Trail Biking at Howard Springs

Map showing all the trails

On Friday, I had the pleasure of joining Adam (our guide from the camping trip) and his friend Pete for a mountain biking episode at Howard Springs Nature Reserve. Given that it was going to be my first MTB spin, I was rather excited not knowing what to expect. Back in Singapore, I didn't have much opportunity to try out the tracks as I didn't know too many people who were into the MTB scene and I guess I wasn't daring enough to do trails alone. So the opportunity opened up here and I took it.

Starting off

I met up with Adam and Pete at 3.15pm along Howard Springs Road and Adam led us into the trails. It started as a simple dirt track running through a plantation of trees. The track had a fair bit of bends and unsurprisingly took us over some rocks and tree roots. It was a good start and I had already begun to love the trail. My rear tyre did slip under some of loose gravel on a a few occasions as we navigated more acute bends but thankfully, with some breaking and steering, I managed to get the bike under control to prevent a fall. 

Pete (left) and Adam (....right. duh??) 

Adam and Pete seemed to have no problem at all and seemed really comfortable with the trail. Adam in particular knew the routes like the back of his hand. Eventually the trails started changing as we moved from one trail to another. Some trails were more focused on winding turns while some were more technical with mounds, logs, holes in the grounds and rocks.

Wolverine got me

We went at it for more than an hour. Unfortunately for the two of them, they had to stop occasionally to allow me to catch my breath as I had trouble keeping up with their pace. Also, the chain on my bike kept jumping and skipping gears which caused my pedals to slip quite often. One of the slips caused my chain sprocket to grease and scratch my gastrocnemius (calf muscle). Guess I have to take a look at my bike and do some maintenance work in preparation for my next ride. Anyway, by the end of the ride, we had covered about 18km of trail and track. It was a fantastic experience and I am sure Ill be going for more trail rides from now on.