Red Cross teaches Copenhagen’s international residents to cycle

In Copenhagen, bicycles are no stranger to the Danes. But for some international residents, cycling is a skill gained later in life through Danish Red Cross classes.

For Filiz Kaya, this becomes obvious around her Danish friends. “When I tell them I cannot cycle, they are very surprised” she said. 

Kaya has spent the past year learning at free classes in Frederiksberg, where between three to 14 adults practise with volunteers. 

“I cannot do it yet alone, but it will come, I’m sure”, she said. 

Team leader Susanne Bergstrom has taught these classes for 20 years. She said the programme began after many Muslim women asked a local librarian for help learning to cycle. “There was actually nothing in the whole of Denmark that could teach a grown-up how to cycle,” Bergstrom said. 

The programme requires no prior registration. During class, a young man arrived asking if he had found the right class and Bergstrom took his name and number. Within minutes, he had his bike.

The Autumn cycling season is now underway. Kiran Najeeb, 18 years-old, is attending her third lesson.

“Where I’m from there is no cycling culture,” she explains. But she already knows her goal: “I really want to ride and have my hair fly in the wind. That's my dream.”