Khadija picks up yet another accolade from Cycling UK
Khadija Patel, who also received a BBC Sports Personality 'Unsung Hero' award in 2023, is the founder of the cycling club at Krimmz Girls Youth Club in Bolton.
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Her committed work to get Muslim women and girls to cycle earned her a place in Cycling UK's '100 women in cycling' list earlier this year.
Now she has picked up another prestigious honour from the charity - a Real Yellow Jersey award.
Cycling UK has awarded 10 hand-knitted yellow jerseys to 10 everyday heroes who've transformed their lives through cycling and their Big Bike Revival programme.
Each jersey was hand-knitted in Tour de France yellow by the Seacroft Hookers and Knit-wits in Leeds - every jersey taking around 35 hours to make.
It is more recognition for Patel for whom cycling has grown into a powerful movement, challenging stereotypes, inspiring Muslim women, and transforming lives in Bolton.
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She's also inspired her own family - her two boys, both 11, cycle to the mosque for their daily prayers and they all go for family rides together.
As the founder of Krimmz Girls Youth Club, set up in 2009, she was already a coach in multiple disciplines, from archery through cricket to netball.
Patel reached out to Cycling UK in 2023 and applied for funding to run Big Bike Revival sessions, group rides, community events and maintenance sessions, with a focus on encouraging Muslim women to ride.
At first, she faced challenges from the wider community, but she remained unfazed and over time, that's helped normalise Muslim women riding a bike.
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It has helped encourage more and more women to want to join in. Krimmz is constantly having to expand their offering, and requests regularly come in to borrow bikes so people can take their families on rides, too.
Krimmz has added a bike maintenance course, which helps the people leading rides on a voluntary basis, and they keep having to train more ride leaders.
The club works with local schools, has started organising inclusive cycling sessions, and even men are asking to join now, despite the club being set up for women and girls and there being no male ride leaders.
Patel said: 'I was honoured to be recognised by Cycling UK for our efforts with Krimmz to empower women in Bolton to enjoy cycling.
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'Being awarded the Real Yellow Jersey alongside nine others nationwide, and to have been given the opportunity to speak in Parliament at the 10-year anniversary demonstrates the real impact our work with Muslim women is having.
'We're excited to keep welcoming women from all backgrounds to join our weekly bike rides.'
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