Blended Challenge RIDEnjoySG Celebrates the Joy of Riding in Season-finale
● Despite strict SMM guidelines, finalists and VIP participants enjoyed a fun day of gamified Zwift cycling competition at Shimano Cycling World
● The Family final was decided by a Smoothie Bike Challenge where parent-child teams tried to churn out fruit-smoothie using pedal-power
● 15,621 riders took part in the 100-day RIDEnjoySG campaign to launch the beta version of Singapore’s first active-mobility lifestyle platform
20 Mar 2022 (SINGAPORE) – For an app that promotes riding joy, it was fitting that the Grand Final of the inaugural RIDEnjoySG Challenge titled Cycling Rocks, was held on the UN International Day of Happiness.
Smiles and laughter were a-plenty as 74 finalists between the ages 12 to 72 years old cycled on smart trainers connected to Zwift interactive platform at official venue Shimano Cycling World at the Singapore Sports Hub.
For many, it was their first time enjoying ‘virtual cycling’ and winning both the Open and Sportive finals was Daryl Chan, who usually rides a Brompton. The 40-year-old clocked 7min 27s and 3min 40s for the Open and Sportive finals respectively.
“I like how the participants range from teenage to senior citizens and retirees. What impressed me was how fit our seniors are, outperforming several participants a lot younger than them. This should be an inspiration to everyone and a reminder how cycling is great for health and fitness,” muses Chan.
For winning the Open and Sportive categories, Chan won himself a two-night staycation at official Hotel Partner, PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay Singapore. Joining Chan for a one-night-staycation at PARKROYAL are the Thakkars who won a closely fought Family final after beating the Tans.
“I really enjoyed the ‘blend’ (pun-intended) of virtual and physical events of RIDEnjoySG Challenge,” said Sandeep Thakkar who completed with his seven-year-old son Haricharan. “My son and I spent many weeks cycling on the PCN to collect JoyPoints from December to February to attempt to qualify for the final. My son enjoyed himself tremendously cycling on the Smoothie Bike in the final and he learnt so much about the sport of cycling from the host venue.”
For the rest of the participants, the chance to ride in the metaverse, namely streets and hills of the beautiful virtual world of Zwift’s Makuri Islands was a first for them and truly an experience to cherish.
The oldest among the 74 participants of both the Open and Sportive finals was Ong Teen Koon, 72, who finished ahead of four other much younger men in his session and finished 15th overall out of 37 Sportive finalists.
“The 1.7 km uphill route was tough and it’s my first-time experiencing such a virtual challenge. commented Ong. “The event was fantastic as it has a very ‘family-atmosphere’ although we were separated into groups of five and there was no intermingling. Participants waiting for their turn was cheering for those riding, so it was nice.”
The highlight of the day was the VIP Challenge by Splash Pure Drinking Water which featured actor Paul Foster, Paralympian Steve Tee, ultra-distrance triathlete Dr Kua Harn Wei, cosplay rider Basha Ahamed (dressed as Captain America) and cycling influencer Millie Tan.
Watched on by a captive online audience, Dr Kua edged out crowd-favourite Tee and fan favourite Foster to gift Sportive finalist Philip Cheng a pair of Oakley sunglasses and Open finalist Aubrey Yongoyong a staycation at PARKROYAL in the ‘Pick the Winner’ contests.
Cycling Rocks had a carnival atmosphere throughout the day as finalists attempted to win Oakleys sunglasses in the ‘Make a Splash with Ridesaur’ contest by submitting TikTok videos with the official mascot, or be ‘Most Stylo Mylo Rider’ by showing up with the most interesting outfit.
Retiree Tan Ah Cai, 61, also won a special achievement award of a Lameda yellow jersey for notching up 6,182km during the 80-day qualifying period. He was also the first rider in Singapore to achieve the Level 5 yellow virtual jersey for his avatar and qualified top of the Leaderboard in both Open and Sportive category.
The event climaxed with the much-anticipated Grand Lucky Draw where the top prize of a Brompton bicycle and the second prize of a 3D2N staycation were given away.
Besides Official Venue Shimano Cycling World, Cycling Rocks were supported by local partners like PARK ROYAL COLLECTION (Official Hotel), Winspace Singapore (Official Bike Partner), Happy Cycle SG (Official Bike Education Partner), Health Partners (Official Health Partner), SPLASH (Official Water) and Cycle Oxygen (Official Foldable Bike).
About RIDEnjoySG powered by RIDEnjoy
RIDEnjoySG is a phygital challenge organized by Empower, a grant recipient of Sport Singapore’s ‘Blended’ initiative. This innovative campaign encourages participants to cycle safely on bike paths and park connectors using the RIDEnjoy app, while enjoying real-world rewards and gamification via location-based challenges and augmented reality.
RIDEnjoy is a one-stop mobility lifestyle platform that aspires to make active travel safer and more enjoyable through empathy and artificial intelligence. In addition to learning about the latest active mobility rules and safe cycling content, users can use the community-powered digital map to navigate safely on PCN and ICN. Ridenjoy also connects users to local businesses both offline (via JoyStops, JoyBeacons) and online (via J-Shops and its in-app currency, J-Coins).
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Brand assets (photos of RIDEnjoy founder and Ridesaur mascot, logos, screenshots with explainer, campaign video, campaign visuals) are available online: https://www.ridenjoy.sg/about-us#NewsRoom
For information and media requests, please contact:
Kelvin Phang M +65 8882 0811
Chief Joy Officer
RIDEnjoy
