|
Reflecting on a Dad’s Inspirational Bike Ride for Islamic Education
On Saturday, December 10, 2011, in the pre-dawn hours of a cold night, Muslim Link staff accompanied Brother Abdur Rashid, a forty-year old father who lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, as he began a two day, 235-mile bike ride to raise support for Al-Huda School.
The journey was sponsored and documented by the Muslim Link, and over the course of the two days, our staff updated a live tracking website with images and comments. Little did we realize that the journey transfixed and moved thousands of Muslims – locally and across the world.
Here we present some images and perspectives from the point of view of the “Sabr Wins the Race” support team.
Preparation
 Nothing could really prepare the support team or the bike rider for the arduous journey ahead. The bike ride for Islamic education idea came about after Abdur Rashid successfully completed a 75-mile round trip, personal bike-a-thon from College Park, Maryland to Alexandria, Virginia and back to raise money for his daughter’s kindergarten class. The class needed $700 and by Allah’s mercy he was able to raise about $1,400. Seeing the possibility of a larger effort, Abdur Rashid approached to Muslim Link with an idea to raise money for the entire school – both campuses of Al-Huda School – by riding from the home campus in College Park, Maryland to the sister campus in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
Planning and marketing to encourage per-mile pledges went into full swing. With a $20,000 goal, the team was a bit worried that only about half that amount was pledged by the time the ride took off.
For Abdur Rashid, his bike, his body, and his mental state needed to be prepared for the ride. For the team, the support vehicle, emergency supplies, maps, cold weather gear, video equipment, and plenty of high energy food and drinks needed to be ready for the ride.
In anxious anticipation, neither Abdur Rashid nor the team could sleep the night before. Abdur Rashid disassembled and resembled his bike the night before, coming to the ride’s launch point at Al-Huda School with barely a few hours of light sleep. Planned for a 3 AM start, the team filled and organized their support car with supplies, while Abdur Rashid made last minute changes to his bike to make it lighter, moving racks and bags he planned to carry to the support vehicle.
The Ride Takes Off
After suiting up with layers and chemical heat packs in his socks and gloves, the team and Abdur Rashid head out to the parking lot with “bismillah”. They test the walkie-talkies, and Abdur Rashid heads out in the sub-zero degree night down Edgewood Road, and onto Rhode Island Avenue. It was almost 4 AM. The planned arrival time in Pennsylvania was 4 PM that same day. At 110 miles, that meant Abdur Rashid had to keep an average speed of around 9 miles per hour, closer to 10 mile per hour when you include time for breaks.
As the support team pulled behind him, the first car to come behind them left them thinking “what do we do?” They pulled about a mile ahead and onto the side of the road, hazard lights blinking, heat on full blast. They waited for Abdur Rashid’s bright orange safety vest to appear. The radio crackled with Abdur Rashid’s first transmission. ‘I can’t carry this radio, it keeps falling out,” he said, breathing heavily as his body adjusted to the exertion. “This is pretty insane,” said one support team member. “Do you think he can do this?” one asked. “In Sha Allah.”
The bike ride followed only secondary roads and roads with speed limits not higher than 50 miles per hour. Going into Montgomery County in the pre-fajr hour, the ride passed the Islamic Society of the Washington Area (ISWA) and a large group of deer who raced down the road alongside Abdur Rashid as he passed, and then passed the Muslim Community Center (MCC). After another hour, Abdur Rashid rode onto small roads with both sides covered by forest. It was a full moon night. The team began noticing many pick-up trucks along the sides of the road, mostly empty. On later on when Abdur Rashid said he heard gunfire the entire time along those roads did we realize it was deer hunting season, and the best time to hunt was in the pre-dawn hours. We said alhumdulillah he was wearing a bright orange safety vest.
Making Good Time
 As dawn broke, we continued riding ahead of Abdur Rashid, leaving no more than a few miles between us and him. The walkie-talkies were working fairly well in this open country, but we would later learn how poorly they performed in urban environments. Abdur Rashid was making good time, and we soon entered parts of Maryland we did not know existed. The country side very cold but also refreshing and beautiful. Before long we began to see Pennsylvania license plates, and at 12:34 pm Abdur Rashid crossed into Pennsylvania. “Do you think he can do this?” the team asked again. “Yes, In Sha Allah.”
Trip Taking Its Toll
 On the road for over 10 hours on very little sleep, and drinking large amounts of water and Gatorade, eating only bananas, honey, and energy snacks, Abdur Rashid began feeling nausea and started coughing badly. Mucus was building up in his chest, and the coughing was taking up his energy. We pulled into a Sheetz mart and purchased Robitussin, and he started to drink it far more than the recommended dosage, hoping to loosen up the mucus in his chest. His knees were also hurting him. By maghrib, his face, body, and speed showed his exhaustion. He had dropped to a little over 5 miles per hour, and we were stopping more frequently for rest. His bike was also causing him concerns. With nightfall came more traffic danger, and more cold. He kept telling himself the community in Pennsylvania was waiting for him. In fact, they had been waiting with food and a warm community welcome since 3pm. The team posted a request to the community to make dua for Abdur Rashid. We later learned that hundreds of people were glued to their computer screens, following our progress into the night.
Arrival at Al-Huda School in Pennsylvania
The final 20 miles to the school was excruciatingly slow. Abdur Rashid was having digestive problems and his body reacted to the stress and radically changed diet, and he had to stop for bathroom breaks often, mostly in the woods. At about 6:45 pm, we pulled into Al-Huda School to a warm and emotional welcome. Children had their bikes out, and they held up signs and banners welcoming their bike riding hero. Food was ready, and Abdur Rashid was smothered with hugs and hand shakes. We couldn’t stay long since Abdur Rashid had to take the bike for repairs to a nearby shop whose owner “Dave” was kind enough to open the store for a special appointment. The bike repair visit took almost 2 hours. By the time the team got to the hotel, ate, showered, and prayed maghrib and isha, it was almost midnight. It had been a physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing past 21 hours. According to the trip plan, they had to do it all over again in a few hours at 3 AM. Conferring with each other, they decided they would leave later around 8 AM. The team also asked a local doctor to examine Abdur Rashid to see if his body could handle a second day of extreme stress. The doctor said he will have some pains and might have to take some anti-biotics on his return, but he was in good shape. We left for the trip home at around 11 AM.
Met with Mountains
As soon as we left the confines of the city, the route home became very hilly, with very steep inclines and descents. The support car was often in second gear, and some inclines were at least 30 degrees. Though Abdur Rashid was visibly more energized – he said it was because he was able to sleep about 6 hours – the hills were sapping up all that energy. Since we started much later than planned, we had only about 5 hours of daylight. Riding in the dark was not only dangerous, it was also much colder and harder on Abdur Rashid’s body and lungs.
The Trail of Darkness
In the weeks preceding the bike ride, Abdur Rashid was excited when planning the return route because there was a 40-mile stretch on a bike trail which was made along an abandoned railway. The Northern Central Railroad (NCR) trail, or “rail trail” as we called it, was supposed to be where Abdur Rashid makes good time – no cars, no traffic, and no hills. It turned out that this was the most arduous, stressful, and dangerous part of the entire bike ride. The trail intersected roads and streets at various points. The support team was to meet Abdur Rashid at 10-mile intersections. So, he would be totally alone for 10 miles at a time, out of sight and quite possibly out of radio or cell phone range. Finding these intersection points was also very stressful for the support team, and they were not conspicuous and they were all in areas with no light at all. It was night, and the trail challenged Abdur Rashid’s psychological strength – it was pitch black, he was alone. He was chased by a dog, threatened by a bull cow, and almost rode into a 2 foot deep crater on the path. At each intersection point he was relieved to see the flashing hazard lights of our support vehicle. Adrenaline and fear pushed him to speed through the rail trail segments, but after the third segment he said he could no longer go on the rail trail. He said he would follow us on our vehicle route. It was through the mountains.
Difficult Decisions
Abdur Rashid had been biking almost 12 hours by the time we stopped at a 7-11 just a few miles past the Mason-Dixon Line. We saw him push himself up the mountain roads, driving 10 feet behind him with our hazard lights on, illuminating his way with our high beams. It was deeply emotional for the support team. We saw him get off the bike and walk for the first time on the entire trip. In the parking lot of the 7-11, Abdur Rashid said he needed a hot cup of coffee. It was around 10 PM and we were supposed to have been back at Al-Huda School in College Park around 4 PM. A new welcome ceremony was now planned for 8 AM the next morning. It did not seem humanly possible – with Abdur Rashid’s exhausted condition, the freezing temperature, and the simple fact that we were still 60 miles from College Park – to make the 8 AM arrival time. But Abdur Rashid said “I made a commitment to finish”. We debated with him, offering that we get a hotel and continue tomorrow, or that drive him back the rest of the way. He refused. “Let’s take it 10 miles at a time. After 10 miles we will reevaluate, that’s what we’ll do,” he said. He silently agreed. He got out of the car and left the parking lot on his bike, heading down more steep hills as we followed behind, hazards blinking. After barely a quarter mile, while on a descent, he pulled over. We came out of the car. He said his brake pads were frozen over and his bike wasn’t stopping on the descents, and that the freezing winds were going right through his body. We assured him this was the plan of Allah, that He only wanted you to reach this point. We picked up his bike and put it on the rack. The ice cold steel was like his determination to fulfill his commitment; it left for the journey solid, and was returning solid. He sat in the car. We were silent. He fell asleep immediately. Sabr – patience and determination – won this race.
After resting in Greenbelt, Maryland for the night at the home of a support team member, Abdur Rashid rode about 4 miles to Al-Huda School at 8 AM on Monday. The entire school stood outside to greet him. One sign read “Sabr WON the Race”.
To donate and support his effort, visit www.sabrwinstherace.org. All donations go directly to Al-Huda School.
|
