Discovering Our World On Two Wheels

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In the carefree days of the 1960s and 1970s, so many of us grew up in our Bedok kampong discovering our worlds on two wheels. A bicycle was freedom - the easiest way to savour everything the kampong offered. We all remember cycling from our various houses, crossing Sungei Bedok, and heading toward the lovely, picturesque village of Mata Ikan and beyond, where the coast always seemed to shimmer in the distance.

Our friend and follower John Lynn went even further than we ever did. As a young teenager in Siglap, he once rode with friends from an RAF family and cycled all the way from his home to Bedok Corner, entered the kampong’s gravel tracks, crossed the river, pedalled passed Padang Terbakar, and continued on to Somapah, passing Ayer Gemboroh and all the way to Tanah Merah Beach - and then rode back again. Wind in their faces, laughter in the air, and a smile sealed into memory.

Such recollections bring back vivid images of cycling along sandy tracks bordered by swaying coconut trees, with the nearby coast beckoning for a stop - just long enough for a yearn for a refreshing dip in the warm waters – before we had to head back for dinner!

Thank you, John, for sharing such a wonderful adventure and this photo with us. 

Now who else loved cycling around so much back then?



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