Rider profile - Uncle Lim and his cycling story

This is Uncle Lim, 76 years old. His nickname is called uncle Magnet. Will leave you to ask him why so. 
He cycles 30km daily on week days and 50-70 km on weekends. Uncle Lim has done up to 120km in one go! 

Have bike, can go anywhere!

I am a smart cyclist! If too far, too tired. I take MRT. Reach my destination, unfold the bike... rock and roll! 

Some really "Gilat" riders 

Cycling makes you young!  

Uncle Lim's favorite routes are in Yishun, Seletar, Punggol, changi village, east coast, kallang, marina barage, mounbaten, fort road.

Uncle Lim has been cycling actively since 2010. He enjoys cycling because it allows him.to keep fit as well as to meet new likeminded cyclists.

What an inspiring senior and pls wave, chat with him when u see him on a ride! 

Give me wings!

Titanium MTB!

Meeting with Cycling without age in Singapore - 5th July 2015

LCSG with Cycling without Age @ Punggol water way

There will come a time when we all reflect abit on our lives and ask if there were anything we could do for others. 
They can be about the lesser privileged, or just sharing more about your home(like what lovecyclingsg does) or perhaps giving the elderly a ride (cycling without age) for that matter. Just giving....
I first knew about Ole Kassow's effort on Cycling without age from my buddy Francis. 
He shared with me this heart warming effort on Ted talks.  It was amazing! Ole related about his experience with a stranger and changed his life.

Screen grab from Cycingwithout age website 

Then I got a even exciting news from Pernille, a Singapore based rider that she wanted to bring this to Singapore. I was blown away. Could this actually be happening? It did and last week we met up with Ole and Pernille with the Lovecyclingsg folks. 

Ole and Pernille sharing what it Cycling without age

Unfortunately the elderly couple couldn't make it but it was good for them to share their initiative.
The route was simple and short as we wanted it to be a pleasant ride for the elders. It was all park connector paths and it meant many kids also came to ride with us. 
The event had a nice carnival feeling and lots of chatter along the way.  I had a good chat while riding with Jacob and it was good to know a friend during sunday rides. 
Photos tell a thousand words and here's some of the action. 
If you like what Pernille and Ole are doing, you can help out by volunteering your time for Cycling without age Singapore chapter. It's a good initiative! It really is. 
Photos of the event here.

Marcus came with his family

Many kids turned up

Kimi leading the way!

Wendy sharing a moment with Pernille 

Ole demonstrating the features of the Trishaw

Nice to be sitting for a change! :) 

Peggy trying out with some small VIPs

Nice and quiet in the early morning

My favorite PCN ride and why I do LCSG

Very nice that Nparks did a feature on cycling on their Nparks booklet. I shared my favorite PCN and why I ride.  
You can download Nparks booklet and this article is on page 48. 

Marvelous writes about today's ride :)

This was what we did today >> http://smallwheelsbigsmile.blogspot.sg/2015/05/3rd-may-2015-we-rode-to-see-cirrus.html

I rode with a boy(Marvelous) for most part of the journey and he was inspired to write about it.

IT MADE ME SMILE. Hoooyah! 

Steely determination to make it. One crank at a time! 

He wrote this!

See the joy! 

Marvelous wrote:

"Today was my first long ride with LCSG group from Punggol to East Coast Park. And back to Punggol again. 

Although it was tough and tired, I nearly give up at never end coastal road, but with the encouragement from all members especially uncle Woon who guide me and lead me through the whole ride. 

I would love to join the group event again. Yeah! I made it!"

Marvelous with mummy on LCSG ride on 12th April 2015. That was his first ride with LCSG! 

Inspiring stuff from old uncles... .

This inspires me!

how apt

http://www.changethethought.com/roland-tiangco/ 

What inspires me....

Kian Ann and Daddy KS - first time out of their comfort zone.. and smiling!

See that smile? Thats inspires me!

The blogspace is a wonderful world. I get to read and experience all different points of view. There are those who write more on techy bits and some who write about life. About inspiration. How seemingly random things can inspire.
I can relate to some of the writing and actually see this happen every sunday.Folks who laid off cycling for 10-20 years and coming back to cycle again. Yes, they are out of shape but when I see their effort, their sweat and most importantly their smiles...  It makes me smile too. This inspires me.
Daddy and son who try to ride in Singapore. Scared but tries. Falls down but keeps trying. I see and can't helped be impressed. Such a team is Tan KS and his son. We met at Bukit Brown ride. It was Kian Ann first attempt in riding such a distance and it took alot of effort on him. At times, I thought he would give up and just whine. But he didn't. Daddy stood from a distance, egging him on, giving encouragement.  In addition, my buddy Darren also became his angel shadowing him his every move and gave his encouragement every pedal crank of the way.

Darren, watching out for Kian Ann... yes that's spandex but he is still cool!

This are the stuff that inspires me.... a simple act of just cycling and helping others. Irregardless of what he ride, who he is.
KS and Kian Ann, u inspire me. Keep on riding! See u on Sunday rides soon!

Riding my bike

Puts thing into perspective. Simple pleasures of just cycling and make ur hearts pound! Inspiring!

Dutch cyclists talk helmets and bicycles

Rome wasn't build in a day.... how long will it take for Singapore to have a cycling culture? 5,10 or 20 years? Well, lets start building a cycling culture. One brick at a time....  I know we will get there..eventually. Are u with me?
Watch what Dutch cyclist say about cycling and helmets. Inspiring!

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

Ok so this is not just about cycling but I can relate to this way. People don't buy what u do but why you do it. huh? This is from TED which is a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration.... Watch this. Trust me.

KODH - Together, we can make it! let's go!

Fabulous art for Joeel

5 min job with Ah mo Crayons!

Tomorrow will be Lovecyclingsg King of Da hill ride. It is funny how it all started. The story goes when  we(me, Darren Seow and Lun)  were just chatting over coffee. We had all completed the Iron butt 128km and feeling very good about ourselves. And I got a similar feedback from the LCSG riders...like..."yeah!!!.. I can do anything... any more tougher rides? - bring it on man!" So from that, we came up with taking on the 4 steepest slopes and repeating it 2 times. Huh!!! That will be a challenge! And the amazing thing is that 43 people are actually going to do it together!  No prizes, no medals.. just the simple fun and company of friends!
To some, this will be chicken feed. But to those mere mortals, this will be a challenge. A challenge we will take it on. Together, brudders and Sistas. We will over come! Let's go!

George Lim - Mr Ben and Jerry

George, the healthier choice!

Leading a ride for lovecyclingsg in George's style!

Want 100 plus?? Follow me! 

George and team turtle having a detour on the Iron butt 128km 

Mt Bromo, East Java in the 90s

This is George Lim, Encik, LCSG lead rider for turtle group on the first iron butt event. He did it in style pulling along a trailer loaded with 100plus, chocolates and ice. Just so that his team can have some refreshment when the going gets tough.  That's just amazing!  Always the leader of the pack and never shying from helping, anyone. George is fast becoming a lovecyclingsg regular and readily shares his extensive bicycling experience.  Come next March 2012, George together with 20 riders will attempt to ride up Taiwan highest slopes. That would be really cool! Encik George,  keep it in coming and thank you for ur inspiring efforts!

Uncle Happy

Uncle Happy Tan

Things happen. Sometimes, they just happen. Today was a bloody hot day. After dropping off my little girl for her Sat Violin class, I went in search of old shop recommended by Chris Wee which might have the extinct 1" ultra short ahead threadless stem I was looking for. Reaching the shop, I met an elderly figure by the name of Mr Tan. He listened patiently to my needs and went fumbling around his shop. The place is a treasure trove of old parts and bits of history every where. Surprisingly, he came up with a few close alternatives but nothing caught my fancy. If this was another shop, I think I would be given the ..."wah lau..what u want..."  look but he was just cool about it. Gave me his number and told me to call him in a couple of days to check if he can find a closer match. Wahh... I was so touched. I just looking for a cheapo stem ... now that's called service!

quietly toiling along.. 

Something from Italy

no flashy tools ... it just works

I true wheels. That's what I do. 

Chatting with him, it turns out Mr Tan has been in operation for 30 over years. .  His motto is "just be happy, u happy, I am happy"  In a quiet dusty corner, I spotted a faded photo frame of a short european with Mr Tan in his younger days. And he just quietly smiled.. "oh that's Mr Colnago himself... I used to sell lots of colagno and he came to my shop lah...."  Talking to him was like taking a lesson on life. Be happy and be nice to others and nice to urself.  I know I am in the presence of a Giant in the SG bicycle biz... a gentle giant who is big enough to be nice to all.
Thank you Uncle Happy Tan for the wonderful chat and I will be back for my funny stem soon!
More photos on Uncle Happy Tan shop here 

Woof - Jakarta based fixie/design blog

Woof 
"Founded by Kemalreza Gibranos & Aprilia Apsari in the beginning of February 2010, Woof is Happiness on Bicycle and it's Local Culture. We dig the scene, made our own product and art work" - Woof

Woof woof!!! I like!

Below is my fav... Pursuit of happiness!  inspired by his fav drink... go on.. check out his blog!!!

Illustration credit - Woof

Butterflies in my belly... Mekong in 5 Days...

Going for my 2nd long distance touring with some friends in 5 days!  Yeahh! All this made possible by the tireless efforts of Bro Al (The love the fold guy) . Thank you Sir! The route is mentioned also in his blog.  This time, I will be using my Brompton M 6 speed. Why not the flamingo which I am totally comfortable and confident with. Well, it is a combination of "backside" itchy, ease of travel and wanting to try out another option to ride. I was told that the route is flattish and the gearing is enough... I pray that this will not be another "relaxing Kluang trip"....   I am going "blind" again... refuse to read about the location, distances and blog so that I will not be "tainted and influenced".   Here is a great drawing I found in the internet(forgot from whom, pls let me know) which is my approach to going for the ride.  Tick tick tick.. the clock is moving... got to pack.. 

illustration credit - someone on the internet... pls let me know if u are the painter..    

Frogfree - Beautiful Taiwan!

I got to know Frogfreeyoung thru a book at Taipei Eslite book store.  He wrote of the usual jaded working class, drinking at a pub... and then that moment knew, "we are probably not going to circle the globe, but what about circling Taiwan." The die was cast, he and his buddy went and just did... After which he published a book on his adventure...and then Freefrog cafe at Bali.  This guy is one of my hero! I hope one day I will visit his cafe and do some riding with the man himself.
Come, check out his blog here and be inspired!
http://freefrog.blogspot.com/ 

Illustration inspired by Prespiration - This is Lun!

This is Luncheak. My fellow colleague at Dell Experience Design (Singapore) ,good friend and fellow foldie rider. Recently he completed the ironbutt event and after which he painted this. Nice right? Check out his Lunplus FB page  to see more of his quirky and "tok kong" illustration.
Lun, Thanks for the inspiration as always and  keep rocking man!


inspiration after perspiration!



Lun and his trusty Dahon P8!



Lun flying past at Iron butt event!



"Magic stick group"  From left, Victor, Darren, Waiyuen and Lun



Life lessons from my bike

Papa Mike@ Bintan spinning away

For those who know me, I am not world tourer nor a long distance rider. Not by a long shot. The longest ride I did was the ride from Kluang to SG. Around 120km. The experience did scarred my bum some what and I couldn't  bend my knee for almost a week after the ride(a knee condition -RCL). But strangely having done the ride with my friends, I felt good. People laughed/gasped at my "stupidity" to do it..... and I also think there is something wrong with my head.  When I close my eyes, I could still see the slopes and KC's mantra- "The slopes are my friend!" Apparently, there is pleasure in pain and overcoming ur "limitation"....   With this... I share with you a very nice story by a lady rider... enjoy! 

Nancy Sathre-Vogel  "This bike of mine – it’s taught me more than a thousand classrooms. I think back upon all my years of touring the world on bicycle and am amazed at all I’ve learned from my iron companion. But one experience I had on my bike – one bad decision I made – quite literally changed my life...."

Continue reading on Examiner.com  >> 

  http://www.examiner.com/world-bike-touring-in-national/life-lessons-from-my-bike

Francis- Cycling advocate and zenman

Off road @ Pulau Ubin using a JZ88.... steady man!

Francis is the one who got me back into cycling. We met as colleagues at Philips design Singapore. Every morning, without fail Francis would ride his folding JZ88 bicycle to work. Rain or shine... and it was amazing to see him dripping wet from the rain, but still smiley and happy. That got me really intrigued and over coffee breaks, I asked him his "secret". "I used to drive every where and my health was failing me. Doctor say I need more exercise. So when my kids were bigger, I sold the car and started to ride bicycles. It is fun and u should try it..."  So we did. First by venturing out at lunch time with Peikang, Tahching and Francis.  With the bicycle, we could go further then walking and it was a good break from the office. From lunch time rides, we "graduated" to organising lovecycling Sunday rides...to lovecycling.net which is now attended by many riders. Francis is a classic "not the bike but the man" kind of guy. You will see him everywhere either with his trusty JZ88 or his classic Colnago Fixie. His laid back, serene and quiet ways conceal a strong conviction - to make cycling more accessible to all. Recently, he has taken step to focus full time on bicycles and all cycling related activities! That's is true commitment! Thank you Francis, for showing how much cycling can be fun and that cycling is a possible commuting alternative in Singapore.

Ride to eat! Tahching and Francis, founders of lovecycling

When I say bicycle is part of him...I wasn't kidding... bicycle as a chair...

Francis the innovator, tinkerer with his safety sail!