Riding on Christmas Eve

Sunrise and cycling are two of my most absolute favorite things. Combining them gives sunrise hunting, and to be honest it's something I've been wanting to do for quite some time.

But then life happens and the plans are shelved. Until Christmas Eve. 

1600 Left NTU, heading for Pasir Ris, but...

1730 Took a detour and ended up at... Serangoon for dinner. KFC @ nex, $10 voucher for a $9.90 meal sounded really good.

1920 Finally arrived at Pasir Ris, where the planning really started. Supplies ready, routes finalised - do a Pasir Ris - Changi Beach - East Coast stretch, sunrise hunting at East Coast at 0705, then an East Coast - Siglap - Tampines - Pasir Ris stretch for bike return!

2010 Let the ride begin!

Initial aim was to reach CBP by 2045, because somebody decided it's a good time to ask me to post stuff at 2100. 

2045. Sorry for the snapchat caption

2130 After I was done posting (and wishing the requester a merry merry Christmas), I rode on to CBP, where a clear sky and blurry phone cam made a .98 moon look like a full moon.

2230 Reached ECP. Nothing much happened so far. Gave myself plenty of breaks, replenished the supplies lost. Plenty of time left before sunrise (duh) so I figured maybe it's a good time to explore the areas of the park I'd yet to visit, particularly that elusive Area A.

This was where the fun started.

2345 Reached Gardens by the Bay.

I ran this route previously for Sundown, 2XU and Standard Chartered; by the end of ECP there would be a left turn to a wide open Fort Rd and the end of that stretch would certainly lead to Gardens. I just didn't know that there's a direct cycling route. From Area A.

0000 Wished everyone a merry Christmas, from Gardens by the Bay!

And just what's so good about Gardens these days? Christmas Wonderland!

0025 I swear this handphone camera was not doing this scene justice

0045 Reached Marina Bay Sands. I swear I was probably the only person who's both on a bike 'and not drunk

0130 Returned to ECP. The hunt for interesting stuff to do began, as the people to keep me occupied for the past hour or so slowly fell asleep one by one

0200 Realised there's nothing much to do. Fatigue started to set in, and the hunt for a place to rest began.

0315 Let's just say I found myself a decent shelter.

0500 Let's just say I was fully awake.

0630 Now I could say I was fully awake. And I made the most important discovery of the day: it's okay to return my bike at ECP instead of slowly cycling back to Pasir Ris. And the place to do just that was not too far away from my intended sunrise hunting spot.

Enter Bedok Jetty.

0637 Let the hunt begin!

0641 A wild airplane appeared. Could only confirm later it was SIA, so welcome home buddy

0648 Making progress

0659 Another SIA to welcome home

0712 Looking good... pardon the angler

0713 The Final One. #nofilter

0730 Returned the bike, crossed ECP to the familiar sight of Marine Parade.
0845 Got back to JP, entered KFC for a quick breakfast. $5 voucher for a $4.90 breakfast sounded really good.

To top it all off.

Pardon the grammar, seems like everything right this season ought to start with ho ho ho.

So to sum up:
Distance covered: (let me take a ruler and calculate first)
Supplies: a box of 6 energy bars, 3 x 500ml bottles of drinks, and $15 of KFC vouchers (thank you Phonathon)
Total cost: all the above + $16 for overnight bike rental ~ $26
Definitely worth it.

Merry Christmas everyone. Looking at the photos I've taken, I think I know what to hunt next.