Families connect in different ways. For some, it is through conversations over meals or shared interests at home.
For others, bonds are built through experiences, such as travelling, playing sports or simply spending quality time with one another.
Among these, cycling gives families the opportunity to spend uninterrupted time together, tackle challenges as a team and discover new places along the way.
In conjunction with Father’s Day, which falls on June 21, we spoke to two young men whose bonds with their fathers have grown stronger over the years simply through cycling.
How it began
For Dieter Kai Ter Huggel, it all started with his teenage dream of watching a Formula One race in Singapore.
It was 2022 and Dieter Kai was just 15 years old. He had really wanted to watch the major motorsport racing event, but his parents refused to “fund” the trip. Instead of pouting or complaining, Dieter came up with a “money-saving” idea: he will cycle from their home in Putrajaya to Singapore instead of taking a flight.
His parents were initially against the plan, but Dieter eventually managed to convince them to let him make the ride. His father, Andreas Huggel, decided to join him.
Together, they spent four days cycling from Putrajaya to Johor Baru, passing through numerous townships and cities including Sepang (Selangor), Port Dickson (Negri Sembilan), Melaka and Kluang (Johor) along the way.
The adventure became the duo’s first multi-day cycling trip, one that would inspire many more in the years that followed.
“We came across all kinds of wildlife like otters, macaques and birds,” recalled Dieter, now 19. “Once we reached Johor Baru, we left our bikes there and crossed into Singapore on foot, as it was the easier option.”
The trip may have been their first long distance adventure, but cycling had always been part of Dieter’s life. His father, who is from Switzerland, introduced him to the sport at a young age.
“My father has always enjoyed cycling. And it made me interested to try it, too,” he said.
“I must have been around five years old when he first taught me how to ride. My first bike was actually a wooden push bike!
“By the time I was around 10, I was already riding with him.”
They started with just cycling around the neighbourhood, but then progressed to mountain biking, and then later, going on long-distance rides together.
In 2023, the pair embarked on another multi-day ride from Batu Caves in Selangor to Fraser’s Hill in Pahang, before continuing to Raub and Cameron Highlands (Pahang), then Teluk Intan (Perak), and then back to Kuala Selangor (Selangor). This covered close to 500km in total.
A year later, they joined some of Huggel’s friends on a cycling tour in Perak, exploring places such as Pantai Remis, Kuala Kurau and Lenggong. Each trip holds special memories, though the first one remains Dieter’s favourite, “because it opened the door to this new kind of adventure”.
One particular moment from that trip, he said, remains especially memorable.
On the final day, they were caught in a thunderstorm while cycling through an oil palm plantation.
“It was so muddy that my wheels couldn’t spin any more. We had to walk our bikes out of the plantation, and afterwards we threw them into a puddle just to wash off all the mud,” he shared, reminiscing the event.
“I was having the worst time then, but looking back, I think it was a really good memory instead.”
Cycling is more than just a hobby to Dieter, as it has become one of the ways he connects with his father. “It is good because it is something that we both enjoy doing,” he said.
“Sometimes we treat it as a challenge that we accomplish together.”
The hours spent on the road also create opportunities for lessons that everyday life may not offer, he said.
“When we go through some tough challenges, he teaches me things I wouldn’t learn otherwise.
“Cycling has definitely reinforced what I already thought about my father, that he is strong, both mentally and physically,” said Dieter.
His cycling memories with his father extend beyond Malaysia as well. Whenever the family visits relatives in Switzerland, Huggel would bring his bicycle along to explore the countryside.
One activity Dieter particularly enjoys doing with his father there is to cycle to a local bakery together in the mornings.
Dieter is currently studying in China but has made cycling part of his daily life. “I bike almost every day now, mainly as a way to get around campus and the city,” he said.
The experience has also given him a different perspective on cycling. While he mostly rides for leisure and exercise in Malaysia, it has become his primary mode of transportation in China.
Riding together
For Tsen Ren Bao, 23, some of his fondest childhood memories involve cycling with his father, Tsen Seong Hoong. In a life often filled with school and daily routines, those long rides became meaningful moments that he continues to cherish.
The weekend rides also slowly grew in intensity and structure, eventually leading him to take up competitive cycling.
Many in the cycling community may already be familiar with his name. Tsen has competed in several competitions, including the Le Tour de Langkawi, one of the biggest races on the regional scene.
He also rode for the Australia-based St George Continental Cycling Team and finished in the top five in the Asian general classification.
Before his growing recognition in the sport, cycling was simply a way for Tsen to spend quality time with his father.
Tsen, who began competing at the age of 18, said he is grateful that those weekend pastime blossomed into a lifelong passion.
Now based in Australia, where he is pursuing a degree in aviation management, Tsen no longer gets to ride with his father as often as he’d like, but makes it a point to do so whenever he returns home.
They have also shared cycling experiences outside Malaysia, including a trip to Chiang Rai in Thailand, where they rode and even competed together, making it both a sporting and family experience.
Tsen hopes that one day, he gets to cycle in New Zealand with his dad, where the views are stunning and the trails are exciting.
“Looking back, those early rides with my father influenced not just my cycling career, but my outlook on discipline and perseverance,” he said.
Tsen shared that the years spent cycling with his father have taught him many important life lessons.
“The biggest lessons I have taken from all these journeys are that hard work beats talent, and that there are no free handouts,” he said.
“It has made me a better person on and off the bike.”
Tsen’s father, a former national cyclist himself, retired from competitive racing in 2003 after competing in the final edition of the Le Tour de Langkawi held that year. He has played a crucial role in shaping Tsen’s professional and personal journey.
Although Tsen and Dieter are now separated by distance from their own fathers, the years of cycling together continue to shape how they both view the sport and the men who raised them.
