BoB National East London 2022
The BoB National 2022 was an opportunity for us East London BoBs to welcome fellow cyclists across the country. With around 300 brothers joining, the event was a resounding success.
Planning began 6 weeks prior to the event with Friday evening Zoom calls between a team of 10 local brothers. The first meeting allowed us to delegate responsibilities with Sehzad managing finances, Ahmed ordering the food, Rasel owning the breakfast, Mebs finding the venue, Ameer managing the beginners, Hamza tracking the event, Mohammed Saeed on the graphic design and assisting Junaid planning the kids event.
As the event neared we had a team of volunteers that worked tirelessly on the day including Robbie, Saeed, Yahya, Mo Jang, Abu Dujanah, Sajid Bhad, Javed, Moeen and many more.
There were reservations around the chosen venue at Forest Gate school with it being inner city, however, its accessibility meant more people were able to attend.
As the brothers arrived the hugs began. The brotherhood spirit amongst the cycling community is full of positivity and is a great blessing we do not take for granted. It was amazing to see brothers from across the country and across various clubs including Team MC, Al-Ikhwaan, GTCC, H&K amongst others.
A standard BoB National Continental breakfast went down well and a pertinent speech by Sheikh Mangera reminded the brothers of our ultimate purpose and the importance of dressing modestly.
Transitioning the brothers from the canteen to the playground was always going to be carnage but after a 30 minute delay and lots of sore voices, we managed to take a group photo and set everyone off in waves of 10.
Whilst the brothers were riding, the volunteers used this time to host an unprecedented Kids Skills Session. The event was fully booked within 24 hours of advertising and there were plenty of happy faces at the end of the event.
The brothers then returned having completed the 20, 35, 50 mile routes and it was time for some biryani and karak chai!
The canteen was buzzing with camaraderie, which makes every national worth the time and effort. This national was particularly special for the East London brothers as it demonstrated the unity within the local group. Everyone was a leader, everyone stepped up and contributed. We aim to take this spirit and further grow our community towards positivity.
Ameen
