Lives: Wales, Llwynypia
From: Sierra Leone, West Africa
Social: @africap_apparel
Welcome to CCC Introduces, our series of interviews spotlighting our diverse roster of contributors.
Today, I'm stoked to welcome Mohammad, or Hammer. Hammer is the founder and creative behind Africap Apparel, a clothing company combining the vibrancy and energy of West Africa, embued in its colours and its fabric, with cycling culture.
Tell us about yourself.
I'm a British raised Sierra Leonean, and I guess my passions are football, food, photography, art and travel. I manage a charity that promotes education for girls in Sierra Leone and a business that sells mainly handmade cycling caps and bags. I do cycle a lot but I don't see myself as a cyclist.
What do you love about cycling
I love to travel and cycling has facilitated this. I've been fortunate to have lived in many countries and I've always gotten around by bike. I've also taken a few trips where we made so many discoveries because we cycled. When you get going there is a sense of freedom that I really enjoy and I'm environmentally conscious and this is something that I like about cycling too.
What barriers have you faced in cycling
A few but the main ones I'd highlight here are economical, there are a lot of expenses getting into the sport, there are additional expenses maintaining a bike and having the right equipment.
Why were you interested in contributing?
I like supporting initiatives like this and I feel it is important to do so. Since I became aware of CCC I've enjoyed following its content and reading other contributor profiles and hope I can continue to support as much as possible!
Your fondest memory on the bike
It's a toss up between the first time I did the Dunwich Dynamo and cycled from London to Paris.
The former was a truly unique experience cycling almost entirely at night on country roads with probably the most people I've ever cycled with. It was a radical change to be in the majority on the road for once instead of cars. I felt like I saw every type of cyclist and being surrounded by a myriad of lights and sounds added to the experience. There was kind of an unruly but not reckless energy that you don't usually get at 01:30 am in the middle of the English countryside.
The first time I cycled from London to Paris was by far the hardest journey I did at that point. It was a fundraiser for Keep it FAX, we were a group of 4, organised it ourselves and it rained for 2/3 days.
The sense of achievement at the end was unmatched because from the moment we left I was genuinely uncertain if I was capable of getting there in the end. And even though I've gone out to do more trips like that since as the first one that stands out.
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