I mountain bike on an island with no mountains, and I'm proud!

What inspired me to design this Bukit Biker T-shirt? Well, I was thinking to myself, "hey, there are zilch mountains in Singapore (with the tallest hill being all of 164 metres high), yet some of us Singaporean "bukit bikers" managed to keep up, and even do pretty well, in the epic PCC and Penang rides, and even in mountaineous regions in Himachal Pradesh in India or Sabah".

The tallest hill is none other than our famous Bukit Timah Hill, which we're not even allowed to ride up because it poses a danger to hikers if we should slip and fall!

Anyway, the word "Bukit" (meaning "hill" in Malay) came to mind, and it just so happened that the major mountain biking trails we have in Singapore had the same initials as BUKIT, with the exception of the "I". B = Bukit Timah, U = Ubin, K = Kent Ridge and T = Tampines! What a coincidence?

This image of one of the alcoholic anonymous meetings came to mind where you'd hear the victims say, "Hi, I'm Jane. And I'm an alcoholic."...So why not, "hi, I'm Ling, and I'm a mountain biker who lives in an island with no mountains." I mean, how does one "mountain" bike in an island with none of those huge knolly things?

Anyway, I think that Max and Huimin from DirTraction have really done so much to increase / improve the mountain biking trails in Singapore! And a whole bunch of other DirT folks like Nik, Peiling, Jason, William, Ming etc. who helped out from time to time with the coolie work. And of course, not forgetting NParks, their trail contractors and especially the banglas who toil day and night to make the trails a better place! Oh, and not forgetting Joey Klein's tutelage on how to create sweet and flowy trails. IMBA rocks!

Of course it goes without saying that creating a flowy trail is loads of hard work! Wished I could have done more to help, but alas, a desk job does not leave a lot of time during the weekdays, and weekends are all that I can offer. Anyway, check out the blood, sweat and tears that goes into constructing a new trail : http://kentridge.eaglet.org/

There are so many good reviews of Ubin, Kent Ridge and Tampines, it's unbelievable that even some Malaysians (who are spoilt for choice back home where trails are concerned) would come all the way down to Singapore to ride our trails! Makes me feel really proud of what they have done to make Singapore a better place to ride in! :)

Check out some of these reviews of our trails :

Fakawitribe's Singapore Lampoon Road Trip (they were headed towards Tampines for the Bike Asia 100 MTB race, but ended up in Ubin instead!)

Kenneth Koh's Blog Review of the Ketam Bike Trail in Ubin

Here's a little something about how the Tampines MTB Trail came about (extracted from the DirTraction Bike Asia 100 Handbook) :-

The original Tampines Mountain Bike Track was an approx 3-km long gravel track with slight undulation. It was the flattest beginner mountain biking track and the fastest off-road racing venue Singapore had to offer.

In 2006, DirTraction worked hand-in-hand with Peter Cheng and RMC Pte Ltd, the contractors at the Tampines trail, to create an additional 4km of off-road trail extension. A man-made, “teletubby-like” knoll was created on top of a flat piece of land, and a winding, multiple- switchback singletrack was carved out of that hill. A short jungle section allowed for some cool relief from the majority open-field course, followed by a long straight dirt track. Plans were underway for the creation of a 4-cross track.

In 2007, DirTraction and RMC got their hands dirty again in the construction of yet another 3 km of off-road trail. A sister knoll was added with more signature short climbs and downslopes, s-curves and long switchbacks that pattern the hill slopes. Certain sections of the mud-thirsty jungle sections are now elevated on northshore-style platforms, while certain branching grassy paths were created along the gravel track, some parts even skirting around a picturesque pond.

In April 2008, a refreshing new 10-km Tampines mountain bike track was born, although parts are still slightly raw on the edges. With pet names like Horizon Hill, Banana Berm, Ziggurat, Descender, Moonscape Climb, The Ridge, Kidney Stone, Pond Curve, Wooded Wonder-The Shore, Breakwater Flat and Monster Mud Madness, DirTraction can only wish all Bike Asia 100 participants happy thoughts when you’re taking on this new challenging 10-km trail!

As part of our continuing education on trail building, Max, Huimin and I are heading down for the IMBA World Summit 2008 held in Utah in June....and Chi is tagging along for the epic rides! Am sure it would be fun to meet Joey Klein once again and the rest of the IMBA crew!!!

If you're interested in gettin' one of 'em Bukit Biker drifit shirts, DirTraction is selling them in the DirTShop. Wear 'em, and wear 'em proudly!