dualcircles

New page: Where to rent road bikes in Singapore

2019-01-02T07:00:00.000+08:00

Since there seems to be quite a lack of information on this, let's share what we know!

If you would like to contribute/share/add-on, just comment or email me at starringme@gmail.com

Here is the link:
https://dualcircles.blogspot.com/p/where-to-rent-road-bikes-in-singapore.html

Review: Spinlister App, Find a bike to ride, passive income?

2018-05-16T21:22:00.000+08:00

NOTE: Spinlister has now said good bye, you can read about it here.

Me being me, always looking for opportunities, I was searching for passive income and it seemed like a good way of doing that, is renting out my bike(s).

Something that kinda gained traction a little is this little app called Spinlister. It is basically a platform similar to Uber, Airbnb, Grab. You use the app to search or list out a ride, where you decide the price of rental.

Ever since I tried this some time back in Apr 2015, there has been few and far between rentals. I did recently start collating just how much I made on rentals.. Total to date(22nd March 2018): USD$1,404 or about SGD$1,850

Not too bad, let's go through how to best start out!

1. Download app here:
iOS
Andriod
2. Register your account below to net you additional USD$5 credit!
Click here for additional USD$5 credit
Or use this promo code:
4d56d1
3. List your bike!
At the point, I would like to recommend you use the website to post as the iOS app I tried is a little buggy.. You have to fill in everything step by step, with chances (pural) the app will crash and lose your previously saved details on the listing or even not let you save at all.
a. Take 4 pictures of your bike!
b. Pricing, you can put a rough estimation first.
c. Location, hot tip: Press the GPS symbol on the map, let it load then fill in any blanks.
4. Wait for approval!

That's it, all you have to do is wait, albeit sometimes quite a long time.

Now, you have to be warned, there are a few cons in renting out your bike.

Damages
Now, Spinlister will in fact cover you on this:

However, some of us simply love our bikes so much, even a single scratch inflicted, sears through our soul. If you are like this, there is no way you will be able to let your mind be at ease and it's best not to rent out your beloved bike.

Deliveries
Some expats or countryside folk (Ulu residents) will request deliveries and this is where you can either value add or cash in on. I have many times rode down myself, more mileage, fats as fuel, and a token fee for the added service. Why not?
Doing you have to plan in advance, the address, security concerns, if it's a hotel, here's a tip:
Get the person's full name, check-in date, duration of stay, room number and contact number if possible. You can then pass this details to the hotel concierge (if there is one) and leave it to them.

No shows
As with everything nowadays, there will be people who speak with you all week and subsequently disappear. Spinlister does actually still charge the guy though, it's just the bummer where you have to plan your schedule to accommodate them.

No hits
With all the rage with bike sharing going on, I would expect demand to go down further. So be patient and may the renter rent from you.

Paypal
Payments are by paypal and will take a few days after the actual rental is completed, if you don't have an account or patience, this might be a issue for you.

Bikeshare vs Bus/MRT vs your own bike/escooter!

2018-01-01T10:21:00.000+08:00

So ofo bike share are having free November and December rides, prompting me to try them out.
It was such an ideal timing and I had the perfect scenario to use it, that will be another story.

Right now, what I was interested to know is that which is cheaper? Bike share or Bus/MRT/LRT?
Now logically if the distance is too near, walking is free, cycling should theoretically be cheaper then the bus or MRT. But at what point should I opt for one or the other?

Being an engineer the excel spreadsheet starts! With that a magical chart appears:

Ain't it cool? Data can be beautiful, any info-graphic designers out there wanna do something with me? Give me a buzz!

Conclusion?

Amazingly the answer depends on which bike share company you choose!

Short distance: oBike and Mobike starts off cheaper with their 50 cents rate.

Medium distance: Mobike is the cheaper choice for longer commutes.

Long distance: Ofo, until it hits a cap of $2.

What is even more interesting for me is when I calculated the time take on your transport mode of choice.

Time is money, isn't it?

So taking you bike on short distances is almost always going to be faster since you don't have to wait for the bus and you can drop-off the bike at your void deck!
The magical number where buses are faster is when the distance to be travel is 3km and more.

Share it! Comment! Let me know what you would like to know next!

Simpler chart to understand:

That's it! Dualcircles signing out.

tags mobike obike bikeshare.sg sgbikes ofobike gbikes

OCBC 2017!

2017-12-31T11:34:00.002+08:00

Minutes Rider Bibs! 00 2010 2117 2127 2137 2293 3788 5783 01 2056 09 2097 2285 11 2293 14 3559 17 2035 25 2307 2302 31 3555 40 3275 42 U-turn point 2172 44 3941 49 3277 59 3133 105 2010 107 3796

U Cycling Team Ride 10 Dec 2017

2017-12-10T13:32:00.002+08:00

Ucycling Team Ride 10 Sep 2017

2017-09-10T23:13:00.001+08:00

Ucycling Team Ride 16 July 2017

2017-08-13T23:27:00.000+08:00

Uncut footage!

Vietnam Tour: Day 13 (2nd Sept) Bao Loc to Ho Chi Min City!

2017-03-28T12:05:00.002+08:00

On a roll!

Woke up real early, 430 am, prepared as per usual now, bike ready and suited up! Went to the counter but... The staff was sleeping.. Had no choice but to wake them up, somehow got a 10k discount and off i go!

But what the heck, I had to stop after 1 km... Had to don the poncho and rain cover, oh well.

Then it stopped raining, just FYI, my poncho is polyester and there is zero vents. It gets H. O. T. T. HOT in a snap! So I took it off the moment I could.

Except that it would rain and stop and rain and stop another three more times before my bladder finally gave up from all that persuasion. :D

As expected, it was super cooling riding refreshingly early with little traffic. What came next was Resident Evil worthy:

I was to enter the ghost town... Just kidding.

Fog! Mist! What is this! Riding in the clouds woo hooo! So I thought as I ride I the visibility would stay constant like above right? Maybe keep to 10-20 metres? Boy was I wrong...

The mist was so thick that when I rode in, certain parts I couldn't even see the road. I was engulfed , I was literally riding on clouds! A truly surreal experience, riding like that make me happy beyond logic, perhaps it feels like a dream. Kinda similar like when a plane flys through a cloud.

Of course this meant the road is extremely dangerous, thankfully even the vehicles slowed to a crawl, including the kamikaze buses. I was feeling safer since traffic was pretty much at my pace now, I just enjoyed the cloud nine descent of some 10 km! I couldn't stop more since there was almost no shoulder and if I did stop, should any vehicle come, I would most certainly be knocked over... Check out the views:

There after I wasn't so happy, the road condition worsened still without the shoulders, adding difficulty was hills... God damn rolling hills one after another, ouch. Even if there were road shoulders, they would be covered in gravel and the trucks would horn at you to veer into them so they could pass. It's like your boss, started ordering you around when you have 4 days back log of work on Monday, and then he comes back and said he needs an additional task by yesterday... Kidding, kidding! I guess I was pretty drained, tired, wet and not yet dry. So you kinda wish the conditions would improve, of course the exact opposite happens, it started raining.. I lost count.

Have you every had such thoughts when you see something along the road? What if at that exact moment I was riding past, it toppled over... Ahhhh Ride cautiously!

Push on, push on, pushing. When I had enough I stopped for lunch.

I took a longer break here, because I was dry! Food was pretty good and the mamasan (lady owner) very very graciously topped up my water constantly. I also took my bottles to refill. Super nice!

All to soon, I had to move on. I remember seeing the 130 km marker (still a long way, damn!) to Ho Chi Min City (HCMC) and hit highway 1A almost immediately. When I did hit the highway, HOLY MAMA. I think my ass was crying tears in joy, thanking the heavens, LEGIT smooth highway! I never thought they existed in the whole country. Amazingly the shoulders were actually smoother then the main road! Smoother! With that, tons of motivation and energy came up (maybe from my ass) and hunkered down to spin those wheels faster.

Traffic increased significantly as per usual when I approached cities, but HCMC must be pretty damn big! Still more then a century before I hit the city center! Lots of scooters, handful of bikes, I could pretty much draft the slower scooters and even accelerated past them onto faster scooters when I see one. Fun fun! The longer downhills, I actually started to overtake them past 36km/h and then crank the heck out of the bike back up the hills! Spin hard! Although there is not must scenery now, it was actually more of people watching, I watched the pillions riders as they came and they looked at me too.. I guess I was a rare sight? Crazy guy on a bicycle riding at scooter speeds looking wet and sorry. And just like that I kept going, I was kind of surprised it was already dark, push on I must! I think there were very few traffic lights and I took the opportunity to re-lube my chain thanks to the start-stop rain. I lubed twice, each time after the rain stopped, anyone counting how many times it rained now? Also at the traffic lights were children coming up to me to beg. Never saw that before, tough lives.

As I got nearer the city center, I got more excited and actually cycled faster, stopping once in a while to check the map as the intersections got more frequent and complicated. The nearer I got, it absolutely got more confusing, round-a-bouts, super heavy traffic, literally going around in circles. I finally found the hotel. Finally man.

Warning graphic image of my foot.

After a shower and dry clothes, time for dinner, I searched TripAdvisor and wanted to eat sushi, but couldn't find the place. I was on the correct street but zero idea on which side. Crossing the street here is super stressful! With hunger levels at emergency, I settled for Kentucky.

Distance today: 199 km
Distance to date: 1160 km
No. of punctures to date: 1

Vietnam Tour: Day 12 (1st Sept) Da Lat to Bao Loc

2017-03-27T15:42:00.000+08:00

Short note: I should really finish up this Vietnam trip write up, it's been years.. Literally. year 2012. Still a trip of a life time!

Got a little lucky at breakfast!

The same great breakfast as yesterday!! Golfed down what I could and off we go! It was 10km of continues steep descent that Initial D fans would love.

I thanked many many many times that I had chosen hydraulic disc brakes for this trip and even more the front Ice tech rotor that were so strong with zero fading throughout! I was thinking if they would turn red hot! With the dry roads and strong brakes, I quickly got in tune and overtook everything in my path. Taking my time to overtake only when it was clear. Being a mountain road however, that was not much clear space, since every other turn is a blind corner! There was one bus and that was nerve wrecking, it was going so slow and it was so long! I had to decide when and if I should overtake. I finally found a little stretch and went for it! I had to make it before the next corner. Past more then half the bus, it was the point where braking and going back behind the bus would be quite impossible. Luckily I made it easily. Phew!

Looks like a dam, pretty cool!

One of the most proper toilets I think!

Super cool wind while going downhill was great, so great I missed a stop where there was a waterfall. I passed that and even contemplated going back. Me and my weakness to waterfalls! But of course, the hills that I had to climb to go back to the waterfall was definitely a no-no for me.

Some highway on the left, so bikes had this section of the road to ourselves!

I came to a point where that was a highway beside the road, looks like a toll-road.

There was quite a bit of wind, if you could see from the flag..

Still very beautiful scenery as I ride along.

Looks like I'm going into a storm.. Hope for the best!

The road got worse.. At least I seem to be drafting the storm.. The wind pushes it further.

And then I came to this point in the road where I saw on the left and on the right:

Storm Storm!

It's sunshine!

Quite a plenty of hills before a got to Bao Loc though! I counted at least 7, the pain.. I had Pho somewhere in-between and checked into yet another random hotel, this time without any AC.

Checked into the hotel and said goodbye to the storm clouds I narrowly missed.

Settled with Com dinner just outside the hotel and went to bed early as I had a lot of distance to cover tomorrow! Till the next post guys!

Distance today: 100 km
Distance to date: 961 km
No. of punctures to date: 1

Vietnam Tour: Day 11 (31st Aug) Rest in Da Lat

2017-01-31T07:58:00.001+08:00

It's a rest day!!! Damn! And nicely planned, after that grueling climb a rest is definitely welcomed. The weather here in Dalat was amazing, super cooling, fresh air and laid back atmosphere. It's a little different in feel here, the buildings look and feel different.

So first up, breakfast! And let me tell you, if you ever come here, you must stay in this hotel:

simply for the food:

I ate and ate and ate, nothing but a good breakfast to start the day. It's free flow and look at those fruits! That has to be healthy!

Total consumed: 2x banana, mango dragon fruit, avocado, passion fruit, 2x baguette, cheese, ham, bacon, tea, watermelon, great!

The market, multi-storey, didn't see anything i fancied there.

I didn't know where to go, so the first thing I did was walk towards the lake, the weather was good, so I just sat there watching the lake and the people. It seems there were some kind of eel clinging on to the shore and some guy were fishing them up easy! It was entertaining. Super chill out. Perhaps, you would like to do some painting here?

Does this remind you of something? This house would be one of a kind in Dalat!

Reminded me of this! haha

Some sort of rice cake i think

This was good! Fried eggplant with ginger, recommended by trip adviser

It's fried rice! the shop was a vegetarian one, wasn't anything special for this rice.

After lunch had more time to laze around, and that was what I did in the hotel, watched Discovery channel, went to the Jacuzzi, oh yes that is a place to chill when you body is aching from riding. After I had finally rested enough, It was time to go check out the evening scene!

Nice! Didn't bring your bike? Rent one! Looks to be nicely equipped.

Shops and dining on the staircase guys! coolness.

Wasn't really hungry, so I ordered soya milk and a cream puff! Yums!

Night performance to call it a day!

Distance today: 0km (Rest day!!)
Distance to date: 861km
No. of punctures to date: 1

Vietnam Tour: Day 10 (30th Aug) Phan Rung to Da Lat

2016-01-03T10:33:00.000+08:00

I started way before sunrise, the counter staff were like wth? I knew it was gonna be difficult day of climbing. It was so cooling, and heading up towards to mountain with a feeling of excitement and dread. Just before climbing, the road became dirt paths.

I was to be going up those Himalayan mountains, haha.

The first kilometre of climbing, cool views

The road was so bumpy that my ass was sore very quickly, look at the winding climbs, turns after turns, if i were to describe torture, it would be riding up this. Also notice there is so shade on the road, whenever there was, i was zigzagging riding towards shade. Andddd I went out of water.

I got chased by dogs, 1 2 3 times. I stopped by a unmanned shop. Wanted to get water, ask if anyone was around, no reply. So i left, in first gear I wanted to spin up to change, so I spun up fast, only to be charged but a huge black beast, its one of those dogs that looked they took steroids. No kidding. I shouted, "SIT!" to no avail, and got ready to spray water at the dog, except i didn't have any.

I didn't accelerate, I didn't have the legs honestly, so I kept my pace and shouting, then a 2nd dog joined in. Oh great. They eventually stopped and I continued. Albeit with my heart beating a little faster.

Even the good view were no consolation, i was using my last gear available and it was to be on this gear pretty much the rest of the way. What a grind.

Need water. I finally found a lady selling coffee at the top. So overpriced but I had little choice. Thirst quenched!

Finally a glimpse of some civilization, and the weather.. Torture me slowly.

Much needed lunch break!

That's how they store their tissue!

The trees here a little different from the bottom of the road, what a different vibe. The weather cooler and it made climbing bearable.

A dirt path I was so tempted to go, there were even sounds of a waterfall! But with no legs and time, I had to push on.

Of course it was to rain me.

Somewhere here 2 guys on a motorbiked rode beside me and shaked my hand, they indicated that they would pull me up. Partly afraid they will gonna make me pay and partly because I wanted to complete this epic climb I politely declined. They looked at me in disbelief, it gave me strength!

Half rain half shine

Another small village i passed, they whole village must be here! I was was pretty lively!

Looks like a World War truck!

There goes the last light.

A clear indication the town is approaching and the climate here very good for flowers!

Fully dark now, laughing Buddha welcomes all.

I can't tell you when good this was, and so, cheap.

The last view I saw before heading into town. Those are lights for each green house growing flowers. That is some tech! A makes for a good night view.

Da lat!

After the mad 10-15% climbs I take a bit to find Dream Hotel 2 and have a much needed rest and shower.

Distance today: 108km
Elevation today: 2207metres (Shut up legs)
Distance to date: 969km
No. of punctures to date: 1

Just a note, 2207 elevation is like climbing Mount Faber 27 times except I had to cover 100km as well. This had to be my most epic climb to date.

Vietnam Tour: Day 9 (29th Aug) Nha Trang to Phan rung

2015-09-27T09:00:00.000+08:00

The first 50km or less was nice and early in the morning with no sun... Flats are good and maybe just the occasional mountain of hay, and of course actual hills there are so rare in Singapore.

And then the worst came, just look at those flags. HEADWIND.

A colourful distraction from the road, peaceful.

Well then, only another 47km of face demolishing winds to go..

Some sort of fish funnel? looks cool.

More good views, rice fields and hills in the distance.

My favourite flowers, this was a huge pond and so many in bloom. Beauty.

Andddd back to the road with an invisible force you can't see.

Until you see flags of course, violent, tormenting winds. It was so bad, downhills maxed out at 26km/h. My average for the whole ride: 14km/h, many parts I saw only single digit speeds. It was hot and I was almost broken.

Lunch break! So much meat, so much yums. The tempura prawns simple but good.

I was the only customer...

Random ruin appeared! No information, wonder what its for.

Welcomed company as I pass sheep and the run alongside.

I finally entered town and checked out some 6+ hotels and settled for the cheapest which was away from street but the bonus was that there was a cute receptionist (Girlfriend, this was before I met you! haha). I had no choice but to get the cheapest as budget is getting tighter.

I pointed to a random one, which because the stall was a counter with no door, they couldn't see what I was pointing and I don't read Vietnamese so I took quite a while to order!! I couldn't remember how I finally got my order but damn, milk tea for the win!!!

50 cents dinner, 2nd rounds compulsory.

Distance today: 100km
Distance to date: 861km
No. of punctures to date: 1

Vietnam Tour: Day 8 (28th Aug) Tuy Hoa to Nha Trang

2014-11-09T09:00:00.000+08:00

Well guys, it's been a while. I missed writing, do you miss me? Well then, on with Vietnam.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Determined to catch the sunrise, I woke up at 430am. Not a soul was awake, but I read that watching the Sunrise here was something not to be missed. Besides, who does not like a morning hill climb?

I remembered thinking "Here we go, Mt Faber again. I'm ready." The hill was pretty much the only one in the whole city. So finding it was truely easy, but it was a climb never the less. The locals are really into this keeping fit business. They didn't seem at all to be bother by my presence.

Wondering how long more must I feed the mozzies, then the sun came. Sunglasses recommended.

A sight that is hard to forget.

I now miss this bike, it is a rare steed.

With the light gaining flight, it made for another wonderful view. Ruins from a lost time.

Not so peaceful were locals doing aerobics.

A quick prayer and down I went.

To be immediately greeted by this building, ah, architecture. Reminded me of a building that someone from the designers of Final Fantasy would come up with.

The view inland

A brisk ride back to the hotel, load up the gear, and off we go! Of course, the obligatory Baquette, again 2, 1 now and 1 for the road!

While eating, I saw a pimped out bike! 9999 spokes!

The ride out of town was faced with wind, headwind. Motors struggling to start, the pace was modest, never the less. Lots of awesome scenery to feast on.

Before long, I spoke a large rock on the top of a distant hill.

The huge rocks were being chiseled down into smaller cubes. Looked like premium stuff and hardwork.

The road was winding, but slowly and surely the stone got clearer.

It wasn't clear before, but if you zoom in. It was a head. Stone head.

This marked the start of the Deo Ca Pass, my legs so tired from facing wind. the roads narrowed as it got twisty and the drivers angsty. This huge trucks love their horns.

If you have been to Vietnam, you know it is the law to press your horn every 5 mins. And so did the truck drivers here. Except I am a wee tiny human on a bicycle and the horn is the size of my head. Which if you pictured right, causing the wee me to jump. Nerve wrecking.

I chased some container trucks to have a hold on for a free (but dangerous, don't try this a home) till one of the co-drivers spotted me and climbed half his body out the windows to signal me to let go. It spooked me for a bit, but all for the safer.

Thankfully, it was a shorter (relatively but still tough) climb and more good stuff awaits the other side.

Much relief from water fountains, some of which drivers use to cool down their smoking brakes for the descent.

Fantasic view, onwards to the City!

Pardon the crappy picture merge, something about the island that makes the view super.

As a judge for scale, the rock in the water is a boat.

Small bay ahead housing a small town.

The city draws closer! Why is the city white?

A quick pick-me-up as I enter the small town.

Immediately after the long downhill, I decided having some ice cold, super sweet coffee would be a perk. Since it meant flat road all the way to city, boo hoo. And lucky that I did so, I think I had my first puncture after that, a routine check of the tire... Nailed it, like literally.

Ah well, caffine waned. And grinding began, no freaking shade all the way. Just imagine riding for 2 hours on the hot tarmac with the afternoon sun. I literally felt my thighs burning.

Random. Yeah.

Finding a coconut tree was my only saviour after a long long long grind. And a quick pee, and my 2nd Baugette,

I had to turn into a dirt path as the main road had zero shade, no kidding.

Horse cart!

Lunch

Rain in the distance, wind in my direction. Basically a good game. But finally a break from the sun.

Goats!

Grinding through it all, it's still nice to stop and admire things like this. A boat made of rattan by hand, it only has on paddle and requires a bit of skill to row.

The final climb into the city was uneasy as i neared peak hour and traffic just went from zero to insane. Luckily I found the hostel by chance, I totally needed a nap. As I entered my room there 1 guy and 2 girls in bikinis. Well hello ladies, but I need to sleep.

When I woke up, the ladies were gone and it was time for dinner: At a restaurant called "Good Morning Vietnam" (A title of a movie starring the late Robbie Williams)

By chance? A cycling poster!

Some beer for a good night's rest. And I swear, by till today, this is the best pizza I have had.

A quick stop by the beach to check it out, nothing fantastic... I guess it's better in the day.

While sleeping at night, I heard the ladies stumble and shout something about getting a medical kit, I was too tired, when I woke up I saw blood stains on the floor which was pretty disturbing... I guess they were drunk and cut themselves accidentally. I suppose their routine was to party and drink at night and sleep in the day. Man.. I do not like touristy Nha Trang. Till my next post.

Distance today: 122km
Distance to date: 761km
No. of punctures to date: 1

beauty. bikes

2014-03-09T09:00:00.000+08:00

A long overdue share, check her out!

We went cycling together with friends to New Zealand, Queenstown and I discovered she blogs too! Pretty fantastic pictures there! More on New Zealand if I ever get the time!

Find her at:

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/joannakohmakeup

Instagram: @beautynthebikes

Email: jo (at) joannakoh.com or info (at) indigoartisans.com in intsa @

Rant, Driver ridicle

2014-02-23T09:00:00.000+08:00

I guess I have not being ridiculed by a driver before, guess there is always a first time. What happened, to cut all the damn details out: I was cycling on the pavement heading to a T-junction, at the T-junction I go out onto the road making a left and get honked at by a car. Unsatisfied, the car revved up and threatened to hit me from the rear. I decided to take the lane and immediately regretted my decision as I remembered watching the below video: So I kept left, only to be greeted by vulgarities from the passenger, it was a red light so the driver stopped at the filter lane. And continued to ridicule me. I only remembered:

"Are you trying to kill yourself?"
"Are you trying to kill me?", was the only thing i replied. Somehow I remember smiling and wondering what the hell is wrong with this world.
"You do not know the traffic rules, you are not supposed to overtake on the left." Which didn't help cause the traffic junction was crowded, and so I was wrong and life goes on.

Oh yeah, and there was a fellow cyclist in front of me watching the show. Camaraderie.

THE BEST BICYCLE VIDEO 2013!!

2013-12-10T21:39:00.002+08:00

Kicker scooters 2

2013-11-24T09:30:00.000+08:00

Goped Kicker

This is one of my top choices, it a tad lighter then the Razor A5. A better looker and the fact that you can sling it on your shoulder is definitely a huge plus. Made in the USA.
Pros:
- I like the wooden deck, "lefty" fork, the brand
Cons:
- If you are taller than 1.8m too bad for you, 150mm wheels could have been 200mm.

OXELO Town 7 EF Scooter

Just watch the video! Have not tried it personally though.

Pros:

-Trolley mode, 1sec fold time, built in stand, lockable, looks futuristic too.

Micro Black/White

I have heard this is more comfortable due to it's Flex design, but the price is just too much.

Willing to lend me your scooter for a proper review? Drop me a line: starringme at g mail

On bike video recorder...

2013-11-10T09:00:00.000+08:00

When a game has a little too much budget...

2013-09-17T20:56:00.000+08:00

My Trail bike cannot possibly do this!

2013-09-15T17:54:00.000+08:00

Aluboo

2013-07-06T07:00:00.000+08:00

Vietnam Tour: Day 7 (27th Aug) Tuy Hoa to Da Dia Rocks (Rapid slabs)

2013-06-01T07:00:00.000+08:00

Woke up early at about 5.15am, but by the time I got ready to ride I had missed the Sunrise... I somehow remember something about the sunrise here being especially beautiful. I had also originally wanted to catch the Sunrise at Hoi An but a pity I missed that too.

I freeloaded more drinking water from the reception and proceeded on my way towards the seeming mysterious part of the city.

Anyway, I rode according to the instructions by Valkyrie and soon entered the smaller rodes, immediately greeted by lush rice fields that were on both sides of the road. Quite a different feeling when riding on the large highway.

Although only about 35km to the place, it was ridiculously hilly, steep climbs and steep descent. It was not fun at all. Surprisingly I passed many people pushing their bikes on the inclines, almost all single speed lady bikes. I mean might as well walk or get a mountain bike in such terrain! But i guess getting one must be difficult.

Just almost there I saw a detour, a small track at the beach where many rock formations were. Thinking that was the place I went to investigate, locking my bike to a cactus. I was climbing rocks to get a better viewpoint and just around a really huge rock, I saw the other side! A lighthouse!

The rocky landscape was somehow serene. It was around noon and it was getting hot. I locked my bike to a cactus, and walked to the lighthouse. I read somewhere that some people camp here at night just to watch the sunrise from the lighthouse. Anyway, the view was good and there was no one around. I took out my baguette and enjoyed my it in the little shade that the shadow of the lighthouse provided. It was so calming and the sea breeze just made the experience so good. I stayed there longer then I anticipated.

Looks like a nice place for Mountain biking!

If you can see there's a rectangular rock wedged in between the two. Cool!

I look back at the lighthouse, finding it difficult to leave. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

After a ridiculously long 35km in, I arrived at my destination. Shrugging off a lady asking me to go into her shade and get some drinks (Although extremely tempting). Look at those hexagonal rocks!

Flowers on a cactus!

Wow wow wow, I was just in awe at the rock formations.

It seems, even with lots of erosion the general shape of the rocks are still there.

Even the staircases down to the rocks were hexagonal, look ride-able downhill.

How is that so neat? Yet naturally formed?

This place is seriously amazing, and the only reason I know this place existed? Through the domestic flight's magazine! If I had not took it out, I would have missed this place altogether!

Ok, So legend has that a Giant of some sorts wanted to make a bridge to I don't know where but he died before finishing. Can't find the story on the net so, I will just leave it as that.

Further research says what's on the surface is only half of the formations, the other half is underwater! I would be nice to have snorkeling equipment!

Looks like some locals fished up some starfish and left them to die :(

Have you seen the cicular boats before? They are made by hand, are paddle by one oar to get to their fishing boats.

Caterpillar-like flowers by the roadside.

I locked my bike there, i went down to enjoy the Rapid slabs

It was quite a experience to be riding on a golden carpet! My guess is the tarmac heats up faster and thus dries the rice? much quicker! It also makes for the ride extra hard...

As I was heading back, a school was just dismissed and as I passed them most wanted to race/keep up with me. I tried taking a picture of their contagious smiles but he was quick to turn away! I was physically tired already, but they gave me extra strength! Still, headwinds was so bad I was at single digit speeds. Slow and painful.

After a really slow ride back, it's time to relax at the beach!

Lots of beach!

I kept dinner simple, and slowly enjoyed of the soup. Went back to the hotel and caught up on youtube subscriptions (decent wifi, but still had to wait for videos to load!)

Distance today: 76km of steep short hills!
Distance to date: 639km

Statistics

2013-05-04T09:30:00.000+08:00

Studies have shown 20% of drivers miss cyclists.

Sounds about right, when i decided to use my camera for my commute for Prata. So everyday, we have a 20% of being in danger, ride defensively. In the video, it seems a tad close, but I was prepared to e-brake so it's fine. Have reported it to the police.

Vietnam Tour: Day 6 (26th Aug) Quy Nhon to Tuy Hoa

2013-03-30T09:30:00.000+08:00

Woke up, relatively early packed up my stuff and headed down to the reception. All staff was still sleeping and felt a little guilty waking them up to allow me to check out.

Commonly known as a moped, affectionately known as the Mobylette. No longer in production, i believe it is rare! Petrol powered bicycle anyone?

The guy was nice enough to wait for me to strap up my bag and lead me out onto the street, where I filled my bottles in the day light (the curtains made it impossible to see inside).

Immediately on my way to the next town was the climb out of current town, it was long but cooling. A couple of local roadies was going downhill and shared eye contact that mostly likely meant respect, respect that the climb was no walk in the park. After longer than I wanted, came the first down hill. And I was greeted by a lush hill...

Some climbs were pretty bad... The only consolation were the coastal views and eventual downhills after the climbs. During one of the climbs, a full sized bus blown it's tire right in front of me. It made me do a unintentional bunny hop (just kidding) from the deafening boom as smoke erupted from the wheels and escalated my heartbeat quickly. I took a few seconds to calm down and carried on riding (no one was hurt, and the bus continued driving after the driver came down to check). Think a stretched Mandai with a more uphill nature and amplify it. A really meandering road, going up and down and around the hills, many times the road would go inland and then out again to the shore:

Oceanic views

Lovely place to take a break, rock faces and small islands galore.

As quickly as the downhills disappeared a insanely long a straight road was ahead. I must have spent more than an hour on this road. Dead straight... A peloton of roadies actually came from the opposite direction, with the slight headwind I wished I was riding in a peloton too. The company would have been great too!

The views are sometimes surreal, and I was still on the wicked long straight road! Who knows such views were ahead?

Reaching the base of the hills, a tiny settlement by the river.

The children on the extreme right had just broke their bicycle chain... I had no chain breaker and couldn't help them out. Still, it was funny that they tried to continue pedaling!

I stopped to apply sunblock, and this road marker, 1270 km to HCMC!

My first real break was at the 70km mark, it was good progress and the setting off early thing really paid off.

As a toured, my main form of navigation came from my iphone 4's GPS. I came to a crossroad, continue on the road:

Oh gosh, not another climb!

Climb the hill or a bridge made of sticks.

Here goes nothing! Live for adventure! (Start of bridge) Btw, there is a toll. Be careful, they will try to charge you double.

And it ends off in sand! The bridge was extremely uneven, but luckily for my huge 2.0 ties at a comfy psi. It was alright.

Just at the end of the bridge was a man made pool, the locals were inside using a net to harvest some fresh prawns!

Looks like I'm off the beaten track! I just went with my gut as there were no signs and 101 junctions, I eventually turned on my GPS and followed it from there. Some of the younger resident saw me and laughed. No idea why.

It was quite tiring to be riding on the trails, but it was welcomed break from the horn blaring roads. Great to see the slow pace of life there and the many faces I rode past. I got some biscuits from a mini shop and continued on my way until finally I reach smooth tarmac:

I like this shot. Originally meant to mark relief at riding on tarmac again... As I took the shot I was overtaken by this lady, and the result is just magical

Thought of riding across this thingy across the river, there was no reason to. haha

It was really hot, but hey since I brought the tripod might as well use it for a cool self riding shot. Should have taken more of these.

Chicken rice for lunch! The chilli was sweet, good fuel this was.

Another climb, a whole new view!

As I was nearing town, a large building stood out at the crest of a hill. I would have loved to give it a visit. But the gates were closed. It looked to be a run down factory of sorts.

As I finally reached the peak, a quick rest and a look back on the long straight climb as a pat on the back.

Just before I set off downhill I noticed a hitch hiker.

What a bugger, but i let it get the free ride. Riding solo, has it's pitfalls.

Once in town, I visited 3 hotels asking for the cheapest room and spent a considerable amount of time thinking if I should rent a motorbike and visit a nearby attraction. I researched on my phone, using the hotel's wifi and found a must-visit restaurant on trip advisor. And it also lets offer a motorbike rental service, so why not?

It wasn't difficult to find as it was marked on the map, as I entered the restaurant... A guy eating and drinking vodka greeted me and asked me to take a sit. He was quite clearly wasted but I figure what the hell, the reviews were quite amazing. There were only two tables set up, I just sat around waiting... Until eventually a guy came out from the back door and told me that he might not have any more food left and that he would be closed tonight. He checked and told me only pizzas left.

Good for me!

As I was waiting for the pizza to cook, the must have drink was good:

Good stuff.

Called Bob's cafe he adviced me on ghan da dia, but was told the sky was going to get dark quick and night riding is really unsafe. Valkyrie a Russian (the guy who was wasted) who has been in Vietnam for 4 years works as a tour guide, offered me 1/3 full vodka shot, while I was eating the duo gave me some history from the Vietnam war. Bob's sidearm was a rifle with it's barrel cut down (Smaller was easier and if the enemy fired they could just spray, no need for accuracy since they can't see the enemy anyway) and his stint in the navy, and got his book too.

He shared quite a plenty of stories with me, in his shop. There is a wedding photo of him and his Vietnamese wife, he joked about when they brought her back to his home. He couldn't recognize her from the lack of makeup. But she has an extremely kind heart, and the proceeds from his book are channeled into improving the lives of the locals and charity work. The Russian also talked about his life as a military pilot and how i looked like a local, many a times conversing with me in Vietnamese. He also confessed he loved the place for it's sights and told me roughly how to get there. It was just the 3 of us, and finally being able to speak English to another person probably kept me sane. I must have spent some 2-3hours there, just absorbing the stories and just enjoyed myself.

His book was good (by the way you can have it for a donation of any amount), I read it during my rest days and made me realize how rare a person like him was. To the River Rats, I salute you!

Distance covered today: 110km
To date: 563km

Reality... Aftermath of...

2013-01-16T20:46:00.001+08:00

I went to the very spot where a minute of silence was given. It was extremely close to heart... Because I was cycling that very morning, on that very piece of road. To the family, my deepest condonlences.

Delivery driver, Kong Shyh Pyng, was jailed for three weeks and banned from driving for four years after dozing off at the wheel of his Class 3 lorry and eventually striking and running over a cyclist - killing him on the spot. Though the 39-year old driver had covered over eight pairs of speed regulating strips over the speed limit of 70km/h, he only awoke minutes after hitting 25-year old, Mr Jude Alphonsus Tan Wei Xiong, in an accident that occurred on May 26th 2012.

Another delivery driver who was commuting in the opposite direction of Changi Coast Road, a famous spot for cyclists, witnessed Kong's lorry deviate to the left, mount a kerb and return onto the road before striking into the rear of Mr Tan - who got flung onto the centre right portion of the left lane before getting run over by the Class 3 lorry of Kong. Mr Tan died instantly.

Kong stopped around 400m from the accident scene and according to The Straits Times; Mr Kong only woke up after hearing a loud noise while travelling over the speed regulating strips. Kong could have faced a harsher sentence of jail for up to two years and/or fined for causing death by negligence.

Source

At least I'm seeing more cyclists actually on the road, popularity is in no doubt soaring. Which means motorist see more cyclist, expect them on the road and thus roads become safer. Ride safe.