Public Affairs Kathmandu Celebrates National Bike Month

May 12, 2009

From the moment the Cultural Affairs Officer (CAO) rode his bicycle into the presentation room, to the group photo at the end, the more than fifty guests at the Embassy's National Bike Month program were entertained and informed. After setting his bike aside, the CAO shared photos of his life-long experiences with bicycles.] In particular, he discussed his experience commuting to work on a bicycle in San Francisco, California, and in Washington, D.C., and he described how "Bike to Work Week" is celebrated in the United States. Following his presentation, the Embassy screened Lance Armstrong: Racing for His Life, a documentary offering an in-depth profile of the famous American athlete Lance Armstrong who, after conquering cancer, returned to cycling and won the Tour de France.

After the movie, Chhimi Gurung, the President of the Nepal Cycle Association, talked about the importance of cycling for the citizens of Nepal and urged his colleagues to share the knowledge they learned from this program with others in Nepal. Then, Jagdish Ghimire described his battle with cancer, a subject which he described in detail in his award-winning Nepali memoir. More than fifty Nepali bicyclists, medical professionals, and a cancer survivor, all first-time visitors to the Embassy, attended the event.