Bicycling in Botswana

I was hoping to find bicycles and ride with the kids in Botswana even before we left Seattle back in September. Not only does cycling minimize green house gas emissions and slow the demise of your cardiovascular system, it is a great way to see and discover a new place. A bicycle allows you to move quickly and efficiently enough to cover lots of ground, but slowly enough to perceive the details and textures that are blurred in a car and to easily interact with people that you meet on the street. Also, given the short length of our stay (3 months), buying a car did not make financial sense, as prices in Botswana are comparable to those in the United States. When the need for a vehicle arises, paying for a taxi is much more economical.

I should clarify that I intended to cycle around the city of Gaborone, where we would be living, not around the country of Botswana. Though I may have tried it when I was younger and dumber, bicycle touring around the country is fraught with challenges. The Lonely Planet guide to Botswana sums it up like this:

"Botswana is largely flat - and that's about the only concession it makes to cyclists. Unless you're an experienced cyclist and equipped for the extreme conditions, abandon any ideas you have about a Botswana bicycle adventure. Distances are great and horizons are vast; the climate and landscapes are hot and dry; and, even along major routes, water is scarce and villages are widely spaced. What's more, the sun is intense and prolonged exposure to the burning ultraviolet rays is hazardous. Also bear in mind that bicycles are not permitted in Botswana's national parks and reserves; and cyclists may encounter potentially dangerous wildlife while travelling along any highway or road."

Not exactly an endorsement of touring by bicycle in Botswana. And they don't even mention the sand. We did see a couple of bikers loaded up with panniers resting under a tree on one of our road trips, but I did not envy them, as the temperature was approaching 90 degrees.  Even from a distance, they clearly looked baked and spent.

After we arrived, I visited the biggest and ostensibly the only genuine bike shop in the city, Gaborone Garage and Cycles; a curious combination of a gas station and a bicycle shop near the train station. Perhaps the profit from the sale of petrol subsidizes the bicycle operation, like a gas tax funding transit?  I didn't ask.

Gaborone Garage and Cycles

I explained to the smiling manager, Joe, that I was only going to be in Gabs for a few months and was looking for used bikes for my family. He told me that Gaborone Garage and Cycles specialized in new bikes and showed me a few lower-end models, but all exceeded my price limit. After making it clear that I wasn't going to buy three new but bottom-of-the-line bikes for such a short period, Joe graciously directed me to JonMol Bicycle Services, a small bike shop across the railroad tracks near the bus rank (station).  I did end up purchasing a child seat from Gaborone Garage and Cycle, the only place I have seen them in the city, and promised Joe that I would send anybody looking for a new bike his way.

Joe and my child seat (loaded with a grocery bag)

Decoding Joe's directions and poking around the bus rank environs took some time, but I eventually found JonMol Bicycle Services tucked away in the back of a small business park. Jon "Bones" Moletsane was eager to help me and had a good selection of used bikes hanging from the ceiling-mounted racks in his shop. He pulled down two GT bikes for Elliot and Mitchell. He initially had trouble finding a bike large enough to fit me, but then realized that he could sell me the big blue Diamond Back that belonged to his relatively tall business partner, Jeremiah, without serious repercussions. I promised Jeremiah that I would give him first right of refusal when the time came to sell the bikes at the end of our stay. Jon's technicians tuned all three bikes and together we mounted the child seat - a first for them - that I had gotten at Gaborone Garage and Cycles. I picked up helmets, locks, and a pump at Game (like Target in the US) and was set to go!  The three bikes, child seat, helmets, locks and pump totaled about $450. I had packed my helmet from Seattle in a small duffel bag, but the bag never showed up at the baggage claim in Johannesburg. A patch kit and tire irons were also brought from Seattle and have come in handy due to widespread broken glass and thorns. Note to Bones and MikeBikes: import kevlar-belted or puncture-resistant tires...they will sell in Botswana!

JonMol Bicycle Services

The front desk

The repair shop

Technicians Guta Tambudzayi and Tshepo Molosiwa (Jon's cousin)

Guta working on a bike

JonMol Bicycle Services opened in 2008 with the support of a bikes-for-development program started by MikesBikes, a chain of retail stores in the Bay Area. MikesBikes filled a shipping container with old bikes that were donated by customers and collected from their stores. The container was then sent to Bones in Gabs.  Sale of this initial shipment of bikes provided the capital to keep the business afloat and import more bikes from South Africa to sell. When I got our bikes from Bones, I had not realized that they had come from the US until I noticed a small "MikesBikes" sticker on the frame of one of the bikes. Here we were riding bikes in Gaborone, Botswana, that I had potentially seen on the streets of Berkeley when we lived there! Another shipping container full of bikes from MikesBikes is reportedly on its way to Gaborone.

Repair rates in pula, the Botswana unit of currency ($1 US is about 6.5 pula)

Along with selling and repairing bicycles, Bones and his partners are involved in bicycle advocacy, challenging the prevailing car culture and trying to overcome the mentality that only poor people ride bikes. They have been collaborating with the United Nations Development Program on the non-motorized transportation project in Gaborone. They organize fun rides through the city to promote bicycling and increase awareness of global warming in conjunction with the UNDP project. They also maintain a fleet of bicycles for the UNDP project. They are hoping that the increasing interest in recreational cycling in Gaborone will lead to an increase in bicycle commuting and business.

Universal logic!

To the extent possible given our narrow window in Botswana, I had wanted to get involved in some kernel of bicycle advocacy work, such as starting a bicycle map for the city. I have been mapping most of my rides using the MotionX GPS application on my iPhone, which is otherwise useless as a phone in Botswana (iPhones are locked to restrict them to ATT's network; PC-based unlocking software is not yet available for the latest iPhone operating system). The GPS application will record a "track" of your route, which you can then export and upload to Google Earth or Map. Geo-referenced photos can be taken along the route to record the characteristics of the right of way and categorize routes. The link above currently has a discouraging article on "skywriting" using MotionX GPS software. Perhaps a more fuel-efficient variation on this could be "roadwriting." I know Tom will be excited by this new aerial bicycle art form, which is a fusion of William Garnett and Mondrian.

Gaborone Googie-Woogie

Before arriving in Gaborone, I assumed that biking around the city would be fairly risky. I expected high traffic speeds and volumes and unpredictable drivers who were ignorant and unconcerned about bicycles. I also assumed that formal bicycle facilities (e.g. bike lanes, paths, or signed routes) would be non-existent, which is generally true. However, after getting to know the circulation network and aligning my cognitive and spatial expectations with those of drivers, I find that it feels rather safe to bicycle in Gaborone. Whether it actually is as safe as a city like Seattle or Portland would be difficult to determine, as the crash data are probably non-existent or recorded in a way that makes comparison impossible. Most bicycle crashes in the US do not involve a vehicle and go unrecorded anyway, which is probably the case here as well. Regardless of the continent, I have always believed that the greatest danger of cycling together in a group with kids is each other, and indeed our only minor mishaps have been self-induced; somebody stops too quickly and gets plowed into from behind!

Elliot and Mitchell navigate a street under construction

The circulation network comprises a variety of facilities in Gaborone. While there are only a few streets with painted and signed bike lanes, most of the major through streets have wide rights of way with plenty of space beyond the shoulder to ride safely. This typically dirt fringe is particularly good for children when traffic is moving fast, although includes hazards such as drainage channels, termite mounds, broken glass and thorns, extremely sharp plants, driveways, transit shelters and makeshift street vendor stalls. Mountain bikes with big knobby tires are a must.

Typical arterial street with wide right of way

Typical two lane street with narrow shoulder, drainage channel, and landscaping

Newer street with shared ped-bike lane

Biking along the "sidewalk"

Typical dirt path and termite mound

Having been planned and started around the time of Botswana's independence only 43 years ago, Gaborone is a very young city with a suburban development pattern and street network that reflects the naive planning principles of that era. The major arterials are widely spaced and must accommodate all of the city's through traffic because most of the local neighborhood streets end in cul de sacs. This virtually eliminates vehicular traffic from the residential neighborhoods, but makes the busy arterials uncomfortable places to walk and bike. Crossing the arterials is difficult and their big intersections pose a significant risk. In particular, many of the intersections have generous roundabouts, which keep traffic moving but are more difficult to navigate on bicycle or foot than signalized intersections. The upside for walking and biking is that most of the dead-end neighborhood streets and cul de sacs have paths that connect to other streets, unlike most middle-aged suburbs in the US. At least the planners got that detail right!

Path between dead-end neighborhoods streets

The best element of the circulation system is a network of greenways that is interwoven throughout most of the neighborhoods. The greenways are terrific for cycling, though tend not to be continuous or lead to important destinations.  The greenways are also impractical at night, since they are dark and have poor surveillance (most adjacent residences have high walls topped by electric fences). Finding your way through the labyrinth of street-end paths and the greenways takes time, but is fun.

Typical greenway

As I mentioned in a previous post, when Willie is not with his nanny, Monica, he is often surveying the city from his child seat on the back of my bike. He typically rides with me to drop Elliot and Mitchell off at school. We then head home to meet Monica, often trying new and longer routes. Contrary to my initial safety concerns, I have found that most drivers in Gabs are actually quite competent, maintaining their lane position and often courteously yielding to us at smaller intersections. Having two other kids on bikes in formation and a small child on the back probably helps, but I am also generally treated well when I am on my own. There are certainly the handful of crackpots that blast through stop signs and demonstrate general disregard for any human life beyond their own, but these outliers exist in Seattle as well. Ironically, one of the greatest dangers is that many drivers are so amused and agape at Willie perched behind me in his little seat that they don't watch where they are going!  Most have never seen such a set up. People in passing vehicles will often point and wave while laughing with joy at the sight of us, as if we are a circus act that inadvertently rode out of the bigtop. Willie also shouts out "Dumela Rra/Mma!" (Hello sir/maam) as we pedal past pedestrians, which always elicits grins.

Willie in his child seat (the sack hanging off the back contains pump, patch kit, and tire irons)

Willie surveying the city

On a recent ride after carefully crossing the railroad tracks near the train station, we stopped to watch a locomotive switching some cars. I explained to Willie that crossing railroad tracks is dangerous because trains can't stop quickly. He promptly repeated this warning to each person we saw crossing the tracks.

Waiting for the train to come

Woman heeding Willie's warning

Having a young child with you is a great ice-breaker when you are trying to be a culturally sensitive and unobtrusive outsider yet are eager to interact with people. Having that child blabbering away behind you in a little seat mounted on your bike - a real novelty here - opens huge doors.

Here comes the train!

Quite loud up close

Willie and I had been talking about getting a marimba during a long ride to a shopping mall and just as we were approaching our apartment, we passed a Zimbabwean man selling them on the street. Biking around Gabarone facilitates such seemingly random encounters. Pasteur once said, "Chance favors the prepared mind." I think chance also favors the cyclist.

Marimba seller

Biking around Gaborone with Elliot, Mitchell and Willie has given them more direct exposure to the culture, climate, and landscape. I also believe that the cultural exchange goes both ways, at first startling and amusing people that see us, but then, hopefully, making people pause and think, "Why are they riding bicycles through the city and not driving in a car like most ex-patriots we see?" I think the older boys have some sense that they are influencing the perceptions of others here and perhaps nudging the transportation status quo, if only infinitesimally. Hopefully, the feeling of riding along the quiet greenways or adjacent to the busy streets on sandy tracks will be an enduring memory of their time in Botswana.