Kasanje Bike Park: Uganda’s First Mountain Bike Park Aims to Grow Cycling Culture
Kasanje Bike Park: Growing Mountain Biking Culture in Uganda
East Africa, the home of some of the best modern day long distance runners, Kenya and Uganda in particular are synonymous at producing elite level running talent. Cycling and East Africa, certainly do not appear in the same sentence very often, not yet at least!
There are many cultural and economic factors that one could point to for creating an argument as to why East Africa, and more specifically Uganda is not producing elite level riders, like it does runners. However, on the surface the answer is simple, the sport is too expensive and access to bikes is limited, certainly at least good quality bikes.
Kasanje Bike Park: A New Mountain Bike Destination in Uganda
Introducing Kasanje Bike Park, this project certainly isn’t going to solve all the problems, in fact it may not solve any when it comes to producing world class cycling talent. What it does aim to achieve, is to see more children riding bikes and enjoying a free to use cycling and recreational facilities.
The park, which is due to open in November this year, has a small network of Mountain Bike trails around 8 km, with a plan to expand this over the next few years to 20 km. It has a world class pump track built by Pump for Peace, the charity arm of Velosolutions. Wahoo have kindly donated 8 Wahoo Kickrs and Headwind fans for training high end cycling talent. The bike park is a completely free to use facility designed to get more people on bikes, engaging with a more environmentally friendly and healthier lifestyle.
Building Uganda’s First Bike Park: Trail Building Challenges
Building a bike park in a country which has never had a bike park has certainly come with its fair share of challenges. Sam, from the Uk who works with a team of Ugandans, has had to spend an exhaustive amount of time explaining the different features needing to be included on the trails that the team have been building.
“Trying to create our first Berm was a huge challenge as the lads had never seen one, we watched a lot of youtube videos on Mountain biking and building Berms, we had to build one several times and the let the Ugandan trail builders ride it and feedback what it felt like and how it could be improved to feel nice and fit in better with the overall trail.” Sam
Cycling as a Solution to Uganda’s Air Pollution Crisis
One of the other major driving forces in creating Kasanje Bike Park and creating a culture of cycling is the huge pollution levels in Uganda. In 2022, Uganda was rated as having 7.9x Worse air quality than what is recommended by the World Health Organisation, and was rated as 17th worst air quality worldwide. The current state of pollution in Uganda is at breaking point.
The bike park hopes to slowly change a cultural narrative, that the bike is just a poor person’s method of transport. Most people do not see cycling as a positive thing, or an alternative environmentally friendly mode of transportation. Culturally, people perceive cyclists as someone who cannot afford a motorbike or car. Kasnaje Bike Park hope to help with this. Showing that cycling can be, firstly a leisure activity, and secondly, can be used as a viable mode of transport that can improve one’s overall health and also the environment that they live in.
Developing Local Cycling Talent in Uganda
Longer term it is hoped that the bike park will also become an educational hub for cycling enthusiasts. Hosting workshops, training sessions, and events that not only enhance technical riding skills but also educate riders about safety measures and environmental consciousness. By providing a safe and controlled environment for learning, Kasanje Bike Park hopes to nurture local talent.
Economic Impact of Kasanje Bike Park
The economic impact of the park cannot be overlooked either. Despite not even being officially open the park is gaining recognition, and it is already attracting visitors from far and wide. The bike park currently employs a handful of trail builders and hopes to longer term increase this to 10 full time staff which will run the cafe, bike shop and develop and maintain the network of trails.
Uganda’s First Mountain Bike National Championships
Looking forward the project hopes to help develop and promote top cycling talent in Uganda. There is an agreement in place, with the national body to host Uganda’s first ever Mountain Bike national championships, it is hoped that increased competition and events will inspire more people to jump on bikes and begin riding.
For more information on the project please do check out the website www.kasanjebikepark.com or follow on Instagram at @kasanje.bikepark.
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This article originally appeared in Volume 1, Issue 2 of Trail Builder Magazine.
Photos by Dan Griffiths of Moondhead Media
Sam Mutton
I’m Sam! Originally from the UK but have been working on and off for 13 years in Uganda. Currently I have lived here permanently with my wife and 2 kids for the last 4+ years. Basically I love cycling, not very good at it but enjoy it, in all its varieties and disciplines, especially how the bike can galvanise communities of people! Currently building Uganda’s first ever free-to-use bike park!
