Cycling during Ramadan

Feelings of success and happiness

Amin (below) regularly cycles to college in Glasgow and says he's excited to be committing to fasting during the holy month: 

“I’m looking forward to Ramadan because it is a way of disciplining our spirituality and showing respect to the blessings that we have. It encourages us to be more humble, closer to nature and all other species around us, and to feel each other’s pain - thinking especially about people who are suffering right now.

"When you fast, you feel more appreciative because in order to fast you have to be healthy, not suffering from any illnesses. You value yourself because often, we forget to be grateful for being healthy mentally and physically. It’s also a huge reset every year for Muslim people. It makes you think about your family and to get in contact with them more often.

"Overall, it's the core of my religion as it's only once a year and it's very challenging. If you complete it, it gives you feelings of success and happiness. Everything in this life has challenges and sacrificing eating and drinking, and disrupting your usual routine makes you think more about disciplining your soul and connecting more with God. You think about your mistakes and what you’ve done and how you can be better in the future."

Amin believes Ramadan is not just about self-denial, it's also about doing good and being a better person around others. He adds: 

"Ramadan is not about you; you can’t fast and not also be doing good, when you fast you have to be spiritually connected and not be hurting anybody - verbally or physically. Ramadan is fasting from bad things, not just fasting from eating and drinking."

Khurshid (below), from Birmingham, works in finance and occasionally rides with Cycling UK-affiliated group Sara Park Community Cycle Club. He says that cycling helped him cope with caring for his parents, who have both suffered from dementia, his father sadly losing his life to the illness.

Khurshid agrees that it's better not to overdo it if you are cycling during Ramadan, especially if the weather is hot; however, he adds, it's up to the individual to determine how little or how much they are able to do: 

"Nobody is holding you to account or watching what you do or don't do, it's up to the individual's own self-discipline". 

Carrying on with normal life

People who are fasting during Ramadan are not expected to live life differently because of it. Amin says: 

"One of the challenges is to carry on living your life as normal, for example, if you cycle for a while, you will need to hydrate; it’s important to keep living your life as normal because your body will adjust to it.

"This is especially hard in the heat, but having deep faith and belief will always help you block out the hunger and thirst. When you’re cycling and working hard, you don’t always think of food and drink. 

"It’s not hot in Glasgow, so it’s not as hard as it is in Africa and Asia. When you start fasting, you automatically start adapting to being hungry and thirsty. This becomes fuel to make you believe even more in Ramadan. The more hungry and thirsty you are, the more connected you feel.

"Cycling makes it harder, but ultimately sweeter when you break the fast because you really feel appreciative when you have iftar in the evening, which is when you break the fast after sunset with a big meal.”

A couple of years ago, Amin experienced mountain biking in the UK for the first time during a visit to Whinlatter trail centre in Cumbria. The visit took place in May, which was during the holy month that year when the hours between sunrise and sunset were long and the weather was warm. As the rules of Ramadan dictate that you cannot take even a sip of water, he found it a particular challenge. But, despite completing a full circuit of the demanding red routes without any kind of sustenance, he really enjoyed the experience.

He says: 

"It was good and pushed the boundaries of what I thought I was capable of. It wasn't easy though!"

Reducing intensity

Cycling UK member Muhammed Islam says: 

"I work in the police control room in Hertfordshire so cover shift work. I find reducing the intensity but maintaining a sense of routine helps. Instead of cycling a round trip of more than 26 miles for work, I drive in half way and cycle the rest. I mix it up too: some days walk and listen to an audio book and I've even taken up kick scooter riding - very hard work - for shorter distances. 

"All this is far better than completely coming to a halt during the holy month. If training is a part of life, I can increase the intensity just a little but do this on my days off work and a good tip is to do these types of cycle rides an hour or two before sunset."

Ramadan Mubarak to everyone taking part in Ramadan this year