Why Everyone in Bulawayo Suddenly Owns a Bicycle

Walk through Hillside, Riverside or even Cowdray Park on a Saturday morning, and the most striking thing is the bicycles. Mountain bikes, road bikes, second-hand Chinese steel frames, BMXs ridden by men in their fifties — everywhere.

Bulawayo, blessed with relatively flat terrain and wide, low-traffic suburban roads, has emerged as one of the most cycling-friendly cities in Southern Africa. A cycling boom that began with fuel prices in 2023 has settled into a full-blown culture.

Several informal Saturday morning rides — including the well-known Burnside loop — now draw fifty to a hundred riders. A handful of cycling shops have opened in the last eighteen months.

“It is the cheapest happiness this city sells,” said long-time cyclist Brian Khumalo. “You leave home angry, you come back grinning. Every single time.”