'I actually had to chase him': Boy, 6, cycles around Singapore in 14 hours with family, raises $12k for charity

He's only six years old, but this preschooler has already accomplished more than what some might ever achieve in a lifetime.

Ryan, the six-year-old son of physiotherapist and Singapore Institute of Technology associate professor Benjamin Soon has cycled 129km around Singapore in 14 hours, raising $12,000 for charity, going towards those with intellectual disabilities.

He also became the youngest person to cycle more than 120km around Singapore in one day. 

The previous record-holder, six-year-old Adiv Seth cycled with his dad around Singapore on Nov 3, 2022, covering a distance of 120.28km, according to the Singapore Book of Records.

Speaking with AsiaOne, Soon, 47, shared that the family of three started cycling before dawn at 5.30am last Saturday, beginning their route in Jurong.

A friend of the family, Christopher Peh, 56, also joined the family.

They came across their first bump in the road soon after - rain, which followed the family around their trip - but they continued cycling.

Along the way, Soon, his family and Peh made stops to snap pictures, also making short stops at Kranji and Punggol before breaking for lunch at Changi.

They also took five at East Coast, then again at West Coast before they made their way back home at around 7.30pm.

"We were quite excited when we were cycling back home, because I knew Ryan had broken the record," Soon recalled.

"I was also happy that we had done so with good time, which isn't easy to replicate for anyone else in Asia."

The wet weather proved to be a boon as well, as it kept them cool throughout the challenge, Soon said.

Talent and stamina

The family's decision to take on this initiative was in fact done on a whim at first - Soon had jokingly suggested the round-island cycling attempt after the family came back from a trip to and from the East Coast.

They did the 52-km long trip earlier this year.

"He agreed to it, so I went to check [the record, and] I realised that at his age, he could break the Singapore record," he said.

Ryan, who started cycling at the age of two and without training wheels at age four, had ample experience on the bicycle when he hit six years of age.

Because their family doesn't have a car, cycling has been their way of getting around Singapore.

Soon added: "We realised that over the years, he's built up the ability to cycle long distances… we cycle instead of taking a bus, so that has trained his endurance up."

But that didn't mean Soon and his wife would just let their take the attempt - they put him through two months of dedicated long distance training first.

Getting in the rhythm

Throughout the two months, Ryan would do long distance cycling every weekend along the route he would eventually take, preparing himself for the attempt.

There were times when Ryan would want to stop training, but Soon would encourage him to keep going.

"I would let him rest a bit more, but encourage him to go on," he recounted. 

"I would say, 'Let's go, don't rest for too long, or your body will need to restart and cycling will be even harder.'"

He didn't push Ryan with intensive training, instead opting to keep things going at a leisurely pace.

Soon explained: "What I wanted was for him to cover the distance and to get him to build up a bit of endurance."

On the day itself, Soon found himself playing catch-up to Ryan, as the latter sped ahead alongside Peh, who worked to keep the boy safe.

Peh also helped to snap pictures of the family when he had the free time to do so.

Soon, being the responsible father, was carrying repair tools and water for the family that weighed his bicycle down.

"So I actually had to chase Ryan because my bike was heavier," Soon laughed.

'We want to treasure this time with him'

Soon also told AsiaOne that both him and his wife are "very proud" of Ryan.

"We want to treasure this time we have to do things with him because I feel that we won't always have our children willing to do things with us," he said.

"Now, he's still very much reliant on us bringing him everywhere and he wants to do things with us.

"But once he grows older, I believe he'll choose his friends over us… now is the time all this together and be happy."

He added: "I hope that what we have done will inspire more parents to do something great or amazing with their child."

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khooyihang@asiaone.com

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