~ The beauty of nature lies in its imperfections ~

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Photo show at Eden

Last Saturday, about 40 friends joined us at Eden Sanctuary cafe, as we presented our photos from Enduro Africa.

It was a nice cool evening spent under the lush greenery.... with African music & pictures. Some loved the setting & food so much they brought family & friends back to the cafe the next day :)

Thanks everyone! We hoped you've enjoyed it as much as we did!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Channel NewsAsia

Yesterday afternoon, we had a film crew from CNA drop by to our place to talk about Enduro Africa.

With a thunderstorm coming down just before they arrived, it dashed the hopes of catching us on our bikes. But it was a nice chat about what it's like to bike as a couple.

It got us reminiscing about our past :)

Catch it on CNA 9.30am - 28th Nov. That's next Friday. Repeats during the weekend too.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

YoYoYoYo! Let's get this party started!

Come join us at Eden Sanctuary Cafe, 44 Rochester Park for our show & tell session!
Date : 22 November, presentation begins at 6pm onwards.

To ensure we have ample seating, please indicate your attendance with yuseung@gmail.com or rosalind14@gmail.com.

Friday, October 31, 2008

On air!


This morning, we had the privilege of being invited to be on air on The Living Room 938 Live with Stanley and Pamela. Both great hosts, we had a wonderful time chatting about the trip and even managed to put in a short spiel about the wonderful sponsors we found within the Singapore community!

Repeat broadcast will be tonight from 11pm till midnight.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Done & Dusted

18 strangers brought together by a common cause. Here we were, the Orange Team at the end of the 2000km enduro, not just any ordinary tour, but one with bumps & bruises. Temporary scars but permanent friendships.

The journey wouldn't have been possible without the helping hands of fellow team members, stepping forward to help the other fallen biker through the ruts, rivers & ravines. It wasn't about getting to the end first by yourself, but more to get the whole team to the endpoint safely.

On our final dinner together, contacts where exchanged, momentos signed & a plan to meet up again soon.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Muddy Cakes!

25 Oct - Mansfield Game Reserve to Port Elizabeth

200km day. We rode out of Mansfield going through gravelly roads & some good tarmac. Lunch was at Schotia Game Reserve, where we went for a 4x4 ride through to see the animals. Warthog stew was served during lunch.

The last leg of the day was a police escorted convoy of all the teams into Port Elizabeth. We were expecting an uneventful highway ride when we were let to turn off a final off road section! A surprise planned by the organisers to let us all have a go at the sandy motorcross trail. All hell broke loose. There was so much sliding & wheel spins amidst the jumps ... All agreed it was the sting in the tail for this event. Ros managed to do a few jumps & was getting the hang of it with a big smile when she misjudged a landing & fell hard on on the side just a short distance from the end point.


With that section cleared & sand in our boots, we got to the final hotel for our stay. The night of celebration & final pictures with the friends that we've all made in the last gruelling week together.

24 Oct - Katberg Inn to Mansfield Game Reserve

260km today. Climbed a mountain pass outside the hotel, ascending a rock strewn jeep track, with loose cabbage sized rocks causing the bike to bounce violently. On the descent, the trail reminds of Camerons backroad. Riding was almost at max speed of the bike, sun shining but wind chill sufficient for everyone to put on raincoats. Even the Dainese D-Dry was zipped up to the top and that was barely enough. A free lunch at Grahamstown KFC as the manager thought the British royals were with the orange team!

After lunch, Red team attempted to filter thru our group and Seung stuck onto the tail of Prince William. Turns out he is an excellent rider, Seung having to use the mountain bike racing skills and max revs a couple gears to keep up. At the end of the 10 minutes, we came to the regroup point and William was looking thrilled for the ride. He was also suitably impressed by the speed at which the Johnson girls were riding at. Descending the roads, Kirsty had a spill just minutes from the resort... Evening at Mansfield private reserve, on an open air platform in 12 degrees temp with 10 other people in double deck beds.


During dinner, made it a point to have a short chat with William, just talking about bikes and riding in our respective countries. Turns out he owns a Ducati 1098 and rides in the UK with just two body guards in tow. "i'm not like the President of America with 1000 body guards.", he said matter of factly and with a regal smile.

23 Oct - Morgans Bay to Katberg Inn

290km on a scrambler on country roads! Leave Morgan Bay in the morning, cross country riding on 30km of super muddy jeep tracks. What a waste of freshly laundered riding gear.


Stopped by The Internal Combustion Museum. This place showcases various i/c engines, especially a single cylinder diesel engine with displacement of 27 litres! Then we headed to Thomas River historical village for lunch. At this place, there was also a small museum of antique cars & vans. Unlike anything we've seen. The day rolled on and Seung managed to try out Eddie's CRF250. So much more power, lighter, longer suspension! Ironically it would be less tiring to ride that bike. Last 1 hour to the Katberg nature reservce was a bad combination of sun in our eyes and dust plumes in glowing orange. Ros went too fast in a left corner, headed into the bushes instead.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

More riding

22 Oct - Morgan Bay
Non riding day today at Morgan Bay. Bikes all got serviced with new oil, cleaned up air filter & lubed chains. The group visited a creche & painted their walls, donated mattresses, blankets, colouring books & made a huge swing for the kids! Mid day was a charity soccer match....Prince Harry & William also on the field with the boys. The final score was 6-2 with the local team trashing the tired bikers. Mike Glover from Red Cherry Adventures donated 10,000 Rand per goal.

21 Oct - Mazeppa Bay Hotel to Morgan Bay
only the low road option is offered today, but it was planned to be a short day. so we did a beautiful day in the saddle! Blue skies, scattering on white clouds and a trail that wound it's way from hill crest to valleys with occasional shallow streams to cross.

20 Oct - Hole In The Wall to Mazeppa Bay Hotel
Seung was now nursing some facial scars & a swollen palm. Ros also wanted a easy day as she was having aches in her arms & shoulders. So we both chose the high road option. Turned out to be an excellent choice and we travelled 150km on country tracks.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Full day on the bike

19 Oct - Mbotyi River Lodge to Hole In The Wall
The day starts off with two groups being formed, the high road & the low road.
Ros, arms still sore from yesterday's hard ride, went for the high road. The group rode through scenic tarmac road, with long sweeping curves. Smooth debris-less road felt like such luxury! And time to take pics too.

For the morning low road, Seung went thru single track in the forest, while having more chances to try out stream crossings and managing to simply ride to the crest of any nearby hill. There was a forest section with tight single track climb, culminating in shallow plateau.

We converged for lunch & continued the day together on the technical route. Then the drama....
Having made his way successfully up steep rocky steps, Seung was so relieved, got off the bike & took off his helmet to help the rest of the riders up, only to step forward & miss his footing falling flat on his face! Battle scars now marked. ;(

News spread fast & Seung was nominated as "spirit of the day" award. All 90 riders heard of his infamous story...


18 Oct - Durban to Mbotyi River Lodge
7am breakfast, 8am ride off! After 5km of tarmac section, we head straight into off road with river crossings, steep downhills, off camber traverse on grassy slopes. At times we felt like kids riding thru a monster sized playground with no rules! Choose where u want to go and just whack! Somemore got spare bike by the organiser.


Then came the tough bit! We were made to ride up a 30% incline that was strewn with cabbage sized rocks. Ros fell three times while i fell once... All falls were at low speed, so we flopped harmlessly onto the thick grass, while fellow bikers came to rescue. Followed by a whole afternoon of roaming the rolling hills with grassy plains, horses, cows, and villagers strewn all over the slopes. What do they do for a living? Lining the tracks were scatterings of villagers and the kids waving hello. Where were the adults? Surreal... We ended by a scenic stop at Magwa Gorge and spent the night at Mboyti River Lodge .

Friday, October 17, 2008

Johannesburg & Durban

17 Oct - Johannesburg to Durban
Made it to the airport on time! Hook up with the rest of Enduro Africa group of guys, turns out we are definitely the only two Asians in the group! we are also in the Orange group and Ros quickly makes friends with three British sisters. All of them are signed up on this ride because their dad is also doing it!

16 Oct
We do a day tour of J'burg, Soweto, Pretoria and take in some sights.

15 Oct
We touchdown in Johannesburg & the hotel that we originally booked is FULL!
So they organised for us to stay at a nearby b&b Thyssen House, run by Johan & Myra...

Monday, October 13, 2008

SMSA - not just for the elitists !!!

Running the Enduro Africa project has shown us there are more good Singaporeans out there. And perhaps we are truly on the way to becoming a gracious society in a First World economy...

Discussions with the Singapore Motor Sport Association have confirmed that we are eligible for support from the Association as we are (1) taking part in a motorsport event, (2) representing Singapore. Thus, negotiations have resulted in their agreement to assist us with the airfare for Enduro Africa.

We are planning to put their sponsorship into the cash sum being paid towards Enduro Africa, thereby ensuring their contribution gets the maximum mileage.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Sponsorship from SASOL

Another piece of good news!

Sasol - a global brand for chemicals & fuels, has kindly sponsored our petrol expenses in South Africa. Incidently, they're a South African company but has an office in Singapore!

Looks like SA & S'pore are linked in more ways than one. :)

WOW! We might get to meet Royalty!

News has it that Princes William & Harry will be going for Enduro Africa too!!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/theroyalfamily/3160737/Royal-Princes-William-and-Harry-to-take-part-in-Enduro-Africa-motorcycle-rally.html

I'm speechless.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Goggles... by Smith

So... here's a little intro for non-bikers.

Motocross or scrambler riders have a specific type of helmet that give them that look. Pointy chin guard & an obvious peak on top of the helmet + aggressive graphics.

And motocross helmets don't have visors like normal helmets cos the dust & dirt just get thrown up in the trails & visors can't keep all the dust off your eyes. So in place of visors, there're goggles. Strapped firmly on your face so that there's little chance of dust blinding you.


Testing our these Smith goggles for the first time, they were very comfy & moulded well to our faces. Best part was, Jameson, the importer was happy to sponsor them for our ride!


Mine in fuschia :)

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

One week to go. Kit list - check.

Surreal as it feels, next week this time, we will be in the plane flying to Johannesburg. Our flight is at 2.20am on 15th Oct, so we need to get to T2 by midnight on 14th.

Packing for a trip has not been this complicated before. The organiser's kit list printed out & pinned up. We scan it thoroughly to make sure we have everything.

Helmet
Goggles (need to get!)
Upper Body Armour (need to borrow!)
Jacket
Elbow Protection
Protective Trousers
Knee Protection
Enduro boots
Gloves 2 pairs
Hydration Pack
Emergency rations/energy bars
Waterproof oversuit
Money (duh??)
First aid kit
scarf/bandana
towel
sleeping bag & roll mat -- confirm got camping
swimming kit
ear plugs
sunglasses
torch
sunblock
fleece
trainers/sandals
casual trousers
toiletries bag
mosquito repellent & mosquito net
magnetic map carrier

Personal list:
Canon G9 - lots of pics!
Nokia N82 - more pics!
Nokia E90 communicator - to blog on the move
SD memory cards
Malaria medication
Air eTicket
Copy of insurance papers

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

An excellent gentleman

Last night, we met the most excellent gentleman with his head firmly screwed on his shoulders. He is none other than CK Lim, the humble & down to earth guy behind the KBC helmets in Singapore.

He had airflown in two pieces of KBC Motorcross helmets for us, just to meet the deadline for Enduro Africa. In the bag were a pair of blue/silver helmets, 100% matching the Dainese jackets that we had received earlier.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

The Old and the New

Deja Vu and it's all about coming one full circle.

This weekend we went for a day ride to Mersing town in Johor, just for a saddletime and wanting to get away from it all. And that was when the old and the new came together.

And it came together on three levels!
In 1997, we went to Mersing with our riding buddies, people like Bryan, Francis, Terence & Vincent. We would frequent the conveniently located Restaurant Ee Lo, located at one of the two circuses in town. Today, we went there with new friends like John, Donny & Roger. and we went to the newly renovated Ee Lo, in the same familiar location!

The old and the new also came in the form of riding Aron's former CBR600F4, now serving us faithfully since the last three years. The F4 was doggedly pursued by Roger's F4, Donny's 15 year old Zephyr 750 and John on the spanking new Guzzi Griso 1100. Bringing up the rear was the heavyweight GSX1200 Inazuma ridden by Ros. The Griso and the Inazuma are also interesting bikes as they are modern takes on the old air-cooled engine concept.

So, it was a fantastic day, old friends in a new location on a couple of retro bikes!


Thursday, September 18, 2008

Dainese - Riding Gear for Safety!

It's been a couple of months in the discussion, and finally Peter from JR Pte Ltd had come into the support for Enduro Africa! They have gladly given us Dainese riding apparels for the trip and being bikers, we had a good chat about biking and how to make it a lifelong passion!

Apart from the legendary Dainese safety armour built into the jacket's shoulders and elbows, each jacket also features D-Dry fabric and thermal liners for riding in 15-20 degree weather! (D-Dry keeps you dry while keeping the rain outside!)

Peter owns a limited edition R1 with Ohlins & Marchesini goodies! A FAR cry from the 10 year old CBR600 that we have!!! So now you know WHO'S THE DADDY!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

The Camera!


Well, it's been some time since we got the Canon G9. We picked it simply because it was one of the few pro-sumer cameras with kick ass image quality, combined with hard core build quality in the form of the aluminum body & housing.

Looking back at the photos in the sections below, many of our friends had commented on the excellent sharpness and vibrant colors! Even was able to take the night shots of the F650GS when tripod mounted :)

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong9/
Anyone want to buy a used SLR? heh heh heh...

Friday, September 05, 2008

Vaccinations Vaccinations Vaccinations

6 weeks to go before Enduro Africa.

Last bits of stuff to do, includes our travel vaccinations before we head to South Africa. Visited Tan Tock Seng hospital for that last week & was given a menu of jabs :

Typhoid
Tetanus
Influenza
Hepatitus A & B
Cholera
Polio (oral)

Got to get our Malaria tablets to take before the trip too. :(

Monday, September 01, 2008

Whirlwind Weekend!

How does it happen? That Singaporeans could have 4 biking events over the same weekend???

SHEriders preview of BMWF650GS & F800GS
Long time friend Kelly Ho invited us to join the SHEriders for the preview of the latest BMWF650GS. This bike is using the newest engine design from BMW, able to produce 71hp to 90hp, depending on the state of tune. It probably also sets the record for the best hp : fuel economy ratio, with an amazing 25 - 30km per litre economy!


Harley-Davidson 105th Aniversary at Singapore Flyer
Rosalind helped out at this event, manning the event booth, while Seung spent the evening catching up with old friends like Kin, Ju Len & Rod over scrumptious burger & dogs supplied by the good folk of HD!

Krankin @ Kent Ridge
Reprising his old role of biking & emceeing, Seung spent a good part of Sunday at our premier mountain biking event in Singapore! Besides being the announcer at this event, he also took part in Men's Senior A category and came in 6th position in the race :) a good mountain bike race is always useful in feeling young again! Adding to the good old feeling was meeting old friend Ng Mong Heng (aka Ah Boon)


MotoGP Sepang
Tourism Malaysia had put together a publicity event to bring motorbikers to Sepang for the coming GP. To achieve this, they paid for a barbecue dinner for local bikers and people we met (again) people from the previous evening, coming together for a good time. The good folk of Moto V were there, and so were the SHEriders and Team27. Rosalind scored a lucky draw prize : a free air ticket to KL, as part of the lucky draw prizes! Joining us for dinner were our friends Shannon & Jerry, together with Siew Yen & Maverick!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

The good folk at Moto-V



Have you ever wished to find the goodness in humans?

Well, it happened last night when we were invited to the Moto V gathering at Buddeez Cafe in Tanjong Katong Rd. The members were most interested in our fund raising event, because Brenden and Ruth had made special effort to start a thread about our going to S.A. More importantly, they literally "Passed the hat around", gathering $400 in cash & wine sales just for us.

The little impromptu handing over ceremony was officiated by Alan, while we all stood gamefully by the roadside for a photo to mark the occasion.


So, many many thanks to the good folk at Moto V. And who ever says bikers are rufty tufty types with Hells Angels inclinations should spend an evening with these people. Moto V is a good ambassador for the public face of motorbiking!

And here's the thread which they've created on their website, specially for us!


Photos from our Nokia N82. The night scene mode really rocks!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Sponsors & Sponsorships!

We had a MOST pleasant surprise from a corporate sponsorship from Cityneon! They had given us a cash sum with the simple message : go out there and do Singapore proud!

This is (of course) the bestest situation any fund raiser can wish for : )

Friday, August 15, 2008

Fundraising Tie Up with CornerStone Wines



We’re excited to announce our most recent collaboration with CornerStone Wines as part of our Enduro Africa fundraising.

Info about them can be found at http://www.cornerstonewines.com/

The items we have are :
- Red Wine : Chianti 2006, Tuscany, Italy @ S$24
- Red Grape Sparkling Juice @ S$5.50
- White Grape Sparkling Juice @ S$5.50

The Chianti is a customized blend of Tuscan Sangiovese and eventual addition of Canaiolo grapes. Purplish red, Floral bouquet with notes of mammola. Balance of fruit & soft tannins for easy drinking. Medium bodied claret. Made specially to match Asian cuisines.

CornerStone Sparkling Juices are made & bottled in France, delicious choice for non-alcoholics... no preservatives or sugar added.

Email to rosalind14@gmail.com to purchase now!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Weekend Ride to Musang Kenyir Resort 8-11 Aug

This trip was planned at least 2 months ago, waiting for the good time & willing people to join us. It's also part of our training for Enduro Africa, for the long saddle time. Helps to train the butt!!
10 hours of riding by countryside roads along the eastern coast, & the weather couldn't be better. It's also our first trip with the Canon G9.

We met at GP Esso at 7am on Friday. First stop, Yong Peng for fishball noodle breakfast, followed by DURIANS! Quality was excellent. Smooth creamy & fleshy...

Riding past Kuantan & Kuala Trengganu, we met Mr Chong on the way at Gawi jetty at around 5pm & we followed his car to the bike parking area. Carefully parking our bikes & covering them, we left on the boat to the resort.

The wooden chalets were built in a row on stilts & facing the lake. Peaceful place, set in the jungle. Simple rooms with fan & attached bathroom. Because we were at an altitude, the air was cool, especially in the evenings.


Saturday morning, Tony & Catherine were out early in the lake trying to catch some breakfast.

Today's plan was to go to the waterfalls. It took us a hike of at least half hour in the jungle before we finally got to the falls.

Great view & cool waters welcomed us after the hot & sweaty hike. We climbed over to the large rocky platform...

Back to the resort for lunch... listening to Mr Chong tell stories!

Post lunch, some of us decided to take the boat out again for some fishing. Especially excited are Hubert & Tony... suspect that's their main purpose for this trip. According to web info, this area is supposed to be an angler's paradise.

Tony in soft sand.... which promptly swallowed his leg up to knee level. Undeterred, both of them continue crawling on all fours & still managed to cast their fishing lines!

Sunday - a day entirely spent on fishing. Woke up & were at the jetty by 7am to take the boat out before breakfast. Managed to catch a glimpse of a wild young elephant near the water. When it noticed us & our cameras & fingers pointing excitedly, it trumpeted (maybe angrily) and ran off into the trees to hide.

Not much luck with fishing, we came to an area of shallow waters, to have a dip. Water was clear & gently flowing as it was just a short distance from a waterfall. The shin deep water was just perfect for lazing & enjoying the company.

Having tired ourselves out, lunch was served. For all 3 days, Mr Chong was our personal chef, cooking up pro-standard dishes, which we promptly polished off in no time. Apparently he learnt his skills from friends in the food business.

Here we are, lounging around & chatting the afternoon away, contemplating to go out for another fishing trip or not. Then the sunny weather took a turn & the distant dark cloud moved over & we were in a middle of a torrential downpour!

Glad that we're not out in the lake. We stayed in, watching the raindrops on the water surface & felt so relaxed... The magpie which was around earlier stopped chirping .... but soon after came back again to chirp. Signalling that the rain is stopping soon, indeed it was just a passing shower!

Dinner that evening was a nice BBQ with lots of food. Great treat to end our stay, with lamb chops stealing the show.

On Radio 91.3FM

7 August 2008.
Dark clouds loomed & it stormed as I made my way to the studio... reached there with soggy feet & clammy trousers.

We're going on air with The Married Men crew - Rod Monteiro, Andre Hoeden & Audrey Lim. First time on radio for the 2 of us, & so excited! Brought our Canon G9 to take pictures with the celebrities at work ;P

The DJs seemed to be having so much fun at work, I don't think it even feels like work! But according to them, there's lots of preparation before each show can be presented, so that's what we don't see or hear about. What's true is that there's a whole lot of amazing hi tech stuff in the studio that they're using.

We talked about Enduro Africa on air & shamelessly publicised this blog to the whole nation. So those of you who've actually come to this site because you heard us on air, THANK YOU!!

Here they are in between the interview, Andre & Audrey having a chat, while Rod is pressing the 101 buttons & switches to make sure the next song or jingle gets in correctly..... Cool yah!

Here's their website, with schedules listed in there : http://www.radio913.com/

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Singapore Bike Fest on 2-3 Aug 2008

Last weekend, bikers all over the island gathered at Kallang Leisure Park, for the S'pore Bike Fest 2008. Convoys roared into the parking area, one on each day, attracting cheers from the crowd. Bike stunts were also the draw for most.

Organisers Team 27, very kindly allowed us to publicise our Enduro Africa project at their booth. With poster & laptop in tow, we got a video running and had leaflets to distribute.


Much credit goes to the earlier article in Motorculture magazine, as some of the bikers read about our trip & were asking us more questions... Glad to say, we managed to sell a couple of Sins vouchers and about 20 bars of chocolates to supportive friends. Others simply donated cash to support our cause.

Behind our booth was the private collection of a guy who has great tastes in restoring classic Japanese motorbikes. Looking at those classics inspired us to get our own classic bike someday.


On the 2nd day, we parked our Transalps at the bike park & set up a mini display with a poster between the 2 bikes. Must have attracted some curious stares outside too!

Live band played into the night & Singha beer was the drink of the event. The open air pub atmosphere ended each night.

With Peter & Jack from Team 27...

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Hooking up with some hardware

In preparations for the ride, we had been thinking about what equipment to bring....
starting off with the hardware like phones and cameras.

So we have settled on a Canon G9 digital camera, a Nokia N82 and a Nokia E90. Here are our thoughts on choosing this equipment....

Being lifelong canon fans, we felt the Canon G9 is the only camera which could do advanced photos, take movies, while retracting into a small package that fits smoothly inside a riding jacket pocket. As we only recently got the camera, no photos worthy of posting, so we'll write more about this another day.

Nokia N82 & E90 - simple combination, really. Both phones have GPS enabled maps, so we WON'T get lost. N82 is touted as a blogging phone with kick-ass 5MP digital camera focussing via a Carl-Zeiss lens. E90 is for those longer rest sessions where we feel like penning down random thoughts thru a qwerty keyboard.

Guess we'll be using quite a bit of this new kit in the coming months!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Piaggio X Evo - mega scoot!


I rode the Piaggio X EVO!!!
it's a 400cc scooter, with a single cyclinder engine!
Thus, making it (technically) a thumper!
While thumpers are usually rough in engine vibrations, this thumper is the total opposite.
Smooth power delivery is name of the game, and the bike simply surging away from the lights with generous torque. It is this reliance of torque that allows the engine to operate in a lower rpm range, so regardless of speed, all i could feel is a gentle beat of the thumper keeping me company.
Underseat space is excellent, with enough room for two helmets, while the windscreen and fairings allow for cruising at illegal speeds!
Quite the perfect companion for commuting and trips into Malaysia.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

CarBuyer Club blog

We are currently on CarBuyer Club website:

http://community.carbuyer.com.sg/kickapps/_We-love-motorbiking/blog/80775/20855.html

Here, we will be posting our pictures from Enduro Africa.

We're in MotorCulture Asia!

Our Enduro Africa project is currently being covered in Singapore's leading bike magazine - MotorCulture Asia - Vol 3, Issue 12.
Check out the full page article!




Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Sunday morning at Tanah Merah

This is my first attempt at doing some off-roading at Tanah Merah (not counting some previous unplanned experiences in Malaysia/Thailand).

The goal was to take a ride with the KTM, which was obviously more suited for the trail. But as luck would have it, the bike died & failed to respond to my kickstarts while I was less than a km away from home. So with not much of a choice, I pushed it back to the carpark & took the Transalp out for the ride instead.
There we were, 2 Transalps heading towards the eastern part of Singapore, & meeting up with Chuah's Africa Twin. All above-200kg elephants headed for the muddy trail. What were we thinking??!!

Once we entered, we chose the safer lines whenever we saw puddles or soft sand. Here I am crossing gingerly on the hardpacked ground.
Slightly further up where Seung & Chuah decided to inspect the road ahead while I waited at the back...
My road tyres, obviously unsuited for the dirt was caked up in no time (especially after the dramatic wheel spin & getting stuck in a hole)
The inevitable happened & my Transalp landed on its side, when the front tyre slipped on a muddy slippery area. Here's the right side with the result of the mud mask....
Seung takes on the little enduro trail with ease, of course...with his mountainbiking skill. Wished I had my mountain bike with me!
It was a nerve racking but overall fun ride. Next time, we've got to bring in lighter weight bikes.