The Sandy Times is now exploring the world of cycling with someone who has not only embraced the sport but has played a pivotal role in shaping the cycling culture in Dubai. Tracing history back to long before tracks were available, our guest shares a passion for outdoor sports that is as much about the experience as it is about the challenge. The mysterious interviewee is Simon Duke, Pedal’s General Manager. 

Whether you are a cycling enthusiast or simply curious about this growing community, this conversation should be a nice break from the routine. Don’t forget to pour yourself a hot beverage and enjoy reading.

— Can you tell me about how you fell in love with the cycling culture? 

— So, I probably started cycling in Dubai. Obviously, we all cycled as kids, and it is my earliest memory of growing up on bikes. But road cycling, I probably started here in 2004 or 2005. So, quite a long time ago, before the days of cycling tracks, I used to cycle in front of Jebel Ali Hotel and Nahr al-Shaba, as there are some proper roads. And then I got into triathlon back in 2009, and that was the start of it.

— And what was appealing about it?

—  I like physical activity, and I always have. In my opinion, Dubai is an ideal place for sports. When the weather is nice here, it is a fantastic place to be outside. For me, cycling was about just being outside and enjoying the climate. Whether cycling or running, on the beach, in the mountains, or on a beautiful street with flowers and summer all around, it is about embracing the outdoors.

— You definitely like cardio, I see; I have seen the pictures from… I think it was the Bahrain Marathon? Can you tell me more about your approach to cycling sports?

— Actually, it was a triathlon. I used to live in Bahrain back in the 90s. While I lived there for two years, around 1994, I did a few Ironman and triathlon races there. So yeah, I like the challenge.

I look at this this way: If you have a challenge, then you have a goal. And if you have a goal, it is very easy to focus your attention on it and achieve it.

I enjoy the training, dedication and commitment that go into these long-distance events. 

Because of short-distance triathlon racing — you can get by. Anyone can get by.

But when you start looking at the middle distance of 70.3 or the full Ironman, you need to train hard for it. For me, sport was never about just finishing; it was always about improving race after race and bettering every time. 

I enjoy the training, and I enjoy the suffering as much as mad as that sounds. 

You know, I run outside all summer. Just this morning, I was outside running in the heat, as it doesn't bother me. I just get on with it. I don't complain about things that I can't control. You can't change the weather, so why complain about it? Humans are amazing creatures, and we can adapt. So, just get on with it.

— I can't believe I am talking about this to a person from London, to be honest.

— And all we do is talk about the weather, right? But it is true.

— I have seen that you are the Managing Director at The Crew agency. Could you tell me a little bit more about that project?

— Sure. My business life here has always been in agencies, events, exhibitions, activations, and marketing-type agencies. And my wife and I actually met at an agency that created food and beverage concepts.

And quite frankly, we got to the point where we have had enough of “the big agency world” with its over-promising, under-delivering and so on. And we set up our own business — The Crew. She is creative, and I'm the opposite of that. And we are still going since 2016. 

But the journey was interesting. I used to work for a big, publicly listed company based in Switzerland. I left that world at the end of 2019. This is when my wife and I went all-in on our agency, and three months in, COVID hit. 

Yeah, it was an interesting time, but it actually made us who we are. There have been highs and lows between then and now. And now we have finally reached a point where the business is signing good long-term contracts. We have clients like Emirates NBD and Emirates Islamic Bank, and we work with Pure Health. 

We have spent a lot of time to get where we are now.

— So you are the General Manager at the Pedal, and you are also the Managing Director of The Crew. How do you juggle these two roles?

— So, The Crew actually created the concept of Pedal. We have been involved in Pedal since before it was even an idea. The Crew manages anything from a marketing perspective in Pedal. On top of that, I oversee the day-to-day business of Pedal. 

We know the owners very, very well, and we know the vision for Pedal, so it was quite an easy one for me to take on. And, you know, we have got a really good team here, with all the right people in the right places. They care about Pedal, and I empower them to do their job. 

— This sounds like a very full cup. What does your typical day look like?

— My priorities in my life are very clear. I'm a big believer in that, and it is something that I probably figured out in my late 30s and early 40s. My family will always be first. Second is my health. And then comes work. I prioritise, and I say no a lot. I have plans for The Crew, and I have plans for Pedal. I have to be hyper-focused on what I'm doing and prioritise my day accordingly.

— Tony Robbins is now dead for me. And about Pedal, as you know, it was just an idea on paper at one time. Maybe you can share the story behind the brand with me?

— I was introduced to two gentlemen, Khalifa and Humaid, probably back in 2016. At the time, I had just built and opened a cafe in Sharjah called Ratios, which is owned by another good friend of mine. Ratios is probably the first speciality coffee shop in the UAE. It is a very cool shop. 

So I was introduced to Khalifa and Humaid as a person who did Ratios, and they wanted to open a cafe. At the time, to be honest, most people did, and it was the new trend in Dubai. After lots and lots of conversation between Khalifa and Humaid, my wife and me, we figured out that they were into cycling and wanted to do something around cycling and coffee. We came up with this brand called Pedal, and that is why it is called Pedal Cycling & Coffee. 

And this was before DXBike existed, we had only an old camel racing stadium in Nahr al-Shaba with a cycling track. The original plan was to put a little tricycle with a coffee machine on the back, and it was just going to sell coffee on the track. And at first — that was it. Later it evolved into a container with a little bicycle workshop and a good coffee. 

One day, I got a call from Khalifa, followed by a Google Maps pin location. This is probably back in 2018. The pin was where Pedal is located now. 

It was a very big gamble at the beginning because we were one of the early boutique bike shops, but it worked out well. Now you also have Edge and Airworks, but we were the first ones to the party. 

Pedal is still evolving today. The physical space hasn't changed, but we are constantly changing the way we lay things out in the store; we are evolving how we communicate online, and we are evolving our rides, the people, and the team. It is like 1% every day, right? We just improve by 1% every day, and we will be good. 

— I know you guys. You are basically known for your social rides. Can you describe why you launched this? What was the initial idea?

— If you look at the riding scene in Dubai as a whole, it has changed in the last couple of years; it was always based on performance. I think a lot of people here ride for fitness and training. 

But if you look at Europe, Australia, or Asia, people go out and just ride. They just enjoy being on the bike; they enjoy the social element of it, and they enjoy the lifestyle around cycling. Dubai didn’t have that. So, I wanted to introduce rides that are a little bit more relaxed. And that doesn't mean we can't go out and we can't push and we can't perform; no, there is a time and a place for that. But, when it comes to Sunday, why can't we just go out and ride around the city, then stop and have coffee with croissants and just enjoy being outside? And that was the kind of logic behind it. And we created a bit of a community around it. 

We have been doing those rides for two and a half years and they have been very successful. And I think it led to a lot of other bike shops not copying, but following a similar kind of approach. Because there is a demand to just be out on the bike in a good company. 

I see Pedal as a community, and I want it to be a place where people are comfortable, can hang out, and can come and watch cycling on the TV. I want that relaxed atmosphere, and it is something that we are striving to achieve.

— I remember the phrase “fostering culture” in Pedal’s brand mission. Could you describe Pedal's mission in your own words? 

— I think the cycling culture of Dubai is very, very different from that of Europe. I don't know how much cycling you have done in Europe, but if you go to places like Girona or Mallorca, you ride relaxed, fun, and friendly. I love that community, and I love that approach. And I think that that is what we are trying to achieve here. When people come on our rides, I couldn't care less what kit they wear. We are all about just people having that common love for being on the bike. It is all about community building and people having fun, having some coffee, doing what they love, and talking about it.

— Now, we have to step into the grounds of coffee and food, and I must ask, because I know that Pedal is one of the best places to get a proper cup of coffee, why is it so good? 

— The original idea was a coffee shop. It was always about the coffee, and then the cycling came in. Since the beginning, we have worked exclusively with only one roaster in Dubai called Specialty Batch. They are very particular with their roasting and very consistent, which enables us to be consistent with our coffee making. Even our drip bags and the pour-over ones we sell are done by Specialty Batch. Coffee's been a big part of that. We have a really good regular coffee customer base.

— Your coffee is indeed something else. I often come in specifically for a flat while or a cappuccino. By the way, do you have any favourites?

— The guys behind the counter hate me because I'm not fussy; I will drink anything. I like a flat white every now and then, but I’m good with anything. 

—  And coming back to cycling, why do you think it became so popular recently?

— Cycling boomed during COVID. COVID showed a lot of people that didn't exercise that they probably should. So, there was a massive boom in the cycling industry globally during COVID. The negative effects of that we are still feeling today, as there was such oversupply from the manufacturers of bikes and hardware back in 2019 and 2020 that it has driven down prices, and even now, you see bikes on discount everywhere with up to 70% off.

Bringing that back to Dubai, I think the government of the UAE put together a fantastic cycling facility. If you look at the infrastructure we have here for cycling, which they continue to invest in, it is phenomenal and absolutely world-class. We have had guests in Pedal from across the globe, whether they are brand ambassadors, brand owners, or even pro-riders; no one can still believe the facilities that we have on our doorstep. And for free. So why wouldn't you want to cycle here? The infrastructure is absolutely brilliant, so why wouldn't you want to use it?

In Dubai, for me, it is like — why wouldn't you go out, do some trail running in the mountains? Why wouldn't you go cycling? Why wouldn't you take up a triathlon? Why wouldn't you take up golf, right? You look at some of the best golf courses in the world here, right? If you have these facilities on your doorstep, why wouldn't you embrace them?

— And what are your favourite tracks?

— I love Mushrif Park, as I love gravel riding. You know, I think all of them are fantastic and all of them are so different. It really depends on what you want to do. 

— Taking into account the incredible facilities and Dubai’s habit to evolve every day, if we are looking at cycling, what do you think still can be improved?

— I think it is all coming together, linking DXBike with Al-Qudra and other tracks. From what I hear, it is either already underway or in the planning stages. That is the direction things are heading.

The way Dubai is built is like it is a lot of small cities interconnected with roads, and I don't think Dubai will ever be a city where you commute by bike purely because it is just too spread out. But I think linking some districts by bike would be phenomenal. I mean, imagine you go cycling from here to here, and it would just open things up. And the roads are not safe to ride here. We all know that. So, if you could do that on track, I think it would be phenomenal.

— And what is your favourite part of the ride? 

— I enjoy the freedom that comes with riding. I'm not the most social person, but I genuinely enjoy the cycling community, I enjoy being outside and doing things together. 

I love rides in the mountains, especially in Shawka. They are fantastic because they involve escaping the city on a bike. 

— It is fascinating to see a pattern that I have noticed among cycling enthusiasts — all of you guys always mention the freedom this hobby gives you. It is so admirable. And I don’t think there is another sport that gives this kind of motivation. 

— I think, maybe running. The ultra-running scene is very, very cool as well. I feel like I have got unfinished business with ultra-running, and we will meet at some point in my life. 

— Then, I will look forward to maybe not a tricycle but a sneaker with a coffee maker.

— Never say never, right?