One of the biggest bike ride events in the country, dubbed a ‘carnival on wheels’, is coming to Manchester this year.
The Black Unity Bike Ride (BUBR) was set up in London following the murder of George Floyd, which took place on 25 May 2020 and set shockwaves around the world.
Now, as the event is looking to reach across the UK, the event celebrating Black culture, joy, empowerment and unity is coming to our city region and its surrounding areas for the first time ever.
It’s set to be a truly brilliant and inspiring event.
Teaming up with London Marathon Events (LME) once again, the mass participation veterans have been lending expertise since 2021, and now they’ve reached a new five-year agreement to help continue strengthening BUBR and, hopefully, create a national movement by setting up in two new cities.
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Manchester marks the first stage of the Black Unity Bike Ride expansion, which will see thousands take to cycling from Alexandra Park in Moss Side on a 12-mile route through the city and back to the beautiful outdoor space.
Aiming to mirror the success of the flagship BUBR event down in the capital, Manc participants and supporters can expect a vibrant, ‘festival feel’ with pumping music throughout.
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Back at Alexandra Park, there’ll be even a huge pop-up home base for the event, bringing together Greater Manchester’s Black community with a big food and vendor village, more music and an uplifting atmosphere all day long.
The inaugural Manchester event will come just a fortnight after the sixth annual edition of the founding Black Unity Bike Ride in London, which sees waves of cyclists take on 17 miles, starting at Leyton Sports Ground and finishing in Dulwich Park.
Credit: Black Unity Bike Ride Manchester (supplied)
Promising route leaders, cheer zones and pitstops on the route, plenty of music, not to mention various indie food and drink traders pulling from a wide range of different ethnicities and cuisines, it’s this kind of full-on festival energy that BUBR Manchester is striving to capture.
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Once again, it’s a ‘carnival on wheels’.
BUBR MCR 2025 will take place on Sunday, 17 August, the birthday of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a key political activist – the forefather of the ‘Garveyism ideology – as well as publisher, journalist and orator who has his own national day named after him in his home country of Jamaica.
He advocated for the empowerment and rights of African descendants and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA), in addition to organising America’s first-ever Black nationalist movement.
You can see the event documentary film, which chronicles last year’s Black Unity Bike Ride in full down below. It really is a moving watch – pardon the pun.
It’s also worth noting that the Black Unity Bike Ride Fest is completely FREE, as the goal is to get as many people as possible. You can sign up
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BUBR founder, Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa, said of the upcoming event: “What began as a bold idea on London’s streets has grown into a national movement. We are very excited to bring the event to Manchester, it has been an aspiration for a few years so we can’t wait until Sunday, 17 August.”
“BUBR has valued London Marathon Events’ support since 2021, and we are very proud to extend this relationship with a new five-year commitment. The partnership is a true statement of intent when it comes to community, inclusion and inspiring active lives.”
BUBR has been to Rwanda, South Africa, Ghana and more; Manchester is up next and there’ll be another new home in 2026.
Manchester Storm’s ‘own and loan’ scheme returns for 2026/27
Danny Jones
Manchester Storm have relaunched their much-loved ‘own and loan’ programme once again ahead of the 2026/27 season.
Having gone from a cult favourite option for die-hards to an increasingly popular choice among their growing number of supporters, it’s a great way for fans to get their hands on what could go on to be priceless collectables.
Set up over a decade and a half ago, the initiative has gone on to be replicated by multiple clubs in the Elite Ice Hockey League, across the country, and indeed beyond.
For anyone unclear on what exactly this scheme means for them, here’s all you need to know.
The own and loan sponsorship is essentially an opportunity not only to support the club and your favourite player, but to essentially reserve a valuable piece of match-worn memorabilia.
Put simply, fans can buy a squad member’s jersey and then loan it back to them for the season.
The shirt – be it home, away, created for cup tournaments or a special limited-edition sweater (of which MCR Storm have designed many over the years) – will then be worn throughout the course of the campaign before being given back to the owner, i.e. you.
Not just simply buying the shirt, but helping back the team’s talent, it’s one of the most direct ways people can contribute to the club.
The Greater Manchester side pioneered the push for this initiative here in the UK in the early 2010s, and with the local side now set to return to the AO Arena, where their journey began way back in 1995, you can expect plenty to mark the comeback with a special sponsored jersey.
Anyone who purchases an away strip will have their name featured throughout home games for the duration of the season – not a bad gift or way to secure a potential future collectors’ item.
You can see every player available to sponsor and find out all the information you need right HERE.
For regular matchgoers at the ‘Storm Shelter’, we’re sure it’ll be bittersweet to say goodbye to Planet Ice Altrincham, but just how excited are you about heading home to the AO Arena later this year?
Featured Images — Manchester Storm (publicity picture)/The Manc Group
Sport
League One set for an all-Greater Manchester playoff final as Bolton book trip to Wembley
Danny Jones
It’s official: we’re all set for a fully Greater Manchester League One playoff final as Bolton Wanderers are the latest to secure a return to Wembley against Stockport County.
The resurgent old Lancashire club clinched their spot in the knockout conclusion of the third division with a single strike in the second leg of the semis, and it wasn’t a bad finish, either.
Beating Bradford City 2-0 on aggregate, Bolton will now play familiar regional rivals Stockport, with Wanderers set to clash with County in a decisive derby once again.
Bolton‘s instinctive volley from Chelsea youth product and former Hull City man, Xavier Simons, resulted in some very satisfying limbs at Valley Parade.
The home fans did have plenty to cheer on the night, with efforts from Metcalfe, Power and Wright all either hitting the woodwork or being deflected just past it.
They thought they were level in the tie at one point after Kayden Jackson put the ball in the back of the net, but it was ultimately ruled out.
Agonising stuff for the Bradford supporters to burst into bedlam before the flag was raised for offside.
Many supporters will argue that the key moment came somewhat against the run of play, but The Trotters won’t care one bit as they book another trip down to the capital.
You can watch the rest of the highlights, including those scenes in the away end, down below.
Speaking even before the game, head coach Steven Schumacher told Sky Sports: “It’s a club we believe is bigger than this division, but this division is not easy to get out of.
“The expectation and the demand to get to the Championship is there, and once you’re in the building and you feel the mood when you win games, when you lose games, you can sense that this is a club that is desperate to get out and get to the next level.
“When you look at the size of both Bolton and Bradford and how well they are supported, both clubs are probably too big to be in League One. But that’s where both clubs find themselves, and one of us has got to find our way out of it if we can.”
You’d dare say he can practically smell promotion via the playoffs now; the local side has come quite a way since the lows of administration in 2019 and the bottom tier of the EFL – not without some heartbreaks in previous playoff finals – but could he be the one to get them back where they belong?
In case you missed the action from the other game, you can see more HERE, and to hear Schumacher’s thoughts after the decisive result, look no further…
Danny Jones -
22nd July 2025 
