Last Sunday morning, on 8 May 2020, more than 2,000 cyclists took part in the City Ride of the OCBC Cycle 2022 – the first in-person mass participation event since the latest easing of Covid-19 measures two weeks ago.

19km scenic route

There were two waves; at 5am and 6.30am with both beginning at the Singapore Sports Hub and participants took part in a 19km route that included scenic views of the Benjamin Sheares Bridge, with the finishing point within the National Stadium.

The general public in Singapore have definitely been hankering for in-person events – registrations for the City Ride was sold out in six days after they opened.

Said Ms Helen Wong, Group CEO, OCBC Bank, “I was exhilarated to see the throngs of cyclists come together as part of a large-scale sporting event. We took many things for granted before the pandemic started in 2020. Now it feels especially heartwarming to be able to pedal alongside many riders, who might have woken up as early as 3am on a Sunday.”

Taking part

I took part in the city ride together with a friend. 

It was definitely a great feeling to wear an event bib again after so long.

Both of us were in the 5am wave. 

Cycling to the event

I cycled down from home to the Sports Hub and I reached the venue at about 4.20am, where I met up with my friend and we headed into the start pen together. We found ourselves in one of the last waves – there are definitely lots of early risers in Singapore.

Flagging off

Waiting for the flag-off, I heard the all-too-familiar voices of emcees Ross and Kelly who mentioned that “Pris Chew” was somewhere there in the crowd. It has been way too long.

The City Ride was flagged off by Guests of Honour – Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law; Ms Helen Wong, Group CEO, OCBC Bank; Mr Lim Teck Yin, CEO, Sports Singapore and Mr Lionel Yeo, CEO, Singapore Sports Hub.

Yes, Ross and Kelly, it’s time to release the kraken.

When we got to the front and it was finally our turn to begin riding, my friend and I rode off together and we accompanied each other throughout the whole ride. It was an easy and casual ride for both of us and we were both there to enjoy ourselves, soaking up the event atmosphere and ambience.

I waved to Ross and Kelly, catching their attention, as I rode past the starting arch.

We were both chatting more or less the whole way, on probably any topic that we could think of – possibly so that neither of us would fall asleep halfway, due to the super early hour.

How the ride went

The route itself was pretty straightforward, taking us around the Marina area. We passed the F1 Pit building and Bayfront and headed in the direction of the east coast parkway. 

The ride began quite easily, but as we cycled on, we realised that the route was definitely not flat, with plenty of upslopes and downslopes in the latter half of the route, including the heartbreak bridge aka Benjamin Sheares bridge.

But at least the view from the top of the bridge was scenic and beautiful, and it provided a great photo opportunity after the effort of climbing it.

Raining towards the end

It was a humid morning at the beginning, but the weather quickly flipped and sometime when we were in the middle of our ride, it threatened to rain.

It did actually rain in the last five kilometres, but fortunately we were already at the home stretch.

So I got wet. But then again, what’s the difference, as I was already drenched with sweat anyway, from the exercise.

Luckily the rain was not too heavy for us and it stopped quite quickly.

I later heard that the route for the 6.30am wave, however, was shortened to 13km due to the rain. 

So I suppose that we were the lucky ones as we’d managed to complete the full route.

Finishing inside the National Stadium 

The final couple of kilometres were pretty enjoyable as we passed the starting arch and watched the second 6.30am wave being flagged off before we cycled into the stadium.

The ride finished all too quickly and I soon found myself heading into the National stadium, where Ross was greeting the cyclists as they returned. It seemed that he didn’t see me.

Collecting finisher entitlements

After finishing, both of us collected our finisher medal, as well as a can of 100plus and a 100plus ice lolly. These were super cold and refreshing after the ride and they tasted really good.

We took all the finisher photos we wanted posing with our new bling. The organisers had thoughtfully placed some really cute looking large inflatable bicycles as photo ops. 

Then we headed out of the stadium where we picked up a banana to replenish some of the carbs that we had lost from the exertion.

Day was beginning to break and it was time to head home and get something for breakfast.

An enjoyable morning 

It had been a really enjoyable and fruitful morning and the OCBC Cycle reminded me once again of everything that I had missed out over the past two covid-stricken years.

Thank you once again to OCBC Cycle for organising such a fun and eventful ride.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, Mr Edwin Tong, said, “We are very happy to be able to welcome back large scale sporting events like the OCBC Cycle 2022, where families and friends can come together to stay active, have fun and bond with one another.”

“The sporting community has been tremendously resilient, and have worked very well, in adapting and adjusting the various measures to protect the community,” he also added.