Emdad unrolls his prayer mat and places it on the gravel next to his car, having first checked the direction it should face using an app on his phone. Removing his shoes, he starts his five-times-daily ritual in the Swinley Forest car park, unnoticed by the mountain bikers coming and going as he alternately kneels and stands, deep in prayer.
We’ve just done a lap of the trails with Emdad and two of his regular riding buddies, Shahmir and Safwan. Up until now, it’s been a pretty standard day out on bikes, with some inevitable pre-ride tinkering, a chat with Swinley Bike Hub head honcho Tristan for advice on which trails are running best (seems it’s all of them today!) and some two-wheeled fun out in the woods. But the more time we spend together and the more we talk, the more it becomes clear that things are that little bit different for these guys.
“I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MOUNTAIN BIKING AND THE COMMUNITY, BUT I DO FEEL OUT OF PLACE AT TIMES, ESPECIALLY AT PRAYER TIME”
Capital crew
We’re here today because Emdad responded to JCW’s
