Houston, we have a problem.
I just went to the Bukit Timah mountain bike trail with Isyraf on Friday.
One word to describe it, "HEAVEN!"
Beautiful singletrack, right smack in a rain forest, with streams flowing next to you, quarries to take your breath away, climbs steep enough to kill your legs from lactic acid poisoning, and last, but far from the least, descents long and steep enough to make you feel like a king for just being able to complete them without getting flung off your bike.
I would describe the trail as deceptively simple, but therein lies the danger. You climb a hill, push yourself, only to find a super long descent ahead of you, that is relatively even, or so it may seem from the top. Hurtling downhill, you find yourself enjoying the speed and trill of the descent. Suddenly, potholes, roots and rocks come into view in the middle of the descent.
You know you can't stop in time, for your tyres will skid on the slick forest floor, so jamming your brakes are out of the question. You know that you ride a hardtail bike, with suspension that's about to die, so ramming the obstacles at full speed would be suicide, so you have to select your speed carefully, not too fast or any deep hole or rut will get you flung off, not too slow or your momentum would not be enough to get you over the obstacles.
So all in all, it was a challenging trail. As you proceed further into the trail, once your apprehension starts to go away, and you start to get the hang of the descents, you start to relax. And there lies the trap that Bukit Timah has set for you.
I was going down one descent fast, relaxed, confident that the I could take anything the trail could throw at me. I took my hands off both brakes.
Big mistake.
Before I knew it, the straight descent had a left curve ahead. And as I got closer, fast, I saw rocks, and steps, one after the other, made out of small logs embedded in the soil. I checked my speed. 30km/h. Shit. Shit. I braked hard, but not so much so I would fish-tail.
I aimed to get out of the trail and onto the grass on the left, so that I wouldn't hit the logs and whatever else at that speed. Alas, it was too late. Trying to steer away from the logs, my front tyre and its insane sidewalls tried its best to climb the slippery berm, but it could not. I lost control and got flung off my bike, and rolled onto my back, thankfully onto the grass, and not into the trail.
I got up and dusted myself, and was highly thankful for my ass, which cushioned my fall. The only injury I got from that roll was the cuts my pedal studs gave me. My bike too, was uninjured, say for a few scratches on the side of the handlebar grips.
All in all, I'm going there again, this coming week, on a week day, cos I ORD next week! Woo hoo!
And yes, I'll be careful next time, and not be too overly confident despite the many other close calls.
One word to describe it, "HEAVEN!"
Beautiful singletrack, right smack in a rain forest, with streams flowing next to you, quarries to take your breath away, climbs steep enough to kill your legs from lactic acid poisoning, and last, but far from the least, descents long and steep enough to make you feel like a king for just being able to complete them without getting flung off your bike.
I would describe the trail as deceptively simple, but therein lies the danger. You climb a hill, push yourself, only to find a super long descent ahead of you, that is relatively even, or so it may seem from the top. Hurtling downhill, you find yourself enjoying the speed and trill of the descent. Suddenly, potholes, roots and rocks come into view in the middle of the descent.
You know you can't stop in time, for your tyres will skid on the slick forest floor, so jamming your brakes are out of the question. You know that you ride a hardtail bike, with suspension that's about to die, so ramming the obstacles at full speed would be suicide, so you have to select your speed carefully, not too fast or any deep hole or rut will get you flung off, not too slow or your momentum would not be enough to get you over the obstacles.
So all in all, it was a challenging trail. As you proceed further into the trail, once your apprehension starts to go away, and you start to get the hang of the descents, you start to relax. And there lies the trap that Bukit Timah has set for you.
I was going down one descent fast, relaxed, confident that the I could take anything the trail could throw at me. I took my hands off both brakes.
Big mistake.
Before I knew it, the straight descent had a left curve ahead. And as I got closer, fast, I saw rocks, and steps, one after the other, made out of small logs embedded in the soil. I checked my speed. 30km/h. Shit. Shit. I braked hard, but not so much so I would fish-tail.
I aimed to get out of the trail and onto the grass on the left, so that I wouldn't hit the logs and whatever else at that speed. Alas, it was too late. Trying to steer away from the logs, my front tyre and its insane sidewalls tried its best to climb the slippery berm, but it could not. I lost control and got flung off my bike, and rolled onto my back, thankfully onto the grass, and not into the trail.
I got up and dusted myself, and was highly thankful for my ass, which cushioned my fall. The only injury I got from that roll was the cuts my pedal studs gave me. My bike too, was uninjured, say for a few scratches on the side of the handlebar grips.
All in all, I'm going there again, this coming week, on a week day, cos I ORD next week! Woo hoo!
And yes, I'll be careful next time, and not be too overly confident despite the many other close calls.
posted by adayinthelifeof at 7:01 AM
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