IT TAKES ONLY A FEW MINUTES TO LOSE SIGHT OF burgeoning Dubai city when you roll out on the record-breaking Al Qudra cycling track on the far eastern fringe of this desert city.
Behind you, the creeping residential towers quickly disappear behind the scrub and sand dunes as you settle in to the first few kilometres.
Everything is big or record breaking in Dubia, which has redefined the term “cycling track”. The Al Qudra track is 80.6km long and was last year named in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest continuous cycling track in the world.
The two-way bitumen track is made up of several interconnecting loops that travel through hugely diverse, arid landscapes.
In the first 40km other riders pass by in both directions every few minutes. On the outer sections of the course, expect to be alone for long periods.
Out there on a mid-week ride it's just you, with five to 10km super straight stretches with vanishing points on a shimmering horizon.
This is where you can settle on the drops and meditate on cadence,
