Cycling in Kathmandu Valley has gone through dramatic shifts. Once a luxury reserved for elites in the early 20th century, bicycles became an affordable and essential mode of daily transport by the 1950s and 1960s. Students, workers, and families relied on them, and the Valley even hosted cycle races and built parking spaces as cycling culture flourished.
From the 1990s onward, however, bicycles began disappearing from Kathmandu’s streets. Motorbikes and cars became the dominant symbols of status and modernity, while government policies and urban planning increasingly prioritized motor vehicles. Unsafe, congested roads further discouraged cycling, reducing it to a marginal practice in a city that once thrived on two wheels.
In recent years, advocacy campaigns and moments of crisis, such as the 2015 fuel blockade and the COVID-19 pandemic, have sparked renewed interest in cycling as a sustainable, practical alternative. These efforts show that a revival of Kathmandu’s cycling culture is possible, but it will require political will and safer infrastructure.