Story by Chan Lilian
NOT believing that commuting to work by bicycle was possible led Buletin Mutiara to pursue KC Loong to share how he does it.
Here Loong, 42, married with two children and working as a logistic network design analyst at Intel Malaysia tells how that it is possible!
“I have always loved cycling and been cycling for as long as I can remember. My first bike was a BMX my father got me when I was in primary school. I have always thought of cycling to work but it was always one reason or another not to do so,” KC as he is better known said.
KC has been cycling since April 2015.
“I did it for the exercise and to manage my transportation expenditure. Everybody can complain about fluctuating petrol prices but I see only a few taking action. I prefer to take action,” he said.
Most people would think that it is very daunting to cycle to work.
Many will feel it as being dangerous and risky while others will see it as inconvenient in our hot weather.
So how does KC deal with his family members who may be worried about his safety? Moreover, KC lives on the mainland and has to cycle all the way from the jetty in Weld Quay to Batu Maung.
“Obviously people who first hear about me cycling ask about safety, but I address those concerns by explaining to them what my route is and what are the steps I take to be safe. Whenever someone wants to do something new or out of the box, there will always be fear or concern. For the most part, the fear comes from not knowing. I believe that by educating and explaining things, those fears and concern can be addressed.
“My advice for those thinking of embarking on this is to first establish yourself as a competent cyclist. Know how to handle your bike well and train yourself to be independent. Once the people around you see that you can handle yourself, then their concerns will address themselves.”
Buletin Mutiara asked KC: “What can the government do to encourage more people to cycle?”
KC: “The government has done more than its share to encourage cycling to work and cycling in general. I think’ it’s now up to the public.”
“But if we are talking ideas, some of the ideas that I can think is to reduce or eliminate import tax for bicycle components and have feature articles in local media (E.g. Buletin Mutiara) to feature cycling paths or cycling groups. Sometimes people have a challenge to start cycling because they are not aware of where to cycle and who they can join to cycle.”
Interested to make the first step? Join the Bike On Friday group at https://www.facebook.com/bikeonfriday/.
SOME TIPS FROM KC
* First thing is to ensure that the concerned parties are aware and do not have strong objections.
* Employers: Ensure that your employer is open to it and convince them by showing that your work performance will be on par (or better) on days you cycle to work. One misconception is that when you cycle to work you will need to arrive late and leave early (and you will be tired the whole day). If you know that you will take a longer time, then start earlier to go to work and plan to arrive home later after work. Make sure you do not cut corners at work just because you are cycling.
* Family and friends: Obviously they will be concerned about your safety. Talk to them and tell them your route and assure them that you will be safe.
* Get yourself prepared.
Make sure you have a bike and all the necessary items. I ride a cheap looking single speed bike that I purposely make it look that it’s not maintained and of low value. The reason is that I prefer not to attract too much attention and lower the risk of the bike being stolen.
* Plan the route that you are going to take to work. Do a few trial runs to make sure that you are comfortable with the road conditions and the traffic. This is important to avoid any surprises. Roads look very much different in a car than on a bike. Inform someone you know of your planned route so that they know roughly where you are.
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