Doing Hope... on a bike

Doing Hope... on a bike | June 2024

This May, we have covered a lot of kilometres on the bike. From the hilly Lake District to the South of France, our supporters have been getting in the saddle in solidarity with Gaza and the West Bank and fundraising for our emergency appeal. Amos’ Meg Williams writes.

Stories of Hope
Doing Hope... on a bike

Words:
Meg Williams

Photography:
Mark Kensett & Noel Williams
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The Ventoux Challenge

Let’s start with the incredible 82-year-old Anne Jones. On 15th May, Nakba Day *, Anne and her support crew, including Chris and myself from Amos Trust, rode up the iconic Mont Ventoux in France and raised the Palestinian flag at the 1910m summit.

“An indescribable feeling of happiness overwhelmed me when I heard my team mates shout — through the sounds of pouring rain — ‘You’ve done it!’ Then I felt huge gratitude for them for supporting me all the way up that mountain.” Anne Jones

Anne Jones and Meg Williams from Amos Trust on their bikes.

Iconic: Anne Jones and Amos’ Meg Williams from Amos Trust on a training ride for the Ventoux Challenge
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Anne has fundraised over £22,000 for Amos Trust’s emergency appeal for Gaza, and her story has been shared far and wide on social media, getting picked up by various media outlets including BBC London, Metro, The Mirror and cycling publications, including road.cc.

She even received a good luck video message from our para-cycling partners, the Gaza Sunbirds, which we showed to her when the climb was at its hardest as we knew this heartwarming demonstration of solidarity would give her the final spurt she needed.

“An indescribable feeling of happiness overwhelmed me when I heard my team mates shout — through the sounds of pouring rain — “You’ve done it!”

Anne’s story on her Justgiving page has inspired people across the country to take action and she hopes her ride will change people’s “assumptions” when they see “an old face”.

Amos Road Club: Coast-To-Coast

Back in the UK, on the final weekend of May, it was time to get on our bikes again for Amos Road Club, our annual multi-day cycling trip for Amos supporters. This year, 55 riders took part in the three-day coast-to-coast ride (C2C) from Whitehaven in the North West to Tynemouth in the North East.

On the second day of the ride we covered over 2,000m of elevation in freezing rain.
It was extremely challenging and as we struggled along in our watermelon jerseys ** the Gaza Sunbirds were never far from our minds. We were so cold at the lunch stop that we all crammed into the local corner shop to take shelter and stood there creating puddles on their floor and eating pot noodles.

Amos Road Club members dipping their back wheels in the sea in Whitehaven in the UK.

Whitehaven to Tynemouth: Amos Road Club members dipping their back wheels in the sea at the start of this year’s ride
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Slogging through the rain had brought us closer together and the feeling of comradeship was high as we all sat down together for dinner when we got back to the YHA. A few unlucky ones then had to cycle to their various accommodations, including a caravan (getting accommodation for 55 riders during the May bank holiday proved extremely difficult), but at least their socks had dried out. The final day was much more forgiving, cycling down the pleasant sustrans path into Tynemouth before dipping our front wheels into the sea.

The second day of the ride was extremely challenging, as we covered over 2,000m of elevation in freezing rain and struggled along in our watermelon jerseys. The Gaza Sunbirds were never far from our minds.

The next day, 18 of us, including Chris and myself from Amos, then chose, perhaps against our better judgement, to have a go at the Sunrise-to-Sunset Challenge — riding the whole way back from Whitby Bay to Whitehaven in one day!

After such a challenging middle day on the C2C, I began to worry we wouldn’t make it. We set off at 6am with 200km and 3,000m of climbing ahead of us, and rain looking likely. We were joined by a few fresh-legged riders who led our weary peloton out of Newcastle. One puncture later, and 40km under our belt by 8am, our drivers Jim and Rob plied us with pasta for breakfast. We ploughed on in the rain over many lumps and bumps and one extremely windy descent. Many energy gel packs, chips, sandwiches and cakes later (my Garmin said we burnt 7,000 calories!), we arrived back in Whitehaven at 8.30pm with saddle sores and huge smiles.

There is no way I could have completed this distance alone, but riding in the group made it feel achievable, and knowing that we were doing it for people in Gaza kept me going. I even managed to enjoy it, despite the weather! My brake pads are now entirely worn through after a month of descending in the rain. But it’s all been worth it, as Amos Road Club has raised an incredible £18,000 for Amos Trust’s partners, with the majority of riders opting for their fundraising to go towards our emergency appeal for Gaza.

Amos Road Club members with their Palestinian flags.

Amos Road Club members sitting on a wall eating lunch.

Top: Riding in solidarity
Bottom: Lunch in the sunshine (it didn’t rain all weekend)
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On the same weekend, Amos supporters Kester and Jim took part in the iconic Ride London 100-mile race, raising over £2,000 for our emergency appeal. The ‘Whoosh’ Team of 30+ riders in Wales also raised over £10,000 for the Gaza Sunbirds by riding in the Welsh Hills.

Seeing so many supporters getting on their bikes to support our emergency appeal and cycling in solidarity with the Gaza Sunbirds has been fantastic.

The Gaza Sunbirds

The Gaza Sunbirds have continued to inspire us. Since October, they have been carrying out vital food distributions in their communities while harbouring the dream of representing Palestine at the Paralympics in Paris in August.

Amidst the existential struggle that Gazans are facing, the dream of Alaa al-Dali, the founding member of the Gaza Sunbirds (who lost his leg to an Israeli sniper while watching the Great March of Return in 2018), raising the Palestinian flag at the Paralympics, seems more vital than ever.

In April, we finally managed to get permission for a small group of riders to leave Gaza for Egypt. Karim Ali and the others involved in running the Sunbirds were then frantically trying to get permission for Alaa to take part in the Cycling World Cup qualifying rounds in Belgium and Italy so that he could apply for a wild card place in Paris.

The Gaza Sunbirds have continued to inspire us. Since October, they have been carrying out vital food distributions in their communities while harbouring the dream of representing Palestine at the Paralympics in Paris in August.

The visas for Belgium and then for Italy only came through at the last minute, which meant another frantic search for flights and accommodation while at the same time needing to buy race bikes in Belgium the day before the ride.

Alaa al-Dali from the Gaza Sunbirds para-cycling team racing in Italy.

Alaa al-Dali from the Gaza Sunbirds para-cycling team training in Italy.

Sunbird: Alaa al-Dali from the Gaza Sunbirds paracycling team racing (top) and training (bottom) in Italy
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Alaa was then introduced to cycling in Belgium’s wind and rain while being preoccupied by the news of Rafah being invaded, the population displaced and the closing of the border between Gaza and Egypt (most of the Sunbirds, including Alaa and his family, are from Rafah).

Amidst the existential struggle that Gazans are facing, the dream of Alaa al-Dali, the founding member of the Gaza Sunbirds (who lost his leg to an Israeli sniper while watching the Great March of Return in 2018), raising the Palestinian flag at the Paralympics, seems more vital than ever.

After Belgium, Alaa went on to compete in Italy, where he was hosted by ACS, the Italian organisation that works alongside us in supporting the Sunbirds. As Alaa finished the qualification race, the Palestinian Olympic body told him that to qualify for the Paralympic wild card and for the Cycling World Championships, (happening in Zurich in September), he would now have to take part in the final qualification round in Kazakhstan.

So, more last-minute travel arrangements, visa applications and hotel bookings, but it all proved hugely worthwhile as Alaa, having benefitted from the training races in Belgium and Italy (after months of going without this in Gaza), ended up finishing 5th in Kazakhstan in the final qualification round.

However, the celebrations were tempered as Alaa, and his coach from Gaza, Abu Ali, were then faced with the question of where to go after Kazakhstan. Their European visas had run out and the legal advice was that Egypt might deny them entry or detain them if they flew back there.

We recently heard the fantastic news that Alaa has been awarded a place for the World Championships in Zurich. He has also been invited to go back to Italy for further training camps while we wait to hear about the wild card places for Paris.

The next step was to identify a country that doesn’t require entry visas for Palestinians, so the decision was made to travel to Malaysia. It feels a long way away, but we are building a support network around them there and working to obtain visas for their return to Europe.