A friend of mine sent me the invite to this event.
A race in Singapore ! Yesss !!!
All that is known at the moment are all there
in the above flyer ... the only thing that intrigues
me is that it is written there that this will
be a MTB SERIES ?
Verryy Niceee <== Thumbs up and say it like Borat
Anyway! Go and like the page for RAD Events and
you will find the Chase The Sun race as the only event
currently there.
Hold it! Disclaimer - I am in no way related to RAD Events.
My sole purpose in posting this is to inform like minded
individuals that there's going to be a race in SG come June.
Hello Monjie, met a friend of yours at TampinesBikePart yesterday. I recognised the jersey he was wearing and started talking to him. I mentioned to him the above event and he told me he took part in a 12-hour version at the same place last year and he completed 16 rounds. 16 ROUNDS! Impressive! After he left I did 3 rounds At the park. Physically I might be able to do another round or two if I rest enough. But mentally I was too exhausted to continue. So not sure if I will take part in the Chase the Sun. May be I better go chase other events? Like Yong Peng, Batu Pahat and Plentong?
ReplyDeleteHey there! Yup, that's my seatmate here in the office.
ReplyDeleteNot really sure yet if the race will cover the whole trail (including the area at the back??).
Anyway, should be ok to join. I think those fast guys on 29ers there should be able to dodge us hehehe. So the aim here would be to last the whole 3 hours. To complete the race should be achievement enough :)
Hi, I suppose you are right that completing the 3-hour race is itself an achievement. Actually before I embark on bike jamborees, I remember reading in one of your older entries saying you were rather pleased getting 400+ position in one jamboree. At that time I didn't really understand what was there to be pleased with 400+ position. You would be pleased if you came in 10, right? After a few jamborees, and a little wiser :-), I now know even at 400+ position it is hard-fought and hard-earned and therefore totally appropriate to be pleased! Just so you know, for my last 3 jamborees, I got #216, #320 and then #98. Not bad huh? So are you going to chase the sun? Remember, it is just 7 days after the 50km Plentong!
ReplyDeleteWOW very expensive to chase the sun! On top of S$40 registration, there are S$10 for SCF/UCI day-licence and S$3 online processing fees! Hmmm, never had these kind of hidden fees for any of the jamborees in Malaysia. May be just be a cheap spectator this time?
ReplyDeleteHey there KI T, for some reason I didn't see ur comments until now ?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, yes, a bit prohibitive to chase the sun ... The only thing is race organizers here do have more costs. I remember hearing one time that it is more expensive to host an event in TT than in Marina Barage.
Only thing is I also don't know why we have to pay for license fees? ... And also, online booking fees???
Might be just going there as a pompom boy/water boy/feedzone groupie instead hehehe.
Hi Monjie, you have missed the fun at Yong Peng's jamboree last Sunday. Compare to all my previous jamboress, this one was the toughest with the most long steep climbs. On some slopes, if you were not careful and looked up while you were pedalling your guts out, there was another even steeper one waiting. And then another one after that. It was so so tiring.... My knee muscles are still sore after resting for 3 days! Well such were the allure of MTB. Few more days to BP Cops XC and then the big one, Plentong Epic. BP Cops has about 900 riders now and Plentong about 650. Are you going to miss both? What a shame.... Chase the Sun? Forget it! I will just be a spectator.
ReplyDeleteArrrghhhh yeah, we've missed lots of races already. I'm not even going to Plentong because 1 loop of T15 is enough to send me into severe oxygen debt hehehehe.
ReplyDeleteI hope I'll be ready in time for WaCycles.
Btw, how's your result?
No sweat to miss a few. There are many nearby ones after Wacycles. SpgRenggam on 30th, KotaIskandar on July 7th and KotaMasai in October. I am sure more will pop up in the coming months.
ReplyDeleteHowever, to miss Plentong would be a pity. You said it better yourself: To complete the race is achievement enough! I haven't been to any earlier Epic rides because I haven't discovered the joy of MTB then. Now I certainly won't want to miss it. My plan is simple, go all out like I always had, do it in 5- hours and come back three-quarter dead, and hopefully still able to enjoy myself. If my muscles protest too much, I would take it a little easy, do it in 5+ hours, come back only half dead and probably enjoying myself too. One rider from SpgRenggam Prison I met on Sunday told me Plentong is more mind than power. Let's see if he knows better after the race.
For the last race I got 250/600 in 2h47m. Rather slow at just 12kph over the 33km trail. But there were just too many hills to climb!
I am now quite excited about the race this Sunday. BatuPahat has always been a special place for me. I live my first 19 years in that town and I still have many friends there. I'll let you know how I did ok.
BP Cops XC Ride was easily the most enjoyable ride for me. If you look up its FB pages, you would see tons of praise from riders. Compare to Yong Peng, this one deserves 10 times more kudos. One bugbear at Yong Peng was that the organiser gave away only 300 medals. So the 300+ riders who rode their guts out but came in a little late got nothing at all!
ReplyDeleteThe 32km route has many nice single tracks and flowing trails. During the initial 4km on the road, police officers on their high-power motorbikes were escorting the peloton. Feels so much like a VIP being escorted!
Most slopes were riderable, although I did have to push a couple of times. There was one super steep uphill section near the end. I think only a handful of very strong riders could ride up. Most others that I could see all had to push. With up comes down. The DH was like sections in Bukit Timah. Nice and steep with roots and loose soil. A rider behind me fell. I stopped and helped him and warned other riders to slow down. Overall I think this was a very well organised jamboree. Certainly didn't look like it was their first! The only short coming was towards to end when we emerged from the trails. We had to share the 200 meter of slight descending road with many moving cars. I overtook quite a few but I think it was a little unsafe. But then BP is not exactly a small sleepy town and to halt traffic for hours for a bunch of mad Sunday cyclists was probably too much to ask.
I got 276/1000 in 1h50m. But in the master category, I got 26/110. Definitely the best result for me so far. In the beginning and ending parts of the trails, we rode past a graveyard. My maternal grandmother was in one of the graves. I think she was watching over me and help me get the good result :-)?
I now look forward to Sunday's Plenton ride. Certainly no walk in the park there so I intend to go a little slower so as to complete the 50+km trail. Lets see if my body concurs with my target.