Mud Bunnies: Cycling for everyone
Though women’s cycling as a recreational sport has only taken off in the last five years, it’s quite a common sight to see women on bicycles as a means of transport outside of Colombo. In this sense Dharshi Ariyaratne, co-founder of Mud-Bunnies, finds it encouraging that women’s cycling has been accepted in society, although there is a slight element of shaming in terms of capability.
The idea to start a ladies-exclusive cycling group came about to get more ladies to be comfortable cycling. As Dharshi explains, many ladies are discouraged due to the myth that male cyclists are ‘faster’, ‘better’ and ‘hard to keep up with’. Mud Bunnies began as a sister group of the Pedal Pushers, a cycling group formed by Dharshi Ariyaratne and her friend Lalanthi Rajapakse ten years ago.
Since their first ride in 2015, Dharshi and her friends have been organising rides, encouraging women of all ages and backgrounds to find their common ground through the love of cycling. The Mud Bunny rides are for everyone. “From brand new, and trying to figure it out, to seasoned riders looking to get faster and smoother. It is always a no drop ride so no girl is left behind!” Dharshi explains.
Their comradery is clearly observable, especially when it comes to the support extended by everyone towards any technical issues on a ride. While regulars know minor repairs like fixing flat tyres, the group will always help each other out en route. “We believe in being self-sufficient and conduct sessions on and off, on ‘how to fix a flat tyre” and other areas of bike maintenance to educate the ladies.” Dharshi adds.
The official Mud Bunny ride takes place every last Sunday of the month and varies from road rides as well as off road rides. Dharshi and her cyclist friend Ayomi would do a recce ride in preparation to map out the cycling route, and they always try to make the ride as fun and interesting as possible. This can include sights to see, different terrains to ride on, places to take a rest, little wayside kades to have a snack or a thambilli and most importantly, a place to have breakfast at the end.
Sometimes it is a themed ride, such as their last ride which was a tour of the ancient Kotte Kingdom. They also do rides out of Colombo whenever possible. Regular cyclists also ride on other Sundays with Dharshi or with other cycling groups like the Pedal Pushers.
Currently the group has about 50 active members, although not everyone is able to join every ride. Depending on the nature of the journey, sometimes they’d have more than 20 women joining in and sometimes just eight to ten cyclists. However there has been an uptick in new members since the lockdown, as many have missed cycling outdoors during that time.
The real challenge for the bunch, lies in maintaining that fine balance between work, household duties and leisure activities. Many have to juggle between work and looking after household affairs and find it difficult to get away even on a Sunday morning for a bike ride, Dharshi explains.
But at the end of the day, the positive feedback from the ladies as to how much they enjoyed getting out for a ride and mingling with the group shows just how important it is to enjoy what you do and encourage this passion further, she tells us. And apart from the rare crude remark from a passerby, Dharshi finds that people mostly look at the group with a combination of curiosity, wonder and even amusement. “Sometimes, they think it is a race and cheer us on!” she laughs. On a larger scale, the Mud Bunny ride is much more than just cycling. As Dharshi puts it, it is also about valuable life skills, using the bike as a tool. It can aid in overcoming fears, pushing beyond comfort levels, building confidence, determination, developing friendships, and having fun.
As someone who has experienced it all since she started cycling with Lalanthi, Dharshi is happy to see the same progress experienced by the ladies who join them.
She is keen to keep the wheels turning, and will continue encouraging women to take it up.
“It is a sport that has changed my life and I want other women to experience the same joy, freedom and happiness that cycling offers,” she says, adding that people should not be afraid to try something new because amazing things happen outside of your comfort zone.
For more information on upcoming rides and joining the group, follow their adventures on Instagram @mbunnyrides
Pix courtesy Mud Bunnies
