Cyclists

The UAE has one of the highest death rates per capita in the world. This is not strange considering the standard of driving here. Much has been written about the lack of lane discipline, the ignoring of red lights, the overtaking on the inside and the excessive speeding. Little seems to have been mentioned about the cyclist.

The cyclist here bears slight resemblance to the Lycra clad, helmet wearing Western model. It is more likely to be an elderly Indian or Pakistani man with newspapers or food. The norm is to ignore traffic signals and then to cycle the wrong way down a dual carriageway in the outside lane. This is to avoid the articulated lorries that never notice bicycles but are stuck in the inside lane**. Lights are unheard of and helmets non-existent. The scariest cyclist I saw was travelling the wrong way on a motorway bridge in the outside lane with a large number of plastic pipes slung across the back of the bike – sideways.

The bikes themselves are a marvel of low-tech engineering. Cable brakes are unknown, rods are used, and frames are made of heavy-duty iron with three crossbars for carrying people and goods. Stickers stating "Made in Pakistan" or "One speed" are on Super Deluxe machines in green or black.

I am always amazed that so few of them are killed, or perhaps it is just that they never make the news.

**M42 please note – if lorries leave the inside lane and are caught the drivers are jailed, loose their jobs and are deported.

Why?

For some time I have been meaning to try and write down thoughts from my time as an "expat". This should have been started over 2 years ago when I first came to the Middle East. Everything was new, exciting, interesting and scary. Now most things are common place, ignored and forgotten.

The first few days in a country that is very different from your own are confusing and so stimulating you don't want to sleep in case you miss anything. Even the call to prayer at 4:30am is a novelty.

In trying to recapture some of the things that are strange, it will perhaps bring some of the memories and the bewilderment back.