As far back as I can remember, my grandfather road a bicycle, and he rode it on the road. So it was not hard for me to equate riding a bicycle with riding on the road. You can see the results of my refurbishment of my grandfather’s bicycle here. Unfortunately, he passed away before he had a chance to see the finished result.

Having grown up living on the East Coast, I was no stranger to riding bicycles, many of my friends own them. My traumatic childhood memories include two bicycle crashes at the East Coast Park.

I picked up riding again during my Polytechnic days, when my Polytechnic moved within a 25 min ride from my house. This was compared to an hour’s bus-ride to get to the same place. After that, I had stopped again, only to start cycling in the last few years when my work-place was a 15-20 min commute away.

Road Cyclists
Let us now look at the guys who are riding bicycles legally. There are two broad groups of cyclists on the roads. I think a simple way to separate them is by their cruising speeds. One group cycles at less than 20km/h and the other tends to cycle more than that.

Of course, the disclaimer from the previous post is relevant here too, there are many individuals and groups that move and and out of the categories that I place them in.

Less than 20km/h
Elderly and low-wage foreigners make up the bulk of cyclists on the road. They do so because it is the most convenient or affordable mode of transport. Many ride on poorly maintained bicycles and do not wear helmets. They are joined by some housewives, domestic helpers and children who are confident to ride longer distances on the roads.

Many elderly cyclists have been doing so all their lives. In their youth, their bicycle was their only mode of transport. Back in the day, bicycles carried Singaporean all over the country. My grandfather used to ride from Bendemeer to Naval Base every single day on his 20kg+ bicycle. Nowadays, most people confine their cycling to East Coast or Bishan Park and places like that.

These elderly cyclist have seen the number of cars on the road grow by a thousandfold during their lifetime of cycling. And now, in their autumn years, they face a real risk of getting into traffic accidents.

Low-wage foreign workers cycle for the same exact reasons as our forebears in the past. You will see hundreds of cheap bicycles parked near workers’ dormitories around Singapore. And workers contracted for street cleaning are often seen moving from work site to work site in their bicycles that have brooms and pails attached. My friends and I gave them a nickname: Harry Potters. Mentally erase the bicycle, and you can imagine them gliding through the air on their brooms.

They are most common target for drivers’ frustration with cyclists. I see part of it as a lack of understanding between drivers and this group of cyclist. I feel that the problem is largely the lack of respect for cyclists on the road, as well as impatience of the drivers. Having said that, this group of cyclists have a higher tendency to cycle unpredictably. They swap between pavements and the road, and use pedestrian crossings to save time, sometimes in quite dangerous fashions.

Being the largest group of cyclists on the road, they are also involved in most of the traffic accidents. Regardless of whose fault these accidents are, they would be the ones that suffer disproportionately. When an old man or a low-wage foreign worker ends up in hospital, issuing him with a $20 traffic fine seems the least important thing then. That is, if they survived the accident in the first place.

More than 20km/h
This group is probably the most “serious” cyclists around. They cycle primarily for the exercise. They tend to have well maintained bicycles, wear proper cycling clothes, helmets, and have proper warning lights and reflectors.

Our scorching weather lead most of these cyclists to cycle in the wee hours of the mornings, at night, or during the weekends. Changi Coast Road, West Coast Road, and Lim Chu Kang are common routes that are taken. There are precious few long stretches of roads that have few traffic junctions in Singapore.

Most of these serious cyclists are young or working aged, although it is nice to occasionally see elderly couples cycling together. Some are training for cycling, biathelon and triathelon competitions.

Some have extended this passion of cycling to use it as a primary mode of transport. As confident riders, their riding pattern tends to be predictable, so they can avoid some accidents like that. It is hard to find much fault with these cyclists, who embody the virtues of a green mode of transport, as well as regular exercise, even if they sometimes break the odd traffic rule for convenience.

They are few and far between, however. Even if the road conditions permit, Singapore’s working environment would discourage most people to get to work in tights and dripping with sweat. Most people I know who commute to work are those that have ready shower facilities at their workplace. Gym instructors, and people who have their own shops, etc.

There have been a few bicycle parking facilities opened in town, that let the riders take a shower before heading to work. Hopefully they lead to more bicycle commuting.

Everyone is guilty of something
I have highlighted why the authorities have had to tread carefully with enforcements of traffic rules with various groups of cyclists. Pedestrians and drivers might find this an unfair situation.

But pedestrians and drivers have to look at themselves first. How many pedestrians can raise their hand and say that they have never jaywalked? How many drivers never exceed the speed limit?

We ignore these rules sometimes because we feel that we are in control of the situation, and that no one would be at risk with our actions. What would they feel if the law came down hard on them every time they made an infraction?