I'm cautiously optimistic about the UAE becoming bike-friendly

John Henzell advocates dedicated paths to make cycling safer in the UAE

Cycling can be fun – and safe – in the UAE. (Ravindranath K / The National)

When it comes to cycling to work, I've biked through blizzards in London, weaved amid the chaotic traffic of New York city, negotiated the tramlines of Melbourne, and climbed a 300-metre hill between my office and home in Christ­church twice a day. While on assignment in Antarctica, I once even cycled the 3-kilometre road between the American and New Zealand bases.
And I've cycled to work in Abu Dhabi long before the advent of The National's #cycleto­workUAE campaign.
It would be nice to think all this has earned me a modest degree of authority on the subject.
But here's the thing. Of all those places, Abu Dhabi is the only one where I count riding on the road as risky.
My journey from home to work is only just over one kilometre and the way I mitigate the risk is by choosing a route that involves a car park, then a nearly deserted minor road. After that, I ride on the pavement – an antisocial habit that I pretend to justify on the grounds that it's almost always deserted – to a set of traffic signals and cross on the pedestrian crossing.
There is a case for saying that the way drivers become more cyclist-aware is from having more bikes on the streets with them.
But in Abu Dhabi, driving styles reflect the vast spectrum of practices in the countries of origin of those living here. And the short tenure of many expatriate workers in the UAE means that as one group of drivers become aware of how to safely share the road with bicycles, they are replaced by others with no such experience.
The conclusion from all this is not a despairing one to dismiss cycling as a form of transport. With the exception of the traffic, Abu Dhabi's infrastructure quality, topography and – for half the year at least – climate makes it ideal for cycling.
Instead the message is about creating dedicated bicycle zones so cyclists are safe.
Abu Dhabi already has a substantial cycling community, many of whom I hope will find a responsible way to participate with me on January 13 for ­#cycletoworkUAE.
But I almost never see them unless the venue is one where they are separated from traffic, suggesting most of them share my aversion to cycling on the roads.
Instead, they can be found doing laps of the Yas Marina Circuit on Tuesday nights, plying the mountain bike trails of Showka and Hatta, doing hill-climbing sessions on the so-called "bridge to nowhere" linking Bateen Beach and Hudariyat Island, or weaving around the pedestrians who can always be found walking obliviously on the (nominally) dedicated cycling path along the Corniche.
The tantalising part of thinking about making Abu Dhabi cyclist-friendly is that it would not take all that much to achieve.
Sheikh Zayed Bridge, for example, has a footpath wide enough that cyclists could easily use it to connect to a relatively quiet service road near the police officers' club. From there all the way to where Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Street (formerly Defence / 11th Street) leads to Reem Island is almost entirely either quiet side roads, public parks or wide verges that could accommodate a dedicated cycling path.
The broad avenues and bridges of Reem and Maryah islands would also suit cycle paths that could then link to the Corniche's system, creating a safe way to travel from off the island right to the heart of downtown.
This would still have drawbacks, such as how those who live in the middle of the island would make their way across to the cycle paths along the shoreline, but it would still mean a substantial number of Abu Dhabi residents would be close to a place where they can cycle in safety.
When it comes to cycling in Abu Dhabi, segregation may be justified to keep bicycles and cars out of each other's way.
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