"It was the Pesta Sukan Tour of Singapore in 1983 and I was anxious
as hell to get rolling. I did the usual pre-race preparation of eating
2 hours befor the start, slept earlier than usual the night before...
even missing going out partying... a big sacrefice to make when you're
only 16!!!
"
Met my (then) team captain, Eugene Chong and he gave me and my old
team mates some advice. Eugene was more expreienced than most of us,
who were only 16, or at most 18 years old then.
"
BANG! The gun goes and most of us just flipped our pedals to strap
in.... there were no fancy Look pedals then (or SPD or Time pedals)...
just good old-style Eddy Merckx straps!!! I really hated them 'cos
they would make my feet hurt after a while!
"
After 5km there was a big crash...phew! I miss it by a meter! When
you're 16, you don't know where to position yourself; you're just glad
that you didn't fall!!! All day, it was just a long game of "catching",
trying to keep up with the next guy and hopefully not get dropped and
end up getting laughed at the finish!!!
"
At old Sembawang road I was 'dead' and could barely continue riding,
and this was only the half-way mark!
"
So at an old petrol station at the end old Sembawang road I stopped
to buy a drink! Nobody told me that cycling was this hard! I'll catch
up with the bunch later!??
"
After that drink, I was re-charged and I set down that road chasing
after the peloton.... you see, I didn't know that you were not supposed
to stop during a bike race!!??
"
As hard as I chased, I couldn't see the main bunch, so I figured I
might as well take my time to cycle all the way to the finish.
"
After almost four hours, I was delighted to see the dome-shaped National
Stadium from Nicoll Highway... Maybe, as I thought to myself, that
I can still finish among the top 20. With that in mind, I flew down
the road with 'vengence and true grit'!
"
At the finish, all I could see was the S.A.C.A. people taking down
the banners and packing up! Apparently, the race ended one hour ago
and all the guys had gone home!!! Even my team mates!!!
"
Oh well, so much for winning my first race! I heard that a tall and
skinny guy by the name of Jamalludin Mohamad had won the race in the
national (open) category. I wonder who that guy is? Hmm.... I thought
to myself then."
