Residents face difficulties when biking

Adopting life on two wheels is all very well but there are some people who are just not getting the cycling message.

Gareth Davies on Palm Jumeirah. He loves riding, but his journey is often a mixed experience. Reem Mohammed / The National

DUBAI // As soon as Gareth Davies saw the old fashioned looking fixed-gear bicycle on display in a store in Dubai, he knew it was just what he had been looking for.

Determined to make the most of the cooler weather and find a healthier way to commute to work, Mr Davies knew the off-white coloured, minimal-styled frame of the Bike ID cycle was ideal.

The digital creative director, who lives on the Palm Jumeirah, hoped getting around on two wheels would be much easier than driving, with no traffic jams or Salik charges to worry about.

“There are so many places it could really be great. If we had cycle lanes and safe crossings to connect major residential areas and working areas, like Dubai Marina, Media City, Jumeirah Lakes Towers and Tecom, it could be fantastic, I mean it’s warm all year round.”

However, although cycling to work is fun and a great workout, it has thrown up a host of unique, but not insurmountable, challenges for Mr Davies.

Aside from the difficulties such as safely getting from A to B, finding somewhere to lock up his bike securely and having to deal with overzealous security guards made his commute to Internet City difficult at times.

He often has to avoid guards who prevent him from taking his bike into his building, despite a lack of bike racks outside. If he did make it inside, getting the bike into the lift was also tricky if guards were about.

Even when the 35-year-old cycled to his gym on the Palm, security would not let him leave his bicycle in the building while he trained.

“I had to just leave it outside the main entrance,” he said. “The security just aren’t trained to deal with this sort of situation. I don’t leave it anywhere isolated for too long,” said the Briton, who was also stopped from riding through the tunnel that leads to the Atlantis Hotel.

Undeterred, he now loads his bike in the back of his car to ride around the Palm’s crescent.

Cycle racks are available in Dubai Marina along the promenade and at stations on the red and green lines of Dubai Metro, while Emaar has installed racks around its Downtown Dubai development, although these are used by the ByKY cycle hire company.

Mohammed, who works as a security guard in Media City, said cyclists were not allowed to chain their bikes to fences and lamp posts as they obstructed footpaths. He added that any bike left unattended for too long was removed.

Riding on the road was out of the question, and Mr Davies stuck to paths wherever possible. “Drivers here don’t even respect pedestrians. On the Palm, at the crossings, people just drive through the red lights regularly. It’s very dangerous.

“There’s just so many safety hazards,” he said. “Bike paths would be really nice. Signs could also be better too, making it clear to drivers to stop at particular crossings for example. There needs to be a general acceptance by people like security and drivers.”

Dezmond Daniel knew only too well the dangers that cycling on the roads could pose, not that it had stopped him from enjoying his favourite hobby.

The 72-year-old from South Africa, who works at an architecture and engineering consultancy that has offices in RAK Free zone and Dubai, was knocked over while riding from Dubai to Fujairah in 2006.

“I had my pelvis, shoulder, knee and ankle broken, it was the helmet that saved my life,” said Mr Daniel, who lives in Al Falaj in Sharjah.

“The doctors told me I wouldn’t be able to ride for a whole year.”

However, he was back on his bike after just four months.

“Years back, I tried to ride to the Heart of Sharjah, but the narrow streets and high volume of traffic makes it impossible to ride a bicycle.”