FULL THROTTLE THROUGH THE 7 EMIRATES

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The 2011 Eid holiday is upon us, the family is not back, what better opportunity to go on a ride through the United Arab Emirates, composed of 7 Emirates: Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Kaimah, Fujeirah and Abu Dhabi.

Having missed out on the HOG Dubai, LDR Ride earlier this year I decided why not give it a try; ride 1,610 km, in less than 24 hours with the additional twist of the summer challenge where temperatures in the UAE reach the 40 45 degrees Celsius during the day.

Now that the challenge was laid out, got my bike checked, read up on the rules for an LDR ride, read the advise on planning a long distance ride, set up my road plan, and informed a few friends of my adventure. That s when our Director Kevin R. Smith said if you do it on Thursday I will join you Can t let you go alone and miss out on a fun day of riding he said.

And so it was on September 1st 2011 we set off from Dubai at 2.15pm with the objective to come back to the starting point within the next 24 hours.

The trip took us from Dubai to Ras Al Kaimah along the E311, passing the Emirates of Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain. In Ras Al Kaimah we did a sharp right down the E18, a left on E87 to catch the E89 that took us to Dibba a small fisherman village along the Indian Ocean. Now going all the way down the E99 to Kalba, last town before entering Oman, passed trough the Emirate of Fujeirah on our way there. From Kalba we made a right turn onto the E102 which took us through the Hajjar mountains all the way to a small town called Al Ruwayyah where we turned left onto the E611 until the exit 50 where we made a left to go on the E66 (Not as famous as your Route 66 and not as scenic) to reach Al Ain, the birth place of the founder of the UAE. From there a straight ride down E22 into the Abu Dhabi Emirate, towards Abu Dhabi city, which we avoided by turning left onto the E 11 towards KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and the harsh desert area of the UAE. A short ride along the E11 to exit 306 before turning left to go into the Liwa desert, following the E65 until the end of the road at which point we had reached halfway. We made a right turn on the E 90 heading for the town of Liwa itself. From Liwa we followed the E45 back towards the E11 which we reached 1 hour ahead of our scheduled time. There a left turn back on the E11 heading for Ghowaifat the last town before entering KSA. Upon reaching the town center of Ghowaifat, we made a beautiful U-turn in front of the border guards (not wanting to enter KAS). And from there onwards, we started our long straight stretch back to Dubai. Just before arriving in Dubai, our friends from the HOG Dubai chapter met us at the petrol station and escorted us to out final destination which we reached at 10.20am. A feeling of satisfaction and pride overcame my fatigue. We had achieved our goal: Riding the 7 UAE Emirates in less than 24 hours (It was Kevin s third Iron Butt and my first).

The whole adventure lasted 1,713 km, took us 20 hours 8 minutes, and we consumed over 40 bottles of small water and 20 cans of so called energy drinks each.

Our bikes, a CVO Road King for Kevin and a Softail Heritage Classic 2008 for me, they were in for the ride and stayed faithful and reliable all the way. Not a single worry

It was just pure pleasure all the way… with a few pains here and there I must admit.

Written by : Philippe Le Gaulois