About Cycle Sisters

Cycle Sisters is an award-winning organisation that inspires and enables Muslim women to cycle. By focusing on Muslim women, the charity can address the inequalities that exist in cycling by ensuring that the needs of the group are understood and met. The women-only groups are a supportive, sociable, and safe place to explore local areas and make new friends. The rides are not exclusively for Muslim women and women of all backgrounds and faiths are welcome to join. 

Rides are organised by a team of volunteer Ride Leaders that make the rides fun and enjoyable and are designed to meet the needs of the group – with stops at halal cafes, timings around prayers, providing advice on cycling in modest clothing, and more. 

The Hounslow cycling group goes out for rides every Sunday morning, meeting at 9:45 am for a 10:00 am start and generally returns by 12:30 pm. Starting at Osterley Park, the rides are mostly steady ones (ranging 6-12 miles), and a limited number of bikes are available to lend out for the rides, courtesy of Osterley Park. Typical destinations include Syon Park, Chiswick and Richmond Park.

Cycling is booming – a recent study has shown that cycling trips made by women in England rose by more than 50% in 2020. However, most cycling journeys are still taken by men. Women – and particularly those from minority backgrounds – experience many barriers to cycling and are less likely to see cycling as an option for themselves and their families. Since the start of their journey in 2016, Cycle Sisters have been hugely successful in supporting large numbers of Muslim women to cycle across various London locations. 

Cycle Sisters aims to grow into a nationwide network of Muslim women cyclists, ensuring that the community has a voice on a national level.