The Great Ride of Return
The Great March of Return was a peaceful rally held weekly for over a year by Palestinians along the border of the Gaza Strip demanding mobility justice.
From Fri 1st - Sun 3rd March, 18 cities worldwide are expected to raise flags and voices on two wheels for Palestine, joining the latest synchronized solidarity cycle in the The Great Ride of Return series. The past three cycles took place earlier this year in more than 60 locations across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia with thousands of cyclists demanding an end to Israel’s assault on Palestine. The series is led by the Gaza Sunbirds in partnership with their own sporting campaign Athletes for Palestine in coalition with Big Ride for Palestine, Native Women Ride and Amos Trust.
INSPIRED BY THE SUNBIRDS
The Gaza Sunbirds are a para-cycling team based in Gaza and made up of 20 athletes who lost limbs in previous Israeli attacks. They formed in 2020 with a dream of representing Palestine on the sporting world stage at this year’s Paralympics. Now, the team have been forced to give up their training regime due to the current Israeli aggression. Instead, the past four months have seen them distributing over $70,000 USD worth of food and supplies in Southern and central Gaza - risking their lives on one leg for their community’s right to survive.
As the bombardment persists and these aid missions become increasingly challenging to complete, the Sunbirds call on the world to join them on bikes and demand an end to Israel’s intensifying atrocities. This urgent call echoes across the world, sparking a powerful grassroots cycling movement dubbed The Great Ride of Return. Local groups and individuals are rallying their communities to raise flags and voices on two wheels, synchronized with fellow cyclists internationally who demand a permanent ceasefire and dignified existence for Palestinians.
PARTNERED INTERNATIONALLY
Helping to arrange cycles and providing planning support to ride organisers, partners include Big Ride for Palestine in the UK who have been organising solidarity cycles since 2015. The North American side of the series is partnered with Washington-DC-based indigenous cycling collective, Native Women Ride who supports the smooth running of cycles across the continent. Amos Trust is the Sunbirds’ British fundraising partner and regularly represents at the Great Rides. To this particular one, Amos brings its annual Run the Wall - a run, walk and ride event coinciding with the Palestine marathon. Thanks to this coalition, ride organisers, participants and the Sunbirds themselves, thousands have taken to the streets for powerful global moments felt in Berlin, Tokyo, Washington DC, El Salvador, Kuala Lumpur, London, Manchester, Singapore, Cape Town, Los Angeles and many more cities in between.
ROOTED IN THE RALLY
The series takes inspiration from the founding story of the Gaza Sunbirds set against the backdrop of the Great March of Return - a peaceful Palestinian rally along the Gaza-Israel border. Held weekly for over a year from 2018, thousands protested against Israel’s illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip and demanded the right to return to their ancestral homes. On 30th March 2019, Palestine’s top professional cyclist, Alaa al-Dali, joined the march; what he experienced that day led to events he would later describe as the “amputation of his dream”. He was shot in the leg by an Israeli sniper with an explosive bullet and became one of 32,000 peaceful protesters injured by targeted attacks. After medical leave was refused for treatment that would save his leg - a shared reality for most cases like these - Alaa had it surgically removed. The following year, he rewrote his personal dream of competing individually in overseas cycling races into a collective project using sport to empower others after trauma. He assembled 19 team mates, all of whom had sustained similar life-altering injuries from Israeli attacks, many from that very rally, and founded the Gaza Sunbirds. Alaa compels us to recognise injustices past and present and…
“Join us on our journey to send a powerful message to the world to stop the siege of Gaza. We ride for freedom.”
After 1-3rd March, the next Great Ride of Return will take place on 16th March. This will be followed by another on 30th March, the five year anniversary of the gunshot to Alaa’s leg that led to its amputation and marks the beginning of the inspirational Gaza Sunbirds journey.
Join or organise a solidarity cycle in your city! More info here: www.gazasunbirds.org/ride
RIDE INFORMATION
London (UK) - 3rd March
Birmingham (UK) - 2nd March
Swindon (UK) - 2nd March
Reading (UK) - 3rd March
Leicester (UK) - 2nd March
Manchester (UK) - 2nd March
Barcelona (Spain) - 1st March
Berlin (Germany) - 2nd March
Saint Etienne (France) - 6th March
Amsterdam (Netherlands) - 7th March
Vancouver (Canada) - 2nd March
Toronto (Canada) - 2nd March
Philadelphia (U.S.A.) - 3rd March
Asheville (North Carolina, U.S.A.) - 2nd March
Richmond (California, U.S.A.) - 3rd March
Santa Barbara (California, U.S.A.) - 3rd March
Viña del Mar (Chile) - 2nd March
Sydney (Australia) - 3rd March
GREAT RIDE OF RETURN
The Great Ride of Return is a solidarity cycle series led by the Gaza Sunbirds - a para-cylcing team facing the current Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. The Sunbirds call on the world to join them on bikes, raising flags and voices on two wheels for Palestine as part of their powerful global grassroots cycling movement. Collectively, local groups and individuals have already rallied their communities to the tune of thousands across over 60 cities from Europe, North America, Asia and Australia demanding a permanent ceasefire and dignified existence for Palestinians. The series is organized and supported in partnership with their global Athletes for Palestine campaign, Native Women Ride in North America as well as Big Ride for Palestine and Amos Trust in the UK.
GAZA SUNBIRDS
The Gaza Sunbirds are a para-cycling team facing the current realities of the Israeli attacks on the Gaza strip. The team of amputee athletes formed in 2020 with a dream of representing Palestine on the sporting world stage at this year’s Paralympics. Now, they have been forced to give up their training regime due to the Israeli bombardment, instead turning their attention to supporting their local community. Over the past months, they have been risking their lives on one leg to distribute over tens of thousands of US dollars worth of food and supplies in Southern and central Gaza. As well as their aid missions and The Great Ride of Return cycle series, the Sunbirds spearhead Athletes for Palestine. The campaign calls out to the global sporting community to join in their demands for an end to human suffering in Palestine and occupied territories. Its 100+ sign ups include US skateboarder Ryan Lay, pro-cyclists Imogen Cotter from Ireland and Nico Deportago-Cabrera from the US as well as Irish two-time Paralympic gold medallist Mark Rohan
BIG RIDE FOR PALESTINE
The Big Ride for Palestine are a humanitarian organisation initiated in 2015 by activists in Britain, Ireland and beyond who wanted to combine a love of cycling with support for the rights and self-determination of the Palestinian people. Using cycling as a mechanism and a symbol of freedom, BR4P mobilise hundreds of cyclists, physically and politically, on cross country multi-day rides annually. Previous rides have included 2017 ‘Northern Ride', where they embarked on a three-day protest leaving from Liverpool and finishing up in Sheffield, cycling via Manchester and Bradford and the 2023 four day Swansea to Bristol ride, mobilising 200+ cyclists.
NATIVE WOMEN RIDE
We are a virtual community of Native/Indigenous relatives riding with Mother Earth. Protecting all human and more than human relatives, educating about the land we ride with, and raising awareness about issues impacting Native communities. Native joy above all else.
AMOS TRUST
Amos Trust is a small creative human rights organisation committed to challenging injustice, building hope and creating positive change. Run the Wall is arranged annually by them in March of each year and is a run, walk and ride event coinciding with the Palestine marathon.