Author: shep

12 hr Mountain Bike Marathon

Tampines Mountain Bike Park hosted the Dirt Traction 12 hour Night MTB Marathon.  The race started at 5pm and ended 12hrs later at 5am.  Having at least 2hrs of daylight provided all riders with a last minute look at the course before it got dark and although the course was not technical it was good to refresh the memory.  However, with ground water seeping to the surface from a day of rain the back end of the course turned into a mud fest and challenged even the most technically proficient riders.

Team Cannasia-Cannondale had a number of riders entered right across all the race categories.  We even had a few of the Roadies sneak out for some off-road action.  The team had its hopes pinned on the two men’s duo teams and two of the solo riders.  Unfortunately a botch up at the start of the race with track marking sent the lead riders, including 3 or 4 Cannasia riders, the wrong way and in turn put them way behind their competitors.  This ensured a long night ahead.  As 5am rolled around Cannasia had recovered and managed to get on the podium again.  Our solo rider Shahrin Bin Amir rode brilliantly to come home first in the Open Mens Solo, the two Mens Duo Teams came in 2nd and 3rd and the biggest surprise was the Mixed Quad finishing 1st.

In the main image above, the “Red Mist” had descended on Tim Wilkins after the initial race start botch up.  No. 75 Shahrin Bin Amir settled into his rhythm early on.

Gabi’s facial expression is priceless! Lower right.

 

Ketam 4hr MTB Enduro Race

Located around the edge of a quarry on the island of Pulau Ubin, a five minute bumboat ride from Changi point ferry terminal is the Ketam Mountain bike park.  The park played host to the Ketam 4hr Enduro MTB race and the Cannasia MTB team had 3 individual riders and 2 Mens Duo Teams entered.

Cannasia had a very successful day with Shahrom Bin Abdullah proving to be the strongest of the individual riders over the 4hrs and Nathan and Fraser came 2nd in the Mens Duo competition.  It was a real mixed bag of competitors and here are a few images from the day.

Cannasia MTB racing weapons.

Cannasia-Cannondale: Tim Clarsen

I’m currently working on a small project to document some of my team mates in our road cycling and mountain bike team Cannasia-Cannondale.  First up is Tim Clarsen.

Tim was the joint leader of the team but has recently moved to Norway with his family – I managed to squeeze in a shoot just prior to him packing up his bikes and heading off.  Tim is a very talented rider with years of experience both on and off the road, having raced in many countries around the world.  This experience enabled him to lead the team through training and ultimately onto the podium many times.  Some recent results include 1st Masters Men OCBC Criterium, 1st Open Men Cyclone Race Series Road Cycling Ranking and 1st Open Men Cyclone Series Mountbatten Criterium.  We’ve already heard he has had a couple of real “leg busters” in Norway, so here’s hoping he gets his climbing legs back real soon.

Tanglin Halt Criterium

The Tanglin Halt Criterium was the first cycling event in the 2011 Dirtraction Cyclone Race Series held here in Singapore.  Finally a circuit that resembled the type of club criteriums I’m used to racing back in New Zealand.  Clear skies and a dry track ensured a great turn out for the event and some great racing as a result.  I only had time to shoot the Masters Men and the Open Women’s races due to my own race schedule.  The new ANZA Racing team “The Mavericks” controlled the race from the start, however a last minute attack on the back straight of the last lap saw the Mavericks pipped at the post by Life Extensions and Pico Bike Labz riders. The Open Women’s race was quickly reduced down to 5 riders consisting of 3 Pico Labz girls, one ANZA rider and our only Cannasia-Cannondale female rider, Gabi. The Pico Labz girls did their best to attack Gabi over 39 minutes of racing but she held on to place second on the podium with Megan Kinder taking third in her first criterium event for ANZA.  Here a few images from the racing.

Bamber Miller Architects

Bamber Miller Architects were commissioned to renovate this Victorian ground floor flat conversion in August 2010.  The client purchased the property in North West London after being charmed by its character and southerly orientation.  The Architects saw the potential for maximising space and light in the two-bedroom flat by looking towards Scandinavian interiors and traditions for inspiration.

The former separate living and kitchen areas were opened up to create one open plan room with direct access to the garden via the kitchen rather than the living room and a utility space was created off the entrance hall to maximise the kitchen capacity.

A simple palette of materials and finishes was chosen to enhance light infiltration and reflection within the spaces, providing a fresh backdrop to the client’s furniture and ornaments. Bleached floorboards and light coloured walls provide a sense of fluidity whereas the white high gloss cabinet doors and polished chrome fittings help to bounce light off the surfaces.

Single glazed timber and steel framed doors and windows were replaced with double glazed timber framed units to help improve energy performance together with other low energy interventions.

The works were completed in January 2011.  Email info@bambermiller.com for any inquires

OCBC Pro Criterium – Singapore

OCBC Cycle Singapore 2011 took place over the weekend and the highlight for me was the Professional Criterium held under lights around the F1 pit building on Saturday night.  The race was sure to be a real nail biter with a star studded field and huge prize money up for grabs.  With riders like Jack Bobridge, Cameron Meyer and Pure Black Racing from New Zealand, I was anticipating a fast pace right the the gun, and I wasn’t disappointed.

90minutes of hard racing with constant attacks finally came down to a sprint finish after the break was caught in the last few hundred meters.  Italian neo-pro Omar Bertazzo of the Androni Giocattoli team pipped the two Australian’s Dean Windsor (Rapha Condor-Sharp) and Cameron Meyer (Garmin-Cervelo) for the win.  It was his first professional win of his career.

We had four members of Team Cannasia-Cannondale racing, however after a galent effort they were retired from the race along with many other riders half their age just prior to being lapped.

Villa Maggona – Sri Lanka

Arriving in the middle of the night to a high white wall that is interrupted only by a heavy wooden gate creates an intriguing feeling of what lies behind.  As the gate slowly opens Villa Maggona is revealed.

The Villa is situated along Galle Road in the Village of Maggona on the west coast of Sri Lanka.  Colombo based Architectural firm Team Architrave, lead by Madhura Prematilleke, designed the Villa which was completed in 2009.

The Villa has been renovated from the tsunami ravaged bungalow and is sandwiched between the road and the beach.  With landscaping by Laki Senanayake and Noel Davis the overall site feels fresh and open yet there is a great feeling of seclusion.

The main living space and bedrooms face the sea and are separated from the lap pool by a spacious veranda where you can easily loose hours.  The dining room runs perpendicular to the main dwelling at one end and is serviced by a spacious kitchen and wonderful, friendly staff.

Follow the link www.villamaggona.com for any inquires.

Gardens By The Bay – Off-Site Part 5

The Cool Dry Conservatory has finally been revealed in all its glory with the removal of the external scaffolding.  It is certainly a very impressive structure.  Only a few remaining glass panels remain to be fitted and a capping off ceremony is scheduled for mid February with National Development Minister Mr Mah Bow Tan invited to attend as the special guest who will install the last piece of glass.

Meanwhile, the Cool Moist Conservatory continues to progress at an extraordinary rate.  The Gridshell is almost complete and the last remaining ribs are being erected.

Below are images from December 2010 and January 2011.

December 2010

January 2011