Members of a London-based cycling club have turned their passion to something bigger, teaming up with various charities to ride and raise funds for a greater cause.
The Hope and Knowledge Cycle Club was first established in London 10 years ago.
“It’s a voluntary project … purely on a voluntary basis. We started off from just the love of cycling,” Shamsul Abdin, 44, told Anadolu Agency as the group geared up for its 10th National Ride.
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“When we started this 10 years ago, especially around London, there were hardly any Muslim cyclists out there, or any Muslim organization that was organizing events for Muslims,” Abdin, who works as a bank analyst in London, added.
Encouraging more Muslims to join, the club today has members of Bangladeshi origin, as well as Indians, Pakistanis and Turkish, ranging in age from 17 to 58.
A lot of people joined the club during the COVID-19 pandemic. “While we’re doing something to get fitter, doing a healthy thing, we’re also doing projects for different countries, which is amazing,” said Abdin.
Three Main Events
Today, the H&K Cycle Club has three main events – National Ride, Three Cities, and Hijrah Ride.
The National Ride can be between any two cities in UK, the Three Cities event covers cities in Europe, while the Hijrah Ride runs from Makkah and Madinah.
Last year, nearly 40 people joined the Hijrah ride raising some £123,000 (over $156,000), much more than their target.
“With that money, a number of children in Tanzania underwent heart surgeries with the support of volunteer Turkish doctors,” said Erdener Uysal, a 57-year-old Turkish man.
Though Mohamed Hajat, 50, said he joined the club for his personal fitness, he has fully embraced the group’s bigger purpose.
“The main thing behind this is the charities that we raise money for,” he said. “What we have been doing here is to give something back to people that need it most,” he said.
This is not the first time for Muslim bikers to take similar initiatives.
In 2022, Noor Alam and Ahtsham Arfan, known as the “2 Muslim Night Riders”, raised £22,000 to support an emergency appeal by Dabbagh Welfare Trust to raise funds for flood relief efforts in Bangladesh.
Earlier in 2021, a group of 25 cyclists were given a hero’s welcome after they successfully raised more than £50,000 funding needed for the new Islamic Education Center.