His name is Jansen Chew, and he's not just another person for cycling in Singapore. His is a love of layers, but they all point to cycling. His life is on it and towards it. He's a cyclist, of course, but he's also a photographer and digital marketing specialist, and he revolves everything around two wheels.
This short clip from LinkedIn serves as an introduction to the person behind LGNDS, "Singapore's most talked-about cycling club", a place that seems far away to us, but is home to a growing cycling community that looks passionately at the sport and does to unite "followers" to this "religion".
Jansen Chew, as we say, is the person behind it, putting the best of his experience into "growing the cycling community in Singapore and connecting those who are already in it".. My role is to monitor who is interested in supporting us in our mission, sponsors who see an option to communicate and improve our community. I try to give them a good return, plan activities and make the link between LGNDS and the brand strong."
The Singapore of cyclists
A job that takes place in a place where few of us would imagine a bicycle making its way. But nothing could be further from the truth: "Singapore is located close to the equator, so it's a place with a tropical climate that's ideal for riding all year round," says Jansen. But that's not all, we're talking about a place with all kinds of terrain, from good flat terrain to challenging hills.”.
Although we're talking about a small area, about 700 square kilometers, "Singapore is an economic giant with an excellent infrastructure to accommodate visitors in a safe and sustainable way.
To give us an idea, a bike ride around the perimeter of Singapore would be 170 kilometers. It's not easy for that reason, we are on an island loaded with traffic and sometimes the marches are interrupted by the numerous traffic lights "although that does not take away the desire to keep rolling. Besides, when we stop at intersections, others see us and wonder what LGNDS is".
"Be prepared for cycling in the tropics, with temperatures ranging from 33 to 40 degrees, where, at nine in the morning, the sun gets so hot that it is not advisable to leave with less than two water bottles for the route. Then, at the end, we'll have good coffees and places to refuel and comment on the start". That's cycling in Singapore.
The cycling plan in Singapore
A day's cycling there has to start with the magic hour of sunrise. "What cyclist doesn't love that moment?" wonders Jansen. In one outing you start in a jungle of buildings and island icons, and end up riding into tranquil countryside. "It's a joy," he admits about the uniqueness of such an experience.
Anything goes to stick to the basics that marked the creation of LGNDS: "We prepare for the great outdoors and enjoy being on the bike. No dramas. We want cycling to become part of our lives with every step we take". Nothing to value the cyclist for his bike, just enjoy it and add as many people in the outings "even cyclists from other clubs, who come with us, spend the day and then everyone goes home".
Then there are the skills of the members of LGNDS: "Some are very good photographers and know how to capture the essence of what we do and live, a real pleasure. We live connected, we are not satisfied with just going out, we are in a 360-degree experience. We are nonconformists in this sense, weekend warriors who get up early to take to the streets and avoid traffic.”.
With all this "we seek to inspire brands that are with us and take advantage of our inertia, but also that the younger ones want to imitate their parents and go out cycling, becoming something like a professionalized amateur club, because we set our goals, look for sponsors and take care of ourselves in our day to day".
"If you're fast, you have to look fast."
"Nonconformists." A slogan that is aligned with the idea that has Gobik of cycling and its universebecause the LGNDS group wears white leathers with black sleeves, or vice versa, which the brand designs for them from Yecla: "We heard about them thanks to some teams that wore Gobiklike Cube-Shimano. We were looking for something unique and original, and we did it between several brands, but only Gobik only succeeded in capturing our spirit".
For Jansen "the clothing is the extension of the bike, the way to capture your way of living this sport. Once we were clear about the logo situation, the colors and the design, everything else came naturally. We have saved issues like the time jump, but I think we have achieved a timeless garment, embodied in quality materials and excellent ventilation."
In short, as they say in cycling circles in Singapore: "If you go fast, you have to look fast".
