Update January 2019

Countries visited: Oman, UAE

Cycled mileage in January: 1,451.0km
Cycled mileage per country: 1,107.6km Oman, 343.4km UAE
Total cycled mileage incl. January: 47,195.2km
January mileage not cycled 37.1km (Bus, Walking)

Days per country: 26d - Oman, 5d - UAE
Days cycling: 23d

Technical failures: 1 Spoke, 1 Broken Chain, 4 Punctures, 1 Tyre, 1 Inner Tube

Link to this month's route

We had finished the year 2018 in Oman's capital Muscat taking a few days off. 2019 was started just the same way – taking some more days off!
On 4th we eventually found the energy to leave. The way out of Muscat started with a brief stop at Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and continued with a brutal climb. The altitude gain was only about 500 metres but the road was seriously steep and after more than a week without cycling and with the sun scorching down unrelentingly it felt like a never-ending slog. From the peak on it was easy cycling and despite the heat we made good progress. In the late afternoon we stopped at a gas station to ask for water. While filling up our water bottles we realized what a great camping spot the wadi (valley) behind the gas station would be. We quickly agreed to call it a day. After the climb earlier we both felt shattered. We collected some wood on the way to a secluded corner of the wadi and lit a fire once we had pitched the tent.

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat

Back in the mountains

Nothing better than a campfire

We woke up to a cloudy sky the next morning. In fact it looked like rain for much of the day but the wind was in our favour. After some more hills we reached the shoreline again. We opted for some secondary roads closer to the coast and it was really nice to cruise along with the sea on one side and the mountains on the other side. At Bimmah Sinkhole we stopped for a lunch break. Would the weather have been better it would've been tempting to go for a swim in the turquoise water. From the sinkhole we continued following the coastline for the rest of the day. Occasionally we would cross entrances to wadis. Most of them were crowded as it was weekend and also most of them weren't all too well accessible by bike. Eventually we reached a rather quite stretch of coast and found a sheltered camping spot.

Bimmah Sinkhole

Dark clouds over one of the countless wadis

The next morning it was back to sunny. Even though we woke up early we managed to faff about until 10am and it was sweltering by the time we hit the road. Soon we passed the entrance to Wadi Shab. The palm tree-lined entrance and the clear water made it look tempting but we had heard from other cyclists that there was nowhere safe to leave the bikes while exploring the valley. We decided to push on to Sur. The terrain wasn't all too difficult but the sun and the humidity were intense. On the way into town we met a German cycling couple and kept chatting with them for quite a while. Eventually we rode the last kilometres to our guesthouse right at the corniche. We checked in and stayed indoors for the rest of the day.

Sunny morning and a visitor!

Entrance of Wadi Shab

Sunset at a beach in Sur

The next few days weren't much more eventful. We stayed in Sur, streamed TV, did some admin stuff and only left our guesthouse to do shopping.
On the 9th we decided it was time to move on. The first kilometres out of Sur were pleasant. There was a slight tailwind and we passed some picturesque fishing villages. After leaving the last village behind the landscape became more desert-like and the wind turned into a headwind. Suddenly there was a loud metallic sound from Dominik's rear wheel grinding him to a halt. It turned out one of the spokes broke and got trapped in the chain. Dominik removed the broken spoke and then we cycled on. The sun was scorching down so badly we figured it would be too hot to install a new spoke until we would find some shade. It turned out one of the chain links was damaged as well and made an annoying grinding noise for the next few kilometres until we found a bus shelter. One hour later Dominik's bike was just about roadworthy again with a new spoke and a new chain link. By the time we left the shelter it was already late afternoon and after another hour on the bikes we found a nice camping spot right at the beach.

Fishing village near Sur

Broken spoke

Fixing up the bike in a bus shelter

Beach camping

The beach was unexpectedly busy with fishermen the next morning and so we got an early start. Again the sun was beating down mercilessly. At least there was no headwind. We enjoyed some last kilometres riding along the sea and then we turned inland. We had expected mountainous terrain but in fact we found ourselves in a flat desert. We stopped in the shade of some small trees for a lunch break and watched some camels pass by. After avoiding the highways for the last two days we had to get back onto one in the afternoon. There were no good camping spots in sight and we felt rather lucky when we found a motel in the next town. Our room was certainly not great but it was cheap and it had a refreshing shower.

From the beach into the desert...

We got an early start the next morning. After missing out on all those wadis along the coast we had decided to visit one of the inland wadis - Wadi Bani Khalid. The way there would be a solid ride and included some nasty hills. We didn't want to go all the way today and were planning to camp somewhere near the famous pools in the wadi so we could go for an early morning swim before the tourist crowds would arrive. The narrow, busy highway soon turned into a 3-lane dual-carriage road with little traffic and we were cruising along at a good speed. After 70 kilometres we stopped for an extended lunch break at a Pakistani restaurant and enjoyed some tasty food. After lunch we found a nice camping spot in a smaller side valley about 15 kilometres from the pools. The place was really beautiful and even though the road and a village were just a few hundred metres away it felt totally remote. There was no shortage of wood in the valley and we collected some for a campfire.

Beautiful camping spot neat Wadi Bani Khalid

We got another early start the next morning. There was a steep 500 metres climb ahead of us before we would reach the pools and we wanted to get the climb done before it was too hot. It still was a sweaty affair to get over the mountain pass but we managed to reach the pools well before midday. We pushed our bikes right to the first of the pools and after a short stroll up the picturesque valley we went for a swim. It was a pretty amazing experience to swim from the shallow pool at the beginning to the rocky canyon further upstream. Slowly more tourists arrived and we got out of the water. We picnicked in the adjacent park and then we left. We found a small supermarket in the first village after the pools and got some stuff for barbecue. We were planning to return to yesterday's camping spot and have a campfire barbecue. In fact we did find a even better camping spot in another side valley. We built a campfire, prepared some veggie skewers and baked potatoes. What. A. Great. Evening.

Pools in Wadi Bani Khalid

Going for a swim

Campfire barbecue with baked potatoes and veggie skewers

With the campfire last night we had gone to bed rather late and we got a late start the next morning. Still we quickly made it back to the highway. There was a lot of construction work going on and the riding was rather stressful for the best part of the day. Eventually we were back on a smooth stretch of new highway. With only a few kilometres to go to Ibra we stopped at a hypermarket. We did our shopping, continued to our guesthouse and happily called it a day.

On the way to Ibra

Reportedly there would be an impressive early-morning market in Ibra so we got up early to cycle into town for that market. Maybe it was just the fact that we had seen so many genuinely impressive markets in Central Asia and Iran. But the collection of not even 15 stalls that we found in Ibra certainly didn't blow our minds. Instead we continued to some of the small villages nearby. There were some decaying mudbrick houses and exploring the historic parts of the villages made for a pleasant ride. In the early afternoon we returned to our guesthouse and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Where the heck is that market?!

Exploring the historic villages around Ibra

We had planned to continue the next morning but we kept faffing about until midday and decided to rather stay one more night. Even after the recent break in Muscat we felt rather unenergetic. Our original plan had been cycling from Iran to Armenia and Georgia and spend the winter months in Tbilisi. Maybe our bodies prepared for that plan rather than for cycling the Arabian Peninsula...
The next morning we eventually found the strength to carry on. We had managed to find a host near Nizwa on hospitality platform Warmshowers. It was a bit too ambitious to get there in one day but it was still a rather short distance to stretch over two days. We opted for the latter anyway. With only about 80 kilometres on the schedule for the day we got a late start and took an extended lunch break. Finally we left the busy highway behind and followed a quite secondary road for the rest of the afternoon. Despite the arid landscape there were villages and houses everywhere and it became a lot more difficult than expected to find a secluded camping spot. In the end we found a very nice place with an amazing mountain view. Again there was enough wood flying about and we couldn't resist building another campfire.

Cycling towards Nizwa

The next morning started with a cloudy sky but the sun soon broke through and it became scorching hot. With another short day ahead we took it slow, stopped for an early lunch at a Pakistani restaurant and had a coffee break aside of the road. At 3pm we reached the village Birkat al Mawz and found the house of our hosts. British expat Andrew and his wife Mae have been living and working all over the Arabian Peninsula and are now based in Oman for a project. It was the weekend and Andrew was knackered from roadbiking half of the day and retired into his room early. We had good fun chatting with Mae who treated us to some delicious homemade Thai food.

Coffee break!

Andrew and Mae had to leave early the next morning to drive to Muscat and so we got an early start as well. We quickly made it to the historic district of Nizwa where we found a nice cafe. There were a few places of interest like the old fort and a number of souqs (markets) – but unfortunately nowhere safe to leave the bikes. One of us stayed in a cafe with the bikes nearby while the other one strolled through town respectively. The souq of Nizwa was definitely more picturesque than the lacklustre one in Ibra. We spent quite some time in town and it wasn't until early afternoon that we continued towards Wadi Tanuf. The wadi itself wasn't that amazing as a modern dam spoiled the view. The real attraction were the ruins of a mudbrick village nearby. Apparently it was destroyed by the British RAF when they intervened during the Omani power struggles in the 1970s. From Tanuf we continued over secondary roads. After cycling through arid landscape for so long it was amazingly lush and green along the wadis. Date orchards and various plantations everywhere. In the late afternoon we found a beautiful camping spot under a big tree next to a dry river bed. We set up camp and then had another campfire.

Entrance of Nizwa Souq

Ruins of mudbrick houses in Tanuf

Lush green date orchards in Wadi Tanuf

Another beautiful camping spot

The next morning we received a text from our friends Adela and Kris that they would be in Al Hamra this morning. We had been in touch with them ever since we cycled together for a month in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It hadn't looked as if our paths would cross again but now they were just 30 kilometres away! We got a late start, reached the village of Al Hamra and sat down in a cafe waiting for our friends. Soon they arrived, pushed by a good tailwind and much earlier than we had expected. We kept chatting and chatting and just briefly stopped conversations to move to a date orchard and hold a picnic lunch break there. Adela and Kris were headed towards Muscat while we were heading the other way but we figured we would explore some of the nearby mountain villages together for the next three days. After our picnic we kicked off the sightseeing by exploring the mudbrick houses of Al Hamra. Even after having seen so many of them in Iran those adobe structures never seem to get boring. In the late afternoon we left Al Hamra. Next destination was the mountain village of Misfat. Distance-wise it was only about eight kilometres to get there but it also included more than 400 metres of climbing. It was a slog. The road was super steep in places and even though it was late afternoon the sun was still beating down. Eventually we reached the top. Misfat was still a bit further on but our mapping apps indicated some camping spots further up the mountain. We plodded on for a bit and eventually found sort of a rocky plateau with a stunning view over Al Hamra. We pitched the tents, collected wood and got a fire going. Soon later it was time for baked potatoes and exchanging more travel stories. Another great evening!

Exploring Al Hamra together with Adela and Kris

What an arduous climb to get to this camping spot!

We didn't get going until well after noon the next day. There were just so many stories to be exchanged and adventures to be told. The way to the entrance of Misfat village was mostly downhill for us. We parked the bikes in front of a small shop and went for a stroll through the narrow alleys. There were some old stone houses and a lot of palm trees. It really felt like walking into a fairytale oasis!
From Misfat we rolled back down to Al Hamra, had another picnic in another date orchard and then pushed on towards Bahla Fort. We could have easily made it there the same day distance-wise. However, there wouldn't be any accommodation in Bahla itself so we decided to take it slow and look for a camping spot somewhere before town. We actually found a network of small valleys right next to the road and decided to call it a day. We again lit a campfire and chatted till late.

The first glimpse of Misfat

Exploring Misfat

It was just about 10 kilometres to go to Bahla Fort the next morning and we arrived before the midday heat. Accidentally we took a wrong turn and found ourselves in yet another mudbrick village just besides the fort. Actually we quite enjoyed exploring this historic part of Bahla and our expectations were high when we parked our bikes at the entrance of the fort. The fort itself however wasn't all that amazing. It had an impressive size and was fairly well preserved but there was little to no explanation available. As a result it felt like we were walking through an infinite number of nearly identical, empty rooms. It was still good fun and it was mid afternoon by the time we were done with exploring the fort. When we returned to the bikes we found that Dominik's rear tyre was flat. Bummer! While the others had their lunch Dominik fixed the puncture and by 2.30pm we hit the road. Adela and Kris would carry on towards Muscat while we wanted to cycle on to nearby Jabrin Castle. We said our farewells and were left wondering where we would meet again. Oman was the third fairly unplanned meeting!
On the last kilometres to the castle we noticed that Dominik's front tyre was also losing air. Those tyres are virtually paper-thin and we had been discussing changing them since Uzbekistan but somehow we never got to do it so far...
Jabrin castle would close at 4pm and we arrived just after 3pm. We left our bikes with the guards and they were so impressed by the fact that we were cyclists that they gave us an audio guide for free. Thank you! The castle was surprisingly different from Bahla Fort. Apparently it was less of a military structure plus it had been inhabited until fairly recently. It was a pity to have less than one hour to explore the castle but we managed to. From the castle we cycled back to a hotel we had seen earlier. There would have been good camping spots around the castle but we felt we needed a shower and somewhere to wash our clothes.

In the historic village below Bahla Fort

Bahla Fort

Jabrin Castle

The hotel was brilliant value for money and actually kind of fancy. In the morning there was even a proper breakfast buffet, something we hadn't had in quite a while! We got a late start and backtracked for almost 30 kilometres. There was so much stuff to see in the Omani mountains that our route started to look like a weird zigzag. We passed a third time through Al Hamra before we continued westwards. We weren't in a rush and when we found a quite valley not far from Al Hamra we decided to call it a day. Just when we thought we had found the perfect place for our tent we realized that the stone structures around us were tombs! Even modern cemeteries in Oman look rather unadorned but the fact that some of the tombs around us seemed to have been raided made us think that we were on a historic site. We decided to move to an area with no tombs. We found a nice spot under a tree and started what appeared to be our Omani routine of pitching our tent, collecting wood and building a campfire.

We figured these stone structures to be tombs

We loved our campfire routine in Oman

We did get an early start the next morning knowing there would be an exhausting offroad stretch with a 500 metres climb ahead of us. The first part of the climb we benefited from the cooler temperatures in the morning but then we reached an exposed area and the sun was brutal. The ascents were super steep, exceeding 18%, and it was a serious slog. Still we enjoyed the beautiful landscape. Finally we reached the peak and were looking forward to a long downhill. The surface was rather rocky and so we were taking it slow. Luckily! Suddenly a deafening bang and a cloud of dust around Dominik's rear wheel. The tyre had exploded. Not totally unexpected given how worn it was. There was no shade around so we lifted the bike to the side of a steep slope and installed a new tube and one of our foldable spare tyres. Eventually the bike was roadworthy again and on we went. The downhill continued for quite a while and just when the terrain flattened out the tarmac resumed. Soon later we reached the village of Al Ayn. While the village itself was rather lacklustre there were the so called Beehive Tombs nearby. Basically a collection of beehive-shaped stone structures on the ridge of a mountain. They seemed to be of archaeological significance and inscribed as UNESCO world heritage sites. Unfortunately we couldn't really figure out how to get up to the tombs.
We continued from Al Ayn over a quite back road and eventually found a nice spot in a wadi next to the road. We set up camp and given how close we were to civilization we didn't make a fire this time around. After sunset the wind picked up and kept blowing hard throughout the night.

An offroad mountain pass ahead

Another busted tyre...

Beautiful landscape!

Beehive Tombs

We didn't sleep all too well and felt rather knackered the next morning. Adela and Kris had recommended visiting the village of Bat for its picturesque castle and date orchards. With only 20 kilometres to go we got there just before noon. After exploring the old part of the village we continued towards Yanqul where Adela and Kris had recommended another castle. The traffic became denser the closer we got to Yanqul. At least the wind was in our favour and we cruised along. In the late afternoon we reached the castle and in fact it looked interesting from the outside. The more disappointing it was when we realized it was closed for the weekend! It was already late afternoon and we were hoping to find a good camping spot nearby but there just wasn't any. We kept cycling and cycling but the road was now following a narrow valley with absolutely no space to pitch our tent. Finally the valley got a bit wider and we found a side valley that made for a secluded camping spot.

Castle in Bat

Like most of the mornings we didn't hit the road until after 10am the next day. We had been dreading the stretch that we were about to cycle and in fact it did turn out to be rather unpleasant. 20 kilometres into the day we reached highway 21 that would lead us all the way to the Emirate's border. There wasn't too much traffic on the highway but most of the drivers couldn't be bothered to move to the left lane when they passed us. In the end we found ourselves riding on the super bumpy and debris-covered shoulder. Invariably we ended up with a puncture on Simon's rear tyre and naturally it happened on an extremely sandy and exposed stretch of the highway. After all we still managed to cycle 100 kilometres and called it a day about 25 kilometres short of the border when we spotted a viable camping spot behind a sand dune. The spot was far from perfect. The border crossing was open 24 hours and the sound of trucks speeding down the highway all night disturbed our sleep.

On the way to the border

When we woke up we noticed that Dominik's front tyre was flat. Great – another puncture. Adela had joked our tyres looked like the wrinkled face of an old man. Well, they ARE old and pretty much on their last legs. While fixing the puncture Dominik realized that his hub dynamo had developed radial play. Nothing he could do about that at a camping spot in the desert, though. Despite these problems we still managed to set off early and quickly reached the Omani border town. After 5 days without a shower and without fresh clothes we decided to use the bathroom of a gas station to change clothes and to rinse off some of the sweat and dust before the border crossing. Not sure if the border guards appreciated our efforts but the Omani side was quick and efficient. Entering the Emirates was a bit more of a hassle with nobody able to tell us what the procedures for cyclists would be. First we joined the line of waiting cars but then we were sent to a separate building for bus passengers. After all we were stamped in and left the border post before midday. We cycled on to a shopping centre right next to the highway, exchanged our last Omani Rials, obtained a SIM-card and had lunch. Our hotel was still about 30 kilometres away and getting there was a pain. The road was super busy and the sun was scorching down unrelentingly. Eventually we arrived, checked in and took a well-deserved shower. Next on our list was fixing up Dominik's hub dynamo. The bearings were pretty worn but after a bit of cleaning, repacking and adjusting the bike was just about roadworthy again.

Dominik fixing his hub dynamo

We slept in the next morning. The beds were so comfy! Around 11am we hit the road and after the stressful way the day before we were surprised how relaxed the ride towards Abu Dhabi was! For the first 90 kilometres or so there was hardly any traffic and we were cruising along with a nice tailwind. Eventually the traffic got more and we started to regret we hadn't camped earlier when it was quieter. It took us another 30 kilometres until we found a somewhat sheltered spot next to the highway in a depression surrounded by sand dunes. Even though there were lots of trucks driving along the highway throughout the night we slept surprisingly well.

Cycling towards Abu Dhabi

When we set off the next morning we realized we had camped right next to a police shooting range! We followed the busy highway for another hour or so and then we finally turned into some secondary roads. Some were unpaved but it was such a relief to escape the heavy traffic. Downtown Abu Dhabi was only 60 kilometres away and we were relatively successful in avoiding all main roads even though it meant quite significant detours in places. Once again we had found a host via Warmshowers. Jack was based near the city centre but he wouldn't be home before late afternoon. We were way too early still so we spent some hours at a fast-food restaurant on the way into town. Finally it was about time to continue to the condominium where Jack lived. Jack essentially just showed us our sleeping places and gave us keys to his flat before he went out to meet with a friend. The hospitality and trustfulness of some people keeps amazing us!

Preparing breakfast after packing away the tent

Cycle path for the last kilometres into Abu Dhabi

Jack was already gone when we woke up the next morning. We had breakfast and took our sweet time before we set off to explore Abu Dhabi. We started at the Marina Mall and walked from there all along the corniche, admiring landmarks like the Emirates Palace Hotel, the White Fort and the Al Mina markets. After walking more than 20 kilometres through town we were pretty knackered by the time we returned to Jack's apartment. Our host had just arrived from work and we chatted for a while. Jack has to get super early in the mornings and we had had a long day so we all went to bed early.

Emirates Palace Hotel

Strolling around Abu Dhabi

We had said our farewells the night before as Jack again had to get up super early the next morning while there was no reason for us to rush. In fact we didn't get going before 10am. It was a relative relaxed ride to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, probably the most famous of Abu Dhabi's landmarks. We left the bikes in an underground car park and then joined the tourist crowd visiting the mosque. It's sheer size and rich decoration was amazing! After leaving the mosque the riding became rather stressful while we made our way through the outskirts of Abu Dhabi. We used smaller roads for much of the way but at some point we ended up on one of the main highways, a 5-lane dual-carriage monstrosity. At least there was ample shoulder. We hadn't seen any potential camping spots all day and so we were relieved when we found some sand dunes right next to the busy highway. A suitable end for a somewhat busy month of January!

Visiting Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque