As soon as he was elected unopposed as the Singapore Cycling Federation's (SCF) new president, Jeffrey Goh's immediate thought was to unite all the various two-wheeled clans, regardless whether they are devoted to road cycling, BMX or mountain biking.
Goh, the chief executive officer of cashless payment network Nets, was handed a two-year mandate at the federation's annual general meeting yesterday.
He leads a team of 10 other management committee members, and his vision is to roll out, refresh or revive events to spice up the local calendar.
He said: "We will convene a meeting next month and the 11 board members will plan the roadmap for Singapore cycling for the next 24 months."
Two events that he is keen to bring back are the National Road Cycling Championships, last held along Changi Coastal Road in 2013, and the National Runway Cycling, a popular mass cycling event at Paya Lebar Airport that was last held in 2012 after 16 editions.
"It (the National Runway Cycling) had a good turnout," he said. "There were thousands of people running, cycling or skating on the runway. We should have more family-oriented events."
Cycling is currently riding on a wave of popularity with mass events like this year's OCBC Cycle Singapore attracting a total of 7,300 participants. The nation also tasted success at the SEA Games with a gold in 2013 and two bronzes this year.
But Goh wants the SCF to be more inclusive in reaching out to other disciplines amongst the two-wheelers.
"We have a big pool of enthusiasts," he pointed out. "There are many people passionate in BMX and mountain biking. Some are aspiring riders with talent. We have to look for places to host competitions for them and get them some UCI (world governing body Union Cycliste Internationale) points."
Goh, who has over 20 years of experience in IT, believes Singapore has the hardware to gear up to be a true cycling nation.
In his sights is a resource that has yet to be tapped fully and he intends to make more use of: the 300km-long asphalt spaghetti draped over the island called the Park Connector Network.
"Our government has done a great job with the park connectors," he said.
"But it's been quite quiet when it comes to family events. We need to bring that back."
But he acknowledged that the new committee will have much to do.
After outlining his plans, Goh took a deep breath before saying: "We have our work cut out for us."
