Cycles of power The young bike fans reclaiming the streets of Johannesburg

On a hot Saturday spring morning, Karabo Mashele urged a group of female cyclists up the hills of a plush Johannesburg suburb.

- Rachel Savage

"Come on, my ladybugs," the 32-year-old shouted over the sounds of 4x4 cars. "You can do hard things!

Twice a month, Mashele, who only learned to cycle at the age of 29, leads Girls on Bikes casual rides for up to 25 women in their 20s and 30s, through Johannesburg or Pretoria. On other weekends, she and a core group join longer, mixed-gender rides.

Johannesburg, with a population of nearly 5 million, is not designed for cyclists or pedestrians, with dense townships and sprawling suburbs connected by highways. Fewer than 1.5% of the City of Gold's commuters cycle to work, the majority of them migrant workers from other southern African countries, according to Njogu Morgan who has studied transport in the city. Bikes are usually seen as either an elite hobby or a last resort for the poor.