The man behind Bike to Work Day
A few Bangkok commuters will cycle to work tomorrow, hoping to spark a two-wheeled revolution
Bangkok is not bad at embracing special events observed around the world to raise awareness of a particular issue — be it Car-Free Day, World No Tobacco Day, Earth Day, to name only a few.
And it’s time for another issue to be marked in Bangkok once again — Bike to Work Day — which comes at an appropriate time when there is seemingly a continuing growth of cyclists in the country. The origin of Bike to Work Day dates back to 1956 when it was founded by The League Of American Bicyclists.
The first Bike to Work Day in Thailand is set for tomorrow to encourage people — both regular and first time bikers — to cycle to work.
However, the event is neither sponsored by the government nor any organisation. The man behind it is merely avid cyclist Wutthichai Choomuang, who dreams of making Bangkok a bona fide “bike city” that truly supports pedalling commuters, not just bike hipsters.
“I hope that Bike to Work Day will make people accept that cycling is possible and compatible with their daily lives,” Wutthichai said. “People should perceive biking as a mode of transportation, not a rich man’s transitory toy.”
Wutthichai is the head of infrastructure and operations at Tisco Bank. On workdays, he enjoys a three-hour round ride from his house in Saphan Mai to his office in Sathon. Fifty kilometres a day is the distance he logs every day.
Wutthichai began cycling two years ago after realising it was time to care for his health. Seeing a co-worker commuting by bike, he was inspired to do the same.
“I did not follow the biking trend whatsoever,” Wutthichai said. “I just knew that I needed to work out and it all came down to biking because it came in handy; travelling to work and exercising could be merged.”
After a year of keeping himself balanced on wheels through the Bangkok traffic, there are many good things about biking that Wutthichai appreciates. From road freedom to self-evident better health, he has felt it all.
“Biking is not about a starting point and a destination,” Wutthichai said. “It is all about what you soak up ‘en-route’. It has an impact on my emotional well-being.”
Wutthichai created a website and Facebook page “Bangkokbikerider” to share his first-hand experiences and articles related to biking. The Facebook page currently has more than 10,000 followers.
Despite the fact that a parade of biking-related activities has mushroomed over the past few years, Wutthichai has found most of them rather disappointing. He fulminates against many of the activities recently carried out by the government, reasoning that they may be barking up the wrong tree towards the wrong end.
He gave the example of how the Thai Health Promotion Foundation partnered with A Day Magazine to launch “A Day Bike Fest” in November last year as something that distorted the value of cycling as a mode of transportation.
“The event still promoted bicycles as expensive toys,” Wutthichai said. “That intensified how outsiders l ooked at cycling as something only practised by the well-off.”
Unsatisfied with seeing how the biking culture in the country has shaped up, he is keen to do his bit to reshape it. Ultimately, what he wants to see is Bangkok have roads which fully welcome bikers. He anticipates Bike to Work Day to set that in motion.
“It all comes down to more acceptance towards cyclists,” he said. “If road users can accept that bikes are one kind of vehicle that have an equal right to be on roads, they will be mindful of cyclists.”
So far the upcoming event has gathered more than 1,000 participants on Facebook who have expressed their wish to get on two wheels. More than 100 people have ordered a printed T-shirt made for the event. There will also be a casual get-together for participants at 6pm in front of Lumpini Park.
Despite the small number of participants, Wutthichai believes that the event will instigate a ripple effect, with more people becoming interested in joining up in years to come. He would be happy if the government comes forward to take the event from his hands in the future.
“I think the first Bike to Work Day will have some impact although it might be too soon to see that now,” he said. “I believe it’s going to expand.” Meanwhile, some people have come out to question road safety for bikers in Bangkok, arguing the city is not equipped with good enough infrastructure for biking. From unprotected bike lanes to the woeful quality of roads, they fear that motivating people to bike through events like Bike to Work Day could put people in danger.
“It will always be a debate because it’s also risky to build more bike lanes when the number of people who use them is still small,” Wutthichai said. “Taking chunks of roads to make more bike lanes or even creating protected lanes that no one bothers using will just upset more people who already wrestle with crazy traffic in Bangkok. Then they are probably going to be anti-bike.
“This is why I started Bike to Work Day to raise awareness among road users to embrace bikers. If we get more cyclists on roads, then we can later talk about building better infrastructure that supports them.”
People should perceive biking as a mode of transportation, not a rich man’s toy