The Return to Cycling

I do believe that the main reasons I did not consider cycling or owning a bike for the longest time, either consciously or subconsciously, are these two things:

1. I had grown accustomed to cycling as a purely leisure activity (in Singapore, as I had been cycle-commuting in Melbourne).

2. There is no space to properly store a bike at home.

I find it amusing now, that up till last year, I had been blind to the existence of the foldable bicycle. I guess this is also something that happens when you drive all the time. You are (and rightly so) occupied with the demands of driving, that aside from the necessary attention you are giving to the road / traffic / pedestrians, you are cut off from the world.

By chance, whilst sitting in my office, being frustrated at how dormant my lifestyle had become, I chanced upon an article in a magazine about cycle-commuting. It featured an interview with mrbrown and also some bikes like the Brompton, Dahon Curve and Strida.

After much scouting and deliberation, I got myself the Brompton. The first ride was a pain-in-the-butt, but oh-so-magical at the same time. The feeling of human-powered motion, liberation, independence, the wind against my face... It had been a long time since I experienced a feeling so child-like. I knew that cycling is here to stay.

I have plenty to say about cycling at this point, but I will save that for another post. For now, the foldable bike has negated the two points that I mentioned at the beginning of this post.

1. Cycling is now a very practical choice for me, and I believe it can be for most people. Here is my set-up for errands. The Touring bag easily holds a 1.8kg tin of milk for my boy, take-away lunch for me and my wife and other miscellaneous items.

2. Foldable bikes are the perfect choice for apartment-dwellers. As you can see below, two Bromptons take up less space than a double-stroller. We are making use of the dead-space under our bookshelf.

If you are thinking about cycling and are having the same concerns, why not consider a foldable bike?

The Farewell Ride

Last Saturday, just before midnight, I went out for a ride with my neighbour who also happens to be a friend from secondary school. We now live two blocks apart in the same estate.

Aside from the above, we also share another thing in common: we are both fathers of two young children. What this means is that, rides are always somewhat pre-arranged, but always tentative. There is always the likelihood of it being cancelled, though so far I think I've managed to proceed 99% of the time. The main condition: kids must be asleep - this means that rides are always arranged to start past 11 pm.

In any case, my friend rides a Brompton as well. This one was brought back from the UK as he was working there for a few months. There was some hassle at the airport, but worth it I would say. Oh, did I mention that it is a six-speed titanium model that he got for roughly 2K SGD? Unheard of!! Someone else ordered the bike and changed his mind, that's how he got the deal - lucky him!

This was our first ride together by the way - I have many cycling buddies who are also married / young fathers so it is all about availability. We had no specific plans but eventually decided that it would be fitting to have a relaxed ride to say goodbye to McD at ECP. I really wanted to go there one last time, without the crowd on closing day.

Getting to ECP from Tampines is really easy - 99.99% Park Connector Network. You go from Tampines towards Simei PCN, and then Bedok PCN. If you're cycling in the day it might get a bit crowded around Tampines and Simei MRT but that's about it. Entry from Bedok PCN brings you into East Coast Park somewhere near the Sailing Centre. 2 - 8- 7 and you're there!

Once we got to East Coast Park it was straight to McD. On our way to and fro I saw many foldies but couldn't really pick out anyone, nor did I hear anyone call out for me. Apparently our friend Tomorrow was there as well with some buddies.

I'm not really a big fan of McD, but this particular outlet holds a lot of memories especially of secondary school days, barbecues, cycling with my wife in our late teens, rollerblading end-to-end... For our last meal there I went with the McSpicy and my friend went with the trusty Fillet o Fish.

In any case, this is a cycling blog and I'm not going to get too sentimental or wax lyrical about fast-food, but I mainly want to highlight this particular route. 

If you have three hours-or-so, this route is excellent for a really relaxed ride (pace + can hold conversation) with a nice break (your choice of activity) in between (we were at McD for almost an hour by the way). And since we were riding at night, there were many stretches of uninterrupted cycling. The loop from Tampines Central to McD and back is around 30 km - mostly flat and a nice distance in my opinion. Suitable and doable for most people. 

Summary and Return!

It's been a while since the last post... but this is a summary of what's happened since then...

My second boy arrived on 23 Nov

Went to UK

Attended LCSG Lelong! - here is my cousin and daughter

Tampines Brommies at West Coast!

Support the fund-raising! Makes nice gifts too!

First time cycling to Punggol Waterway

Beautiful Place!

My First Helmet

Ventured West

Westside kaki and Tour Guide!

Cycled to MBS

LCSG City Ride + 2011 Summary

Pasir Ris - Yishun Loop

Bike Maintenance

City Ride

I'd missed the City Ride with LCSG a week ago as it was Hari Raya Haji, and this was a ride I really wanted to try, so I checked out the route map on Taiwoon's blog and had a relaxing morning ride with my brother. I rode on the Brompton M2L and brought the Dahon MuP8 for my brother. All pics are taken with the iPhone using the Camera+ app.

Video Rig Test

Testing my video rig. Cut short due to impending rain, but more to come, with details.

Meantime, enjoy!

Family Cycling

One of the most important things about cycling is that I get to do it as a family. After trawling the Internet, I came to the conclusion that fellow local cyclist Matt Chia has found a reasonable solution. I first read it on an older post but he has an updated one you can check out here.

Fixing up is easy and quick, 5 mins max. All you need is an allen key. This is how / where you attach the clamp to the seatpost.

Then you slot in the seat rails.

My wife rides the Brompton, me and son on the Dahon.

Making bubbles in the park.

The child seat is a Bellelli which I purchased from My Bike Shop. It is rated to carry a child up to 22 kg.

First LCSG Ride

This marks my first ride with LovecyclingSG.

Even before reaching the meeting point at Vivo, I'd already made some friends at Seah Im carpark. It's quite simple really; you see someone with a bike, and give a knowing smile or nod. Turns out it was their first ride too.

Meeting point at Vivo, ready to roll.

I was warmly greeted by Taiwoon, and walked around the group, checked out the variety of bicycles and had some small chats.

After a safety brief, we went off towards Keppel Bay. It was a first for me, riding in such a big group. There were probably 40 or so cyclists, age ranging from primary school children to retirees (my estimation) and all sorts of bicycles - road, foldies, mountain, recumbent, market...

Keppel Bay

Keppel Bay

It was really interesting going to places which I would probably never experience, and to places that I haven't been to in a long, long time.

Labrador Park - photographer's finger cameo appearance

My Ride went to Hell and back, unscathed

We went from Vivo - Keppel Bay - Labrador Park - Telok Blangah (breakfast) - Hort Park (plus killer slope!) - Haw Par Villa - Vivo. Something like that.

I didn't take many pictures as I was simply focusing on enjoying the ride, but photography is definitely in the plan for future rides. Did I say future? Yes, I will definitely join this group for more rides for a variety of reasons:

Inclusivity - anyone with any type of ride is welcome. There are fast rider groups and slow rider groups. Pick yours.

Fun - the group is not too serious. There are bike experts and there are noobs like me and all sorts in between. It's ok.

Food - do I need explain?

Adventure - How much of Singapore have you seen? You cannot say there's nothing to do and nowhere to go in Singapore.

If you want to find out more about the group you can check out the forum or facebook group.

Brompton and Dahon Folded View Comparison

Brompton LH

Brompton RH

As you can see, the folded package is very neat, with minimal protruding parts. Most importantly, the chain is not exposed on either side, which I feel adds to the friendliness of this bike should you carry it in public transport. There is little risk of another commuter getting grease from the bike.

Dahon LH

Dahon RH

The fold of the Dahon is not as elegant, and you have to be mindful of the exposed chain. Another thing to note is that I found the Brompton to be more stable in its folded state than the Dahon - when in a moving vehicle such as the MRT.