In the early hours of this Sunday (5th September), 60 women will ride either 37 miles or 50 miles from Harrow to Windsor and back!
The women are raising funds for the groundbreaking ‘Million Mums’ campaign by Lady Fatema Charitable Trust raising funds for their micro financing drive to ensure economic self-sufficiency in women.
Mukhtar Karim CEO of Lady Fatema Trust has said: “For if in nature we are born to our mothers in troubled societies, the mothers can also be at the cornerstone of the rebirth of rebuilding communities.”
These 60 women will be riding together to raise their fellows beyond their boundaries.
The sportive is organised by Evolve – a cycling Network created by Muslim women to serve the Muslim community and communities of colour in Harrow with an aim to get more women and children into cycling.
Evolve offers coaching, working closely with Harrow Cycle Hub in ensuring more women get into this sport, paving the way for better physical and mental health.
Harrow Cycle Hub Chair Veronica Chamberlain was enthusiastic about Evolve’s sportive, she said: “Evolve has gone from strength to strength in the last year and Harrow Cycle Hub is delighted to partner with them!”
Since its inauguration, the Evolve team has trained 10 coaches, taught at least 50 women with an average age of 40+ how to ride a bike.
Iffat Tejani the co- founder of Evolve said: “It was a dream to get women from my community out onto their bikes and push themselves to accomplish the impossible’. Tejani has done just that with over half of the women riding being first time riders in a Sportive.
She continued: “there is some sort of strength that can be derived from pushing ourselves physically and I wanted all women to have access to that opportunity”.
Harrow is known for its diversity creating an active exchange of ideas and dreams. The Evolve Windsor Sportive and the work that Evolve has done is the testament to the strength that diversity brings to our borough.
