The 1st Singapore Transcontinental cycling expedition, 2003/4*

Alex and Johann were kakis in TPJC's ODAC back in 1993, where Johann was Alex's senior and brought Alex on his first cycletour around Johor, where he fondly remembers Alex huffing and puffing up the si bueh siong hills. Now, almost 10 years later, the 2 old friends are back to their adventuring ways again, except that the student has become the master.

Alex started conceptualising this dream of cycling from London to New Zealand after coming back from cycling from Lhasa to Kathmandu, in 2001. Coincidentally, at around the same time, the seeds of thought had begun in the minds of Johann and another friend to cycle the same route, but in the other direction. Unfortunately, the one never knew of the other's intention till much much later, and the two had already lost contact for 5 years.

After Alex had obtained sponsors and managed to get a New Zealand cycling partner, he met Johann again at an ODAC reunion on the New Year's eve of 2003 (an annual reunion that Johann always missed due to an email SNAFU) at the PA East Coast Sea Sports Club where Alex was working. There Johann found out about Alex's intentions just 3 months before he was leaving, so Alex went ahead with his plans and Johann left to go backpacking, climbing and cycling through North America.

Alex began his trip with Hugh Nimmo on the 14th of April from London's Trafalgar Square, and spent an eventful 2 months cycling through England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and on through to Turkey. But on the 14th of June things changed when Alex emailed Johann with the harsh news that his angmoh partner had to pull out, asking Johann to die-die must come over to join him for the rest of the trip. After a frenzied rush of decisions, settling matters in Seattle and Singapore, getting air tickets and putting his bicycle back together, the expedition now became a uniquely Singaporean adventure.

We hope this Expedition will inculcate a sense of daring and adventure and help make our friends back home more 'gung-ho', and try new avenues of growth, thereby keeping us up-to-date and competitive in the global economy (yeah right). We hope to play our part in reaching this objective, and inspire people out there to go out and achieve their dreams.

Alex and Johann would like to keep the expedition an entirely self-supported one; that is, there will not be any assistants, suppport vehicles or pre-arranged supply points along the entire route. The two will also try their utmost not to put their bicycles (unless over water, bo-bian mah) on buses, trucks or any other forms of motorised transport to cover distances unless it is politically or enviromentally impossible to cycle, or advised by local authorities to do so.

*as far as our limited horizon extends. If you know better, tolong tolong email us :)

Jo & Alex, from the armpit of Turkey, 26th August 2003


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|the BIKE

Bike and Parts

Communal stuff

1 spare chain [Shimano HG]
4 pieces spare brake pads [Shimano XTR]
1 piece spare brake cable
1 piece spare gear cable
Spare nuts, cables, spokes and bolts
2 bike multitools
spare tires & tubes
Few pieces quick-patch
High pressure pump
2 locks
bike lube
1 piece of rag


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Clothing

Equipment

2-man tent [double-walled]
Water-purifier
1 piece of down sleeping-bag
1 piece of liner [silk preferred]
1 set of multi-fuel stove
Pots and mugs(steel)
1 piece of spoon
1 piece of sleeping mat
Multi-sensor watch
1 pair of slippers or sandals
1 piece mini alarm clock
Toiletries
1 piece lip balm (SPF15)
1 bottle sun block (SPF15)
1 roll of thick cloth tape
1 roll of thick thread and needle
Cable ties many
Sunglasses (Rudy Project)
Water carrying capacity of 10L per rider (combination of Nalgene, Camelbak, Platypus & various bottles)
1 piece mini Swiss army tool
1 piece mini Leatherman tool (with pliers)
1 piece of mini torch light


Camera

Olympus Mju300 (150mb of XD memory)
miniDV camera
2 mini tripods
Extra batteries
DV tapes
Chargers and assorted international plugs

Administration

Various vaccinations (e.g.Hep A&B, Japanese Encep., Rabies, Typhoid, Tetanus, Meningococcal, Polio)
Several photocopies of passport (brought along)
12 pieces of colored passport-sized pictures (brought along)
Photocopies of important contacts and credit cards (left with family)

Medical

Medication for diarrhea, running nose, headache, malaria, sore throat, athlete’s foot, painkillers
1 bottle of eye drops
Antibiotics
Antiseptic swaps, gauzes and plasters
Medical sewing kit
few packets Oral re-hydration tablets
sunblock
lip balm

Money and Others

USD200 in cash (as back up)
Local currency (possibly SGD 300-500 at any time)
1 VISA (highly recommended) and 1 MasterCard credit card
Writing materials
Lonely Planet – Istanbul to Katmandu
*An open mind; things definitely do not always happen the Singaporean way

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