Mani Arthur is a competitive cyclist and founder of Black Cyclists Network (BCN), the biggest organisation in Europe aimed at encouraging Black people to get into cycling. Mani started cycling in 2009 as part of his commute to work. He rode from London to Copenhagen to raise money for charity in 2011. He caught the cycling bug soon afterwards and started competing in 2014. He was selected to represent Ghana at the 2019 African Championship in Morocco. Mani has since gone on to represent Ghana at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and will be participating in this year’s World Championships Road Race in Glasgow on 6 August. Mani’s journey led him to create BCN because of the lack of diversity in the sport. In his own words cycling is a difficult sport to get into if you are new to the culture. It can be intimidating. As a result, a lot of black riders ride alone and do not join their local clubs. I created BCN to open the door and remove some of those barriers. Everyone is welcomed at BCN. It doesn’t matter whether you are black or white. The message of creating an inclusive and welcoming space for all is the most important thing.
Mani Arthur
