Author: rinaz

As expected, the TAA Charity Ride was fun! It is always exciting for me to ride together in a convoy along with the other two-wheelers. Its a pity that the convoy was much too short though.

I was worried that I was unable to get to the Kallang carpark, which was the designated meet point for all the bikers. I had a tendency to get lost on the road and was still unable to read maps. Luckily for me, while riding on the expressway, I met up with a huge group of bikers whom I assumed were on their way to the carpark. It was so cool to see them and I felt proud to ride with them.

Eventually, I reached the Kallang carpark and was marshalled to a group of riders.

Marshall 1 : You can ride with the gilera group there (points)

Me : But I’m not riding a gilera! 

Marshall 2 : Oh a Vespa, your group is at the other side.

Me : Thanks guys!

I knew I was with the right group when saw a large procession of Vespas – both classic and modern. I finally met up with the rest of the vesporeans who were present, Moon_star, Kahwoon, Natsume, Mengster and Un-Sith whom was representing the group.

I admired the multitude of colours and varieties of two wheelers. There were so many types – Harley Davidsons, Scramblers, Hayabusas, Ducatis and many others. There was a festive purring of engines everywhere.

At length, we got on our scooters and lined up to start the convoy. I turned behind and saw a fascinating looking man with a long white beard on top of a Harley.

As we rode in our convoy, I noticed the excited looking pedestrians as they pointed animatedly at our convoy as well as the awed looks of the car drivers. It was so funny to see that I couldnt help but to chuckle. There was a road marshall who rode beside us to ensure safety.

Shortly after, we reached our destination and drove in the compounds of the Malay Heritage Center.

We parked around the quickly filled compound and went to explore the centre as well as Muscat street outside. The area was lined with food bazaars selling all sorts of delicacies.

The gang chanced upon a pink drink and were curious to know what the black seeds at the bottom where. Mengster explained that it was Bandung Selasih, a rose syrup drink with milk with sweet basil seeds. It was refreshing and crunchy and wonderful to have in the hot weather.

And a hot weather it was! It exacerbated my thirst and I longed for a glass of bandung. We were supposed to wait till 5.30 pm for the charity presentation, but with over 2 hours to kill, I persuaded the gang to enter the museum as it was cooler and was much more entertaining than doing nothing.

Entry to the Heritage Center for the charity riders was a dollar and four for normal days. I revisited back my roots and marvelled about the fascinating history and artifacts. Modernisation has made it impractical to use now, but these items are so intricate and beautiful – proof of our naturally artisan traits. I nearly forgotten about items like these :

I’ve always liked looking at the display and the old photographs. I liked to imagine myself in the picture and transport myself to what the people in the picture were thinking and feeling.

Upstairs, I saw a tribute to some of the noted malays whom have contributed to arts like Zubir Said who composed the Singapore national anthemn as well as P. Ramlee who was arguably the most talented and versatile man whom had sucess as a scriptwriter, composer, singer, filmaker, actor, comedian.

We have such a rich heritage. Even as a Malay, I was fascinated and enlightened by what I saw.

I took my time looking at the display and at length and stepped out of the building to see that there was a lively crowd outside filled with visitors. Festive music was played and a host in a Malay costume was emceeing.

I didn’t stay for too long aftwards as I felt rather lethargic after the days activities, but to what I last heard, the TAA has raised about 34k which is not a bad sum 🙂

Here is a clip of the day’s activities.

Links

• The TAA (Tabung Amal Aidilfitri) Trust Fund
• Malay Heritage Center
• Kahwoon’s entry about the event

And big thanks to our Goldwing friends for marshalling!

• Video of the goldwing marshalls

Two weeks ago, I noticed a leak coming out of my scooter and I consulted the mechanic. After what he believed it to be caused by the metal washer, he repaired it and I got it back.

I still had the same problems the next day, but I had to bear with it as I needed the scooter to get to work and night class.

On monday, the leak was even more than what I anticipated. Engine oil was spilling out on the floor! I was so alamed that I sent it for repairs immediately.

After work, I went down to the workshop and the mechanic and I finally saw what was causing the problem. It was the engine chassis. It had a split!

Me : What could have caused the problem?

Mr Wee : I have a scooter of the same model as yours too. It could be caused by too much pressure – If you had a passenger and they shook your scooter, that could have caused cracks in the engine.

Me : This is very bad.

Mr Wee : There are two options. Option one is to replace the entire engine which costs about $700. But I’ll recommend you to take option two – I’ll use a sealant and cement the split together. This will be cheaper.

Me : Ok, lets go with option two and we’ll cross our fingers.

—

I got the scooter back yesterday and so far so good. No leaks after parking it overnight and after a ride to work today, its still dry. There looks like a patch there but its actually a stain from the leak and its actually dry.

Still, I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

Sidenote : There will be a TAA (Tabung Amal Aidilfitri) Charity Ride this Sunday. There will be a convoy ride of approximately 1000 bikes and scooters to an end venue, where the presentation of donated funds will be held.

If you have a two wheeler, come and join us! Riding in a convoy is fun! 🙂

I was scooterless for the weekend.

For the past few weeks, there has been a trace of brown liquid and drops of coolant on the floor each morning when I take the scooter out of the carpark. And though it wasn’t leaking much, I was still rather concerned. I didnt want to risk having my scooter explode on me.

I sent my scooter to Tong Aik on saturday morning and I met the mechanic, Mr Wee, who handled my scooter the last check up. He promptly took my baby under his wing.

While waiting for Mr Wee to complete the check, I met Yaoming, a fellow vesporean. He was there to collect his scooter that day and he recognized me from the Vivo Vespa event.

Yaoming told me that he was on his way to go the ‘Big Bike Fest’ and will be meeting the rest of the vesporeans later. Initially I contemplated on going to that event, but having already been there last year, I wasn’t too appealed by its male-oriented activities.

There was a bike stunt performance that seemed interesting to me. But that wasn’t enough for me to feel compelled to go.

At length, Mr Wee told me that he could not trace any obvious flaws and needed time to inspect my scooter more thoroughly so I headed for home and took the bus.

After the convenience of my scooter, it feels so different taking public transportation again – sitting passively on the seat, blocking out the sound from the mobile-tv, staring at the scenery, and then finally lulled off to sleep and waking up blearily just in time at my stop.

Come Monday morning, I walked to the bus stop to head to work. It was the same scene of over a year ago. The same listless people waiting for their buses. Some familiar faces. The annoying auntie pushing her way to the front to enter the bus.

I received a call by Mr Wee later at work telling me that my scooter would be ready for collection in the afternoon. Luckily, my brother has already finished his shift and was willing to give me a lift to Tong Aik.

Unfortunately for me, I was wearing a pair of skirt on the day. Though I was confident in wearing a skirt on my scooter, little did I know that I would re-enact the infamous scene as Marilyn Monroe in the seven year itch, being a pillion to my brother, all the way to the workshop.

After collecting my scooter back from the workshop, we were on our way back home. My brother noticed that there was a guy on a class 2A bike whom almost fell off his bike when he saw me. Has he never seen a girl wearing a skirt and wedge shoes on a scooter before?

But anyway, when I got to the car-park these this morning, I am greeted by this :

Again! Just what is wrong with it?