I met Shadi (co-owner [with Bradley] of Just Gas It) during a camping weekend earlier this year (see May addition for article). This was when he discussed his new business, Just Gas It, with me. He had just started a bike rental/touring business in Dubai and wanted some inputs and possible recommendations. As there were already several others doing the same thing, and only a limited amount of potential customers, I was not sure if this was a venture that I would have started. Shadi was aware of this but also knew that competition could be a healthy thing and this young Jordanian was determined to make a success of Just Gas It.
Then in mid-summer, I received a call from Just Gas It asking my help and inputs to do a fun ride, like the ones I held in Al Ain. They wanted to open the new season with a bang and get their new business’ name out there with all the riders and potential customers. Well they succeeded in their mission by hosting a hugely successful and exciting fun ride on the 4th of October!
Here is my story:
The teams were limited to four max five riders and we received the GPS coordinates of the three-lap circle route only days before the event. (This limited the chance of some guys scouting the route). I immediately went to Google Earth and plotted the route. Looking at the terrain, I realised that due to the amount of shrubs and bushes the route was definitely more suited for a bike than a quad. I called Oliver and he concurred that we should take our bikes rather than the quads. This however meant that Tiennie and his son Craig (rest of my team) would be on quads and us on the bikes. It was then agreed that I would lead rather than Tiennie as I might just be faster on the bike.
Surely you can start reading between the lines that my intention/main focus in this fun ride was maybe not just to have fun but also to win. The fun ride idea originated with the intention to have a competition, that in theory is not a competition, but in practice it is. Confusing? Let me explain: hosting an official race could have many complications in the event of a possible accident or incident. As this is not a race, and there are no prizes involved, this fun ride does not constitute as “competitive.” It is just for fun! Legally you cannot hold the event organiser accountable if you decided to race rather than have fun.
However during my fun rides in Al Ain, I was the organiser and only watched the other riders “have fun.” This time I was part of the fun and had my own mission.
Shock and amazement was bestowed upon my face as we turned of the main road and entered the Just Gas It facilities at 6:15 Friday morning. I was surprised to see how many riders had joined the fun. Also there were a lot more bikes than I thought there might be! Looking at all the bikes and seeing some familiar faces, I commented to Oliver that my intentions of winning just moved to second or maybe third place, as some of these guys were good riders and many were also on bikes! We off-loaded our bikes, met up with Tiennie and Craig and registered our team. Then we were all summoned to the briefing. Rob, JGI’s riding instructor, did a great job of welcoming and giving us all a good run-down of the event, the emergency numbers and more. He also announced that the first team to finish would have the bragging rights of “winning” the first ever Just Gas It fun ride.
The route was three 25km laps with seven cones, each with a stack of numbered cards. The teams were all allocated a number for lap one and if the team handed in the seven numbers from all the cones they were allocated a new number for lap two and so on. There was also fuel placed at the starting point, as most off-road bikes cannot do 75km on one tank.
We were the second team to pull-away, one minute after the first team, and I was sure that I would not be able to catch the group in front of us. I had made peace that we would not be winning the event and was hoping for third or second place.
The first cone was 2.8km from the start and when we arrived, the first team was still getting their number. I was sure that it was only because they probably got lost as it would be very difficult to gain almost one minute in less than three kilometers of riding.
By the time we got our number and set the next point on the GPS the first team was long gone. The next leg was only about 4km and shortly after departing the first cone I could see the gap between us and them was getting closer. We got to the second cone only seconds before them and then I realised that maybe we could win this “fun ride.”
What followed was an aggressive challenge as our two teams, (seven bikes and two quads) were now riding “amongst” each other. We were all virtually on the same level and now both teams were exerting pressure on the other. Up to cone number six we managed to get to the cones first, but only with seconds to spare. Then riding towards cone seven, I saw the other team diverging more and more to the right. Not sure who was wrong, I pressed on hoping that they were on the wrong track! As we arrived at cone seven, I knew that they somehow had missed cone seven. Maybe in all the excitement their leader set the wrong point? This meant that they would not be able to get a new number for lap two, unless they returned and collected cone seven’s card. This virtually ensured first place if we were able to keep up our pace. As I had no idea how far the team behind us were, and knew that we might still encounter a possible delay for what ever reason, and I kept the pace.
As Rob stated: “The winning team obtains bragging rights.” Well until the next event these rights belongs to Oliver, Tiennie, Craig and me! Congratulations to Tiennie and Craig for riding like crazy on their quads. How the heck you managed to stay with Oliver and me on the bikes, amongst all those shrubs and bushes, I don’t know!
To the team of Just Gas It, congratulations on a very successful and well-organised event. As can be seen from the overwhelming response (almost 70 riders) and all the positive feedback on your Facebook page, we all loved it, and soon you will have to host the second one! (Just please give us a month or three to brag, then you can host the next one. Anyway, who says winning isn’t fun?)
Looking at the amount of “likes” on their Facebook page and the turn-up of their first “big event” Just Gas It is here to stay and I am sure we will be hearing a lot more from them in the near future. For the full story and some great photos, go to www.justgasit.net and follow the Facebook links.
PS: For those who are looking for more serious competition, don’t forget that the second round of the UAE Baja is on November 15th and this event is for the more serious competitors, not just fun-ride types! You can contact Stuart for more details: stuartinuae@hotmail.com
Ride safe and go for gold,
John Basson
