Cycling in Sharjah

United Arab Emirates5 destinations52 rides52 with GPX

Sharjah offers mainly road cycling with long routes and significant climbing across various start points.

Sharjah cycling region in the United Arab Emirates features 52 routes covering 5669 km, starting mainly from Kalba (19 routes), Showka (16), Nazwa (7), Sharjah (6), and Khor Fakkan (4). Route lengths range from 54 km to 218 km, with a median of 102 km. Riders encounter between 122 m and 2000 m of climbing per route. The most climbing is found on Coast to Coast: Sharjah to Khor Fakkan via the Hills (218 km, 2000 m), followed by Sharjah to Dibba Al-Fujairah (166 km, 1756 m) and Coast to Coast: Sharjah to Dibba (166 km, 1718 m). The terrain includes a mix of flat and hilly segments, with notable steep stretches up to 23.9% gradient over 500 m.

What the riding is like

Cycling in Sharjah involves long routes with significant climbing, reaching up to 2000 m per ride. The terrain is mixed, including 58% flat sections and 21% climbing, with over 210 km above 5% gradient and nearly 33 km above 10%. Average gradients also include steep parts of up to 23.9% over 500 m. Most routes are on paved surfaces (97%). The road mix is dominated by main roads (35%), motorways (31%), and major roads (20%), with minimal cycle paths or quiet streets. The longest route covers 218 km, making the riding typically long-distance with challenging elevation.

Cycling infrastructure

Total cycle path length across all routes is 12.4 km. Main roads comprise 35% of the network, and fast roads with limits of 80 km/h or more amount to 2540.1 km within the routes.

Best time to ride

The best months for cycling by riding score are November to March, with temperature highs ranging from 24°C in January to 39°C in May and September. Recordings span most months except July and August.