Rolling.bike
A useful new web app for generating ride briefs is now available at the brilliantly named rolling.bike. Upload your GPX file, or sync your routes via Strava or Ride with GPS, provide some context and Rolling will generate a well structured ride brief.
Here’s a walked through example:
A quick summary of this route:
- Start at Botanics
- The hilly comb of First-to-Fifth Avenue
- Hillview
- Lorong Sesuai
- Rifle Range Road
- Finish at Dempsey at the bottom of the map
Information I provided to Rolling:
- Route Name: Hills and Thrills
- Category: Steady (2.0 - 2.8 W/kg)
- Named Start and End points
- Rider Notes:
- New Rider Instructions: Lots of short and snappy hills.
- Self sufficiency note: Two bottles. One gel.
With that information, Rolling can output various lengths of brief: Regular, Event, or WhatsApp, depending on your selection. In addition, you can pick your brief’s tone (I use cheeky). With the above information, the Regular output for this ride:
Hills and Thrills is exactly what it says on the tin, a fun steady-paced loop round some of the nicer parts of the island. It’s 35.2 kilometres with 635 metres of climbing spread across six proper little kicks, so you’ll get a proper workout but nothing that’ll have you gasping for air round every corner. This ride is for anyone who fancies a morning out with decent scenery and a few punchy climbs to keep things interesting. We’ve got regroup points dotted through the route, so you can catch your breath and stay together as a group. No heroics required. The climbs are all short and snappy. Haunted Hill at 14.7 kilometres in is probably the meanest of the lot at 8.7 per cent, but it’s still only 300 metres of pain. Lorong Sesuai later on is similarly spicy at 11 per cent but equally brief. First Avenue and Bukit Timah Road will warm you up early doors, nothing outrageous but enough to let you know your legs are switched on. You’ll be self-sufficient out there, so bring two bottles and a gel to keep the tank topped up. A spare tube and pump are non-negotiable, as is the usual common sense. We’re starting at Singapore Botanic Gardens Tanglin Gate on Saturday 7 March at 6am. It’s an early one but worth it for the cooler morning air and quiet roads. We finish at Burnt Ends Bar on Dempsey Road, where we’ll sort out proper breakfast and a coffee that’s actually worth drinking. Should be a cracking morning.
The Event brief:
This is a steady ride built around short, punchy climbs that’ll keep things interesting without requiring you to sell a kidney. We’re looking at 35 kilometres with 635 metres of elevation crammed in, which is basically Singapore’s way of testing whether you can handle variety on a bike. We’ll start at Tanglin Gate in the Botanic Gardens and head into familiar territory. The climbs here are properly bite-sized. You’ve got Jalan Dermawan, which is steep enough to remind you that you have legs, and Lorong Sesuai sits in there with a bit of attitude at 11 per cent average. Holland Road rounds out the main event near the end. Nothing’s long enough to really damage you, but they’re all short enough that you have to actually pedal properly. This isn’t a race, so we’ll regroup sensibly at the bottom of anything notable. Keep things social on the flats, push on the climbs, and try not to look too smug when you get to the top. We’re aiming for around two hours ten minutes of riding, which gives us time to chat, recover between efforts, and generally not take ourselves too seriously. The route loops us back through some nice sections, so there’s rhythm to it. Early on you’ll pass through Avenues One to Five before heading out toward the real climbing. Bukit Timah Road gets involved early, then we settle into the longer middle section where Jalan Dermawan and Lorong Sesuai are waiting to have their say. Bring two bottles and a gel minimum. There aren’t convenient shops along the way, so come prepared to look after yourself. Water stops are on you. We’re finishing at Burnt Ends Bar on Dempsey Road, which is a proper reward for a solid morning’s work. Coffee, food, legs that feel like they’ve done something worth doing. That’s the deal. See you Sunday morning. And no, you don’t need to be elite to ride this. Just show up with a bike that works and legs that are willing to go up hills a few times.
And finally, the WhatsApp brief:
Saturday 7 March, 6am sharp from Tanglin Gate. We’re doing Hills and Thrills, 35 km of the sort of climbing that keeps you honest. Plenty of short punchy hills that’ll test your legs but won’t bore you. Regroup spots at First through Fifth Avenue at the bottom, then Former Hillview and Lorong Sesuai at the top, plus Rifle Range Road at the end. Bring two bottles and a gel because we’re not messing about. Finish at Burnt Ends Bar, Dempsey Road.
The more you use Rolling the better it gets as it actually learns your tone!
It’s an extremely useful utility, and a bargain at $15 AUD a year.
