Every Monday in the Singapore at Large series, we profile Singapore's sports scene with a national or grassroots perspective. Today, JOYCE LIM reviews the Ketam Mountain Bike Park in Pulau Ubin
Joyce Lim, The New Paper 18 Nov 08;
BARELY six months after it was officially opened in May this year, a large part of the million-dollar Ketam Mountain Bike Park has been covered with undergrowth.
A fortnight ago, The New Paper team visited the mountain-biking trail in Pulau Ubin twice over the two weeks.
On both occasions, we found thick undergrowth covering a large part of the 8km cross-country loop, making it unsafe to ride on even for the experienced cyclists.
And with the recent wet weather conditions, rainwater gets trapped easily in the thick vegetation, causing the trails to be muddy and difficult to pedal on.
Ketam Mountain Bike Park is Singapore's first bike park to be constructed based on International Mountain Bicycling Association standards, in consultation with Singapore Amateur Cycling Association and DirTraction, a privately-owned organisation which has been the pioneering force behind cycling-related sports in Singapore and Malaysia.
The 45-hectare bike park which came ahead of the 2010 Youth Olympic Games to be held here, where mountain biking will be one of the 26 events, is meant to offer a safe environment for bikers to practice and hone their various mountain biking techniques.
But for now, the undergrowth poses a danger to the adventurous riders who try to negotiate that off-road obstacles, sharp corners or dropping off a rocky slope.
Problems
Said Lim Hui Min, 30, trail specialist from DirTraction: 'Bikers riding overgrowth trails would have problems seeing the riding lines. To be able to see the proper lines is critical to a safe and fun ride.
'Overgrowth trails encourage bikers to stray off the trails, hence, creating illegal unmanaged trails.'
Biking enthusiast Jocelyn Wee, 29, who has been to the Ketam Mountain Bike Park thrice, finds the undergrowth a turn-off.
She said: 'It is a well-designed bike park. But with the undergrowth, the elementary blue square trails have become more difficult to ride on. It's annoying when your bike gets stuck in the mud.
'Otherwise the trails are properly designed and marked according to their different difficulty levels. You can see how 'dangerous' the trails and obstacles are and it is entirely within one's discretion whether to take them.
Wee finds it more challenging to ride on the rough terrains than on the tarmac roads on the island.
The National Parks Board (NParks) had built the Ketam Mountain Bike Park at a cost of $1 million and even had 1,000 trees planted at the site.
The bike park, which was officially opened by senior ministor of State for National Development and Education, Grace Fu earlier this year, offers scenic rides next to the Ketam Quarry lake and a good view of the coast.
The trails are graded according to three difficulty levels ranging from the blue square (elementary) trails which offer some steep slopes and narrow tracks.
The (advanced) black diamond trails have more obstacles like long step climbs and drop-offs.
And the double black diamond (more advanced) trails are not for the faint-hearted as riders faced much more tricky obstacles and have to jump over steep, rocky slopes and sharp corners.
More than 300,000 visitors visit Pulau Ubin yearly for cycling, hiking, camping and other activities.
