How can cyclist have the whole road to themselves in Singapore?

The Brotherhood Secret to having whole Singapore road to yourself as a cyclist.

Begin your ride at 5.00 in the morning. Not come to the location at 5.00. But at precisely 5.00, the team launches off. Let me explain to all of you why this is the gold standard of safety as a cyclist.

From 5.00 onwards to 6.00. All the drivers on the roads are professionals. No blind auntie’s in a SUV’s. So your chances of getting knocked down is virtually zero. From 6.00 to 7.00 it begins to thicken. This is where the skipper needs to plan his route in such a way whereby the pack will not end up in a bottleneck. He needs to forward plan.

From 7.00 to 7.30. The ride should be ending. At 7.45 (latest), it should end. 

Darkness 2012

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“Getting everyone to sign a manifesto is the only way to root the SAFETY FIRST culture in a bicycle team. Let me share with you all why. Most men turn into boys when they are cycling in a group. What many people fail to understand is when a group of men come together – they are really partaking in an ancient ritual of brotherhood that goes all the way back to the days when men sat around a fire as a shaman recounted the story of the origins of mankind – it is very tribal. And the instinct that powers this natural desire to be part of a tribe comes naturally to every man. 

Just two days trek away from my plantation if I walk Westwards – there is a tribe. I know the chieftain there. Even hunted with the braves. You know what? Even they have a manifesto. 

There are do’s and don’ts that’s really what a manifesto really is – and if you are skippering a bicycle team. You need to understand that no everyone is equal in the team. You may for example get a CEO who forgot to bring along his helmet. The safety officer in your bike team could just be a factory technician. So he says to the CEO,”I am sorry, no ride for you today!” CEO goes berserk. Marshall appears and  backs the safety officer up. No use CEO is still insisting that he has the right to ride with the pack. Skipper appears and ask CEO what is article so and so of the manifesto? 

CEO knows its game over. He knows there is no way, he can go against tribal law that he has put his blood on – that is how powerful a manifesto can be. 

You see one of the saddest things in all this is. I do not disagree completely with Yaacob that we need may need a bloggers code of conduct. Because let us be perfectly honest. Even in gaming we have a manifesto. We have the Irullian Protocal. That is like the Geneva Conventions and the rules that govern interstellar conventions. Same goes for climbers. Even they have a manifesto.

My only gripe with Yaacob is he was sly about it. He never for instance once mentioned the MLC, till the eleventh hour. It just came in from nowhere. 

That is the saddest part. As to be perfectly honest with you. We bloggers really need a manifesto now. 

Ah! Silly me. We have a problem don’t we Gentlemen. Now that we have to deal with Mr Liao. Everything might as well be up in the air. I am suddenly not so sure now whether Yacoob had such a good idea.”