Exploring new commuting routes
Recently I moved house and my life on bike was paused for a couple of weeks. I have kick (pedal) started my commuting routine and am exploring routes to work. Before I moved to this new apartment, I was aware that the traffic situation is worse than my earlier experience. I was also aware that the distance is slightly longer (may be 2-3Km more). To me awareness (not ignorance) is bliss, as it prepares me mentally to face the issues.
This is the route I take in the morning. As you can see the route is fairly straightforward and there are no right turns at major junctions. This translates to a fairly smooth ride. The only issue is the presence of way too many traffic junctions along “Upper Serangoon road”. I guess it will be a few days before I get a handle on the driver behavior on this road. Once I get a feel of the general traffic movement, and their individual behavior, I think I will be able to shave a few minutes on the commute. Currently, my timing works as such:
- Start to Waypoint 1: 3.4 Km in 14 mins.
- Waypoint 1 to 2: 5 Km in 18 mins.
- Waypoint 2 to Destination: 7.6 Km in 18 mins.
- Total: 16 Km in 50 mins.
As one can observe, the slowest stretch is the first leg. Traffic seems to be flowing from the entire north-east into this road. Waypoint 1 marks the beginning of a Viaduct and some of the traffic flows into the viaduct and relieves Upper Serangoon Rd. The first leg also has way too many closely spaced traffic signals and numerous morons driving in bus lanes. Darn these Idiots.
The Second leg marks the end of Upper Serangoon Rd. This is reasonably faster – with the traffic junctions spaced further apart. The last leg is a pleasure to ride on since (as it seems), no one wants to use Republic Ave. I am not sure how long it will last, but I will be enjoying the roads while it is free.
The entire route is reasonably flat with short stretches of hills, which adds to variety on the route.
The return route is a different beast altogether. I suppose there are more than a few options for the return ride and I will be exploring some of them in the coming days / weeks. The route I picked first is as per the image. The stats are as follows:
- Start to Waypoint 1: 7.5 Km, 20 mins.
- Waypoint 1 to 3 (after 2): 7 Km, 23 mins.
- Waypoint 3 to Destination: 3.5 Km, 16 mins.
- Total: 18 Km, 60 mins.
The return leg is slightly longer along this path but I really am used to the first leg (my regular ride till Nicoll Highway) and wanted to experiment Upper Paya Lebar. The ride along downtown Singapore is usually very smooth in the evenings and so is Nicoll Highway. The riding time is not very representative as the traffic was abnormally bad – usually, I should make it in about 18 mins too.
The roads between Waypoint 1 till the left turn (into Paya Lebar Rd) is extremely congested. It meanders along Geylang and there are numerous traffic lights too. The worst bit is the portion from this point till Waypoint 2. This part cuts across the construction site for the “Central Line” of the Singapore Railway network. The roads are narrow, winding and extremely rough. Long stretches are paved with steel sheets and it might be a serious problem if it rains (my bike has absolute Zero traction on wet steel). Lots of debris on the road make it tricky to navigate too. My initial plan was to go along Aljunied Road and turn into Macpherson Road. May be I will try that another day. However, my plan to turn into Airport Road also faded since the traffic was heavy and I decided to make my right turn at Upper Serangoon Rd.
Waypoint 3 is a neat spot to turn into Upper Serangoon Rd and ride home. The last leg took longer than I thought (even though I was keeping good pace). The traffic lights remain red for a really long time in this stretch.
The ride was fine except for the construction site and I will have to check alternate route while heading home. I shall post more details as I gather them. If anyone has any suggestions on the routes (especially the return stretch), I would be glad to hear.
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