Saturday Night Skate 28 July 2012 - Park Connector Nightskate, East Coast Park to Changi Village

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Edmund Vong

Report by Jon Wong
Nightskate Captain

More than 50 skaters showed up for our Park Connector Nightskate II, which features East Coast Park and the Coastal Park Connector that links the park to Changi Village via a 12km path.

We started off from the skating rink next to the former Marine Cove, near car park C3 at East Coast Park and headed promptly in the direction of the Bedok Jetty.

Initially the journey was fine and we were greeted by the nice sea breeze. However, the weather changed abruptly as dark clouds filled the skies above us and the breeze turned into strong gushes of wind. Rain was imminent.

And soon enough, little droplets started trickling on our entourage near the National Service Resort Country Club and for the first time in years, we were forced to cancel the activity and seeked shelter at the country club premises.

Although the light drizzle did not last long and the weather seemed to clear, there were reports that many areas in the eastern areas were experiencing rain, and the weather forecast reports were not encouraging.

Some of the participants chose to skate back to the starting point to collect their vehicles, while others waited for the bus to evacuate them.

Although it was a pity not to complete the entire route, we were still grateful to the skaters who turned up and showed their support for the nightskate.

Credits
Photo
David

Safety Van
Chun Yang

Marshals
Albert Ong

Posted in Event

Saturday Night Skate 30 June 2012 - Mystery Nightskate, Skateline Bishan to Esplanade

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Edmund Vong

Report by Jon Wong
Night Skate Captain

Our new retail outlet at Blk 338 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 was the starting point for our latest night skate in June. This new outlet, about 1 month into operation, serves to provide products and services for Ang Mo Kio and Bishan Park, which has seen an increase in people doing inline skating since its major makeover.

 

The outlet features a wide array of skates and apparels. The smooth parque floor finishing and wide space provided consumers the chance to try out their skates.

Themed as the 'Mystery Night Skate', the night skate route was kept a mystery until moments prior to departure. We were to travel to the Esplanade via the Kallang Park Connector.

This route saw us crossing a total of 4 overhead bridges, but it was nothing that the turnout of more than 50 skating enthusiasts could not handle. It proved to be a challenge for some first-timers, but they were in safe hands under the watchful eyes of the skate marshals.

  

We had to be extra cautious as some areas were wet from showers earlier during the day. Besides crossing over bridges, we skated through underpasses too, as in under the Central Expressway, with a height limit of only 1.8 metres.

 

It did not take us long to reach Kallang MRT Station. We transited into Kampong Bugis and reached Crawford Street after crossing over Kallang River.

After an exhilerating ride down Republic Ave, we continued past Nicoll Highway and headed towards the Singapore Flyer for our much deserved break. The place was buzzling with tourists and crew preparing for the National Day Parade which will take place at the floating platform nearby on August 8.

We crossed under the Helix bridge and continued along Raffles Avenue. We turned into The Esplanade at the Formula 1 track next to the floating platform seating gallery and skated along the riverside. We had to slow down and travelled carefully among the buzz as the area was packed with audiences watching a live band performance.

We finally arrived at our destination - The Cenotaph Memorial located at Esplanade Memorial Park, after crossing under the Esplanade Drive Bridge. It was a great experience for participants completing the Night Skate for the first time.

 

Credits
Safety Van
Moon Ji Wook

Photo
Mike
Cynthia

SAVs
Mike
Steven
Cynthia
Merv
Chong Boon
Albert

Posted in Event

Saturday Night Skate 26 May 2012 - Avengerous Nightskate, Jurong to Dhoby Ghaut

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Edmund Vong

Report by Jon Wong
Night Skate Captain

It is amazing how much hype an action movie can generate, best example being the latest blockbuster to hit the screen, Marvel's The Avengers, with a dynamic cast featuring Robert Downey Junior, Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson.

Our latest night skate was themed after the movie - Marvel's The Avengers. We had more than 40 skaters coming to support the event. Though there was a downpour earlier in the day, but it did not dampen our moods for the skate.

Some of the participants made great efforts to come in Character Captain America, Black Widow and Thor. Amongst them were Ms Janet Tan and Mr Jack.

Janet dressed up as the black widow, complete with the outfit and even a leather holster strap with a dummy pistol on her thigh. Mr Jack, a first-timer at our night skate, made his outfit and mask and the iconic star shield.

 

Passerbys grabbed the chance to snap pictures of our masquerade group while onlookers looked on with glee.

We started off from Jurong East MRT Station and headed into Commonwealth Ave West, towards Clementi. It did not take us long to reach Clementi Mall, where we had our first break at MacDonald's Restaurant.

Thereafter, we continued along the route and turned into Clementi Road at the Singapore Polytechnic junction. we were aiming to hit the Ulu Pandan Park Connector, which features a nice long and smooth path along the canal for crusing effortlessly, although the steep slopes at the start and end proved to be a challenge for some.

Soon after passing by Buona Vista MRT Station, we made our way up Holland Avenue, which featured a steep uphill climb. We turned into Taman Warna, and that was when the series of uphills and downhills began. Some of the slopes were pretty steep.

We transited into Holland Road, passing by the Botanical Gardens and The British Council until we reached Tanglin Mall. From then on, it was a straigtforward route heading towards Wheelock Place and Orchard ION.

The Cathay Cineplex was within our sights as we passed by Somerset MRT Station and Orchard Central Mall. Upon reaching the outside of the cineplex, we commenced the voting for the participants who dressed up for the event. 4 participants were shortlisted, and the results were decided by the clapping from the rest of the crowd.

In the end, it was Miss Janet Tan, in her rendition of the Black Widow, who garnered the loudest claps and emerged as the winner of the evening. She walked away with a limited movie edition Iron Man Bobblehead figurine. As for the rest, they had great fun dressing up as their favourite Avengers characters, especially so for Mr Louise from overseas, in his maiden attempt at the night skate and dressed up as Thor.

 

Credits
Safety Van
Gordon

Photo
Jon
Faussi

SAVs
Chun Yang
Eric Tan
Chong Boon

Posted in Event

Saturday Night Skate 28 April 2012 - Endurance Nightskate, Bishan Park to Night Safari

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Edmund Vong

Report by Jon Wong
Night Skate Captain

Around 30 avid skaters completed the gruelling Endurance Night Skate with us on a warm Saturday night on the 28th of April, covering a distance of more than 16km. This route took us from Bishan Park to The Night Safari, via the winding paths of Old Upper Thomson Road, Sembawang Road and the uphills and downhills of Mandai Ave.

Our entourage set off at 8pm, transiting from Bishan Park 2 to Park 1, which has since finished renovation works and opened to the public. Skating here was easy, as the surfaces were nice and smooth after the revamp.

It did not take us long to reach Upper Thomson Road, and we embarked onto the path of Old Upper Thomson Road. This road, famous for its habitants of monkeys and long winding paths with various gradients, proved to be a challenge already as we stride along.

We had our first short break along Casuarina Road, where the famous Casuarina Curry Restaurant resides before embarking on the journey again. Besides dealing with the uneven road surfaces, we also had to be careful of the cars passing by.

 

The most hazardous portion was at the end of the route, with a long downhill slope leading right to the exit onto the main road. Thankfully, everyone managed to tackle this slope safely with the help of the Marshals and fellow skaters alike.

 

We continued along Upper Thomson Road, crossing under Upper Thomson Flyover and reached our second rest point at Thong Bee Road soon after. There is a famous coffee shop and dining joint there for the participants to recharge with food and drinks. This was to be the final resting point as there were none available from here on.

After the break, we made our way along Sembawang Road, bypassing Nee Soon Military Camp. This part of the route is a gradual uphill climb, with a slight downhill ride at the end, bring us onto Mandai Park Connector along Mandai Ave.

Mandai Park Connector proved to be make skating a breeze with its nicely paved concrete paths. However, the challenges came in the form of long uphill climbs and downhill rides, which demanded absolute control. Some areas were littered with twigs and branches too, results from the downpour earlier on during the day.

This part of the journey covered almost 60% of the entire route, and the participants had to sweat and toil to reach the entrance of the Singapore Zoological Gardens eventually. That alone proved to be satisfaction enough, as they posed for pictures with the colourful signboards.

 

 

The final phase of the journey was to travel from the main entrance into Night Safari, and this is the tougest of the entire route which really put our leg muscles to the test. Right from the start, the uphill climb begins, and it gets steeper further into the journey. After all the gruelling skating from earlier on, this final stretch really seemed tough for most of the participants and it took everyone quite a while to reach the destination.

By the time we arrive, everyone were drenched in their perspiration and obviously exhuasted. By there were no complains, as they are proud that they had completed the entire journey. The sweet memories will linger in their minds for time to come, and some even grabbed the opportunity to pose for pictures with the artifacts from the Night Safari as momentos, while awating for the bus to pick us up.

Another successful night skate, thanks to the fine weather and everyone's efforts!

Credits
Safety Car
Xavier

Photo
David

SAVs
Chong Boon
Justine
Mike
Chun Yang

Posted in Event

Saturday Night Skate 31 March 2012 - Scenic Nightskate, Loop around town

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Edmund Vong

Report by Jon Wong
Night Skate Captain

The recent night skate that was completed in March was a big fiasco, with a huge turn out of close to a hundred skaters, who joined us in this scenic route at the heart of Singapore, in town. There were familiar faces of our die hard fans, and also new faces from both local and oversees.

Some 30 spirited youth skaters from the National Technological University were present, and we also welcomed some European participants who were tourists here on holiday and were on classic roller skates!

 

As usual, we had some children amongst us. This time round, we welcomed Edgar and Iker who are brothers, on their maiden attempt at night skating. They were joined by their supportive parents, who jogged for the entire route to accompany their kids.

Some of our skaters took the opportunity to celebrate the birthday of one of their friends, Miss Janet, who is also our future SAV-to-be. It sure was overwhelming to hear so many people sing the birthday song for her.

 

We gathered outside ION and set off at 8pm sharp, much to the delight of the participants as we zigzagged through the evening street crowd. We were drawing a huge amount of attention in our big entourage.

 

It didn't take us long to reach Raffles Hotel, after crossing the underpass near Plaza Singapura. We continued to the War Memorial Park and headed to Esplanade via the Esplanade underpass. Soon after we travelled along the Theatres of the Bay and reached the Formula 1 track along the Marina Bay sitting gallery. We ended up at the Singapore Flyer for a short break to rest our legs and replenish our fluids.

 

Thereafter, we crossed over to the Helix Bridge which brought us across the waters into Marina Bay Sands area. We were in luck to witness the light up extravaganza, as decorative lights lit up the buildings and flora, forming a magnificent scenery. Beautifully litted kites flew in the air, and people were capturing the moments with their cameras and smart phones.

 

We continued our journey into Clifford Pier area and Merlion Park, where tourists gathered to witness our National Mascot having a colourful coat, all thanks to some special lighting effects.

We crossed over the Fullerton Bridge and transited into Boat Quay via the underpass at Esplanade Park. It didn't take us long to reach Clarke Quay and soon we were skating along the Singapore River towards Robertson Bridge, crossing under a few underpasses along the way. After the bridge, we were on the opposite bank and skated along the riverbank till Merbau Road, and UE Shopping Mall was within our sights.

We were nearing the end of the route and braced ourselves for the last burst of fire. We travelled along Clemenceau Ave and reached the Istana Park near Dhoby Ghaut. From there on, it was free and easy and everyone made their way back to ION shopping mall in their own pace.

Yet another rewarding Night Skate thanks to the wonderful evening weather.

One of the participants, Mr Chuan, even made a short video of the event. View the video at our Facebook page here.

Credits
Safety Van
Uncle Meng

Photography
David LIm

SAVs
Jing Yi
Hui Yi
Jia Yi
Ee Ping
Chong Boon
Justine
Chloe

Posted in Event

Saturday Night Skate 25 February 2012 - Park Connector Night Skate, Upper Paya Lebar to Seng Kang

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Edmund Vong

 

Night Skate Captain

The Park Connector Nightskate in February attracted more than 60 skaters to participate. This route brought us along one of the North-eastern Park Connector Network - The Serangoon Park Connector. This connector runs along Sungei Serangoon River and links with the Punggol Waterway along Sungei Dekar River. 

 

We welcomed some new faces, and even had a couple of ladies who followed us on their bicycles.

A couple of children from our Junior Skate Camp showed up to support this event too. Amongst them is 8 year old Gideon Low, who came with the support from his father, Mr Low Tock Heng, also a supporter of our night skate. 

We started off from our outlet located at Tai Keng Shopping Centre, heading towards Bartley Road. Soon after, we turned into Hougang Ave 3 and had our a short break at S11 Food Centre at Block 107.

Not long after, we turned into Tampines Road and at Hougang Ave 7, we entered the Connector. It was absolute peace and serenity as we cruised along the quiet and dark riverside, and the smooth finishing of the connector made it a joy to skate on. 

The connector runs under 2 underpasses at Buangkok East Drive and the Tampines Expressway before bringing us to Punggol Promenade. We had another break, this time a longer one, at the popular @Punggol attraction, which features eating places like Popeye's Chicken, Xin Seafood Restaurant, Shin Nichi Japanese Restaurant, etc.

There were some misses too, as some skaters fell and had some scratches and abrasions, but thankfully they were treated by the Marshals quickly. 

After a short trip past the Lorong Halus Wetland Park & Visitor Centre, we transited into Punggol Waterway. The Waterway boasts beautiful night scenery, with the gentle flow of the river greeting us. There are paths on both sides of the river, which occasional bridges for crossing over.  
 

Covering almost the entire stretch of the Waterway, we arrived at the future Watertown Residential development area, situated next to Punggol MRT Station. We continued along Punggol Walk and transited into Punggol Way, heading towards Punggol West Flyover.

 

This brings us into Seng Kang area and we turned at Cheng Lim LRT Station into Anchorvale Street. From here, it is a direct route to our destination - Seng Kang Sports and Recreation Centre, and specifically, the MacDonald's Restaurant which the children were yearning for.

 

We clocked a total distance of 16.52km, according to the GPS from one of the skaters. Another great skate completed, thanks to the fine weather. 

Credits
Safety Van
Ken

Photo
David

SAVs
Micah
Eugene
Mike
Eric
Chloe
Merv
Timothy
Rochelle
Xun Zhong

SAV Attachment
Gabriel
Jonathan
Janet
Cynthia 

Posted in Event

Saturday Night Skate 28 January 2012 - Chinese New Year Nightskate, Fort Road to Vivocity

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Edmund Vong

Weather was unpredictable a few days prior to the event but thankfully, it was the clear and cooling weather that greeted us at the start point at carpark B1 of Fort Road, East Coast Park.

It was fantastic to receive the participants who chose to skate with us instead of carrying on with their own Chinese New Year celebrations. Amongst them were a couple of children too, who gave up their opportunity on new year visitng to collect more red packets, but to enjoy the skate instead.

There were a couple of new faces too for this new year skate too. For Shawn and Domenica, it was their first attempt at urban night skating. They have been taking lessons with our instructor, Mr David Ng, for the past 3 months before embarking on the SNS. It was great to see them mature in their skills and witness their progression from beginners to advanced skaters today.

We promptly set off at 8pm, heading along Mountbatten Road towards Nicoll Highway. Soon after, we arrived at Raffles Boulevard and had a break at the Singapore Flyer, amidst all the buzz from the tourists visiting the significant landmark.

After the break, we crossed the Helix Bridge and transited into Marina Bay Sands. It was great fun skating amongst the crowd, as the Chinese New Year River Ang Pao at the floating platform was buzzling with people. Marina Bay Sands has proven to be a favourite with the skaters, and cruising along its smooth pathways against the evening sea breeze was simply fantastic.

 

We continued along Marina Boulevard and turned into Shenton Way, heading towards Keppel Road. After a short skate, we had another break at a famous local Bak Kut Teh joint at Tanjong Pagar Distripark.

That was the last pit stop as we head towards Vivocity. It was an easy cruise along the nice pathway along Telok Blangah Road and it took us only 15 minutes to reach our destination. We were able to complete within 2 hours and the easy route was a good way to kick start the new year, and more so for the first timers to have a taste of urban skating.

Credits
Photo
David

SAVs
Justin
Eugene
Micah
Chong Boon
Ee ping
Jonathan (attachment)

Posted in Event