Dubai Sans Auto

WTF? Even for Dubai this is bad

2010-04-15T00:36:00.002+04:00

File this under thank God I don't live in Dubai anymore. It seems the local constabulary have set their sights on the true menace of Dubai's streets; not the speeding, dangerously driving automobiles, but the cyclists of course!

According to this (semi) recent Gulf News Article (I don't really read it much anymore, thus the delay), they have been not just ticketing, but confiscating bicycles where the riders were using roads with speed limits over 60km per hour. I thought that was pretty much every road in town, or at least that's how the locals drive.

First off, it isn't illegal to ride on roads with speed limits over 60km/hr, if it were the bicycle master plan would have noted it to be sure. Just to back that up, you'll notice signs at the entrances to all limited access highways which explicitly prohibit cycling. So if the remainder of the streets were off limits as well, there would either be more signs on those roads, or no need for the signs on the expressway entrances since there wouldn't be bikes anywhere. Secondly, if all of the major arterial roads were indeed off limits to cyclists, no one would be able to cycle ANYWHERE, since the road network is completely based around arterials with few to no connections in between.

I am all for responsible cycling, and some of the issue here seems to revolve around cyclists riding the wrong way (bike salmon) and on the sidewalk. In those instances, I am all for enforcement, since that would probably be the only way to get people to change their habits. People are obviously riding that way for a reason though, and that reason is incredibly poor infrastructure. If you actually had a road system that wasn't as biased toward the automobile, and an insane network of one way streets, perhaps not as many people would feel the need to break the law.

I love how in the article they talk about the bicycle master plan as though it's about ready to drop. By this point I am surprised they are even still mentioning it. That thing has been collecting dust on someones shelf for well over two years now. I seriously doubt any of it's provisions will ever see the light of day.

I actually almost wish I was still in Dubai right now. I would love to get stopped by the police and have them try to confiscate my bike. I would throw the biggest fit they've ever seen, and more than likely get arrested. At least it would get some press coverage for the subject. Honestly, if this was happening to western Expats there would have been at least some mild outrage. It just goes to show what a stratified society Dubai really is. I'm fairly sure they haven't been confiscating $5k Cervelo's on Friday morning Wolfi's rides.

On second thought, I am glad I'm not in Dubai. What would be the point of crusading for anything in such a f'd up city.

Johnny GONE lately

2009-12-23T21:11:00.002+04:00

And so it ends...

My loyal reader (readers?) may have been wondering what happened to the intrepid Dubai Sans Auto. Was he run over by a bus? Sideswiped into a ditch by a careless Emirate driver? Finally felled by heat exhaustion? Hauled in by the RTA secret police for sedition?? No my friend (friends?), nothing so painful became of me, I merely got the f*ck out of Dodge. Well, technically Dodge booted me out, but in any case I am gone for good.

It was an interesting 10 months to say the least. I came in with grand goals and the best of intentions. I was going to not only ride Dubai, I was going to help make it a better place to cycle! I had dreams of starting up a bicycle advocacy group along the lines of New York's Transportation Alternatives; lobbying the government for better bike infrastructure and instituting safety campaigns amongst wrong way riding Indians. But beyond this blog, which I hope at least helps a little, I didn't get many of my goals accomplished.

Not to pooh pooh the blog (I surreptitiously obtained the Dubai Bicycle Master Plan for Gods Sake!); I think in the end it will provide at least a glimmer of hope for those who are thinking of commuting by bike in Dubai. I remember when I was first looking into moving to Dubai, one of the first questions I asked was, "can I ride my bike in Dubai?" It is a rather basic question, but the answers I could dig up on the internet were far from helpful. There were a couple of asinine replies to message board queries that basically said, "try it, and you'll die", and then of course there were the Roadsters (but unfortunately their rides didn't go by my office every morning). Neither informational tidbit was very useful, and thus the genesis for this blog - spreading the info that I found, sharing my experiences on the road. I wanted to let people know that it is INDEED possible to ride your bike around Dubai, that you can IN FACT live in Dubai without a car and get by just fine. I only hope that I have inspired someone, anyone, to get out of their car and onto a bike.

I am back in NYC now, where things have changed quite a bit since I left (for the better). In the last two years the city has built hundreds of miles of new bicycle infrastructure, including fully protected lanes! The number of cyclists on the road has doubled in just a few years; things are really taking off. It is frankly a relief to be back in a city where cycling is taken seriously as a form of transport. Though NYC still has a long way to go before it becomes the next Amsterdam or Copenhagen, it is definitely on its way.

Here's hoping that Dubai will go through with its plans to create a vast cycling network. I still see press releases every once in a while extolling the virtues of Dubai's Bicycle Master Plan (which I still have a copy of if anyone wants to read it), but the start date seems to be continuously pushed back. I keep thinking things might change soon, like right before I left I rode down Al Wasl Rd in Satwa and noticed they were widening the street. Al Wasl Rd happens to be a route on the bicycle master plan, designated as an on-street lane. It will be interesting to see if the widening has anything to do with the bike route, but somehow I doubt it. Just like they managed to completely rebuild the intersection of Al Wasl Rd and Al Diyafah St well over a YEAR after the BMP was issued and not include the 'planned' off street bicycle infrastructure in the new design, there seems to be no impetus to include the provisions of the BMP in on-going construction works. Whom ever is in charge of bicycle infrastructure at the RTA (if there IS anyone), certainly has zero wasta.

I've left Dubai, but my interest in the city hasn't completely waned. I plan on blogging (occasionally) from afar to keep everyone up on the latest and greatest. Me and my better half have already decided we want to come back to Dubai (on holiday) in 10 years to see what this mess of a city turns out to be. Hopefully by then we'll be able to cruise around unfettered by crazy drivers, but I'm not holding my breath.

If anyone cares to take up the reins, and continue to blog about riding in Dubai, let me know! I would be more than happy to share my miniature bully pulpit. Conditions: must ride to work frequently, and love all things non-auto (public transit, etc)! Anyone out there??

Peddle on my friends!

-Dubai Sans Auto (Sans Dubai)

Bike Lanes in Dubai's future? Probably Not

2009-10-19T15:55:00.005+04:00

As I mentioned recently, there doesn't seem to be much progress on the Bicycle Master Plan front. None of the phase one routes are being built, and they haven't even bothered to stencil bicycles onto the beach road path (a recommendation of the BMP). I did recently discover Dubai does indeed have a bicycle stencil, as I saw some bicycle pavement markings approaching the beach path (not to be confused with the beach road path). I had heard about the beach path, but hadn't actually seen it until recently. I think that mainly has to do with the fact that it goes from no-where to no-where. Literally, there is only one way to get on, and it's in the middle. I personally can't think of anything more boring than riding around in circles which is probably why I hadn't ever seen it before (and why I don't drive out to Nad Al Sheeba to ride). You might as well get a trainer and ride your bike in your living room while watching footage of the Tour de France - it would be more interesting.

Speaking of recent discoveries, I attended City Scape last week (or was that two weeks back? I am a bit lazy in my blogging duties), and was quite impressed with the Meraas Jumeriah Gardens project. Not only was I impressed that they had the cajones to exhibit a model (since they clearly are not working on the project, they knocked down half of Satwa and then sat on their collective hands), but I was also impressed by their actual vision for their development (should they ever actually build it).

It seems the Meraas folks are new urbanists! Everywhere you looked there was dense development, public transportation, walkable streets (with closely spaced signalled intersections), and... wait for it.... BIKE LANES! Not even just bike lanes, bike lanes and bike boxes at the intersections! They even went so far as to have little cyclists in their models. It was truely heartwarming to see.

There are 16 bikes on the first block alone! But in a bow to reality, two buses are blocking the bike lanes

Not so sure if putting the bike box in the crosswalk would be standard practice, but I like the grassy median and the sidewalk cafe!

I really like that they were on-street bike lanes as well. I don't think cycle tracks are going to work very well in this city since no one bothers to stop, much less look when making right turns (and thus you would need to come to a halt at every intersection and wait for traffic). If you want to actually get anywhere, you are going to have to mix it up with traffic.

The more I ride around Dubai, the more convinced I am that they should shelve their BMP and just take about 35cm from each travel lane and donate it to a bike lane (a three lane road like 312 road behind DIFC could easily handle a nice 1.05m wide bike lane). Standard lanes in Dubai are 3.5m wide, and must be a minimum of 3.0m, so there is plenty of room. Also, narrowing lanes generally leads to slightly lower speeds, which is an added bonus!

I had heard of the Jumeriah Gardens development before, and besides that whole tearing down half of Satwa thing, I thought it was brilliant in that they decided to build it right in the middle of the city rather than off in never never land (AKA Dubai-land, or some other hard to reach location). The only way this city will ever become a true city is if it creates a dense core and makes that core incredibly pedestrian, transit and bicycle friendly. I always thought the high rise district along SZR was a bit silly; who centers their city around a highway? Plus, its all too linear. Some of the new buildings in the DIFC will help on the east side of SZR, but the Jumeriah Gardens development would really flesh out the area and make it a dense urban district. Then all you have to do is submerge SZR between the trade center roundabout and the 1st interchange and cover it up with a park! Could you imagine? It would restore the street grid to the area and make the whole district one piece again.

Bike Culture in Car-land

2009-10-13T17:08:00.005+04:00

Recently whilst trawling the blogosphere for interesting liveable streets news I came across a link to an interesting article in LA Magazine, Postscript: Bike Culture. It’s a rather in-depth piece on cycling culture in LA; from the established bike coalitions to the newer hipster infused Midnight Ridazz. The article examines the rise of the nascent bike culture in LA, which until recently couldn’t boast much in the way of cyclists, much less a movement, especially when compared to cities like San Francisco and Portland.

It really has to be one of the first pieces I have read which both accurately depicts the constituent parts of cycling culture and cycling advocacy, without devolving into trite stereotypes. Not once is the word spandex mentioned, which is something of a milestone in itself for an article covering cycling. The closest they come is, “type-A roadies”, which I would say is not an unfair description of roadies and avoids the ever present clichés.

LA is apparently a huge melting pot of bike culture (which must be quite recent since I was quite lonely when riding around several years ago). The older guard is represented by the LA County Bicycle Coalition, a traditional advocacy group. In the middle are dedicated bicycle advocates working alone or in groups to lobby / harass those in charge to make changes to the streetscape and ingrained anti-bike attitude of some city agencies (namely the police). On the very left you have a whole array of newer riders, some drawn in by advocacy, but many purely for the alternative culture. Whereas many cities have one critical mass ride per month, LA can sometimes reach double digits.

Critical mass, Midnight Ridazz, C.R.A.N.K MOB, Crimanimalz; each has a different M.O. Midnight Ridazz are more critical mass-ish, but the C.R.A.N.K. MOB appears to be more of a roving bicycle rave, and Crimanimalz like to ride on the freeways during bumper to bumper traffic to illustrate the futility of the automobile. How is it that so many different groups popped up in a city like LA? Is it a backlash to the reigning car culture? A sudden mass migration from San Francisco? The article posits that perhaps these groups will provide the necessary “sip of Kool-Aid” that will sell people on joining the larger bike culture (commuting, running errands, regular advocacy, etc).

Midnight Ridazz, who perhaps should be called Midnight Standazz, as I could find very few photos of them actually riding (perhaps they can't cycle and shoot at the same time)

One of the advocates who straddles the line between the ‘anarchist’ mass rides and the more mainstream advocacy groups has a great website about ‘vehicular cycling’ called cyclistview.com. A topic I believe I covered earlier, but warrants another mention here. The basic concept is ‘taking a lane’, that is, taking the space that the law gives you. If you ride in the gutter, you just make it easier for cars to pass you without giving you enough space. If you ride out into the lane, they will firstly SEE you, and second, need to change lanes to go around you. Some might call it being obstructionist, but I (and many others) see it as being safe, and riding within the law. I believe it is THE best way to ride in Dubai given the shenanigans of some motorists here. People may honk, but they will not run you down. Stand your ground!

Be the little green man!

The thing that intrigues me about the article is that this is all taking place in LA! LA, a place that is not all that dissimilar to Dubai in terms of physical layout and near universal allegiance to the motor car. LA faces many of the same physical obstacles as Dubai in becoming a slightly less hostile place to ride. LA DOT’s bike coordinator is interviewed for the piece and basically cops to being unable to help out much at all. To take away parking or a lane of traffic is beyond her remit and for others – political suicide. I would imagine a similar fate for bicycle infrastructure here.
LA is in the midst of drafting a bicycle master plan (coincidentally authored by the same planning firm which wrote Dubai’s BMP). From what I have read it is not going very well, with some activists advocating for torching the current plan and starting over. Apparently the plan bows a little to far towards status quo and auto / traffic interests and doesn’t do much to relieve the plight of cyclists. After looking at the Dubai BMP and speaking with those involved, I am quite sure something similar happened here. Not that the RTA is actually implementing the plan anyhow, but what they have approved is basically window dressing and not much help at all for anyone who actually wants to get around town on a bike in an efficient manner.

I seriously doubt that Dubai will ever spontaneously sprout a ‘bike culture’ like those in LA or Portland. Everyone sites the weather, but its not really much of a factor most of the year. As I have said before it is much more a psychological block. On top of that, I don’t really think Dubai has the right ethnographic mix of people to support a diverse bike culture. They’ve got the roadie bit down, and a few mountain bikers sprinkled around, but where are the young, just out of college, idealistic, artsy people who make up the bulk of most cities thriving cultural scene. I don’t think this is really the place they would choose to move – and I don’t blame them really.

Almost Famous

2009-10-12T17:21:00.006+04:00

I debated about posting about this, but in the end decided I am not quite as famous as I had hoped I would be, so anonimity seems less useful (and I am leaving town soon).

YES, it was me in the National last week. That blockbuster below the fold article about a hapless young(ish) man who does not own a car in Dubai, but rather gets 'sticky' when he rides to work on his bicycle. Now the young(ish) man has a new alternative; the metro! Along with his trusty sidekick - Senior Brompton, he flies effortlessly to the metro station (easily beating the trailing auto-bound photographer (OK, so I ran a couple of lights)).

As far as I know, its the only non-roadsters, non-it will be here someday bicycle master plan, article I have seen in Dubai. Only in Dubai would I make the paper for riding my bike to work. Hopefully a couple of people read it and hopefully a couple of those people might think, hey, maybe I'll try that! Wolfi should stock up now, them babies gunna be flying off the shelf!

They must have taken about 500 photos, suppose they picked this one since it has the metro station in the background. Thank God they picked one where I wasn't wearing my helmet! Would have been dork-ville central.

Just for the record:

It is still quicker to ride the whole way than to ride and fold and take the metro (even when you take into account changing)
I never said 'sticky', I prefer, 'icky gross', or 'sweaty beast'
I do hope that more people start cycling, but not just when it gets cooler. Come on peeps, learn to love your sweat!

Metro Bike Racks - Update!

2009-09-30T17:46:00.005+04:00

This morning I saw the first of what I believe are the promised '30 bike racks' at each metro station. A little sleuthing turned up this post from the manufacturer of the racks. Apparently they were custom designed for the RTA. I haven't seen any at the financial center station yet, but hopefully soon!

Photo from Dero Bike Racks Website

The design looks pretty good, a place to put your front wheel to stabilize the bike, as well as a taller (and beefier) bar to lock the frame to. Let's hope the RTA rolls these out all over town, not just the metro stations!

State of the pedal update

2009-09-30T16:30:00.004+04:00

It’s been a while since I have posted about cycling – one might think I had given up on it or something. As my loyal reader will note, I NEVER give up on cycling! I guess I have just been preoccupied with other topics lately. I suppose it’s time we had an update, so welcome to my ‘State of Cycling’ post.

The biggest news on the cycling front is the arrival (FINALLY) of my new (old) frame for my fixed gear bike. If you read my post about the multitudes of bikes in my proverbial stable you may remember I had a fixed gear bike converted from an old Yokota road bike my friend John had given me. I ended up riding it into the ground (figuratively, not literally), and fracturing the head tube – rendering it rather useless for riding. Subsequently I went on a fruitless odyssey looking for a replacement frame, only to find one when I wasn’t looking for it (who knew my replacement frame was in Australia?).

I originally bought the replacement frame last November, but due to a many factors, I didn’t actually receive it until I was in London on my re-secondment (I’ve never been seconded from a secondment before! Very meta). It was a looooong wait, but totally worth it. I love my new (old) bike, and ride it to work every day now here in Dubai (when I don't wuss out and ride the Brompton to the metro).

I am fairly certain I am the only person in Dubai rockin’ a fixed gear bike, please feel free to correct me if I am wrong on that point. I’m not exactly your standard fixed gear freestylin’ hipster (I even have trouble doing track stands), but I do really enjoy the ride and agree with all the other platitudes people use about fixies (you feel connected to the bike, feel the road, etc). Plus, the minimalism appeals to me.

Also on the bicycle blotter, I finally went out for a cruise with the Friday Morning Fanatics (AKA. Wolfi’s wolf pack, AKA the Roadsters). A friend from work caught the cycling bug (unfortunately not the commuter cycling strain) a couple of months back and had been nagging me to come along for a Friday ride. I’ve never had anything against the ride, I just never really wanted to get up that early (unless it was to run 20 miles into the dessert).

I think what finally changed my mind was a recent ride I did in Massachusetts while I was on holiday. The trip was planned around attending my friend John’s wedding (the same guy that gave me the Yokota which turned into my first fixie, the only man with more bikes than me). John is an incredible athlete (we used to Adventure race and hash together), and his new wife is also an adventure racer and all around athlete, so the days leading up to their wedding were a crazy sports carnival (and drink fest). There was yoga in the morning, then a mini adventure race, followed by a ‘grooms road ride’ on the morning of the wedding, then I went kayaking, followed by a run.

In case you are wondering, "why did you bring a bike 8000 miles to a wedding?" Well, we didn't fly them over, just rented the bikes in Boston and rode down to the wedding. Oh, and after the wedding we did a 3 day bike tour up through southern Mass and Cape Cod - sweeeeet! I must give big props to my better half, who managed to fit all of her wedding kit (including hair dryer) and clothes for a week and a half into two medium sized panniers - Boo ya ka!

The weather was horrible for the grooms road ride – sheets of rain were falling, and I hadn’t ridden in a pack for a while, but I had the best time on the ride. I’ve never been a huge roadie, but that ride made me want to come out and try one of the roadsters Friday flings.

I have a big problem with driving somewhere just to ride your bike, especially when it is just across town; so I decided to ride over and meet up with the pack as they passed Safa Park. The website said a group would usually wait there for the main group, and it was easier (and quicker) to get to than the lime tree. I arrived around 5:30 and saw a group waiting, it wasn’t long before another group rolled up and we rode off to the east.

My friend had mentioned there would be a rest stop at 40km in, so when 50km rolled by I started to wonder what was going on. I asked a guy next to me and he said this group actually leaves earlier than the regular group, only stops once rather than twice and rode about 130km. Hmmmm, seems I had joined the wrong group – no one had mentioned the earlier group, my friend or the website, honest mistake.

I figured I could easily do the distance, but I was slightly concerned about the pace. How right I was. After about 60k, and without much warning, everyone took off like rabbits. I hung on for a while, but didn’t manage to catch the pack and they slowly pulled away doing about 28mph (I was managing 26, close, but no cigar). In retrospect I should have dug a bit harder to pull back up to the back of the group as it is much easier to draft than fight it out on your own, but I was under the mistaken assumption that they were doing a relatively short sprint. Such is life.

After about 5 minutes I managed to lose sight of them completely, but was saved (or so I thought) by a lone straggler who I figured had fallen off the back as well. After 10 minutes of pushing hard I managed to catch up to the straggler, only to find out the guy was out riding solo and not with the pack at all. I was never really worried, as I have a rather keen sense of direction, but I really wanted to know where that darn gas station was (I could have used a snack). I managed to make my way back home without any problem, averaging a pretty decent pace might I add.

My only regret is I didn’t bring anything to gnaw on, only two bottles of water (as I was expecting to stop at a gas station with the group and buy something). I was rather beat by the time I got home since I didn’t make any pit stops. Even so, I made an extra lap around the neighborhood to make sure the odometer read 100k rather than 98.7k. Total time – 2 hrs 50 min, which gave me an average pace of 21 mph, not too shabby for a guy who normally only rides 10k each way to work!

I may go out for another ride with the Roadsters (in a different group of course), but I can’t say I am all that fussed about it. I thought I would like it more after I had so much fun on the ‘grooms road ride’, but perhaps that was because I was riding with friends. Riding in a pack is nice, you can cruise along without much effort in the slipstream, but in the end, I think I would rather spend my time out exploring and wandering.

Driven to Distraction

2009-09-28T11:53:00.006+04:00

Even though I was away, I didn’t forget about Dubai or its myriad of traffic woes. I kept tabs on the local press, searching out articles on traffic and the metro. I must say I have been very impressed with the recent reporting in The National concerning road safety. After the WHO report on traffic fatalities came out they stepped up the to plate and have been doing a good job of highlighting the woeful inadequacies of the built environment in the UAE as well as the horrendous local driving practices.

My favourite article was headlined, Young motorists 'fear ridicule' , on August 13th. I was excited to see the story as I had read a similar storey previously, but I was never able to figure out where I saw it. The basic jist is, young Emirates drive like complete nimrods because they are afraid of what their friends will say if they drive safely. It’s apparently even uncool to wear a seatbelt. I’d totally rather die than be uncool!

I suppose a certain percentage of the youth in any country can be pointed to as being complete morons. In LA one would perhaps join a gang, deal some drugs, and perhaps shoot at someone from a moving car. Here, drugs and gangs don’t seem to be so cool, so hey, instead let’s drive at high speed while swerving between lanes without signalling!

I think the driver behaviour here is a symptom of a larger problem with this society. The people who engage in these behaviours obviously lack some sort of key personality trait that links behaviour with consequence. They are basically kings of the castle, running around with big boys toys and little to no impetus to act in a way that benefits anyone but themselves. I’m not saying that every Emirate acts in such a way, but clearly there are enough doing so that one runs into them every single day – even on a short commute.

There is a definite sense of entitlement wizzing through the air here. For example, just last night I was hunkered down at the fish shack near Um Suqeim park enjoying some tasty fried fish and prawns. We were merrily munching away, sitting at our plastic table in a dirt lot when a car (piloted by locals) pulled up and started honking. It continued to honk until the waiter finally went over and spoke with them. Basically, they couldn’t be bothered to actually get out of their car to order their food! It happened more than once while we were eating, which was quite annoying. I finally yelled at another car to try walking into the restaurant themselves. They ended up tearing off in a huff – sans fish. It’s not like it was terribly hot outside, or there was no parking. They apparently just thought it was beneath them to actually lift a finger for their meal.

In terms of crazy road behaviour, it’s hard to top an email I recently received from a colleague. He sent around some photos that he took while driving home on Emirates Rd. Incredibly (or not so incredibly for Dubai), what he described was a series of about 20 cars driving down the highway at 120 kph with several people hanging out the windows and one guy literally sitting on the roof. As if that wasn’t enough, someone jumped from the roof of one car to another and then climbed in the window (unfortunately that wasn’t captured on film).

This isn’t an isolated incident either. Another friend told me last National Day he was driving to Abu Dhabi and saw a guy sitting on the roof of a car doing 120 kph as well. Another guy he saw had his seat fully reclined and was steering the car with his feet.

OK, so I have heard of this in the US as well, but more than likely this similar behaviour would also include a rural farm road and take place at well after midnight. This was a crowded Emirates Rd at 6pm on a weekday! WTF? Are they all training to be stuntmen? Have they watched one too many re-runs of CHiPs? It’s no wonder everyone drives like maniacs, they have little to no sense of consequence for personal danger – where were the cops? Are the lives of these young Emirates otherwise extremely boring? Do they need this in order to feel ‘alive’? I am genuinely curious.

Of course these were just outlandish examples of bravado by the young (and brain dead). In fact, the people actually driving were probably doing so a bit safer than normal since their friends were hanging out on top of the car. The real problem is the everyday driving habits of these same guys. If they don’t think sitting on top of a car is risky, then changing lanes at high speed without signalling is a bit of a yawn. But it’s all of those little decisions that they make that cause all of the big accidents.

Disturbingly, the actions of certain reckless drivers are apparently more contagious than swine flu. According to a recent article – again in The National – “Bad driving spreads like a “virus” among motorists who copy others’ negative behaviour and flout the law”. I have totally noticed this trend in Dubai, and I am glad someone has actually gone and quantified it (the study was done by a researcher from UAE University in Al Ain). I see westerners, who have completely been undone by the defacto ‘rules of the road’ here in Dubai. They drive more aggressively and more dangerously than they would at home, simply because everyone else is doing it and there is an utter lack of enforcement.

I have had colleagues tell me they didn’t realize how bad of drivers they had become until they went back to their home countries and hit the roads. They soon realized they were driving like complete lunatics – excessively speeding, tailgating, making unsafe lane changes – practices they rarely engaged in prior to living in Dubai.

What is going on here? What happened to this country? What is it doing to the people who live here? It’s like one of those horror movies where everyone gets turned into Zombies or infected with rage.

According to another article in The National, some people may actually need therapy to curb their whacked out driving. The article also seems to suggest that poor driving by local youth is the result of the breakdown of traditional family life paired with universal teenage unruliness. One teen was quoted saying, “During driving and that rush of adrenaline – the car becomes like ... I’m a superman, and I can do whatever I want to do.” Again, this could probably be a kid from any country, but the major difference here is, no one is stopping him.

Something really needs to happen; a societal change needs to occur. Hopefully the WHO report was the wake-up call that this country needed. Kudos to The National for not letting the report be a blip on the radar. Let’s hope they keep up the heat on the government, and on the residents of this country (local and expat), to make the roads a safer place.

Of course the problems on the road aren’t all caused by poor driving. The built environment itself encourages speeding, and there seems to be little impetus for yielding to more vulnerable road users (pedestrians and cyclists). There is a slight glimmer of hope though, and once again it seems that Abu Dhabi is gaining the upper hand in converting their city to a more liveable place. According to yet another article in The National (they are on a roll), the city has created a new program to upgrade pedestrian crossings. Though small, it is a great first step in rearranging priorities on the road. In Dubai’s defence I have seen several new raised crosswalks dotted around Bur Dubai and Karama, but there doesn’t seem to be even the glimmer of any systematic change in design principles (such as Abu Dhabi’s plan 2030).

Both cities have a long way to go before becoming attractive places for pedestrians (according to the article, Abu Dhabi saw 26 pedestrian deaths in just the first 71 days of the year). Plus, neither of these programs is much more than a bandaid for the real problem, which is roadways which are designed purely to move as many vehicles as possible without regard for pedestrian or cyclist safety. Study after study has shown that roadway design greatly influences driver behaviour, and Dubai’s roadway designs say please speed!
I think it’s time for Dubai to reassess its relationship with the automobile. Hopefully the opening of the Metro will be seen as the moment when a shift started to occur; a shift away from designing for cars, and towards designing for people.

I'm Back! And the Metro is open!

2009-09-27T15:42:00.003+04:00

My faithful reader(s?) may have noticed a slight drop off in Dubai Sans Auto blog posts of late. I have never been a consistent poster, but 3 months is a bit of a stretch, so I suppose I owe an explanation. Lately the ‘Dubai’ has been taken out of Dubai Sans Auto. Due to the recent financial… unpleasantness, opportunities for gainful local employment are growing rare for a hard working engineer. Long story short, I was shipped off to jolly olde England for a few months of chargeable time. Do not be alarmed though, rest assured dear reader(s?) as I am Sans Auto Sans Frontiers (i.e. I rode in London)!

I know what you are thinking, I totally bagged on cycling through the summer in Dubai even though I made grand pronouncements about riding all year, but honestly, it wasn’t my decision. Not that I minded being able to run and ride without fear of heat stroke.

I was actually back in Dubai as of late August (and rode in the 44 degree heat), but didn’t manage to post until now. In my defence, I was really busy (and or lazy), and I was only here for two weeks before heading off again (this time on holiday). But now that I am safely ensconced back in Dubai’s hot and humid womb (and less busy), I plan to be like the RTA and ‘Unleash’ a series of stupendous posts.

First of all, let’s pick some of the low hanging fruit:

Metro! Holy moley, it’s actually open! Well, sort of. For one thing, it didn’t actually open on 09-09-09. That really irked me, as I flew out of Dubai on 10-09-09 at 12:30 AM to go on holiday. Here I was thinking I was going to get to ride it to work on the 9th, and BAM! The RTA unleashes a worm into my proverbial celebratory apple. I entered the golden ticket contest, but to no avail. So at 9:09 PM on 09-09-09 I was staring out my window at the celebratory fireworks in the distance, being transported nowhere.

Second gripe, they didn’t open all the stations, and the ones they did open don’t necessarily seem to make much sense. They obviously targeted certain stations to finish on time, so it is rather curious that not a single one was adjacent to the marina which is probably the densest concentration of housing within walking distance to a station.

Third gripe, their information management leaves something to be desired. Up until right before the launch there was scarcely any information about riding the metro available on their website. To find out about fares, zones, timetables, etc one had to search the newspapers for information! Even now, the RTA website doesn’t include the individual feeder bus maps, which by the way are the most unprofessional looking maps I have ever seen. I could do better with Microsoft Paint (which is what it appears they were done in).

I am really having difficulty seeing the RTA’s thinking here (RE website/maps/graphics). If you look in the stations (or even close to the stations) they have really well designed maps and signage, why didn’t they extend that content (and level of design) to their website? I can forgive construction delays and first week delays due to bugs in the system, but they had all the time in the world to come up with a clear and coherent website and content for it. Why did they spend big bucks hiring Satchi and Satchi and not have them make over all of their graphics and info?

Despite the gripes, I was really looking forward to trying out the metro, and rode it to work as soon as I returned to Dubai from holiday. I’ve now ridden it several times, and I have to say I am quite impressed with the stations and how smoothly everything seems to be running (in an inadvertent stroke of luck I managed to miss out on the opening week teething problems).

For my first ride I set off from home and headed to my nearest feeder bus stop, which is a mere 4 minute walk from my front door. I knew approximately where it was supposed to be from the craptastic (looking) map for the F13A route, and I honed in on the exact location by looking out my living room window (we are on the 26th floor) and seeing the bus stop to pick someone up. Upon arriving at the stop I noted there was no sign, but it seems the RTA is experimenting with bus stop sculpture in lieu of signage – my stop is called red hairy moustache shovel tongue man. Dude is totally stoned…

Mr. Moustache bus stop

The morning wasn’t TOO hot, but rather humid. I did start to glisten, but didn’t reach anywhere near even the middle of the ‘MOIST’ scale. Luckily, there is quite a bit of shade near the stop, so it was a fairly pleasant wait. In any case, I only waited 5 minutes for the bus, which arrived nearly empty.

The bus took 13 minutes to reach the financial center station, and that was after just missing several lights. I can’t wait for my local ‘Burj Dubai’ stop to open, as the bus shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes. The buses are quite nice and surprise, surprise, the ‘next stop’ screens actually operate correctly! Perhaps the RTA is reading my blog.

Interior of feeder bus with funcioning 'next stop' screen!

Upon arriving it was a short walk to the station, up several escalators, through the gates and up another escalator to the platform. I heard my train being called as I arrived, so I booked it up the escalator and ran onto the train… only to have it sit there for a minute and a half! Soon I discovered this was standard procedure at each stop. Anywhere from one minute 10 to one minute 30 seconds dwell time at each station. I seriously hope this is going to be phased out when the whole line becomes operational because it will easily add 30 minutes to the full trip time which is insane. A dwell time of 10 seconds would be more appropriate, especially for the number of people using the service (not many, there were about 25 people on my train).

Morning commute = empty train

In any case, the train finally pulled away and we hummed along the tracks without incident. The ride is nice and smooth and you can’t beat the view! I only went two stops, so the whole journey took eight and a half minutes. It’s the only time I wished I lived on the other end of town, so I could get a longer ride in. The trains are well appointed and comfortable to ride in. I could do without the background music though.

Upon arriving at Burjuman (Khalid Bin Waleed) station, I made my way above ground and trekked down to my office. Total travel time door to door was 44 minutes. Not too shabby! As a comparison, it usually takes between 20 and 25 min to ride to work, plus 10 min to walk upstairs and change. 10 min extra to arrive non-sweaty is not huge price to pay. Not that I will totally give up on cycling to work, but it is nice to finally have an alternate option!

The stations themselves (at least the two I have seen) are quite spectacular. This is one area where they definitely have everyone else beat - except perhaps Moscow. Though they may even surpass Moscow, check out this chandelier at the Burjuman (Kalid Bin Waleed) station:

The Cosmic Jellyfish chandelier

For the trip home I decided to test plan B, which is metro + folding bike! I had left my Brompton at work while I was on holiday so a colleague could use it for a test ride before deciding to buy one himself, so it was ready and waiting for my ride home.

The Brompton seriously sped up the commute. I even rode it the short distance from the office to the metro saving a couple of minutes. Again, my train arrived just as I was entering the station – there must have been some good karma coming my way after my months of bike commuting. The train was much more crowded than it was during my morning commute; plenty of room to stand, but no seats.

Plenty of room for the trusty Brompton

Commute home is slightly more packed. Check out the 4 posted hand hold!

Upon arriving at financial center station I unfolded and peddled off towards home. The ride only took 11 minutes, but I had decided to do it in my work clothes to see how I scored on the MOIST index. It was still fairly steamy, though no where near mid summer temperatures. I did sweat quite a bit – but not full cycle to work sweatiness. I managed to go out to dinner later in the same outfit without the missus even noticing – i.e. I didn’t stink.

Total travel time for Plan B? 29 minutes! That means the folding bike + Metro is on par with or (slightly) better than riding the whole way (when changing from bike clothes into work clothes is included in the time)! It should be even faster and even less sweaty when the Burj Dubai station opens. I could easily pop down there in 5 minutes on the bike; which in all but the hottest of weather won’t make me sweat horribly.

There is also a plan C, which is riding to the station on a normal bike and locking it up. This option will be slightly longer since I’ll have to walk from the station to the office, but then again, I won’t have to lug the Brompton around either.

So basically I now have a whole range of options for commuting. If I want to get around town, I’ll be taking my Brompton with me, since the feeder bus service is still a bit spotty (and subject to traffic). For getting to work, I’ll either still ride, or ride to the station and park the bike + metro. If I am planning on running home, I’ll catch the feeder bus + metro.

I am totally mobile, and LOVING it!

Riding in Dubai - Trickle down economics

2009-06-23T16:37:00.004+04:00

Up until now I have been focusing mainly on the policy, safety and behavioural side of cycling in Dubai, but I realized I have neglected another key issue with regards to riding to work – BO! I would say in terms of excuses why people don’t ride more here, sweat and odour come in a close second to traffic safety issues. Valid point, it can get rather… warm in Dubai, and cycling in higher temperatures obviously makes one perspire – but it doesn’t necessarily make you smell.

I admit that the heat was one of my major concerns when I contemplated moving to Dubai. I figured I could handle cycling in the traffic, but I wasn’t so sure if my office had a shower. It turns out the answer was no, yet somehow (surprisingly even to me) I have managed to get by without one. I did check out the local gym – Fitness First – but they didn’t seem very interested in giving me a shower membership, and I was definitely uninterested in paying over 400 Dirham a month just to take a shower (I have a free gym in my apartment building, plus I don’t even like gyms – boring!!).

I resolved to stick it out, and perhaps resort to the gym when things got really bad weather-wise. So far, I still have managed to snub the gym! This pleases me, since I generally dislike gyms and I don’t really feel like giving them loads of cash. How did I do it? Quite simple really – I practice good hygiene.

Several factors are involved in my gym-snubbing good fortune. First off, my ride to work isn’t all that far, roughly 10 kilometres, which takes me an average of 20 to 25 minutes to cover. Second, a good portion of my trip (approximately 30 to 40%) is shaded - this is quite important, as direct solar radiation feels a LOT hotter than the ambient temperature. Third, I dress the part – I tend to eschew anything cotton in favour of breathable wicking fabrics. Fourth, I shower right before riding to work, and finally, I am fit, and therefore am slightly better equipped to expel excess heat than someone who is carrying a bit more baggage.

Sun dappled palm tree shade, the gold standard of shades!

Metro Shade, not quite a palm tree, but quite handy

As you can see, the first four variables can be influenced quite easily by each individual cyclist. I chose the location of my domicile to be near my workplace, I chose a route to work that was partially shaded and I obviously choose what I wear to work each day and how often I wash myself. To an extent, everyone also chooses how fit they are, and cycling can be a great way to improve that fitness!

I’ve noticed a definite variation in the distance I can cycle each morning prior to starting to sweat. This distance seems to be dropping precipitously by the day as the weather heats up; I call it the MOIST index (Moment Of Identifiable Sweat Trickle). The recent rise in humidity has driven the MOIST index to an all time low of 5 minutes recently; marked by an unmistakable bead of sweat on my upper lip by the time I reach 312 Road. I am sure if I went helmetless I could bump my MOIST score up at least one or two points, but it would be a bit of a moot issue since I am generally soaked when getting to work anyhow. Back in February, I could easily get to Zabeel 2 Road, or even sometimes the Trade Center Roundabout before becoming MOIST, ah, the good old days.

The MOIST Index - 6 month trend

Sweating when riding to work in Dubai is inevitable, even in the winter. This doesn’t automatically mean that one will smell though, and therein lies the big difference! Sweat actually doesn’t smell like much of anything, most of what our sweat glands produce is 99% water with some salt and potassium thrown in. What makes humans smell offensive ‘after’ sweating is bacteria. Everyone carries around a churning sea of bacteria with them both internally and externally. The bacteria in our guts helps break down food (and produces gas), while the bacteria on our skin laps up sweat and produces smelly acids as a by-product (the same acids found in smelly cheeses!). However, only the sweat glands in our pits and genitals, the aprocrine glands produce a viscous substance containing fat and protein that the bacteria feed on. That is why those regions produce so much odour.

My secret to smelling fresh as a daisy at work is to shower right before I leave in the morning, and then wipe down with a washcloth and re-apply deodorant before I change into my work clothes (lucky for me, there is a nice Superman changing room adjacent to my office – aka the disabled bathroom). I still manage to sweat for a good 10 or 15 minutes after changing and sitting down at my desk, but most of that sweat isn’t from my aprocrine glands, and the bit that is gets taken care of by the deodorant. True, it is a bit of a pain to carry another set of clothes and change when I get in, but like anything, once it becomes routine it’s not so bad.

When the Metro rolls around later this year, things will be even easier. As you can see from my MOIST chart, even in rather balmy weather I don’t start to perspire until around 5 minutes (meaning I can most likely ride in my work clothes, saving even more time). My nearest Metro station can be reached easily within that time frame, and I’ll bet the bike will be much more convenient than the feeder bus. If the RTA manages to install the 30 bike racks at each station that they have promised, my trip to work will be incredibly easy. I will still ride to work most days, but it will be a nice fallback for those days I am feeling a bit lazy!

Fare is Fair

2009-06-22T15:53:00.012+04:00

The RTA today finally 'unleashed' their fare structure for the new metro system! The news was actually broken by the paper Xpress on June 4th, but I have been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks.

As I figured, the fares are quite fair (har har), with the priciest ticket – a ride from one end to the other in ‘gold class’ coming in at AED 11.8, bargain! That is almost the same as a one zone ticket bought with an Oyster card discount on the London Underground, and slightly more expensive than a ride on the New York City Subway (no zones in NYC). I don’t think that either NY or London’s trains could be considered ‘gold’ by any stretch of the imagination either.

For your more average ride the fare will be even cheaper. There are a total of five zones, but the maximum fare is for three zones, i.e. if you travel between 4 or 5 zones the fare will be the same as for 3 zones. Further, there are discounts for pre-paid cards as opposed to single ride tickets (like the Oyster card). If you are going 3km or less, the price is even cheaper than the single zone fare. Here is the breakdown (all fares in AED):

A quick look at the price structure reveals that the gold glass is double the silver class and the student / senior fare is half of the prepay silver class fare (this would make sense since you need to get a special card for students and seniors and thus would be pre-paying).

The monthly rate is a bargain, with a 3+ zone monthly card coming in at a very reasonable AED 270 (cheaper than a monthly in NYC), two zones for AED 180 and one zone for AED 100. They only give the 3+ zone fare for Students and elderly (170 and 200 respectively), so I am not sure if there is a discount for shorter journeys (I would imagine so). A day pass is set at 14 dirham, though I would suspect this is only for one zone, no word on how much it will be for additional zones.

The cards are good for all forms of RTA transit including: Metro, Bus, and Water bus. One fare is good on all modes within each journey. According to RTA chief Mattar Al Tayer (via Xpress):

Using a unified card, riders can pay a single fare to ride the metro within one zone and then catch a bus within 30 minutes free of charge. The single fare will cover all transportation up to three transfers in one zone for a total 180 minutes, he said.

The ever cheery Tayer, shows off the blue Nol card - but where is his photo?

The fare structure will extend to the buses as well, so bus fares will be going up rather dramatically in some cases. For instance the X25 (which I rode when I first arrived in Dubai) from the Marina to Al Gubaibah bus station is currently a 2 dirham flat fare; under the new structure it would cost a minimum of 5.80 dirham, a 290% increase (assuming the distance would be at least 3 zones – a reasonable guess). Though this is still cheaper than taking the bus in New York.

The minimum fares will be available to those who buy the permanent ‘Nol’ card (which means fare in Arabic). These are available for 6 dirham, though you need to spend 20 dirham to purchase one – 6 goes to the cost of the card and the remaining 14 dirham goes towards your fare. You can add up to 500 dirham of value to your card at any one time.

The cards will come in four different varieties; silver, gold, blue and red. The silver card allows you to ride in regular silver class, and the gold in uppity gold class. The blue card is a registered card and will feature your smiling mug on the front. The blue card will also allow you to manage your account online and receive a refund if your card is stolen; they can be used for either gold or silver fares. The red cards will consist of paper tickets which can be used for up to 10 journeys or for 5 days maximum, there is no extra cost to purchase the red ticket.

The zones seem to be set up for quite a bit of system expansion, as the majority of rides at the moment will most likely fall within two zones. Here is the zone map:

Metro to the danger zone

Zones 3 and 4 aren't going to see a whole lot of use at first, and zone 1 seems applicable only to those working in Jebel Ali. I have lucked out, as it appears I will both live and work in zone 5, making my journey cheap, cheap, cheap!

All in all, I think the RTA has done a fairly good job. It seems like even the gold class fares are reasonably cheap. If the fares end up including free transfers to the buses, I would sum up my reaction in two words, bargain mate!

Dead Wrong?

2009-06-18T17:03:00.006+04:00

Since I had been away for awhile I decided to check in with the local rag trade to see what doings were a transpiring in Dubai lately. For a while there it seemed that cycle-related stories were popping up left and right, but no such luck these days. Perhaps they should do a story on me, that crazy white dude riding a bike to work!

There was some interesting streets-related news though. Both the National and Gulf News had stories on the recently released World Heath Organization (WHO) study: Global Status Report on Road Safety.

WHO?

It seems (to no-one’s surprise) that the UAE is ranked quite poorly with a whopping 37 deaths per 100,000 rating (PHT). That is, each year 37 out of every 100,000 people in the country die in vehicle related crashes. Compared to other countries ranked in the high-income category (i.e. developed countries), the UAE has THE worst fatality rate.

In the high income category (where one would expect well designed roads, safe vehicles and traffic enforcement) The next closest is Saudi Arabia, which comes in at 29 PHT, followed by Qatar at 23.7 PHT. After that it drops down to 21.7 in the British Virgin Islands (which is probably skewed since there are only 23,000 residents and 5 fatalities) and then down to 16.9 PHT in Kuwait. There appears to be some sort of death wish going on in the Gulf States.

So who is WORSE than the UAE? Only 7 countries on earth rate that distinction, and none of them have a per capita income anywhere near the UAE.

Eritrea, 48.4 PHT, $230 per capita income (PCI)
Cook Islands, 45 PHT*, $13,098 PCI
Egypt, 41.6 PHT, $1580 PCI
Afghanistan, 39 PHT, $319 PCI
Iraq, 38.1 PHT, $1646 PCI
Angola, 37.7 PHT, $2560 PCI
Niger, 37.7 PHT, $280 PCI

So, lets see here; we have Eritrea, 6th poorest nation on earth, the cook islands (probably another anomaly due to low population, they had only 6 deaths), Egypt – a known driving crazytown, two war zones (Iraq and Afganistan), and two former war zones (Angola and Niger). Why is the UAE ranking up there with failed states? Look at the road infrastructure – brand spanking new, built to international standards. There is an operational police force who just last month handed out 107,000 traffic fines in Dubai alone!

Compare the UAE’s rate with other nations who have a similar per capita income, like say the USA, where there is a similar highway and car culture, but only 13.9 PHT, or the UK, with a startlingly low 5.4! The UK rate may be somewhat attributed to greater transit use, but the US has a similarly low percentage of transit users, and as far as I know the UAE uses the exact same AASHTO highway design standards. So why is the fatality rate in the UAE nearly 3 times higher?

So where does the blame lie? I would put in squarely at the feet of motorists. Just this morning on the way to work I had someone pass me at well over 100kph in a residential neighborhood side street with a 40 kph speed limit. What exactly is the point of that? Where do these people need to be in such a huge hurry? I am sure they aren’t keeping the same pace after leaving their cars. I have yet to see anyone dashing out the drivers door and sprinting down the street to their destination.

Of course its not just speed, anyone who has driven from Dubai to Abu Dhabi can tell you people completely lose their heads once they leave the city; weaving in and out of traffic at high speed, tailgating within inches of your bumper and flashing the brights if you don’t get out of the way – complete chaos!

The sad thing is people take it as some sort of given, as though driver behavior here is willed by God or something. The recent moves by Dubai to add more (as well as new and improved) speed cameras are a good first step, as are the speed-table crosswalks I have seen popping up around Bur Dubai. But these measures are too few and too far between. Dubai seems to have built itself into a corner here. They have enabled a culture of fast and reckless driving and now they are paying the price.

Its not just motorists who are affected either, a full 28% of fatalities are pedestrians – over 250 people a year! I am sure many of these deaths can be attributed to the complete and utter lack of convenient road crossings. Its as though the planners completely forgot that people have legs and just assumed everyone would naturally drive everywhere.

The Death Pie

Lets hope the government sees this report as a wake up call. Do you suppose a nation can be shamed into action?

A Tale of Two Cities

2009-06-17T16:03:00.007+04:00

My loyal readers (I know there is more than one now!) may have noticed a bit of a drop off in my posting of late. Part of this may be attributed to shear laziness, but more-so to the absence of my honk inducing presence on the streets of Dubai. No, I haven’t given up riding – I’ve been on holiday! Sure, I booked the tickets in order to go to a wedding, but it also gave me a great opportunity to objectively compare my riding experience here in Dubai with that in New York City.

I hadn’t been back to New York since last November, and on that trip I wasn’t able to get out and ride due to time constraints. Plus, recently there has been a rash of new bicycle and pedestrian projects popping up all over the city thanks to the new leadership at the DOT. There are now several on-street protected bike lanes, along with loads of new standard class 2 bike lanes and a host of new pedestrian plazas – most strikingly in Times Square!

8th Avenue Cycle Track

I worked in Times Square for 7 years and did battle daily with the heaving masses of humanity coursing down the sidewalks. Talk about level of service problems, the sidewalks in Times Sq. would easily get an F if anyone actually cared to measure it. There have to be more people passing through on foot than in cars, yet cars take up, or shall I say took up, a lions share of the space. The only place in the city that I could see being worse off is 7th Ave and 34th St around Penn Station. At least there most people are commuters know what they are doing. Times Sq. is chock full of gawking tourists who walk erratically, slowly and stop suddenly without warning – much like children now that I think about it. I suppose this is due to the fact that wherever it is they come from, no one walks to get anywhere. Its more a strolling through the mall on a Sunday afternoon kind of crowd. I had a chance to visit the new layout in Times Square, and it is in one word, AWESOME. It is so much more pleasant to move around now, and it appears that both locals and tourists love the new layout. Even a cabbie admitted it helped out the traffic flow.

Broadway through Times Square (photo from NY Times)

Anyhow, I am getting ahead of myself. What I really wanted to find out was if my claim was correct that Dubai was no less difficult to ride around than New York or London. It’s always difficult to gauge rival experiences since it is impossible to actually be in both places at the same time. I could however manage to be in two different places within a day or so, which despite my notoriously bad memory, would provide me with a pretty good comparison.

I had always sort of been able to compare Dubai with NYC, but not so much NYC with Dubai since I hadn’t been back since moving here, it’s a strange distinction, but I think it holds water (one being a bit more distinct in memory than the other). The thing that really struck me and that I seemed to have not noticed earlier was the massive difference in average road speeds and how this affected the ‘feel’ of the street. New York has some fairly wide avenues to rival some of the larger streets in Dubai (not the great wall of SZR, but we’ll confine our comparison to surface streets). However, what New York also has is an abundance of cross streets (one every 80m) and a 30 mph (48kph) speed limit that is mostly obeyed (mainly because the lights are timed to flow at 30 mph). The massive difference in speeds made an equally massive difference in perception of the street. It ‘felt’ calm, at least in comparison to where I had just came from.

It was really a very strange feeling. I had lived in NYC for so long, and felt a certain way about the traffic – too fast, too loud, etc – but now here I was exposed to the exact same scene and I found it near bucolic! It was amazing, sort of like stepping out of a sensory deprivation chamber or something; this is what a real city feels like!

I was eager to get on the bike and try out the new bicycle infrastructure. Since many of my bikes were weeping gently in Dubai, awaiting my return, and I was travelling with my better half – we opted for the tandem. This is not the most comfortable bike to ride due to some gearing, geometry and seat issues (oh, and a bent pedal), but it’s quite nice since you can have a conversation and of course I get to drive.

The biggest coup was that we (cough) ‘forgot’ to bring helmets with us. I will generally wear a helmet whilst cycling around NYC, but for some reason don’t feel the need when I hop on the Schwinn. Perhaps it’s the relaxed pace, or the upright seating position, but I just feel safer. Seeing as how the tandem has one gear and a very low maximum speed, I wasn’t incredibly worried, but my riding partner is generally something of a helmet-Nazi, so this was a rare treat. I feel riding without a helmet (though perhaps slightly more unsafe if one gets in an accident) makes me feel more human somehow. I feel a smaller divide between me and the peds. I am less of a vehicle and more of a hyper-mobile human!

We headed south from my hilltop hideaway in newly landmarked Audubon Park (Washington Heights), down the Hudson River Greenway. It wasn’t long before I got my first taste of new bicycle infrastructure as they had completed a section of the greenway through Harlem in my absence.

Hudson River Greenway in Harlem

What was formerly a Fairway Supermarket parking lot was now a lovely riverside park with a separated bike path – Bueno! Further on down the path I saw the genesis of the long awaited 83rd street greenway connector (only up to the piling stage at the moment). At present one must divert landside up a big hill and back, but soon we’ll be able to stay waterside the whole trip from Battery Park City to the GWB.

By the time we reached midtown the inadequacies of the tandem were starting to take their toll on the booty, so we stopped for a spell at the newly renovated pier 66. Lucky for us the Lightship Frying Pan had just recently received its operating license from the city and we were able to sit back and enjoy a brew with an amazing view of the city and the river.

When we hit the village I turned left and headed inland. It wasn’t long before we found a nice cross-town bike lane (now painted green to stand out better), and cruised along easily over to the east village for some sushi. After lunch it we meandered over to Williamsburg Brooklyn, finding ourselves on bike lanes a good portion of the way. The massive increase in bike lanes was frankly spectacular – they seemed to be everywhere! It wasn’t that riding without them was that much of a problem, but riding IN them was something of a treat. Also of note was the stunning increase in cyclists. To be fair, it was a very pleasant day, but there were bikes everywhere. Quite a significant increase from two years ago from my perspective.

So what does this all mean? Are the mean streets of New York safer than the mean streets of Dubai? Why is it that there are so many more cyclists in New York than here? I think the second question is more important than the first; mainly because there weren’t always so many cyclists in New York for many of the same reasons people cite for not cycling here, like crazy drivers.

The recent efforts by the NYC DOT (over 200 miles of new bike lanes in three years) show that improved cycling infrastructure can help attract new riders, which in turn improves the safety of cyclists, which then attracts more cyclists. The roads are perceived to be safer, and in fact they are.

Crash Data vs Ridership

As you can see from a recent Transportation Alternatives study, despite a boom in cycling (more than doubling in the last 7 years, and a whopping 35% increase last year alone), the accident rate overall has dropped 25%. That means, despite there being twice as many cyclists on the road, there were one quarter fewer accidents. Not as a percentage, but overall!

Note that the drivers in NYC didn’t suddenly become saints, they still get voted the most aggressive drivers in the country, but what they did do apparently is start looking out for bicycles. This wasn’t out of some altruistic kindness, it was a subconscious response to seeing more bicycles on the road. Because there were more bikes they expected them to be there, and thus are more likely to avoid hitting them.

This is rather informative, and it ties in with my feelings riding in Dubai after returning from holiday. I realized that a lot of the near criminal behaviour directed towards me was due less to pure evil on the part of the motorist, and more to ignorance and surprise. People are genuinely surprised by my presence on the road (and more often than not, angered, since I tend to slow their supersonic pace by a hair). If there were say, 10,000 of me riding to work everyday, I would imagine traffic would soon grow accustomed to the sight of cyclists on the road and dare I say, be slightly less belligerent towards them.

So how can Dubai start attracting more cyclists? Well, building the bike lanes and tracks outlined in the BMP would be a good start. I know there are other commuter cyclists out there, hibernating, waiting for the proverbial spring thaw when they can mount their trusty steed and take to the streets. I don’t think many will though, until the bicycle infrastructure is in place – the perception of safety, or lack thereof is still too great. Hopefully the opening of the metro will spur some to at least ride to the station, and that ride might not seem so bad, which then might lead them to venture a bit further. It could be the seed from which our cycling tree grows!

I have heard rumours that the RTA is looking into starting a bike share program which would have kiosks at metro stations (this is also mentioned in the BMP). This would be a great step, even just the presence of bikes at the stations might stir some cyclists from their slumber. “What, I can ride in Dubai?” they might think, hmmmm, perhaps I will give it a try!

Recumbency - or - How I ended up with eight bikes

2009-05-28T16:59:00.006+04:00

Now that I have relinquished my angst about traffic my commute is a much happier experience. My ride home consists of cruising along in a state of inner peace - ignoring the horn blasts of frustrated motorists, brushing off the sophomoric antics of poorly educated drivers and finding myself in no hurry to make the next light.

It was in this Zen-like state that I pulled up to the light near the Novotel on 312th Rd. Normally I would have been angling to jump the light so I could get a break from the traffic, but I decided I didn’t really care and I would just wait with the rest of traffic (which I find gives you some wasta with the motoring public). The next thing I knew I heard a voice from my left, it was an Emirate in a red BMW SUV. He had rolled down his window and started asking me why I wasn’t jumping the light, since I was on a bike and all. I replied that I just felt like obeying the law that day and was in no rush. Then we proceeded to have a short conversation about me riding to work each day.

The quick street-side conversation highlighted what I really enjoy about cycling. It puts you out there as a person, rather than a motorist stuck in your anonymous bubble. It creates random interactions with people, it basically ‘humanizes’ travelling. I had a similar thought a few weeks back as I was riding in the back of a friend’s convertible. I mused that if everyone drove a convertible, there would be fewer accidents and less road rage because you are faced with a person rather than sheets of glass and steel. If you ever really need to change lanes and no one will let you in, just roll down the window and stick your arm out – it’s like magic.

Now that I no longer have enormous bundles of angst about my commute, it leaves me free to worry about all sorts of other things. With the state of the economy such as it is, many people are rightfully worried about the security of their jobs. The fear of being made redundant is a powerful one, but I feel my job is fairly secure at the moment. I am honestly more afraid of being made recumbent!

This man has been made recumbent

For those of you who aren’t aware, recumbency is a horrible disease. Once one catches it, you become not only a pariah of your community, but also a tireless supporter of an unpopular cause. I am not sure any bike that I must attach a flag to is the bike for me.

Aerodynamic, AND has mag wheels, bitchin'

It’s a genuine fear for me, you see I have so many bikes already I am fast running out of different types to buy. Therefore, I am at a great risk of falling prey to recumbency.

It all started in college with a run of the mill Mongoose mountain bike I bought for commuting around campus. It was the 90’s and mountain bikes which would never see a dirt trail were all the rage, just like SUVs which were never taken off road became the ‘in’ thing in the aughts.

My Mongoose served me well, and of course came along with me to NYC when I moved. I was rather paranoid about it getting stolen (I had 2 bikes stolen 3 times when I was in high school, that isn’t a typo), but the worst that ever happened was someone stole my seat! That was an uncomfortable ride home.

In NY I fell in with an adventure racing crowd and my poor Mongoose quickly became obsolete for the task (having been basically designed to ride around town), so I went out and bought myself a nice new Rocky Mountain hardtail. Ahhh, nice bike. We spent countless days together flying around the country, riding for hours through seemingly endless bike stages.

One of my teammates had been riding for quite some time and had managed to amass an arsenal of bicycles. His first road bike, a Yokota, hadn’t been ridden in years and was in a sorry state hiding in his attic. Since I was road bike-less, he took pity on me and let me have it. After a bit of a tune up and some new tires it was good to go. The derailleur was already pretty shot, but I managed to put several hundred miles on it. This new (old) bike did nothing to assuage my growing thirst for new bicycles. I was like a junky, always looking for and looking forward to my next hit.

My biggest problem at that point was that I didn’t have a bike I felt comfortable leaving outside in NYC. I felt I would be more mobile if I could keep a utility bike on the street and just hop on and go whenever, instead of having to lug one downstairs and locate gear and such. Therefore, I headed out looking for a 3 speed! I found the bike of my dreams at a small shop in E Williamsburg (aka Bushwick) Brooklyn. They scoured the country buying up old schwinns and the like which they then repaired and sold. My dreams of utility cycling died when I laid eyes on a mint condition Schwinn Metrocycle circa 1970. Apparently it had been ridden twice and left in a garage for 30 years. They had put on some new tires and oiled the chain, but everything else was out of the box new! I loved it, but I loved it too much to leave it locked up outside.

Meanwhile, the Yokota had got me all hot and bothered about road cycling, but at the same time frustrated me with its ancient and worn down componantry. I started to lust after a shiny new road bike, but my finances were such that I couldn’t easily drop several thousand dollars on a new ride. I waited and waited and saved, and finally the day came. I walked out of the shop with a brand spanking new Cannondale R1000 with Ksyrium elite wheels and an Ultegra groupset. I know its not uber top of the line, but it rode oh so smooth compared to my Yokota. I could have gone carbon fibre with a cheaper groupo, but I like the Aluminum just fine.

mmmmm, speedy

Once the Cannondale arrived on the scene, my Yokota was of course sidelined. Down, but not out. As this was 2004, the fixed gear revolution was just getting into full swing. My ancient steel frame with it’s horizontal drop outs was just crying out for conversion! And so convert I did, self consciously walking into TrackStar in the E Village and buying some new handbuilt wheels and a fixed cog. The ride home was a comedic experience, as I was sporting some really annoying toe clips which were hard to get into even with a freewheel set up. I am surprised I didn’t end up on the pavement, but somehow I managed to make it home in one piece.

After a bit of practice I really took to the fixed gear, they are incredibly fun to ride and then there is all that jazz about ‘feeling connected’ to the bike and such which I found to be quite true. The best part really is how it forces you to be a bit more aware since stopping can be slightly more time consuming. In the end, I ended up spending much more time with my Yokota than my lovely Cannondale. Part of this can be contributed to the fact that I can’t lock up the Cannondale outside, too risky. But I think I actually like riding the fixie better.

One might think that having four bicycles would be adequate, but that person more than likely doesn’t ride very often. There were all sorts of bikes still on my list, I really wanted to turn my Mongoose into an XtraCycle (still haven’t done that), I figured I could do with a cyclocross bike, and a touring bike, perhaps a tandem...

One day I was reading through the Craigslist ads trying to find a decent 3-speed for a friend and I came across a posting for a vintage Schwinn tandem! I was so psyched, it was only $200, I was totally going to buy this bike! The only problem being I was in London at this point, and the bike was in NY. I quickly phoned a friend to enlist them as my buying agent, but they were headed out of town. However, they suggested another co-worker who was also on the look out for a tandem. I rather wanted full ownership, but decided since I was in London anyway that we go in halvsies for it. It was in the bike room at work the next day. I finally got to ride it when I went home for a break, seat posts are a bit on the short side and there is only one gear, but it is great fun to ride!

I only managed to bring the fixie on my trip to London with me, which it turned out was an ideal bike for the city (unless you were headed up to Hampstead). Unfortunately on a ride to work one morning my frame broke, literally cracked clean through the head tube. As fate (or bike geometry) would have it, the head tube also houses your stem, so I managed to not come crashing to a halt in a heap on the asphalt. The bike was a total write off though.

I searched in vain for a replacement frame (as the components were all fine), but this was the frenzied peak of the fixed gear revolution and old steel frames with horizontal dropouts were hard to come by or incredibly pricy. I finally managed (with some difficulty) to get my hands on an old Peugeot 10 speed. It was the perfect frame, huge head tube, great old yellow finish, only one problem… It was built just before the cycle industry switched over to 700c wheels and thus sported incredibly odd 28 x 1 ¼” wheels. This meant I couldn’t switch my Yokota components over, or even easily find new tires for the bike!

I was at a bit of a crossroads since I had hoped to ride the bike to Burning Man from Reno airport in a manner of weeks. I had already planned on getting a new rear wheel with an 8 speed internal hub that I could switch out with the fixed gear wheel for longer trips (Reno to BM was about 135 miles), so I ended up having two new wheels built to fit the Peugeot – thus leaving my Yokota components in a lurch.

Shortly thereafter it was time to pack up and head out to Dubai. Everything was going by sea, so we decided to take some holiday between London and Dubai so we would arrive at the same time as our worldly possessions. I’d never been professionally moved before, it was rather strange to leave your flat in the morning – with everything where you normally kept it, and then come home to find a completely empty place. Off we headed, spending some time in Australia and HK, everything was going swimmingly until 4 days before we were due to arrive in Dubai when both of our companies decided our visas wouldn’t be ready on time, in fact they would take another 8 weeks!

Dejected, we headed back to London with only our luggage, and into a temporary flat. I was soon chafing at not having a bike. It felt alien to have to take the tube to work every day, I longed for the freedom of two wheels! Noting our small living quarters and my current roster of velocipedes I quickly honed in on a gap in my arsenal – a folding bike!! Within days I was in possession of a shiny new Brompton with 6 speeds, dynamo lights and a brooks saddle. It wasn’t my idea of a sweet ride, but I soon grew to love my Brompton, even if I didn’t often use it as intended (i.e. actually folding it and getting on a train).

Two weeks earlier we were riding around Melbourne (on borrowed bikes), and managed to get a flat. Checking the city’s excellent bike map we found a nearby bike shop and headed over to get a patch kit. I was astounded as I walked in, this was no ordinary bike shop, more of a bike hospital where bikes were being operated on and also being born. I was surrounded by lathes, presses and all manner of metal working machinery, it was bike heaven! My attention quickly shifted from patch kit to bike frames, and before I knew it I was purchasing a vintage steel frame, having the superfluous pieces ground off and the whole thing powder coated. My Yokota would be reborn as a bright orange demon.

So there you go, the story about how I ended up with eight bicycles. When you say you have eight bicycles people look at you a little funny, but I don’t think I have really gone too far overboard yet. Each of my bikes has its place, each different trip has different requirements, I’m just making sure I have all my bases covered. That being said, hopefully I’ll be able to resist being made recumbent!

The five stages of grief – commuting in Dubai edition

2009-05-25T16:34:00.003+04:00

As one might expect, cycling in Dubai is an acquired taste. Many dismiss it out of hand as being too dangerous; when in reality the barriers to cycling here (and to some extent in any dense urban environment) lie less in the realm of danger and more so in the kingdom of personal fortitude.

Luckily for myself I happen to possess an abundance of cycle related personal fortitude (owing largely to my own rampant sense of self righteousness combined with a curious lack of thanatophobia). Thus, before moving here I figured cycling in Dubai wouldn’t be such a big deal for me, and I was largely correct.

What I didn’t count on however was the progression of feelings that would wash over me during my first few months on the road. Previously, cycling had been a fairly straightforward activity for me. I would mount my steed, head off into the mean streets, battle for space and sometimes get in a huff with motorists, but I largely enjoyed my time in the saddle.

Here in Dubai it was a slightly different story. To begin with there was the ominous foreshadowing. Never before had I encountered so much negative energy around cycling, or travelling by any means for that matter. It seemed from my research that the streets and byways of Dubai were a battleground strewn with the bodies of cyclists, pedestrians and motorists alike. This lead to my first stage of DCCG - Dubai Commuter Cyclist Grief:

Denial

As I mentioned above, I possess copious quantities of cycling related personal fortitude. In fact I excrete it from my pores and it is scraped up by industrious Swedes and sold by Bike Nashbar as a fortitudinal supplement called ‘TudeMAX’. Its from this well of fortitude that I drew the strength to ride my bike from Reno to Burning Man last summer in one go despite the hysterical objections of fellow burners warning of reckless opiate-laden motorists at the helm of giant rented RVs on narrow dark winding roads. With so much fortitude actually seeping out of my body on a regular basis, I denied to myself and others that I would have any trouble riding in Dubai. “Not a problem!” I shouted from the rooftops to no one in particular. Then I arrived in Dubai.

Anger

My first forays onto the road were cautious. We were staying down at the Marina, and I was equipped only with my newfangled Brompton in its glorious cream finish (extra) and Brooks brown leather saddle (also extra). I had just purchased the bike in London a couple of months previous since all my other bikes were hanging out in a shipping container in Jebal Ali and I was rather suddenly visa-less and back in the UK (I can only go so long without a bike). The Brompton is a lovely bike, but is best for short distances and it isn’t very imposing, I look a bit tame on it to be fair.

Curiously how I look on a bike relates to how I ride it. When I ride my vintage Schwinn MetroCycle 3-speed I tend to ride slower (even though I can cruise), and less aggressively. Conversely, when I am on my sleek Cannondale R1000 with its zippy Ksyrium Wheels I tend to ride like a bat out of hell. Perhaps it is related to my body position; my set up on the Cannondale is more bent over and sporty (go figure), and the Schwinn is more of a sit-up-and-beg dutch bike style. Thus, getting back to the Brompton - which is not quite begging, but definitely not bat out of hell, I felt a bit cautious riding around town. I did end up riding home from work in Bur Dubai to the Marina one night, but I looked for back streets through Jumeriah and (GASP!) road on the footpath along Al Soufah Rd.

Once my other bikes were released from Jebal Ali prison and we moved into our place in Downtown Burj Dubai I set about my regular routine of riding to work every day. This is when the second stage of DCCG set in, ANGER! What were all these motorists doing? Accelerating like mad from lights only to get to the adjacent red light and wait for 2 minutes, honking like deranged madmen, passing too close when there was plenty of space in the adjacent lanes, basically behaving like a pack of self important well armed baboons. I had seen all of this behaviour before on the streets of NY, LA and London, but here it is incredibly pervasive and dare I say personally vindictive. Generally motorists infuriate cyclists by disregarding them completely, but here its that feeling combined with a rage that you even exist and a not so veiled desire for you to cease to exist.

This made me quite angry. I would arrive at work or home in quite a foul mood at times. I must note at this point that not every motorist in this city is a deranged psychopath, but they seem to live here in greater numbers than other cities. Some days I was quite happy while riding in fact, mainly because no psychopaths happened along that day.

Anger isn’t very healthy, in fact its quite oppressive, taking over from ones otherwise sparkling lovely personality and making one bitter and perhaps even close to becoming like the very people who enraged one in the first place. I believe this is how civil wars generally begin. I needed to curb my anger and change tactics fast, that’s when I hit stage 3:

Bargaining

Anger obviously wasn’t getting me anywhere. Whenever I would caustically approach offending motorists I would get nothing but vitriol in return. Everyone believes they are right and when attacked will tend to fight rather than roll over; especially self important motorists who recently nearly ran you down.

My tactics then turned to education, I would bargain with motorists for better behaviour! I started carrying around printed leaflets containing the RTA’s guidelines for motorist behaviour in regards to cyclists and proffering them to unsuspecting motorists. The key was sympathy, no one will be sympathetic to you when you come on like an attack dog. Therefore, despite feeling like I wanted to strangle said motorist, I would with a smile proffer the leaflet and point out that according to the relevant governing body in this particular Emirate, they were breaking the rules and it didn’t make it very safe for me to boot.

This was psychologically rewarding to me for a time. I actually had more sympathetic than angry responses to my leafleting antics. I came away happier that I had pointed out to someone that they were wrong, and they agreed. After a while though, the exercise became less useful. I started to revert to angry tirades, proffering my leaflet with an air of self importance, only to get angry replies. It takes quite a bit of effort to be civil to someone who shows no regard for your personal well being. More effort in the end than I was apparently willing to make for the given return. This triggered the fourth stage of DCCG:

Depression

It was clear that my bargaining ploy was a short term gain. It made me feel more empowered for a while, but after a while the crushing realization that even if I pulled over 100 cars a day I wouldn’t be able to have any effect on driver behaviour. Motorists would continue to annoy and endanger me and I really had no control over it. Depression set in.

I found myself not wanting to ride to work in the morning, or home in the evening. I didn’t feel like dealing with the constant stream of people who were so focused on their destination that they couldn’t be bothered to slow down for 5 seconds or so and merge slightly left whilst passing me. I felt defeated. I didn’t want to give up cycling, but I also no longer really felt like living in Dubai. The weight, the burden of the depression ended up colouring my views on the city in general, I developed a very jaded view of life here.

I plugged along like this for some time; trying to figure out what I could do to change the state of affairs. I would fall back into my former stages at times – defiant and bold, caustic and aggressive, leaflet man, but nothing really seemed to help. What kept me going was the little moments, the flickers of enjoyment that cropped up here and there. Slicing through a traffic jam, gliding along an empty lane, spotting a wayward peacock, things that wouldn’t have happened had I been in a bus or a car.

Then one day recently it happened, the last stage:

Acceptance

As I recall I was sitting at my desk contemplating the ride home. I had been meaning to print off some more RTA flyers since I had run out, but hadn’t gotten around to it. All of the sudden I had a thought. “What if I just rode home?” I know it sounds simple, but it was the product of an enormous amount of pressure and stress, sort of like a diamond - a gem of an idea. I would just ride home; I would ride and not let the buffoonish behaviour of others get to me. They would honk, I would shrug. They would drive recklessly, I would stay vigilant and resolute, but calm.

Why was I playing their game? Why was I getting sucked into their world of puss and vinegar, a world of stress and tension and a burning desire to get to one’s destination marginally ‘quicker’. I was like a born again Christian who is distraught by the hedonism surrounding them, frantically proselytizing to an indifferent public. I had been such a fool! The answer was there all along, Acceptance!

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t accept that it is anyone’s right to drive recklessly and endanger me. No one has the right to honk and wish me off the road, no one has the right to cut me off, but I also have a right not to internalize all of the hatred that I feel towards those people. They do not have the right to make me angry or depressed; they don’t have the right to pull me down into their swirling cauldron of joylessness! I will no longer let those things that are beyond my control get me down – acceptance.

Of course! It all makes sense! I got out of the car to avoid all of those feelings – the frustration of being stuck in traffic, mad at the world, self righteous. All I really did was switch from petrol to leg power, but I never left the traffic. With acceptance came a renewed sense of joy, I am in traffic, but above it!

That night I rode home; it was the same route as usual, but something had changed. I got cut off, bummer, but no harm done - people honked, sucks to be you motorists - didn’t make a light, oh well, what I am rushing home for anyhow? You have no idea how light I felt, all of that rage lifted from my shoulders! It does wonders for the gray matter.

I am not so naïve to think that this is the end of my journey. There will be times that I am outraged, angry, full of vitriol, insistent that others know, realize, nay, admit that they are wrong. That is life. But the outlook has changed my dear readers. Sunny days are here again (metaphorically, realistically it hasn’t rained since March), I’ve put on a happy face. I faced down Dubai... and I won.

Another Day in Paradise

2009-05-11T14:35:00.013+04:00

So it looks as though I can call off my Tour de Phase One (of the bicycle master plan). All that work, training, blood doping, hiding blood doping from the ICU, turning Amish, all down the drain!

OK, so I hadn’t trained that hard, or actually done any planning, but I had thought about going on a reconnaissance ride to determine the current state of the projects outlined in the BMP phase one. However, it seems the work has been done for me by our good friends at the National, as they reported yesterday the Phase One Works (POW!) are due to be completed by mid 2010, i.e. they haven’t started yet. BTW, not sure why they changed the headline in the online version, but the print version was titled: "Dubai paradise for cyclists... one day". BAM! I should have thought of that one.

As I reported earlier, the POW! were supposed to be completed last December, with phase two coming in soon after and slated for completion in September of this year to coincide with the Metro opening. Ironically, they didn’t include the phase two works in POW! Because they wanted to get it done quickly and the phase two bits are basically feeders to the metro which could wait until the metro opened. But now, POW! won’t even be done until nearly a year after the metro opens, and who knows when phase two is coming down the pipeline.

Perhaps the RTA will decide that attracting cyclists to the metro stations will be priority number one and they will leapfrog phase two projects into the phase one box. I would imagine this would require some tricky acronym-ing, so may I suggest: Keep Usable Nearby Guideways Phase One Works, or KUNG POW! I know I love tasty chicken, so this would definitely make me want to ride to the metro stations.

On a slightly more serious note, there was a quote from the one and only Wolfi in the article that rankled my hide (and my hide is not keen on rankling). It seems Mr. Hohlmann believes cycling in Dubai may very well be illegal!

“As well as providing infrastructure there is a need to establish the rights of cyclists. Currently it can be dangerous to cycle in the city, especially when crossing junctions. Dubai’s code of conduct even states that cyclists can be find for using the roads. These factors need to be addressed if cycling culture is to be established"

First let me say I agree with quite a few things in that statement; we do need to establish the rights of cyclists – in the minds of motorists! It is at times dangerous to cycle in the city, and the junctions I believe he is referring to are large roundabouts as well as entry and exit roads from highways (which can be two lanes wide and contain high speed traffic). But I completely and totally disagree that cyclists can be fined for “using the roads” in Dubai. Completely 100% false. The only place a cyclist can be fined is where they are not allowed to ride, which is on limited access highways (the great wall of SZR and others), and footpaths. I know this because I have read the BMP and the Pedestrian and Cyclist Design Manual, both of which clearly state the relevant laws. Here is an excerpt from the BMP concerning the current laws with regard to cyclists:

Dubai law concerning cyclists

I have contacted the National in regards to getting a retraction printed concerning Wolfi's statement. Telling people it is illegal to ride is not a great way to get people to go out and try cycling.

In other exciting news, I am not the only white man cycling to work in Dubai! In fact, there is another person who lives in my very development who rides as well! I noticed him (not so hard to do) as I was heading out for a run after work. So here’s a shout out to my cycling neighbour, good on ya!

Also, a quick thank you to the motorists of Dubai for their rather non-Dubai-like driving these past two days. Perhaps someone is bugging my apartment and heard the tirade I unleashed last week after a particularly horrific ride home (I handed out 3 'proper driving behaviour around cyclist' fliers, and pretty much lost my top with a whack job in a white porsche. Oh well, I guess things balance out in the end.

Where for art thou bike lane?

2009-05-05T17:23:00.008+04:00

Big news loyal readers (reader? Anyone out there?). I have finally got my hands on the full version of the Dubai Bicycle Master Plan (BMP)! I knew that sooner or later my crack team of super spies would come up with the goods.

I have had a copy of the BMP executive summary for quite some time now, so I knew basically what was in store – i.e. where the bike routes were planned to go, and whether they were on street lanes or separated paths – but that was about it. I was curious to see further details as to how they planned on threading these paths through the existing street network as well as finding reasons why what went where and checking out how in-depth their research was.

On the in-depth front, they pretty much have it covered. The BMP clocks in at a backbreaking 347 pages! Needless to say I won’t be toting it around in my panniers to use as reference material when verbally chiding motorists. They take a look at existing infrastructure, collision history data, existing legislation, current user counts, trip demand estimation, and existing constraints. Out of this they produced a network of cycle tracks and lanes and then decided on a schedule to roll out the system in phases (a total of 5 phases between 2008 and 2020).

I can’t say I completely agree with all of the decisions they made in locating cycling infrastructure, but overall it looks like a decent plan and will greatly enhance the cycle-ability of Dubai if it is built. I say if it is built, because the first phase of the work was due to be completed in December 2008, and as far as I can tell, none of the work has even yet commenced (despite numerous newspaper articles touting its forthcoming-ness). I have been meaning to go out and do a proper field survey to see if there are any ‘shovels in the ground’, but I have been in a faffing mood lately. I suppose now that I have the details, I can go check properly!

As the newsies have reported, the phase one projects were: an extension of existing Jumeirah Beach Rd path to Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Dhiyafa St, a path along Dhiyafa St from JB Road to the Great wall of SZR, A path along Mankool Rd from Dhiyafa St to computer St, a bike path around the creek and some random bike lanes in Deira. These routes would enable a less than intrepid cyclist to safely ride halfway across town, which is a pretty good start.

The JB Road path is supposed to be partially on the beach itself, and partially along the western footpath of the road (where beach access is restricted due to private use). The current JB Road path is labelled ‘substandard’, as it is only 1.5m wide and can only accommodate one way traffic. Where they are building new paths the width will be 2.5m wide, but there are no plans to expand the width of the current path. I can’t really see this route being of much use for the commuter cyclist as it is planned to zig-zag in and out of the beach and surrounding roadways as well as play dodgem with traffic turning off of JB Road. Never the less, it will be nice for a leisurely ride.

JB path on the beach

JB Path on the road (2.5m)

The Dhiyafa Rd path is also slated to be a separated path running along the south side of the street from JB Road to Al Wasl Road, and then one way paths on each side of the road from there to the Trade Center round about. They don’t really say what form it will take when heading through the Al Satwa Road round about, which conceivably could cause some conflicts. Curiously, there is also no mention of what happens when you dump a bunch of cyclists into the largest round about in town (trade center) without providing any specific access or infrastructure. Seems like a big oversight. In the second phase there is slated to be a path under the metro, but this is on the opposite side of the round about. This may cause some problems for the less experienced cyclist.

The Mankool Road path starts at Dhiyafa St and heads over into Bur Dubai, ending at Computer St. This path will run in a striped lane in the service road for half the route, and then a separated path on each side of the road for the remainder of the distance. The route will continue from Computer street to the Creek, but due to space constraints will only be marked with sharrows.

Mankhool Path

The route around the creek will basically stripe a lane where it is convenient, and leave large unfinished portions for later phases. In locations where development makes it impossible to complete the route they suggest creating floating walkways. I don’t really see this as being a plausible solution, I think they should have just bit the bullet and created inland pathway detours as they have done in NY. Even if they could get approvals for the floating walkway, the path would be so over-run with pedestrians as to make cycling near impossible.

Creekside path - Bur Dubai side

The Deira routes are bicycle facilities in name only. They would create a small network of sharrow routes rather than bike lanes or segregated pathways. Basically they don’t want to give up any parking to make way for cyclists, and the streets and footpaths are already narrow, so there is no room to give up there. Traffic in the area is a complete nightmare, barely moving as it is. Fewer parking spaces could mean fewer people driving into the area looking for parking. I think its time for Dubai to sack up and start pushing people forcibly out of their cars instead of coddling them. This area of town has more cyclists than anywhere else in town, you would think they would want to encourage even more people to ride – which would further reduce congestion – but I seriously doubt sharrows are going to help much on that front.

Deira Sharrow routes

In theory I like the idea of a physically separated bike path, it keeps cars out physically (which seems to be the only way they will comply), and thus speeds one along in safety. The only problem is intersections; once you separate yourself from traffic you have to enter and exit the flow at intersections (unless you provide a bridge or tunnel). This causes turning conflicts, which happen to be one of the largest sources of bicycle accidents. It also generally requires the cyclist to slow down and wait for vehicular traffic to pass. This seems completely at odds with the idea of a bicycle as a legitimate form of transportation. I don’t ride in the road because I enjoy it, I ride there because it is the fastest way to get from A to B. I rode the JB Road path once, it took ages going up and down curbs, weaving around obstacles, avoiding errant pedestrians and parked cars. That isn’t utility cycling, its leisurely cruising. Dubai needs to promote cycling as a form of transport, not just a whimsical activity on a Friday afternoon.

What, exactly, would be wrong with deducting 0.5m from each lane and handing it over to a curbside bike lane? Narrower lanes have been proven to reduce vehicle speeds (which can only be a good thing in Dubai), and no special infrastructure works are required, just sandblast the old lane markings off and paint some new ones, put up some signs and WHAMMO! I have a semi-safe place to ride. It would be perfect here since most main roads lack curbside parking – therefore there would be no threat of dooring. I can think of quite a few routes which could easily be converted quickly and cheaply.

I suppose my biggest complaint about the BMP is that it sacrifices truly great cycling infrastructure in the name of the status quo – i.e. the car. It threads its way in and out of available space, doing its best not to disturb the motorists rather than providing a facility that will create a leg up for cyclists. Where there is no more free space, well, bummer, guess you will have to make do with sharrows. We can’t possibly ask people not to leave their giant personal possessions sitting on public space for pennies an hour. Why, it is their God given right to park!

Its just another instance of Dubai talking out of both sides of it’s proverbial mouth. We’ll build the best metro ever! (and at the same time expand the roadway network to encourage more driving). We’ll have a world class bike network (as long as it doesn’t infringe on the ‘rights’ of motorists). No lewdness in public (but gobs of hookers in bars).

There is of course much more to the plan than just the first phase. As to whether it will just remain a plan, or actually get built, who knows? I have some very strong opinions about phase two of the plan, but that will have to wait for my next post, as this is turning into a novella. As always, write to me if you want more details. I am more than happy to send through the info I have.

RTA 'Unleashes' another funny name

2009-04-28T16:11:00.013+04:00

Big news kiddies! The RTA has ‘Unleashed’ their new journey planner – wojhati. I am not sure where they came up with the name, it probably means journey planner in Arabic, but I prefer to think its an acronym for Wookies Only Joke Heartily Aboard Transit, Ironically. Ironic, because Wookies are renowned for being stoic and hating transit - who knew they would joke once aboard? And what does this have to do with my journey?

I greatly enjoy the unleashings of the RTA, nothing is debuted or rolled out, its ‘unleashed’, like a virus on an unsuspecting public.

RTA's Official Unleashing Document

I have known about the journey planner for a while, I came across the page for it on the RTA website before I moved here, but unfortunately there were no links to the actual planner, nor any advice on when there might be such a link. The curious thing was the wording on the page made it sound like it was already up and running. There are many quirky things on the RTA’s website, it makes it kind of cute.

As soon as I saw the unleashing, I simply had to try out the journey planner. Would it give me the same advice as I had given myself? Would I be wowed by its amazing svengali-like ability to come up with bus route choices? I dropped everything I was doing (not much), and set about putting the program through its paces.

Good news! Wojhati is actually incredibly useful. In true RTA fashion, it has its funny little quirks, but I think it would stand up pretty well against the NYC MTA’s first attempt at a journey planner (though not quite as useful as say HopStop).

Once entering Wojhati-land, one enters the name of their origin and destination. Seeing as how Dubai lacks a street numbering system, this can be rather hit or miss. It all depends on how big the landmark you are starting or ending at is. Actually, it doesn’t even depend on that, I have no idea what it depends on since it was rather random. It recognized the Burjuman center, but somehow didn’t know where the Mall of the Emirates was. It knew where the Dubai mall was (despite not showing it on the map), but didn’t know where Jumeriah Beach Residence was (also not on the map curiously).

Luckily, you don’t have to only rely on typing in your origin and destination, you can also pick a point on a map! Very handy indeed for this crazy city we live in. As I mentioned above, the map is a bit random as well, none of downtown Burj Dubai exists, the marina isn’t built yet either. All of your older roads will be there, and anyone with a decent knowledge of Dubai should be able to locate their destination to within a few minutes walking – good enough for purpose.

Other options include; choosing your departure time and choosing transit modes (bus, abra, taxi and train (obviously not available yet)). There is an option to choose by fewest interchages, fastest journey, or least walking between interchanges. You can even choose your walking speed and maximum walking time between interchanges, very nice!

So how does it work? I would say pretty darn well. I checked out each of the bus routes that I already know from experience, and it came up with a very similar route and the suggested times were fairly accurate. It did have some funny choices at times, like taking 5 different buses between JBR and the burjuman (via Jebel Ali!), but for the most part it was very rational, I think it’s the bus routes themselves, or more accurately the roads on which the buses travel, that are whacky.

Here is a sample route from the Burjuman to the Mall of the Emirates (by the way, I never noticed previously, its initials spell MOE! New nickname for sure). It’s a route I was curious about because I had tried to make the journey previously, and was thwarted by a pernicious lack of information (I ended up taking a cab). As noted before, Wojhati hasn’t heard of the mall of the Emirates, despite it being labelled on the map, so I had to right-click on the map and echo-locate it myself (I find echolocation quite easy, I have been half dolphin since that unfortunate accident at Fermilab).

Wojhati's magical mystery buses

Once you identify your start and end locations, just click submit and Wojhati does its magic thingy and comes up with not one, but SIX, count ‘em, six different routes to MOE, unfortunately, no routes to Curly or Shepp.

As you can see, not all the routes are super handy, generally I try to avoid 4 interchanges in one bus journey, but it might be fun for the intrepid, or if you have a lot of dirham coins laying around that you don’t know what to do with. I am a smart and change-poor man, so I chose the two bus option.

Details, details...

If you click on details, you get a page with all sorts of interesting journey info including interchange locations, journey leg times, interchange walking distances etc. You can also choose between an interactive (scaling) map of the route and a pdf of the route, which both include transfer location info.

pdf version of route map

There are also some other helpful features: Departure Board, Timetable, Stop Timetable, My Timetable, and My Journey. They are all variations on a theme, basically giving you all of the possible times for different journeys or routes (where-as when you search Wojhati, it gives you a more narrow timetable). The Stop Timetable feature is quite handy for figuring out which buses leave from nearby. The My Journey feature requires you to log on and then you can set defaults for where you like to leave from and favourite journeys (I haven’t tried this out yet), which seems rather friendly.

All in all I have to say good job! To the RTA. This, more than anything before (except for buying all of those buses) should really help to get people to try out public transport. You definitely can’t beat the price, even with 5 interchanges its only 10 dirham to get from JBR to the Burjuman (even less if you are smart) – bargain mate!

Compare and Contrast

2009-04-27T16:40:00.003+04:00

Two articles in the National today highlight the huge, NAY, cavernous disparity in thinking between the planners in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Whilst Abu Dhabi plugs along slowly, thinking through development and endeavouring to create a more liveable city, Dubai charges forward with several road widening / massive interchange building projects.

The headline for the Abu Dhabi story is, “Feet First into the Future”, which I quite like. A very friendly image.

The article admits that at the moment AD is not very attractive for pedestrians, but amazingly the city is actually trying to fix things (unlike some other emirates I know). The Urban Planning Council actually has this to say: “We want to improve …by creating better and more cohesive, more connected districts for people to live and work in.” They also mention trying to provide a way for people to get around sans auto which is quite refreshing. Future plans include, “shading on pavements using plants, arcades and tents. Streets will be made narrower in some areas to give more space to pavements and in some cases one lane will be designated for public transit.” Wowza!

But wait you say; Dubai has already started building a metro, and bought 1600 buses! While this is quite true, and very laudable, Dubai doesn’t seem to see the Metro and bus system as part of a holistic change in how the city operates. Sure, there will soon be a metro, but there will also soon be billions of Dirhams of new highways as we find out in our contrasting article from the National, “Dh1.4bn roads revamp for Dubai”

If Dubai was really serious about changing peoples habits and getting them out of their cars they would be taking a cue from Abu Dhabi and reducing the number of lanes of traffic when the metro opens rather than building gobs more highway capacity. Shouldn’t you make it MORE difficult to drive in order to convince people to take the metro? Where is the stick? Its all carrot here.

The incredibly disturbing thing to me is, they are about to dig up and interchange-ize the trade center round about. The one and ONLY remaining signalized intersection on the entire length of the great wall of Sheik Zayed Rd. I’ll wager that there is absolutely no pedestrian or bicycle facility planned for the new interchange, despite there being a huge number of pedestrians currently passing through the area and changing between buses there (I seem to be the only cyclist passing through, it isn’t exactly what I would call bicycle friendly at the moment, but at least its not a freaking huge interchange).

The article also mentions the new bypass between Garhoud bridge and the 312 road behind the trade center. I had been wondering what was going on at the intersection of Zabeel 2nd Rd and 312 Rd; there are quite a few new bridge piers running over through Zabeel park. I can’t quite figure out where the thing is going to land, but rest assured it will bring speeding berserk drivers who still think they are on a highway straight onto (the relatively safe) 312 Rd. Thanks a lot RTA!

I am pretty sure the RTA is following me around and making sure to completely mess up any of the halfway decent roads I have found to ride on. All in the name of relieving congestion! Here is some free advice to the RTA, there is absolutely no way to build your way out of congestion (other than building mass transit), study after study has shown increasing road capacity only leads to more traffic and more increases in road capacity. Dubai had the luxury of being able to learn from the rest of the developed world’s mistakes, but they seem to have cocked it up royally and walked into all the same traps that the US did. Now they are stuck with endless miles of suburbs and massive traffic clogged highways.

Perhaps I should look into moving to Abu Dhabi.

In the long run

2009-04-27T15:22:00.003+04:00

I’ve been hittin’ the bricks lately (and the sands and the asphalt) for some sweet long runs. I am trying to get the mileage up before the brunt of the heat shows up and makes it less than appealing to go for a 3 hour run. I am also testing out different routes out of the city as part of an opening leg for a run across the desert!

Yes indeed, from the wacky mind that brought you cycling to work comes a new adventure… running to Dibba!! This idea may or may not have something to do with my recent perusal of Arabian Sands by Wilfred Theisger (which is a great read by the way, highly recommend it). That, and I need a serious challenge now and again to give myself purpose and basically to spice up life.

I am hoping the trip can be made unsupported, that is, we carry our own equipment the whole way and camp at night (i.e. fastpacking). Water and food could of course be picked up along the way, but I am trying to avoid the need for an automobile trailing behind waiting to rescue or restock us. I figure we could get across the desert section in 2 or three days, and depending on route choice the mountain section in another 3 to 4 days. I’ve got some feelers out to my running buddies in London and NY to see if they want to join in on the adventure.

Anyhow, in anticipation of my daring desert dash, I have started to explore the possible routes I could take out of the city. So far I have run out to the Dubai Outlet Mall (13.5 miles) and over to Al Awir (aka where the Explorer Off road directions to fossil rock start), which is just past the Dubai bypass road at Dubai - Hatta Rd (20 miles). Neither route is ideal, both involve multiple highway crossings and pass through large half finished developments, but each has its charms.

My route out to the Outlet Mall took me from Downtown Burj Dubai, under the mass of highway ramps that used to be Doha St. (where it will someday pass over the creek extension), across Al Khail Rd at Oud Metha Rd, up the Roadsters weekday haunt, around the Nad Al Sheba Palace (which was the loveliest part, nice trees!), across a patch of surprisingly undeveloped desert, under Emirates Rd, along all sorts of construction, under the Dubai Bypass Rd through the future Universal Studios and into the mall. More sussinctly, I followed the Dubai-Al Ain Rd a bit off to one side. In a word, boring (except that bit in the trees).

The wonders of modern technology - GPS watches!

I was going to take the bus home, but I had to meet a friend for drinks, so a taxi home it was. I don’t understand how this city can build these absolutely monster interchanges in one place and absolutely nothing in another. A small underpass would work just fine, but no, you have to drive about 10 minutes out of your way in the wrong direction in order to get home (adding 24 dhiram to the trip).

My run out to Al Awir was a bit more interesting. I basically started the same way, but from Nad Al Sheeba I peeled off following the power lines in an easterly direction. I had to hop over a couple of fences and veer off course a bit to get over Emirates Rd, but otherwise it was the power lines service road most of the way. While running under power lines doesn’t sound very exciting, it is at least a small respite from the masses of development around you, and the footing is pretty good too. Once you get past the Dubai Bypass Rd the desert properly opens up, very pretty and loads of camels (none of which would agree to give me a ride)! As a bonus, the bus heads out to Hunaywah as well (the 11A), so on my next big run I can start there and head further into the desert!

Body and Mindless

2009-04-21T17:27:00.003+04:00

Last week Time Out Dubai did a full page spread on cycling. While this is positive, its always good to promote cycling (especially here), I was worried that it was going to be a re-hash of the same old themes. I of course was not disappointed.

I had heard about the article from my better half, so I had a chance to predict what it would talk about before reading it. Here was my prediction: blah, blah, blah, ride in safe neighborhoods, blah, blah, blah, Roadsters, blah, blah, blah, Hot Cog. Miraculously I even got the order right!

Even though I had successfully predicted the future (except the Hot Cog part, though they did mention mountain biking), I wasn’t happy. How difficult is it to throw in a paragraph about using your bicycle for something constructive, like, I don’t know, say going to the store or work? The whole article was a giant puff piece for Wolfi’s Bike shop, which makes it even odder. Wouldn’t Wolfi want to sell bicycles to commuters as well? He mentions that he rides here more than in Germany, but pins that on the weather. To me that infers that he only rides his bike to train, and doesn’t use it to commute. What bike shop owner drives everywhere?

The most over the top quote had to be, “I ride in the Lakes…People in those areas are more used to cyclists than in say Deira or Bur Dubai.” Are you serious? I am wondering if Wolfi has ever been down to these neighborhoods, because this is the only area I EVER see cyclists. Perhaps he doesn’t count the thousands of guys from India and Pakistan riding their Goldline Super Extra bikes. I guess you aren’t a ‘cyclist’ unless you rub a massively expensive road bike from Wolfi’s showroom.

He also seems to like riding through the Springs and the Meadows because they have lots of speed bumps. Despite speed bumps being the bane of my existence, this seems to contradict his argument that motorists are much friendlier in these developments. These are the same people who are driving in Bur Dubai, they aren’t any friendlier in the Springs, they’re just worried about their suspension.

None of the ideas in the article (except the quote) are necessarily wrong. If you would like a nice quiet ride and happen to live in the Springs, good on ya! If you want to go for a long road ride, the roadsters are a great place to turn. It just seems so freaking strange that no one in this city will admit in print that its possible to ride your bike outside of these narrow definitions. Its as though there is a leash law and the springs and the Roadster rides are the only dog runs.

The indignity of Bicycle Commuting in Dubai

2009-04-09T16:17:00.006+04:00

Indignity

In*dig"ni*ty\, n.; pl. Indignities. [L. indignitas: cf. F.
indignit['e]. See Indign.] Any action toward another which
manifests contempt for him; an offense against personal dignity; unmerited
contemptuous treatment; contumely; incivility or injury, accompanied with
insult.

How might a prince of my great hopes forget So great
indignities you laid upon me? --Shak.

First off, I’d like to make an apology to BikeSnob NYC for stealing his blog headline. It is just so apropos, I couldn’t resist. I invite him to come out to Dubai and try out the commute so we can have an indignity-off. I do believe I would win!

I’ve been commuting to work by bicycle in Dubai pretty much every day for 2 months now, which makes this a good time to sit back and reflect on how things are going. To compare my perceptions with the cruel realities and pleasant surprises, as well as to look forward and see what lies ahead.

I have enjoyed my commutation so far. It is relatively safe (I am not yet dead), quite quick (20 to 25 min depending on lights and my energy levels), and I very much enjoy feigning indifference to the people who stare at me unbelieving in the elevator as I stand there sweating with my helmet in hand.

Sure there have been times when I didn’t feel much like riding, but I don’t really have much of a choice. OK, there is the bus, but the bus isn’t anywhere near as convenient as my bicycle for my particular commute – yesterday it took an hour and 10 minutes to make the same 10k trip (only 50 min home though!), and thus it is only to be used in times of illness (like this week) or serious laziness (I am very much looking forward to being lazy on the metro). On the plus side though, you can read on the bus!

In terms of speed, Dubai has my previous commutes beat hands down. I rode approximately the same distance in London and it took at a minimum 10 minutes longer due to lights and traffic. So there apparently is a plus side to the gigantic roads and lack of rational spacing between traffic lights! The downside is that the road geometry seems to engender some sort of animalistic, brain stem originating need for some people to go as fast as mechanically possible between spaced out traffic lights with little regard for the personal safety of others. This need is prevalent everywhere, but most cities have a fairly dense grid of streets and thus traffic signals to somewhat deter the whackos.

The whole speeding from red light to red light thing never ceases to amaze me. I am sure a large majority of commuters drive the same route every day, yet they never seem to realize that no matter how fast they drive they won’t make the next light. I can actually run the length of the Boulevard at Burj Dubai faster than the cars (even stopping at the lights!), yet people constantly rev their engines and roar away from the light, only to hit the next red light. Is it done out of frustration or just pure idiocy?

I have an idea for pointing out the lunacy of peoples behaviour behind the wheel. I would make up cue cards, one or two for each light on the boulevard. The first would lay out the premise, something like, “You’re all nobs” “I will beat you” “to the end”, then at the next light, “why do you gun it?” “resistance is futile!”, then at the end “see, told you so” and “chill out mo fos”. Or something along those lines. I might need to hire a script writer for some better zingers. I figure I could easily amuse myself for an hour whilst getting a good workout.

While there are tons of nobs out there, there are also quite a few people who actually drive fairly reasonably, and quite a few are actually nice – slowing down and giving me some room when passing. Unfortunately those aren’t the people that stick in your brain; it’s the nobs you remember. The nobs not only being the ones who gun it at lights, but the ones who pass to close at high speed, cut you off at turns and honk as though you don’t belong on the road. Just a few bad apples sometimes spoil the whole bunch, cliché, but true. I have had days where I was absolutely thrilled to bits by vehicular behaviour, and then BAM, I got nobbed! Just ruins the whole ride, filling my mind with nothing but hate and vitriol for the remainder of my journey.

As a cyclist there is really very little you can do to vent your anger and get the point across that someone’s driving is at best annoyingly self centred, and at worst incredibly dangerous. I’ve done my fair share of shouting, gesticulating wildly, and my personal favourite – open palmed car slapping (makes lots of noise, but no damage), but these methods usually tend to further enrage the motorist, who most likely already thinks you shouldn’t be taking up space on ‘their’ roadway.

Curiously though (and to my advantage), the same roadway infrastructure that engenders an epidemic of nobbish speeding also tends to create massive waits at traffic lights. This long wait time normally gives me plenty of time to catch up with motorists who have just sped by me in an unsafe manner. Now, I could use this ‘face time’ with the nobs to mount a confrontational attach by launching into a tirade about their inherent lack of driving skills and the danger they have brought to bear upon me (I still sometimes do this, anger is a beast), but instead, I have chosen PLAN B.

In an effort to actually make some sort of impact I have decided to ‘try’ to be as civil as I can when approaching motorists and unleash PLAN B. I ask them to roll down their windows, and I whip out a copy of the ‘Safety Tips and Rules of the Road’ from the ‘RTA Pedestrian and Cyclist Design Manual’ on which I have helpfully highlighted the salient points of motorist / cyclist behaviour that they (el nobbitos) always seem to forget. Drop me an email if you would like a more legible copy!

Official Dubai RTA Anti-nob legislation

The most salient points being:

When approaching a bicycle keep on the lookout and slow down. Give them plenty of room.
Yield to bicycle riders at intersections the same as is done for other types of vehicles.
Do not crowd bicycles. Wait for a clear stretch of road before passing a bicycle that is moving slower than your motor vehicle in a lane too narrow to share…the greater the speed difference between you and a bicyclist, the more room you should allow when passing.
Do not honk at a bicyclist… There may be good reason for a bicyclist to ride in the travel lane, such as roadway hazards not visible to motorists.

I have only had one verbal altercation when attempting to educate the motoring public with my fliers. The vast majority of drivers are apologetic when approached, and are careful to give me much more room when they pass again. I’ve even cornered bus drivers (the bendy buses tend to crowd)! All but one motorist has been quite receptive, and that one time I cracked and reverted to yelling and screaming – thus turning myself into a nob. Must be contagioius.

From my experience, I would say most nobbish behaviour tends to orbit around points 1 and 3, with point 4 coming in a close third. I am also guessing that the persistent honking I encounter is cultural, you don’t see it much from the western expats, but the sub-continental drivers seem to use it as some sort of echolocation system. As though they were half dolphin, half nob.

I realize that my quest to de-nobitize the motoring public of Dubai one by one is a rather Quixotic quest, but in the end, if I manage to perhaps sway a couple of people to drive in even a slightly safer fashion I feel I have achieved something. I have also managed to bathe myself in a calming PLAN B salve which soothes away the hate and vitriol, and that in itself is worth the effort.

Localized Adventure Awaits

2009-03-25T22:22:00.000+04:00

As you may have guessed, I've got me a little thing for the bi-cycles. Believe it or not, cycling isn't my favourite pastime. Indeed, running is the ne-plus-ultra travelling activity in my opinion. Sure, you can't get where you are going quite as fast (unless you are travelling on mountain trails), but one is much more mobile when on foot, able to hop over obstacles, cross loose soil, or traverse busy back alleys.

If I had a shower at work and my legs could take the pounding, I would more than happily run to work almost every day. In fact, I would love to run everywhere, I try to incorporate it into my travel plans as much as possible. This was a bit easier in say New York, where I could hop on the subway for the return journey, but I guess I'll have to wait until September to see how the Metro changes my running habits. Incidentally, running home from the bar is freaking awesome! You really must try it sometime; I sometimes feel like I am floating along. Plus, there is absolutely no way of getting pulled over for being intoxicated!

Unfortunately, my legs have a habit of failing me just when things are getting good, and it has been no different here in Dubai. I was just getting up to a nice 13 to 15 mile long run distance when the ole calf decided it had enough yet again. Luckily, the condition isn't permanent, and I have recently been back pounding the pavement.

While Dubai lacks interesting varied terrain and trails (my favourite territory), it does have an inordinate number of construction sites. Recently I have become decidedly more bold in my route choices and ventured off into the the great unmapped regions of Dubai (well, of Burj Dubai and Business Bay at least), and found them if not on par with great mountain trails, at least much more interesting than running on completed streets and byways.

My run this weekend took me over a completed yet unopened 4 lane overpass, then a decidedly incomplete overpass, over a big berm and smack dab onto the 'shore' of the new creek extension, AKA Business Bay. It was a rather lovely Friday Morning, and the construction traffic was light, so there wasn't much danger involved beyond turning an ankle (which is nearly impossible for me, mine are made of rubber from years of trail running). The workers who were unfortunate enough to have to work on Friday didn't seem to mind me running through, in fact they were rather amused, or perhaps bemused.

The route along the new creek offers quite lovely views, it was interesting to see all of the buildings from different angles as I ran along, and the waterside setting will be pretty sweet when complete in roughly 30 years (there are quite a few empty sites).

My route would have been completely impossible on a bicycle, but I think running brought a little something extra to it. Running gives you time to take in the scenery a bit more (though this was slightly impeded by the rough footing), and perhaps humanizes you a bit more to the people you pass.

A few weeks back I was running home from work and decided to take an unplanned detour around Zabeel Palace. I had seen it quite a few times on my rides home, but lacking a mountain bike, hadn't taken the sharp left turn at the Zabeel Club. I am naturally a curious person, and I didn't have much on my plate, so off to the east I went. I was instantly amazed by what I saw.

Suddenly I was plunged into a grove of trees, with little wild flowers scattered about. They were seemingly natural, as I am quite certain I didn't see any irrigation around. Chugging along I rounded a bend and what did I behold, but a peacock, just hanging out in the woods. I was agog; one normally doesn't run into peacocks, definitely not in the desert. As I ran on I saw another, then another, then a gaggle, or whatever a group of peacocks is called – there had to be well over a hundred of them. Obviously, they belonged to the palace, but they were free to roam at will, which I very much enjoyed.

After coming to what appeared to be the palace entrance road (and being swarmed by peacocks), I hit a fence (not literally), and had to swing another left. This took me back out to Zabeel 2 Road, where I hugged the fence around to the right. It was then that I figured out what the enclosure was for, the rare desert gazelle, go figure – guess Sheik Mo is a wildlife buff. Unfortunately the rest of the journey was devoid of trees (lots of construction), but I did happen upon another massive unused highway (perhaps its just a spare), and finally a policeman, who despite not speaking English, made it abundantly clear that running around the palace walls wasn't Kosher.

So I high tailed it to the south towards my homestead, only to run into another set of woods, but it was hiding a work camp rather than a palace. They had a very tiny plywood mosque, not much bigger than a childrens playhouse. I am not sure if it is culturally sensitive to say it was cute, but it was. It even had a miniature minaret.

Just beyond the Lilliputian Mosque, what did I find but yet another spare highway! This one seemed slightly incomplete as it met a giant soldier pile wall halfway through a tunnel under Doha Road, but lucky for me there was a scaffold to climb up and exit. From there it was a bit of deft overlanding straight back to the homestead, just before dark. It was up to that point my single favourite day in Dubai.

I recount these stories to make the point that adventure is where you seek it, and for the most part, people don't seem to be doing much seeking around here. Just think of what you have at your fingertips! A giant incomplete city, manned by workers who don't really seem to know or care about trespass laws! It's like a bizarro Roman ruin out there, in a state of pre-decay. All you need is a pair of shoes and a sense of adventure; have at it!

Magical Mystery Bus

2009-03-15T16:50:00.009+04:00

This blog isn’t just about me riding my bike (and extolling its many virtues), I’m also out to cover other ways of getting around Dubai, like the bus!

My first two weeks in Dubai were spent out at the Marina where we were given a short term apartment while we looked around for a place. Unfortunately, my office is on the other end of town in Bur Dubai, which is quite a ways no matter what form of transport you take - but a bit far to bike every day on a folding bike (which is all I had with me at the time).

I can see the appeal of the Marina; its right next to the beach, and they have a rather nice walkable outdoor shopping street where Emiratees like to cruise their beemers on the weekend. But unless you work in Media city or thereabouts, it’s really not very conveniently located. There would probably be quite a bit less traffic in town if people decided to live closer to where they work (we looked into living in Bur Dubai, but the other half didn't fancy any of the available options). I realize this isn’t always possible based on price, but it makes a whole lot more sense than sitting in traffic for an hour.

Anyway, I didn’t much feel like taking a taxi everyday (or for paying for the taxi everyday, something along the lines of 50 Dirham each way, doesn't seem like a lot, but it adds up quickly), so I did some investigating and figured out how to take the bus to work! Finding useful bus information on the RTA website is not as easy as one might expect. Pretty much anywhere else in the world I could have found a nice legible map (or even a route planner) and plotted my course with little or no trouble, but of course this is Dubai.

I did manage to find the list of bus route maps fairly easily – its on the ‘public transport’ page, but, curiously there was no overall map of bus routes included. Being new to town and not knowing all of the place names I had to click onto each individual route map and see where it goes (there are surprisingly quite a few routes). Only later on did I find the map of the whole system, cleverly located under the ‘about’ tab on the left side of the page – for no apparent reason.

Website Randomness

Cleverly hidden full bus map

Neither map is entirely useful, leaving out quite a bit of key info, but I really dig the RTA staff photos, I do believe they are holding a beard contest. I believe the taxi guy is winning.

Here is the route map for the X25 express bus from the Marina, showing a variety of available bus stops (note, not the same stops as the full bus map). If your stop is not on the map, hit the stop button and hope for the best!

X25 Bus map as seen from space

Lucky for me I lived right at the end of the line, because otherwise I would have been very confused about where to board as there are no marked bus stops in the Marina! I rode that bus for two weeks and never could really figure out how people knew to stand in certain places to get picked up.

The X25, waiting stealthily in the fog at one of it's mystery bus stops

There was also the matter of ‘express service’, which of course meant we would skip some of the stops of our rival number 8 local bus. I am not sure how old the X25 route is, but somehow they haven’t yet managed to put up signs saying where it stops. Even further down the road in Jumeriah where there are clearly bus stops (nice air conditioned ones!), there is no mention of the X25. It makes it very hard to catch one in Jumeriah since it’s a bit of a guessing game as to which stop is express.

Its not all bad though, the buses are quite nice in fact, and the fare is a mere 2 dirham! There are small glimmers of hope for a logical system as well, like the new screens which tell you which stop is next. They would be great if they worked; the couple of operational ones I saw only updated the next stop when the driver opened the doors. Within 10 minutes we were a good 5 stops behind since we didn’t pick up passengers at every stop. Also, a new integrated trip planner seems to be in the offing. There is a link for it on the RTA website, but it leads to nowhere. Perhaps they are saving it for when the metro opens.

Trip time was pretty good considering the distance – and in general, buses in any city aren’t terribly fast (the M86 in Manhattan takes the ‘Pokey’ prize averaging just 3.5 mph!). It generally took about 1 hour from the bottom end of the Marina to the Al Ghubaiba bus station near the creek in Bur Dubai (this is about as predicted in the RTA schedule). From there I would either walk to work, or hop on my Brompton folding bike (easily carried on the bus) and shoot up to the office.

I didn’t see too many other western Expats (I think about 4 total in two weeks), but most of the bus passengers looked to be heading to office jobs. I had a co-worker ask if the people on the bus smelled. I was rather offended, since I was a person on the bus (a quick sniff of the pits said I was in the clear), but also at how racist people can become in this city. The whole affair is quite civil, and they even have a separate seating area for women up in the front (though women are allowed to roam freely through the bus as they please).

Bus interior with free roaming western female (and non-functioning display)

To the RTA’s credit, they are making huge improvements in service. They are adding 1616 buses, going from around 700 buses to over 2500 buses in a period of about 2 years! That in itself is quite a feat, and something to be lauded. According to Gulf News they are also claiming that when the metro opens, no one will be more than 100 metres from a bus or metro stop! This would be achieved by throwing 700 buses into service running feeder routes to the metro stations.

A 100 metre maximum walk from your front door to the bus stop would be quite an amazing feat considering some of the road layouts in town (think of the circuitous bus routes they would need in say the Springs). However, I think it might be a bit of hyperbole as a later article seems to suggest only 80% of Dubai will be covered by bus service at all when the metro opens. It’s a good goal though, they have definitely thought about how people might get to the stations in the summer time. I am going to guess the maximum walking distance for most people would be more likely around 400 – 800m, which still isn’t half bad.

I haven’t taken the bus since moving over to Downtown Burj Dubai, but until recently there wasn’t a bus to take. They have very kindly added a bit to the number 27 bus so that it now terminates at the Dubai Mall (though they haven’t updated the route map to reflect this, or put up bus stop signs). If it went straight to work I would be stoked, unfortunately it sort of veers off towards the Maktoum bridge. I might give it a go anyhow, variety is the spice of life, and I could catch this bus to the spice souk - thus squaring the power of variety available to me!

All in all, the bus is a pretty decent way to move about the city, especially if you have a route nearby your home or office. It can be a bit scattered in the newer developments, but I think this will eventually sort itself out. Why not be like Bizarro Billy Ocean, and give it a try!

So, you haven't gotten killed yet!?

2009-03-12T16:14:00.009+04:00

I hear it all the time, "So, you haven't gotten killed yet", as though my route to work takes me through Mogadishu. It is quite amazing how skewed peoples ideas about cycle vs motorist safety is.

The thing that bugs me about the Gulf News article from the previous post is that so many of the people interviewed wanted to cycle, but haven’t given it a try because they feel it is unsafe at the moment. It is completely possible for all of these people to cycle, there is absolutely nothing stopping them besides fear. Granted, if someone isn’t already a competent cyclist, riding here could be unnerving. But I would argue that in terms of safety, riding on surface streets here is no more or perhaps even less dangerous than driving on the highways, and many people (even if they are slightly wary) have no trouble driving down Sheik Zayed Road despite this happening quite frequently:

Bicycles rarely burst into flames

A quick search for local accident statistics reveals that there were 1056 motorist deaths in 2007 in the UAE out of 6,813 accidents. With an estimated 2007 population of 4.4 million that means you had a 1 in 645 chance of getting in an accident and a 1 in 4,200 of dying as a motorist, and that assumes everyone who lives in the UAE drives (which is clearly not the case if you’ve ever been over to Deira you know what I mean). In fact, there is a handy modal split pie chart in the RTA’s Pedestrian and Cyclist Design Manual (A copy of which I obtained from my crack team of super secret operatives):

As you can see, in 2006 a mere 36% of the population drove, with another 12% hopping a ride with the drivers, and 3% going via taxi, which added up is only 51%. Heck, even add in the non-public buses at 24% (I don’t think public buses have a very high accident rate and generally don’t use highways) and you have about 75% of the population on the road in a vehicle. That changes your chances to 1 in 484 of having a collision, and 1 in 3,125 of dying.

It is harder to say how many people currently use the bicycle as their main means of transport. The BMP undertook an evening bicycle census at 20 locations throughout the city and counted 3,500 cyclists. Let’s compare this with a similar survey in NYC recently which counted 22,700 cyclists over a 12 hour period. Note that Dubai counted 3,500 cyclists in a short evening period, whereas NYC’s count was for 12 hours (7AM to 7PM). So apparently, per capita (NYC has roughly 8.1 million residents, compared with Dubai’s 1.5 million residents), Dubai has a higher percentage of cyclists than NYC! (though the demographics are decidedly different; I have yet to see a hipster on a fixie here, but I am sure it will come). We do know that cyclists as a mode share in NYC

We do know that cyclists as a mode share in NYC run around 2% of the population. From comparing cyclist counts we see that the two cities aren’t too dissimilar, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that 2% (and perhaps up to 6% according to the chart above) of the population of Dubai uses a bike as their main mode of transport. Therefore we can guess the number of cyclists in town to be around 30,000 to 90,000.

In terms of bicycle safety, the BMP states there were 70 to 83 reported collisions per year. That means, even if you take the lower cyclist population estimate (which I think is a bit low) there is a 1 in 428 chance of being involved in a collision. It isn’t stated what percentage of these collisions were fatal – so I’ll compare it with the vehicle accident statistics – at 1 in 484, you are pretty much statistically more or less as safe as in your car.

Note, accidents are rarely accidental; be it careless driving, speeding, recklessness, or pure stupidity (which isn’t confined to motorists). Case in point, the BMP cyclist counts noted a whopping 50% of cyclists riding against traffic which massively increases the risk of collisions at driveways and intersections. They also note that 2/3 of collisions occurred during the evening, which seems quite plausible given the number of my subcontinent homies I have seen sporting lights (zero) on their Atlas Goldline Super Extra Export Quality bikes as they ride the wrong way down the street sans helmet.

OK, so, lots of statistics, what does it all mean? From my perspective it means the perception of a complete lack of safety is overblown. Dubai has a fairly robust number of cyclists, who despite riding without lights or much sense seem to manage to not get into accidents any more than their crazy vehicular neighbours. So, if one were to say, wear lights when riding at night, ride on the right side of the road, signal when changing lanes and wear a helmet, their chances of survival seem fairly high – in fact perhaps higher than if they were to drive down Sheik Zayad road to work every day.

I am not lost on the actual (rather than perceived) safety issues with riding in Dubai. They include, but are by no means limited to: fast wide roads with no shoulders, huge round-abouts with traffic exiting from three lanes over, right hand turn lanes and their impatient overtaking right hand turning drivers, random construction barriers, massive high speed on-off ramps at highway crossings, lack of clear routes around huge highways, and of course the ubiquitous clueless driver (with an oversized engine).

However, having ridden quite extensively in several big cities, including: New York, LA, San Francisco, London, and Paris, I can say rather authoritatively that (other than the design of the infrastructure), the problems and risks of cycling are not that much different here than anywhere else.

There are quite a few cyclists from all walks of life in those cities, but it wasn’t always that way. Last Sunday’s NY Times had an interesting article about cycling in NYC now vs then.

While I don’t agree with everything Mister Sullivan says (and the headline doesn't exactly help out cycling much), the jist is – at one point, not so many people were cycling – it was considered dangerous and whacky, and slowly that has changed. This has not come about solely due to the striping of bike lanes, but through a slow concerted effort (still very much ongoing) to change the perception of cycling in the city.

Hopefully the same thing will happen here. Though, this being Dubai it will most likely come about in a different manner. If the RTA decides to implement the BMP, Dubai would easily outstrip NY in miles of bike routes within a manner of years. But if you build it, will they come?

A Distinctive Bicycling Destination

2009-03-11T18:34:00.007+04:00

Before I moved to Dubai I did quite a bit of surfing around on the web, trying to find information about cycling in here. As I mentioned in the previous post, a lot of what I found wasn’t very helpful (or very constructive).

There were however several small glimmers of hope hidden within the doom and gloom. Explorer’s Dubai Complete Residents’ Guide (AKA, the bible, it seems like everyone has a copy) has this to say about cycling:

Bicycle

Cycling can be a very efficient way of commuting as it avoids a great deal of traffic and is a cheap mode of transport, however for most people in Dubai, the car rules, and bikes are used only by those on lower incomes. A lot of care is needed when cycling in the UAE as some drivers pay little attention to anything, even other cars, and much less cyclists. Also, in the hotter months, cycling is more arduous and it should be remembered that you won’t arrive anywhere fresh after pedalling in temperatures as high as 45ºC.
In the quieter areas, many of the roads are wide enough to accommodate cyclists as well as cars, and where there are footpaths, they are often wide and in good condition. Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has decided to try to encourage cycling in the busy districts of Deira and Bur Dubai by adding dedicated lanes and parking areas for cyclists. There is even talk of a network of cycle lanes that would eventually be extended to other parts of the city.

OK, not too bad. It doesn’t really tout the upsides of cycling in Dubai – 8 months a year of beautiful weather, flat terrain, flying by traffic jams (I suppose that is the extent of the upside), but at least it’s not all doom and gloom. I agree with their point that the majority of commuter cyclists tend to be from lower income groups, but stereotyping cycling here like that won’t really help change the situation. It’s nice that they point out there are quieter areas to ride, but they almost seem to suggest you aren’t welcome on real roads.

The Explorer makes a vague reference to improved cycle infrastructure in the future. Well, guess what? Dubai has commissioned and is perhaps in the process of implementing a Bicycle Master Plan (BMP)! Unfortunately, I could only find oblique references to the plan prior to arriving. I ascertained that the plan was undertaken, but I couldn’t find a copy of it anywhere or figure out if it was ever going to be implemented. It was like the BMP was some sort of state secret.

I sent an email requesting information about the plan from the consultants who undertook the work – Alta Planning + Design out of Portland Oregon. I haven’t yet heard back from them, or even an acknowledgement that my email was received. There is absolutely no mention of the BMP on the RTA website www.rta.ae/, which isn’t really a huge surprise as finding useful information on their site is about as likely as spotting Sasquatch. Lucky for me though, I have managed to locate a copy of an executive summary of the plan through my network of uber-secret sources.

As you can see from the front cover, the planners at Alta (and by default the RTA) want Dubai to become, “A distinctive bicycling destination.” Personally, I would settle for, “A reasonably affable cycling locale,” but why not shoot for the moon! I find the cover art for the BMP rather apropos; in Dubai you either have lower income cyclists on crappy bikes (NB, that bike rack is the only official one in the entire city), or roadies on $6,000 Serottas. If they update the plan they should put a picture of me in the middle – the lone middle class bike commuter (LMCBC). Sure, LMCBC is a bit of a mouthful and doesn’t have quite the ring of the ‘Lone Ranger’, but I really do enjoy riding in my eye mask and chaps.

Greedily delving into the plan for Dubai’s cycling future, I read through the 25 page document (I still have yet to get my hands on the full report; my team of crack operatives operatives are working on it). The BMP is full of great ideas, as one would expect from a firm the likes of Alta. If a raucous crowd were to give you a précis of the executive summary it might go something like:

Bullhorn Guy: What do we want?
Crowd: bicycle infrastructure, safety
education, promotional programs, and bicycle friendly policy changes!!
Bullhorn Guy: When do we want it?
Crowd: Rolled out in stages over the
next 10 years!

Whether or not Dubai will go ahead and implement the changes outlined, or embrace cycling as a legitimate form of transport is yet to be seen. The report was issued in January of 2008, and calls for 8 high priority stage 1 demonstration projects to be completed within 12 months – i.e. now (with further stages rolled out over the next 10 years for a total of 1351 km of cycle routes). The stage 1 projects can basically be broken down into three catagories:

-Extension of Jumeirah Beach Road path to Dhiyafa Road and Mankhool Road
-Creek loop
-Connector routes for getting the roadies out to their rides in Nad Al Sheeba

I haven’t yet done a detailed reconnaissance of all the proposed routes, but my travels around town have taken me through two of the three areas (haven’t been out to Nad Al Sheba yet), and I have yet to see any shovels in the ground.

It seems there might be a light at the end of the tunnel though. In January, Gulf News let us know all about a bicycling project that sounds very similar to our dear master plan, minus the Nad Al Sheba bit.

http://www.gulfnews.com/Nation/Leisure/10278606.html

The article is a little confusing as it starts out talking about a cycle plan, then launches into a description of plans for pedestrian bridges. If one reads a bit further down though, we get our required info straight from the camel’s mouth:

"We will seek to devise a comprehensive plan for the development of the cycling network that will include laying cycling tracks, providing the requisite facilities and framing guidelines and legislations for the use of bicycles," said the official.

Which sounds oddly like they haven’t started forming the BMP yet, despite the paper copy of it sitting here on my desk. If you didn’t know the RTA had already commissioned one of the leading planning consultancies to devise a plan, you may think they are going off half cocked, building bike lanes willy nilly.

The heartening bit is in the readers’ comments section. There was nary a negative comment about the proposed cycle routes. My favourite comment was:

At last my dream of cycling will come true... This is better late than
never.From A ReaderDubai,UAE

Here here ‘A Reader’! Though only a small sample of the overall population, this shows that there is a quite a latent demand for cycling in the city. This is backed up by a slightly more recent Gulf News article which quizzed people about their thoughts on cycling:

http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/09/02/01/10280845.html

In a recent Gulf News poll, 33 per cent of respondents said they would like to cycle to work, 29 per cent said there are not enough tracks, 24 per cent said they would never consider it, and the remaining 15 per cent said they love their car too much and would never give it up.

33% of the population wants to cycle to work! That would be rather amazing, as NY is struggling to get about a 2% share of commuting trips. Again, probably a small sample group, but really shows that there is a demand out there.

Bizarro Billy Ocean Wants YOU!

2009-03-09T22:48:00.008+04:00

Like a Bizarro Billy Ocean Dubai Sans Auto is looking to get you out of your car and into my dream (my dream of you not being in your car). “But this is Dubai, I’ll die, and perhaps sweat!” you say! Pish posh, time to sack up my friends.

Bizarro Billy Ocean? For those of you who are neither:
1. A huge Superman fan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizarro
2. A huge Seinfeld fan (or perhaps a lesser Seinfeld fan with a good memory)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bizarro_Jerry

Bizarro superman is basically ‘opposite Superman’, thus exhibiting all sorts of non-Superman like qualities. Where Superman was all about truth, justice and the American way, Bizarro Superman, I believe, liked: misinformation, Judge Judy, and communism.

Bizarro Superman

But what of Bizarro Billy Ocean? Well, as you may recall, the original Billy Ocean sold millions of albums instructing you to enter your car (he never really said what to do once you get in there, but we’ll assume it was drive) and subsequently exit his dreams.

Therefore, a Bizarro Billy Ocean (BBO), would be instructing you to exit your car and suddenly find yourself in his dreams – his dreams of alternative transportation no doubt! Being BBO, he would no doubt be giving away his catchy instructive song on iTunes rather than raking in the millions.

Bizarro Billy Ocean (BBO)

This is all a very long winded way of saying, its time to dump that car (SUV, truck, stretch limo, etc), and see what Dubai’s roads have to offer beyond 4 wheels! This could be on two wheels (my favourite), no wheels (that would be walking), or perhaps many wheels (I believe buses have more than four).

In terms of cycling as an alternative to driving (I’ll get to the other modes later), its not really as bad as you would think, and I know exactly what you think! For I can read minds, or perhaps just bulletin boards – the collective wisdom of the masses. Take for instance this wonderful post which shows up on the first page when you Google, “cycling Dubai”:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=392867

Our friend Julie is a keen biker from Great Britain (land of track bike champions), and asks a valid question, can I ride in Dubai?

julieaddison

cycling? Fitness?

Just read somewhere cycling is not done in dubai due to the traffic and many parks prohibit cycling. Does anyone cycle? Quite a fitness addict, running and cycling, but also attend many classes at the gym, are there fitness classes and gyms that can be joined and used regularly? Thanks in advance Julie

Of course this is Dubai, so the reply is not positive. As everyone knows, cycling here is crazy yo!

BMW 318i

Re: cycling? Fitness?

Lots of people cycle in the gated communities as the roads are quiet, wife-swapping gets boring, and it is relatively safe. However, for the other parts of Dubai, it is only recommended if you are planning to die. Non-GC (gated community) people stick to the cycling machine in their gym, because it means they can watch TV, eat, and smoke simultaneously.

Hmmm, that doesn’t sound very encouraging. Somehow though, I doubt this person has ridden a bicycle since they were say 9 years old, note, their screen name is BMW 318i!! I assume they would say the same thing about cycling in NY or London since there are scary cars there too, ready to run them down. Remarkably both London and NY have quite a few commuter cyclists, why the difference in Dubai?

The answer is I believe - perception. While the drivers here are slightly more brazen than other large western cities, and the roadway layouts far from perfect, Dubai is not really that bad of a place to ride. I have been pedaling the mean streets of Dubai daily for well over two months now and have not faced a serious threat to life and limb. Yes, dirivers here can be brash and egotistical, but no one is out to run you down. The problem is no one knows this! Thus, the conception, nay, impetus for this blog; I am here to let the world know it is possible to ride your bike in Dubai!!! It seems all of the info out there in the blogo-webo-sphere-o is being proffered by the likes of the above BMW driver, and not informed cyclists.

To be fair, other posters in the forum mention the Dubai Roadsters rides as an outlet for your cycling fancy. I am all for roadies (I am in fact am sometimes a roadie in my spare time) but this blog is more about riding your bike as a form of transport (or walking, or taking transit). There is a definite lack of positive information about commuter cycling in Dubai out there on the web. I also believe there are people out there who might give it a go if they had the right info. Hopefully this blog will help fill the gap.