A bicycle by any other name may still ride like a bicycle, but definitely not the bicycle of a Limpopo farm gardener, Mr Mulalo Netshimboni. His bicycle is an artistic creation, complete with a roof, headlights, indicators, hooter, radio, alarm and a trailer.

This 36-year-old resident of Hamutsha-Khwekhwe outside Thohoyandou was not satisfied with an ordinary bicycle to travel to work and back. Every week he tackles this arduous journey of about 90 kilometres to the farm near Vivo where he works. On Mondays, he uses his bicycle to get there and on Fridays he returns to his home outside Thohoyandou. The trip each way takes about four hours and he has no other option than to use the main tarred roads.

“Because I am using a national road, I have to ensure that my bicycle is roadworthy,” he says. He bought his bicycle way back in 1998 for R150, but with all the additions, it is now worth a lot more. It took him six months to modify the bicycle and add all the extras he needed. The trailer is used to carry his child, groceries and other light goods.

“I am often stopped by traffic officers who check my indicators and the other important aspects of the bicycle,” he says. He says his biggest challenge is to replace tyres, which only last about a month on the roads he travels on.

His dream is to fit an engine to his bicycle to assist the pedalling process. Once this is done, he intends travelling all around Limpopo to show off his creation.