If you were to come up with a selection of destinations perfect for gravel riding, we doubt that Dubai would be on many people’s shortlist. You would probably think of 5* hotels, a desert-like landscape and expensive cars, none of which instantly shout “perfect gravel destination”, but if you look beyond the stereotypes there’s an enthusiastic gravel riding community and thanks to municipal investment, there’s a great network of trails too. Noor Iqbal sent in a fantastic story about how he and his friends are helping the gravel community develop.
If you mention the word ‘Dubai’, the most probable images that come to mind will be that of extravagance and opulence. Yes, it does have the tallest building in the world, innumerable luxury hotels, pristine beaches and playgrounds for the rich. But amongst all this glitter, there is also a vibrant cycling community in this city. Thanks to the rulers of this Gulf state, there are a number of purpose built cycling tracks, well-crafted and immaculately maintained, right in middle of the hustle and bustle of Dubai.
While Dubai is perhaps better known for its road riding scene, gravel riding is far from orphaned. A short ten minutes’ drive from the airport, Dubai Municipality maintains a mountain bike/gravel track near one of the city’s public parks. Mushrif is one of the oldest parks in Dubai, covering approximately 1300 acres of land. When the easterly runway is in use at Dubai International, planes would make their final approach right over the park, providing some amazing sights to plane spotters who get excited over these sort of things. While the park itself has many activities geared towards families, the Parks department has created a bicycle track suitable for mountain and gravel bicycles right around the perimeter of the park.
The entrance to the track is located before the main gateway to the park. There is an ample sized car park, two bicycle/coffee shops with seats and tables for those wanting a break either before, during or after their rides. These shops also provide bicycle rental for those who don’t have their own rides - an easy option for those who are visiting the city. There are also other facilities, toilets, locker and prayer rooms for the track visitors. Closer to the car park, there is a washing station for those who’d like to clean their rides prior to loading it for the drive home.
There are three main trails in the park, Green, Blue and Red, providing colour coded indication on the difficulty level desired. While the Red trail has its own entrance, the Green trail has another, with segments of Blue inserted within. The largest Green loop is approximately 13.5km, broken up into two large segments. A rider can pick and choose whichever segments she or he likes once in as there are many intersections and cross overs, well-marked and with appropriate warning signs in relevant places. There are also rest areas and the trail is manned with rangers who are more than happy to pick you up after a mechanical or a bad crash, as long as you remember to save the phone number available at the entrance.
Alongside the main trails, there is a pump track, a skill track and a dedicated children’s gravel trail to allow those below 12 an opportunity to try the tracks without fear of obstructing the adults. The trails are well maintained, with some punchy climbs, sharp curves, sand traps and quite a few ramps and jumps. The trees and bushes are pruned for obstacle avoidance, the track surface patched for large holes and all these provided free of charge to those who are interested in cycling and hiking. Those who are lucky will catch sight of deer, oryx, foxes and other small desert creatures. Do be careful of snakes and scorpions as the signs around the rest areas will tell you!
Winter weekends, when the temperature hovers between 15-25C will see the park full of visitors. During summer when it gets closer to 45C will see a lot less guests, though there will still be enthusiasts who’d brave the heat and humidity.
No matter the season, there will always be riders at the track. Gravel riding in the park requires concentration as the turns are often sharp and the climbs can catch you off guard. Often, avoiding birds and squirrels also require some effort. The track can get slippery with dry leaves masking sand beneath. More than once I’ve had my rear tyre start to slide out before finding grip at the very last second. Getting into the ‘flow’ state helps to shut off the heat during the summer and makes the ‘cold’ bearable in the winter. The sights are another balm, as it is often breathtaking. Misty mornings, dew covered tracks, chirping birds and sounds of aircraft above are all a unique combination.
This autumn, a close friend and my riding buddy Alf, proposed that we’d promote gravel riding among our friends with a self-organised gravel ‘Audax’. Though the term is used for long distance events, the tenets of Audax, that of Distance & Time, Self-Sufficiency, Camaraderie-ship and non-competitiveness are all present in the proposed event. In fact the main objective is to get more riders interested in gravel and to push for longer distance events in the future. On a side note, Alf and I have entered the Traka in May this year and we thought this is a great way to start our training for the event.
The plan was simple. All those who are able to complete either 50, 70 or 100km of gravel/road riding at the park will be allocated points. 1 point for 50km, 2 for 70km and 3 for 100km. The ride will have to start and finish at the park, be completed in the same day and 70% of the distance has to be done on unpaved surfaces. The duration of the Audax is from the 10th of October 2025 until the 28th of February 2026. Those completing the distances will have to take a screenshot of their ride and upload it to our shared media platform as proof of ride. Alf maintains a spreadsheet that he updates and publishes after every submission.
Other than a call to our competitive streaks, there are also tokens of achievements that Alf has arranged for the participants. A cool sticker for those that complete the first distance stage. Mugs sponsored by one of our friends who owns the business for the 70km stage and for the first to complete the century, a ‘one of a kind’ T-Shirt with the Audax logo on it!
It was not an easy task to get riders involved initially. Even in October the desert temperature can be stifling. Anything more than an hour and the heat seeps your energy a lot faster than you’d expect. To counter that threat, we’d start early in the morning just as the sun creeps above the sand dunes. Thanks to the vegetation, the dew makes the track a little damp and that helps with the cornering. As the day progresses however, it’s easy to forget that the heat sucks up all the moisture and the track then becomes dusty and slippery quite quickly. A misjudged turn will see one ending up in the bushes or worse, up against some rocks. Precautions against dehydration and cramping due to loss of electrolytes is also accelerated when the outside temperature is high.
Thankfully, the winter months in this region are a blessing. Crisp mornings when the sun comes out at a more decent hour entices more riders out to try out their legs on longer distances. We’ve had a few new joiners who have joined us for their first gravel ride. I dare say that we have had a few converts as well!
There are six more weeks before we come to the end of the Audax as I write this. Each weekend, there will be a call for group rides for those who are free. Completing a couple of rounds, stopping for a coffee at the shops before continuing more riding is so much nicer when there is company. What would be great is to have this as an Annual event and get more of our friends involved.
For those who have plans on visiting Dubai, either for work or pleasure, do set aside some time to visit this track. Just a few hours of your time will be sufficient for your to experience gravel riding in the desert. And if you come across some local riders huffing and puffing up the trails, do give us a shout out!