OCBC Cycle KL 2024 – My first roadbike event

OCBC Cycle KL happened last weekend.
This was my first overseas OCBC Cycle event.

There are many firsts for me too.
– Cycling with cleats to bike event
– Oversea trip with my newbie Merida
*This KL trip will build my confidence for Letape May.

There are 14 of us in the group, from foldies to roadbikes .

Thank you to OCBC Marketing team for treating us like VIPs. You really enhanced our experience in KL!

Thank you OCBC team. From L to R. Brendan, Julian and Isaac. Wanni not in picture.

YouTube: OCBC Cycle KL 2024

Cycle up Mayor Hill Bukit Tunku

Day 1 – We gathered at Newton Hawker Centre for our coach

6+ hours coach ride up North.

Luckily, there was a van for our bikes. Normal coach can only accommodate 3 to 4 road bikes, and bikes need to lie down. This might expose bikes to  knocks and damage.

The van could accommodate up to 9 bikes. Cool!

Thank you Shaun for the recommendation. He was also the unseen “hand” securing our bikes! Very much appreciated.

We stayed at Majestic Hotel KL for 3D2N. Everything is good about the hotel, the only complain is the location. You have to walk 15min for nearest food or convenience stores.

However, it is less than 2km from OCBC Cycle KL start point (Merdeka Square).

Fellow OCBC Cycle KL cyclists, all are friendly and helpful.

Francis (Love Cycling SG) and Tak Wai (SGpcn)
YouTuber 妮妮江
Kevin @BrainOpera and Richard (Cycling SG to Malaysia) in photo above.

Comfortable bed, spacious room for cyclists. We have no excuse for lack of rest 🙂

Ended Day 1 with a slow jog, shake off the inactivity from coach ride.

Day 2 Kevin’s shakeout ride (warmup?)

We heard this is a tradition for those heading up from Singapore.
Fyi, KL has plenty of Instagrammble corners (and slopes).

Rolloff at 0600.

Mayor Hill (aka Bukit Tunku) is tough but the view is fantastic! I did the same climb back in Oct 2023.

Cyclists at Mayor Hill (L to R) Shaun (CafeRiders.sg), Michelle, Kevin, Julian, Andy and Tiffany (tiffylauuonwheels)
Mayor Hill Strava

You will definitely warmup your legs and joints after this climb 🙂

Actually, warmup is an understatement for Mayor Hill climb.
My heartbeat tempo also increased, with climb elevations from 7 to 10 percent.

Keven was our Lead up Mayor Hill.
Kudos, not easy to navigate and lead in the dark, simultaneously avoiding pit holes.

(this “shakeout ride” is highly recommended for those attending future editions of OCBC Cycle KL events)

Kevin happens to be our Cafe guy too 🙂

Folks enjoying day break at Mayor Hill submit.

Delighted to have folks take nice photos of me 🙂

Day 3 OCBC Cycle KL event day

All ready, we just needed good weather.
It was raining continuously on Saturday.

OCBC team prepared some 爱心早餐 (sandwich breakfast) to ensure we do not cycle with empty stomach.

Three famous Tiktokers. Ian @sillyian, Rachel and Ming @mingweirocks

At 0600, 15 of us roll over to OCBC Cycle KL start point.
Flagoff time for event is 0645.

Event day itself was very well organised. Although it can be dark in certain corners, we warned each other of potholes and obstacles.

Road marshals were friendly and gave clear instructions. Even pedestrians gave way to cyclists.

Vibes and anticipation at the start point started building up. We are here because of our love for two wheels.

 

Wanni and Shirleen

Thank you KL (and feline) for welcoming us cyclists!

OCBC Cycle KL 2024 is two laps, total 42km.
We gathered after Lap 1, with the intention to chill roll the 2nd lap.

Spotted some famous cycling influencers (besides those from our group).

Alvin @alvinawwy93 from cteam bike baju Malaysia (Very fast now, no more 拉爆 )
Bike Baku’s Wai Soon  (@dr.no.more)

Scenic city views.
 

Obligatory wefie with Petronas Twin Towers

Folks queuing up for post-race processing.

I suspect it is tougher than Singapore’s OCBC Cycle.

 

Day 3 – pre & Post Race activitites

Food, shopping, chill.
Tak Wai will bring you to famous but hidden snacks 🙂

Carbo and caffine loading!

Did some shopping of my own. End up, I got my jerseys from Wai Soon (instead of retail shop). Thank you for the service!

The bigger team dinner setting, participants and OCBC crew.

Tourists in Petaling Street.

Nostalgic and hippy backyard, we were promoting luohan drink!

Merdeka 118 is always visible from every corner in KL. It is currently the second tallest tower in the world.

The surprise for me was the old Rex cinema. Refurbished as a book shop.
No one is buying any books or comics, most are there for photo ops.

Event day Video is up on YouTube.

Our OCBC Cycle KL ride was a success.
I will leave you with this photo “Leave no one behind“.

(those who know will know)

Shoutout for OCBC Cycle Singapore 2024.
Early birds tickets are already on sale.

If you wish to cycle on Benjamin Sheares Bridge or along ECP, grab your tickets now.

Image credit OCBC Cycle

(Images and videos above credit OCBC Cycle Kakis from this trip.)

ps..
You may check out our previous OCBC Cycle editions here.

Or you can visit our 5D4N bikepacking journey from Singapore to KL

Updated 2024 May
You may wish to readup our post about bike transport options in Malaysia too https://sengkangbabies.com/sports/road-bike-and-bus-chartering-cycling-in-malaysia

2019 OCBC Cycle Straits Times Ride

2019 OCBC Cycle came and go. Once a year, a group of Dads from DaddyMatters would gather in the morning to cycle with OCBC Cycle. Some will go for 42km, but most of us participate in the 23km route.

If you are interested in the family category 5km, we did the Mighty Savers with two kids too (blog post).

(L2R Nick,Lawrence,Randy,Randy,me,Ashvin,Son)

Missing two regulars for 2019 OCBC Cycle edition, both Winston and David could not make it.

Lawrence and Ashvin are new birds. Happy that no1 Boon Wee treat this event as an annual Dad/son event too 🙂

YouTube OCBC Cycle Video (Link):

I park two bikes overnight for the Sunday event. This meant I need not rush to load the bikes on Sunday itself.

The Dads are all smiles, we got to hangout and chill. And thank you to the Mrs for the permits, it was Mother’s Day :p

IG images credit the Dads 🙂

Two Randy Lims 🙂

We mentioned the family segments (for 2019 OCBC Cycle) on Saturday was lukewarm due to exam weekend.

However the Straits Time (ST) and Sportive category, 23km and 42km respectively, were popular and packed with enthusiastic riders.

The route is always the same. Starting and ending at SportsHub, bringing  cyclists along the Marina Bay and CBD area of Singapore.

However, it is tougher to reach Fort Road Youturn point in recent editions. ST category meant riders only have 30 minutes to dash from start to reach Benjamin Sheares Bridge (assuming you are in Wave 1).

Technically still possible, but we would need to rush through and conquer the slopes at Benjamin Sheares Bridge.

Casual cyclists like us would miss out a lot of photo opportunities!

Enjoying our freedom on the highway !

I suspect a significant group of cyclists did not meet the cutoff timing too, and were redirected to a shorter route. I guess some of us are happy that we only need to scale Sheares Bridge once haha.

We call ourselves #OCBCUncle too.

2019 OCBC Cycle
2019 OCBC Cycle

All smiles, although we are tired.

After collecting our medals, we head off to our regular breakfast place.

We treasure the Dads bonding (and of course Prata) more than the cycling 🙂 Did Someone mention there would be a Mum group soon?

Thank you 2019 OCBC Cycle for the FUN invite and well organised event. Many cyclists (families and friends) left with beaming faces.

On hindsight, we should have more warm-up cycling sessions but everyone is busy with commitments 🙂

I got two feedback for the organisers:
– Extend the cutoff timing at Benjamin Sheares bridge (Fort road). Part of the fun of OCBC cycle is the thrill of speeding (ok rolling) down Benjamin Sheares Bridge

-Please allow cyclists more time to soak in the finishing moments (and selfies) inside the Stadium. Security folks and ushers were insistent that cyclists clear the stadium ASAP, it was a turn off. Stadium is the perfect venue to end and celebrate our rides!

Additional Points:

You can try to spot your family at OCBC Cycle Mighty Savers Family ride on their Facebook album (link).

This is the fourth year we are joining OCBC Cycle, checkout our episodes from 2016 to 2018 at this link https://sengkangbabies.com/tag/ocbc-cycle

Do pop by OCBC Cycle updates on their WebsiteInstagram and Facebook.

Do checkout all our cycling adventures (including Thailand and Taiwan) https://sengkangbabies.com/tag/cycling and our Instagram hashtag #skbCycles .

ps.. our rides were sponsored by OCBC Cycle.