January 26, 2023, 10:05 AM
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New year, new Strava art.
One cyclist in Singapore rang in the (Chinese) New Year by clocking a 24.4km ride in the shape of a rabbit to match this year's zodiac animal.
The rabbit-shaped route, which started and ended along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, was also specially planned for the occasion by avid cyclist Chandan Banga, 42.
"I got inspired by the festive feel and wanted to celebrate CNY with my bike and friends," Banga told Mothership.
A friend of Banga's posted about the ride (and the route) on the "SG PCN Cyclist" Facebook group, providing a screenshot of the completed ride.
Image via Janette Ramat on Facebook.
She also shared a link to the route on the activity-tracking website Mapometer for those keen to try it.
More on the route
The 24.4km route winds through Serangoon North, Serangoon Gardens, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Serangoon, and Kovan.
It also features a short trip through Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, to form the rabbit's short tail.
Screenshot from Mapometer.
There's also a small loop down Hougang Street 21, which produces a smile for the rabbit's mouth.
Screenshot from Mapometer.
If you're planning to try the route for yourself, a segment of the route worth noting is the rabbit's underbelly.
To draw this part of the rabbit, riders must pause their ride tracking app between Bishan Street 13 and Lorong Chuan so as to create a straight line between both points:
Screenshot from Mapometer.
This is because the route involves crossing the Central Expressway (CTE), and there are limited alternative paths.
The GPS-pausing technique might be frowned upon by Strava art purists, but in this case, it allowed the rabbit to look like it was leaping over the CTE into the new year.
Screenshot from Mapometer.
Planning the route
The CNY Rabbit route was not Banga's first time creating Strava art.
He has previously cycled others' routes (such as the popular lion head route created for Singapore's National Day), and even created some of his own:
Image courtesy of Chandan Banga.
As for the rabbit route, it apparently took three hours to plan, as drawing the rabbit in the right shape was rather challenging, Banga shared.
Banga: "The first version of drawing was so ugly that my daughter said that I am making a fish shape rabbit.. haha." Photo via Chandan Banga.
A second draft created on request from the cyclist's daughter. Image courtesy of Chandan Banga.
His daughter's input helped him refine the shape to its present form, as she requested him to add a second front leg for the rabbit.
The ride
Banga planned to set off on the ride at 6:30am on Tuesday (Jan. 24).
However, continuous rain on Jan. 23 meant that Banga's regular cycling buddies were reluctant to say yes.
In the early morning of Jan. 24, all of them declined to join.
All except one:
"One brave rider accepted to ride in the rain," said Banga. Photo courtesy of Chandan Banga.
The ride itself took three-and-a-half hours, including breaks for rest and food.
Banga said:
"We have many small hurdles on the way. Such as cutting through HDB [blocks], walking through lift lobby paths, cutting across parks, finding roads around car parks [and] markets, but we were focused and committed to complete the ride."
According to Banga's Strava data, the ride burned an estimated 562 calories.
Which works out to one good handful of pineapple tarts — better than nothing.
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Top image from Janette Ramat on Facebook and via Mapometer
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