SNS 2005 Jan 29 : Esplanade to Orchard

Saturday Night Skate (SNS) Jan 29
Where: Esplanade to Orchard Road (and Back)

Skaters gather at Queen Elizabeth's Walk at the Esplanade. About 120 skaters! Skate Assist Volunteer (SAV) Bernard Lee briefs the skaters about the route and safety.

Off we go! A good number of SAVs and Skateline instructors were present to guide. Notice the skaters in orange!

We skated all the way up the Singapore river, past Clark Quay all the way to the back of Zouk.

After Zouk, we left the river for River Valley Road. Along the condominiums lining Irwell Bank Road, we approached Orchard from its back door.

Home run! After mid-point and rest point at the Youth Park near Orchard Cineleisure, we head back down Somerset Road towards Dhoby Gaut MRT. This time, the return trip needed a big detour because the SMU construction made the pedestrain pavements around it unpassable. We had to make a big flank over to Paradiz Centre and Selegie, Middle Road, pass Chijmes and Funan Centre before heading back to the Padang.[]

SNS BRIEFING :
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When: 29 January, 8pm. Don't be late!
All Skateline stores will be closed at 7pm for the event

Meeting Point : Esplanade, open area under the Esplanade bridge (between Queen Elizabeth walk and Esplanade Theatres on the bay)
(Also Start & End pt. )

Difficulty : Intermediate to Advanced skaters only. Skaters should be be able to stop confidently and control speed downslope safely. General urban skating obstacles like stairs, short steep slopes, sharp turns, kerbs and skating through crowds is expected. No open road skating but lots of crossings at traffic lights. If you have just started skating recently, its better to avoid this skate. On the actual day, if instructors, Skate Assist Volunteers (SAV) or skate guides feel that you are not ready for the route, they may advise you to drop out.

Duration : About 1 Hour 45 miins

Distance : About 12km

Route Description :  (route may change on actual day based on actual conditions)

From the Esplanade, we will skate pass Fullerton Hotel through the Boat Quay. We will decide which side of the riverbank to skate on the day itself depending on how crowded it is. Upon reaching the Hill Street underpass, there's a steep slope the before reaching Clarke Quay. After Clark Quay, the skate continues along the Singapore river, past Liang Court and Roberson Walk along Robertson Quay to Zouk. From the opposite bank from Zouk, we will cut through to River Valley Close onto River Valley Road. We will skate past the condomiums along Irwell Bank Road to reach Grange Road. From there, we head towards Orchard Cineliesure to reach the Youth Skate Park. We take a short break here.

On the way back, we cross Somerset Road past Cineleisure and turn right onto Orchard Road, which we follow all the way down until the Istana Park. From the back of Istana Park we cross Penang Road again and skate down Stamford Road past Park Mall, YMCA and the National Museum and Library. At the cross junction of City Hall MRT Station, we turn right towards Funan Centre, then left to Coleman street and back to the Padang and Esplanade. If Orchard road is really crowded, we will skate back along Somerset Road.