Al Qudra Cycle Track: The Complete Rider’s Guide

There is a moment on Al Qudra, usually about twenty minutes in, when the traffic noise finally drops away and all you can hear is your own tyres. The city is half an hour behind you. Ahead there is nothing but smooth black tarmac running dead straight into the desert, and if the light is right, a group of oryx standing perfectly still at the edge of the path, watching you go past.

It is the ride that turns people in Dubai into cyclists. Here is everything you need to know before your first lap.

How Long Is Al Qudra Cycle Track?

The main circuit runs to roughly 86 kilometres, and branching off it are several extended add-on loops for riders who want more than that. You will also see a shorter option quoted at around 18 kilometres, and a bypass that trims the main lap down.

In practice, none of this obliges you to anything. Al Qudra is an out-and-back as much as a loop: you ride until you have had enough, turn around, and ride home. A first-timer doing 25 kilometres and a rider grinding out 120 are on exactly the same track, and neither is doing it wrong.

You will find wildly different figures for Al Qudra online — even Dubai’s own tourism pages quote several. The add-on loops are why. Treat 86 km as the main circuit and build from there.

Where Is It, and How Do You Get There?

The track sits at the end of the D63 in the Al Lisaili area, roughly forty minutes by car from Mall of the Emirates along Umm Suqeim Street. Most riders park at the main car park at the start, which has a small café and shop, toilets, and showers that double as changing rooms.

You can get there without a car, which almost nobody mentions. Bus 67 runs from BurJuman on Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road out towards the track; you want the stop named Seh as Salam Farm 1. You will need a Nol card, because the buses do not take cash.

One warning worth taking seriously: there are very few taxis out here. If your plan depends on finding a ride home at the end, it is not a plan. Sort your return before you set off.

Is Al Qudra the Same as Seih Al Salam?

Effectively, yes. Seih Al Salam is part of the same network rather than a separate destination, and the two names get used interchangeably by riders and by the RTA alike. If someone invites you to ride Seih Al Salam, turn up at Al Qudra.

What Is the Surface Like?

Excellent, and that is not faint praise. The asphalt is smooth, well maintained and almost entirely free of cars, and the profile is flat enough that you can hold a rhythm for an hour without a single interruption. It is genuinely fast riding.

Two things to watch. Sand drifts across the shoulders in places, so keep your line and do not cut corners blind. And wind is the real difficulty on this track rather than gradient — a headwind on the exposed sections can turn an easy spin into a proper effort, and it often means the ride home is much harder than the ride out.

Riding clockwise, the trees only appear on the final ten kilometres or so. Everything before that is open desert.

Is There Water on the Route?

There are some water stops around the route, and there is a café at the car park before you start. But this is a long, exposed desert loop and you should treat it as self-sufficient: carry more than you think you need, and top up whenever you get the chance rather than when you start to feel it.

Shade is genuinely scarce. There are sheltered rest points along the way, but they are few and far between, so do not plan a ride around reaching one. Our UAE heat survival guide goes into how much you actually need to drink out here, which is almost always more than riders expect.

Is Al Qudra Lit at Night?

Mostly, no. Much of the track is not illuminated after dark, which makes Al Qudra a sunrise ride or a cool-season ride rather than an evening one. If you want lit laps after work, Nad Al Sheba or Al Wathba are the tracks to use.

If you are riding out at dawn and finishing in daylight, you still want lights on the bike for the first hour, plus something reflective. The track is open around the clock and it is free to use.

The One Track With No Speed Limit

This surprises people. Under Dubai’s cycling regulations, Al Qudra and Seih Al Salam are classed as external training tracks, and carry no speed limit at all — unlike the urban paths in the city, capped at 20 km/h, or amateur tracks such as Nad Al Sheba, capped at 30 km/h.

That is precisely why Al Qudra is where the fast groups train and where people come to test themselves over a long, uninterrupted effort. Safety instructions still apply, and no limit is not the same as no rules — but if you want to find out what you can hold for two hours, this is the legal place to do it.

What About the Wildlife?

Arabian oryx, gazelle and antelope all live in this area and you will regularly see them close to the path, particularly early in the morning. They are calm and used to cyclists, but they are also large, wild animals: give them room, do not stop to crowd them, and expect the occasional one to cross in front of you without warning.

Al Qudra Lakes sit alongside the track, which is why you will sometimes spot flamingos and black swans on a ride. It is a strange and lovely thing to see forty kilometres into the desert.

Which Bike for Al Qudra?

A road bike, without hesitation. The surface is smooth, the route is flat and the distances are long, which is exactly the brief a road bike was designed for. Anything with knobbly tyres will simply make you work harder for a slower ride.

Gearing matters more than people expect on a flat track, because you will spend a long time in a narrow range fighting wind rather than gradient — our guide to using your gears properly is worth ten minutes before your first long lap. If you are choosing a bike for this kind of riding, our comparison of carbon and aluminium frames covers the trade-off honestly, and our pre-loved bikes are a sensible way in if you are not ready to commit.

A gravel bike works perfectly well too, and is the better choice if you want to explore the rougher spurs. If you do not own a bike yet, we do rentals — note that the bike is collected from our Dubai showroom, so build that into your morning.

What Al Qudra Does to Your Bike

This is the part no track guide tells you. Fine desert sand gets everywhere, and it is abrasive. It works into the chain and cassette and quietly grinds them down, so a drivetrain that lives on Al Qudra wears faster than one that lives on the coastal path.

The habit that fixes it is simple: rinse the drivetrain and re-lube after desert rides rather than waiting until it sounds bad. By the time a chain is audible, it has usually taken the cassette with it. If yours is graunching or shifting badly, our workshop can sort it, and a fifteen-minute check before anything long will catch most of the rest.

Carry a spare tube, a pump and a multi-tool. You are thirty kilometres from town with no taxis, and self-sufficiency out here is not optional.

Should Al Qudra Be Your First Long Ride?

Yes — with one caveat about timing. As a place to ride it is close to ideal for a beginner: no cars, no junctions, no descents to be frightened of, a bail-out available at any moment simply by turning around, and a surface that flatters you.

The thing that catches people is the heat, not the distance. From roughly October to April you can ride Al Qudra at almost any hour. Through the summer it is a dawn ride or nothing, because there is no shade and no shelter, and the desert is genuinely unforgiving once the sun is properly up.

Start early, carry more water than feels reasonable, and tell someone where you have gone. Then enjoy the best two hours of riding in the emirate. If you would rather not do it alone the first time, our community rides and Spinneys build-up rides head out this way regularly.

Planning a wider tour of the emirates? Our guide to cycle tracks across Dubai and the UAE covers every track worth riding, with the speed limits and lighting for each.

Ride Al Qudra Properly Kitted

Road bikes, bottles, bottle cages, lights and sun-ready kit for long desert loops. Free UAE delivery over AED 150, pay in instalments with Tabby, or come and see us at our Dubai showroom.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long is Al Qudra Cycle Track?The main circuit is around 86 kilometres, with several extended add-on loops branching off it for longer rides and a shorter option of roughly 18 kilometres. Because it works as an out-and-back, you can ride any distance you like and turn around.

Is Al Qudra Cycle Track free?Yes. The track is free to use and open 24 hours a day, with free parking at the main car park.

Is there a speed limit at Al Qudra?No. Al Qudra and Seih Al Salam are classed as external training tracks under Dubai’s cycling regulations and carry no speed limit, although safety instructions still apply.

Is there water at Al Qudra Cycle Track?There are some water stops around the route and a café at the car park, but you should treat the loop as self-sufficient and carry plenty of water. Shade is scarce.

Is Al Qudra lit at night?Much of the track is not illuminated after dark, so it is best ridden at sunrise or during the cooler months. For lit evening riding, use Nad Al Sheba or Al Wathba instead.

How do I get to Al Qudra without a car?Bus 67 runs from BurJuman on Khalid Bin Al Waleed Road to the Seh as Salam Farm 1 stop. You will need a Nol card, as the buses do not accept cash. Taxis are scarce in the area, so arrange your return in advance.

What bike is best for Al Qudra?A road bike. The tarmac is smooth and the route is flat, which suits road tyres and long, steady efforts. A gravel bike also works well, particularly if you want to explore the rougher spurs.