International employees that were unsure about their cycling skills attended a bicycle riding workshop last Saturday. It was the first time that this workshop was held.
Middenberm Skatepark sits at the middle of the busy intersection of Princess Beatrixlaan and Westlandseweg. (Photo: Oscar Greenwell)
Around twelve people show up in the classroom at nine o’clock in the morning. They introduce themselves over a cup of fresh coffee. The attendants are from all over the world: China, Pakistan, Vietnam, Colombia… Most of them already own a bike and have cycled for the last weeks, months or even years in the Netherlands. But more information about the rules is not superfluous.
“Colleagues noticed that cycling safety could be improved,” explains Sara Veldhorst, from the Coming to Delft, Partner and Career Advice of TU Delft. “Some of the employees were insecure about their cycling ability and didn’t know the rules. We are running this pilot to see if there is a need for this kind of workshop.”
Shark’s teeth
The introduction is followed by a short quiz. How do you recognise a bike lane? How many bikes are there in the Netherlands? Some questions are quite obvious, but some really rack your brains. Then there is a short lesson on rules of priority. Even if they have been cycling around town for the past year, many participants do not know some basic rules like traffic from the right has priority. In some countries, the car always has to stop; in others the car always has priority; and in others yet again, the fastest driver has priority. The rule that going straight always means priority and the explanation of the shark’s teeth elicited some insightful “ohs” and “ahs”. Then it’s time for some real-life practice and the group goes outside to do some exercises and improve their skills.
“We give this workshop to a lot of different groups of people,” explains Angela van der Kloof, from Mobycon, the company that gives the workshop. “For example, I also train Turkish and Moroccan women coming to The Netherlands. The workshop is pitched at adults and improves the employees’ self-confidence. We make cycling safer for everyone.”
Bobia Wang (in green) is doing a postdoc and comes from China.
“My professor told me about this workshop. I would like to meet new people that enjoy biking. For example, a friend of mine cycled from Eindhoven to Germany. That sounds so awesome! I learned to cycle as a child, but in Beijing I didn’t cycle that much. It’s dangerous because there are a lot of cars. I came to this workshop to learn the road signs. The priority rules are also different than in Beijing, there the car always has priority.”
Saher Jabeen is doing a PhD in Biomechanical Engineering and comes from Pakistan.
“I’ve been working here for one year and have been cycling to the campus the whole time. This workshop is really helpful. I had learned all the rules myself. In this workshop, I made sure that what I learned is right, for example the rules about the shark’s teeth. We don’t have them in Pakistan. I learned to cycle as a child, but I never cycled in the city. On holiday in Turkey, we went to the park with the bike to picnic. It took me a few days to re-learn how to ride a bike again. The bike I have is small, so I can touch the ground with my feet. This way I feel more comfortable riding a bike.”
Peyman Ashraf from Iran does research on automated vehicles.
“In Iran, cycling is not so popular. As a teenager, I did it as a hobby in the weekends. For the last two months, I have cycled for at least five minutes a day. There are many road signs in the Netherlands. I didn’t know them all, nor did I know about the shark’s teeth. In Iran we have the same priority rule that right goes first, but we drive on the left side. I like the workshop, and I would like to see more of them!”
“We are not yet sure about a follow-up to this workshop,” says Veldhorst. “But we are happy about the attendance and the positive reactions. Our next events are a partner career workshop on February 5th, where partners of employees can get information about applying for a job. Then on February 10th, there is a full day about Dutch Culture, and on February 13th and 15th we are running a workshop about taxes.”
For more information about the upcoming workshops, visit this website.
And you can visit this site for more information about cycling rules and a little quiz.
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