Rider profile Tom Webster

Hello I am Tom and here's my cycling writeup. 

1) What are your first memories of cycling. 

I grew up in UK and started cycling as a hobby with school friends when I was 14. This involved a combination of cross country riding and dirt jumping. It involved quite a lot of attempting crazy stunts, breaking something on the bike, not being able to afford the bike shop repair fee and then learning to fix it myself. Little evidence exists from this pre-digital camera age, but here are couple of photos taken from a disposable film camera! 

When I was studying at University I took my cycling quite seriously and got quite fit, although I wasn’t organised enough to do any racing. When I started working I did continue cycling every once in a while but was generally less active and my fitness suffered, I do wish I kept a better work-life balance.  In the last 10 years I’ve changed to doing more road based cycling, although I have done a bit of MTB in Singapore - here is a picture of me attempting the Singapore MTB championship in 2016 on a 19 years old bike!

2) How did you come to Singapore and what do you do?. 

I met my now wife at University who is Singaporean, we lived together for a number of years in London but she was longing to return home so I came over here with her. I’m working at NTU doing Autonomous Vehicle related R&D work, my project involves working with Singapore’s authorities to develop the standards, testing and enabling framework to support the adoption of AV’s in Singapore. A key reason why Singapore is promoting AV’s is because they support public transport and shared car use which helps meet transport demands in less space and with fewer numbers of vehicles.   

Add by Taiwoon: I met Tom at the Carfreesunday event (LCSG booth) and he brought a freaking bike stand to help do some basic service (Free) for anyone. Its amazing! 

I fall off my chair when I saw how he brought it... 

Good man

3) Tell me about your cycle to work

Most of my cycling nowadays is commuting. I live with in-laws on the east side of the island and work west side at NTU so it is fair trip of about 31km each way.

Rarely do I cycle every day from Monday to Friday though, three times a week is a normal good week for me. When I first started commuting I tried to incorporate PCN into the route, however over time the route has evolved as I’ve found quicker options with less stoppages and places requiring riding at a slow pace.  My latest route is below doesn’t have any PCN and gets me to work quite a bit faster than the first route I did.

 

4) What are your workplace cycling facilities and how do you sort out your clothes etc.

I’m very lucky to have shower facilities and secure bike parking at work which is a great help. Clothes is a bit trickier but I leave those hanging on my bicycle, fortunately nobody appears interested in stealing my sweaty clothes :) 

Thank you NTU! 

5) What advice would u give folks wanting to try out cycle commute.  

Just like starting any other physical activity don’t expect immediate miracles or be disheartened if you find it difficult at first.

Give yourself plenty of time to recover between rides ease yourself in and it will get easier.

Plan the route and test it out beforehand. At first pick a route on quieter roads until you are more confident. Meet up with more experienced cyclists to learn from them, it takes experience and technique to cycle safely on larger busier roads.

Some logistics planning also helps, leave shoes and clothes at work so you don’t have to carry them.

Always carry a multi tool, spare tube pump, puncture repair kit and know how to repair a puncture.

Particularly if it is a longer journey some bits of equipment really help.

You must have lights if cycling before 7am or after 7pm. Decent USB rechargeable front and rear lights are handy and even during the day advisable for cycling on road.

A bike that fits you (including saddle) and cycling shorts / gloves help with comfort.

Bike mounted bags are a great alternative to a backpack which are uncomfortable in hot & humid weather.

A well maintained bike is safer and less effort to cycle. Learn how to adjust your brakes and keep the chain in good condition.

6) What other cycling stuff do you do 

I enter into a few races every year too. Although I don’t have much success I like to push myself physically and see what I am capable of, having a race coming up gives me some training goals to motivate and work towards. With me doing the commuting to work I found it difficult to find the time and energy to do proper training with a cycling club. However recently I’ve found I can usually make it back from work in time to join a 60km training ride round Tanah Merah Coastal Road with the Integrated Riders club. I have to work hard to keep up with them and it is really helping to improve my fitness. I’ve also done a round Island ride at the weekend with them a few times, they’re a very friendly and helpful group.

I also like the engineering side of cycling, I assemble and maintain all my bikes myself including building the wheels. I sometimes help out other people fix their bike problems. I am also known to sometimes do more ambitious crazy projects such as making my own bike lights. You can contact me directly to learn more. 

Happy cycling! 

AMAP new recommendation 24Aug2018

Oh no..... This is not happening.... :( 
And here's what I think here 

Dummy it to TKD class

Ready to roll!

Dummy is a long bike that can carry alot... I mean alot. 

I got a chance to ferry my gal to her TKD class last Sunday. We used the Surly Dummy which was very under used....  For those who is wondering what the hell u get a Dummy in Singapore... check out my link here. 

It was a nice feeling to still be able to ride it easily even when she is about 50kg. We stopped at a nearby porridge place to have a quick bite and then to Punggol Safra. 

So good. no need to cycle, just eat haha

I need to practise my selfie skill... 

The distance was about 4 km and super doable. In about 5-10 mins we reached Punggol Safra. We sang and chatted... it was very nice. 

Lock her up and lets go TKD class!

TKD starts, I can go have my coffee!

Nothing epic but I treasure this kind of micro moments with my girl.  This is how memories are made. Try it! 

Lovecycling sticker Gen 1- 2011

Dummy rides very well. 

Nice extensive PCN routes photos by George

http://j0035001-2.blogspot.com/2013/11/map-of-singapore-park-connectors-and.html

I was looking around online to find more information on the Round island route and stumbled on this.
It has lots of information and photos of the various PCN.  I am also very excited on the NS connectivity, hope it get completed asap. Check it out!

LCSG and NParks PCN improvements 7th July 2018

More hands make light work. Good folks. 

With the good folks of LCSG and MBG, we gathered at Yishun ave 7 junction to help widen the landing area of a junction. This was feedback by the local community that the narrowness of the area was causing issues on safety.  In addition, we also did some potting around the area to make it nicer. 
Here are some of the nice and meaningful collaboration we did over a sat morning. Awesome photos by Eugene Wee and uncle KC.

 Never seen so happy workers, guess they know its for the betterment for the community at large 

The good folks of the Park PCN

Uncle KC and Anthony,stopping for a photo

Potting plants is no easy task 

Widening the congested area 

aunty audrey 

Lets get working! 

Building floating plant platform at Punggol Jetty with Nparks 26th May 2018

In Singapore we are very lucky to have the park connector network, where many will enjoy a simple walks, run or cycle. Over the years, we have also worked with the PCN team to bring fellow cyclists to do improvements for the PCN. 
It is also partly a way to bring community involvement and bonding between the parties. On 26th May 2018, sat morning we did just that. This time was abit different where we used recycle PRT bottles for floation devices and made plant platform which could be used around the parks.  

We are glad to see cyclists, young and old come together and getting to work with the Nparks team. It was a nice feeling to see such cohesion. During the event there were lots laughter, smiles, sweat and lot of zip ties! 
 Here's some really nice photos taken by Eugene wee and uncle KC for the event. If u like to get involved in such activities, pls shoot me a mail so I can loop u in the coming ones. Thanks! 

Daniel and family with their used PET bottles 

Make it better by getting ur hands dirty! 

Rider Profile - Francis Toh

Hi, I’m Francis Toh working as Service Engineering in ASM Pacific Technology. I like to share my cycling history.

I started with a 7 speed Tern bought by my wife as Birthday Present in 2013, this is how I started my cycling journey. Occasionally, I cycled in East Coast Park with my colleagues after work on Friday.

During my cycling journey, I got to know lots of new cycling friends with lots of events such as oversea cycling event organized by cycling group and community events.

Volunteering for World water day as Safety Marshal 

Seen and Be Seen Safety Marshal 

Rolling with my team for a good deed

2016, I have done the Ride for Rations 1K ride. This is a fund raising event and the main cycling event is Malacca to Singapore in 2 days, a total of 240km. However, I have joined a group of 6 fellow cyclists to cycle a total of 1000km in 11 days, including the main event from Malacca to Singapore. It was a good experience for me as I have never cycle with a group in a constant rolling speed of 20-25kph. Besides the fun-filled 1days of cycling, we also raised money for Sunlove Home, which Ride for Rations supported.

I decided to sell away my car use to commute to work and occasionally for outing and start cycling to work covered about 30km each way on road starting at 5am to avoid heavy traffic. Of course there is a risk to cycle on road but individual has to keep alert look out for any dangerous situation. We as cyclists on road are not as visible as compare to other transports, I always keep myself visible by wearing light color visible cycling attire, equips my bike with 2 rear blinking lights and a video cam.  

Bike to work 2015

Bike to work 2016

I really enjoy cycling now as it is my only form of exercise and I get to cycle to every corner of Singapore and Oversea. I can enjoy sunrise with fresh air and sunset while cycling to work. Most import message is I keep both my body and pocket fit and healthy. Hope my experience will inspire u to cycle and perhaps cycle commute!  

Below is my cycle commute from home(AMK)  to work (Yishun). If you need help on bike to work, pls send me an email at francis.toh57@gmail.com and I will do my best to help u out. 

Rider Profile Gil Russel

Hi I am Gil and I like to share my cycling story.
This is the long winded version starting from US.... If u like to know my SG ver... u can scroll down lower :)
I started biking seriously in 1982. I had a top of the line low end bike. It was a 10 speed Murray. I bought it at Toys R Us. I think i spent like $100 for it back then. At that time I only starting to bike and was not riding much, maybe 10 miles a week if I was lucky.
My life changed drastically in 1983 when i ended up divorced. I moved to Hollywood Florida and had no car. My work was 12 miles from my home to my work, which was 24 miles each day, rain or shine. There were some very cold mornings in the winter to ride. I did this for 18 months. After that I still road but not nearly as much. In 1986 I developed some sort of Lung disease and went from riding regularly to not being able to walk across the hanger (less than 50 meters) without running out of breath.
In 1987 I moved from Florida to Oregon, changer of jobs. I still had my team Murray but was not riding much. In 1992 I signed up for the MS150 bike ride. I needed to get support and pledges for the $200 entry and that I did. I started training I was riding most evenings after work. I was building up my strength and endurance.

The event was the Best Dam Bike Ride. Started in Troutdale, Oregon and went up the old scenic highway in the Columbia Gorge. The dam part of it was when we crossed over the Columbia River at Bonneville Dam. This continued up the gorge to Hood River. We then turned south and headed up the back side of Mt Hood (elevation 3,429 m) we stopped at Odell (220 m) for the night. I must clarify that this was a fully supported ride and transport of camping equipment and all meals and water stops provided. The next morning started after a carbo loaded breakfast and it was back in the saddle. Up and up and up some more, I remember telling myself one more peddle one more step, I was hoping for a lower gear but I was at the bottom already. I finally crested with a much needed lunch stop. After the quick lunch it was all downhill from Government Camp (1,346 m), ending up in Gresham (99 m). That was the fun part. Well I had accomplished my goal to complete the MS 150. Not in record time but I finished. 

Two years later i did another MS150 but it was not nearly as challenging or as much fun as the first. The route was from Portland, Oregon to the Coast. Don’t get me wrong it was a fun ride. During this time I completed another ride. I convinced a work college to ride to the beach. The event was called Reach the Beach. After this I just occasionally rode and did not do anymore supported rides. In 2007 I accepted a position in Sydney Australia. I did not ship my team Murray so after living in Newington for about a year and having so many trails to ride in the Olympic Park I purchased my first MTB. Again nothing flash just a solid Fluid MTB, I think it was $299. I was riding randomly, but nothing real serious.

Here is the Singapore leg and what lies ahead...
2014 my company moved me to Singapore, I moved into a condo in Marine Parade and love that I was so close to East Coast Park. I dusted off the old Fluid and started riding a little. I then found the LCSG face book page and soon joined in a few rides. Seeing they would do rides in the |West i bought a foldie. Not knowing much about them i just bought one online and again $299 was my price. I have managed to put a lot of miles on is Apollo 5 bike. I preferred my Fluid over the foldie but it allowed me to take the MRT to the west to join in more rides. I continued riding more just on the weekends but was getting out more often.

Left and after cycling actively

Beginning in 2017 my wife and I both decided to start doing life differently in order to lose weight. I started biking every morning, starting at 10 km a day, and started using Lose It to track some weight the amount of food I was eating. I had topped out at 120kg and decided to get serious about losing. By May, I was feeling and looking healthier, in large part due to the daily exercise, (now increased to 20 km per day) which was helping me lose inches, even if the weight loss was slow.
The photos above show me at a few lbs above my goal weight on 10/11/17. I have lost a total of 76 lbs. I continues to bike, tracking a total of 4800 km in 2017. I continue to track me food with Lose It daily since February I am confident that I can maintain my current weight following the simple Code Red lifestyle of clean eating (cutting sugar out), drinking water, and sleeping.



I joined the TOGO Half challenge last fall and killed it. I ended up first finisher and as a prize i now have a Dura foldie bike. I am pleased with the performance of this bike and tend to split my time between it and the longevity Trek bike I received from the company. To date my longest single day ride is 102km with a monthly goal of 550km.
I don’t ride for speed I don’t like riding on the street, give me the PCN anytime.






What are some of my plans for the future? I will be returning to the USA the end of 2019, with the plan to retire fully shortly after that. That being said, my biking in the future has Cycle Oregon (https://www.facebook.com/CycleOregon/) on the horizon. Another sponsored ride that crosses Oregon in 5 days. Another is the STP (Seattle to Portland https://www.cascade.org/rides-major-rides/kaiser-permanente-stp-presented-alaska-airlines). Another bigger dream ride for me is BRAN (Bike Ride Across Nebraska http://bran-inc.org/wp/). Why Nebraska you ask, my birth state. Haha.  Thats my story and if u like to ride me, pls contact me at my FB https://www.facebook.com/gr29488. Happy cycling!