Mahnoor Campbell - The Hijabi Night Riders

President Andrew Murray introduced Mahnoor Campbell, tonight's guest speaker, at the Rotary Club of Motherwell and Wishaw. Mahnoor along with her friends has participated in the Callendar Cycle Challenge, which, for the last three years, has been organised by the Rotary Club of Motherwell and Wishaw.

Mahnoor’s husband is from the Isle of Lewis and they have two sons. She grew up in Pakistan and was not allowed to have, or ride, a bike. When she moved to Glasgow and saw so many women cycling, she said she fancied learning and had a vision of herself, “cycling away with the wind in my hair (the hijab came later) and having a sense of freedom.” After years of asking if she could get stabilizers made for an adult bike, and various other crazy ideas, she saw a news item on STV highlighting that Cycling Scotland had organised a session to teach older women how to ride a bike. Mahnoor was overjoyed and, the year she turned 40, she met Andy Dunn, from Scottish Cycling Network, who, in less than an hour, taught her to ride a bike. From then on it was just practice and her dream came true!

Now she tries to excite, entice and inspire other women and get them to share her pleasure. Pedal for Scotland 2015, for Mahnoor, was most significant. When she signed up for the event she thought she would be doing it with her husband. But, in the months after registration, he was diagnosed with cancer and, as he was undergoing treatment at the time of the ride, he was in no fit state to ride. Mahnoor considered cancelling but had raised funds for a charity. Encouraged by her friends and colleagues she decided to go it alone. She managed to complete the ride without incident and made her way back home safe which she said was the biggest achievement of her life to date.

She carries her bike in her car for most of the way to work. On occasions she does a part commute by bike and takes groups out on rides. She said that her dream rides are with friends or hubby, away for the day or even part of the day.

Mahnoor's main focus has been with ethnic minority women and children, particularly Muslim women, in trying to break down the barriers for them and giving them the support they need to get into cycling. Up until two years ago her experience of cycling was very different. She enjoyed it greatly and went out on her own on cycle paths or with friends and family on days out and picnics and organized to do some cycling with some children of a social club. Then she heard about Storybike rides and got more adventurous and started going out with groups on longer day rides and then decided to become a ride leader through a Climate Change Funded project running in Al-Meezan (an Islamic Charity in the south side of Glasgow). That training and introduction to the trainers opened the doors to a world she never knew of.

She is now a Cycle Trainer, and, last year. gave up her job as a teacher to promote cycling for women and children through Al-Meezan.

Past President Jim Peat proposed an appreciative vote of thanks.

The winner of the weekly bonus ball was Callan Dick.