FRIDAY CLUB RIDES (currently 5.30am)

For the more experienced there is a longer Ride every Friday morning, starting at the Lime Tree Café on Jumeirah Beach Road at 6.00am. (5.30 am during the summer months). This ride attracts around 150 riders and there are 3 distances that you can do; 80km, 120km, or 140km. The Ride finishes at the Café where you can enjoy a great coffee and meet all your fellow cyclists.

Support vehicles follow the main bunch and one vehicle will return with each group as they turn back for home. Volunteers for the support car can sign up via the volunteer support car form.

All help is greatly appreciated and it is expected that all riders volunteer at least once per year!

Check out the video of the Friday ridel

GENERAL

Arrive in time Have yourself and your bike prepared so the ride can start as scheduled.

We normally ride in a formation of two riders next to each other, two parallel lines from front of group to the back – the front positions are very responsible/crucial positions in the group and only experienced riders familiar with the route / riding etiquette should ride up front.

The whole group rides together to the first turn-around point at the Traffic Light in Academic City (40km) picking up other riders on the way at Safa Park and Nadd Al Sheba. At Academic City the riders split into a 80km, 120km and 140km group. The overall pace tends to then increase somewhat till the second turning point at Al Awir Petrol Station where we stop to refuel (55 km). From here the faster riders continue on and the pace increases to whatever the group wants to do. If riding in a certain level group for the first time, be prepared to become fatigued quicker than you are used to, so you should anticipate this and make an effort to maintain concentration through the remainder of the ride so that the bunch remains safe for everyone.

It is safer if the group maintains its integrity until Nad Al Sheba where riders can compete with each other in sprints as they are on familiar ground and the traffic will have disappeared. After leaving Nadd Al Sheba, we should regroup before reaching the bridge over Al Khail Road so the riders behind including the support car can catch up for the final section back to the Lime Tree Café where you can have a restorative coffee and carrot cake.

DON’T LEAVE RIDERS ALONE BEHIND THE GROUP.  If someone encounters a problem, either mechanical or physical, which forces them to stop, someone should stop with them to ensure they have a companion to help them catch up to the group again, or to stay with them until further help arrives. It is not safe to be alone out in the desert.

For further information about these rides please email Jason.