‘Bike to Work day’ a great initiative for a green Sri Lanka

Dilanka MANNAKKARA

Wroom, wroom! What does it remind you of?

I am sure it does remind you of your childhood days when you used to fly around with a bike with your friends shouting “wroom, wroom”. Would you like to travel to work not on your usual car,bus or van going at snail pace but for a change riding a bike,overcoming the traffic and getting a super work out to start off your day? I guess you definitely would. And it became a reality with Sri Lanka’s first ‘Bike to work day” launched on July 27, organized by WrooM a group of Cycling Enthusiasts committed to promote a Clean City Colombo with fresh air to breathe, while popularizing Cycling for Fun & Fitness. It was an event which had massive success for an inaugural one and I met up with the Founder of Wroom and Chief Organizer of the Bike to Work day – Yasas Hewage,a charismatic Marketer,a passionate environmentalist and the man who put his heart and soul to make this happen.

Q: What is “Wroom” and whose brainchild was to start such a movement?

We all were crazy about cycling when we were kids and I was no exception. The new found passion for cycling started recently when I bought a foldable bike and started carrying it around in my vehicle and cycling in all four corners of Sri Lanka - Hambantota, Pollonnaruwa, Kurunegala to Anuradhapura to Jaffna. WrooM as a website was created a year ago to share the joy of cycling with all Sri Lankans today we are a lot clearer of our agenda...Our vision is to...Energize Sri Lanka...breathing fresh air.

Q: Did you ever imagine an event of this magnitude would have been successful at the beginning?

While the concept was a dream I have been playing around for some time, the moment it was shared with the WrooM team, it was never a question about making it a success. Every one was committed to make it happen, in spite of the challenges.

As always, initially many had concerns. Not having a bicycle, washing and changing before work, issues of road safety, dropping kids before work and some haven’t cycled for many years. The team of over 30 volunteers who are integral part of WrooM and some good friends from our Medial Partner E- fm , Canon, MAS group, Strategy College , Pedal Pushers as well as hundreds on social media made the event a resounding Success

Q: Why should people forgo comforts and luxuries of a vehicle and switch to a bike?

I call it the five ‘F’s. 1. Cycling is absolutely FUN, It brings the kid in you, takes you places where you cant imagine to go by driving or walking. 2. Cycling is probably the best fitness exercise that could burn calories at rate while boosting your cardio vascular system, that fact it’s fun helps you even to stretch for hours of fitness rides effortlessly. 3. Cycling is also about FRIENDS & FAMILY, Its great way to get out doors with ones you love to spend time, from kids to adults, It’s a great way to bond,.. 4. Cycling is about our Future, in other words every liter of petrol we burn to travel pollutes the air within 1268 Litres of CO2. I don’t think anyone is naïve enough to believe that we could drive the way we do now and expect fresh air to breathe in 2015. By cycling distances less than 5kms, even on a Sunday, we could make a meaningful contribution for our future and the next generation

Q: There was no government involvement, not much publicity yet WrooM managed to do this event with over 200 cyclists from different companies. How was it possible and what were the companies involved in cycling?

For some reason we tend to believe every thing has to be done by the government. Compared to the last few years there has been a significant improvement in town planning in the Colombo and suburbs and there is lot more to do. We are now enjoying the walk ways and the jogging and cycling tracks. As citizens it’s time to ask what can we do without just being mere arm chair critics. Galle Face Green is now beautiful than ever before , its surprising to see that many private sector profitable entities are yet to build a simple wash room and put up few lockers for their employees heath and fitness. There is lot for the private sector and the citizens to do. We need the support of stakeholders and the authorities for putting up cycling friendly infrastructure, such as more bicycle paths and cycle bays Starting From NDB Bank, which is 100 percent cyclist friendly, Standard Chartered Bank, PC House, Mercantile Marine Management, Galadari Hotel, MAS Group, Metropoilitan Group, Strategy College, were some of the few private sector entities that came numbers to make the event a success.

Q: How was the safety factor handled here?Do you think that cycling would be a practical way of transport given that Sri Lanka has poor infrastructure?

Safety is concern for sure, even for pedestrians, but we see many ordinary citizens cycling to work around the country including Colombo. Some of the WrooM member’s bike to work weekly and some do occasionally.

So it’s not impossible, we have to go a long way on cycling Infrastructure such as bike paths and Cycling bays. Our focus at this stage is educating both Cyclists and Motorists on how to share the road. We educated over 2000 Motorists during drive time by a targeted leaflet distribution

Q: Whom would you like to thank for organizing Bike to work day?

There were so many who contributed directly and indirectly to the event. The WrooM team of over 30 committed and ignited volunteers, cycling enthusiasts, Galadari Hotel, MAS Group, Strategy College,, E fm and last but not Least Metropolitan Group and Canon.

Q: How can a someone get involved with WrooM?

WrooM will continue to use cycling to educate, engage and activate Sri Lankans to sustainablity andbe fit. Anyone who is keen on cycling or to be part of The WrooM initiatives could link up on facebook -http://www.facebook.com/wroom.cycling, [email protected] or visit www.wrrom.lk