Ride2Serve 2020 to Proceed with Exciting New Approach

With the recent easing of Covid-19 measures, our organisers have developed a fresh approach for the ride that was postponed in March.

In March, the Ride2Serve (R2S) committee had briefed riders regarding a three-day ride from Malacca to Batu Pahat to Singapore, plus an additional leg from Port Dickson to Malacca for seasoned riders. However, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the ride in Malaysia was called off barely a week before the event as a precautionary measure to safeguard participants.

Fresh concept

Down the road, R2S 2020 will be split into two components - a virtual and a physical.

Virtual event

For the virtual event, cyclists have to chalk up a minimum distance of 300 km between 1 October and 30 November. This can be done at their own time and convenience, and their progress will be recorded via Strava in the R2S club domain.

Physical event

The ride will be held physically on Sunday, 13 December, with the start and end point being Central Sikh Temple (CST) on Towner Road.

Cyclists will be divided into small groups, riding about 100 km around the island before returning to end-point.

Registration for cyclists closed in early October. Cyclists and supporters will continue to engage their friends and relations to raise funds for SIWEC until the physical ride takes place in December.

Why a virtual and physical event combination?

R2S organiser Paul Singh shared, “With the virtual ride, cyclists enjoy the flexibility to ride at any time of the day or night, even in poor weather conditions, from the comfort of their home – in a living room or bedroom!
Riding is done on a mounted bicycle connected to the Strava platform, which provides an amazingly interactive and immersive experience for cyclists.

This is a very safe option for novice riders with limited road-riding experience, and those who want to ride in a safe space unaffected by weather. Literally everyone can sign up for the virtual event, so we really hope more people will participate.”

How are riders training for the 100 km round-island ride?

Paul added, “We are pleased to see a few fresh faces who are new to cycling. Training continued in small groups last month, after the CB measures were relaxed in Phase 2. Because of the five-person restriction on public gatherings, we have spread our training rides over Saturday and Sunday.” However, the R2S spirit and camaraderie remain high as each group continues to share their photos on our WhatsApp and Facebook page: https://www.facebook. com/RidetoServeSG

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What will the round-island route be like?

Just like our training rides, small groups of riders will be flagged off from CST to take slightly different routes across Singapore. All groups will ride towards Lim Chu Kang and head back to CST mid to late afternoon. As it is not a race, we encourage riders to have a fun and safe ride.

How can well-wishers donate and support SIWEC?

1. PayPal Donation: https://www.siwec.org/fundraising/ donations/donate-online
2. Other Online Platforms: https://www.giving.sg/siwec
3. Local Donations (SGQR CODE):