John Eligon rode a bike for the first time in years to join a 10‑mile ride organized by Young Urbanists, a Cape Town nonprofit that pushes redesign of urban space to shrink apartheid‑era inequities. The route left the bustling Bree Street corridor and wound through a canal‑side “buffer zone” that once separated the black township of Langa from the colored suburb of Athlone.

Along the way cyclists crossed crumbling bridges, dodged six‑lane highways and rode narrow, fading bike lanes ignored by motorists. A new bridge over the polluted canal, opened in the past two years, now links Langa to neighboring areas, a tangible sign of municipal investment. Roland Postma, 30, leads Young Urbanists and proposes repaving paths, adding lighting and a soccer field to spur local activity.

The ride ended at an art gallery on Lerotholi Avenue, where participants compared a half‑mile straight‑line distance to Pinelands with the six‑mile walk forced by highways, walls and rail tracks. Drivers still honked and minibus conductors scolded riders, underscoring a lingering car‑first mindset. Phano Liphoto summed up the effort: “Just to show it’s possible,” urging Cape Town to build on what exists.