RIDING FROM Leyton in east London, 16 miles across the UK capital city, finishing in Dulwich Park, last weekend’s fourth annual Black Unity Bike Ride (BUBR) was another amazing success and yes, that’s despite the rain.

Having navigated the organisation of the ‘Monsoon’ ride two years ago, BUBR organisers were well and truly ready for this year’s predicted downpour with waterproof ponchos aplenty.

What they might not have been anticipating however, was the turn out.

Who knew Black people liked to ride in the rain?

Undeterred by the elements, over 800 cycle enthusiasts culminated on London’s streets in a show of unity to encourage each other along the route from the start to the finish.

In keeping with years past, the vibes and fervour amongst the colourful peloton were on fire, despite the weathers efforts to dampen them.

All manner of abilities, all manner of ,in the words of the BUBR team, ‘t’s not a race, it’s a movement’.

Speaking to the Voice at the end of the ride, Marie said it was her first time participating and she loved every minute of it.Catching her breath, she said: “Everything was fine except the last hill coming up to  Dulwich Park, that took the last bit out of me, I’m not quite sure how I am going to get back to Hackney. But apart from that the spirit has been good. It was a challenegand I made it.”

Jason Phillip, who came down from Birmingham the day before in order to ride out, said: “I saw this event online last year, so I registered for this year and here I am. It’s brilliant, I wish there was something like this in Brum.

“You often hear there isn’t much unity in London’s Black community, especially coming from where I am in Birmingham, its not quite the same, but this event has shown me so much more.

“I saw kids as young as six riding out there in the rain. How brave, how brilliant, how positive that they can see us doing it all together. No limits.

“I’ll never miss it, as long as I can ride, I’ll be here.”

One of the many official marshalls on the day, enthused: “It was brilliant, come rain, come sun, we always bring the vibes.

“We were ready for this. Two years ago we had, I would say, Monsoon weather and we were ready then, but we’re even more ready now. Everything went swimmingly and from what I could see, everyone was having a good time, vibing, there wasn’t any issues, so that’s the perfect thing.”

Clara said it was her third year taking part and she wouldn’t miss it for the world. “I had a great day, despite being really, really wet. I’m definitely getting the train home though.

“This is my third one, I missed the first one, I haven’t missed one and won’t miss one again. I’ll be here next year, rain or shine, we rolling.”

Posting on their Instagram page, team BUBR wrote: “What an epic day, we rode out rain or shine.. And boy did it rain, in fact it bloody poured but nothing was stopping us. Nothing can stop WE!

“BLACK UNITY was definitely out in full effect today.

“Massive shout out to everyone who came through from near or far, young or wise. We did that, you did that! Onto the next one, we’ve already got the date locked! See you soon, save the date my people. The next BUBR 2024 will be 03.08.24.”

See you there.