Up a dusty, rocky street in Bethal township sprints Pauline Mathibela on her pink bicycle, racing against time. She shouts: ”Angeke ungithole bayangazi lana eBethal [You will never catch me, people know me around Bethal].”
No, this is not a cycling race; Mathibela (46) is rushing home to cook for her four children, as the sun has already set. Like many other women in Bethal, a township in Mpumalanga about 200km from Johannesburg, Mathibela cycles close to 40km a day to work and back on her bicycle.
Commonly known by the community as abogogo bama bicycle (grannies on bicycles), the women — mostly the elderly, on old bicycles with baskets carrying groceries and handbags — dominate the streets of Bethal instead of minibus taxis and buses. And they have done so since time immemorial.
Most of the riders who spoke to the Mail & Guardian when it visited the area say they inherited their bicycles from their grandmothers and grandfathers.
”Taxis are expensive, but [this] is not the issue,” says Mathibela. ”This is the culture here: when I grew up I used to see my mother cycling, and before she passed away in 2004 she gave me her bicycle. Riding also helps me to keep fit because I’m old now and cannot go to a gym.”
Rose Kunene (58), who has been riding bicycles for over 20 years, says she encourages her grandchildren to use bicycles rather than public transport.
”It is the culture, and I would love to see my grandchildren doing what I did as well. It is not just about saving money but to keep fit,” says Kunene. ”We grew up on farms and used to ride for many kilometres to the shops, which is why we are used to doing this, and I don’t see it changing.”
Mirriam Masilela (50) challenges cycling clubs to organise a fun cycling race for women in Bethal, like the Tour de Soweto race.
”We always see people on television in bicycle competitions and winning prizes, and we would also like to have it here,” she says. ”Women in Bethal love their bikes and when you want to see more of us, come in the mornings because others knock off early in the afternoon. I love riding and I enjoy it and don’t see myself taking a taxi unless I go on a long-distance trip.”
If a cycling race was organised in Bethal, it wouldn’t be a surprise if most entrants were black women instead of the white men who dominate many races.
However, not many black women on bikes were there last Sunday when cyclists took to the streets for the Vodacom Tour de Soweto Cycle Challenge. Unlike in Bethal, it is very rare to see a black woman riding a bicycle in the streets of Johannesburg or Soweto.
Yusef Kodisang, chairperson of Lethabo Cycling Club in Soweto, says: ”Black women in Gauteng are not interested in cycling. I have over 60 members in my team but none are women. There were 10 of them but they were not committed and eventually left or came [only] when they [felt] like it.”
He adds: ”In places like Bethal women are more exposed to cycling and if you were to host an event, there [would] be a huge response from them. Our government should be promoting cycling to our women — they need to be more exposed to it. Empower those in places like Bethal first and then come to those ones in Gauteng who still think that being on a bicycle is an embarrassment for them.”
Tour de Soweto organiser GG Alcock says he cannot give figures for how many black women have entered the race in its two years.