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.