April 13, 2003
Jalan Kayu Bike Trail
So I kept hearing about some trail that goes from Jalan Kayu to Seletar Reservoir. A few years ago, when the area was under construction, I walked along the mosquito infested street and remembered seeing a very distinct trail that led off into the woods. I figured this was the trail everyone referred to.
Well, it sure as hell wasn't, or, if it was, it is impenetrable right now. I rode fifty feet into the forest before I saw a shabby encampment of plastic chairs, tarpaulins, and various rubbish. There were no people there, but I stirred up a hornet's nest of about a dozen+ wild dogs. And these were not sheepish mongrels, either... at least one had the chest color of a brown dobermann pinscher, although it was clearly bred with some other nasty creature. So ended that exploration.
(FYI: the best way I've found to deal with dogs like that is to aggressively bark back at them, and act like you want to attack them! I hopped off my bike, held it in front of me, and growled and moved one step towards them (they flinch back) and then discretely three steps back, keeping up the act till I figure I am outside their threat perimeter, and then get the hell away!)
I rode around some more, including up Seletar Farmway West 4 to a dead end that showed signs of maybe being a trail once, but it needed more bushwalking than I was in the mood for (I was looking for a nice, brisk MTB ride--not parang hacking) and it seemed like every fish farm I passed had another three mangy dogs that wanted to chase me.
I surveyed to the end of Jalan Kayu, which ends at Seletar Air Base, looking for other places this trailhead might be. I never found anything that looked like a candidate. I did, however, find an easy trail that ran alongside the SLE for maybe two miles before it runs into a canal. Sort of neat, although short. I think it might be possible to take some other paths along this canal, and I'll be researching that sometime soon.
Anyone know more about this trail?