“Lumos” doesn’t work because honey, we ain’t in Hogwarts.

Posted on 25 Oct 2012 by Diane

A friend invited us over for dinner at her place one night. “I’m cooking Filipino food“, she said. Hooray! They’re just a stone’s throw away so it made more sense to ride a bike over.

When I took the bike to go out, the hall suddenly seemed so dark compared to the brightly lit room and the light switch was on the other side. I kept saying, “Lumos!” but it wasn’t gonna happen. LOL. Might as well use bike lights.

And Diane said, “Let there be light!”; and there was light. And Diane saw the light was good and she separated the light from darkness.

Harry Potter and Bible references aside, let’s talk about this new light I got. It’s a Lezyne Macro Drive Front which I got from Gee Hin Chan as a set that came with the Micro Drive Rear light. Another friend decided he wanted to get the rear light and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get the front one from the set.

Like many Lezyne products, it’s made beautifully out of CNC-ed aluminum. Too bad there wasn’t any silver color left, because I think it’s got more class than plain black. The light attaches to any tubular surface using a plastic mount and a silicone wraparound strap and it keeps in place unless you’re going through a rough surface.

I think this the single brightest front light I own right now. One of those “too see” rather than a “be seen” kind of light. It has a max output of 300 lumens at high-bright and steady, and a output of 200 lumens when blinking.

I like this kind of light mainly for two reasons: a.) there’s no screw mount so it’s easily removable/transferable and b.) it charges by USB.

I mentioned this light came in a set. Here’s a product shot of the Micro Drive Rear light. It’s also constructed really well. My only concern with this light is the plastic mount. The light rests on its rear and has no other hold. While it seems very secure, a lot of constant movement can jar the light right off the mount. Just yesterday night, a friend’s light dropped off when we passed by ongoing construction at Mountbatten Road. Luckily, we were hundreds of meters behind him, and spotted an incredibly bright blinking red thing down the way.

Short of taping it down, I think it would be better if you attached it on sideways using the same mount as the front light and then adding another silicone strap to go over the whole light body.

Lezyne has way brighter front lights such as this Super Drive (this is an old one; the newer models have a different look) which emits a blinding 500 lumens on high but I don’t like lights that have a screw on mount simply because I switch them around on the different bikes I own and I swap lights based on what I feel like using.

GPOYBFT. Gratuitous Picture Of Your Bike Friday Tikit.

Ah, porky goodness… All’s well that ends well.

Gardens by the Bay

Posted on 19 Oct 2012 by Diane

Being such a tiny place, most people will find that there is a lack of places to explore on bike in Singapore. (I don’t. I haven’t gone to a lot of places in the heartlands yet! There is much more to discover for me! HAHAHA!) Routes get repeated and oftentimes people venture out to neighboring countries just to pedal somewhere else. New places that open get a lot of hype. One such new place is the central garden at Gardens By The Bay (or GBB South).

Photo from Guowen Wang on Flickr.

I admit I was one of the people highly curious about what it was when it was being constructed. For me, the white pillared structure seemed like a dinosaur skeleton in the process of being unearthed. In reality, they are two greenhouses. The shorter one is the Flower Dome while the taller one is the Cloud Forest.

Photo from Max Tan on Flickr.

From East Coast Park going west on the southern side, you can cycle on the road through Nicoll Highway or if it’s earlier than 7pm, you can take the going through Tanjong Rhu PCN, GBB East, Marina Barrage, GBB South, then through Marina Bay Sands onwards. This route may be longer, but it’s a lot safer and more scenic as well. The only tough thing is that it might be crowded with walkers especially going through GBB South and the walkways between GBB and Marina Barrage. But if you like to pootle and people watch, this is the route to take.

On weekends, when there are lot of recreational cyclists thereabouts, it’s easy to spot a friend or two going your way. On the very first time we decided to check out Gardens by the Bay on the way home from an LCSG ride, we spotted Amy and Adriane. Bless and I were unsure of the route to GBB East from ECP so it was a bonus to just follow Adrienne’s lead.

I feel out of place here. Seems like this is a “Team Brompton” gathering. LOL.

Another bonus about having Adriane along is that he likes to play tour guide. Here we are stopped at the Tanjong Rhu PCN while Adriane talks a bit about local history.

The path next to the river on GBB’s eastern side is W-I-D-E and attracts recreational activities of all sorts.

It is also a great spot for a lot of photographers hoping to take that one amazing shot of some of Singapore’s iconic structures. At dusk, you can easily recreate silhouettes of the Sands hotel, the Flyer ferris wheel, the helix bridge, the ArtScience Museum and the dinosaur bones and Na’vi-esque supertrees of GBB against the setting sun.

The bridge that connects Gardens by the Bay East and the Marina Barrage closes around 7ish every night. I’m hoping that in future, once all the additional construction is done, that the bridge is open ’till a later time. Let’s say 10pm? Cycling here at night with all the lights would be beautiful — but it’s not fun coming in from the eastern side and trying to find a detour and ending up having to go back and go through Nicoll or the Kallang PCN.

The barrage is a location for a lot of picnickers and on weekends, expect to see a lot of kites around. When I was new here, I found out that fishing and kite flying were common hobbies for Singaporeans. It wasn’t like that across the border in KL, and it definitely isn’t like that back home in Manila. Singaporeans have very laid back hobbies, I suppose.

Here’s a view of the Dome’s pillars up close.

We were so excited to finally be at GBB that we stopped underneath the nearest cluster of supertrees and took some pictures.

Ok. Here’s the thing. This first time we went to GBB, we actually cycled around (GASP!). There weren’t any signs saying biking was prohibited and there were no areas to park the bikes either. It was only when we were in the very center of the gardens did we see posters saying biking wasn’t allowed. One staff member also came up to Adriane and told him to kindly push the bikes whilst in the park. This was way back in July though. Since then, the park has already posted “No Biking” signs at most of the Garden’s entrances and there are some bike racks installed at the entrance nearest to the pass underneath the ECP flyover.

So in case you’re planning to go there today, please note that riding a bike is NOT allowed INSIDE Gardens by the Bay South! Remember to bring a bike lock, or just push your bike around. Also note that cycling the perimeter is still allowed.

One Lazy Weekend

Posted on 5 Oct 2012 by Diane

I noticed I’ve been riding my Tikit more, especially now that the Safety Warning is up. I like to live dangerously. LOL.

It’s been a while, but I’ve finally had a relaxing Saturday. Lazy weekends are the best! A friend and I met by the river and people-watched the afternoon away.

Oh, and we gorged on brunch munchies from Epicurious. Smoked salmon on a bagel, steak and eggs, and french toast to share.