Let’s go cycling

If you’ve noticed, bicycles are becoming a common sight in the streets of Palau nowadays. Not only adults are riding on bikes to get to and from work but children too for the sheer fun of it. In leiu of renting cars or motorcycles, tourists are now finding it more convenient to bike their way to get to know Palau. Kids in groups of three to six can be seen racing each other in the streets especially in the late afternoons, unmindful of the blaring of horns from other vehicles on the road. Some kids even ride two on a bike and sometimes do not pay attention to the dangers the other vehicles on the road pose for them. They just go around on their own sweet time.

Everyday, the traffic in Palau is getting heavier, what with almost everyone having a car of his own and sharing the roads and every car seems to be out on the road especially at 8 o’clock in the mornings and 5 o’clock in the afternoons. Biking is the best alternative in getting around the place. Every now and then, a biker can be seen weaving his way in and out of the traffic easily in the streets of Koror while drivers sit fuming and frustrated inside their cars in the heavy traffic.

Most of the places in Palau are “bike-able”, which means the roads are accessible by bicycles. You can bike all the way from Airai to Malakal or Meyuns, or for the more athletic types you can go as far as Babeldaob and back. Kids ride their bikes in groups most especially in the afternoons and on Sundays when there are no classes. They can often be seen near the Palau Pacific Resort, at the T-dock, in Iyebukel, Topside and in several parts of Koror.

Bicycling offers many benefits. It's efficient, economical, healthy, ecological and it's fashionable. You won’t have to exert effort to stretch your hard-earned dollars to pay for the escalating price of gasoline. This means that if more commuters bicycled, they would cut down on costs of fuel, parking spaces, car maintainance and everything that goes with it. You won’t add to the pollution, you get free exercise, you can provide your own speed, and you’ll be spared the pain and time of looking for place to park. In fact, the bicycle is the most pleasurable and simplest way to get healthier while saving our environment. Let’s go cycling!