On way to school, this principal talks with the wind

CHANDIGARH: At a time when many city residents use a car to go to the nearest market, St John's High School principal Kavita Das has been cycling from her house in Sector 18 to the school in Sector 26 daily for the last many years.

The change in seasons does not hamper her. Even during the winter, the 53-year-old is pedalling away, with a serene smile playing on her lips. Riding is her chance to be with herself. "I leave for school at 6 in the morning, the best time to ride. It is silent and peaceful. You get to spend time with yourself. You can think and meditate," she says.

She also has been motivating students to get on that bike. "We give perks like free class coupons and gifts to students if they use bicycles. The classes with maximum cyclists get a coupon which they can avail to get a free class. Last year, one of the classes tried gathering coupons that could allow them to get all classes in the day off. We have even made a special bicycle parking for students," she says.


However, road safety remains a major concern, "We do motivate children but there is no compulsion since not all parents are willing to send their children on bicycles. I myself do not feel comfortable while going back home, especially on the roundabouts. Cycle tracks are missing from all roads and if there are, they are not well-maintained." "When the school gets over, students with bicycles leave after buses and cars have left. We plan to have a cycle day soon but roads are not safe which is why it has become a little difficult," she add.

Talking about some solutions that could make the city safe for cyclists, Das suggests, "Chandigarh is the best place to cycle around. It will be nice to have a separate cycling track. May be they can just paint a separate line for cyclists. They may introduce special lights for cyclists which allows them to leave first and then the other traffic follows."

FACTFILE

Country that promotes cycling | Netherlands

People | 16,652,800

Bicycles | 16,500,000

Cyclists| ~99.1%

Average distance cycled per person per day | 2.5km.

About 1.3 million bicycles sold in the Netherlands in 2009, at an average price of 713 euros ($1,008) each.

Amsterdam (the capital and largest city of the Netherlands) is one of the most bicycle-friendly large cities in the world. It has 400km of bike lanes and nearly 40% of all commutes in Amsterdam are done on bike.

Celebrity who cycled for fun | Famous actor Robin Williams, who died at 63 years of age, was passionate about cycling. He called it as "mobile meditation". One of his custom bike was auctioned off for $20,000.