Because I enjoyed the ride from Checkpoint Six to Seven so much, I decided to do it all over again, taking a bus to And Mo Kio Linear Park and renting the Anywheel bike from there. Once I hit Sengkang Swimming Complex, the exploration started in earnest.
What followed was something that felt like a masterclass in urban planning to a layperson like me. The paths were beautifully flat. This was made for cyclists, and it showed. I cycled right through Sengkang Riverside Park, absorbing plenty of sights on the way. Honestly, I never thought any place outside of the usual tourist attractions could be so damn pretty.
 |
| This part was actually the least extravagantly pretty. |
I crossed this charming little bridge over Punggol Waterway, and the view was... let's just say my photos don't do it justice. They call it Jewel Bridge.
 |
| View from the bridge. |
This route took me right by Waterway Point and Punggol Sports Center. At this point, I think my gushing over how picturesque everything is, is just getting repetitive. But at this point, I encountered Checkpoint Nine.
 |
| So pretty. |
 |
| Even prettier. |
 |
| Checkpoint Eight. |
This route eventually led to this aquaduct called the Waterworks, by Waterway Ridges Rain Garden. This was quite a pretty neighborhood. Looked expensive, too.
 |
| Fancy-looking canal. |
Turning in, I could see Coney Island as I cycled along Punggol Promenade Nature Walk.
 |
| Coney Island across the water. |
And this was the entry to Coney Island, Checkpoint Nine. I actually went in to take a little tour, but didn't go that far.
 |
| Checkpoint Nine. |
Now, at this point I had to make a decision. The actual path to Checkpoint Ten was from Checkpoint Seven. Yes, Checkpoint Seven was a fork in the Trail where the branch I took led to Checkpoints Eight and Nine, while the other branch led to Checkpoint Ten. Which meant that if I wanted to do things the "official" way, I needed to ride back to Checkpoint Seven and then proceed to Checkpoint Ten.
Nah. Fork that noise.
I pushed on to Punggol Beach and continued riding west along Northshore. Eventually, I emerged into Seletar Link North, onto the manmade island known as Punggol Timor. This was a markedly different vibe - mostly industrial. Much of the traffic was heavy trucks and pickups.
 |
| A lot of sand. |
The first landmark I passed was this entire section of sand mountains. If I had to hazard a guess, this would be where they keep the sand they used to reclaim this island.
 |
| This was... nice! |
Much of the scenery ahead was green wilderness. But I did come across this little channel, and simply had to stop to take a picture. With the wind and all, it was pretty surreal. This was the channel that separated Punggol Timor, which I was currently on, and Punggol Barat, which I was riding through next.
The rest of the ride from that point on, was a slog. The path was narrow and I was going past some extensive construction work. On the other hand, the sheer simplicity of the path ahead, held its own appeal. It was as ghetto as the crap I had to slog through in Ang Mo Kio and Bishan, but at least it was a largely uninterrupted path.
Soon, I crossed another bridge and found myself back on the mainland. Across the road was the verdant entrance of Rower's Bay Park, Checkpoint Ten and the final stop on the Coast-to-Coast Trail.
 |
| Checkpoint Ten |
I had tracked down all ten checkpoints; now all I had to do was familiarize myself with the route so I could do it in one attempt.
Thoughts on the last part
This was without a doubt the best part of the trail. It was like entering a code base where everything was current tech, pristine and not tacked on with legacy shit. All of the exciting new features, none of the scars. As a software developer and thus a bit of a builder myself (even if in a non-physical sense), I could not help but really appreciate the planning that went into this.
The route itself did not cover a wide area this time; this was largely a circular path I took. A very picturesque circular path, to be sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment