Date:13/12/2015

School: Tiryog Higher Secondary School

No of Participants :60

Age group:13-15

Facilitator: Chakshu Malla

Volunteers (Supporters): Dharma Nagarkoti, Kunal Chaudary , Samartha Shakya, Bijayabar Lal Pradhan

Activities’ Description: Bike to school is an initiative designed to let children learn more about cycles. This will include helping them learn about the rules and regulations, safety, road rules, different parts of cycle, Using and riding a cycle.Bike to school, as the name stands, will also motivate the kids to ride their cycles to school or to ride a cycle in general. Response/Interaction from/with participants: The kids were very excited to hear about this. They participated and were very interested in the activities we did. The kids learned about the different kinds of accidents that can occur while riding a cycle and also learned how they could use safety gears. Along with this, the kids learned how to use gears and all the different parts of the cycle. Could have been better if (from our side): If the projector had worked we could have showed the kids a power-point presentation. This would have been more effective and less time consuming as, because the projector failed to work, we had to divide the kids into groups and this required 4 volunteers. It would’ve been easier if we could’ve done the presentation. There were not as many questions from their side as we had expected. The school faculty did not provide as much time as required for completing the session and we had to end it in a hurry. Feedback from participants/teachers/principal: The school faculty were also very helpful and helped us learn more about risks to a child’s safety while riding a cycle.The principal of the school suggested us to do a ride for the kids so that they could open a club in school. The faculty seemed very interested in getting kids to ride to school but were worried about the children’s safety and health.But in the end, everyone seemed impressed in what KCC network had to offer.

Date: June 25

Riders: Chakshu Malla, Preiz Amatya, Samartha Kaji Shakya, Hari Sharan, Usha Khanal, Agyeya Shrestha

Supposed to start at 7 AM from Patan, this first team ride actually started after 45 minutes of delay. The weather was perfect while we started our ride, and continued to be so for the whole day. We actually didn’t know how much time it will take us to complete the ride, because we usually used to do the recce rides section by section. With some chit chats, jokes and photo shoot in the trail we reached the first water point of Naikap around 9 AM.

Then, the ride went well till the Ichangu Narayan where we sat to have light lunch. And, this place is in fact the second water point. The weather was cool as in the morning, and we headed down the most accident prone of the entire Kora circuit, the infamous downhill of Ichangunarayan. We have been observing high accident rates on this particular section since 2012. After this one scary section comes pleasant ride along the suburb of Nagarjun forest. This area got pretty special vibes because of the almost rural like settling and closeness to the dense protected forest nearby. This vibe breaks as soon we enter the Bohoratar with a bustling market and motorcycles horns.

After the downhill of Balaju Baisdhara Park, the muddy roads with full of potholes lead to Balaju Bypass till Nepualtar Bus stop. We have a small change at this section this time, now the trail goes via Loktantrik Chwok finally to meet the old trail along the Bishnumati river. Like previous years we followed the suburb road till Tokha road, Dhapasi. After riding few hundred meters on this road we took the right turn and reached the third water point. And, we climbed a pretty good uphill to reach the Hepali Height. Hepali height to Golfutar is a pretty good ride. There will be another water point at Golfutar, we suggest you to take some rest here because the ride till Boudha is pretty tough and got few challenging uphills!

After this water point the well-maintained tarmac road leads you till few hundred metres, until you have to take an unexpected left turn at Mandikhtar. The road goes down to the Dhobikhola, after crossing the bridge and some winding roads prepare yourself for a serious climb. This climb got two sections, first one’s got a good uphill with some bends and the second one is a straight ascent towards the Kapan hill. Our boys were finding hard to maintain their speed. Don’t take too much seriously, push continuously there are enough resting points ahead. If you find hard, hydrate, rest but move onn! If you reach the Kapan Bus stand, think your Kora is almost over. So, we took time to recover ourselves. Now, we headed towards Boudha which was within 1 KM of distance.

After a Kora around Boudhhanath Stupa, we crossed the main street and took the road to Samata School. This school will be the lunch point for all the Kora riders. And, then we have the final stretch of Kora ahead. We headed towards Bagmati, rode along the river towards north east to cross the bridge on our right. Soon after crossing the bridge, a newly repaired road was ahead us but damn, it was another uphill again! Phew, we somehow managed to climb and it was a worth climb because there is a good view from there towards Boudha. And, yes I forget to mention this is the last uphill section and you are just behind the Tribhuwan International Airport.

Now, follow the road along the airport, this will lead you to Pepsicola Chwok. Prepare to tackle with Kathmandu traffic, go straight towards Jadibuti chwok. From this intersection, don’t follow the main highway, just cross this intersection and go to the other end, first take right but don’t follow the main highway towards Koteshwor. And, take left towards Narephaant, this section is pretty tricky but you can avoid the crazy traffic and dust for at least few KMs. This detour leads you to the Balkumari bridge on Ringroad. Yesss, Balkumari …., now we are in ancient Patan Kingdom. Now, its time to ride through the ancient old streets of Patan. It was nearly 2 O’clock when we reached the durbar square.

Map:

https://www.strava.com/activities/619957893/shareable_images/map_based?hl=en-US

SEE YOU @ #Kora16

Date: Saturday, 2 July, 2016

Time: 7:00 AM –  5PM

Venue:

Title:Pre-Kora Ladies Ride

Organizer:

Theme:Warm up ride for Kora 2016

Event Summary:

The event was scheduled at sharp 7am and the gathering time was 6:45 am.We waited till 7:30 am for more riders.Around 7:30 we took group pictures and we started our ride with a total of  13 riders.Among them 9 were girls and 4 were boys.Even though we named it girls ride,we took some male riders too to make our ride convenient and to make the trail familiar for them too.The ride was helpful  for all of us in knowing  how  the trail is that we are going for kora.Since most of the riders were just a beginners,the trail was totally new.The trail was around the Kathmandu valley which covered Lalitpur, Kirtipur and Kathmandu.Most of the trail was muddy and we find it a bit difficult.The main objective of this ride was to make the girl and beginner  riders come forward and make them able to ride together.While riding we remind them three golden rules of cycling-Drink before you are thirsty,Eat before you are hungry,and change the gear before you need.We all tried our best to follow those rules.Since the way was too muddy,some of our friends had an accident but not that serious.We stopped at some of the beautiful places to take some photos.Due to the rain we couldn’t complete our 50 km ride and we didn’t force the riders to rush too.Overall the riders enjoyed the ride n they all were happy to be a part of it and it shows that they can go for kora 16.

Words: Usha Khanal

Date:  Sunday, June 19 2016

Time: 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm

Venue: Basantapur Durbar Square

Title: We Stand Together With Refugees

Organizer: UNHCR

Theme:

Event Summary:

Marking World Refugee Day, 19 June UNHCR organized a cycle rally with title “We Stand Together With Refugees” under their #WithRefugees Campaign. The cycle rally was scheduled to start at 8:00am where 150+ cyclist was attended. A huge number of participants both local and foreigners attended this rally. A thematic jersey and placard were distributed to each of the participants. Though route was short distance, rally started at 8:10am from Basantapur it took around anhour  to complete rally till Bhanimandal. Hosted on a Sunday, the event gathered ample audiences as well as riders. Volunteer from CCNN were on their wheels and heels managing the crowd as well as the constant traffic that had started to creep on the roads. In the end, riders were offered light refreshments as well as photo corner to get more involved in the event.

Words: Kunal Krishna Chaudhary

Pictures: Dhasan Shrestha

Additional Coverage:
http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2016/6/5763d20d4/live-blog-world-refugee-day-kicks-amid-record-displacement.html

http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2016-06-19/cycle-rally-organised-in-kathmandu-for-refugees.html

Date:  Saturday, June 18 2016

Time: 10:00 am to 2:30 pm

Venue: Gnarly Headquarters, Jawalakhel

Title: Basic Bicycle Maintenance Workshop

Organizer: CCNN

Theme: Training

Event Summary:

“If I knew basic maintenance of my bike I would not search bike workshop to repair my bike at the top of Phulchowki Danda” said Usha Khanal, the only one female participant of Basic Bicycle Maintenance Workshop held at Gnarley Headquarter. 7 participants took basic workshop training which was started at 10 am by a team for city’s best mechanics led by Nailes Maharjan. Though workshop was divided into different part we started the 1^st part as know your bike where all participant was introduced with all bike parts name. After that Basic Bicycle Maintenance i.e to fit puncture, checking air pressure, regular bike checkup steps, sit adjustment, bike washing tips were given. At last, traffic rules and regulations was discussed and open Q/A platform was provided to participant. Finally, workshop was ended with refreshment.

Words: Kunal Krishna Chaudhary

Pictures:Khasing Rai & Dharma Nagarkoti

Date:  Friday,June 17 2016 & Saturday, July 2, 2016

Time: 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm & 7:00 am to 10:00 am

Venue: River Field Futsal and Bhanimandal Club

Title: CCNN Sports Fellowship

Organizer: CCNN

Theme: Team Building

Event Summary:

With the presence of 16 volunteer from Cycle City Network Nepal futsal match was organized as KTM Vs Lalitupr cycle city. Giving platform to show their passion, team work spirit, confident score line was 11-11 goal.  Similarly, a fortnight later, CCNN volunteers took it to the basketball court and Bhanimandal shooting hoops against locals first and then spending the weekend morning in a league of 3v3 matches. Though match was tight all the volunteers played with discipline and sportsmanship. The event was headed by Sailendra Dangol, Vice President, CCNN  who even said that CCNN should organize many like this extra activities where volunteers can know each other, show team spirit and leadership.

Words: Kunal Krishna Chaudhary

Pictures: Dharma Nagarkoti, Samartha Shakya, Bijaybar Pradhan

Date: Saturday, June 11, 2016

Time: 9 AM – 5 PM

Venue: Nepal Communitere

Title: Introductory First Aid Course

Organizer: Cycle City Network Nepal (CCNN) and Himalayan Medics

Theme: Wilderness First Aid Training

Event Summary: On a Saturday morning, over 15 members both old and new of CCNN amassed at Nepal Communitere, Pulchowk for a “One Day Introductory Wilderness First Aid Course”. The First-Aid Training was to be offered by certified rescuers from Himalayan Medics. Rajesh Lama, Executive Director, Himalayan Medics and Shyam Limbu, Himalayan Medics were the trainers for the day.

The day started early for the participants with casual discussions for about half an hour after gathering before formally commencing the day’s learning journey. A statutory directive that was ass     erted early on was that the one-day training wouldn’t qualify the participants as doctors or professional aiders. Since CCNN has been active in various cycling events relevant to both urban as well as wilderness settings, the training was designed to cater bicycle volunteers to treat patients of similar injuries or illnesses.

Mr. Lama began the training with the basics along with theoretical background on the subject that covered patient assessment and scenario roleplay of the accident site. Mr. Limbu subsequently took the latter half of the day explaining various real life scenarios, practical action and blunders usually seen at the accident sites. Discussion of professional code, systematic approach added value to the training.

By the end of the day, participants knew their way around dealing a scene of accident, patient assessment, injury treatment, immediate rescue and patient movement. The training was neatly catered to fill in a day’s interval with theory sessions, roleplays and discussion. Each participant received a certificate of completion of the training.

Words: Prabal Man Dhaubhadel, Media and Communications Coordinator, CCNN

Pictures: Khasing Rai.

Date: Friday, June 10, 2016

Time: 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm

Venue: CCNN office

Title: Let’s Talk About Bicycle

Organizer: CCNN

Theme: To promote general bicycle discussion

Event Summary:  Scheduled for a Friday afternoon, the screening cum discussion event was delayed due to heavy showers. The event participants who were mostly bicycle commuters were held back due to the rain. After a long wait, the 3 pm event eventually took off at quarter past 4. We were a total of 20 participants who had gathered at the secretariat.

Prior to the movie screening, we watched innovative advertisements and marketing content related to the bicycles along with past works of CCNN on the video and media front. Then at around 4:30 pm we began the formal programme with the introduction. Since some of us were new, everybody shared a brief introduction and what the bicycle meant for them. After that around 5:10 we started watching the movie KLUNKERZ:A film About Mountain Bike History .The movie was about how the mountain biking started,what was the starting phase,who were behind bringing mountain biking forward; the one’s who gave birth to a whole new sport – mountain biking. It is an inspirational movie which shows how the people of those days figured out mountain biking the hard way using bikes without any suspension or front brake.After completing the movie Sailendra Dongol, Vice President, CCNN created a platform everybody got a chance to share their views,thoughts,ideas and the concept they got from the movie.

Words: Usha Khanal

Pictures: Khasing Rai

Pictures:Khasing Rai

On the Media

eKantipur, Sagarmatha khabar, The Kathmandu Post, The Kathmandu Post, ZUMA Pictures of the day

Social:
Routine for Nepal banda,

वातावरण दिवस अवसरमा राष्ट्रिय सभागृह अगाडि स्वच्छ हावा अधिकार अभियान सुरू गर्दै वातावरणवादी। तस्विर: @bijaygajmerpic.twitter.com/tXvCSvy12d

— NagarikNews (@nagarik_news) June 5, 2016

Pictures: Khasing Rai