Cycling to Pasir Putih Beach

After writing a number of articles about Oasis of the Seas, the largest and most modern cruise ship in the world, now I am writing about my hobby again which is mountain biking. Although the keyword of Oasis of the Seas is now getting higher impression in my blog, I feel that I should write something that really reflects my daily activities. I have been riding bicycle since I was in elementary school. I didn't know why I was very fond of cycling around my neighborhood with my BMX at that time but I really enjoyed the surrounding view of the Manokwari town and the Arfak mountains while riding along the hills of Panorama street. Now my bicycle is not a BMX anymore but a Dirt Jump Mountain Bike Polygon Cosmic DX 2.0. I started riding this bike on the first week of December 2010.

I usually ride my bicycle in the afternoons along the Brawijaya street (formerly known as Panoramaweg during the Dutch time) to Kwawi, Pasir Putih beach - the most favorite white sandy beach both for town dwellers and finally tourists, Pasirido, and finally Bakaro beach. It takes around two hours for me to enjoy the beautiful coastal region of Manokwari city that is now developing very fast. I am often accompanied by my friend Peddy Tangguni. He was my classmate when we were in high school. He rides his United mountain bike.

When I began riding my mountain bike again early this month, I was not familiar with shifting gears from 8 to 1 for the rear ones and from 3 to 1 for the front gears particularly when climbing a slope. After using the bicycle for several times now I know that I need to use gear 1 (front and rear) while on a steep slope; and Gear 3 (front) and Gear 8 (rear) on a flat road or going down a slope. The gears of my mountain bike are Shimano Alivio. Shimano is a leading manufacturer of bicycle components from Japan.  The brake is manufactured by Tektro - I think its a Taiwanese company. The bike frame is made of aluminum. Polygon calls it Alx 6061. It is a light metal compound that is strong enough for mountain bike application. It's interesting to see that the front suspension fork of the bike is Suntour Duro DJD.

I start riding the bike at 4.30 p.m and return home at 6.30. It is nearly dark when I get back home. Along the road, I often see children riding their BMX bicycles. The second picture above shows how Peddy - my friend, and some Papuan children were riding bicycles near Pasirido.
Cycling is good for our environment. People who ride bicycles to their workplaces have helped reduce the CO2 emission. CO2 gases are the cause of acid rains that are harmful to the green leaves and trees of the tropical rainforest. By riding bicycle we reduce the air pollution of our city.
Cycling is also good for our health but I hardly ever see adults in Manokwari city ride bicycles in the afternoons. I hope that through my regular exercise riding this mountain bike, more and more people will be interested in joining me and my friend in the coming months of 2011. Lets's ride bicycles, let's save energy, let's protect our tropical rainforest and let's fight global warming.
Also read:
Health benefits of cycling
Cycling can increase productivity
Bike to work following Dutch habit and Cuban Experience

Coral reef and your car

Your car and coral reef have in indirect connection. If you drive a lot then you emit CO2 and other toxic gases into the air. These exhaust gases, together with other CO2 equivalent emissions from industry and other human modern activities, cause acid rain and global warming. The increasing amount of acid rain deteriorates the coral reef condition.

El Nino which happened a few years ago which might be due to global warming caused massive deaths of coral reefs around the world.

If we can reduce the use of car and other motorized vehicles, it means we can reduce the amount of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. If we travel on short distances, it is better to use bicycle or public transportation such as bus.

There are other ways that we can do to lower the CO2 emission of our cars. Suppose that we park our car at an outdoor parking lot of your office or a mall during a sunny weather. One or two hours later the inside of the car will be very hot. When you get back to your car again and feel the hot temperature, you'll tend to turn on the AC. If you are environmentally conscious person, you will not turn on the AC. The alternative that you can do is opening all doors of your car to let the hot air flowed out and the cool air entered it again. It is the best way that you can do to safe energy and at the same time prevent or reduce the CO2 emissions. You will want to turn on the AC for a while.

Every car has battery that is used to start the car, run the CD players and light the lamps. When it has been exhausted, you will need to replace it with a new one. Don't throw it anywhere. There are recycling centers where you can deliver the used battery for recycling. If you do it, you have done good thing for the coral reef and the environment as a whole.

Another important thing that we should do is keeping the performance of our cars in good condition. We have to make sure that the valves in the combustion chambers of car engines are well positioned so that the combustion processes run well. If the performance of our car is good, it will consume less fuel and also emit less toxic or poisonous gases. This is also good for coral reef.

Coral reef is a fragile environment that provides food and shelter to various marine animals. Coral reef also conducts photosynthesis that produces clean air which most living things need. If the condition of coral reef is well protected, not only marine animals will get more benefits from it but also the human beings who live for on land will have a better and healthier life from it. Read: The relation between coral reefs and our daily activities

Health benefits of cycling

Source: www.bv.com.au
This document is a summary of some recent studies on the health benefits of cycling.

Cyclists live longer!

Anderson, Lars Bo “All-Cause Mortality Associated With Physical Activity During Leisure Time, Work, Sports and Cycling to Work” Archives of Internal Medicine Vol 160 No. 11 June 12, 2000.

This study took place in Copenhagen, Denmark over 14.5 years. It found that cycling to work (an average of 3 hours cycling per week) decreased risk of mortality by about 40% compared to a sedentary control group. This study involved 30,000 people. The study took into account age, health status, and socio-economic factors such as education. It also found that older people gained even more from physical activity than younger people.

The full report can be found at:

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/issues/v160n11/full/ioi90593.html

Lower cholesterol and less risk of heart attacks

Department of Environmental Protection and BikeWest “Cycling 100 Trial” 1999 Cycling 100 was a year-long program in Perth in which free bikes were provided to 100 commuters who volunteered to replace some car trips to work with bicycle commuting. The participants’ health was monitored before and after the trial. The study found that the cyclists’ physical work capacity and aerobic fitness improved. They also experienced significant reductions in LDL cholesterol levels (bad

cholesterol) and significant increases in HDL (good cholesterol). They also lowered their risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The Department of Environmental Protection: www.environ.wa.gov.au

BikeWest: www.transport.wa.gov.au/metro/bikewest

Deterrents versus benefits

Ian Roberts, Harry Owen, Peter Lumb, Colin MacDougall. “Pedalling Health – Health Benefits of a Modal Transport Shift.” 1995.

Getting more people cycling as part of daily life may be one of the best ways to improve the community’s health and tackle sedentary lifestyles, according to this report. It details health benefits including lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and reduced risk of heart disease and obesity. The report suggests that the physical risk associated with cycling (i.e. accidents) and costs of providing cycling facilities is far outweighed by the health and environmental benefits of cycling.

The study can be found on the web at:

http://sciweb.science.adelaide.edu.au/sundries/ph.nsf

Just what the doctor ordered …

British Medical Association “Cycling Towards Health and Safety” 1992, Oxford University Press: Oxford. This book highlights the health benefits of cycling. The issues covered include positive effects on physical and mental health, environmental benefits, and the deterrents and dangers versus the improved life expectancy that results from cycling regularly (eg, the ratio of benefit of cycling to risk involved is 20:1).

A site including recommendations from the BMA is online at:

http://www.demon.co.uk/southern/bug/bikelife.html

Breathe easy

Van Wijen, Verhoeff, Henk, Van Bruggen. The exposure of cyclist, car drivers and pedestrians to traffic-related air pollutants. Environmental Health 67 pp 187-193

This study provides statistics on the pollutant concentrations breathed in by cyclists and motorists in one hour during the same journy at the same time and found that motorists are subject to higher pollution levels. Despite the fact that a cyclist breathes about two to three times as much air as the motorist due to physical exertion, the motorist breathed about 60% more carbon monoxide (cyclist: 2670ug/m3, motorist: 6730 ug/m3). Other pollutants all showed significantly lower levels in the cyclists. Physical exercise is also shown to assist in resisting the effects of air pollution.

This study was part of a European Commission publication called “Cycling: the way ahead for towns and cities.” which is available from

http://europe.eu.int/comm/environment/cycling/cycling_en.htm

Get a buzz from a bike

Kate Mytanwy has spent many years working in Mental Health in Australia, and has written several pieces on suicide prevention and the promotion of physical activity for mental health reasons. Her article, ‘Get a buzz from a bike’, surveys both clinical and non-clinical studies into depression and cycling.

The full story can be found at:

http://www.depressionet.com.au/articles/exercise.html

Cycling and depression

Suzanne Fitzsimmons and Linda L. Buettner. Easy Rider wheelchair biking: A nursing-recreation therapy clinical trial for the treatment of depression

The study investigated the following hypothesis: Older adults who participate in a therapy biking program will have lower levels of depression than those who do not participate in a therapy biking program.

The design for this study was a classical experimental design with randomization, a control and treatment group and pre- and post-testing. All consenting residents were pre-tested for depression using the short form Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS).

The therapy program, called the Easy Rider program, was scheduled to run four times during the day with a maximum of five subjects scheduled into each session. The hypotheses, older adults who participate in a therapy biking program will have lower levels of depression than those who do not participate in a therapy biking program was accepted at a highly significant level.

The report of the study can be found at:

http://www.recreationtherapy.com/articles/monograph-syracuse.htm

Riding bicycle is one of the ways to create low carbon society

As global warming remains an important issue in our modern society and efforts to reduce CO2 emissions are still not fully effective due to the reluctance of developed countries and new emerging economies to reduce their emissions, then all of as as global citizens need to drastically change our lifestyle.to create low carbon environment.

There are a number of ways which every individual can do to participate in reducing CO2 emissions. Such ways are rejecting plastic bags when going shopping, cycling to work, giving up smoking, and eating with spoon instead of wooden chopstick.

By rejecting plastic bags, we can reduce the littering of our streets, beaches and backyards. By cycling to work, we can prevent street congestions and at the same time reduce air pollution. By giving up smoking, we can have healthier body. And by eating with spoon and fork, we can stop unnecessary cutting of trees and bamboos.

Transport vehicles are major CO2 emitters in the world. In fact many of our daily trips are less than two miles. This short distance is achievable through cycling. In some countries, cycling has become the habit of the nations but in many countries cycling is still considered or seen as poor living. This wrong perception has to be removed in every society. Governments and communities must take actions to encourage or restore cycling among the people.
Municipalities must include cycling policy in their traffic system. Extensive cycling network is needed to encourage citizens to ride their bicycles. Cycling network and parking facilities are very important for creating cycling community. In addition, combating bicycle theft is also another important factor in supporting and protecting cyclists.
Car and truck owners must limit their speed in areas or streets where cyclists are mixed with other motorized vehicles. To avoid accidents, more bicycle lanes have to be built or allocated in the land transportation system. Bicycle lanes do not have to be side by side with road and streets. They can go through the parks, shopping centers and even along the beach.
There are still many other ways where everyone can directly contribute to the creation of low carbon society and healthier environment. All we need to do is changing or transforming our lifestyle so that we will not pollute our surrounding and damage the environment.
Our education system has to be totally reformed to include or introduce individual initiatives in fighting global warming.
Children have to be taught how to ride bicycles, sort domestic waste. Teenagers can be oriented with cross country program where they can directly see the nearest jungle, river and beach; and cleaning up campaign has to be introduced in every community.
During the Soviet era, the ruling regime had their citizens go out to the surrounding environment and doing the cleaning-up thus creating a clean neighborhood.
The Netherlands although a crowded country has been one of the most prosperous country in the world through its years of sustainable ways of living. The Dutch have been using wind mills to pump out water from wetlands since hundreds of years ago. This country is an example of the best low carbon society in the world. Dutch people can also be proud of being the heaven of cyclists. Cycling has significantly improved the living condition of the country thus increasing productivity, more saving instead of unnecessary spending on fossil fuel. by Charles Roring

Cycling Can Increase Productivity

Cycling is a fun activity. If it is done regularly, it can improve our health. Our body will be fitter through riding a bicycle. The health improvement, we get, is shown in reduced obesity, improved blood pressure and circulation. Most of us know well that obesity has become a major weight related problem in modern society. Obesity is found among 25 percent of adults and 10% of children. Unfortunately, many people still think that cycling is only for children going to school or playing round their neighborhood. Exercise will shape our body. But most people are reluctant to allocate a specific time for exercising because they are too busy working or finishing their office assignments.

Around 41% of our daily trips are less than two miles. This is considered as short distance which can be reached through cycling in less than 15 minutes. As a way out of promoting cycling in the communities, cycling has to become an integral part of our daily life. Governments must spend more money in providing adequate infrastructures for cyclists such as parkings, and cycle network. The investment government spend in supporting cycling will immediately bring results in the communities.
More people cycling on the road mean fewer cars on the road, and less air polution. Cities and towns will be calm and less noisy. Our plan to implement 60% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 can be achieved by cycling. Riding bicycle is a clean low-carbon mode of travel. Healthier bodies and reduced street congestion improve the productivity of a community. The Netherlands is one of the European countries that has been seriously integrating cycling in its transport system. Bike to work or cycle to work should be introduced to companies. Tax exemption imposed by the state will allow employers to loan cycles and cyclist safety equipment to their employees. In addition, cycle manufacturers can implement a special credit scheme to businesses so that they will be able to offer bicycles to their staff. This sheme will encourage more workers to ride bicycles to work. if properly implemented, more people cycling will help workers staff more money, create healthier bodies and increase productivity as well as improve living condition and the surrounding environment. by Charles Roring
Also read:
Mountain Biking in the Table Mountain
Dirt Jump Mountain Bike
Mountain Bike for Ladies

Sharing A Bicycle

In European cities like Paris, and Rome, people can rent bicycles in the downtown if they want to travel around the cities by bicycles. The rental fee can be some euros a day. These bikes are also equiped with GPS devices which can trace the bicycles if they have gone beyond the restricted area.

Providing bicycles for rental in big cities, is one of the city programs in reducing air pollution and preventing traffic jams.

When we were young, we like riding around with our own bicycles. We rode around the neighborhood, schools, and towns. Sometimes we rode further away to the beaches, and foothills. We took for granted for the bicycles we had.

But in other part of the world, even a small bike is a luxurious thing. In Manokwari, a small town of Papua island, not all family can afford to buy a bike for their children.

Children who have bicycles sometimes have to share them with their friends. A few days ago I took a picture of children with a bicycle. A child who has the bike charge 5,000 rupiahs (around 50 cents USD) an hour as rental fee on his friends.

Such amount is considered expensive by these little children whose parents are not wealthy enough to buy bike. So, if they want to rent their friend's bike, they have to work as car or motorcycle washer. For every motor cycle they wash, they can obtain between 2,000 and 5,000 rupiahs.

Next time when we ride bicycles again, we can remember that there are thousands of children around the world whose daily night dream is having or riding their own bicycles.

view of Manokwari town, West Papua

If you are interested in taking a holiday in Manokwari town. You can stay in Kagum Inn. It is an affordable choice for budget travellers. The inn has 11 rooms where each room costs 180 US dollar per night. The room can accomodate 2 to 4 travellers.
The inn is located in Jalan Brawijaya (formerly known as Panorama weg) near SD Negeri 1 (formerly known as Klim en Daal). For futher information on the availability of the rooms, you can call the inn's manager: Miss. Ivana Roring.
She can be contacted at her mobile: +62 81 283 07 331. It is better to book in advance to ensure the availability of the rooms. Sometimes groups of 30 to 50 people stay and occupy all the 11 rooms of the inn. On the average the travelers stay for three to one week in the inn.