Slaw and I decided to discover quad biking. We went to a resort north of Qatar called Ghr...something. We sat on the beach for a while, had a picnic, only to be told that part of the beach belonged to someone and we had to move. So we got in the car and drove to the Quad hire place instead, handed over our ID card as security, gave 150 QR each and were shown to two quad bikes that they started for us. That’s it, and they walked off. OK, so had to ask them to show us again how to start in case the bike cut out. Next question, ‘how do I operate the gears’, and ‘oh by the way where is the brake’. We were armed with essential knowledge, no other information, or helmet, or where we should go or not, or how to control the bike, no, the challenge is the discovery element, this is Qatar.
We set off at crawling speed, walkers could have overtaken us, but we soon sped up and felt like Michael Schumacher’s. We headed for the mountains, yes the mountains, all of about 3m high, hey, don’t laugh, they were a challenge for us as you will soon see.
So we were on rough terrain, and we dawdled our way up short rough slopes. At one point we came across a rather steeper slope. Remember Slaw is a big guy, on this quad which is slowly making its way up, the front two wheels kept lifting now and then, and I had visions of slaw on his back and the bike on top of him, and then both tumbling down. I held my breath but inch by inch he made it to the top, and he was elated. ‘Come on’ he said to me, ‘you can do it’. So I thought to myself, I don’t really want to do this, but wasn’t going to be a chicken. I thought of a strategy, I should put the bike into low gear and go quickly then i won’t have the same problem as Slaw. Hit the gear stick downwards a few times (by the way you have no idea what gear you are in, all you know is you have increased or reduced it by a notch or two), I hit the accelerator and off I went. Next thing I know is that I am on the floor on my back half way up the slope and the quad has escaped from underneath me, got to the top and is on its back. A worried Slaw came running down, but I was fine, not a scratch on me. Remember these mountains are no more than three meters high. They say when something like this happens, you see it in slow motion, well I didn’t see anything. After that we decided to quit the mountains and headed for the sea and drove up and down the beach instead disturbing holiday makers in their tents.
This was our first lesson in quading. There were many more quading experiences to come after that. One with my children on their visit to Doha at Christmas, one with a new American friend Carlos and many with work colleagues. The one to remember is one with Carlos. Here we were on sand dunes following a windy day, so new dunes had formed and not everyone was familiar with where it was safe to go and where not. There was one dune where a man stood to warn bikers not to go, but the dessert is a big place and you can’t place an Indian (majority of the imported labourers) at every danger point. Remember this is Qatar and safety hasn’t been translated into Arabic yet. So we had fun driving around, trying to get the bike up rather small pathetic hills where everyone else seemed to just make it to the top effortlessly and our bikes just got stuck half way. Carlos was in his element, he loved every minute and he was off. I had trouble keeping up with him. At one point he found a nice gentle slope leading to the top of a dune, feeling great that we could conquer this one he was off. I saw him get to the top and then turn sharply left. I followed and stopped behind him and noticed that there was nothing on the other side but a very very steep drop. Lucky he noticed and stopped as he would have literally tumbled and landed in the yard of a tent below. I would have most likely just followed him. It is common for people to show off their skills so another young man who had been quading around us came hurtling up the hill showing us that he could conquer this hill as well and not stop as we did. When he noticed the steep drop it was a little too late and went over. The only saving grace was that the hill was so steep that when his first two wheels went over, the sand grounded his bike from the middle. He was counting his lucky stars. It was a picture watching Carlos and him try to recover this bike. So the second lesson was learnt.
There have been other little memorable moments, for example when Carlos’s bike stalled and we couldn’t start it again. I had learnt that you have to get the bike into neutral before you can start it. So we hit the gear peddle a few times and then tried starting it but no luck. This was one of the occasions when Carlos made it to the top of the hill. People are very helpful and a jeep (yes a jeep at the top of a sand dune) stopped by and the driver asked what was the problem. In the passenger seat was a little boy (approx 10 years old) in full Arab gear, who came out , rolled the bike (that was twice his size) back and forth a few times, hit the gear stick, pressed the start button and grinned at us both as the bike started. Imagine what that did to Carlos’s ego...
It’s fascinating to watch the recreation at weekends in the dessert. Totally uncontrolled, totally free, totall wacky and at times surreal. The kind of stuff you only see on youtube, but you experience it for real. If you just take a moment to watch what’s going on around you, it’s just fascinating. You will see Land Cruisers hurtling along at the foot of the dunes in all directions, some with single drivers, some packed with families. We even a land cruiser (most popular vehicles heres) with two Qatari women in full abaya (full black gear covering an arab woman from head to toe). Amongst these you will see some racing sand buggies, the boys inside with their faces wrapped in scarves, and pirate flags flying, driving like crazy with no regard for who else is there. Then there are the smaller quad bikes. Here you will see some young lads showing off to anything that resembles the shape of a girl. They will speed up and get to the tops of hills and back down again with huge grins on their faces. Then you will a see 10 year old in the driver seat of a quad with his mother in full abaya, by his side, with the largest grin you have ever seen. Girls in full abaya on bikes is an interesting sight, the fact that they have restrictions and dress in an unsuitable way for quadding, doesn’t stop them from having fun. Then you look at the top of the hills, the same picture, with the more advanced lot in land cruisers, jeeps, buggies and quads of all sizes, weaving in and out.
All in all a great playground, fun to watch and even better to have a go. The only sad sight is that of ambulances heading in the opposite direction as you drive out of the resort.
We set off at crawling speed, walkers could have overtaken us, but we soon sped up and felt like Michael Schumacher’s. We headed for the mountains, yes the mountains, all of about 3m high, hey, don’t laugh, they were a challenge for us as you will soon see.
So we were on rough terrain, and we dawdled our way up short rough slopes. At one point we came across a rather steeper slope. Remember Slaw is a big guy, on this quad which is slowly making its way up, the front two wheels kept lifting now and then, and I had visions of slaw on his back and the bike on top of him, and then both tumbling down. I held my breath but inch by inch he made it to the top, and he was elated. ‘Come on’ he said to me, ‘you can do it’. So I thought to myself, I don’t really want to do this, but wasn’t going to be a chicken. I thought of a strategy, I should put the bike into low gear and go quickly then i won’t have the same problem as Slaw. Hit the gear stick downwards a few times (by the way you have no idea what gear you are in, all you know is you have increased or reduced it by a notch or two), I hit the accelerator and off I went. Next thing I know is that I am on the floor on my back half way up the slope and the quad has escaped from underneath me, got to the top and is on its back. A worried Slaw came running down, but I was fine, not a scratch on me. Remember these mountains are no more than three meters high. They say when something like this happens, you see it in slow motion, well I didn’t see anything. After that we decided to quit the mountains and headed for the sea and drove up and down the beach instead disturbing holiday makers in their tents.
This was our first lesson in quading. There were many more quading experiences to come after that. One with my children on their visit to Doha at Christmas, one with a new American friend Carlos and many with work colleagues. The one to remember is one with Carlos. Here we were on sand dunes following a windy day, so new dunes had formed and not everyone was familiar with where it was safe to go and where not. There was one dune where a man stood to warn bikers not to go, but the dessert is a big place and you can’t place an Indian (majority of the imported labourers) at every danger point. Remember this is Qatar and safety hasn’t been translated into Arabic yet. So we had fun driving around, trying to get the bike up rather small pathetic hills where everyone else seemed to just make it to the top effortlessly and our bikes just got stuck half way. Carlos was in his element, he loved every minute and he was off. I had trouble keeping up with him. At one point he found a nice gentle slope leading to the top of a dune, feeling great that we could conquer this one he was off. I saw him get to the top and then turn sharply left. I followed and stopped behind him and noticed that there was nothing on the other side but a very very steep drop. Lucky he noticed and stopped as he would have literally tumbled and landed in the yard of a tent below. I would have most likely just followed him. It is common for people to show off their skills so another young man who had been quading around us came hurtling up the hill showing us that he could conquer this hill as well and not stop as we did. When he noticed the steep drop it was a little too late and went over. The only saving grace was that the hill was so steep that when his first two wheels went over, the sand grounded his bike from the middle. He was counting his lucky stars. It was a picture watching Carlos and him try to recover this bike. So the second lesson was learnt.
There have been other little memorable moments, for example when Carlos’s bike stalled and we couldn’t start it again. I had learnt that you have to get the bike into neutral before you can start it. So we hit the gear peddle a few times and then tried starting it but no luck. This was one of the occasions when Carlos made it to the top of the hill. People are very helpful and a jeep (yes a jeep at the top of a sand dune) stopped by and the driver asked what was the problem. In the passenger seat was a little boy (approx 10 years old) in full Arab gear, who came out , rolled the bike (that was twice his size) back and forth a few times, hit the gear stick, pressed the start button and grinned at us both as the bike started. Imagine what that did to Carlos’s ego...
It’s fascinating to watch the recreation at weekends in the dessert. Totally uncontrolled, totally free, totall wacky and at times surreal. The kind of stuff you only see on youtube, but you experience it for real. If you just take a moment to watch what’s going on around you, it’s just fascinating. You will see Land Cruisers hurtling along at the foot of the dunes in all directions, some with single drivers, some packed with families. We even a land cruiser (most popular vehicles heres) with two Qatari women in full abaya (full black gear covering an arab woman from head to toe). Amongst these you will see some racing sand buggies, the boys inside with their faces wrapped in scarves, and pirate flags flying, driving like crazy with no regard for who else is there. Then there are the smaller quad bikes. Here you will see some young lads showing off to anything that resembles the shape of a girl. They will speed up and get to the tops of hills and back down again with huge grins on their faces. Then you will a see 10 year old in the driver seat of a quad with his mother in full abaya, by his side, with the largest grin you have ever seen. Girls in full abaya on bikes is an interesting sight, the fact that they have restrictions and dress in an unsuitable way for quadding, doesn’t stop them from having fun. Then you look at the top of the hills, the same picture, with the more advanced lot in land cruisers, jeeps, buggies and quads of all sizes, weaving in and out.
All in all a great playground, fun to watch and even better to have a go. The only sad sight is that of ambulances heading in the opposite direction as you drive out of the resort.
Thanks for sharing your blog with us I am very inspired by your article kindly share some knowledge about Quad Bikes For Sale Abu Dhabi want to know about it
ReplyDelete