When we think about the most dangerous sports in the world, the likes of wrestling, boxing or car racing are usually what springs to mind.

But what if cycling was one of the most dangerous sports?

“I am Sahem”

It was the seventh day of Ramadan, June 2 2017 around 7:00 a.m, when a helmet was discovered broken on the road, covered with blood.

Sahem Ibrahim, a cyclist who has been going out on group rides for two years, was hit by a car on the road and killed immediately.

On Friday, August 17, cyclists gathered together wearing shirts that say, “I am Sahem”. looking and feeling like one spirit, as one bike after another rode along a 15 kilometer stretch of Airport road.
They all stopped in the place that Sahem has been hit and killed, but this time, police cars were keeping the cyclists safe.

A tree was planted right next to the spot where Sahem was run down. While a minute of silence was dedicated to his soul, the atmosphere was heavy with sadness, as tears ran down his mother’s face.

“It all happened within seconds, there are literally four lanes on Airport road, but the man chose to move onto the emergency lane and drive in the opposite direction,” said Ghaith Farkouh, a friend of Ibrahim’s who was riding his bike with him the day the incident happened.

Leaning his head back, Aref Dadan, a cyclists who went on many rides with Sahem , remembers that day he was discovered his friend had died.

“ It would have been me if I was there. As a guide we let the cyclists take the extreme right side of the road, and we stay on their left to protect them. I was feeling tired that morning and chose to sleep instead of going with the group,” he said.

Cycling is uncommon in Jordan, but the sport has recently gained momentum.

In 2007, Cycling Jordan, a bicycle company in Amman, was founded with the intent to introduce cycling to more people in Jordanian society. Sari Husseini and his brother later bought the business from the previous owner and since then, more people are becoming involved in group bike tours.

“It was one of the first companies in the country to import the best bikes around to the world to Jordan” Husseini noted .

However, while many bike tours and competitions are organized around the world, Jordan still does not seem to fully appreciate such a sport.

“People do not respect us, because they are used to seeing it as a kid’s thing,” Husseini added.

Although there is a National cycling team in Jordan, it seems like there is a long way to go when it comes to raising awareness about the sport.

ِAl Hussein Sports City, where the Cycling National Team was established in 1982, does not provide safe spaces for cyclists. “One of my team member was hit by a taxi driver inside the sports city while he was warming up on his bike, ” the national team coach, Nader Zakibeh, told Roya.

Awareness raising initiatives can occasionally be seen here and there, but restrictions on the sport has had a harsh impact on cyclists in the Kingdom.

"We organized a lot of initiatives to teach college students how to ride bikes, but the project did not work since the officials did not want to hold up responsibility of youth being threatened on the streets,” Husseini said.

In terms of safety , most cyclists favour Jordan’s Airport road to ride their bikes. The service road ensures that the route is usually safer for cyclists, and more comfortable as there are less cars than on the main road.

Alongside safety issues, there is also social stigma of cycling, particularly as a woman in the region.

Samar Al Khub, a former cyclist in the national team who is currently a media student at Petra University, used her graduation project to make a short film about cycling in Jordan and the problems that cyclists face, especially females.

“It is very hard being a female, riding a bike on the roads. People would splash you with water, throw rocks and even harass you, despite the fact that the roads are not prepared for such a sport.” Al Khub told Roya.

“I did not get into accidents, but I got harassed while on the bikes a lot. People would think they are funny by trying to scare us, shout at us, throw rocks or anything they have in their hands,” Dadan said.

“People do not understand that bike accidents could actually cause death, you never know how you will fall off the bike,” Dadan added with an angry tone in his voice.

When Roya asked Husseini about his future plans to raise awareness about cycling in Jordan he said that he wants to give presentations and lectures in schools and universities.

Husseini wishes more cycling examples could be used and involved in school books, to make people aware of the cyclists on the road.

However nothing can replace what Sahem’s family have lost. The driver who caused the accident that killed their son fled the scene before finally being caught.

“The family of the man who hit Sahem, came to us to talk about a financial compensation. They think money would solve it. But what would money do after losing a precious person?” said Sahem’s brother, Majd Ibrahim .

For now, Sahem’s friends and family wish, is simply for anyone passing by the tree to give the time to water it in his memory.