These are generally the routes followed by the big group rides. They usually involve riding on busier roads and, therefore, are best tackled in a large group and early on a Friday morning when traffic is lightest.

Abu Dhabi
Start at the west of the island and cycle along the corniche and on to the new Sheikh Khalifa Highway, which leads through Saadiyat and Yas; you can add loops of Yas Island or head on to the mainland for extra loops around the airport and Masdar before making the return journey back to the Corniche.

Many cyclists head to the west of the island where there’s a loop starting at the top of 10th Street in Al Bateen, and heading down 10th, 8th and 16th Street (going straight across four roundabouts). Turn around and head back, and you’ll have a 9km loop that usually sees little traffic.

Between Abu Dhabi and Dubai lies the Ghantoot area and here you’ll find a popular 13km loop that is even quieter than Al Bateen, as the only real traffic is from vehicles heading to the Golden Tulip or Cassells hotels, or one of the palaces.

Dubai
The Roadsters route heads out from the Lime Tree Cafe in Jumeira, passes Safa Park and then crosses over into the Meydan and Nad Al Sheba area before following Manama Rd out to Academic City. To add distance, extra loops around Mushrif Park and Mirdif, Al Khawaneej and Al Awir can be done, before heading back to Dubai.

Tthe roads around Nad Al Sheba and Meydan or the new Nad Al Sheba Cycle Park are the places to head for. There are various routes and combinations available to keep interest levels up. However, certain sections, such as 34th Street, remain unlit at night and, so, are best avoided; other sections have streetlights throughout. Although a relatively quiet area, drivers here have something of a blind spot to all the cyclists. The NAS Cycle Park is, wonderfully, completely and utterly vehicle-free.

The traditional CycleSafe route starts at the Al Qudra Roundabout (follow Umm Suqeim Rd past Arabian Ranches and Motor City and over the Dubai Bypass Road and you’ll come to a roundabout with parking on the right). From there, the journey straight out into the desert covers 18km before meeting a roundabout where you have a few options. You can turn left and follow the road past Dubai Stables and towards Al Lisaili (around 40km out and back). Or, turn right and you’ll arrive at Bab Al Shams after 12km; turn there or you can carry on a further 23km until you come to a cattle grid; take a left after the cattle grid and you’ll hit some rolling terrain as the road follows the dunes – something of a rarity in Dubai.

You can now do the majority of these routes on the fantastic new cycle-only path which runs to the side of the road. But, either way, remember that you’re a long way from civilisation here – if you run out of water, there are no convenient service stations to top up at and you’re still a long way from home.