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Originally Posted by m_moses
When did you record the video while riding downtown/Orchard Road? Traffic seemed very reasonable.
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We started the ride around 5:30 AM. By the time we get to Orchard Road, I would say it's about 9 AM. Now, the road that we rode on is NOT Orchard Road itself but they intersect at the junction. You can see cars lining up on the right at the light, that's Orchard Road. It starts to get busy around that time already. I have ridden on Orchard Road on a Sunday at around 7 AM but that was 20 years ago - I have the whole road to myself and I use it to time trial from start to end, it was exhilarating with all the billboards and shopping malls flying by in a blur. I probably went through a couple of red lights.
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did you find that many of the groups are somewhat segregated? Do ang mos and locals prefer to stay separate? I’ve heard through my wife that many locals perceive the serious cyclists to be privileged foreigners with fancy bikes and kits who hold up traffic—obviously an opinion not exclusive to Singapore. But when I do visit next, I don’t want to be seen as such as much as I can avoid it.
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I don't think so, in fact, they welcome foreigners esp. AngMos to join them. If you look closely enough, there's actually one angmo in our group ride, he's wearing the orange-colored jersey and at the front. He's an expat from the US. If anything, you are stereotyped as being "stronger and faster" whether you are or not. So, instead of segregation, AngMos tend to join the faster group rides. Make sure you train hard before you show up at the local ride, because you got some pretty high expectations to meet.
My friend Kenneth is a four-time national champion back in the days in his early 20s. Two years ago, as a way to celebrate turning 50, he got back serious on the bike and trained very hard and won the national title again in his age-group. On the podium, he was flanked by two AngMos.
