Harare City Council, in partnership with Oriel Girls High School, marked World Bicycle Day last week with a community event in Chisipite aimed at reviving the capital’s cycling culture and promoting health through two wheels.
Harare mayor, Jacob Mafume, officiated at the event alongside deputy mayor Rose Muronda.
Mafume told students, teachers, and residents that the city is planning to reclaim its old status as a cycling city.
“Back in the day, Harare had far more bicycles on our roads than cars,” he said. “We want to go back to that. Cycling is not just transport, it is health,” he said.
"Cycling can keep our health and we will remain young , so l am urging you take cycling seriously.”
The mayor put special emphasis on the benefits for older adults, noting that the previous generation who cycled daily were always healthy and did not struggle with the lifestyle diseases common today.
He attributed many of the health conditions now affecting the elderly to a lack of physical activity, and urged young people to embrace cycling for school runs and daily errands.
His remarks echoed growing calls for low-impact exercise options as Zimbabwe’s population ages.
City of Harare chief traffic planner Brian Zvomuya also addressed the gathering.
He said the event was held to commemorate World Bicycle Day, observed globally every 3 June. Mr. Zvomuya added that the council intends to maintain the existing 85km of cycle tracks in the city and will push for new tracks to be developed to make cycling safer and more accessible.
These efforts by Harare will see more dedicated bike lanes, safer intersections, and bike parking at schools and offices. That means less traffic, cleaner air, and cheaper transport for families.
World Bicycle Day is observed globally every June 3 to recognise cycling’s unique contributions to sustainable development, health, and social inclusion.
The event in Chisipite linked that global message to a local vision: a Harare where cycling is safe, normal, and healthy again.
The bike is the simplest machine that can change a city.