One of Tam’s hopes (as close as she came to requesting anything for her visit) was to participate in some sort of race/mini-marathon. As we spoke about time frame ranges for her visit, she gave a list of events that would occur here during the time frame that she might be interested in. The one on her list we decided on was the one that Andrew was already planning on repeating since completing it the year before: OCBC Cycle Singapore.
After riding their bicycles there the day before and locking them up, all they had to do on the day of the race for preparation was to wake up before 5am and catch a cab. Gideon and I slept while they were on their way to the race. By 6am they were waiting in the line of nearly 6,000 waiting to ride their bikes 42km (26mi).
Their different perspectives makes their height difference look greater than reality
Obviously, this meant that a good portion of their race was done in the dawn/pre-dawn hours.
The pre-dawn START (note the flyer and the overpass in the picture)
This was good for two reasons: 1) They had to shut down a part of the major expressway (AYE) that was used by the bicyclists, and the beginning of Sunday morning is a good low-traffic time to do so. 2) Why it doesn’t get much cooler at night here, it sure is nicer to bicycle at 7am in Singapore than in the heat of the day at 2pm!
Here’s the 26mi route Andrew’s phone app tracked during his race
7am is where I come into the story. Gideon and I got up early (meaning I woke him at 7 instead of him waking me at 7:15ish). By 8am I was downtown walking like a mad woman with a stroller trying to find the best stroller accessible route to the finish line while not getting run over by the onslaught of bikers that had already completed the course.
I made it to the meeting point and started to scan the finish line for Andrew or Tam. (I was not hopeful to find them as the majority of the participants wore the same shirt!!!)
The mass of bicyclers walking their bikes just after crossing the finish line (with a loudspeaker that kept repeating “Please dismount. Keep moving to avoid congestion.”)
Thankfully, within a few seconds I turned to see a tall American walking towards us. Amazingly, Andrew had made it to the meeting point just after I arrived. Gideon was happy to see Daddy and didn’t seem to mind that he was sweaty!
(You can’t tell, but Gideon wore his shirt with a bicycle on it for the occasion)
And not two minutes later who should show up but Aunt Tammy!
Doesn’t she look great for just having finished 26miles!?
The looked sweaty, but also pleased with how well they had done.
Of course Gideon is the one that desperately “needed” the water bottle in the group.
Their stats:
Andrew: 1:37:17, 850th overall, 762nd man, 275th age group
Tam: 1:39:49, 930th overall, 100th woman, 182nd age group
The two in-law siblings happy after their race well done!
Even though I hadn’t been in the race, I still wanted to document how proud I was of my hubby’s hard work with a shot of our own 🙂
Proud of my awesome hubby!
After reuniting and taking our after-race shots, we took a leisurely stroll to take a break and recap the race. While walking we passed the Marina Bay Sands. I convinced Andrew to hold up his [heavy steel] bike to do a fun forced perspective shot.
Holding his bike above the Marina Bay Sands!!!
Despite the calories burned and the time awake by the bikers, it was Gideon who first succumbed to tiredness and slept while we walked around. Our walk ended up at Starbucks where we enjoyed a well earned cold reward. (I walked around with Gideon, I earned it too, right?)
Hard earned treats!
Refueled by Starbucks, the two bikers headed home while Gideon and I took the train. I was bummed out to find that they arrived home before us! Oh well.
Randles like Candles 