#252 - Kent Ridge

This about sums up the reputation of Kent Ridge MTB Trail.

Me! Running to attend DH class

DH Masters Arnold and Eric conducting the DH Class.
Note Arnold is wearing a neck brace. That's why when he
says it's easy to do, I didn't believe him LOL.

One of the DH boys of PadyakPinoy trying to convince us
that it was easy to do just as long as you follow what the
Instructors said.

Podium Louie on Sunday. Monday in the office and she was
still beating herself up saying "Why didn't I ride the tech sections?"

Sam the Mailman, one of the instructors for the XC Class.

Master Bobot, the other instructor for the XC Class 

Four years! That is how long I managed to dodge all the

ride invites to Kent Ridge! But now that all the nice trails

are closed, I don't have any more excuses not to go to Kent

Ridge... and so last week my friends sent out invites that said

something like "We can do the same old thing at Bukit Timah

or we can join the guys at PadyakPinoy for a lap or two in Kent

Ridge." So, if you were to get that kind of invite, what would you

have done? Yes! Show up at Velocity at 8AM without any sort

of armor, pull your group on the roads up to ridiculously

steep Vigilante Drive and declare that you are ready to go

in to Kent Ridge MTB Trail just as soon as you finish your

Hammer Gel. 

Hehehehe, of course, good thing that the PadyakPinoy

guys were there and so we exchanged a few Hi's and Hello's

before we eventually went in to the trail. That gave me

ample time to catch my breath from climbing Vigilante

Drive. Anyway, just before we went in, Sam the Mailman

and Master Bobot graciously offered to give us the guided

tour of the trails to lessen the casualties, as they put it.

Gulp ... what have I done?!

Also at the carpark, I noticed many familiar faces

on familiar big, burly bikes. I think they found me familiar

also as we all exchanged smiles, nods and greetings of

'Ah ha! So you are all here now?!  :-)' 

... and so we went inside the trail ... and it was indeed

narrow and twisty and rooty and all sorts of devilry are

there ... but hey, it was not as bad as I imagined it to be.

Then there was a traffic jam inside and all of us were told

to get off our bikes. Sam and Bobot then mentioned that

we should be aware that there is this killer DH part in

Kent Ridge. They told us that the moment we see this

sign saying 'steep dropoff', we have two choices, one :

grow some big balls there and then, or two : get off your

bike and walk. So being firm believers of the saying :

he who fights and runs away, will fight again another day,

we all got off our bikes and Sam and Bobot showed us

the trail ahead. What can I say? Never mind if it is just

steep, but you need to be mindful of trees and navigate

bends as well. So walking is a good thing.

At the bottom of the DH Section, Arnold and Eric were

giving tips to some DH riders on what to do when faced

with those kinds of conditions and when they saw us coming,

they all went up and showed us the line that XC bikes should

use. They also showed us how to brake and lastly, they showed

us the correct body position when going down. The sermon

errr I mean lesson was followed by two demo runs from Rico

who I didn't recognize as he was in full battle gear and also

another DH rider from PadyakPinoy who I didn't get the name.

After the demo runs, Arnold and Eric were asking who wants

to try the section on an XC bike ... uhhhhh ... I believe those two

are right but I can't get over the fact that Arnold was wearing

a neck brace ... and so I said : not me! I'm walking. Hehehe.

After the demo, we completed one lap of the trail only

to find out that since there were many DH boys practicing,

we can't complete the last climb which was actually the downhill

section for the DH boys. Sam and Bobot told us we will have

to climb Vigilante Drive AGAIN! Haaahhhh????!!! They

calmed us by assuring us that climbing Vigilante Drive is a

lot easier than climbing the DH Section ... and so with tears

in my eyes, I winched myself up Vigilante Drive and

plonked my ass in the grass at the carpark.

Everybody finally came up the carpark and then Sam said

'Ok, that's Lap 1....' arrgggghhhh. So after a few minutes of rest

we went in again and this time, it was much much smoother.

... and then disaster struck ... I mean my friends were all

endoing all over the place but this time it was more serious.

One of our lady riders missed one of the wooden bridges

and fell into a drain. She had a fractured elbow and she had

a cut on the chin which required stitches (seven stitches in fact).

 We all got out of the trail via Evacuation Point B and Arnold

fashioned a splint out of a tree branch and lots of arm warmers.

Rico came with his pickup truck and rushed Cheryl to the hospital.

All of us went to have lunch and eventually, Rico and Sam

came back and joined us giving us some early news of how

Cheryl was. That made for a more subdued lunch.

 

Conclusion

If we don't count the fact that one of my friends had a

fracture at Kent Ridge, I would say I actually enjoyed the

trail. I would like to come back ... and I will actually be back

but next time, I need to 'respect' the trail. What I mean is I'll

be back with proper equipment (knee, shin, elbow pads) and

I'll be using my Reign... it should be 'safer' than my XC bikes.

Also, I am one of the 'lurkers' at SG TAP groups in FB and

I would like to say thanks to the groups and individuals who

maintain the Kent Ridge Trail. My friends who had been there

before told me that that place was a lot cleaner and safer than

before... I do see people cleaning up the place and posting the

before and after pics in Facebook ... so once again, Thanks for

your hardwork and I promise to do my part in maintaining the

cleanliness of the place.

Edit

How could I forget?!?! I'd like to say a big Thank You to Sam
and Bobot for the guided tour of the trail. It surely helped that
two of the most 'decorated' XC riders in PadyakPinoy were the
ones who were guiding us in Kent Ridge. They went around with
pumps in hand and individually checked our front and rear tires.
Those two have raced (and won?) in Kent Ridge so they know
the exact PSI that would generate enough traction and yet not
wallow in the dips and ruts. If a tire is deemed too soft, they pump
in some air, if the tire is deemed too hard, they let out some air.
... and they were taking our riding abilities and weights when they
were doing this! Lastly, for my case, they told me to loosen my
SPDs as they noticed I was having a hard time disengaging.
Small things, really, but it made my first time there more
enjoyable and safer.

Next on the Thank You list are the two DH instructors :
Arnold and Eric. Again, who else better to learn from but
these two who have raced (and won?) here? I believe the
things that they have said in 'class' applies not just in KR
in particulat but it should enhance my riding in general.
I will always remember : keep your torso stationary... THEN
throw your bike in front of you! hehehehe

Lastly, of course, Mechanic John of Hup Leong for supplying
the expertise in making sure that all of us are running
smoothly like clockwork.

So, last Sunday, all I had to do was pedal. The trails were
clean, my bike is running smoothly, my set up was spot on
and I had coaching. I felt like I was Absalon hehehehe :-)