Biking commuter group Bike to Work will hold a funbike event Sunday to encourage more people to routinely use bicycles as their mode of transportation between home and work.

"It's a campaign to spread the idea that a bicycle is an alternative for people who work in Jakarta, a city with serious traffic problems," group chairman Toto Sugiarto told a press conference Wednesday.

He said the event would also be part of the Jakarta Sport Festival, a one-week sport festivity to celebrate Jakarta's 481st anniversary. The event will be opened by Governor Fauzi Bowo.

"We will gather at Monas Park in Central Jakarta before starting a convoy tour to the old town in Kota (West Jakarta) and ride back again to Monas," he said, adding the event is hoping for more than 5,000 participants.

Funbike is a term used by Indonesians to describe an event in which cyclists tour around an area without any intention to race. The cyclists do it just for fun, hence the name.

According to the group's website, the event will start at 6:00 a.m. and the people interested in joining can register at several places in the city by paying Rp 17,000 (US$1.80).

Bike to Work was founded in 2004 by cyclists in the capital and currently has around 10,000 members across Indonesia, said Toto.

"We have more than 4,000 members in Jakarta," he said.

Sunday's event will also be supported by bicycle enthusiast magazine Cycling and Bahana radio station.

Chief editor of Cycling, Jonminofri Nazir, said the event was relevant, considering the government's plan to soon increase the fuel prices.

Through the funbike event, he said, the organizers are trying to highlight using bicycles will mitigate negative effects of increasing fuel prices.

"With oil prices up, just use a bicycle," he said, adding using a bicycle would set people free from traffic congestion, save them more money and bring many benefits for their health.

"However, we should also remember bicycles will only help reduce congestion, not completely solve the problem," he said.

During the conference, many myths about riding a bicycle in big cities were clarified by the speakers.

"Research conducted in the United States found people should not worry about air pollution," Toto said.

According to the research, he said, unlike people in cars or motorcycles, cyclists have all of their body parts working optimally, which protects them from the negative effects of the pollution.

Around 300 calories are burned per five kilometers of cycling, the research found.

"So people should no longer hesitate to use bicycles as an alternative transportation mode in big cities," Toto said, adding he always remembered late environmentalist Otto Soemarwoto saying people should use bicycles whenever they traveled relatively short distances in order to help curb air pollution.

Bike to Work is a group dedicated to the pedal-driven vehicle to commute; an answer to traffic congestion and air pollution in a city that consumes at least 6 million kiloliters of fuel annually.

The city's severe traffic congestion, rising fuel prices, public environmental awareness and good health are among the reasons more commuters have joined the group.(uwi)

http://b2w-indonesia.or.id B2W Indonesia Secretariat Jl. Wijaya I No. 8 Kebayoran Baru Jakarta - 12170 Phone: +62 (21) 912 66 555

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