Promoting Cycling Lifestyle in Manokwari City

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I rode my mountain bike this afternoon again. The route was just the same as the previous days. I rode to Kwawi, Pasir Putih, Arowi, Abassi and finally Bakaro. I brought with me my digital still photo camera Sony DSC W310 to take pictures of people were also cycling that afternoon. Along the way from Missi to Bakaro, I saw teenagers riding their bikes. Most of them were boys. There were also some girls who were riding bicycles but their number was not many.
Besides teenagers, sometimes I see one or two adults riding bicycles. I heard that there are some cycling communities in Manokwari city, the first is bike to work community in IJB or governor's office of West Papua province, and the second is the mountain bike community of Mandiri bank. As a nature lover, I am really serious in promoting cycling lifestyle in Manokwari. I try to meet cyclists whom I see on the streets and have some conversations with them. It's easy to persuade cyclists when they are riding their bicycles because we can share some common issues such as the price of bicycles, where they live, and how often they ride their bikes. Another way of promoting cycling culture in Manokwari is by introducing a cycling city tour package to foreign tourists. When people see a significant number of tourists ride bicycles around the city, they will be interested in riding bicycles too.
Two days ago, I talked to a Papuan boy who was riding a BMX bicycle. I asked him whether he liked riding bicycle. He answered, "Yes." Unfortunately, when I asked if he was interested in participating in a race, he said that it was not his bike so he was not sure whether he would be able to participate in such competition.
The price of a medium size bicycle for teenagers is between 1 million (around 111 US dollars) and 1.5 million rupiahs (approximately 166 US dollars). It is considered very expensive for children. On the average, Papuan elementary school children receive Rp. 1,000 as their pocket money. If the amount of Rp. 500 rupiahs is spent to buy a piece of cake at school and then the remaining Rp. 500 rupiahs is saved for buying a bicycle, he or she will need 8 years to buy the bike. That's why we cannot easily find Papuan children ride bicycles. By the time she is able to buy her dreamed bike, it is not suitable for her anymore because she will be in high school. Her dreamed bike will be too small for her. In addition to the expensive price, most parents in Papua do not consider cycling to school as a good way that their children can do in their early life. The road condition in Manokwari is often seen as too dangerous of children cyclists.
For me, forming a bike club is very important because it will open an opportunity for bikers to influence the local government of Manokwari regency to launch a number of pro-cycling policies. Such policies include the provision of special cycling lanes, bike parking lot and information boards installed in every corner of the city to dwellers to respect bicycle users. Motorcycle and car users must remember that they are not the only stakeholders of the city streets and roads. Cyclists also have the same rights in using these public facilities. When people in Manokwari can respect cyclists, then the children will be able to ride their bicycles to schools without parents having to worry about their safety.
There are a number of benefits that we can get from riding bicycle. As I have explained in my previous article, people who ride bicycles have said that their physical conditions are getting better. Riding bicycle to school and to work is good for the environment because it reduces our dependence on fossil fuel. We can save more money if we go to work by bicycles. The sound pollutions created by motorized vehicles can be eliminated easily too. Our atmosphere will be cleaner again. So, bicycle is not a transport means of the past but now and the future. Cyclists should be proud of themselves because their bicycles do not emit CO2 gases which are believed to be the major cause of global warming. With the above picture of children riding bicycles near Abassi beach in the afternoon of 6 January 2011, I am fully optimistic that one day the cycling lifestyle can be seen in Manokwari city again similar to the era when the Dutch were still in West Papua. by Charles Roring

Also read: Health Benefits of Cycling Sport