WHIZZ FORWARD

Follow Major (MAJ) Ronnie Yap's journey from bicycle-commuter to amateur road-racing champion.

As a young Regular in 1990, MAJ Yap discovered that cycling from his Ang Mo Kio home to his camp in Bedok saved him precious time. "By bus, it would take me one and a half hours. Cycling took me about an hour. That became my daily commute."

One thing led to another and MAJ Yap started riding at East Coast Park with his battalion-mates. "It was fun and I started buying better bicycles and riding around Singapore with my friends. From there, we started taking part in local races and got acquainted with the cycling fraternity," he said.

In mid-2010, MAJ Yap took home the local Masters title in the Singapore National Road Championship. He also won the novice title in the now-defunct Tour of Singapore event in 1995.

Social sport

The 44-year-old heads the National Service (NS) Training Wing at Headquarters Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives Defence Group, where he takes care of the training requirements for NS units. "Planning and executing the In-Camp Training sessions take up about 40 weeks a year. The rest of the time is spent conducting other related courses."

For MAJ Yap, cycling training takes place after work with one of the many cycling enthusiast groups that ride throughout the week.

And it is this social aspect of the sport that he enjoys. "Road-racing involves teamwork and there is a lot of camaraderie. Friendships that you build along the way become stronger as you race more as a team.

"It's not like we try to tekan (punish) each other and then get the most enjoyment from seeing others fall behind. To me, road cycling is about helping each other to improve," he added.

Shedding your ego

On receiving an invitation to ride at the Tour of Taiwan race in 1992, MAJ Yap recalled an ego-bruising brush with top international cyclists. "Just like any other guy who has just taken up a new sport, you think you re the best in the world. And so I went.

"In those days, Tour of Taiwan also invited the top national team riders from Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands, so you have these big and burly riders who have been doing it for years, going easily at speeds of 50kmh in the Taiwan wind without breaking a sweat," he said.

"Then you have fellows like me who didn't know what we were in for, splintering behind because the entire field (of cyclists) literally flew off once the race began!"

On a serious note, it made him think about cycling in perspective. "I don't have the time or commitment required to take part in competitions of that level... Since then, I have concentrated on amateur-level events such as the Tour of Penang, where I can also bring my family to enjoy the sights and food there," said MAJ Yap, who is married with three children aged 14 to 19.

These cycling events are usually held over weekends and cover distances of about 100km or more.

Breaking through

A few months after clinching the Singapore Masters title, MAJ Yap broke his collarbone in a cycling incident and had to spend months in physiotherapy.

His physiotherapist told him that he used his quadriceps excessively, which caused him to tire easily on long-distance rides.

"To endure long distances, you have to use the largest muscle in the body (the gluteus maximus) in order to preserve the accelerative abilities of the quadriceps," explained MAJ Yap.

"From that accident, I learnt to re-position myself (on the bicycle) and I am able to sustain for more than 100km."

He added: "Previously, I would be completely exhausted after covering about 60km and my legs would refuse to respond!"

Probably the most jolly cyclist to have suffered a broken collarbone, MAJ Yap hopes that more can be done to promote the sport in Singapore. "One of the things we need is a velodrome (a cycle-racing track or building) and regular cycling events organised around that facility to really encourage more people to take it up, and maybe one day we will have a world-class cyclist."