World Bicycle Day

The Blog and the ChatGPT : Part I of this blog was published on 03.06.2019, that is on World Bicycle Day. Since then lot of water has flown under the bridge and now AI based ChatGPT has made its appearance. As an experiment I referred Part I to ChatGPT as to how this article could be made more interesting. His (or may be her) suggestions came promptly to my surprise. These suggestions and my replies thereto  appear in Part II.  

Part I 

June third is celebrated as World Bicycle Day.
Cycling is fun,
cycling is exercise,
cycling is easy on pocket and 
cycling is eco friendly activity. 
According to World Health Organisation.....walking and cycling can provide a form of transport while reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, diabetes etc. It is healthy, it is also equitable and cost-effective.
Start today!

That's our 'tandem' bicycle bought in 2015. 

Additional driver means more speed and more fun! 

Shweta & Rohit Taneja ready to go 

Suman, Amit Bhatt & their twins from Delhi trying tandem bicycle

Members of Cyclofit Club, Meerut riding 'tandem' bicycle. In many countries 3 or 4 seater cycles are also available but are not seen in India

Swati and Vijay Bhatt of Dehradun having fun

PART II

Suggestions of ChatGPT are given below in bold letters:

1. Add more context: The article could benefit from more context on why World Bicycle Day was established and its importance. For example, you could provide information on the health and environmental benefits of cycling as well as statistics on the number of people who use bicycles as a mode of transportation around the world.

Reply: I checked up United Nation's site wherein UN declares World Bicycle Day for following reasons: 

"Acknowledging the uniqueness, longevity and versatility of the bicycle, which has been in use for two centuries, and that it is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation, fostering environmental stewardship and health, the General Assembly decided to declare 3 June World Bicycle Day."

Well ChatGPT you had a point there thank you 👍

Statistics 

Well it is difficult to find world figures relating to cycles. It is guestimated that figure could be as high as one billion to 1.5 billion. Highest number of cycles are in China estimated to be 45 crores.  Largest manufacturers and exporters of cycles are China, India and Vietnam. Highest per capita number of cycles are in Netherlands where even ministers also use cycles for commuting to office. 

As regards India, cycle made its appearance in 1890. Initially most of the cycles came from Britain. A survey conducted by Min of Health and Family Welfare in 2019-21, only 8% of Indian households own cars, 55% have scooters and motorcycles and 54% have cycles. Sale of cycles has gone up by 15% after lockdowns and is estimated to go up to one crore cycles per annum by 2027. Eastern India has more cycles than other parts of India. West Bengal tops in number of cycles in households compared to other states of India. Ludhiana and Sonepat are manufacturing hubs of cycles in India. Absolute numbers for cycles could not be found. Cycle friendly cities as mentioned in various sites on internet are Bangaluru, Delhi NCR, Chandigarh and Bhubneshwar.   

2. Add some personal experiences: Personal anecdotes or experiences can make an article more engaging and relatable. You could consider adding a personal story or interview with someone who regularly cycles and why they find it enjoyable or beneficial.

Reply: As for personal experience of bicycle, I learnt to ride a cycle at the age of 10 or 11 perhaps, using help and cycles of friends. I got my own cycle when I passed High School. Such a coveted prize and what fun riding independently! Used to clean it daily taking care not to tear off brown paper and board wrapped around various parts of the cycle. Kept it well oiled and used it daily for going to inter mediate college and thereafter to college as well 😁 

3. Provide more resources: At the end of the article, you could provide links or resources for readers who are interested in learning more about cycling, such as local bike clubs, cycling advocacy organisations, or tips for safe cycling.

Reply: If you look for 'bike' in google most of the responses are of scooters and motorcycles therefore look for cycle or cycling instead. However on browsing further I could locate an e-magazine- cyclists.in. Simple and plain website useful to cyclists. Supposed to be first such e-mag in India. Cycle India Magazine is available in Facebook. Many local city cycle clubs can be found in Facebook. Here in Meerut club named Cyclofit is operating successfully and is available in Facebook.

4. Formatting and readability: The article could benefit from better formatting and organisation to make it more readable. For example: you could break up long paragraphs into shorter ones and use subheadings to divide the content into sections.

Reply: There were and are not many paragraphs. Nevertheless ChatGPT, I have noted this! 😎 

Cyclofit Club has a catchy slogan-"When in doubt pedal it out"