They told us that the circuit at Sentosa consists of killer up hills and dangerous down hills. As we had no time to visit the circuit before the race, this morning is the 1st time we come face to face with this challenging circuit. Boy oh boy... This is gonna be fun!!!

Thank God for the beautiful weather. Besides, there's totally no wind at all in this valley blocked by trees on both sides of the road. What a day to race!

Registration as usual is one big fancy procedure. Indemnity waiver seems to be of great concern with Sandy urging everyone to "Sign the indemnity waiver form!" I can totally understand why - this circuit is not for the faint hearted.

Driving through the circuit early in the morning, the Viruses went "Oooohhhh..... Aiya...... Alamak, how to go 6 times (that's what we were told up till this point) round this kind of loop!"

However, at the starting point, we were then told that we need to go 5 times round the loop - that equates to a total distance of about 11km. With a 2.2km distance on each loop, skaters need to attack first a steep downhill, then an uphill climb of at least a 20o gradient. Next is a steep and long downhill consisting of a sharp left turn, which goes even further downhill - this is where a split moment of non-concentration could send a skater flying. Next on, another steep uphill before coming to the right turn-around with a covered man hole sitting right in the middle - a possible tripper! This is followed by an immediate short downhill, and of course another uphill - lots of leg muscles are needed for this stretch.

Now comes the best part - a long steep sharp downhill that could see many T-brakes or send anyone tumbling. Yet another crazy climb of the last hill and then finally, the end of the route; only to repeat this loop for yet another 4 times!! There are also several potholes and rough, covered man holes dotted all over the route, which are potential trippers. Hhmmmm.... This is gonna be interesting!

Standing at the start line, the recreational gals and guys gathered at the front for a mass start. Followed by us Ladies' Speed (Open) and finally the Men's Speed (Open). I can see the recreational skaters all ready to go. There are many new faces that have never done a serious skating race on the road. Some are children of 11 - 13 years of age and my heart goes out to them. I said a silent prayer for all and then got ready to go.

At the blow of the horn, the recreational skaters dashed off. After a 2 minutes lapse, it's our turn. With the signal, 5 of us gals kicked off quick and strong. We quickly got into a cadence with Joelle taking the lead downhill. Soon, it's the uphill task of climbing up that steep slope. When I saw the next long downhill, I decided to break from the pack and push myself down that hill. Yes, I'd gone crazy and decided to add to the beat. Wheeeee..... going downhill at speed of about 40kmph is one great thrill. I had to stabilize before taking the sharp left turn, followed by the immediate uphill. Pushing hard, I reached the top pretty quickly.

Looking back, I could see Jasmine at the bottom of the hill, followed by Ethel, Joelle and Clara. The turn-around soon appeared and I positioned to take a sharp right turn. As I was making the turn, the recreational skater kid was fumbling right in front of me; I had to call out to him in order that he won't be frightened by us and fall. Simultaneously, we had to avoid a man-hole sitting there waiting to trip a skater. Whew, that was happening!

Ahaa, downhill time! Chiong ah!!! I was like a mad women on full dose of adrenalin, I kept pushing downhill with all my might and then attacked the uphill with all my strength. When I saw the next steep downhill, I lost all sense of care and kicked my way down that slope. Afterwards, I was leading all the way up and soon the turn-around point appeared. Another quick right turn and it's one more mad roller coaster ride!! Wheeeee!!!!!!

The next uphill seems really steep this time - I'd forgotten this thing called lactic momentarily. Down the steep downhill with the sharp turn, I pushed again with all my might and was zooming all the way down - this reminds me of Disneyland (the Space Mountain rides which take you out of this planet!). Yipeeee!!!! Jasmine was pushing hard to close the gap between us and I was happy to let her take the lead for a while. After the turn-around, we hit the rest of the uphills and downhills fervently. "Go Jenn Go!!!" I heard many screamed - so I picked up the speed and did another mad dash up and down the hills. Hoooohaaaa!!!

Gravity is a powerful force when you are skating against it. Every push only moves us a step forward, every kick is no longer a natural forward propelling energy. Thank God there's no wind!! With every completed loop, the hills seem steeper and tougher.

By the 2nd lap, there's only Jasmine and I conquering the hills side by side or front and back (not necessarily in that order - hahahaa). While we were making our turns for the 3rd round, Sandy shouted, "Last round!" Jasmine and I looked at each other and said, "Is that a mistake?" Nevertheless, we pushed with all our might as we huffed and puffed up each hill. We were panting like 2 huge suction machines fighting for air. On the last leg, I decided to give my all on the down slopes and must have hit at least 45kmph, leading all the way down the hill and then gave my everything to speed up that ever so steep climb. Then Sandy said, "OK, finish" and pointed to the finishing line. I then sprinted all the way to the lead. I was happy and elated that it's finally over.

"NO, NO" went Jasmine with a confused look on her face, as I turned around in an equally confused state. Then Sandy changed his mind and said "OK, go" pointing to the starting line again. This is crazy - never seen this kind of confusion in a race. I could have just stayed put and won the race, but I decided to just go one more lap with Jasmine - after all, we came for the roller coaster ride, right? With the all out effort in the last leg - sprinting, stopping, going... Lactic was piling all the way to my toes - truly I could even feel it in my hair!! Hahahaha!!!

By now, we were really gasping for air and I was afraid that there might be an asthma attack on some skaters anytime. However, every time I see a downhill, my adrenalin started to pump all out of proportions again. I still managed to chiong all the way down the hills and use up every ounce of energy in my tired body to attack the last hill. Jasmine and I pushed side by side all the way up and then gave our all at the last 100m to the finishing line. She was just right ahead of me at the finishing line, aiya... not enough for a photo finish leh... Wheewww!!!! That was the best run yet. Hainzzz.... It's dangerous, it's messy, thrilling, chaotic, exciting, confusing..... But, love those darn hills, love those roller coaster spins, love those heart-thumbing sharp turns, most of all, love the speeeeeed!!!

With a timing of under 20mins - at 4 laps (approx. 8.8 km), and under 24mins - at 5 laps (approx. 11km), that's pretty cool for this kind of circuit. Well done gals!!!

"Wahhh...those hills almost killed me man....", "Someone fell in front of me and I siam ah.....", "aiya... I went over those potholes while going down slope, scary man....", "hahahhaaa.... I had to T-brake down the hills leh....", "Did u see me sit down by the side to rest? Siaou liao ah....", "If I had known it's the last lap, I would have chiong all the way man...", "Aiya, not enough helpers lah....", "He counted the laps wrongly..."

It seems that the rest of the 3 gals did only 4 laps and the same thing happened to the Men's, with some finishing 4 and others 5 laps. After some discussion, they decided not to count this race's results as part of the total league.

Back at the car park, the skaters started playing, jesting, photo-taking, cross-over skating... The lucky draw of course saw some happy faces.

Once again, we appreciate Sandy's effort in making all these possible. It isn't easy to put up a race with minimum resources. Kudos to SACA for letting us tag along each time. Let's be grateful and show our appreciation by being punctual so as not to delay their events. We'd like to thank all the cyclists for their patience and generosity for allowing us to be a part of their events. God bless!

As for now, it's time for sunbathing and swimming!!! Yipeeee!!! GO SKATERS GO!!!