One Day in Doha

Everyday I saw this bike parked in front of a shop in Najma. I was told that this is a way of preventing the bike from being stolen...i.e. by taking off the saddle. And what can I say about that custom-made horn..... priceless!

It's Not About The Bike...

Doha might not have 'Mat Rempit' (actually they have- only that they are on Superbikes doing stupid & dangerous things like wheelie on Doha road on Friday night) ....but these bunch of rich kids are quite close to one... if you are lucky, on weekends you might see these daredevils giving free show at Corniche bay area....It's quite entertaining & i actually had a good laugh watching them! You'll be amazed at some stuff that they can do with their jet skis! These guys are pro Man!!! ..Enjoy!

Another day in the Middle East!

If you plan to ride in the Middle East, do expect the hot & dusty days... it's 'super' dangerous & unhealthy because drivers might not see you (low visibility...they drive like sh**) & you breathe dust (a lot!!) into your lung! Arrghh!

Bicycling in Doha

It's hard to find the likes of Trek, Giant or Specialized bikes in Doha. The common one is 'Philips' brand...a MTB. However, one fine day I saw this brand new 'Goldline-Atlas' bike parked in front of a grocery store..check out the still wrapped fork, shinny chrome parts, a dynamo for the front lights, rear rack, 'Export Quality' word on the top tube and probably an emblem a la 'cadillac' on top of the front fender... priceless!!

Cooled Cycling Infrastructure

A cycling project which Qatars sovereign Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani has proposed to promote the health of his people. After all, a large proportion of the population suffers from problems brought on by prosperity: they do not get enough exercise, cardiovascular diseases are prevalent and children are obese. This is a prestigious project with Qatar as an example to the countries in similar conditions!

For people in Qatar cycling is not at all the obvious thing to do. This needs to be changed as the 30 kilometre cycle path - now designed - is to be completed within a year after the signing of the contract. An attendant problem is the fact that Qatars climate is intensely hot and humid. The project group therefore came up with the idea of cooling the entire cycle path using cold ground water.

The American consultancy firm the Rand Corporation has been leading in advising the Emir on the realisation of his goal of getting Qatars population to cycle. Velo Mondial played a major role in the realisation of the cycle path and proposed to involve the Dutch firm Goudappel Coffeng for the technical aspects. Another Dutch firm Akertech was involved in preparing the technical drawings.

Velo Mondial was leading in preparing the report: ’Developing Bicycle Paths in Doha, Qatar; A Plan to Promote Use of the Planned Bicycle Path in Doha’. As part of the work to develop this plan, and with particular reference to the training and promotion of cycling to Muslim women, we have discussed existing best practise with projects working in these fields in Tilburg (NL) and in the London Cycling Campaign. We would like to express our thanks to Lucy Davis of the Community Cycling Project, London Cycling Campaign, UK, Angela van der Kloof of ‘Stap op de Fiets & Fietsvriendinnen’, Tilburg, The Netherlands, and Aziz Bekkaoui, Amsterdam.

Source: Velo Mondial