It started from a cordial chat over coffee at Ciclo e cafe, Changi Village in Nov 2021, Amos the cafe owner and Santini the official sponsor of Tour de France 2022 and Ironman races all over the world, presented us with opportunity yet an upheaval challenge to complete cycling 600 km within 24 hours on boxing day to raise funds for a charity. We were then told that the longest cycling distance ever attempted in Singapore was 570 km in more than 24 hours. There was a brief moment of silence between us before we eventually said to Amos: “Yes, we take up the challenge”. The Santini 600 was officially launched that day.
Three cyclists: Boaz Wibowo, Ronald Buder and myself are each going to attempt to cycle 600 km within 24 hours. We also raise fund through this event to provide for children in need at Club Rainbow Sg, in hopes of ending 2021 on a positive notes: to always be grateful for that we have and remember to give back to Society via giving.sg.
I was excited and grew anxious at the same time. Then I told myself to remain positive and bring back the mindset that I applied on my Ironman races: a good planning and preparation are the answer to get closer to my dreams and goals. We estimated between 8400 and 10,000 total calories are going to be needed to cover 600 km cycling distance. Accordingly, I planned my food intake strategy up to per 30 minutes interval which ensured adequate carbohydrate, sodium, magnesium and caffeine are met in order to complete the mission successfully.
As days went by, closer to the event date, we were very fortunate to get supports from various cycling communities in Singapore including faberx.cc, burkamride.cc, songbros.cc, khcc.sg, gowessgid.cc, apth.cc, npcc.cc, asicyclingcrew.cc, jancuk.cc, joyriders.cc, ocd.cc, nacc.cc, teraimelayusg. They are committed to assign cyclists as pacemakers and companions to ensure the success of Santini 600 event. The Santini 600 will take place at Tanah Merah Coastal Road (TMCR) loops and the flag-off is scheduled at 3pm.
Santini 600 stories
Mr Zhul Rahim, MP of Chua Chu Kang GRC, adviser to Chua Chu Kang GRC (GROs) Keat Hong flagged off this event on Dec 26 at 3.07pm. As the legs were still fresh, we decided to allocate 3 hour-long cycling. It turned out to be a good decision. We clocked 90.38 km (4 big TMCR Loop) for about 2:45:35 moving time with average speed of 32.75 KPH. Kudos to our fellow cyclists from faberX.cc, asicyclingcrew.cc, gowessgid.cc, and teraimelayusg led by Sigi Kwok who set a good standard of rolling speed for the next batch to follow suit despite the scorching hot Sun and strong southbound wind throughout for the full 3 hour cycling. They are true legend and our heroes. The three cyclists of Santini 600 had 15 minutes to refill and reload at Ciclo o Cafe prior to reconvene with fellow cyclists who committed to be pacemakers and companions of second batch.
As the Sun began to sink and the weather cooled down, we started rolling at 6.24 pm with fellow cyclists of second batch. As we decided to allocate two-hour long cycling from this batch onwards, the route was also changed accordingly into 2 x Big TMCR Loops plus 1 TTT Loop. We eventually covered 62.49 km in 1:56:37 moving time with average speed of 32.15 kph.
Kudos to fellow cyclists from faberX.cc, joyriders.cc, gowessgid.cc led by Yuh Jer who set a good standard of rolling speed for the subsequent two-hour batches. You guys are terrific and the true heroes. The three cyclists of Santini 600 had 15 minutes to refill and reload at Ciclo o Cafe prior to reconvene with fellow cyclists who committed to be pacemakers and companions of third batch.
The night was still young but adrenaline started to set in among us the Santini 600 cyclists when we hit the road again at 8.46 pm. Now we continue with the same route and two-hour long cycling schedule as previous batch and managed to cover 62.41 km in 1:52:04 moving time with average speed 33.42 kph. We were amazed by a smooth rotation paceline showcase by our pacemakers like work of art which led to a very comfortable cycling experience with none to minimum surging. Kudos to fellow cyclists from songbros.cc, burkamride.cc, gowessgid.cc and ocd.cc led by Michael Kang for their collaborative work and well-planned rotation paceline strategy. We witnessed the beauty of this sport that unite us all through your awesome teamwork. Well done guys!
The three cyclists of Santini 600 had 15 minutes to refill and reload at Ciclo o Cafe prior to reconvene with fellow cyclists who committed to be pacemakers and companions of fourth batch.
We were all pumped up with adrenaline and excitement from having completed 200km distance with the legs are still relatively fresh and spirit keeps at high thanks to the fellow cyclists who accompanied us, the real heroes for us. We are even more fired up when hitting the road again at 11.10 pm while we followed the same route and two-hour long cycling schedule as previous batch. We were able to cover 62.38 km in 1:51:24 moving time with average speed 33.60 kph. The pace was getting faster kudos to fellow cyclists from burkamride.cc and khcc.cc who extended their support from the assigned schedules, gowessgid.cc, faberX.cc and led by Reza Mohammed. We were in awe with the high intensity and beautifully executed rotation paceline showcase by this batch which resulted a relatively higher average speed for the similar distance covered. Besides, they displayed a great camaraderie when one of us got flat tyres issue, another helped him and quickly fixed the problem and rejoined the group. Thank you guys for the terrific camaraderie and teamwork. You guys are legend !
The three cyclists of Santini 600 had 15 minutes to refill and reload at Ciclo o Cafe prior to reconvene with fellow cyclists who committed to be pacemakers and companions of fifth batch.
Past midnight, we were still fired up and maintained high spirit thanks to fellow cyclists who accompanied us one after another. You guys are amazing. We started rolling a bit late from schedule at 1.23 am and decided to adjust the route to become 2 x big TMCR loops only. We managed to cover 53.46 km in 1:28:50 moving time with average speed of 34.31 kph. We really set a new average speed record one batch after another :-). Kudos to fellow cyclists from burkamride.cc, gowessgid.cc, faberX.cc and khcc.sg led by Farid Howladar. With this explosive combined power between them, the result was massive and the stats speak for itself. Thank you guys for the massive efforts and beautiful teamwork showcase you displayed that helped us pass the critical half way point of this challenge safely with relatively fresh condition. You guys are legend. We hit 330 km at the end of this batch.
The three cyclists of Santini 600 had 15 minutes to refill and reload at Ciclo o Cafe prior to reconvene with fellow cyclists who committed to be pacemakers and companions of sixth batch.
As we decided to change attire of the first into the second Santini cycling kits, we then started to hit the road a little bit later at 3.30 am. The new cycling kits are as good as the first one. It boosted our spirits up even higher as we started the half way point of this amazing journey. We decided to bring back the original route of 2 x Big TMCR Loops plus 1 TTT Loop and managed to cover 62.51 km in 1:54:16 moving time with average speed of 32.82 kph. Kudos to fellow cyclists from faberX.cc, gowessgid.cc and itb.cc led by Lawrence Choo, our very own 10,000 watts cyclist who set a more sustainable pace for us to be able to keep up until the end. You guys are the true heroes!
The three cyclists of Santini 600 had 15 minutes to refill and reload at Ciclo o Cafe prior to reconvene with fellow cyclists who committed to be pacemakers and companions of seventh batch.
At the break of the dawn, the pain started to rattle among us Santini 600 cyclists. Boaz needed to soak his feet to a bucket of warm water to ease the pain during the break. Ronald started to feel the fatigue and I fully utilized my Hydragun to religiously massage my neck and quads muscles. Despite such adversity, our spirit remain higher than ever and deep down our hearts we will get the job done with patience and determination. We started rolling at 5.52 am to continue with the same route and two-hour long cycling schedule as previous batch. We then managed to cover 62.38 KM for 1:51:42 moving time with average speed 33.51 kph. This batch was amazing as we saw many new faces who are proven to be very strong cyclists. Kudos to fellow cyclists from faberX.cc who extended the support beyond the assigned schedule, gowessgid.cc, apth.cc, itb.cc and led by Mario Wiradinata. You guys are amazing !
We personally feel the second wind when the Sun started to come out. A brighter sky and scenic view of Changi Airport and Tanah Merah Coastal road combined with low morning temperature really made the ride more enjoyable.
The three cyclists of Santini 600 had 15 minutes to refill and reload at Ciclo o Cafe prior to reconvene with fellow cyclists who committed to be pacemakers and companions of eighth batch.
Whilst the mercury keeps rising, the adrenaline rush kept us going. We were grateful for change on the wind direction which helped our strong pacemakers setting the fastest average speed for the whole Santini 600 event. We started rolling at 8.12 am and managed to cover 62.57 km in 1:48:24 moving time with average speed 34.64 kph. This batch was amazingly fast and furious and at one point we hit 48 km max speed after cycling for 500 km distance :-). Kudos to fellow cyclists from faberX.cc, gowessgid.cc, jancuk.cc, apth.cc, npcc.cc, google and led by Alex Vidi. You guys are legend !
We were accompanied by cyclists with strong characters since we feel our pacemakers and companions understood that we were almost empty, hence, they purposely protected us from the winds. At the end of this batch, we hit 520 km mark.
The three cyclists of Santini 600 had 15 minutes to refill and reload at Ciclo o Cafe prior to reconvene with fellow cyclists who committed to be pacemakers and companions of ninth batch.
The wind started to pick up and mercury was rising up to 36 Celcius when we started rolling on the road again at 10.37 am. With 80 km to go, we decided to split the remaining distance into two batches with approximately 40 km, respectively, As a result, the route was adjusted to become 1 big TMCR Loop plus 1 TTT Loop. We were grateful to have pacemaker who did terrific job shielding us from strong headwind while we fought for survival. We managed to cover 43.26 km in 1:22:51 moving time with average speed of 31.32 kph. At the end of this batch, we passed 560 km mark.
Kudos to fellow cyclists from jancuk.cc who extended the support from their assigned schedule, faberX.cc, gowessgid.cc, google and led by Hung Thai. You guys are the best !
The three cyclists of Santini 600 had 15 minutes to refill and reload at Ciclo o Cafe prior to reconvene with fellow cyclists who committed to be pacemakers and companions of the last batch.
We could not describe our feeling throughout the last part of this journey. It was a mixed feeling of pain, struggle, fatigue, feverish, joyful, excited, proud and humbled, full of positivity and yet the tank is almost empty. The mercury kept rising to 38 Celcius when we started rolling on the road again at 12.40 pm. This time we managed to cover 43.33 km in 1:22:22 moving time with average speed of 31.51 kph.
Kudos to fellow cyclists from faberX.cc, sugarcane_multisport.cc, sap.cc and itb.cc led by Kien Tran who pulling us through the most challenging condition of the whole Santini 600 journey. You guys are the true heroes !
It feels like yesterday where people were cheering on everyone effort and success. We personally witnessed the love for the sport that unite us. Cyclists from various cycling communities in Singapore showed their supports to ride with us. Together we overcame the scorching hot weather, extreme strong wind and other elements of nature as well as the pain threshold our body can endure with a strong desire to motivate each other to complete this Santini 600 journey.
We were exhausted and knocked out in the bed post the ride. Yet, we were extremely happy that we have delivered a noble mission to raise fund to help provide for the children at Club Rainbow through the sport we all love i.e.: Cycling.
We were empty physically, yet we were full of joy deep in our heart as we gave our best then, and we will give the same again in the near future.
The fundraiser will remain open until February 15th, 2022. Do donate generously for the children at Club Rainbow.
