Afsana Nawrozi

My name is Afsana (ahf-sah-nah). I started riding bikes when I was seven in my village, Jaghori, in Afghanistan, where I was one of the first girls ever to ride one. I fell in love with riding, even when it wasn’t easy — or something most people thought girls should not do. My dad always encouraged me, so I kept pedaling, from sneaking borrowed bikes as a kid to joining a biking team in Kabul when I moved there from the village, and eventually earning a spot on the Afghanistan Women’s National Cycling Team.

In 2021, when the Taliban returned to power, I had to leave my home and family to keep moving forward with my education and my love for riding. Bikes and the biking community helped me start over — first in Arizona, then in Virginia, where I raced for the Miller School of Albemarle’s endurance team in Charlottesville. Back then, I mostly did road riding and mountain biking, but ever since moving to Harrisonburg, I have fallen in love with gravel riding. Some of my favorite rides now are trails on the Western Slope and the winding back roads and climbs by EMU (even if I’m questioning my life choices halfway up a climb).

Now, Harrisonburg feels like home. I go to JMU, work at the shop, and spend as much time as I can out exploring new roads and trails. For me, bikes have always been about more than riding or racing — they have given me freedom, connection, and a way to carry a little piece of home wherever I go.