Bike Ride-4 - Variety is spice

The above signs were spotted on some of the pedestrian bridges that make up the PCN (eastern) circuit. One bears the NParks logo, the other has no logo. Contravening one risks a $1,000 fine, it seems ok in the case of the other. Why the difference? Are both legal? Has it got to do with the direction one is going towards? Could be, as the slashes are in opposite directions. Will the authorities speak up?


















Two excellent signs (above) showed essential information on where we had come from and the next destination.

Compare them with these unhelpful signs (below).

Bike Ride-4 - And these ....

We stopped at Eastwood Shopping Centre (it's at far right, not in this photo). HoiYing wanted to buy a cap.

Returning from Eastwood SC, we found this planting bed obstructing the way.

It would be safer for cyclists if part of the planting bed were concreted up so that they need not have to get down onto the road.

And those damaged sunken slabs are very dangerous!

(click on photo to enlarge to see details).




Obstruction by motorcycles parked on the track outside one of the Clubs near Changi Vliiage.

Enforcement action and an appropriate warning sign would certainly help.








One of the offenders chabut on seeing us taking photographs.

Bike Ride-4 - A safer ride 2

This was another one of the dangers we encountered on our first ride in Jauary.

We gave feedback to NParks.








The out-swinging gate has been replaced with a sliding gate; no more a danger to PCN users!

Bike Ride-4 - A safer ride

This was one of the dangers we encountered on our Bike Ride-1 in January.

There were three such occurrences along Loyang Avenue.

















Two of these were planted up with tall shrubbery by the time of our Bike Ride-3 in March.














Yesterday on our Bike Ride-4, we found the third site installed with a railing to prevent anyone falling in.

Well done, don't you think?

Except that the old railings are much safer, being 'rounded' off, without protruding ends.

Bike Ride-4 - ECP to Bedok

Bike Ride-4 was clockwise, full circuit, via Bedok Connector. There were 4 of us; ChoyChim's daughter Frances came along. Started out a about 9.30am from Area C4, East Coast Park.





Almost missed the subway at Area G because there were no prominent signs.

We could have gone straight ahead and that would have spoilt our anticlockwise route plan.




You MUST click on the leftmost photo below to enlarge it to be able to see the really small sign. It's the ONLY sign too.

Aerobics turn back biological clock

Here's an interesting article from the Straits Times dated 25 April 2008.



Regular aerobic exercise improves the body's ability to take in oxygen and use it, but a person's maximal aerobic power falls steady as people age. -- SPH PHOTO










NEW YORK - MAINTAINING aerobic fitness through middle age and beyond could delay the aging process by more than a decade and prolong independent living, according to a new review of research on aerobic fitness and dependency in old age.
Twenty years ago, Dr R. J. Shephard of the University of Toronto in Ontario and his colleagues proposed that adequate aerobic capacity was a key factor in helping very old people to maintain a high quality of life and live independently. In a review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Shephard analyses the latest data on the issue.

Regular aerobic exercise improves the body's ability to take in oxygen and use it, but a person's maximal aerobic power falls steady as people age.

According to Dr Shephard, studies of aerobic training response in older people have shown that workouts, especially more intense physical activity maintained for a longer duration, can improve aerobic power. In fact, seven studies of this type of exercise found people's aerobic power increased nearly 25 per cent - equivalent to reversing 12 years' worth of aging-related loss of fitness.

Based on his review, Dr Shephard concludes that elderly people who engage in progressive aerobic training can maintain their independence longer, in effect by turning back the clock on the loss of aerobic fitness that occurs with aging.

Other positive spin-offs of aerobic fitness include reduced risks of serious illness, faster recovery after injury or illness, and reduced risks of falls due to maintenance of muscle power, balance and coordination.

'There remains a need to clarify the importance of deteriorations in fitness relative to other potential causes of dependency but, from the practical viewpoint, regular aerobic activity can address many of the issues of both functional loss and chronic disease,' he writes. -- REUTERS