Why did I start commuting on bicycle?

Frustrated with my lack of exercise and with the crushing train horde, I have been on the lookout for alternative ways to get to work. The idea came when I wanted my son to ride his bike to school next year when he commences his Primary One education. To make this work, I’ll have to cycle with him to school, then ride home, freshen up and get to work by train. It got me thinking into riding to work from his school.

I used to own a motorcycle and use it to commute to work; the recent COE prices have made it impossible for me to renew it in the foreseeable future. In the 23 years of riding my scrambler, I’ve seen my fair share of accidents and near miss of cars and bicycles on the road. The cyclists always lose, no matter who is in the right. If I decide to take the plunge, I will stay off the roads.

With that in mind, I started to plot viable ‘safe’ routes on Google map and to my surprise; it is possible to get to work with a bicycle. Thanks to the wide network of park connectors by NParks.

My daily cost of train commuting comes up to $3.60, and it’ll cost me $960.40 in one year. I figured if I put down this annual expense on a reliable bicycle and commit to ride it for one year; I would have offset it after one year and in the process build up my health and fitness.

While writing this journal, I have since logged 228 KM after 10 days of bike riding. During my commute, I have seen a heron gracefully fly over the Kallang river, and an angler landing a sea bass. It rained on two accounts on my way home, it was best ride ever, the rain cools you down and I feel alive riding in the elements. When it rains, the path is yours, because there is hardly anyone on the trail. Now I look forward to my bike commute, a highlight of my day.