An hour into my bicycle ride across Singapore and, as well as many sunshine-yellow sunbirds and even more supersized dragonflies, I’ve encountered two squirrels and a monitor lizard. But very little motor traffic. The smooth ribbon of tarmac I’m on was created for both cyclists and hikers, and is part of a route – known as the Rail Corridor – that currently stretches from Tanjong Pagar, in Singapore ’s south, to Kranji, in the north. When restoration work on the last few sections is completed later this year, if all goes to plan the corridor will be a total of 24km (15 miles) in length and end at the Woodlands Train Checkpoint, close to the Malaysian border. Having to lug my Anywheel bike onto the road for the few short sections still undergoing renovation is a small price to pay for the entirely new perspective on Singapore provided by this route, which sits in the footprint of a railway line once used to shuttle goods between Singapore and its larger neighbour. Along the way are repeated nods to its past, including sections of old track, restored rail crossing signs and ornate steel truss bridges that were built in the early 1900s and now resemble the ribcages of dinosaurs. The 1930s Bukit Timah station is among several heritage buildings the route passes that are being restored to their former glory. A single-storey building with a cherry red roof, the station was closed in 2011 and languishes behind protective netting, but once it has been restored, there are plans to turn the station master’s quarters into a cafe. At various points, the route passes beneath abandoned footbridges draped with tendrils of neon foliage. Elsewhere, reminders of the railway disappear, replaced by tracts of rainforest-like wilderness on either side of the corridor. In places, the taller trees droop over the path, creating dazzling green tunnels. I cycle to a soundtrack of birdsong – the mynah birds seem to have the loudest call – and lose count of the number of lizards I spot, on one occasion almost cycling straight over a monitor reluctant to drag himself off a sun-baked patch of hot asphalt. Rewilding projects along the Rail Corridor have involved the removal of invasive species and the replanting of native alternatives, such as the Singapore kopsia and the critically endangered aquatic ginger, and in recent years, sightings of endangered species such as Malayan colugos and Sunda pangolins have increased here, according to government sources. The rewilding has another benefit – the trees on either side of the route provide shade, a valuable resource in Singapore. Well-maintained, shaded bike paths are key to the government’s attempt – set out in the Singapore Green Plan 2030 – to persuade more citizens to embrace pedal power. Another success story is the Park Connector Network, 300km of cycle paths (separate to the Rail Corridor) connecting Singapore’s green spaces. It’s easy to combine individual sections with urban exploration and one afternoon, after a ride along the finishing straight of the Formula One circuit (outside race times, this purpose-built section of the street circuit is open to walkers and cyclists), I tackle the Eastern Coastal Park Connector Network (ECPCN), which winds along Singapore’s southern coast, around its eastern tip, on which the ever-expanding Changi airport sits, and along the northern coastline. The first section streaks through a series of linear coastal parks and alongside golden beaches, which provide plenty of opportunities for a breather. Swaying palm trees take the edge off the relentless sun. A curious macaque peers at me from behind a palm tree when I stop for a brief rest. After looping around Singapore’s eastern tip, the ECPCN connects seamlessly with what’s commonly known as the Changi Bay Park Connector, which was completed this year and has bike-friendly boardwalks that provide views of Malaysia’s forested shoreline, just across the water. For a more sedate cycling experience I head to Sentosa Island, where 12km of bike trails twist across the interior and trace its shoreline. Around Sentosa Cove, I ride past beachfront villas with huge infinity pools and driveways crowded with supercars – in one case, a Lamborghini, Ferrari and Hummer all squeezed onto the same stretch of paving. Three cars of any kind require significant wealth in Singapore, which perhaps explains not only the light traffic compared with other large cities but also the relatively sedate style of driving. As I pedal along cycling lanes on Singapore’s busier roads, cars give me a reassuringly wide berth and buses a double toot of their horn. Admittedly, the last thing these drivers want is the expense of popping a cyclist-shaped dent out of their car door, but the Singapore Green Plan 2030 can also take some of the credit. An all-encompassing scheme to boost the city state’s sustainability credentials, its most ambitious targets relate to cycling – not just the creation of more bicycle routes (the government is on track to increase the current 500km total to 1,300km by 2030) but also safer cycling environments, partly through the reduction of motorised road traffic. If the targets are met, eight in 10 households will be within a 10-minute walk of a railway station by 2030. The plan envisages so-called car-light areas, such as those being built in Tengah, Kampung Bugis and Jurong Lake District – areas that will have well-maintained cycling networks that connect homes to MRT stations and to Downtown Singapore, and where the buildings and landscapes will have been designed with cyclists in mind. Improvements include the allocation of more space for bike storage, the construction of ramps outside residential buildings and alongside overpass stairways, and the re-engineering of open storm drains to create more room for cycle lanes. Private companies are encouraged to get in on the act, partly through the Active Commute Grant, which makes bike-friendly makeovers of workplaces more affordable. There’s also a greater emphasis on responsible cycling – exceed the speed limit (10km/h on the Rail Corridor or Park Connector Network paths) and you might find yourself at the mercy of one of the speed-gun-wielding enforcement officers patrolling these routes. There has been a shake-up in the bike-sharing market, too. In 2018, six companies operated sharing schemes. The number peaked around the same time several key sections of the Park Connector Network were completed. However, the sudden enthusiasm for shared cycling created by this pedal-powered perfect storm had a downside. Between them, the six schemes had more than 200,000 shared bikes , many of which would be parked haphazardly and left in unsuitable places, such as in nature reserves far from Downtown Singapore, or taken hostage by their renters, who’d lock them to lamp posts or leave them in the stairwells of flats. Newspapers were filled with photographs of towering piles of discarded bicycles outside Singapore’s parks and in alleyways. Today, the Land Transport Authority issues operating licences to just two companies: SG Bike, which requires a renter to have a local SIM but will soon be accessible to everyone, and Anywheel, which makes a point of encouraging a responsible approach to getting around the city, adorning its lime green bikes with slogans such as “Choose to give way” and “Burn calories, not fuel”. Anywheel also employs a team of enforcers to crack down on cyclists using personal locks or taking the machines home, going so far as to upload pictures of the guilty parties to social media. This strict approach, paired with the high number of drop-off and collection points, appears to be working. Gone are the haphazard piles of discarded bikes, replaced by a more mindful approach to pedal power. There’s never been a better time to saddle up in Singapore. Just don’t forget the sunscreen – and watch out for those pesky monitor lizards.