Cycling in Al Aqah

Cycling guide to Al Aqah

Al Aqah sits on the Hajar Mountains coast, and the riding splits cleanly in two. North, the road runs almost level through Rul Dadna, Al Fiqait, Rol Diba and Akamiya to Dibba Al Fujairah and Dibba Al Hisn, giving an out-and-back of 43.8 km or a 48.5 km loop with barely 130 m of climbing and high points of 14 m and 31 m. South, the coast strings together Sharm, Al Badīyah, Khor Fakkan, Mirbah, Qurayyah and Sour Kalba on a 124.2 km ride to Kalba and Khawr Kalba with 234 m of gain. Turning inland raises the numbers. A 101.3 km loop climbs through Al Qadsia, Sa‘d and Nahwa to Madha and back via Lulayyah, Zubarah and Haqil, with 689 m of gain and a high point of 412 m. Two point-to-point routes cross to Nazwa: 166.8 km via Dibba Al Fujairah, Manama, Kadrah and Shawka, and 155.7 km via Khor Fakkan, Kalba and Munay, the latter gaining 945 m and topping out at 499 m.

Best time to ride

Recorded rides fall between November and March. January averaged 20°C and February 23°C, November 23°C, and March 27°C, so the cooler middle of that window suits the longer inland routes best.

Terrain

The coastal roads are flat, with the Dibba routes never rising above 31 m. Inland the gradients stay moderate: the longest climb runs 6.2 km at 4.5% average to 385 m, with a maximum of 8.6%, while other marked climbs average 2.5–4.3%. Route high points are 412 m and 499 m.