Singapore Offroad Guide

This site gives Google Earth maps and GPS files for most, if not all, of the offroad trails in Singapore. A great tool for all MTB offroad enthusiasts.

Routes covered include: Bukit Timah, Kent Ridge, Ubin (Ketam & others), Tampines, as well as other offbeat trails.

Bukit Timah Mountain Biking Trail

This trail is one of the most popular in Singapore.


Source: singeo.com.sg

There are several possible routes for this trail.

Ketam Mountain Biking Trail

A new biking trail was opened in 2007 on Pulau Ubin at the cost of S$1 million. According to NParks, Ketam MTB Trail is the only trail in Singapore to meet international standards for biking contests. There are various routes so Ketam is suitable for both leisure and experienced cyclists. See Straits Times' report.

At time of posting, transportation is available from mainland Singapore to Ubin by bumboat for $4 ($2 per person, additional charge of $2 for bicycle). Board at Changi Point Ferry Terminal in Changi Village.



See also NPark's official information on Ketam.

Cycle Safe!

Here are some Youtube videos on cycling safety:



This is a classic with over 5 million views. Every motorist should see this.

---

A Canadian MP, Olivia Chow, shares a few cycling tips that have kept her safe over the past 15 years.

---

Night cycling safety requirements

OCBC Cycle Singapore

Singapore will organise its first mass participation cycling event on public roads on February 22, 2009. Click here for the website. OCBC Cycle Singapore will cater from everyone, beginner to professional. There are several routes ranging from 5km to 50km, and entry fees range from $26 to $168.

Local Links

These are some cycling websites in Singapore

Cycling in Singapore
An cycling activist blog. Issues, views, solutions and opportunities for transport and urban cycling in Singapore. Shows how European countries have benefitted from their pro-bike policies.

Safe Cycling Task Force
Although this website has not been updated for some time, it contains many important pointers on safe cycling in Singapore. This group has also responsible for the road signs warning users of cyclists along Upper Thomson Road, Old Choa Chu Kang Road, and towards Changi Village, among others. (So you now know what SCTF stands for!)

Singapore Amateur Cycling Association
The authority for cycling events in Singapore. Organizing races such as Individual Time Trials (ITT) and Team Time Trials (TTT) in Punggol and Changi to select the national team.

Singapore Cycling
Jan Boonstra is from the Netherlands and has been cycling in and around Singapore since 1998.
Rick Ross from the USA has been teaching at the Ngee Ann Polytechnic since 2003. Together, these two individuals have produced an invaluable site full of information about cycling in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Not only are the usual destinations such as Batam (Barelang) and Pengarang covered in depth, more off the beaten track places such as Lingga, Singkep which many have not heard of are also covered. An excellent guide.

Starting and Stopping

There is a tendency to think that once you get so that you can ride around the block without falling down, you've "mastered" riding a bicycle, and know all you need to know about basic riding technique. Like most skills, however, there are levels of mastery, and a cyclist who has learned and practiced good technique will be a safer, more effective cyclist.

See bicycle guru Sheldon Brown's article on the most effective techniques on how to start and stop. Useful for the beginner, but even experienced cyclists will benefit.

Cycling reduces road congestion

Along with other forms of public transport, the bicycle represents the way to reduce road congestion!

Persons per hour that one metre width road/track/pavement can carry:

Auto in mixed traffic - 170
Bicycle - 1,500
Bus in mixed traffic - 2,700
Pedestrian - 3,600
Suburban railway - 4,000

Source: World Watch

International Links

Cycling News
As its title suggests, this site is best known for its news. However it also has several excellent features, such as a Q&A column with experts where you can send in questions. If you are also interested in top end products, this site also conducts regular reviews. No reviewer or site can claim to be objective when it comes to news and reviews, but my personal feeling is that this site is as close as it gets.

(More to be added in future)

Cycling is good for the heart

A major review done jointly by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine found out that 12% of all deaths in the US could be attributed to a lack of physical activity.

This is a pity, as the figure could be greatly cut down. Benefits are seen with a very low mileage. Even new cyclists starting out wiht a short distance once a week can reduce their risk of sudden death by 22%. And the benefit increases with increasing mileage. According to the British Health Foundation, cycling around 30km a week will reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by half.

So you don't need to ride a "round island" around Singapore every week, although that would speak volumes of physical determination. Just a leisurely ride every weekend (or even every other weekend) with family and friends will do much to reduce the risk of chronic and acute heart disease.

Sources:
BUPA UK
Study of cycling in Oxfordshire
Benefits of Cycling

General Safety Pointers

Someone once remarked that bicycles have two major safety threats: cars and themselves.

See the Wikipedia article on hand signals. If you are new to cycling, make sure you are comfortable on your bike before giving these signals!

For specific tips on how to avoid getting into an accident, bicyclesafe.com is an excellent guide. Take note that it discusses things from a US perspective. (US is right hand drive whereas Singapore is left hand drive)

Cycling is environmentally friendly

Cycling takes up the least energy among all transport options. Did you know that on flat ground, one hundred calories can power a cyclist for three miles, but it would only power a car 85 meters! The above fact is from the website Science of Cycling.

Ever wanted to know the science behind gear ratios, carbon frames, and bike design? Check out the website for more interesting facts.

Statistics have also shown a link between cycling and a country's health. Only 1% of urban travel in the US is by bicycle, and 30.6% of adults there are obese. This contrasts with the Netherlands where 28% of urban travel is via a bike, and only 10% are obese. See World Watch for more information

Cycling saves time

Just last year, I headed out to one of the cycling specialist shops and got myself a nice bike and kitted it out with skinny road slicks and disk brakes for on road commuting. I figured that, with the kind of frequency that our public buses are scheduled (according to SBS’ online bus tracking service, over 20 minutes between buses during off-peak hours) I can probably out-cycle the bus to most destinations within a 10km radius of my place...
Indeed as it turns out I arrived for appointments earlier that I would had I waited for a bus, and I had quite an adrenaline rush from the commute as well.

See here for the full post of the experience of a local blogger. The non-cyclist is often surprised when one hears of anecdotal evidence that cycling is faster than taking public transport. Many cyclists have recounted how the only way their friends were convinced was to see it themselves! The fact is, Singapore's public transport system may be efficient, but our high population density necessitates for many bus stops and traffic lights along our roads. Hence buses need to come to a start and stop much more often, and they can only maintain a speed of 50km/h for a short period of time.

Paul Barter notes that even cycling at a very gentle pace (10 km per hour) from Tampines MRT can get you quite far: in 12 minutes you could reach anywhere in Tampines and even to Simei.
See also his interesting presentation: Let's Take Bicycles Seriously.