Oh My Oman!
“I have not told the half of what I saw”
Seven hundred years after Marco Polo, and perhaps for almost seven hundred reasons, Oman is still relatively unknown. Too far for some, too exotic for others, too hot for many. But as ever, there are those that embrace a place for the very same reasons other ignore it.
The UCI to a degree when they decided to include the Tour of Oman as part of the early season race schedule. The scenery was stunning but camera shots rarely ventured too far from the racing line. Unlike Axel and Andreas, fresh from breaking the world record for cycling the length of South America.
More T.E. Lawrence than Tejay van Garderen, they travelled to put the final touches to BikingMan Oman, a 5 day, self-supported,1,000km event that will take place in 2018, and provide the ultimate test for our hot weather Micheline and Blandine. First stop, the aptly named Mountain Of The Sun.
Jebel Shams is part of the Al Hajar Mountains, the highest range of the eastern Arabian Peninsula.
Peaking at over three thousand metres, the summit provides views across Oman’s very own Arabian grand canyon and the layered colours and contours of this immense mass of rock.
The strata in the rock tell a story of change over the ages but it's been said of the people here that they've always been born free and have lived free.
Perhaps it’s a little bit of that freedom that cycling through Oman affords but as with life itself in this harsh landscape, liberty doesn't come easy – Jebel shams serves up a 23.6kms climb, via the odd 25% gravel gradient. It's for those who dare.
Between the mountains and the coast lies the Ash Sharqiyah desert. This is not the famous ‘Empty Corner’ traversed by Wilfred Thesiger – the vast sand filled expanse that, to this day, is still largely uninhabited.
Instead, the A'Sharqiyah Sands are the original homeland of the Bedouin who find solace and hydration at the “wadi” watering holes – oases often surrounded by swathes of date palm trees. Green sancutaries of freshness in the middle of the desert oven.
Complete with camels, of course. The best way to see the desert but by bike is surely the next best alternative.
Historically the high seas gave Oman its power and it was its position as a trading post that attracted the early explorers. Ras Al Hadd, which forms part of Oman’s 1700kms of coastline, is the perfect place to rest the legs after a hard day on the road.
The great greenback turtles return to lay their eggs on the beach after a five year journey across the Indian Ocean. Set against that, five days riding, doesn't seem such a reach.
Whether it's surfing a tailwind at 40km/h, marvelling at the forts and mosques, haggling in the souks or simply slowing to pass through a village and feeling the warmth of people astonished by the simple presence of a cyclist, there are memories here for a lifetime.
You can choose the Alps, the trails of Tuscany, the black forests of Germany. And then one day perhaps you can cast your line a bit further and reach for Oman.
“You have no idea how much is hidden from you by progress. How much hides behind a veil of our own reflective glory”
About BikingMan Oman
BikingMan Oman will take place in February 2018 with milder temperatures (around 25°C). Riders will have 5 days to complete a 1,000km loop, self-supported, from Muscat and around the Al Hajar mountains. Athletes will get the opportunity to explore the south-east Arabian Peninsula: the Hajar Mountains, the spectacular Jebel Shams Pass, the Ash Sharqiyah Desert and Arabian Seaside Roads.
More info on BikingMan.com/OMAN