This was really an eye opener experience for everyone, including me. To be frank, the trip was the first time that I had to lead 10+ others on a journey, added with the additional difficulty that I was NOT familiar with the eastern part of Singapore. But in the end, things had worked out ok. Everyone returned back to the chalet fine, tired perhaps, but filled with the feeling of satisfaction and achievement.

Here is a brief look on the details of the trip:

Trip Statistics   

Participants	Bowen, ChoonKee, Daphne, Heather, Ivonne, Jacinta, Leonard, Lewis, Shi Ting, Thomas, YiHaw, ZhiHui
Bicycles used	11 rented mountain bikes with gears, 1 old AhP3k bike.
Equipment	1 10 litre water container
Distance Travelled	Roughly between 39.6km - 41km+
Time Taken	Roughly about 5h15mins (12am - 5:15am)
Route Taken	Pasir Ris Dr 3 (DownTown East), Loyang Ave, Changi Village Rd, Changi Coast Rd (Perimeter of Changi Airport), East Coast Park Service Rd, East Coast Park (7-11), Marine Parade Rd (Marine Parade), Bedok South Ave 1, New Upp Changi Rd (Bedok MRT) Bedok North Ave 3, Bedok Resevoir Rd, Tampines Ave 4 (Tampines Central), Tampines Park Connector (Sun Plaza Pk, Pasir Ris Town Pk) , Pasir Ris Dr 3 (DownTown East)
Route Map

I will tell the story of the trip by dividing it into parts, with each major landmark reached as a "chapter"

Pasir Ris Dr 3 (DownTown East) 
Around 12am, after everyone had watched finished TV, we began to prepare to pack up and set off for the night cycling trip. We were about to move out when I abruptly rushed back into the chalet room, grabbed the water container and filled it with orange drink and dunked the heavy thing into the AhP3k bike's basket.

"Thomas don't be crazy lah!"

I was, as usual. But the water container unexpectedly turned out to be very useful...

After awhile, I was chosen to plan the route for the night's cycle. At this point I felt extremely nervously as I was unsure of the area. Soon this became evident, as I was unable to answer the casual question "where ARE we going?" and was also winding thru' minor roads, seemingly going in circles. Then, abruptly, I saw a sign..

 < CHANGI VILLAGE 

"Hey guys? I think I know where we will be going..."

Loyang Ave 
I made a turn to the left at the next T-junction and begun to cycle a uphill slope. Everyone followed, some with ease, others with difficulty. The climb soon became a downward rush as we zipped downwards. This was followed by another uphill slope. A hasty attempt to teach some of the members about bicycle gear shifts was made by some people, like Leonard, Daphne, etc. The group begin to split apart as some speeded ahead while others fell behind. To restrict the distancing, the first pit stop was made as I stopped at a road junction. ZhiHui, Lewis and YiHaw caught up with the group. The water container proved useful as several people wolfed down their cup of orange juice.

Soon the journey continued. Loyang Ave was a road which leaded to Changi Village, at the edge of Singapore. Because of this, the road became smaller and smaller and it also became increasing difficult to remain on the road as cars, taxis, buses and even trunks roared passed us. A system developed at this point where the rider at the end of the group would immediately ring his/her bell once he spotted a vehicle, to alert the others. This was extremely effective as the road itself increasingly became hostile. Dark, winding and bumpy, it was not easy to ride on. We continued on until suddenly Daphne bursted out.

"Hey! I know this place!!!"

I blurred out, "Huh?"

It turned out that Lewis had organised a class chalet at Changi Village the year before, which was why Daphne recognised the road. 

"So this means we are very near Changi Village right?"

I turned left into the minor road, followed by the others.

Changi Village Rd   
The place itself was silent, having only chalets and holiday flats in the area. Everyone cycled on. Suddenly, I turned back to notice that a group of people were not behind us. 

"Damn, they either couldn't catch up or got lost."

I waited in the middle of the road for a while while the CK, Leonard, Daphne, Jacinta combination proceded on. Soon, the rest appeared.

"Wooo!!! We're almost there!"

Spurred by this, the rest speeded up and I went with them, where we met up with the rest of the group, at Changi Village, in front of a small Shell petrol station.

"Eh people, THIS is Changi Village and we are now.."

"Look!" one of the guys muttered. "Chiobus.."

"Oh those? Those are ah-guas (transvestites)"

"REALLY!?!"

I explained to them that we could now either turn back, or move on further to explore other areas. "Changi Airport is very nearby" I said, which was accompanied by the sound of a roaring jet. The girls gushed with excitement about seeing giant airplanes up close, and so after some quick drinks from the water container, we continued. Some funny mishaps occured while we crossed the small narrow bridge at the Pulau Ubin Jetty. After that, I led them to cycle on the path way of the Changi Coast Park.

Changi Coast Rd (Perimeter of Changi Airport) 
It was high tide at the time, and the sea level seemed to be almost the same as that of land level. The beauty of the place was indescribable. An Army docking facility was also located at this area.

"Hey, that's a hovercraft."

"Really? Where?" Bowen asked. "Oh. I see it. Does it work?"

"Dunno. I seen it so many freakin' times everytime I cycle pass here. Never seen it been operated before."

We reached the end of the park. I gestured to the others to stop and take a rest. Several people wanted to go to the loo. I told the others to do so if they wanted to, as this toilet was the LAST one for the next 3 - 4 km. After everyone was done we somehow gathered together and went over to the beachside of Changi Park, and huddled together on a stone table staring out to the open sea. Everyone was together. Except Leonard and Jacinta, cycling around in the park's carpark area. Soon they also came over.

"Hey guys, you all want to turn back and go back now anot?" I asked.

"WHY? It's so early!" They unanimously replied.

I had reasons for my request. I was worried that not everyone could take it and some might not be able to endure should the journey be too long. However, I tempted them with a little bait to spur their enthusiasm.

"Erm.. well ok. You see the building behind us? That is the airport's cargo loading facility. If we continue to cycle along the road a bit longer, you can see the airplanes"

"Cool!~" someone blurted out.

"Hey do you guys know that this road can lead us to East Coast? It's quite a distance but not really that far."

Daphne suddenly shouts out, "Let's go!"

I was quite surprised. Taking that to be the choice of the rest, I led everyone onward. We were now cycling on what is know as the Changi Coast Rd. Along the way I showed off to CK and YiHaw that my bike DID have gears ("Chey, I thought you were adjusting your pants or something") After a bend, I pointed out a straigh stretch of road which I had termed the "infinite expanse"

The others could also see the road for themselves and they knew the term suited the road well. This section of the Changi Coast Rd was parallel to the perimeter of the Changi Airport, marked by a high fence. The road itself stretched as far as the eye could see, and seemed to converge together far in front at a small dot. Knowing how long it would take to cover the distance, and how large freighter trucks frequented  the roads, I felt abit nervous. Nevertheless, we went on. Several of the guys were very excited by the space and the "freedom" which the empty road offered, and zipped to and fro on the road. Leonard was doing his "no-hand!" trick along the long road. At the beginning, everyone seemed very energetic. But, by the time we reached the other end of the road, everyone began to show signs of fatigue. Some were laying on the road flat, Yi Haw was puffing smoke greedily.

"Erm, guys" I asked, "Do you all still want to go on further until we reached East Coast? There is a 7-11 there."

"How far issit?" Someone asked.

I pondered for a moment. "It is quite near I think." The word quite turned out very inappropriate to describe the distance.. 

We got up on our bikes again and rode on. We were on a flyover (which led to Tanah Merah) for a shortwhile before turning into the East Coast Park Service Rd.

East Coast Park Service Rd 
Here, we begun a constant switch of road, pavement and grass and the differences in physique between different people became very obvious as 2 groups slowly formed - with one group still able to cycle fast and thus push forward, while another group were already having difficulties and moving at a slow speed to try to recuperate their strength. Attempts made by me to try to control the separation had very little success at this point, as the differences in distance was just too far.

The whole group unanimously decided to rest at the East Coast Park Hawker Centre.

"Eh, Thomas," ChoonKee asked. "How far IS the East Coast 7-11?"

"Erm... Quite near liao lah."

"Quite?!? Just now you said it was quite near. Now also quite near. Like no difference like that leh!"

I could only manage an sheepish smile as I knew the point he made was true.

We went on on our bikes again after about 10 minutes. Eventually, after sheer determination and persistence, we finally reached the 7-11 at East Coast Park.

People rushed into the 7-11 as though it was an oasis in the desert. (It was lah, actually) We got a Big Gulp filled with Coke while others went to buy some foodstuff and snacks. YiHaw at this point decided to shoplift a Big Gulp and so we ended up with a "Buy 1 Big Gulp and get 1 Big Gulp 'free'  situation. At the 7-11, we sat down for a really long rest, one which was not just for 5 minutes, but was a whole 15 - 20. I observed everyone and my own tiredness and realised that we probably would not make it back to the chalet if we continued back using the same route, (By the East Coast Pk Service Rd, Changi Coast Rd... route) So I decided to try to plot a shorter, faster way back, with limited knowledge of the area and a lot of guesswork. Everyone readily agreed as thus when we set off again, I put the plan into action. When we set off again it was around 4:20 - 4:30am.

Marine Parade Rd 
Instead of going back to the chalet using the route which we used to come, I led the gang instead to cross the East Coast Parkway Expressway by going by a underpass. On the other side, we cycled thru the HDB car park and eventually going onto the Marine Parade Rd. 

"Now," I explained to Daphne, "we need to find a T-junction and when we do so, we turn left, so that we would be able to use the road to eventually lead us to Bedok. When we reach Bedok, we should also be able to find the eastern MRT track. That would serve as a key landmark."

At this point I was in front. We cycled at a slow pace and eventually reached Bedok South Ave 1, which eventually led us to New Upp Changi Rd, marked by the Bedok MRT station as well as MRT tracks. Here, we stopped to take a rest and replenish ourselves with a drink from the water container.

Bedok North Ave 3, Bedok Reservoir Rd, Tampines Ave 4 (Tampines Central) 
We rode on following the east MRT tracks for a short while before I turned into Bedok North Ave 3 (Marked by the Bedok Swimming Complex) This avenue led to the Bedok Reservoir Rd, which served as a landmark too. While cycling along this road, we ran into a police road block. After receiving a severe reprimanding from the police for a lack of safety equipment, we continued on our way. Eventually, we reached the central of Tampines. We cycled thru the bus interchange ( ! ) and then continued till we reached the Tampines Park Connector - A path that connected several of the parks in Tampines to Pasir Ris Park.

Tampines Park Connector   
Here, some sort of miscommunication occurred. An entire part of the gang disappeared, leaving me with ChoonKee, Leonard, Ivonne ( ? ) and Daphne. I was told that ZhiHui knew the area had led the rest on an alternative route which he felt was faster and shorter. Nevertheless, I led the remaining few along the Tampines Park Connector. At this point I cycled very fast, with the temptation of ending the trip faster being the carrot hanging in front of my head. Soon, I was shocked to find that only me and Daphne were all that was left! We waited for almost 5 minutes, looking back at the Tampines Connector's path, but could not see anyone. Without a hand phone, we could not call anyone either, so we decided to continue on instead, and once we reached our chalet, then we will make a call to check on the rest.

We rushed all the way for the rest of the trip and finally reached DownTown East. We reached the chalet to find the rest who did not go (Yvonne, Meiyi, Meizhen, Geraldine, Eugene) fast asleep. A call was made to Daphne's hand phone, which was with Leonard/ChoonKee

"Allo? Ah? We are at Pasir Ris lah... Coming back liao. Ok, bye~"

Eventually, the rest also arrived, and at around 5:15am, the trip officially ended.