Interview with Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa

Ahead of the 5th anniversary of the Black Unity Bike Ride, London Cyclist magazine Editor John Kitchiner caught up with its founder Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa…

For those who aren’t familiar with it, what is the Black Unity Bike Ride (BUBR)?

BUBR is a registered charity that uses cycling as a vehicle for change. Through group rides and events, BUBR empowers the Black community to reclaim space, promote wellness and foster unity across generations.

We’ve inspired many from Black communities to be active and achieve goals that they never thought they could; whether that be starting up a cycling club with a 100-plus membership, or learning to ride a bike, and/or becoming a middleaged cycling centurion.

From nothing, we’ve established a unique, organic and authentic movement that is trusted, valued and admired by a growing community of stakeholders. We have built a reputation for high-quality execution, empowerment and inclusivity. And we live by our values of unity, empowerment and love.

Where did the idea come from and was there a specific inspiration?

In the aftermath of the George Floyd murder in 2020, I wanted to make a statement, but I didn’t want to march. Instead, I wanted to do something that focused on unity, joy and empowerment. And due to Covid lockdown restrictions cycling felt like a viable outlet.

According to sport England date only 27% of Black communities participated in cycling — which is lower than nearly all other ethnicity groupings. In fact, when it comes to all sporting activity, Black communities had the lowest level of participation across all ethnicity groups at 49%. These stats led to me making a statement that not only reflected positivity but also encouraged the community to lead healthier lives.

When and where was your first ride and how many joined that first one? How did you publicise it?

Following an Instagram exchange with my friend Adisa I was inspired to launch BUBR. I posted a simple message on Instagram and two weeks later our first ride took place on Saturday 1 August 2020 (on Black Pound Day and Emancipation Day).

The ride began by the tube station in Walthamstow in east London and I had expected maybe between 50 to 100 people to turn up.

But by the time we reached the end of the ride in Brixton, via the West End, 1,500 riders had taken part. The youngest being single digits old and the oldest being in their 70s.

The Black Unity Bike Ride taking to the streets of London. Credit: BUBR

And what sort of cyclists did it attract at the start?

As the vision was all about unity, the ride attracted riders from all walks of life: we had serious cyclists turn up with expensive carbon bikes, alongside those who either borrowed or hired a bike for the day to partake. In the first year about 25% of participants were women, and in the following years that percentage has nearly doubled.

How did you navigate the challenges of Covid at the time? What impact did that have on your plans?

In a strange way I think the restrictions of Covid supported the ride, because people were eager to connect in some way and be active, but the opportunities to do both in a safe way were limited.

I think during lockdown a lot of people rediscovered their love for cycling or learnt how to ride a bike for the first time.

There’s now a BUBR London ride every summer, how has it grown year-on-year since 2020? And has the demographic changed much over the last five years?

We now dub the annual ride a ‘carnival on bikes’, because of the joyful atmosphere it generates annually, regardless if we get sunshine or rain. We had more than 2,000 participants at our last annual ride (2024) and I have seen an increase in families attending the ride together which is great and wholesome to see.

We have a real mix of participants now, from those that are members of cycling clubs to those novices that will ride the furthest they’ve ever been on a bike at the event.

And developing that carnival theme, you also have a tell us more about that and what people can expect?

The best way to describe the ride is ‘vibes upon vibes’, it has a warm and community feel, strangers become friends and everyone feels part of something positive. The final destination is Dulwich Park and that’s where the BUBR Fest takes place as the post-ride finale.

We have vendors selling a variety of African and African-Caribbean cuisine, we have massage tents for riders, DJs, face painters, cycling smoothie makers, Black-owned retailers selling clothing and other items.

And the riders are met with a welcoming atmosphere from friends and family that have turned up to celebrate their achievement of completing the ride.

You now have plans to expand the BUBR rides to Manchester and Birmingham. What can you reveal about those plans?

Yes, in 2025 we will be piloting the ride in Manchester and in 2026 doing the same in Birmingham. After five years in London, we thought it was time to spread the love and good vibes across the country.

We have partnered with local cycling initiatives in each city to ensure the rides feel authentic and owned by the local communities. The aspiration is to grow the volume of participants at each of the rides and we chose those two cities due to the ease to commute from most parts of the country, and the fact they both have high levels of Black and Brown people.

The theme of “vibes upon vibes” is hard to miss when the riders take to the streets! Credit: BUBR

One of the most impressive things that has grown from the original rides are the annual fundraising cycle tours to Africa — when did you start to think that was feasible or had it always been a long-term goal?

Yes, the BUBR Africa concept was organic growth and born during lockdown. Many cycling trips take place in Europe and due to who we are and what we stand for we decided to explore Africa. The concept involves finding a grassroots NGO that is using cycling for good, partner with them and a local cycling club and the collaboration creates something special and unique.

For several of the participants, it is their first time travelling to Africa. To date we have fundraised over £35,000 for positive grassroots initiatives in three African nations.

The first one you took to Ghana. How many riders did you take with you? And what were some of the most memorable highlights?

In spring 2023 we had 18 take part in the first trip. Due to having family from Ghana I had travelled there a few times. But doing so by bike was a totally different experience. Some of the surreal highlights included cycling to Liberation Square, Cape Coast Castle and cycling across the Volta River, as well as riding about 100 miles from the capital Accra to Takoradi.

How much money were you able to raise on that first trip? And how do you decide on which grassroots groups to support?

We used our network to help us identify a worthy charity partner in Ghana. Via a Ghanaian cycling club called The Gladiators we were introduced to Vida Cycling Programme.

Named after the founder of the initiative, it delivers real rich impact on the ground in her local area. We were able to fundraise over £13,000 for VCP and were able to donate kit from our friends at Rapha.

2024 was Rwanda, which has a growing buzz in the cycling world — was it as hilly as it looks on tv coverage of pro races?

They do not call Rwanda the land of a thousand hills for nothing! My Strava informed me three days in a row that I had climbed my highest elevation ever. The trip was humbling on a cycling level and also on a cultural level.

Our trip coincided with the 30-year memorial of the genocide that took place in the country. It was very powerful to see first-hand how our fundraising efforts were supporting former street kids in turning their lives around.

Tokunbo (centre) riding with the rest of the group. Credit: BUBR

We’ve just caught you fresh off the plane from South Africa and BUBR’s 2025 tour, and it sounds like you had an even bigger team of fellow riders than previously? Give us an idea of some of the distances and elevations you were covering?

We took 36 cyclists to Cape Town, South Africa which has been our largest BUBR Africa group to date. South Africa has a complicated history, yet some of the most beautiful natural scenes I have witnessed in my life.

One highlight was cycling on the coastline through an area called Misty Cliffs. In seconds the weather changed from a typical sunny day to a misty, cold dark environment, like something out of a Hollywood movie set.

In total we had seven consecutive days of cycling which included highlights like Chapman’s Peak, Pringle Bay, and the toughest day of the trip was when we took on Franschhoek pass which involved 780m of climbing, though the view at the top was worth my heart rate shooting through the roof!

Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, what’s next for you and BUBR? Both at home and abroad?

In 2026 we plan to expand the vibes to Birmingham as our third major city, and for BUBR Africa we are in discussions with three possible destinations that we hope to have confirmed this summer.

What BUBR has become has surpassed my wildest dreams. Since 2020 we have executed more than 40 wellbeing activations, engaged 10,000-plus registered participants, delivered social impact on an international level, and developed multi-year partnerships with the likes of Sport England, London Marathon Events, Sky and Rapha.