Ansar Majeed Banday
The objective behind writing this article is to inspire others to turn away from their sedentary life style and experience the joy of riding a cycle. To invite the interest of the readers for promoting cycling culture we shall share few cycling experiences with the readears. One of the authors of this article is working as a Coordinator BEd for district Bandipora. He travelled from Srinagar to Boys Higher Secondary Kuloosa Bandipora on a cycle to inspect the BEd contact classes. The young pupil teachers were very inspired that their Coordinator had travelled such a long distance on cycle and reached the center on time. The Coordinator delivered an extension lecture on “Promoting Cycling Culture in our Youth” at Bandipora. Significant number of students and teachers pledged that henceforth they shall travel frequently by using a cycle. They also vowed to work as good ambassadors for promoting cycling culture in our youth.
Back home one of the students had motivated his old aged father to attempt slow cycling for addressing the problem of joint stiffness and weight regulation. Another in-service teacher said that he was posted in a school which is at a distance of three kilometers from his home, mostly he used to go to his school in a big car, due to traffic congestions he was often marked late and also struggled to park his car in a congested market, many times he was fined for wrong parking. Post counseling he had also switched to cycling mode of transport. After taking to cycling he experienced punctuality in his school assignments, taught children with unburdened mind and his breathlessness was improved to a great extent.
During that extension lecture on cycling significant number of girls had also attended. Prior to counseling, girls were reluctant to cycle due to certain gender stereotypes. Post counseling girls also displayed positive attitudinal mobilization towards cycling. It is heartening to observe good number of senior citizens in our valley having started to cycle, breaking the age-related stereotypes. The authors shared many case studies and stories with retired senior citizens to rejuvenate their diminished spirits. Padmashree awardee, 73 year old Kiran Seth pedaled hundreds of kilometers from Srinagar to Kanya Kumari because of his mental perseverance and simple eating habits. While cycling around 1,200 kilometers in different weather conditions was challenging, Seth said his love for cycling made the journey easy. Nothing is impossible in this world for a strong-willed and passionate person, and Adil Teli from Kashmir just proved the statement true. The 23-year-old now has a Guinness World Record in his name for reaching Kanyakumari to Kashmir in just 8 days 1 hour and 37 minutes, that too on a cycle. Sai Patil a 10-yr-old girl cycled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in just 38 days accompanied by his father. Earlier she travelled to Ladakh on cycle alone. Now look at our youth in Kashmir, very few children come to school on cycles. What we observe cycle sheds in school are more parked with motor bikes and scooters. Adil Altaf, son of a tailor, has made history for Jammu and Kashmir. He has won the first cycling gold medal in Khelo India Youth Games. Imagine covering a distance of 5647 kms on the humble bicycle which Nidhin Maliyekkal had owned from his grand-father’s legacy. He cycled from his hometown Thrissur in Kerala to Kashmir and on way he sold tea to make ends meet.
When you peddle you meet people and get acquainted with real life experiences and form a different world view. One of the authors of this article has countless touching experiences throughout his journey on a bicycle. He met several kind-hearted and inspiring people. He remembers one incident particularly well, because here the one who helped him was as helpless as he was. To quote “Once I became penniless the scorching heat started draining me quickly. Although I had covered only half the distance on cycle from Srinagar to Anantnag, I was exhausted. I settled on a bench near a toll booth. There was a boy out there who sold corn , he stopped by the booth to pay toll. The look on his face made it evident that he was quite tired of his work. He kept on watching me. I thought it was because of my strange appearance. After some time, once he was done with his work, he went to a small hut like house which was only a few yards away from the toll booth. As I had nothing much to do, I kept observing him. What I saw next was completely surprising. I saw him hiding two of the bread slices his mother had given him in a piece of newspaper. He got out of the house without wasting even a single moment and proceeded towards me. I felt like he was an angel in human form when he offered me those bread slices. I was a bit reluctant to accept as he too looked as tired as I was. But he kept assuring me that he would eat once he got back home. So, I accepted his treat with much delight and a tinge of guilt. He too was elated to watch me devouring the bread slices. He forgot his hunger at least for a moment, watching my happiness. I couldn’t thank him enough. I realized that day that it’s true that God plays his role through humans often.
John F. Kennedy said “Nothing compares to the simple pleasures of riding a bike,” a sentiment that is felt across the cycling community in the UK. But, for people with a disability, the simple act of riding a bike may be beyond them. For those with a disability, there can be both physical and emotional barriers to cycling. Most of the physical barriers can be addressed by getting the right bike, equipment and the availability of safe cycling infrastructure. But the emotional barriers, such as trust and confidence, take time to develop and depend on the right support. Hand cycles are popular among riders with lower-limb mobility impairments. They allow cyclists to propel a three-wheeled cycle using their arms.
One of the retired senior Professors shared very interesting facts about cycling during yesteryears in Kashmir. The Professor had purchased the bicycle from the wholesalers at Hari-Singh High Street for rupees 49 and 8 annas. The saddle was attached with a tool box, carrying a few wrenches, solution tube and a few rubber patches. The frame of the bicycle had arrangement to fix one small pump. The police used to fine a person for carrying a double seat on a cycle or riding a cycle without dynamo light after dusk. A token bearing number and year was screwed on the handle of the cycle. During the year 1954 the Principal of Amar Singh College Sahibzada Mohammad Ahmad used to come to college on a cycle of green colour. Prof JN Dhar (Thus) of physics department and Sheikh Ghulam Ahmad of economics, who later became chief secretary, were also the pride owners of a bicycle. The students would often discuss the quality, color and the conditions of the bicycles of privileged professors. Post retirement many academicians live a sedentary life style and suffer from co-morbidities. The University Council few years back strongly recommended the promotion of cycling culture in university students. This needs to be implemented in letter and spirit. Cycling improves strength, balance and coordination. It may also help to prevent falls and fractures. Riding a cycle is an ideal form of exercise if you have osteoarthritis, because it is a low-impact exercise that places little stress on joints. Consistently cycling stimulates and improves our heart, lungs and circulation, reducing your risk of cardiovascular diseases. Cycling strengthens your heart muscles, lowers resting pulse and regulates blood sugar levels. Research has also demonstrated that people who cycle to work have two to three times less exposure to pollution than car commuters, so their lung function is improved.
A longitudinal study conducted over period of 14 years with 30,000 people aged 20 to 93 years found that regular cycling protected people from heart disease. Cycling can help to protect you from serious diseases such as stroke, heart attack, some cancers, depression, diabetes, obesity and arthritis. Riding a cycle is healthy, fun and a low-impact form of exercise for all ages. Cycling is easy to fit into your daily routine by riding to the nearby shops, park, school or work. Over 50 percent of the human population knows how to ride a cycle. In China, 37.2 percent of the population use bicycles. The readers will be surprised to learn that there is a big cycle graveyard in China. In Belgium and Switzerland, 48 percent of the population rides. In Japan, it is 57 percent, and in Finland it’s 60 percent. In Kashmir it is 6 % who regularly cycle. The Netherlands holds the record as the nation with the most bicycles per capita. Cyclists also abound in Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Denmark. The Danish capital, Copenhagen, is considered the most bicycle-friendly city in the world. It’s known as the “City of Cyclists,” where 52 percent of the population uses a bike for the daily commute. Bicyclist commuters are generally healthier than those who drive motor vehicles to work. When the people of Copenhagen were asked why they choose to ride their bicycles rather than ride in a car or on public transportation they answered simply “because it’s the fastest way of getting around in the city.” The cycle offers an economic, comfortable, easy, and sustainable way of human mobility— for the rich, and the poor. It’s still a major mode of active transport for many cities in emerging countries and could continue to be if encouraged as an alternative to the car.
Problems related to congestion in the cities of the emerging world continue to grow and will grow faster than any investment in new roads could match. India’s motor vehicle fleet is forecast to grow from 73 million in 2005 to 364 million by 2025. Investing in facilities for cycling as a clean, healthy alternative to motorbikes and cars will help address the problem of congestion and pollution. It will also provide access to economical transportation in countries where up to a quarter of a person’s income is currently spent on mobility. The Sustainable Development Goals include sustainable transport, but presently the main focus is on public transport. With careful investment—including making sure there is a provision for cycles in every major transport project—the high levels of cycling in the developing world can be fostered and maintained. This offers huge potential for cost savings and reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. The bicycling industry not only provides economic benefits, but shifting trips from cars to bicycles helps reduce congestion, air pollution and CO2 emissions as well as improve riders’ health.
Dr Showkat Rashid Wani, Senior Coordinator, Directorate of Distance Education, University of Kashmir
Ansar Majeed Banday, Senior PA to Director, Directorate of Distance Education , University of Kashmir
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.