IN THE UAE

As pedal power finds a voice in the UAE, we tell you how you too can join the cycling movement.

The landscape across much of the UAE’s biggest cities is flat as a manakeesh; the weather, for at least seven months of the year is perfect, not too hot, not too cold; and on the other hand the traffic can make the roads look like car parks. Why, then, aren’t more people cycling to get around Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah?

Until recently, taking your chances on the roads wasn’t to everyone’s taste, and generally, awareness of cycling as a lifestyle or a sport was limited. Prepare for that to all change this year, as the UAE gets more cycle paths, thanks to government investment, and interest in the activity takes off faster than the pack at next week’s Dubai Tour cycle tournament.

There are two ways of looking at cycling. There are those who hit the cycle tracks (and occasionally, the roads) around the country, looking for fun, speed, fitness, a group activity and the great outdoors. They’re the early morning ‘coffee rides’ that take place around the Al Qudra and District One cycle tracks in Dubai and on the nation’s desert roads, often followed by a support car, to both protect riders from drivers and to give them a lift, should they need it – a puncture 50km out in the desert isn’t fun. Similarly, there are enclosed car-racing tracks that also offer speed for those on two wheels – both Dubai Autodrome and Yas Marina Circuit, home of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, are open to cyclists on certain nights.

Then, there’s cycling to get somewhere – your office, school or even the grocery store. There’s fun and fitness involved in that, too – even half an hour of moderate biking on a flat surface can burn a couple of hundred calories – and it’s all in the great outdoors, and aside from the initial investment in a bike, free. To enable more of that, however, cycle paths are needed.

The good news is that there are plenty on the way.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) last week announced the completion of a number of tracks in the Al Khawaneej, Mushrif and Mirdif neighbourhoods, adding 32km to the network of 218km that already exists in the city. It won’t end there: The plan is to have 500km of cycle tracks across Dubai by 2021, and crucially, the paths will interconnect neighbourhoods, so cyclists don’t have to attempt major roads when wishing to go from, say, Downtown Dubai to Al Barsha. The cycle paths indicated in the RTA’s masterplan will take you from Al Khawaneej all the way to The Gardens.

Live in Mirdif and want to go to Kite Beach, or to visit a friend in Jumeirah Village Circle? You will be able to do that on your bike.

The dedicated cycling tracks covering the entire emirate ‘can be used as environmentfriendly mobility means for cycling enthusiasts. Advanced countries focus on raising the proportion of trips made by walking and cycling,’ said Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the RTA, while announcing the newly completed tracks.

The Dubai Water Canal has played an early role in connecting bikers in different parts of the city, taking them along its southern edge from the District One track all the way down to Jumeirah Road, where a track extends in both directions, from the Burj Al Arab to the new La Mer entertainment hub near Jumeirah Mosque.

Sharjah residents, too, will have a lifechanging cycle path: A project to connect Mamzar with the Ajman border, announced last year, will see cyclists able to travel for kilometres along the city’s waterfront once complete. Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, already has several established cycle paths in the city, something that Hani Akasha hopes to make the most of with his bike-sharing scheme, Cyacle, inspired by London’s ‘Boris Bikes’.

Hani’s project, initially funded by the Abu Dhabi government, had 11 stations on Yas Island that allowed users to hire a bike for an hour at a time. ‘It was successful, and we expanded to 50 locations across the city – we are present in Saadiyat Island, Yas Island and the mainland. Our vision is for the bike to be used as a shortdistance transport, a last-mile transport. What I am interested in, more than cycling, is using it as transport. I tried it in London and this is what I liked, commuting by bike.’

The next step is putting bikes in more locations, which is pending more funding. ‘Convenience is the thing,’ says Hani, who recently received permission from Abu Dhabi Municipality to install Cyacle stations wherever they are needed. ‘If someone can go to a [bike] station under his building, he will definitely use it to cycle to a restaurant, or to the beach.’

He’s also hoping the success of the bikes will lead to more paths for cyclists. ‘We are looking for connectivity, that’s what’s really vital. If there is connectivity between blocks, people don’t need to go on the main roads.’

The plan is to have 500km of cycle tracks across Dubai by 2021, and crucially, the paths will interconnect neighbourhoods