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Bicycle Helmet
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Bicycle helmet is an important for cyclists. It protects our head against collisions with hard objects while we ride our bicycles on the streets. Every cyclist or biker should have at least one helmet. In cities where pro-cycling policy has been extensively implemented by government, a lot of cyclists do not wear helmets. This is acceptable as long as people who do not wear helmets ride their bicycles or perhaps tricycles in areas which have been exclusively allocated for cyclists. To avoid cycling accident, the speed should be kept lower to avoid collision with other cyclists or pedestrians.
I personally wear my
bicycle helmet whenever I ride my mountain bike in the afternoon. It's a dirt
jump bike Cozmic DX 2.0 manufactured by Polygon, a bicycle maker in Indonesia.
Because the road that I use to travel does not have cycling lane, I always have
to wear the cyclist helmet. Cars and motorcycles are always around when I ride
my mountain bike. The current price of a Polygon helmet (at the time of writing)
is Rp. 170,000 (around 19 US dollars). For me, having a helmet on my head
creates a feeling of safe when I am on the street.
The routes that I usually travel on with my mountain bike are as follows:
Missi - Bakaro - Missi,
Misi - Ayambori - Amban - Manggoapi - Missi,
Missi - Fanindi - Manggoapi - Amban - Amban Pante - Anggori - Susweni - Bakaro - Pasir Putih - Missi
The above routes are the name of places in and around Manokwari city - the capital of West Papua province of the Republic of Indonesia. I started riding my mountain bike on 6 December 2010. I had always wanted to ride bicycle around the town before I bought my mountain bike. In October 2010, I went to Numfor island on a trip to find an alternative place for developing my eco-tourism promotion project. I met a mountain biker at that time. His name was Adi Bowo. He rode his GT mountain bike around the tropical island. I met him at a "coffee shop" at the ship harbor of Numfor island. We talked a lot about the promotion of ecotourism and the possibility of introducing mountain bike as part of the tour.
I seldom see adults ride their bicycles around the city in the afternoon. Perhaps this is caused by tens of years of pro-motorized vehicles policy which have been implemented by the government. With the recent awareness among global population to fight global warming, the spirit of going back to riding bicycle is slowly emerging in big cities in Java particularly Jakarta and Surabaya. I hope that in the coming months, more and more people will ride bicycles in Manokwari city thus reducing our dependency on imported fossil fuel.
I don't know when Indonesian people can be like the Dutch whose percentage of cyclists is the highest in the world. With some promotional articles related to cycling that I make on this website, I hope that my dream of seeing Indonesian streets and roads full of cyclists can be come a reality, as least someday in the future. But don't forget that if tomorrow you want to buy a new or used bicycle, please buy a helmet too.
Health Benefits of Cycling Sport
How to Promote Cycling Culture in Your Town
