Bicycling toward both physical and mental health
A bicycle is more than just a means of transportation.
Adva Sharvit co-founded Hamaslul with her husband, Karmy Shirby, to promote the use of bicycles as an educational vehicle and to explore the land of Israel.
Sharvit, who earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience, researching post-traumatic stress disorder, discovered that cycling is a cogent therapeutic and educational tool to enrich disadvantaged and behaviorally challenged youth. Forming riding clubs across the country starting in 2015, they now operate nearly 30 groups with 10 to 15 youth in each one, providing them with bicycles, helmets, instructors and trail plans.
“Beyond letting children have fun on a bicycle, Hamaslul provides them an opportunity to learn how to behave in a community,” says Nir Armoni, a cycling instructor and coach with the organization, whose career has been in high-tech.
Each group assigns a leader who must communicate with everyone using bicycle hand signs, and who guides the group through off-road trails and sometimes, crowded streets.
The experience builds resilience and fosters responsibility, especially among teens.
Osher Tarkin, a quiet-spoken young man who is now 18, joined Hamaslul through a youth group when he was 14. The resident of Or Yehuda, near Tel Aviv, didn’t know anything about riding a bicycle. His first time out, he said that he really enjoyed it. His instructors taught him how to navigate routes and control the bicycle; before he knew it, he was a pretty good rider.
He liked it so much that when he turned 15, he decided to take a 140-hour course to become a junior instructor. After four months of coursework, he tested and did well.
“The course taught me how to administer first aid in case someone gets hurt, as well as how to instruct others, nutritional intake for bicyclists, how to create programmed activities, about preparing the equipment, communicating clearly to a group and how to trouble shoot if the bicycle breaks down at any time during a ride,” he said.
“We were able to catch up with the group,” he recounted. “But mostly, I proved to myself that he could do it.”
“Hamaslul offers the youth more than simply social skills,” explains Sharvit. “Bicycle-riding involves physical challenges, sports ability, mental challenges — and it teaches students to conquer their own fears, offering a group challenge of working with one another. It helps them develop self-esteem.”
Additionally, Hamaslul has begun creating corporate team building and fun days that include bike tours all over the country, as well as programs for tourists.
“Some of these children might have become dropouts,” attests Sharvit, “but instead, they develop independence. Many start at a young age and stay until they are 17 or 18. Through the program, they learn how to work and how to earn; it prepares them for their eventual army service.”
The organization’s clubs explore the Bnei Yehoshua Park in Tel Aviv, Park Darom, Jaffa Port, and ever since October 2023, added trails in the Otef communities of Sha’ar HaNegev. Participants include refugees from Ukraine, refugees from Africa, children of foreign workers and many from the Arab community in Jaffa.
Shelo Gevorgis and his family came to Israel from Eritrea. At 14, he began as a trainee in the educational cycling program titled “The Bicycle Path to the Goal” at the Kadima Youth Center in Pardes Katz. Since becoming acquainted with the activities of Hamaslul, he has also taken training courses at the association, received a certificate and started working for pay as a bicycle mechanic.
After discovering that he had charisma and an easy rapport with others, they asked him to join the training team.
“While the instructor is busy with the entire group, I have the opportunity to give personal attention to each trainee,” explains Shelo. “I am excited to meet trainees who are in the same place I was when I first started riding at Hamaslul. I know what they are going through, I understand them, and I know that I can help them.”
The clubs begin with a two-hour kickoff meeting. Buses bring the kids to the park, and they are accompanied by a teacher and a guide from the organization. The guides work with teachers from the participating schools to introduce math concepts like distance calculations and historical information about the area they are exploring.
While certain programs are paid for by school systems in place for particular students, after-school programs use fundraising methods to subsidize the program and pay for instructors, transportation and equipment maintenance.
Armoni said bicycling is the best way to tour a city: “When I visit places I’ve never been, the first thing I do is rent a bicycle and ride around the city. By the time I’m finished, I’ve got a real feel for it.”
