Championing cycling as a year-round way of life

MORE than 7,300 people will descend on the Singapore Sports Hub this weekend to take part in OCBC Cycle, and companies big and small are also getting involved as sponsors of the country’s largest mass cycling event.

There are 17 companies that are known as “Friends of OCBC Cycle”, among them household names such as F&N, Samsung and sporting goods retailer Decathlon. There are also local startups like local bike-sharing firm SG Bike and bicycle retailer and distributor Happy Owl Cycle.

This is the fourth year that SG Bike has been a sponsor, and according to chief operating officer Sean Tay, it’s all part of an ongoing effort to promote cycling as an activity that can be enjoyed all year round.

SG Bike was launched in 2017 with the aim of providing an active and sustainable alternative means of transport. Customers can rent bikes for as little as S$1 for the first 30 minutes, and three cents for each subsequent minute.

For OCBC Cycle this weekend, SG Bike will deploy 200 bikes on-site for participants who do not own a bike to still be able to join the activities. The presence of bike-sharing services at the event has allowed more than 4,000 cyclists to take part in OCBC Cycle over the past five years.

Participants can also try out SG Bike’s services with a free seven-day trial, which Tay hopes will encourage more of them to incorporate cycling into their daily lives.

“We believe micro-mobility options such as cycling will continue to add value to the transport landscape in Singapore,” noted Tay. “The increasing Park Connector Network over the next few years will allow even better connectivity for cyclists to commute in a clean and fast way.”

Another Friend of OCBC Cycle is Sunday Shades, which was founded in 2019 with a focus on producing sunglasses that are suitable for vigorous activities and are able to fit Asian facial features well.

Co-founder Kenneth Tan described the partnership with OCBC Cycle as an “excellent fit”, with this being the only cycling event in Singapore that allows participants the chance to pedal on closed roads on such a large scale.

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Sunday Shades first participated as a sponsor during the pandemic where OCBC Cycle’s rides were all virtual. This year, with the event back to full scale for the first time since 2019, Tan hopes to build the company’s brand awareness among the growing cycling community in Singapore.

“A few months after starting our business, the Circuit Breaker was announced. In the first month of the lockdown (in April 2020), our sales dropped by 90 per cent. At that time, we wanted to keep our community engaged in a way that is more than just buying shades,” said Tan.

He shared that the company partnered with running and triathlon clubs for content and to engage customers, and this has resulted in the business recording growth in almost every month since May 2020.

For first-time sponsor Happy Owl Cycle, the bicycle merchant will have its crew ready to provide emergency technical support on-site, noted its general manager Patrick Phua.

“In addition, we’ve put in place promotions to encourage participants to equip themselves with adequate components and accessories for the event, paying particular attention to the safety aspect of cycling,” he said.

Samsung, meanwhile, is OCBC Cycle’s official tech and photography partner this year, and the company will be capturing all the action on the ground as well as supporting fringe events such as the Spin Ride by CRU.

OCBC’s head of group brand and communications Koh Ching Ching said that each sponsor has its own interesting proposition and a shared desire to bring a “unique, fun and safe” cycling experience to Singapore.

“The diversity among the Friends of OCBC Cycle is one of the critical success factors for a large sporting event like ours,” she added.

This is the 15th edition of the event, and the bank noted that 70 per cent of those registered are taking part for the first time – higher than the previous average of around 60 per cent. OCBC said that this is an indication of the rising popularity of cycling as a “preferred sporting activity” among Singaporeans.

Apart from the in-person races, the virtual rides – which were first introduced in 2020 because of the pandemic – are also back this year, catering to those who prefer the convenience and flexibility of completing the event with family and friends over multiple rides and on their preferred routes.

In all, there are eight categories including the mainstay rides – The Sportive 40 km Ride and The Straits Times 20 km City Ride – that will take cyclists through the city on closed roads.

In the lead-up to OCBC Cycle, the bank also brought back its Teach-a-Child-to-Cycle programme. This year, OCBC Cycle teamed up with Decathlon and the Singapore Cycling Federation to teach 15 children aged between eight and 12 years old to cycle over three training sessions in April.