Just Bike!

Dear World,

This is the beginning of a critical moment in our lives. Well, we have so many problems these days, especially during this pandemic of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Death seems clearer. It looks nearer, it can come to anyone and anytime soon. Here I am sitting in the corner of my bedroom not only to comfort you, I am trying to comfort myself too. Exactly like you, I just can’t believe that I truly life in this situation, where people use face masks, keep physical distancing, cannot attend their brother/sister/friend’s funeral, where doctors and nurses cannot stay in their own home to protect their family and all of us have to wash our hands regularly. This virus has changed our behaviour, it has made us stayed home for quiet long time. This seems like a repeated history.  

As humanity, I am concern with global world too, with air pollution in the cities that need to be changed immediately. As citizen, I want to support my country to thrive in this difficult situation. I want to be part of the solution, to start with cycling as a “new normal” tradition with my friends, family, and colleagues. Living here in the situation of pandemics of Covid-19, my mind was thinking back the life that I have been through in Sydney when I was there studying for my master’s degree in early 2002.  All of sudden I also have a dream of cycling around Indonesia and Australia once this pandemic’s over. I used to bike to school and campus.

I still remember the first feeling I had when my mom gave me a birthday present when I was in the elementary school. Never come across my mind that I can have a bike, yes a bike. I was cycling like crazy as an expression of my happiness. So, bike and happiness are two things that now tightly close to each other, just like the sun and the moon, they both make the earth beautiful.

In Copenhagen, Denmark, cycling is part of their culture, bringing hygge to people’s life. I was inspired by this book, “The little book of hygge: The Danish way to live well” written by Meik Wiking from The Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen in 2016.  The moment you start pedalling, you feel joy, freedom to move, and happiness. I feel it and I want to embrace it forever. Let me read to you the points that touch my heart the most, “cycling is not only beneficial for the individual and his or her wellbeing and health, it’s an indicator of the degree of neighbours and local sense of community” (p.254). It also emphasizing the importance of cycling for urban planning that if many people cycle in the city, it is an indication that we live in a healthy neighbourhood because neighbourhood togetherness and trust among locals are important element in urban areas.

We cannot make this world perfect; the world is not ours because we borrow it from the next generation. This is the time to start all over again, for building a cycling culture in our cities. No matter how hard it seems, this is a golden opportunity to build a better world, starting from ourselves. We need to change. I want us to fight together, to make a great history, where the next generation will read it from books with pride that their elders have tried their best to survive, to make a difference. I want them to be proud of us since we fully understand that no matter what, life must go on.

And now I bike again, to stay healthy and contribute to emission reduction. This is an opportunity to fight for a better facility for cyclists in the city. It is an opportunity for inspiring others to think about sustainable urban transport. The concept of sustainability needs to be in place, highlighting the importance of cycling, walking, and public transport that aligned with the health protocol for Covid-19.

In the end, what matter is how we handle the storm to keep going with our lives, especially after this pandemic is over. Cycling is now part of the new normal too post Covid-19 pandemic. We are trying to reduce the crowd in the public transport facilities. During the unprecedented Covid-19, cycling can help us to keep a distance with others, we can reduce the use of oil, reduce air pollution, save our income from oil consumption, save the environment, make our life healthy, increase social interactions with other cyclists, and reduce the inequality by shortening the gaps between poor and rich people in Asia. The health protocol for Covid-19 for cyclist is applied such as managing physical distancing, wearing face mask, ensuring food/nutrition and water, sharing the road with others, and following road signs with discipline. Just bike and be happy!

Best Regards,

Suryani Eka Wijaya