“You must be crazy to carry your bike.”
My wife told me the first time when I try to bring my folding bike on a business trip. But after trying it once, I am hooked.
Bike + train = ideal way to see Europe
Empowering mobility
IMO cycling is the best way to explore a new place. Walking won’t take you far, and you are most likely keep bumping into other tourists. Tour bus bring you from A to B, but you are missing all the fun between A and B. Sure, for longer distances, I need to rely on train/bus or other transports. That’s precisely when a folding bike come in handy; I simply fold it up and I am ready to go. Once at the destination, unfold my bike and my circle of exploration is immediately 10 times more.
With my bike, I am more willing to explore because it’s more fun. It’s just like upgrading from dial-up to broadband, it’s much faster and more fun and I end up staying longer on the Internet. There is no need to go really far, as long as it’s beyond the reach of a typical tourist, I sure will find something more authentic and more “human”. In fact I always find something interesting within 30 minutes of cycling from any hotel I stay. Thinking back, isn’t it the same in Singapore? Beyond the typical tourist spots, the tourist fade and the local live springs up. 5 mintues cycling (1km) is usually all it takes to go beyond the typical “tourist area”.
Curious girl playing with my bike
Ice-breaker
People never fail to ask me question about my bike, and I got to chat with many people because of this very visible “toy” I am playing with. Once the conversation started, it’s a lot easier to understand the human side of the place I am visiting. I remember once I was sipping a coffee and enjoying the sunset along the Tanshui river side in Taipei, there was this little girl she was very curious about my bike. At first she was very shy but later she just can’t resist her curiosity and start asking if it’s a bicycle. I rewarded her courage by showing her how to unfold and folding the bike. She was very excited and run to told her mum. Later, talking to her mum I learnt that they came to the river side every other day to enjoy the sunset, and the place I was sitting is one of the favorite spot for local too.
Keep it safe
So far no one has stop me from carrying my bike into my hotel room. As a courtesy, sometimes I fold it up before carrying it into the lobby, but most of the hotels are happy to let me roll the bike right in. I‘d feel very stressed if I have to leave my bike outside at night in a foreign land. Losing the bike is one thing, but missing the fun the next day is the worst.
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Want to try the bike ? Here is the link:
Hi, was directed from tomorrow.sg
Do you hand carry your folding bike or check in when on the plane?
It is a very neat idea.
Wow. Your post inspired me to consider cycling again. I used to travel with my field chair all the time, but travelling with a foldable bike… cool!
Love your blog on cycling too. Will check in often.
Hey, instead of a folding bike, why not try a unicycle! It’s already ‘folded’, plus it will be more than a ice-breaker… I think it’s a total ice-destroyer + a celebrity-instant-mix (just add water).
I’m able to take public transport with it too (at least in SG).
Pros:
1) Cool
2) Way Cool
3) Fast way to travel
Cons:
1) Need to learn, steep learning curve (takes about a month)
2) Slightly more tiring than a bicycle
3) Lower top speed than a bicycle
What brand and model is your bike? Always wanted to travel with a bike, but never got down to it.
Hi MacroGrey, I’m using the Simplicity model of jz88
dp, thanks!
Ng Yihao, you got a point. let’s bring more wheels into the MRT!
hi, i’m moving back to singapore in a few months time but don’t want to stop travelling by bike. I haven’t been to Singapore in a while so i’m not sure if the rules have changed. Are we allowed to take full (non-folded) bikes into the MRT trains? Hope you can advise.
d, I wish such day will come.
where do you study? are you allow to bring a full size bike into the tube/metro/underground?
I’d buy a bike like that just to get around. Why not take more photos of your bike? The original A-Bike seems to have tiny wheels than the one pictured on the top. For now I’m travelling between home and school on my foldable electric scooter, which is the smallest yet most rugged one I’ve found: The Go Motorboard 2000X. I have a video review of it here.
Oh well, i was hoping things have changed! I read about the Bike Boutique and all, slowly i guess. We’ll be bike-friendly soon. 🙂
i love cycling but i have this over-riding fear (lol, pun not intended) of getting knocked down in Singapore. We have cycling lanes in Melbourne so it’s safe, to a certain extent. And yes, we can bring bikes on board the trains.
Will get a folding bike soon. I’m quite inspired by your blog.
Thanks for the reply, jhn.
I think you may just start a trend of travelers packing their own bikes 🙂
Hi Kevin, I check your video of the Go Motorbaord, it’s cool.
You can find more photos of the bike I’m using in the jz88 photo gallery:
http://www.jz88.com/copper/index.php?cat=1
As you suggested, quite a few use it for just getting around.
Hi d,
Things are changing for the better, but don’t expect you can bring a full size bike into MRT anytime soon.
As you can tell I also like cycling a lot. and I am scare of being knocked down too. So I hop on to the pavement as soon as I sense the traffic becoming too dangerous. The short wheel base of my folding bike is quite nice for pavement riding, at least it is not as threatening to the pedestrians as a full size bike.
Paddy, thanks. I like your idea a lot 🙂
Nice photos… you’re more hardcore than I thought! 😛
How much did you get the bike for? And if I’m not mistaken, it’s not the A-bike which is really small (and EXPENSIVE) right?
Singapore’s small andthe govt should really promote healthy and environment-friendly living by having more bike paths, even bike-lanes on the roads like in Canada and China. I can imagine a future without the need for cars in Singapore, which would be awesome!
BTW: I’m interested in all forms of personal transportation, be it segways, hoverboards and what have you. 🙂
Thanks Kavin.
After using a folding bike for a while, I know combine cycling with MRT/Bus/Taxi one can go everywhere easily, certainly easier than driving alone. Come to think about it, driving really suck.
Yes, it would be awesome if Singapore is car free!
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A folding bicycle turned out the ideal way to see Beijing. The city is dead flat and so you don’t need a fancy bicycle. The small folding one kept the tourist touts away and they were too busy laughing at me to bother trying to sell anything. Small children stopped and stared, old men asked me how it folded.
http://www.tomw.net.au/2003/bws/index.html
I found your blog via Google while searching for hotels in canada and your post regarding Traveling with folding bike looks very interesting to me. Just wanted to drop a note to let you know what a great site you have. It is a great resource and a great place to drop by.
hi Jhn,
I like your concept of touring Europe by train and bike. Could you share with us more info in your future blog. Thank a lot.