Exploring the sunset ridge, mountain biking off-road to the highest point in Qatar

Photos: Manuel Abella, Noel Ancheta Cuarton, Richard Rodriguez, Michael Francisco
                       
Along the coastline in the south west corner of the Arab state lies a vast array of tower lines erected in continuous extent of lengthy trail underneath. The off-road trail climbs its way towards the canyons taking over the landscape in the area and proceed to traverse the contours rolling across the hillside with gradual climbs and descents in the other end.

Standing over on the table top of the plateaus will show you a 360 degrees view of the encompassing horizons.  As far as your eyes can see, the chain of hills is unending and narrows side by side with magnificent cliffs.

This is the highest peak I have been so far in Qatar and one with best routes that I haven't ridden. Looking down towards the coastline ignited the sense of adventure within me. There is no better way to explore this nature's beauty and it's wilderness than by bike.

The place homes for Camel, Goat and Sheep farms. We just kept our way a bit of a distance to preserve the animals' privacy specially in other areas where you can see them on loose.

Two boys from the local farm dwellers were amazed seeing us cycling around the neighborhood. We were amazed to see them around living in this place as well.

Dexter on his Specialized Endo was my ride Buddy for that day. Whenever we go for an exploration ride specially on unfamiliar trails, we always put safety as the top priority, thus, Buddy system is enjoined. Ariel "Poging Bagsik" in the background while John was trying to gather the riders.

Tough lady riders were able to keep their pace and proved their might even more than some of the men. From left: Debie, Jenn, TinTin, Irene, Lynn & Olga. They are the Doha Chiqlistas pioneers. You can catch them ride regularly during Saturdays at the Airport Bikelane but you might not catch with them in the ride! They're really tough and fast, believe me! 

 We rode together...we stayed together.

A big salute to Nelson Mabag, our Trail-master, for guiding us all the way and to sir Rowel (Johnvid as we used to call him), for introducing and bringing us to this place.

Our vehicle supports: Pres. John Bonalos, Fulvert, Ka Egay, Jeyson and Eddie Padilla's Prado....many thanks! And to all the riders...we shall return and do this again!

Team Pogi Adventure, A Fun Ride to the Film City in Zekreet

The breath of the air seemed to be stressing in on my skin as I stepped out of the doorway with my bike packs. It was just an obvious reminder for me that winter is really coming. Along with that winter thought is the excitement which I have been feeling all night. The reason that I did not even had a good sleep and for sure the rest of my colleagues for this journey ride had the same feeling as mine, they might not have slept at all, I guess. Motivated with the given trends in this era of selfies and hash tags, there’s a lot to be expected ahead.

It has been about five years since I rode my bike to this place called Zekreet. You may be wondering of the name and the first thing that comes to your mind as the name sounds and literally suggests is a secret place. Actually it is, a hidden place for many due to its geographical location but gained popularity to adventure seekers like us Mountainbikers. There is no developed road leading to the place but there are already trails established under time by cars and people who ventured in time. If you’re a first-timer however, a guide is always a must.

Here’s an excerpts  from Wikipedia of its etymology and brief history: Zekreet  is an area known by a similar name called Bir Zekrit (more commonly known as Ras Abrouq) which is located south of Zekreet. It is a village in north-western Qatar near Dukhan and about  90 km northwest of Doha. Situated on a small stretch of land known as the 'Zekreet Peninsula' which protrudes into the Persian Gulf. Dukhan is the closest sizable settlement. The Bay of Zekreet, which the Dukhan Sabkha extends into, is located off the north-west coast of the village.

Originally a sparsely populated area, Zekreet was built up in the 1940s after oil operations commenced in Qatar. This included the construction of a harbor for oil equipment and a number of small houses which eventually developed into a village. There are a number of visitor attractions and old ruins at the site, one of the most notable is the Zekreet Fort.

A replica city was built in Zekreet for use in film production. It includes a large fort surrounded by palm trees, they call it the Film City.
 

Going on, we started from a fire road across towers of power lines and vast carpet of sands then headed to our target destination…the Film City. The trail route is a straight flat terrain, loamy mantle of sands stretching vastly as the eyes can see. The roads are packed by hardened wavy avenue and never-ending kaleidoscope of loose pieces of rocks. It wasn't the terrain that held my eyes but the golden white formations side by side, tiny hills and broken plateaus that molded the horizon. We decided to stop over in a place they called “wall”, a landmark which is so called as such due to its towering solid flat steel vertically submerged into the ground, standing tall and perfectly aligned in this desolated space.

The structures were strong and really stood tall in the midst of this barren land. I might have called them posts or column rather than wall though but these are actually called the Richard Serra sculpture. Got to have that feeling in the Mad Max movie? You need to be in this place. 

This was just our first station to re-group ensuring that everybody was able to hold the line and assure that nobody is left behind. 

 

We’re still more than a halfway far from our destination so we continued pedaling again. Though winter is underway, we can still feel the heat of the sun which is directly encompassing us. The tail wind was a bit friendly and it did push our back but the terrain was still at the same level as the start and remained the same all through out. We felt riding on a horseback rather than on a bike. There was a spark in my mind to make a u-turn and just go back but the scenery were just awesome and out-weighed my hesitations. The cinematic enchanting effect compensated my tiredness and driven my spirit to go further. This feeling of astonishment pushed my limit and kept me moving on. And again the child in me gusted from within envisioning a fantasy of rolling my wheels in a scene settings that resemble Star Wars and Mad Max. 

Some backpackers were spotted along the way hiking in groups leading to different directions. This has sparked my mind that we are near. Yes, very near! I exclaimed soundlessly. I just thought it right, I have seen such trekkers before, usually a group of young people doing the same thing and their base station is right in that place, the Film City.

Fortified with that feeling of excitement I pushed more on my nearly giving up pedaling power and just within a few meters away, the Film City at last! I could perceive the feeling of each and everyone of us at that moment when we reach the place…mixed feelings, mixed reactions.

Zekreet is still one of the many must go places for Mountain Bikers in Qatar. Magnificent rock and adobe formations are the main attractions and still ahead is a wide array of views that this place is yet to offer. No wonder, Zekreet will never be out of my riding bucket list.

Photos: Reno Doctolero/Manuel Abella/Noel Ancheta Cuarton/Noriel Baclig