What's Next?

Many people got to know us through our Enduro Africa last year. Colleagues, friends, bike club members, relatives, and some acquientances ........

We became 'the adventurous couple'. With Africa done, the question was : what's the adventure for 2009?

Yes, there's always that search for the next thrill, next challenge, next milestone to get to. I must say, there IS something in the pipeline for both of us, which we're very excited about.

So, more news will be coming up soon. :P

Rompin' at Rompin

A post trip review on our cycle into Endau Rompin, Malaysia on 7-8 Feb.

Our drive up started at 6am on Sat, packing 4 mountain bikes onto Halil's Rav4. Passed customs smoothly, though the M'sian customs officer was pretty amused & wished us luck when we told him of our ride.

Quick lunch stopover & registration later, we were at the start of the 52km off road section leading to the chalet near Kampong Peta. Time to unload the bikes.
1st section was mildly up slope track among the oil palm planation. Some loose soft sand at the sides & the rear wheel slided occasionally to keep us on our toes. Road was dusty, especially at the start since it was a Saturday & trucks were travelling in & out of the plantation for work. 3- 4 uphills later, Sarina & I packed up into the car, taking over the wheel from Seung at the 22km mark. Sarina's front fork was under-pressured, with too much air released by an over-enthused 'unofficial mechanic' ;P

The boys continued the next section, which saw lots more steeper & longer hills, and definitely more potholes. We were glad to be driving, having our stereo & cushy seats!

Halil championing up the hill first... ^

Followed by Seung & Terry.... ^

The much awaited 'brown signboard' to mark the end of the 52km ride!

Reward for making it in.... Deluxe BBQ dinner right outside our chalet.

The morning after, spent at the river 10mins from our chalet.... before we headed out. The boys did a 30 min bike out on their choice section after a mid day snack & we were all ready to head home.

Happy 2009!

2008 came & went.

Despite the gloomy economy, I think its up to us to find our own little adventures to keep us going.
Looking forward to the new year & what surprises it might bring.

Happy New Year!! :)

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.