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Any bikers in-house?


Gaurav

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I just bought my first bike (not motorbike yet) last night, with an aim to get back my health as the nice season starts soon. Plan to do regular cycling every day and wondering if we have any bikers in-house here who can share their experiences.

As a first-timer, here I'll be riding the bike after 20-25 years from my school days so any tips and advice are highly appreciated.

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Hi Gaurav,

Good to hear that you're getting back on the bike, it is definitely relaxing. I am not an avid biker, more like a recreational one. I live next to the Al Qudra Cycling track so that helps too. In general i have to say that the infrastructure in Dubai is still quite weak when it comes to cyclists, but there is slight improvement. If you want you can also rent a bike near to the Al Qudra lakes (Giant store). 

My best advice would be to start slowly and enjoy every ride. Your stamina will quickly improve but it is important to not overdo it and to keep an eye on your heart rates. If you monitor those properly your physical strength and stamina will improve without pain or injuries. 

Good luck !

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"Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further."

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Thanks for the advice, Ill def go slow and keep it for fun than getting into any grueling competition, I never do that in health anyways. I have a nice 3km long walking and cycling strip next to my house, so will give it a go with that first and then slowly move forward.

Sertac, once I decide to head qudra, will let you know. I'm sure it will be good fun to ride together with a few bikes.

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What bike did you buy and what specs?

I used to do a lot of cycling at home but the roads here scare me and it’s a pain having to travel somewhere to ride. 

It will surprise you how quickly you can build up from 6-7k runs to 60-70k runs. I imagine dehydration will be a big issue here. Isotonic drinks.  Water alone isn’t enough to replace the electrolytes lost through sweating. 

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It's an Upten River MTB with front shocks and 7 gear rear + 3 gear fwd for steep climbs. To be honest I haven't gone in too much detail as it was an impulsive buy (very rare) than a planned one. I tried a few bikes and just bought this based on comfort and looks. Feel free to advise how is it for beginners usage.

I totally agree this place is not quite safe for the cyclist unless you hook a hitch and carry bike to cycle strip. My house is very close to cycling strip and yesterday for the first time riding a bike on the roadside, I got the creeps. This bike has a removable wheel so after removing the front wheel, it can fit in Range boot with the second row folded.

Good point for Isotonic drink, and will see how far I take this new hobby as yesterday I did 3 km in 13 mins at a leisure pace.

WhatsApp Image 2018-08-20 at 21.24.48 (1).jpeg

 

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Gaurav bhai just wait. There is a bug following you and he will bite you soon. It won't be long before you're buying a carbon frame and adding drop bars and skinny tyres and building it to your own spec. It's an addictive hobby.

I started out on a bmx then moved to MTB. It wasn't long before I got into hybrids then racer spec tarmac bikes. Always kept a nice mtb for off road forest trails too. Not a massive fan of full sus bikes, they sap up all your pedaling power but front sus is a godsend off road.

I used to work in a bike shop so if you ever need help setting your bike up, straightening bent wheels, lining up gear mechanisms, balancing brakes etc I'm your man.

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Yes, barry you are right, I got this front sus MTB as first 1 km shortest distance to cycling strip is a bit of offroad, sand cross tracks and loose gravel path.

Good to know that you are a bike encyclopedia, I keep pinging you then. Thanks.

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The gear helps but sometimes things still go wrong. My cousin back home hit a tree on a MTB a few months ago. Wearing a helmet, pads, the full works. Still ended up with a face full of metal plates and pins. Can't recommend a good pair of sturdy gloves enough. When you go down, the first thing you generally do is put out your hands to try to save yourself and scabby hands make everything difficult, from driving to cooking to washing your bum.

Every so often I'll see a municipality truck with the back filled with bikes outside grand city mall. That's the ones where the owners got nabbed for not wearing a lid or yellow vest.

Went for a ride across al Quoz earlier to pick up some refreshments. My nerves still aren't right. Too many drivers have no respect for cyclists. They'll either pass you as close as possible nearly hitting their mirrors or blow the horn at you and scare the crap out of you for no reason.

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