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Homegrown cycling group DXB Riders prominent at Dubai Ride

Over 100 members displayed their passion for the sport in matching red-and-black T-shirts

Dressed in red and black, one of the most visible cycling groups at the Dubai Ride was DXB Riders, which comprised over 100 people – including men, women, and children.

While last year most of them volunteered to be road marshalls at the Dubai Ride, this year they decided to display their talent, strength and passion for the sport (cycling) and came out in large numbers wearing red and black T-shirts with their motto 'We Ride Together' written on it.

The group of both amateurs and professionals was formed around four years ago by Indian national and passionate cyclist Sajin Gangadharan, who gradually imbued the love of cycling in hundreds of people who are now members of the DXB Riders.

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"It was around seven years ago when a few friends decided to bicycle for fun. Some biked around for some months and slowly moved to another sport. But I decided to continue the sport and started taking it seriously and trained people to participate in local and international events," Gangadharan told Khaleej Times.

"More people began to join for different reasons. Some joined to lose weight, some wanted to improve their cycling performance, while some just wanted to get out of their daily rut and enjoy."

He then started a Whatsapp group for easy communication, and the member list eventually grew to 250 members. According to Gangadharan, the group functions as a family unit and often meets on group rides and explores the cities as well as mountains together.

Gangadharan, who is also the current chairman of the group, said the 250 members of the group are from different walks of life, nationalities and age groups.

Lauding the Dubai Ride initiative, Sajin thanked the Crown Prince of Dubai for developing cycle tracks around the city and hosting events like the Dubai Ride.

"As cyclists, we have biked on all tracks in the local community as well as mountains, but cycling on an arterial road like Sheikh Zayed was like a dream turned into reality. The credit for this goes to the visionary leaders of the country who are developing more and more cycling tracks, making the city a very cycle-friendly city. It is so encouraging to see such huge number of people come out for this event; otherwise, we had no idea how much people loved cycling, "Sajin said, adding he was overwhelmed on seeing such a huge turnout for the ride.

Talking about the unique aspect of the Dubai Ride, Sajin said: "It is a non-competitive event, so it allows people more time to ride at their own pace in peace, taking in the beauty of iconic landmarks of the city such as Burj Khalifa and Museums of the Future. This is a great way of introducing cycling and encouraging people to love and enjoy it."

Sajin said to give back of the community, he and his friends have also opened a bike shop next to the Al Qudra cycling track by the name of Circuit Wheelz. The shop caters to the need of their members as well as other cyclists by offering them affordable cycles, accessories and general bike services.

- saman@khaleejtimes.com