinating together, trying to capture the flag from the other team and all of us enjoyed the paintball session.

The next activity was Wind tunneling at Genting Highlands. I never knew such a sport existed till the Combined Camp. The instructors at the site were able to teach us the skills to wind tunneling in a short time. I started my first try at wind tunneling cautiously, focused on trying to balance myself against the high speed wind. With guidance from the instructor, we were able to perform maneuvers inside the wind tunneling chamber after awhile. It was an excellent first time experience.

On the second day, we arrived at Sunway Lagoon for the Go-Kart session. Since we had a full pass at Sunway Lagoon, we were able to explore the Adventure park and tried out different stations like the ‘Flying Fox’ and ‘Reverse Bungee’ as the Go-Kart station could only not accommodate all 30 of us at a go.

Our last stop for the trip was the fabulous dinner at a seafood restaurant located in JB. The food was naturally cheaper as compared to Singapore, we ordered dish after dish as though it was buffet-like and had a sumptuous meal which consisted of different cooking styles of crabs, and other seafood delicacies.

I must thank SMUX and the Organising Committee for the Combined Camp. Without the Organising Committee, the event would not have been such a success, and without the SMUX XSeed Team, there wouldn’t be alternative adventure sports catered for the SMU Community!

Written by:
Chua Kim Yong
Participant
XSeed Combined Camp 09/10

Gunung Yong Yap

11th-15th dec 2009
ICs: Warren Tuan, Kenneth Tan, Alan Yong, Lee Hui Ling

Day 1 & 2
We gathered at Kranji MRT at 1800 and headed towards Larkin Bus station, ate our dinner there and finally left for Ipoh in our bus at 10.15pm. We only reached Ipoh in the next morning at 4.45am.
After having our super early breakfast at the nearby McDonald’s we took the bus all the way to Lasah town, where we boarded the two 4WD waiting for us. The ride from Lasah to Kuala Mu is incredibly bumpy and if it’s raining you will feel cold. There is a risk of the 4WD overturning as well.
We reached Kuala Mu at about 1145 and had lunch and used our last proper toilet for the next 3 days. We set off on the trek at about 1230 in high spirits. The trek is accompanied by plenty of thorny plants, bamboo deadfalls, with trails of heavily overgrown vegetation.
The rest of the trek to the first campsite was more normal jungle terrain, albeit much of it overgrown and we waited for the guides to clear it before we could pass. Finally, we reached the campsite within 5 hours. The campsite is big enough for 4 or 5 tents to fit in comfortably. There is a knee-deep stream near the campsite.

Day 3

The next day we woke up at 630am and started off at 815am to continue our climb up to the peak. We aimed to reach the peak by 3pm. At Around 1pm we had a water break, while some of us headed down a super steep slope to refill our bottles from a ‘nearby’ river.

Some parts of the trek have a nice Lord of the Rings feel to it, with all the mossy forest and light streaming through the forest.

We finally reached the summit and started cam-whoring with the beautiful view, set up the basha, tents and we managed to finish cooking dinner before nightfall. Night brought on freezing winds and shooting stars. The night sky was a beautiful sight indeed, but most of us were freezing due to the inappropriate jackets we brought for the trek.

Day 4

We woke up early at 430 with the aim of leaving the summit at 6. The route down was very steep and we made fairly slow progress as some did not bring along headlamps. The trek downhill to Kuala Mu was tiring and even painful for some. It started to rain during the last half an hour of the trek. It also made us realize how lucky we were that there was no rain till the very last part of the trek.

When we finally reached Kuala Mu at about 430, we were thoroughly soaked, shagged and longed for civilization. First though, we had to take the 3-hour hell ride again. The rain made the logging path even worse and we were told that another 4-wheel drive had overturned earlier. We were also told to jump out if we felt that our vehicle was about to overturn.

Luckily, no accidents occurred and we made it back to Lasah at about 730pm safe and sound, albeit shivering and suffering from leg cramps after the ride. The school bus appeared shortly after and sent us on our way to Ipoh. We negotiated with the bus driver to send us to our dinner place and then to send us to our hotel. We ate at a chicken and tau geh restaurant at the junction of Jalan Sehala and Jalan Yau Tet Sin. After that we headed towards our hotel, The Majestic.

Day 5

In the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel before heading for the train station. The train is significantly slower than the bus but there is more space to chat and even play saboteur. There are also packets of rice sold during the journey which are the only food you can procure during the train ride as the stops are too short to safely run out and buy stuff from the stores at the train stations.

We reached Johor station at about 2030 and proceeded to City Square to have dinner. Some actually wanted to catch a movie but fatigue and the possibility of missing the last bus back to Singapore meant that we left after dinner and split up at Singapore customs.

Reflection of the trek

Training

After the trek, it is easy to see that our training helped us tremendously. Without the stairs training and overnight walk, we would not be in proper shape to tackle Yong Yap. Our regimen could have been improved though; to have really been prepared we should have committed ourselves and trained even during the study week. As it was, the two weeks of inactivity meant that we weren’t as fit as we should have been. The intensity which we had during our training could have been upped as well; less break time and more repetitions.

Another aspect of training that was neglected was training for descending. Many of us had a lot of trouble going down because our knees weren’t strong enough. One way to solve this could be to train at Bukit Timah. To sum it up, my impression that were prepared for Yong Yap was wrong; we weren’t fully prepared and what seniors said was true: you can never over train for a G7 trek.

Conclusion

Yong Yap was a great eye opener for me. I had a taste of what a G7 trek was like and despite all that I said during and immediately after the trek, I’m game for more. It is a good first G7 experience and most importantly, I made great friends through this trek. Good luck to future expeditions!

Written by:
Warren Tuan
Trek IC
Gunung Yong Yap 2009

Skating Clinic 2010

Skate Clinic 2010

The annual Skate Clinic is back! A new year in 2010 heralds an even greater drive for the skating team to bring Skate Clinic to a higher level to spread the love of the sport. We have once again attracted an overwhelming response from the SMU student body. The SMUX Skating Team and 40 participants brought their interest for skating out of SMU to East Coast Park on 8^th Jan to enjoy skating in a natural terrain. In order to ensure that participants gain the most out of this event, participants were grouped according to their skating skill levels. With the help of SMUX senior and junior skaters, who were tasked with the role of Group Leaders, participants were taught various skating techniques. Even beginner skaters managed to learn the sport fast. Despite an occasional drizzle and a slight shower near the end of the event, the participants and the SMUX Skaters did not allow the rain to dampen their spirits and went on to skate around East Coast Park and also to Bedok jetty. SMUX Skating Team can indeed look forward to more new skaters in the coming weeks since many participants have expressed interest in joining future skating events after having enjoyed Skate Clinic 2010!

Intro Urban Skate 09

Intro Urban Skating gives SMU students opportunities to experience Urban Skating. Skaters will visit various places around the campus such as Esplanade, the Fullerton and the Merlion. They will be led by senior GL skaters who will look after for safety. The GLs also teach basic skills of Urban Skating. The event also aims to promote skating as a healthy, recreational and most importantly fun sport. It is also to help them build confidence in their skating skills by exposing them to various obstacles of urban settings. Urban Skating is another way to improve proficiency of skaters.

Redang 09

At the jetty, waiting for the boat to come.
Everyone’s feeling groggy after 10 hrs bus ride.

And we’re here!

At our resort, preparing for first dive!

Off we go! First dive of the trip: Shore dive
what an experience! The tank is FREAKING heavy.

Under the seaaa,

Under the seaaa~

Happy people after dive!

The things we do…

1)      Drive the speedboat

2)      Act cool

3)      Fight on ship wrecks

4)      Then descend into the black unknown of the ship wreck.

5)      Take photos at the big lovely heart at the More More Inn

6)      Discover cute diving quotes

7)      Left our mark at Redang (spot the sticker)

Not to mention all the eating that we did.

Finally, time to go home.

Till the next dive!

SMUX Camp 09

Over 3 hectic days beginning from 09 July 09 all the way to 11 Jul 09, 122 freshmen were put through their paces experiencing many of the outdoor activities SMUXtremists had to offer as the outdoor activity arm of SMU. The camp started with a morning of registration and finding out more about SMUX through the corporate videos of the various SMUX teams, speeches and not forgetting icebreaker games to energize everyone on a beautiful morning in SMU. The rest of the day proceeded with a trek from Bukit Timah to Clementi through a densely vegetated disused railway line. The day ended with a bicycle ride from ECP to Marina Barrage through the CBD area, allowing the freshmen to take in the awesome sights of Singapore from a different perspective that biking on the streets provides.

On the next day, the freshmen were out through a programme that allowed them to experience scuba diving, underwater hockey, a skating clinic and a new outdoor activity known as jumping jacks. Jumping jacks is done by strapping a contraption to our legs, very much akin to a cross between a pogo stick and a stilt, that is strapped to our legs, allowing people to take really huge strides and jump really high. The day ended with a food trail around SMU where everyone was introduced to the great places around SMU to unwind with great company and good food.

On the last day, the freshmen were put through a kayaking orientation programme with a healthy dose of sun, sand and sea on the eastern shores of Singapore. After a draining day in the sun, sand and sea, everyone was gathered back in SMU to be presented with their name tents as a badge of honour to have survived SMUX Camp. A video was also compiled specially to recap the activities held over the past 3 days. Despite the high level of fatigue, many of the freshmen got so bonded to their groups that many decided to have dinner together rather than heading back home straight after the camp was officially over.

Last but not least, SMUX Camp 2009 was arguably one of the most well organized and enjoyable camps on the SMU calendar and it is in no small part due to the hard work put in by the dedicated organizing committee, energetic GLs, a well-equipped SMUX Crew and not forgetting the helpers who tirelessly helped us and helped ensure the success of the camp. We look forward to another awesome SMUX Camp in 2010!

Jeremy Say Gui Yong
SMUXtremists Camp ‘09
OIC