The objective of this expedition is to lead a team of 13 varsity students who will cycle a distance of over 1500km in 14 days along the West Coast of Peninsula Malaysia and past the border of Thailand up to Phuket.
The route will take us through over 20 towns, numerous major states in Malaysia and Thailand.
With such a huge distance, this expedition is certainly a huge challenge and test of our personal mental and physical limits.
At the end of this trip, we hope that we will not only emerge as stronger individuals, but also as individuals with a heart to help and impact the world that we live in.
Besides our desire to help the children of ST pocket Money Fund, this expedition is in a way an opportunity to live our personal dreams and passions. We feel that combining our personal dreams and passions with community work is a more sustainable way of contributing back.
With this expedition, we hope to reach out to other youths and inspire them; that in addition to living our (their) dream, we (they) can help the less privileged achieve theirs as well. This we hope, will leave an impact beyond that of our expedition.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Hi I'm now in an Internet cafe with Tim Tay next to me digging his nose furiously. We're now in Taiping. The air in Malaysia is fantastic - we all ended the rides with black faces and nostrils clogged with dirt. Woohoo!
Nothing much to say except that I didn't crash today, so that's a cause for celebration. Mark it down in your diaries, folks, I didn't crash today. I guess I take many things for granted, my life included, and I know I will not be so lucky every time I fall into the middle of the road. Can't type much with Tim Tay's eyes boring holes into the back of my skull, making me feel very uncomfortable, so I guess this pointless entry shall end here. WHAHAHA!!!
Counting down to next Friday.
Cassandra
Posted by Anonymous at
8:42 PM
a story
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
im sitting at a starbucks in langkawi writing this. we are waiting for the ferry to transport us to penang and another beginning. our thai friends have been most warm and helpful and when the pictures are up, you would be able to see a little of what we have been blessed with seeing over the past few days. the scenery is quite inspiring, the limestone formations make you feel a lot smaller and less important.
it is hard, once an event is over (even if it is but a part of a larger event and we have broken it down into two separate countries) to accurately remember what actually happened. i remember it was long and hot, especially these last two days, as we covered 150km from krabi to trang and 157km from trang to satun. some parts were more memorable because of the scenery, sure, but mostly, what i remember is the heat and 13 people cycling in unison, legs pumping up and down as we break away from our lives.
i remember the seemingly long pulls at the front into the headwinds and up the slopes, breath coming in shortened gasps and our legs bathed in liquid fire. most searing of all would probably be our butts. our thin flesh stretched and abraded, sores bursting open as we shift in our saddles for a few seconds of comfort. some of us were pedalling on one butt cheek for some time. but still onward, onward we went. why? i have no idea. maybe its because everyone else was going forwards as well. maybe its because we are afraid to be left behind.
the days are beginning to blur into one another. after cycling, there is the wash up and dinner and then preperation for the next day. it becomes routine, our nomadic lifestyle, our leaving behind, our breaking away. in some ways its refreshing, every day is different, new, exciting. in some ways it is terrible, each day with its own stresses and rushing.
9 more stages. we have ridden 640km in total so far in thailand and we are still feeling good.
allez.
Posted by Anonymous at
1:23 PM
Monday, July 28, 2008
cassandra wanted to murder ellery today
she ran his face over with her front wheel
as he lay helplessly on the floor
......
after 2 crashes
luckily everyone walked away in one piece
....
well, not really
considering we did a back breaking leg today
it was a measly 150.07km
which was preceded by a simple 126km
and tomorrow
is a deceptively simple 165km
with that
cassandra firmly has a hold on the Red Jersey ("Most Dangerous Rider")
most number of points for her
and chi-hao's innate ability to increase the force of gravity on himself
has earned him the rightful honor
of the Blue Jersey ("Descending Champion")
in other news
our gracious thai friends have posted us on local forums it was our visit to a school in phang nga
where we shared our purpose and experiences
with our friends interpreting of course
more pictures when we have time in the future
internet here is few and far between
and the way is far with few chances to rest.
Posted by Anonymous at
9:18 PM
Saturday, July 26, 2008
our newfound friends from the thai cycling club who graciously offered to lead the way
for the entire thai leg of this journey
they are all a bunch of passionate old men
most of them are above 50 years old
with plenty of outstanding achievements under their belt
there's this 70 year old guy
who represented thailand for cycling
in the 1964 olympic games
there also this asian games swimming silver medalist
they totally kick the butts of any singaporean
let alone inexperienced young punks like ourselves
i feel we have plenty to learn from these learned old men
and what drives them to at a whim
come out and cycle with a bunch of kids from singapore
thats real passion right there.
Posted by Anonymous at
7:37 PM
Greetings!
Hi all,
I think Ben is putting up a proper posts with pictures, though I don't know how successful it will be, because our bandwidth...well, we've been spoilt by broadband in Singapore, that's what I can say..haha
ANYWAYS, we are having a blast, eating and riding our way around..we conquered the famous Patong Hills THREE times..visited a school where we gave out the bears and hung out with the kids..
ok, I'm not going to take up additional bandwidth. Look at Ben's posts for more interesting stuff!
Posted by Xihao at
7:34 PM
ready to take flight.
finally,the time has come for the bunch of 13
to embark on their epic adventure
due to training times and other commitments
this is the first photo we have ever taken
with the entire team
we've train with each other
and now
finally
everyone is in one place
everyone is prepped to fly
everyone is ready to ride from the heart.
Posted by Anonymous at
7:16 PM
Pre-Departure Thoughts..
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Less than 24hours out from our flight (FD3525, Departure T1 1315H) to Phuket before I begin arguably the biggest adventure of my life so far, I daresay my feelings are one of nervous anticipation.
We've trained hard, we've prepared well; we're armed with the knowledge that every pedal stroke we push, every km we cover, has a purpose and a meaning behind it. Apart from the personal desire to seek and push our individual limits, we hope that this little project which we've initiated helps the kids from the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. It may not be much, but I think every little bit counts.
We also certainly hope that this project which we've started from scratch, inspires youths to really step out of their comfort zones and look beyond. It's not easy, but it's definitely worth all the trouble.
Before I round off, I'd really just like to thank all our sponsors and supporters who've kindly helped us in the various ways in the lead up to the expedition. Without them, this would've been a lot harder than it is.
Also, our family, friends and loved ones who've put up with our insane hours and demands at times, the sacrifices which they have made to aid us in making this extremely possible.
Thank you.
This sounds like a after-journey post, but believe me, the Ride has just begun! Stay tuned to the blog for updates on our progress, we may not be able to do it everyday as some parts of our expedition may not be well connected to the net, but we'll do our best!
Posted by Xihao at
5:36 PM
Monday, July 21, 2008
two days of learning first aid later
most of us are now ready to take on the challenges
and are now prepared for the worst case scenarios
we were at the singapore first aid training centre
the instructors were hilarious and we all learnt a lot
now its 3 days away from the trip
and we're all in our final stages of preparation
photo of our learning here
Posted by Anonymous at
4:31 PM
Just round the corner...
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
I apologise for the long hiatus! We haven't been posting on the blog but here is an entry! As our internships are ending or have just ended, all of us have been busy preparing and training for the big day next Thursday! - Do send us off if you are free :)
We are flying up to Phuket next week...yes..NEXT WEEK.
The excitment that comes with being so close to the date.
The anxiety that appears with embarking on something you have never done before.
Only one word can describe it. But I can't think of that word right now so you have to be kept in suspense a little longer!
Look out for updates on our return on 8th August and of course our daily updates when we are out there pedalling our hearts out!
Ride from the Heart: Coming to a town near you (especially if you are living in Thailand or the West Coast of Malaysia!)
-jinsheng
Posted by Anonymous at
11:32 AM
Road to Roubaix
Thursday, July 3, 2008
ok this isn't exactly something that pertains to our training matters or whatever per se but i happened to come across this nice cycling movie called Road to Roubaix. The cinematography (from the trailer) is awe inspiring and well, it has our present day cycling heroes like Boonen, O Grady, Cancellara etc and it tracks them on the 2007 Roubaix.
For the uninitiated, Paris-Roubaix is a single day Classic and its called the Queen of the Classics cos its the hardest of them all, 160 miles over cobblestones in either hot and dusty weather or wet and trecherous, take your pick. its epic, and it captures our imaginations as a good race should. in it, our fears and hopes and dreams are played out by our heroes. check out the website with the accompanying trailer here:
http://www.masterlinkfilms.com/
I was very tempted to order the dvd online but after shipping and converting to SGD, its 49.25!
i can't find the torrent online either (hehe)
so until then, watch the trailer and catch a bit of the magic
Posted by Anonymous at
6:37 PM
Merchandise
The best way of supporting our cause is to purchase our merchandise.
We are planning to sell t-shirts and cycling jerseys to raise funds for our beneficiary.All proceeds minus cost will go directly to the STPMF.
Check out our T-shirt design! We are already collecting orders for our T-shirt. They are available in XS,S,M,L,XL and cost $15 per piece. Contact us to place your orders now while stocks last!
T-SHIRT DESIGN
PRICE: $15
CYCLING JERSEY AND PADDED BIB SHORTS
We now have cycling apparel for sale. To all cycling enthusiasts, get this pair of top and bottom at a good price now! While stocks last.
Sizes available for both top/bottom: XS,S,M,L,XL
PRICE: $40 per piece/$70 per set
BONCAFE ORGANIC FREEZE DRIED COFFEE - 100% ORGANIC
BONCAFE Organic Freeze Dried Instant Coffee is cultivated in lands free of agrichemicals with positive effects on wildlife and the environment. This devotion to agiculture results in the development
of the Boncafe Organic Freeze Dried Instant Coffee, which provides a superior cup of coffee, with the original taste and aroma of Arabica coffee beans.
Grab a bottle now for only $10. To find out more about BONCAFE, click here.
Made In Brazil
PRICE: $10 per 100g bottle
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
If you have something old that you are not using anymore or if you are interested in donating any items for sale, do contact us at
ridefromtheheart@gmail.com. We will appreciate any contribution.
