When I arrived in this country, I was the happiest person in the world after a three-year-long ordeal in Turkey. Before my arrival, I had lost my academic job and faced four lawsuits just because I criticized the president of Turkey on Facebook. Moreover, my passport had been seized by Turkish authorities illegally. After having managed to take my passport back, I had immediately fled my politically chaotic motherland to the land of freedoms, Canada. Whereas I love many things about my land of birth such as its rich culture and hospitable people, there are some other things I always wished would improve. Safer traffic for people biking and walking is just one of them. In Turkey, very few cities have bike lanes and even in those cities, it is very risky to bike. Since I never felt confident on roads in my country, I had to either bike on sidewalks or did not bike at all. Many municipalities across the world are still not completely aware that bikes are beneficial for reducing traffic costs, supporting the environment, and improving public health, and the Turkish politicians are no exception.
Last year, I participated in the Newcomer Bike Mentorship Program created by HUB Cycling, a non-profit organization in Metro Vancouver. This program delivers targeted cycling courses to introduce immigrants and refugees to Metro Vancouver’s cycling culture, infrastructure and rules. I was even given a free bike and a few bike accessories to help overcome the initial barrier to cycling. They also provided the participants with a crash course about cycling rules in Canada.
Then, one of my acquaintances introduced me to HUB Cycling’s StreetWise Cycling Online course, and I decided to give it a try. StreetWise Cycling Online is an informative, fun, and user-friendly free online cycling education course. Throughout this experience, I refreshed my knowledge about street signs, signaling, and cycling equipment as required by law. It is also possible to reach further information by clicking external links on their website. Quizzes, games, distinct sounds, and videos offered during this online education made my learning experience much more enjoyable. All in all, this course has helped me feel more confident on Metro Vancouver’s roads. I totally recommend this course to anyone who has just started their cycling journey in Canada. You can register for free at bikehub.ca/swco.
Currently being a Vancouverite, I deem myself very lucky as I heard from many Canadians that the city of Vancouver is the most supportive one in Canada in terms of cycling, and my real-life experience supports this argument. I plan to continue my wonderful cycling journey as a prospective academic teacher researching Sociology in the future. As someone once said: “Life is like riding a bicycle. If you want to keep balance, you must keep moving.”
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