As I am more experienced in this area, I promised to help her out. We bought a bike at Emmaus for 35 euros and the lessons started. She moved her body like a belly dancer at the first try on the bike. As we began she fell directly on the soft grass. And even after some hours of practice it was no better. In the end I realized that she was not going to learn to ride a bike. Instead she was learning how to fall softly and how to choose a right place to fall.
In Uzbekistan hardly anyone rides a bike. We mostly use taxis and public transport because it is relatively cheap. It costs about 25 cents to travel by bus and it does not matter how far you go. Bikes are ridden only for short distances like 1 or 2 kilometres. Sometimes, love couples rent a bike for an hour to relax a bit. I could teach my friend to ride because I got my first bike when I was 7 years old. I rented my bike to my friends for some kilos of apple or other fruits.
Avazkhoja Akbarkhojaev, exchange student from Uzbekistan
LEREN VALLEN
Avazkhoja wilde een vriendin, die net in Wageningen was aangekomen, leren fietsen. Voor 35 euro kochten de twee een fiets bij de Emmaus, en de eerste les kon beginnen. Bij de eerste rit zwengelde de vriendin heen en weer als een buikdanseres, en ze viel dan ook meteen op het zachte gras. Na uren oefenen werd het niet beter. ‘Ze leert niet fietsen’, dacht Avazkhoja bij zichzelf. ‘Ze leert zachtjes vallen.’