While the rising cost of fuel has got many talking about making lifestyle changes, a small bunch of people have been quietly doing more than walk the talk, writes CHAI MEI LING.
CYCLING enthusiast Nik Arif R. Sidek has now started commuting to work on two wheels since the petrol price hike more than a week ago.
It's not that he can't afford to blaze the carbon trail from his home in Damansara Perdana, Selangor, to his office a kilometre away.
"I'm trying to make a stand, so to speak. The price hike is ridiculous," said Arif, the chief executive officer of an advertising agency.
Arif, 36, straps on a backpack containing work attire, and cycles to his office in casual wear. Sometimes he parks his bicycle at the Bike Boutique, takes a shower and goes to work which is a two-minute walk away.
And if petrol price hits RM4 per litre, Arif said he is even prepared to cycle when he visits his mother in Damansara Heights, Kuala Lumpur.
That's about 12km from where he stays, or about a 40-minute ride away.
Engineer Jeffrey Chin Kong Leong cycles 5km to work from Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur to Damansara Perdana along the Damansara-Puchong Highway.
On days when the weather doesn't permit, Chin joins the jam.
The 23-year-old love affair with cycling goes back to his days in Kajang High School when he used a basic bicycle. Today, Chin rides a mean RM15,000 machine.
He has even cycled all the way back to Kajang, where his parents live, braving the 33km journey which includes the hair-raising Federal and Kajang Silk highways.
However, a cyclist friend's recent accident has stopped Chin's cycling to Kajang.
Nonetheless, the triathlete goes group rides a few times a week
Like Chin, Arif is a regular at these rides organised by cycling clubs.
During the weekends, the duo are part of the group which heads out to as far as Port Dickson, Genting Highlands and Bagan Lalang.
With extensive riding experience and thousands of mileage clocked, Chin and Arif are not your casual cyclists.
But you don't have to be a professional to ride to work.
Cycling in these days of vehicle-crowded roads is not for the faint-hearted, but it can be done.
You need a helmet though, nicely fitted clothes and shoes and a bit of courage, especially if you are cycling in an urban area.
Chin has had unsettling experience with uncivilised drivers. "The drivers have no respect for those on two wheels," he said.
Apparently, it's not quite the same in Klebang Besar, Malacca.
Litigation clerk Christopher Tang, who has been cycling for more than 10 years, said 98 per cent of the motorists in Klebang Besar tend to give way.
Overall, he found drivers to be tolerant, but a rude incident once in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, left a dent to his mostly pleasant experience.
Arif said a lack of awareness among drivers is the reason for this.
"There are those who think that we shouldn't be on the road.
"They think bicycles are just toys, and therefore, should only be used in the park.
"Bike Boutique's general manager Benny Liew said customers' common complaints about cycling in Malaysia include lack of amenities such as cycling paths and parking bays, bad roads and unfriendly road designs.
For example, the steel rails of a drainage cover are often vertically laid instead of horizontally.
"If it's vertical, your wheels go straight into it. These small things matter a lot to cyclists," said Liew, 28.
And then there is the issue of safety. Chin's wheels had been caught in such a cover when he was cycling along the Kajang Silk Highway's motorcycle lane.
"I've had to get down quickly and dislodge the wheel. Motorcycles can come quite fast from behind and it can be dangerous. So now I don't use the motorcycle lanes.
"Chin said his female friends are discouraged by dimly lit streets and snatch thefts.
In recent months though, the biking community has swelled, judging by growing participation in group rides.
Cycling saves Arif approximately RM120 a month on petrol, which is equivalent to a full tank of his new Honda CRV.
For Chin, it's RM150 per month - that's RM1,800 saved a year.
Money savings aside, there is also the health benefit.
Tang, 41, said he's fitter now that he cycles thrice a week, covering some 10km each round.
Roofing contractor Lim Chee Hong who clocks hundreds of km every week with others from the Midnight Rodeos Cycling Club said it is a great way to shed the kilos.
"If you run, you can't run for long. Cycling keeps the calories burning for hours.
"In fact, according to the website iwant2bike2work.org, a 15-minute ride five times a week burns off the equivalent of about five kg of fat in a year.
According to the site, cycling also cuts down heart diseases by 25 per cent.
Like swimming, cycling is a non-impact sport, and exerts less strain on the knees.
Arif's advice for beginners is to "just do it".
"If you're thinking about it, stop thinking and just get a bicycle.
"For amateur cycling, a mid range bicycle costs around RM4,500. But if it is just going around the housing estate, a basic bicycle costing RM500 would do.
Of course, some bicycles are collectibles. Liew's Cervelo, dubbed "the Ferrari of bicycles", costs RM30,000.
If you want to ride to work, Tang would advise against it if the distance is more than 10km away.
You should also consider wearing protective gear like a helmet.
A certain amount of fitness is necessary, but one doesn't have to be totally athletic.Then, as Arif says: "Just jump in and do it. It's worth a lifestyle change."
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Spotlight: Turning the nation into cycling heaven
HE is on a mega mission. Alex Bok intends to turn Malaysia and other Asian countries into a cycling haven.
Going by the tagline "To make bicycle commuting so convenient, it's irresistible", Bok mobilised a bicycle movement in Singapore two years ago with the setting up of a non-governmental organisation.
His initiative gave birth to iwant2bike2work.org, a site which equips just about anyone - cycling enthusiasts, beginners, community leaders, local governments, and volunteers - with information, inspiration, invitation and influence.
One learns how to get started, which routes to take in Singapore, how cycling improves health, and road tips.
The initiative looks to replicate similar movement in other countries soon.
"We just want to connect people and the community to the cycling lifestyle," said Bok, a Dutchman who now resides in Singapore.
The goal, eventually, is to make cycling sustainable, that is: accessible, rewarding and safe in urban Asia.
Of course, this is no mean feat considering Malaysia's zero cycling culture, or rather, its motorists' zero tolerance towards anything on two wheels.
But it has not always been the case.
Dr S. P. Choong, co-ordinator for Sustainable Transport Environment Penang, still remembers the time when 70-80 per cent of children rode to school. That was some three or four decades ago.
Today, heavy traffic especially on one-way streets on the island, lack of roadside shade, and worsening pollution has put the public off the idea of biking.
More than anything else, this habit has been abandoned largely due to the government's inability to recognise the amenities a cyclist would need, said Dr Choong.
There are no cycling lanes, parks, and conducive road environment.
On Malaysia's impractical climate, he said: "Why had this factor not been operational in the 50s? When I used to go to school in late 40s and early 50s, the climate was the same.
"But there is a difference - there were a lot more roadside trees.
We can still work on that and plant more trees."Cycling's not impossible. We just need more imagination.
"Imagination, and a heart for the environment.
Bok initiated the bicycle movement out of passion for cycling and concern for the environment.For 15 years, he was in the retail banking and consultancy line, and one day, as he was developing a business plan on giving out loans for people in India and Bangkok to buy motor scooters, his conscience snapped.
An environmentalist, Bok, 40, has cycled his whole life.
"In Holland, once you start toddling, your parents put you on a bicycle.
"That explains Holland's population of 15 million and 20 million bicycles.
While economic growth is good, Bok said it's being done at the expense of the environment and people's health.
"Caring for the environment is not just about Kyoto Protocol. There must be actions with positive impact.
"Statistics suggest that in the last 10 years, there are over 250 million people around the world from the lower income segment who are moving up to the middle class rung.
That translates to a huge volume of demand for motorised vehicles.
Already, people are getting asthmatic in Hong Kong and China because of the pollution, said Bok.
Having people cycle to work can be economically viable for countries like Malaysia, he added.
In Melbourne, some 3,500 people - lawyers, bankers, and business people - cycle into the city every morning from 7am to 9am.
Right smack underneath the central business district, a bike centre caters to only 400 parking bays and 250 lockers.
There are 250 people on the waiting list.
Bok's brainchild, the Bike Boutique, will provide these Melbourne cyclists a 150-bicycle capacity and showers by October this year.
In Malaysia, there is a Bike Boutique in Damansara Perdana which offers bicycle lodging, fitting, repair, retail and wash services.
There are about 20 lodgers at any time. Plans to introduce bicycle lodging facilities in the form of containers in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre are underway.
