Rider profile Derrick Tan

Derrick, Taking on Wulin. Day 2!

Ponchek but smiling. Awesome!!

Shackked out but holding on

Derrick with his Buddy Nick Wong at 7-11 stop!

• Tell me about yourself Hello everyone. I am Derrick. My day job involves in improving business processes. My night job then involves solving my 'little taukeh's boredom :) The remaining time spend will be on cycling. 
• How did you started cycling? The initial intention was to do cycling with my son but ended up buying the bicycle and engaging the activity myself as he is not ready. 
• Why do you like cycling Form of exercise, having some time to yourself, get to know more people from all walks of life, ride and smell the roses, and getting to places that we don't normally go. 
• When u met LCSG - how was it like and how u meet us ? None of my family members know how to cycle. After buying my Dahon, i was looking for friends or people who has cycling interest. With the help of google, LCSG had a ride at sentosa and the distance is manageable, so i decided to give it a try. If i was unable to catch up, the most i ride home :p • Your favorite cycling kakis No specific kakis. Mostly folks from LCSG. 
• Your favorite cycling route and LCSG ride I enjoy every place that LCSG organises. Afew of name are follow pengarang, Kukup and Taiwan. But I guess it's the company that counts :)  
• Your role at LCSG Helping out in whatever way I can. Traffic or even swipe. Not very good with directions..haha 
• Your feelings after and during organising LCSG rides Personally, the reason why LCSG is successful is because it's non political, focus on cycling and not bothered by the background of the person. People are friendly and there is no restriction on bike types. You have a bike, let's ride together! 
• Tips to share with fellow riders.
 Being a fairly new rider, don't really have many tips to share. Most important is being comfortable with your ride, knowing what it is capable of. This will reduce accidents. Of cos personal awareness of the surrounding is also important. 
• Your steel horses- names and more details. 
1) Vitesse D7 - used for few months, currently in the storeroom since 2nd bike arrived. 
2) Brompton M6R - My SUV. Very versatile and compact bike. Good for marketing @ Chinatown :) 
3) AM-TSR 20 - latest addition to the family. More for long distance, comfort and efficient bike. 
Others(highlight of my short cycling journey) New to riding, so dun have much riding experience to share. Most memorable ride got to be wulin with my trusty brompton M6R, with a group of fun folks. 
Why is this ride so special? It's the hardest 2 days i worked my heart...haha no joking. End of day 1, I was so tired, after late lunch/dinner, i went to straight to bed. 
Day 2 even tougher. Steep curve slope to start the day. End of the day 2, cosy restaurant, a piece of steak in front of me, but I dun have the energy to eat it. Heart beating away, feeling tired, better go ask papa mike for some magic pill as I wanted to ride down the hill. 
Day 3, woke up feeling ok. Ready to enjoy the 5hr downhill. Once in awhile will have a crazy thought of driving up and riding down genting highland :) So if you add 2 days of hill, 1 day of downhill, with a group of friends, you have an unique and memorable experience. 
Why brompton? In preparation for the trip, thoughts were, one trip, dun hv to buy another bike for it. Limited space at home, bike visa hard to come by...haha So my mind is set on brompton. Even after watching all the YouTube posted by George, some showing brompton going up. So proven bike can go up, its the rider that needs more training. At the back of my mind, I knew the gear ratio is not ideal, so changed my 50T crank to 44T. Met a friend, he suggested some simple exercise to strengthen leg muscle. That's the lease I can do, and i follow through the routine. The disadvantage of brompton gear ratio motivated me to stick to the exercise. After that, it's "Just Do It. At least I tried". 
Moulton- poisoning.... Having watched YouTube posted by kevin, I was very impressed by his in-depth knowledge and passion for moulton and focus on efficiency, which is something i wanted for the next ride. Sometime before leaving for Taiwan, I was presented with the opportunity of getting a moulton frame by kevin. Thanks to George for the lobang. That's how my moulton TSR came about. After it was fixed up locally, initial impression is, it will be a comfortable ride since it has 2 suspension, which is true. After I took it for a 128km. Knowing my own fitness, i know that the next few days will be aching here and there. But surprising i didn't feel any fatigue. That's where I realised, the drop bar, and the 2 suspension has done it's job. Kudos to kevin's handicraft.