A New Lease of Life

I am back :)

My Iron Horse has been given a new lease of life :)
I overcame the temptation to buy a new bicycle, thanks to my favourite bike shop guy. Yes, I trust him with the life of my bike :) He is a wonderful guy. I asked him if he could help me put together a carbon fibre mountain bike and his immediate response was, "No point lah…..it is very expensive." He then gave me a piece of advice which will forever be etched in my brain. He said, "It is all in the wheels. Get a good wheel set and you will not be disappointed." I immediately saw the analogy with my other hobby - photography. The advise I always give to novice photographers starting out to build a camera system is "Buy the best lenses you can afford. Lenses last a lifetime. Camera bodies get obsolete within a year!"
Anyway, back to my bike. It is now decked with brand new Fulcrum Red Metal 3 wheels and disc brakes. She rides like a charm. I have taken her out for a couple of rides and she rides like the wind. As a bonus, my wheels now come with disc brakes. I use one of those iPhone apps to track my rides and on one of the routes, I averaged 0.5 km/h faster than my normal pace. It may not seem a big number in absolute terms but it feels a lot faster :) The mind is a powerful but strange thing :p

Fulcrum Red Metal 3

Park Connectors of Singapore, beware….I'm back !

Adventures of a Park Connector Uncle

My Trusty Steed - Iron Eagle

I used to ride my road bike on weekends. Having been on the wrong end of several close shaves, I have given up being a roadie. I decided to explore the Park Connectors and love it. Before I started my adventures, I had to raise my "Iron Eagle" from the annals of neglect. I have had it since 2002 or so. She served me well till 2010 when I was seduced by the thrill of speed on a road bike. With a bit of elbow grease and new tyres, she was set to go.

On 6 July 2013, I decided to torment the Park Connectors from Ang Mo Kio to Punggol. It was quite an adventure. The following photos document the trail I took. The first landmark was the Sengkang Fire Station.

Sengkang Fire Station

I am sure it is equipped with the best facilities and equipment. As I stood there looking at the fire station, I cannot help but sense that there was something missing. After about a minute, I found what I was looking for - character and excitement. It looked rather clinical. Till this day, when I look at the "old-style" fire stations like the one at Hill Street, I feel a certain rush. The older fire stations looked more dramatic and always ready for action. This building did not give me that. Maybe it is because there is no look-out tower.

As I was about to continue my adventure, I saw this pigeon perched on a railing, barely 2 metres from where I was standing. He appeared to be sharing my view, and maybe my thoughts too :)

Mr Pigeon

As I cycled through the Punggol Park Connector, I was greeted by awesome views. I will let the photos do the talking.

So peaceful and serene 

These look like giant bonsais

Is this a pretty view or what?

I soon arrived at Lorong Halus Wetlands and decided to explore it a bit. I saw a pond with water lilies. Somehow, water lilies seem to evoke a sense of calm. I find them almost magical.

Water Lily Pond

Seems to have a magical glow

Looks magical

Family of 3

Busy Bees at Work

Beacon of Light

Twins

As I cycled through Punggol Waterway, I cannot help but envy the lucky folks who have bought their homes here. It reminded me of Venice.

Singapore's National Bird - The Crane at Work :)

Imagine this in your backyard

Complete with water feature

As I neared the end of my adventure, I came across a "kampong". What a magical sight. This was along Lorong Buangkok. Sadly, I am sure its days are numbered in the name of progress. If they have to make way for development, I hope the new buildings show more character than a modern day fire station.

There are still kampongs in Singapore?

It was an awesome ride. According to my iPhone App called "Map My Ride", I covered 28.35 km and burned 1,109 calories on my ride today. Now I can tuck into my Mee Rebus without feeling guilty :)

Picture of Calm and Serenity

Ohm......

I live in the Ang Mo Kio area and nestled between Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Sin Ming Avenue is a strip of lush greenery called Bishan Park. It was redeveloped not too long ago at a cost of about $76M. I am told that's about the same price as developing a 72 hole golf course (minus land cost). Anyway, I am digressing.
This morning, I decided to check this park out and was blown away. Armed with my trusty camera, I inspected the park like an pseudo Park Inspector. I was not disappointed. Check out the photo at the lotus pond. Is this a picture of serenity or what? This was the only blooming lotus flower and it appeared to light up the whole pond. Here's another view.

Like the fire of passion

As I cycled along the Park Connector, I chanced upon this view. I have a thing for clouds. It is almost a fetish. I made the best of the situation as I did not have a filter on my camera. I underexposed the shot in order to capture the details of the Cumulus Cloud...yes, the puffy one on the bottom right of the screen.

Got It !

Moving along, I stood in awe at this scene. This stream with Bishan estate in the background. As I was soaking up this sight, the rumble of the MRT train heading from Bishan MRT to Ang Mo Kio MRT stations made it all the more perfect. It is a pity the photo does not capture audio :)

Postcard Perfect .... almost!

After the MRT train rumbled past, I realised that I had company. I was sharing this picturesque scene with a chameleon which was sitting on a rock right in front of me! See if you can spot him in the photo below. OK, I'll make this photo extra large :)

Mr Chameleon (Perched on the rock on the right) Sharing my Sunshine

As I explored the meandering stream, I chanced upon Mr Chameleon's twin brother :) For the photo buffs out there, this photo was not shot with a macro or zoom lens. It was shot with a 28 mm lens and cropped on my PC. I love my camera.......actually, I love my lens more than my camera :)

Mr Chameleon's Twin Brother

As I was heading home, I chanced upon a cricket game in Bishan Park. Yes, I said "Cricket". This photo sums it all up for me. Who would have imagined that. It is a signal that we have arrived as a global village.

Cricketeers

I think NParks has done a fabulous job with the transformation of Bishan Park. I hope whoever he/she is got a bonus for meeting this KPI.......unless it was scuttled by the Brompton thingy :p
Anyway, thank you for Bishan Park !