Many people would like to ride bikes : enthusiast
Bike enthusiast Nonlany "Nan" Ungwiwatkul, at the still youthful age of 33, has opened a special coffee shop called Café Velodome at a corner of Thammasat University's Prachan campus.
“Many people would like to ride a bicycle but they don’t know how to start biking in the city and even more, they don’t have friends to go biking with. Café Velodome acts as a central place for people who love to bike to meet and go cycling together,” she said.
Nan has been biking for four years and now loves it. Her ambition is to encourage others in the city to ride a bicycle for better health and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. She quit her job at Rose Media, a digital content development company, to go her own way and pursue her dream.
Her shop provides a wealth of information about biking in a big city like Bangkok, including routes, which are mostly back sois rather than main streets. There are many sois and they are interconnected throughout the city. People can ride throughout these sois easily, but not many know about them, she said.
Since it opened on September 9, the cafe has attracted crowds of pedallers. Outings are planned almost every day, depending on the readiness of the two-wheel fans. People can learn more about her biking community at www.facebook.com/CafeVelodome.
“We want to establish Café Velodome as the centre for both biking lovers and newbies. We found that many people, especially those who are beginning to bike, are reluctant to go into a bicycle shop to ask for more information about bicycles and biking. But here, people feel more comfortable to come in, get a cup of coffee and then seek information about bicycles and cycling.
“We suggest routes for biking safety. Biking safety in the big city means routes that are safe from cars and from thieves,” she said.
A lot more people are taking up biking compared to four years ago when she started. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of secure bicycle parking both in public areas and office buildings.
“If the office buildings in Bangkok set aside a place for parking bicycles and provide shower rooms for their employees, I believe a lot of people will bike to work rather than drive a car,” she said.
Four years have passed, and a lot more people have turned to biking, but there are still no practical, dedicated bicycle lanes on the streets throughout Bangkok.
“Yes, now there are bicycle lanes in Bangkok, but they are not solely for bikes because a lot of motorcycles are also driving on them and in some places there are cars parked on them,” she said.
Instead of biking on the roads, which are not designed for biking safety, people should use the sois. Every day, Nan and her teams search for new biking routes in Bangkok and then she tells her biking community.
The café also provides a free service. Now, there are seven bicycles for people to use. Five of them are offered by InterBike Thailand, the largest bicycle dealer in the country, and the other two have been donated by the bike lovers in her community.
“We aim to have 30 bicycles for free provided at the café. We are now developing a parking lot for the 30 bicycles. We welcome bicycle shops or manufacturers to provide products for people to experience biking. We do not recommend any particular brand for them. Just let them try and let them make their own decision,” she said.
Café Velodome is in the line with Thammasat University’s vision to be a place for biking in Bangkok. City Hall’s “We Love Bangkok, We Love Bicycles” committee has also been working with the cafe on further projects to promote biking and encourage people to cycle.
“Bicycles are not cheap, but people can save a lot of money when they turn to biking rather than driving. Importantly, they will get their health back. Let’s go biking!”
