Black Unity Bike Ride returned from Ghana last week, and Genie Sutherland, who made the trip, describes the experience: A Message from a Soul Sista – the bike box is out of my life (dropped off at London Bridge). TeamGhana #23🇬🇭 Firstly – Thank You Almighty GOD 🙏🏽 Secondly -Toksy and Enitan Chiefs/Kings/Boss – WoW … Genie Sutherland: Black Unity Bike Ride Ghana
The Brothers On Bikes National Event took place in Birmingham last month. Yusuf Mouharrem joined the ride for the first time, and shares his experiences here: I’m Yusuf, aka Press 1 (I have made rap music under this name for the past twenty years). I discovered cycling during the early stages of lockdown, starting with … Press1: Brothers on Bikes National Event
I bought my first road bike in 2015 and started riding with my gym instructor and a couple of gym members, all black guys. The guys were too fast for me, so I looked for a local club, only to find pictures of white, middle-aged guys with no other person of colour and no other … Shirla Poole: Black Women To The Front
Andy and I are members of Kingston Wheelers, and he first contacted me about Diversity In Cycling at a very early stage. There had been a discussion in a committee meeting about the lack of diversity within the club, and it was agreed that Andy would go and look into the issues more thoroughly. I … Ronn Fraser: Getting Started
Brothers on Bikes is a national club run as a network with ‘chapters’ in major cities throughout the UK. It has hubs in London, the Midlands, the North, and here in the southwest in Bristol. It sets out to introduce and open up cycling to those who have either not had the fortune of doing … Farooq Chaudhry: Brothers In Bristol On Bikes
Visual representation is so important. People of colour have to constantly navigate spaces that do not represent them and often mould themselves to appease others. It is harder to feel comfortable in spaces where people do not look like you or come from the same background you do. Whilst those in ‘traditionally white spaces’ may … Naomi Rumble: Thicker Than Your Average
Hop On is a not-for-profit social enterprise based in Bradford founded by three Muslim women, Shahida Kishver, Najma Khan, and myself. We are all qualified life coaches, cycling coaches, and ride leaders. We take a body and mind approach to cycling. There are plenty of barriers to cycling for Muslim women. These barriers include home … Fozia Naseem: Muslim Women HopOn In Bradford
When visual representation is so important, I often struggle with my racial identity fitting in with what is termed ‘women of colour’. I am the daughter of an Anglo-Irish-Jewish freckle-skinned mother and a British-Indian-Iranian-Muhajir brown-skinned father. I have lived and grown up in both Saudi Arabia and England. With so much intermixing going on, where … Nasima Siddiqui: Muslim Women Ride Too
Athletics had a problem. When I stopped competing as a sprinter and became a coach in the 1980s, you could count the number of black coaches on one hand. Only John Isaacs and Juno Fields, my own coach, come to mind. I took up coaching because these two men normalised the idea that I, too, … Richard Liston: Coaching And Pathways
I transitioned from athletics to cycling in 2019. My first impression of cycling was that it is similar to athletics in structure and operations, so I could easily fit into that, but getting to know the equipment was a steeper learning curve. I had not been a recreational or club rider, going straight into a … Sam Ruddock: Elite Performance
