How can cycling change lives? Jax, a volunteer from "Break the Cycle," shares how community, care, and camaraderie can foster positive change and help ex-offenders reintegrate into society. Through regular rides and emotional support, the initiative aims to break the cycle of recidivism.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00A lot of times, a simple act of having a conversation with someone
00:04may mean a lot to these people.
00:12Hi everyone, my name is Jax.
00:13I'm actually a volunteer with Break the Cycle.
00:15Break the Cycle is actually a ground-up initiative
00:17by a group of cyclists through cycling
00:19to break the cycle of recidivism in Singapore.
00:24Our mission is to help ex-offenders mainly.
00:27Cycling is my hobby.
00:29Through my hobby, I want to put it to good use.
00:31Instead of just participating in a sport,
00:34why not, you know, I go the extra mile?
00:36Because I have received help before from other people.
00:40That is the reason why I also want to, you know,
00:42lend a helping hand within my means.
00:46So we have ride leaders who organise rides
00:49every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
00:54It's not the main road ah?
00:55Yeah, there's a small road there.
00:56Every day, you can park the bike there.
00:59I park my bike here, then...
01:00...3, 6, 8, 9, 10.
01:02You can park it outside.
01:03All the way to this little aerospace area.
01:06Aerospace, I know.
01:07Then once you hit the junction of this over,
01:09there's this thing called over.
01:18I think this weekly ride is very crucial
01:20because it gathers the community,
01:23including the ex-offenders themselves,
01:25to come together, to ride together.
01:27The camaraderie, I think, is what keeps this group together.
01:31And the beautiful part is,
01:33the people inside this group, we do not judge.
01:35No, we don't label one another.
01:37We see each other as brothers and sisters.
01:46So we actually do pace line also.
01:48It's double pace line.
01:49Sometimes we can talk along the way.
01:51However, for safety reasons, we also try not to...
01:54When we're riding very fast,
01:55our focus will be on the road instead of talking.
02:06There are volunteers in our cycling group
02:09who volunteer to go through specific courses
02:13that allows them to engage with people inside the prison
02:18and people who just come out from the prison
02:20because we have to be tactful and mindful on the approach
02:24and also, we have to respect these individuals also
02:27because they may be going through stuff
02:29and as much as possible, we want to welcome them
02:32and help them with open arms.
02:33And it takes two hands to clap.
02:35So we want them to understand what's our social mission.
02:38I mean, they must first be open to receive help.
02:51I think we have our ups and downs.
02:53I think you guys can agree that
02:54at times, putting yourself out there, you know
02:58somebody may be there for you
03:00if you are willing to open up and talk to other people.
03:16The motto of Break the Cycle is
03:17leave no one behind.
03:19And as an individual, right
03:21I really see everybody practising it.
03:27Keeping a lookout for each other while we're riding
03:29even if somebody gets dropped.
03:34When we say get dropped, it means the person is
03:36having a hard time catching up.
03:37There will always be someone slowing down
03:39and waiting for the person
03:40and probably, you know, cycle side by side with the person
03:43to ensure he or she is okay.
03:44And I think this practice is being seen
03:49even at events where we are not cycling.
03:52You know, we're checking with one another
03:54are you okay? How are you doing?
03:55You know, leave no one behind, right
03:58extends to our personal life also.
04:01Including the ex-offenders themselves.
04:03I think they also practise that
04:05because I personally experienced them also checking in on me
04:07like, hey Jax, are you okay?
04:08You know, everything.
04:10So for those who know me, I'm quite accident prone.
04:14Yeah, sadly.
04:15But I had a fall in Malaysia.
04:18We were doing a gravel or decks ride.
04:22However, because we prepped so much for it
04:24so I decided to push on.
04:28Yeah, I decided to just tahan the pain.
04:31We rode from early morning till night.
04:34I was having issues trying to unclip my shoes
04:38from my pedals because it was so painful for me
04:42to the point that they have to help me
04:44and they had to dismount from their bike
04:46and help me unclip.
04:47Throughout the ride, they kept checking in on me
04:49to see whether I'm okay.
04:50They waited for me.
04:51They expected my decision on wanting to push through
04:54and we pushed through together as a whole team.
05:01On weekly rides, we always, you know
05:05take a quick glance to make sure no one's get left behind.
05:09And if you see someone getting left behind
05:10they will call out, front man, slow down.
05:14Yeah, to wait for the stragglers.
05:15This is what I observe on a weekly basis
05:18when I ride with Break The Cycle.
05:22I'm appreciative because everybody is practising it.
05:26You know, consciously put in the effort
05:28to be there for one another.
05:35Very, very tired, right?
05:36Today is quite a Xiong ride.
05:40It's usually during breaks like this
05:43that we will, you know, catch up with each other
05:46you know, check in with each other
05:47see how each other is doing.
05:50We actually have a buddy system
05:52to protect the newcomer with a senior.
05:55The reason for this is to form a bond
05:57to understand them on a deeper level
05:59and to periodically check in with them
06:01to make sure they are coping well.
06:02A lot of times, they actually have a lot of mental battles
06:05within themselves that, you know
06:07on the outside, they may look okay
06:09but on the inside, they're actually struggling.
06:11So, there's passive listening and active listening.
06:14I became someone who practises active listening much more.
06:18I became less self-centred.
06:20Someone who checks in on people more.
06:23Even my friends around me who doesn't cycle
06:26I think it doesn't hurt to just send a text
06:29like, how's everything?
06:31How are you doing?
06:32We live in a society that people may get left behind
06:35unknowingly, yeah.
06:37Because we live in a very fast-paced world right now.