Plentong Epic : Race Review by Hong Taa

  Having my first ever ‘Endo’ during my first ever mountain bike event is definitely an experience I’ll never forget. Plentong Epic Ride 2011 would definitely be a ride that I’ll never forget, especially when there are so many scars now to remind me. But if there’s one thing that I have to comment about the entire ride first, would definitely be that I had a hell of an enjoyable time during those 4hrs worth of riding that morning.
   The day began early at 5.30am, meeting up with the other riders from NTU Cycling Team before riding across the causeway together. After 18km of comfortable riding, with a stop at MacDonald’s for breakfast, we finally reached the event ground at Plentong, and it was definitely a sight that WOW us deeply as we’ve never seen so many mountain bikers gather in one location before. So many different kinds of bikes, riders, jerseys and people with different backgrounds and experiences to learn from. The most shocking sight was seeing a whole bunch of riders waiting at the starting line one hour before the flag off man. The entire atmosphere at the event ground was just outstanding! Different biking booths everywhere, racers from different countries mingling and checking out each other’s bikes and there was even free lube service provided!
   The flag off started right on time, although we were quite displeased because the late comers started in front of the starting line instead, making us somewhere near the back of the entire group instead when we rode off. During the entire time riding, it’s really a joy to see so many riders of different age and nationality riding together, all with a common goal of completing it. Everybody was so happy and accommodating, giving way to riders at times and waiting for their turns. Even though there were multiple river crossings which created many long queues just to cross them, the riders continued to sing songs and entertain each other, making the spirit of the ride really positive and happy! This is definitely something which you’ll seldom see while riding in Singapore man.
   The ride up to the first checkpoint was definitely the worst I must say. First time seeing so much mud pools, cross so many muddy rivers and having to squeeze alongside other riders till the point everybody’s tyre were rubbing against each other. But it was really an experience during the first 21km to see how different the routes were compared to what we have in Singapore. The climbs were longer, downhill were longer and less technical at times compared to those in Bukit Timah biking trail, and the scenery was just breathtaking. The first checkpoint despite being placed so far was just nice to refill our bottles and electrolytes supplements with their unlimited 100Plus and bananas. One service that I felt was really great in their checkpoints was their lubricating services. The volunteers at the checkpoints were all very enthusiastic and helpful, non-stop offering more food and drinks and running around to lube our chains.
   Despite having my first ever Endo after first checkpoint, and many other crashes subsequently, the beauty of the trail and the kindness of the people there really fueled me to continue till the end despite thinking of giving up at checkpoint 3 as I was really riding alone at that point of time. The trail was really muddy and many portions of the route though, so it’ll be better to get a bigger tyre with more side grooves if you’re planning to ride safer in future. Finishing with many scratches all over my body, it really was a sense of relief to finish my first ever off-road race in my life. Plentong ride would definitely be something that I’ll look forward to in years to come if they continue to organize it!