CYCLE OF GIVING

In a bid to make its 10th birthday more meaningful, the Combat Service Support Command (CSSCOM) decided to mark it by raising funds for charity.

With CSSCOM's anniversary celebrations coming in November, Depot Commander of 33 Forward Maintenance Depot Military Expert (ME) 5 Jack Tay Wei Jie was determined to use this chance to give back to society.

"We decided to cycle to raise funds for the Singapore Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF) to help the children and their families cope with battling childhood cancer."

This led him and a crew of four other cyclists to embark on an expedition to the Land of the Rising Sun, from 11 to 20 Jul.

Staying on track

Explaining the reason for choosing Japan, ME5 Tay said: "We decided to retrace part of the ancient Edo trade routes in Japan that was vital to the nation's growth. The importance of these routes mirrors how CSSCOM depends on Main Supply Evacuation Routes to deliver services and supplies to the troops for mission success."

He added: "There was a lot of planning involved before the trip -- from the amount of food supplements, to the number of bicyle spares in case of breakdowns, to the turn-by-turn route and the accommodation."

However, in order to ride 1,088km in 10 days and record a vertical ascent of 6,840m (which is about three-quarters the height of Mount Everest), the team required more than just meticulous planning.

ME5 Tay said: "We knew that if we did not make the distance, there would be little reason for the people back home to donate to our cause. So, we kept pushing ourselves and one another even when we were dead tired. We knew that we had a mission to accomplish."

As one team

Training was once every week, starting in January. ME2 Alfatah Abdul Karim, a Medical Operations Warrant Officer from HQ Army Medical Services, recalled: "We started with about 40km and progressively moved on to longer distances of more than 100km. But the most important thing was to get the team to cycle as a group."

He said with a chuckle: "It (the expedition) looked like an uphill task in the beginning, because the team couldn't go through 20km as a pack before breaking up."

However, as training went on, the team managed to gel together and became proficient at cycling as a group.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel (SLTC) Chang Pin Chuan, Deputy Chief Supply Officer from HQ Supply, was one of the less experienced cyclists in the group, but with his team members' help, he became better and more confident about completing the distance with each training session.

"I picked up cycling not too long ago but the guys trained me well. I managed to pass the 100km-mark during training, which was pretty good."

LTA Rastus recalled: "I learnt not to depend on my brother so much, but to depend on myself and my division-mates. I also saw the need to develop myself so that I could develop others."

A trip to remember

The team - which also consisted of ME4 Nicholas Phua Chang Ee, 3rd Army Maintenance Base Sergeant Major, and ME1 Wayne Gan Sang Wei, Pasir Laba Ammunition Depot duty team in-charge -- set off on their journey from Hiroshima on 11 Jul.

Said ME2 Alfatah: "The first day was the worst for me because I had just ended my fast during Ramadan. I guess my body wasn't ready yet as I suffered massive cramps. It was so bad that I couldn't even straighten my legs to get off the bike."

For SLTC Chang, it was the eighth day that took a toll on him physically. "We ended up cycling 156km instead of the planned 110km! This was because when we were about 10km from our destination, the planned route did not allow bicycles to pass."

"It was a tunnel through a mountain, so we had to detour using a coastal route. But when we reached there, the route was closed due to a land slide."

"Everything happened on that day!" exclaimed ME2 Alfatah. "We faced the hot sun, the heavy rain, the strong wind, the unpassable route, and the climb. The wind was so strong that when we were cycling downhill, we couldn't pick up speed as the wind was blowing against us."

Recalling the ninth day, ME5 Tay added: "We had to scale a steep climb up of about 15km. There was even a point where we had to push our bicycles up, as the angle of the slope was too steep."

He continued: "At the end of the day, we're just glad that we managed to complete the trip. More importantly, our fundraising received tremendous support and we exceeded our initial target of $11,000. The donation drive will last till 7 Nov, so until then, the public can still visit the CCF website to donate to our cause."

Agreeing with ME5 Tay, SLTC Chang said: "We all felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that we had done something meaningful and contributed back to society This was definitely a trip to remember."