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Phuc Vo, the founder of Sai Gon Morning Ride (SGMR), chose not to pursue a salary of nearly 80 million VND per month to focus on developing city cycling tours. SGMR's cycling tours have attracted many domestic and international tourists due to the unique experience of exploring culture, religion, historical sites, traditional crafts, and cuisine.
Phuc Vo - Founder of Sai Gon Morning Ride
'START' WITH A LOVE FOR TRAVEL
“Many people believe that the longer you work in a particular field, the easier it is to ‘lose your passion.’ But the longer I work, the more I feel love for and want to be involved with tourism,” Phuc shared. After nearly 10 years working in various positions in the tourism industry, he could have easily chosen easier jobs with salaries close to 80 million VND/month. However, he decided not to follow the crowd but to shift towards sustainable tourism development.
Initially, SGMR was a small project, operating only on weekends with friends who shared a passion for cycling. In 2018, city bike tours gradually emerged due to increased interest. From there, he began to aspire to develop this project into a professional tour with careful research and investment.
Community Ride - a project that has been held regularly twice a week for the past two years.
SGMR was founded with the slogan "Ride and Shine," meaning that instead of sleeping in every morning, wake up, cycle around the city, and bask in the sunshine to start the day with plenty of energy.
He emphasized: "I don't prioritize distance or the number of kilometers participants travel. I only hope that those 'cycling together' can improve both their physical and mental health, and especially gain experiences exploring culture, religion, cuisine, ecology, etc., which few cycling tours currently offer."
All cycling tours are meticulously planned, with thorough research into routes, destinations, culture, and more.
LONG-TERM 'OVERCOMING OBSTACLES'
Finding like-minded people with similar passions and abilities is no easy task for Phuc. Furthermore, becoming a cycling tour guide requires many qualities: good physical fitness, knowledge of bicycles, the ability to repair bikes, professional guiding skills, foreign language proficiency, knowledge of the destination... and most importantly, a love for cycling.
Retaining staff is also difficult, because the salaries for cycling instructors are not high. If they meet the required criteria, they can easily choose another job with a much better salary. Ultimately, only those with the deepest love for cycling, who see it as a part of their lives, can stay in this profession.
Phuc Vo with his "favorite student" (on the right). The young man shared that he has two bicycles: one for riding, and the other one on his left elbow. Photo: Bi Le
Furthermore, currently, relatively few people understand the value of cycling tours. For the same cost, many people might choose other tour programs instead of cycling tours. Phuc Vo and his colleagues always strive to minimize costs and maximize the value customers receive when participating in these cycling tours.
He said: “In any profession, difficulties are unavoidable. For example, when cycling 55 km, there are all sorts of things that make you want to give up. Tiredness, hunger, thirst, heat, discomfort… Stopping would make you feel better. But once you overcome those difficulties, beautiful things await you ahead. As long as you know your destination, all paths become clear.”
'Accelerate' with your passion for cycling.
To organize a cycling tour, he and his colleagues spent considerable time researching, studying, and experimenting to develop a complete tour program. Currently, tourism training schools in Vietnam do not have a specialized major in cycling tours. Therefore, he independently researched and developed a separate training program for his team using his accumulated knowledge and advice from professionals in the field.
Tour guides need to have a thorough understanding of the vehicle's structure and details, and practice repairing it regularly in order to handle any problems that may arise during tours.
Right in the bicycle shop area, he instructs his colleagues on how to repair and maintain bicycles carefully and meticulously, paying attention to every detail. He says, "Customers' bikes always need more attention and care." Cycling tours require more from the instructors than regular tourist tours.
Currently, SGMR is diversifying its cycling tours for customers. Among the highlights is the Saigon on 2 Wheels series, featuring tours such as: Nine Children of the Dragon, The Scent of Herbs, The Rice Fields, and The Belief in Stone Worship... Furthermore, in each tour program, the team strives to explore all the prominent destinations, unique cultures, and local specialties to provide the most enriching experiences for participating customers.
REACHING THE FINISH LINE WITH SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Cycling tours belong to the Sports Tourism branch – which is part of Wellness Tourism. Accordingly, Phuc Vo always strives to create cycling tour programs that bring joy and positive thinking after the experience through physical, psychological, or spiritual activities – by promoting active engagement between people, culture, and nature.
Tourists interested in wellness tourism are those who prefer healthy, authentic, and unique experiences, value sustainability, and want to be close to nature.
The founder of SGMR has always had a burning desire to develop sustainable tourism. He says that cycling helps reduce environmental emissions, improve endurance and physical fitness, and enhance mental health. Especially in Ho Chi Minh City, the fast pace of work and life can easily lead to feelings of confinement and stress. Cycling directly helps alleviate these problems.
Sharing with Travellive reporters, Phuc Vo excitedly said: “In the near future, we will organize four cycling tours from Ho Chi Minh City to Tra Vinh. Tra Vinh is my hometown, a place with many cultural, natural, and culinary values that are not yet widely known to tourists.”
