Preparing yourself for Loveyclingsg Round island night ride

Next week 13th Dec 2014 is Loveyclingsg Round island night ride. It's a much awaited event and big fun crowd. 
Here are some tips to make it enjoyable and safe. 

Rider aspects 
-By now you should have completed minimum a 50 km ride. This will allow you to be physically conditioned( buttock not so pain)
- It's a night ride, so do have a early afternoon nap if you can't keep awake after 11pm. The expected time to complete is around 6-7am 
- Prepare some gels, snack and keep in your  bike pouch. We will be riding for a long time and you will need to snack a little to replace the effort.  Snacks like nuts, museli bars, bananna are great. Just make sure you try it out earlier the week and not try something new which you have not done before. 
- Top up water bottle, if your bike have 2 bottle mounting, its a good idea to have 2 bottle. There are some stretches (lim chu kang  area) that has not 7-11. 
-Some form of isotonic drinks are also good to hydrate fast but no necessary 
- Bring some cash($50) in case you "punchek" mentally and want to take a cab home 
Bike stuff 
Give your bike a check over. See if all the parts are in good condition. Specifically please check
- Tire for small cuts, nails or funny bulges. If  you do see its no right/no good, change it before the ride. Don't tempt fate.  It's not fun to have a flat on long rides and have people to wait for you. Esp when you could have avoided this. This is the single most common issue we see on rides. 
- Pump up the correct pressure. 
- Spare tube, patch kit, tool kit and pump are in good condition and packed onto the bike
- Brake pads. Check if they ok and not too worn. Make sure to also tug it a little to see if they are secured and tighten. They can  sometimes be loose and not aligned properly
-Go over all the moving parts. Some places to check are Crank bolts(I see before whole crank arm fall off), Stems, Seat post binder bolts. 
- Oil your chain 
-  Test ride your bike. It should not have strange squeals or funny sounds or difficulty in engaging your desired gear. If there is issue, GET IT FIXED BEFORE THE Round Island Ride
If  you maintain your bike regularly and observe the mechanical sounds,  you will know very quickly something is not right and get it fixed. 



Specific to night riding safety
-When was the last time you replace bicycle light's battery? Put in some fresh battery for you front and rear lights
- Point your lights (Front and rear 3 degrees down to avoid blinding people) 
- Wear bright, light colored clothing so that you are more visible to drivers
- Wear safety vest if you have. They work. 
-Stay in your allocated  group. Help out the designated group leads and sweeper
The uniqueness of LCSG ride is the team integrity. We ride as a group. Encourage folks who are struggling and help them achieve a milestone. We all have gone through that before and this is why cycling as a group is so much fun. 

Hope this entry will help you have a great round island ride. Drop me a note if I miss out anything critical. See you!   

Super awesome route maker to get around - BBBike@Singapore

Cycling is fast becoming an alternative community means. It's not there yet, partly due to infrastructure and safety concerns. So I am always on the look out to find things that can help improve the safety and experience of cycling in Singapore.  Such as this BBBike@Singapore..... 
Here's their website BBBike@Singapore that helps route the commuting route to your preference. I tested it and the routing is quite interesting. Not my usual route. Quite cool!  Try it and tell me if it works for u. 

Key in address to start and destination

Your route preference

It gives u route in words....

There is  elevation and route map(green line). Can print and also export the route too. 

Frederic shares his experience on Cycling VS Car in Singapore

This is Frederic Gillant. 47 year young:) He is the Head of Asia-Pacific for a Silicon-Valley company, ShoreTel.
Previously worked at Orange business services. He has been in Information Communication Technology(ICT) industry for a long time.. 
He shares abit about himself .... “I like triathlon, running, cycling, biking and FOOD! I initially started be more active so that I can eat everything I want, especially in Singapore. Fond of laksa, oyster omelette, chicken rice of course and Taiwanese chou tofu (and all Taiwan street food).

Photo Credit Frederic 

Photo Credit Frederic 

I have been living in 5 years in Singapore, French national, PR for 4 years. Married to a Taiwanese native, living in Asia since 1991 (Taiwan, KL, Beijing, Singapore)
He shared his Bike VS Car experience in Singapore context at Lovecyclingsg face book on 2nd Dec and it received an awesome number of likes(251!!!).  
“As I was preparing my bike yesterday evening, my wife asked me "Are you again riding to the office tomorrow? I really wonder why you bought this car..." I confess that I did buy 6 months ago a new, (too) large and (too) expensive German car. I have come to realize how ridiculous this was and only motivated by vanity. Consider these simple stats over the past 2 months:
- 500 km with the car. Average speed: 26.4 km/h. Time to come back from the office (Suntec) to home (bukit Timah) on Friday evening: 38 minutes. Average trip length: 9 km. Cost of these 500 km: around 600 SGD of petrol, parking and ERP, excluding car amortization (price, COE, road tax and insurance, yes, thousands and more)
- 500 km with the bike. Average speed: 26.7 km/h. Yes, faster. Time to come back from the office (Suntec) to home (bukit Timah) on Friday evening: 17 minutes. Average trip length: 32 km (week-end rides to Changi and Kranji).
Cost of these 500 km: 160 SGD for 2 months of fitness subscription, as Suntec offices do not have showers, excluding bike amortization (a couple of thousands less than the car).
So yes, I still need the car to carry people, dog and things once in a while. But what is the use of an outrageously priced, 5-meter long sedan? Not to mention supercars capable of 300 km/h, of which Singapore has the highest concentration in the world? Singapore will become a true bike-friendly city only when people will understand that one's honorability is not defined by their car, its size and price.
As for myself, I will use my nice German tank no more than 2 years and will downgrade to something definitely smaller. And to the guy with the yellow McLaren in the Tower 3 parking: I'll always be faster than you (on my bike)

Commuting to work using a MTB

Doesn't matter if its a foldie, if its a road bike or MTB. Any bike can commute.
This is Adrian Choo today when I met him at the office lobby with his narly looking MTB. Looking good man! 

Prime Minister Lee explore Ubin on a bicycle

Bloody AWESOME! It's our Prime Minister Lee Facebook profile!!!! ON A BIKE! 
Times are a changing, and lets hope more good things to come for cycling in SG!