Manaveeyam Veedhi, the city’s cultural hub, wore a colourful look on Sunday evening as nearly 40 women, young and old, in colourful attire and bicycles decorated with hydrogen balloons in different colours came together for the Fancy Women Bike Ride.
The ride that originated in Turkey more than a decade ago to claim the streets for women, especially women cyclists, celebrate environment-friendly modes of transportation, and a healthy lifestyle, was organised in 180 cities this year.
In the city, it was conducted by the Indus Cycling Embassy from Manaveeyam Veedhi-Vellayambalam-Kowdiar and back. The participants for the all-women ride included students from Government Higher Secondary School for Girls, Cotton Hill ; Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, and Government College for Women, Vazhuthacaud, and grown-ups, including women approaching their 70s. Besides the cyclists, a whole host of people turned up to offer support and encouragement.
Jana Mujeeb, a second year Mechanical Engineering student from Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, and one of the 13 from the institution, says the ride was a blast. “We recently formed a bicycle club in the college, and it was our first Fancy Women Bike Ride. We decorated the bicycles with balloons and flowers, and rode down the roads one after another. The organisers managed the traffic, so it was fun. Back at Manaveeyam, we had tea and snacks, and we sang and danced. It was a great vibe.”
Indus Cycling Embassy secretary Beena O., who is also National Cadet Corps (NCC) Girl Cadet Instructor, says that of the three Fancy Women Bike Rides held so far, she enjoyed this one the best. “It was a great experience. Last year, the ride was held from Kowdiar to Kanakakkunnu, but it did not elicit as great a response as this. People took photos. Many came up asking if they could learn cycling. Others wanted to know how safe the roads were for cycling. We managed to generate a lot of interest in cycling and the demand for a cycle path.”
It was the third Fancy Women Bike Ride for Vimala Devi, administrative officer at LIC Divisional Office, Pattom. She was there along with other members of the SheCycling club at LIC. “It was great fun. We wore colourful dresses and deocrated the bikes to attract maximum attention. The idea was to make people give us a second look and wonder what was happening,” she said.
Vimala Devi would have liked if the ride were to head towards the heart of the city but for the evening traffic. However, she is glad about the increased participation. “People who are part of Indus Cycling spread the word, especially male students who told girls in their institutions about it. We also took to social media to promote the ride. There were many people who would have joined if only they had bicycles.”
The ride, conducted by the Indus Cycling Embassy in the city, was flagged off by Khushpreet Midha, First Lady, 1 Kerala Girls Battalion, NCC. Ms. Midha lauded the gathering of women under the banner of the Fancy Women Bike Ride.
