S'pore cyclist collapses, dies during ride to Desaru
When she was in primary school, her father held her hand as he taught her how to cycle.
On Ms Nurulhuda Ramli's wedding day last month, Mr Ramli Mohamed held the oldest of his three children's hand again. He told her to take care of the family should anything happen to him.
That was the last time the 29-year-old finance assistant saw her father alive.
On Saturday, Mr Ramli, 55, a technician in a shipping company, suddenly collapsed, fell and hit his head while cycling from Singapore to Desaru, a resort town in Johor, Malaysia.
The avid cyclist was on a biking expedition with five others, and had cycled about 100km when he fell. He was wearing a helmet.
Ms Nurulhuda said: "My uncle, who was cycling behind my father, said that he had just cycled over a hill at Kota Tinggi.
"He raised his arm, as if to say that he was okay, then he suddenly fell down. My uncle tried to administer CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) but his breathing was already very slow."
A passing van rushed him to a clinic, but it was too late.
On the way there, Mr Ramli was foaming from the mouth and his body was cold, said Ms Nurulhuda.
He was later taken to a hospital at Kota Tinggi, where he succumbed to his head injuries which initially went unnoticed because there was no blood.
Holding back tears, Ms Nurulhuda said: "Honestly, I still can't believe he's gone. He never complained of any health problems and was not on any medication."
Ms Nurulhuda and her brother, Mr Nur Rezal Ramli, 25, are from Mr Ramli's first marriage. He has a daughter, Nur Aisyah, 13, from his second marriage.
His body was brought back to Singapore at 1am on Sunday and buried later the same morning.
Mr Steven Lim, president of the Safe Cycling Task Force, who rode the same route on a charity ride a few years ago, said the journey can be challenging because of the hilly terrain.
"Besides the different terrain, the temperature in Malaysia can get much higher than Singapore's because the trees are very far from the road and there is no shade.
CYCLE SAFE
"Hydration is very important and you need to load up on basics such as sugar and salt.
"During the ride, listen to your body. Travelling in a group is good for safety reasons, but don't just follow the pack. If you are not feeling well, just take a break."
Ms Nurulhuda admitted that she was concerned about her father's hobby at times, but never thought of stopping him because he loved cycling and was fit.
Speaking to The New Paper from her father's flat at Jurong East yesterday, she said: "He had six bicycles - two outside the flat and four in his room. Some of them were racing bikes, including a Giant bicycle.
"He was good with his hands and would buy parts to fix his bicycles. In fact, he bought and modified our first bicycles when we were young."
Her brother, a supervisor at Universal Studios Singapore, recalled the cycling trips with his father fondly.
Both had trained together and gone on trips to Johor Baru and Pontian when he was in secondary school.
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