Cape Town's 'bicycle mayor' helps township girls embrace cycling

Cape Town's 'bicycle mayor' helps township girls embrace cycling

By Sisipho Skweyiya

As Sindile Mavundla guided young girls on their bikes through a street in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township, he said he had one goal: to get more of them into cycling.

Known as Cape Town's "Bicycle Mayor", Mavundla, 34, has been a leading figure in promoting the culture of cycling in the South African city. He teaches first-time riders how to ride a bike, including young girls in impoverished communities where opportunities are hard to come by, through his Khaltsha Cycling Academy.

"Majority of girls in the township, they are not given much sport options. And we've always seen that bicycle has the potential of changing lives," he said.

Some of the academy's students used to have to walk kilometres (miles) to get to school.

"It's very rare to see girls cycling. I saw an opportunity of a lifetime. Girls cycling here in Khayelitsha is one of the best things," said academy member Iviwe Yako.

Located around 30 km (20 miles) from the city centre, Khayelitsha - the largest shantytown in Cape Town - is a sea of dilapidated wood, iron and concrete shacks, in sharp contrast to the city's leafy and affluent suburbs.

The title "bicycle mayor" is bestowed by Amsterdam-based global cycling advocacy group Bycs, which also has mayors in other African cities including Nairobi, Gaborone, Lagos and Abuja.

The academy has 30 members and was started in 2022. Mavundla said its work has seen an influx of other girls who wanted to learn cycling.

Amid cheers from her classmates, a girl tried to ride a bicycle for the first time before fumbling and falling flat on the floor.

Mavundla helped her get back on her feet and said: "You are almost there. Now push hard."

His reassuring words appeared to help, as the girl then successfully mounted her bike and cycled past her clapping friends, before halting to a stop with her hands aloft in joy.