I did not know how to ride the bicycle to start with. It was mid of January 2021, and I was living alone in a foreign country, Singapore, in the middle of the pandemic. All I knew then was that I want to learn something new (ride the bicycle), have the courage to cycle on the street and one day, travel around the island (RTI) of Singapore using a bicycle (my vision)!

Fast forward to 26^th June 2021, I completed my very first RTI Singapore. I cycled 120km around Singapore from my place and back! How did I do that? I took my vision as a personal project and applied an Agile mindset.

 1. I embraced my vulnerability and did a quick start with what I know and what I have.

I had a lot of what-ifs in my mind then and trying to consider a lot of dependencies before I allow myself to start riding a bicycle. But I realized it was very crippling, so I just decided to embrace my vulnerability. Off I went to the nearest bicycle store (grocery) and bought a decent bicycle that I can use to train. Once the bike was delivered to my place, I brought it downstairs to ride around yet still inside the fence of the condo where I stayed at.

2. I did increments on a cadence.

I practiced every day since I got my bike.  On the first week, it was on “off-peak” hours when there were not many kids playing outside. When I started feeling the confidence, I slowly moved to “peak” hours when there was more foot traffic on the track. I used to wobble whenever I see people around me but doing it daily and trying to do more past my comfort level gave me more confidence.

Before I knew it, I was ready to get out of the gate of our condo and start to pedal on the street! At first, I did 100m far and went back. The next day I cycled up to 200m outside. And that 200m became 500m which became 5km, 10km, 20km, and before I knew it, I was cycling solo up to almost 80km!

3. I did retrospective each ride.

Whether it was a 100m ride or a 50km ride, I made sure I do a retrospective. I took a mental note of what worked, what did not work, and what can be improved for the next long ride.

From there I learned it’s a must to wear gloves if I don’t want to have blisters on my palms. That a good pair of goggles is such a valuable investment.  Or that I need to make sure I have enough drinks and snacks particularly cycling to secluded and unfamiliar places. That I need to carry a portable pump for my tires and a raincoat with me as these are surely lifesavers! And that I need to surely pack at least 2 sets of front and backlights if I want to cycle through the night. And the list can go and on and on. These lessons learned made me cycled farther and safer each time.

4. I only did minimal planning and was flexible, but I collaborated and seeked valuable feedback from other cyclists.

I didn’t spend much time on planning nor tried to do the RTI only if I already did this number of km or if I already had this much practice or that. In short, I did not make my journey too rigid. I tried to just enjoy my journey. Instead, I reached out to other people who had successfully done the RTI. When I was already going for long rides, instead of planning my routes on my own, I spent time reading posts from people sharing their experiences on the cycling group that I am a part of. I also reached out privately to people who have done the RTI who were pretty much in my shoes before.

Through them, I learned the routes I should take let’s say, to avoid the stray dogs and which direction I should do the RTI – clockwise which has less uphill. One day I decided to do the RTI and agreed with a newfound cyclist friend to lead me halfway through my RTI which is a route I am totally unfamiliar! While doing the RTI, I also took her valuable feedback on the way I use gears in order to increase my speed. Not only did it make my RTI journey easier but made me save a lot of time going through mistakes which other people already learned from!

In the end, I finished my RTI safely. It was certainly far from easy to gain the skills, confidence, and stamina, but an agile mindset throughout my journey really helped a lot. I probably would still be preparing for the RTI should I have used a traditional way of working on my road to RTI Singapore. Just like on my RTI journey or in any product development or project delivery out there, the use of Agility can be subjective but what is important is we identify the right items from our Agile Way of Working (WOW) toolbox in order to be successful. The Agile Methodology umbrella is all-encompassing. Above is what worked for my RTI journey, what do you think would help you with your deliverables or goals?

For free coaching and consultation on how to apply Agile mindset to your deliverables, please reach out to me at info@leoniroxas.com or book an appointment here.