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Cyclists take over city streets
Second to none: Suyati sits next to his decorated 1926 batik bike at a bicycle contest at Bung Karno Sports Complex in Central Jakarta on Sunday
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Second to none: Suyati sits next to his decorated 1926 batik bike at a bicycle contest at Bung Karno Sports Complex in Central Jakarta on Sunday. (JP/Hasyim Widhiarto)
Suyati, 50, rode his vintage 1926 bicycle leisurely behind a swarm of cyclists zipping down Jl. Jend. Sudirman in Central Jakarta on Sunday morning.
Despite its slow pace, Suyati’s bicycle turned heads as all of its parts, including its tubes, forks
and fenders, were wrapped in batik fabric.
“I spent no money for the bike’s decor,” Suyati, the grandfather of three, told The Jakarta Post.
“I just asked my wife and neighbors for their leftover batik cloth.”
The retired security guard boasted that with the new décor, his bike was now second to none at Sunday’s bike contest, held by pharmaceutical company PT Darya Varia Laboratoria in the eastern parking lot of Bung Karno Sports Complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
“Just compare it with other, newer bikes. It is still cooler, isn’t it?” Suyati laughed.
Along with Suyati, more than 3,500 cyclists took part in the event. Assembling at Senayan, the participants pedaled down city thoroughfares, eventually looping back to their point of departure.
Sandy, another participant, said he enjoyed joining in the fun as he could show off his rare, pink mountain bike.
“Not many people, especially men, have a pink bicycle,” the 24-year-old man said.
Sandy said he had to spend more than Rp 5 million (US$420) to make his dream bicycle.
“I also spent a lot to modify the [bike’s] suspension,” Sandy, who works at a bicycle store, said.
Adi Rahman, 28, a member of the city’s folding bike club, met up with other members during the event.
“Most of the time, we only contact each others through an Internet mailing list. Now, we can meet,” the banker said.
Adi, who rides his bicycle from his house on Jl. Fatmawati to his office on Jl. Kapten Tendean every Friday, said he used to ride a motorcycle, but later bought a folding bike because it is easy to carry.
“I can fold it and bring it aboard the busway,” he said.
Chairman of the Indonesian Folding Bike Club, Azwar Kusuma said that the club had 1,000 members across the country, 700 members are residents of Jakarta. (hwa)
