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By Jonathan Tan (Singapore) 文:陈汉宗(新加坡) A Nostalgic Dream on Wheels 追逐单车梦 Popular Singapore’s Jonathan Tan proves that dreams do come true with hard work and perseverance. 新加坡大众的陈汉宗展示 了只要坚毅付出， 就能美梦成真。 T hose who can still recall the mountain bike craze in the 1990s will instantly recognise the Cannondale brand, heralded for the use of aluminium in manufacturing their award-winning bicycles. So treasured are these iconic bikes that even to this day, plenty of die-hard Cannondale fans are willing to pay a huge premium to get their hands on a 30-year-old specimen. The most coveted model is the Viper Red Cannondale, which dominated numerous cross-country mountain bike events at the Olympic Games since the mid-1990s. This iconic bike got its name from its colour scheme, the same red hue adorning the first generation of the Dodge Viper muscle car launched in the United States in the early 1990s. In fact, the Viper Red Cannondale was once dubbed the “Ferrari of the Bicycle World”with its ground-breaking innovations and correspondingly eye-watering price tag. However, many like me find that the signature “Racing Red” paintwork on Ferrari’s iconic masterpieces on wheels is a touch paler than the adrenaline-invoking scarlet hue of Viper Red Cannondale! A Classic Reborn With the shift in their customers’preferences in mountain bikes towards a lower profile in a more subtle palette, the production of the Viper Red Cannondale eventually ended in the late 1990s. However, in 2019, Cannondale launched a limited-edition bicycle frameset in two heritage colour schemes: Viper Red and Team Blue. A one- time production of just 129 units, the news fuelled much excitement of Cannondale fans worldwide. The scarcity of Cannondale’s new launch meant that getting my hands on one required much effort and resources. My perseverance paid off when I managed to purchase my dream mountain bike frame in Viper Red in the last quarter of 2020. Since getting my dream mountain bike, I have been queried about my rationale for spending my hard-earned money in such “impulse buying”. Some even say that I could have had a newer and higher performing bicycle for the same price. But believe me when I say that there is nothing impulsive in this matter. Owning my dream bike is the culmination of my hard work and 135 popularnews - 35