The last weekend in January saw around 100 ANZA Cyclists pedal off on a quest to discover all things horsey in Singapore, as part of a fundraising drive for RDA therapy pony, Kodie. Most teams donned the club’s charity jersey, commissioned specially for the event, which featured images of Kodie, alongside our stalwarts the kangaroo, kiwi and merlion. A proportion of the funds raised by the sale of these jerseys will go directly to the care and upkeep of Kodie.
In scavenger hunt style, teams worked out their routes, based on ride locations indicated in clues given in the week preceding. Each team was tasked with posting a photo from the correct locations dotted around the island. Racecourse history buffs had a slight edge on the location clues, with teams required to visit three sites that have at one time or another been home to Singapore’s horseracing i.e. Farrer Park, Turf City, and the current Singapore Turf Club home at Kranji.
With another designated photo stop at the RDA stables, several teams went the extra furlong by tracking down the horse at the heart of the challenge, Kodie, to appear in their photos. On offer was dinner at ANZA Cycling sponsor The Mason’s Table, for the team that contributed the ‘best’ photo, which led to some very entertaining entries! Huge thanks to everyone who bought the charity jersey and participated in the event which, all up, allowed ANZA Cycling to raise $5,720 to contribute to the Kodie fund.
On behalf of the AWT3 team No Horse Run bô bé cháu, Oliver Lewis commented, “We left the training plan at home and got behind the treasure hunt to support Kodie. We visited all the sites but our competitive spirit was really focussed on the photo competition. The horsing around included dress ups, questionable acts with a hippo and commandeering a real horse! We are proud to make a $500 team donation to the RDA. Thanks ANZA Cycling for organising!”
Team Captain, Maree Aitken of Maythehorsebewithyou also shared, “We had a ‘horsome’ time on the Kodie Treasure Hunt. The horse theme was fully embraced and horse puns continued throughout our ride as we got photos at most of the locations, including a photo with Kodie!” Lydia Dugand of The Mane Event chimed in with, “So much fun! I never thought I’d be galloping like a horse or hopping like a kangaroo around Singapore, but there you go!”
2020 Club Awards – Recognition and Commendations
Ordinarily at the end of each calendar year, the club gathers to celebrate the achievements of members who have either cycled their way onto the podium – or helped their team members get there. Without any 2020 racing calendar to speak of, let alone a designated Club Championship, the committee decided this year to commend several members on their tremendous “Club Spirit”.
The first commendation was for our “Hood Heroes”, who rose to the challenge during CB by clocking the greatest distance within the smallest neighbourhood radius. Congratulations to Hish Scarff, Dobromiła Anna Bryant and Chas Pope for taking to this challenge with gusto and demonstrating that it was still very possible to have great fun on the bike while adhering to CB restrictions.
One of the wonderful outcomes from a challenging year, was the huge rise in popularity of cycling. As a club, we received immense interest from newcomers looking to join our groups. We appreciate the experienced members who stepped up to help out as Ride Captains on Club Induction Rides, including Brendon Hawley, Julie Kenny, Nicolette Tan, Stephanie Lim, Jesse Bridge, Pete Williamson, Rachel Dubois, Sally Cashman and Julia Erakovic, who alongside committee members took on the massive task of shepherding some 100+ newcomers throughout the year.
Continuing with the theme of upholding Club Spirit, we honoured Yuri Arikawa and Lily Low with awards for their dedication, performance and commitment throughout the year. Yuri and Lily have brought great enthusiasm to all rides they’ve joined, motivating many others to join and improve along the way. Congratulations all!
