The weather is getting hotter and biking season will soon be over. Before it is though there is something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile now and that is ride my bicycle to work and back. Since my car is at the dealer getting serviced plus I’m trying to burn some fat before the end of the month I figured it’s the perfect time to try this. I wiped the dust off my bike this past weekend and walked to Extreme Sports at the end of my street in Salmiya to get some new tires. The service guy there was pretty helpful, ended up getting some meaner wider tires for my bike, plus some new inner tubes as well as a pump in case I get a flat. It cost me KD15 per tire, KD4 per inner tube (comes with slime inside them) and another KD17 for the air pump. Not sure if these prices are good or not since it’s my first time replacing my tires.
My bike is now ready to ride to work and I’ve basically planned the route in my head already. I live in the old Salmiya and my office is near Muthana Complex in the city. I’m going to be going out onto the Gulf Road and ride my bike on the seaside pathway from in front of Shaab Park all the way till Souk Sharq. If I remember correctly the path ends once you hit Seef Palaace. From that point I’m not sure what route I will take. There is no way I am going to ride my bike on the street and I don’t recall there being a sidewalk. So I might end up cutting across towards the Kuwait Stock Exchange and head to Fahad Al Salem street and continue on the sidewalk from there. It’s around 8KM from my house to the Kuwait Towers and I would say less than 8KM from the Kuwait Towers to Muthana so I think it should take me under an hour if I take my time.
It really sucks how we don’t have any bike paths in the city. I know the weather gets very hot in the summer but this year there were at least 6 months of nice weather. In Salmiya we have sidewalks but if it’s crowded you can’t really ride your bike on them and then you have problems with the curb (check picture above) where you have a slope on one side of the street but no slope on the other. That’s not wheel chair friendly yet alone bike friendly. Anyway the plan is to ride to work tomorrow so will post again once I actually do it.
Update: Does anyone remember the yellow siren below? I used to have one on my bike as a kid, I wonder if they still sell them in Kuwait…
55 replies on “Riding the bicycle to work”
i hope you have showers @ your office, and a cupboard
Already thought of that and got it solved
i would do it the lazy way i would rent a harley 😛
Nice one !
Good luck..Have u ever gone all the way to ur work before on ur bicycle?
And those yellow sirens I think try to find them at the toy and bicycle shops in sharq!
nope, furthest I’ve been to was to souk sharq and that was like 4 years ago. Since then the last time I rode my bike was 2 days back when i rode back from the store to my house. So yes I’m also curious to find out if I can peddle to the gulf road yet alone all the way to kuwait city lol
Mark, am concerened about your knee, cycle as long as your knee is comfortable… dont forget your high visibility vest on and a rehydrant drink, some do not regard bicyclers as objects on the road. be safe.
I have thought of this million times but never got to really doing it! I’m waiting for your after post. And pray its a good weather tomorrow!
Lemme know what time you start, I’ll have a convoy of us in cars follow you with banners and cheer you on.
lol
After the ride, I expect to see this bike in the “What people are selling” section.
I’m still looking for a bike 😛
Woww !!!! It sounds adventurous and exciting,,I wish I can join ur short trip as our destination stop is same 😛 😛 … ….
Ne ways Good Luck 😀 !!!!Hope after such a long ride u have energy to continue ur day at work.:P
I had one of those sirens back in the day! We bought it from one of the cycle shops in Sharq, you might wanna go there and check if they still sell them.
I had one of those too!
Thats one hell long journey, hope you know what you’re doing and not get tired half way.
If Mark gets tired, He can have a ride with the convoy.
Sounds fantastic… in theory. Back-up plan:
Wanait the journey back (you and your bike) 🙂
Good luck.
hope you do not have any stairs at home or wrk. you wont be able to lift ur feet for a day or two. happy sore thighs and shins. keep voltarin, reparil handy for the next day. happy biking, worth trying though
Ya wider tired look meaner and cooler, but they rare intende for mountain biking. For long flat distances the thinner tires make the bike way faster.
You got a good deal on the tires. Now sure about the pump though.
I’d ride to college if I had a bike, cause it’s only a 5 min drive but from Salmiya to the city is pretty far away lol.
You should have done this a couple of months ago. The weather now is kind of “iffy.” Good luck, and make sure you hydrate throughout.
Don’t forget to pick up McDonalds breakfast on the way 😀 . Also don’t get hit by the speed cams, they hate bikers LMAO.
I got my inner tubes with slime for 1.5kd
Do you wear a helmet? You should!
Don’t know where my helmet is, gotta look for it. I won’t be speeding though more like crusing.
You chose a good day to do this, will help you in taking out the extra stress on your mind, waiting for updates on your ride! Be safe!
Yellow sirens are available at the salmiya bike shops opposite red tag.
Mark I ride my bicycle ( secret place) for 20 kms and It takes only 1h:20 min. You can reach your work in less than an hour for sure.
You did a good choice for the tires, they suite kuwait roads better since you need to go over the curbs a lot, although they will increase the rolling resistance, now that’s either good or bad depends on whether u want to burn more or go faster.
make sure to drink at least 4 litres of water.
you will cramp up.
avoid the stairs when you are done.
you will be sore afterwards 🙂
attach a cam to your helmet and take us through the journey..
I need to learn how to jump onto a curb. I can’t figure out how to lift the front wheel up!
What? You cant be serious about the curb jump! Maybe extreme sports can give you lessons..LOL
I saw a horn in the bike shops in Fahaheel before, not sure about now. Good luck and stay safe on the ride!
u simply lift up with ur arms man, its dead simple. the tougher trick is to do a double wheel jump, where u lift both wheels. but lifting the front wheel is eazy-peazy.
if ur afraid of it, hit the pavement at a moderate speed (lets face it, all pavements have wear-&-tear) and u will undoubtedly go up, not sure how good that is for the front-wheel in the long run tho, but its a baby step.
Good 4 U. Get a new helmet as the technology has changed. Next time you go to “Bin Nisf” get a high visabilty reflective vest to wear for your increased safety.
you are joking right???
Ok simply slow down a liitle then just make a little wheelie ( half meter in the air) so that the front wheel go over the curb and similtanuosly stand up and keep your weight at the front so that the rear wheel climb the curb softly thus minimizing the damage to the rear wheel. Simple.
whether one can pop a wheelie or not … that doesn’t negate the fact that Kuwait as a government and a society (in general) do not consider wheel chair ramps, bike or stroller access to sidewalks & curbs. its all about planning and consideration for others
dude i think i still have my yellow siren in the attic!!! oh wow..childhood memories! :S
Do you have a gang of bikers to tag along with you?
what time u’ll be at the gulf road
Bunny Hop the curbs!
Find a copy of the movie “Rad” and take notes….
How about a late night bike ride with headlamps and headlights. Maybe we can get the D.B.C.K to hook us up with a route.
hope you have a shower at work
Change of plans people. Woke up at 7, walked my dog and thought the weather was too humid and sunny to make it to work and still be decent without a total shower. So packed the bike into the back of the FJ and had Nat drop me off to work. Will ride back home on the bike.
2 things.
1) My wheel wouldn’t fit back on the bike, i mean it would i just couldn’t get the brake thingy connected again. I then noticed my pads were put on the wrong way? must have happened when i last got it serviced. So i just spend like 30 minutes fixing my brakes, hopefully they’ll hold up on the way back home.
2) I can’t make a wheelie or even get the front wheel up. I guess I need to lean back more or something?
Troy: We’ve been wanting to go riding or outing in our fj’s since the start of winter and we still havent!! lol
:o… u still can’t get your front wheels up… just put some extra force when you trying to lift… it is pretty simple…
now that you’ve mentioned about bike’s i think i will get one for myself… i always take the car out in the evenings to go out.. usually I’m always within my area…
it’ll be a good idea to take the bike instead of the car.
best of luck with getting back home 😉
Pulling, weight shifting, accelerating, and combination of all will lift the front wheel whether it is a bicycle or a motorbike. I can’t believe that some bikers can’t lift the front, I see it as a part of riding. Now controlling the wheelie is an art and many riders can’t do it and that’s ok. Just my opinion.
Mark, those yellow siren is useless… all you need is vuvuzela. 😛
Good luck on your journey, be safe! =)
Wiki wheelie instructions…
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_Wheelie
Just watch this while at work… Inspiration is all you need.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zploy9L05h8
this is what i need to learn!
https://youtu.be/G3DdkcX5o9w
0:25 to 0:30 is all you need… stand, and pull the bar up and you can climb pavements.
I really can’t believe you can’t do it. Its the first a 4 year old on a cycle learns.
these guys can’t jump over walls yet alone curbs
https://youtu.be/sXLXR2_1aYE
Does anyone know whats the best place to buy a bike from..?
and Mark goodluck i always wanted to do that in university since it was really close to my house about 10 mins. but never did… and now i cant do it since work is extremely far… good luck hope u enjoy it and be safe… let us know how it goes…
Sweet ride Mark, Cannondale have really nice bikes, even the simple ones. and it’s not much for the Botrager wheels, as long as they are the lightweight ones….
by the way that siren thing was epic fun, had one in Lebanon in my VIVI Cross with a 3 speed shifter and dual shocks in the mid 80s.
used to ride a BMX when i live in Kuwait as a boy, with a construction site near my then home in Jabriyah, we used to pull off some sick tricks for under 10 year old crazy heads… do i miss Kuwait, we left on vacation before the shit hit the fan in 90 and could never go back…:(
The yellow bike siren and microphone is on eBay at
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120696800562
Watch the word wrap on that last line.
Doug Parker
Orlando, FL
USA
Just wanted to know how you made the cycle stand without a side stand
Best place to buy bycycle. Sharq toys shop (street khalid bin waleed) and yes ppl you get the yellow sicren still as i own a toy shop there.(new toy land)
I love your blog’s color BLACK &PINK, how about considering a paint job on your bike… Black &Pink. It’ll have a bold look. With mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com Logo on the sides…. It’ll be amazing Mark. Your bike’s Grey/Silver color is cool.. but if you think of a (paint job) consider what I wrote in mind….