Just What the Doctor Ordered!



How cycling GP and mum of three Attiya Khan lost her Mercedes, but found independence, some beautiful local scenery and welcome respite from the Covid frontline. 

Is it true that you got rid of your E-class Mercedes because you couldn’t fit your bike in it?

Yes! I swapped it for a seven-seater. It shows how much cycling means to me. I didn’t learn to ride until I was 35. I had my own bike, but was too nervous to cycle anywhere alone, so group rides were perfect. I was quickly obsessed with them. I’d drive to the ride starting point and borrow a council bicycle. If they were all booked up, I’d miss out on my ride and be so disappointed! 

I couldn’t squeeze my bike into the Merc, so it had to go! Then Mariam (from JoyRiders) gave me a one to one lesson showing me how to cycle safely from home (Woodford) to the starting point.

Leaving the car at home was a real change for me. I used to drive everywhere and had no idea about all the lovely places in my local area. I’d lived here 11 years, but I wasn’t aware of the River Lea, Markfield Park or even the Walthamstow Wetlands. 

Before lockdown, how did you feel about family bike rides?

I was definitely increasing my confidence through the group rides, but at that stage I still wouldn’t have gone out on my own with the children (Aneesa, 17; Raffi, 13; and Saf, 12). 

When taking the kids out on the bikes, I was dependent on having my husband there – it’s a big responsibility taking three kids on your own, they don’t always check the side roads when they pass and drivers pull out without looking for cyclists.

How has JoyRiders supported you during Covid19?

I really missed the social aspect of the group rides, so the JoyRiders online Coffee Mornings have been brilliant for staying connected with other women. Especially during Ramadan when I was too tired to exercise or go out – it was an incentive to get out of bed on my days off! The route videos, and, in particular, the demonstration of how to use navigational apps, were really helpful. 

Before lockdown, I didn’t pay too much attention to the routes on the group rides, but that session on apps really inspired me. I’m learning how to use Komoot to plan my own trips. 

My husband usually drives to work. The first of the JoyRiders Key Worker Commuter Route was to Royal London so after watching the route video we decided to try it out on a Sunday morning. He’s planning to try it on a weekday next.

Covid-19 came as a big shock to everyone, but it is also a very personal thing for our family. Rehan and I are both NHS doctors. I’m a part-time GP, he works in obstetrics/gynaecology at the Royal London. I was very worried about my husband as a frontline, ethnic minority doctor at the Royal London. He’s the sort who wouldn’t hesitate to help someone if they needed it, adequate PPE or not. I was in a supposedly ‘cold’ area where we didn’t don PPE unless patients had symptoms, but I still caught it. 

BAME doctors and care-workers are putting their lives on the line for the NHS and the population of this country. Healthcare settings are multiracial environments. So it really hurt when early media coverage whitewashed us out of the picture and illustrated news stories with pictures of almost exclusively white staff tending to patients. It didn’t look like any hospital I’ve been in lately.

The children were very anxious about both of us and frustrated about being stuck at home unable to do anything. Under lockdown conditions there were few options open to any of us to escape the stress and anxiety of pandemic life. We couldn’t do the things we’d normally do like visit friends and family. Going for local walks was an option, but we found it a bit boring. 

Cycling was the thing that kept us sane over the past few months. It was one of the few family activities we could all still do together, where we could escape thoughts of the pandemic and feel free for a few precious moments. Other women from the group would share pictures of places they’d been to on social media and off we’d go. I remember seeing photos of the bluebells in Wanstead Park, and persuading the children to ride there. The sight was so beautiful and uplifting--a magical moment. 

So, post lockdown, what kind of a cyclist will you be?

A more confident one! 

I’m still wary of traffic but the quieter roads and regular rides we’ve been doing mean I’m getting to know my area much better. It’s no big deal to go out on my own with the children somewhere like Olympic Park, and I’m also realising that many regular solo journeys are much quicker by bike, especially Lea Bridge Rd with the new cycle path all the way to Hackney. 

I’d like to try something more challenging like the Tower Bridge route one day. And I’d like to commute by bike to work and cycle to see patients when I do home visits. 

I feel proud of how I (and my whole family) have become more adventurous in cycling without the group rides during lockdown. I now feel able to go further distances and I am actually confident to cycle alone. And it’s definitely helped us as a family to cope during what has been a really difficult time. I’m looking forward to led rides starting up again though, as I can’t wait to ride as a group again!

What advice would you give to others who feel apprehensive about giving cycling a go?

If you feel nervous, don’t worry- you will gain confidence. Especially if you plan your route in advance!