I took up a dare from my son that I could bike the whole length of the Gulf Road from the Kuwait Towers to the Scientific Center and back. He was supposed to rollerblade while I biked but changed his mind when I told him that the whole one-way stretch was about 12 kilometers.

This is where it started and ended

So last weekend, we took out our bikes from their long hibernation in the terrace. It had been close to three years since we last used them so they weren’t in pretty good shape and they needed some quick fixes – replace the tire interiors, adjust the brakes and tighten loose screws here and there. The best thing we could do was to wipe off years of grime and spray WD40 on all the moving parts. Helmets in hand and raring to get going before it got too hot, we loaded them in the Pajero and drove all the way down to the bicycle shops in Sharq where we had them repaired. This took over an hour so by the time we got to Kuwait Towers, the sun was almost directly above our heads and the temperature gauge in the car read 35 degrees C.

James asked if I was still up to the challenge. Gulping down almost half a liter of water and wiping away salty sweat from my forehead, I told him, “Ready when you are!” So off we pedaled in the hot sun which, surprisingly, wasn’t so bad at all due to a refreshingly slight breeze that was blowing our way.

We stopped to smell the flowers near the Green Island

The Gulf Road stretches from the end of Kuwait City all the way to Messilah – a total distance of 27 kilometers – and skirts the edge of the Arabian Sea. Up to 3/4 of the way, the route is lined with well-maintained landscaping, paved walkways, marinas, basketball/beach volleyball courts, malls and numerous restaurants. Though there are no biking lanes, the sidewalks are wide and spacious enough to accommodate bikers.

The first restaurants we passed by were casual dining Applebee’s and Fuddruckers which were right next to Le Notre, the elegant French diner. A kilometer further was KFC which advertised an eat-all-you-can offer for 1.500 dinars. This was followed by TGIFriday’s. I have fond memories of this place because this was the first big restaurant I designed way back in ’96. It was also the first casual diner right by the sea.

At the Hard Rock Cafe and Marina Mall

An interesting landscape made up of artistically-trimmed hedges came into view. These ubiquitous shrubs found all over Kuwait are very well adapted to the hot desert climate and thrive with very low maintenance. Left to grow by themselves, they become quite big trees giving much-needed shade. When trimmed, however, they can easily be made into various shapes such as the ones we passed by which looked like gigantic popsicles and Hersey’s Kisses chocolates.

We stopped by the entrance to the Green Island, a small man-made spit of land jutting out from the coastline linked by a long footbridge. This place has a lagoon and an outdoor amphitheater where concerts can be held. After drinking our bottled mineral water, we pushed on and reached McDonald’s at 11:30AM where we decided to have brunch in their outdoor dining area. We, surprisingly, ran into some friends who were also out on a weekend gimmick.

Interesting landscaping

An hour later, we were on the way once more, passing by Shaab Garden with its thrilling rides, the swimming pool complex and the newly-built Corniche Club which has great spa facilities before reaching ChiChi’s Restaurant. I called for a brief stop to shoot some of the nice flowers beds beside the sidewalk – they wouldn’t be around for long with the hot summer coming. James complained that we’ve been wasting time stopping to take pictures as though we were out-of-town tourists. I said I gotta have these in my Blog, to which he made a wry face!

Marina Crescent came into view and there were people enjoying their brunch in the outdoor cafes. With a little imagination, it reminded me of the French Riviera with the boats bobbing in the background. Across the road was the huge Marina Mall with its two anchor stores – Gameworks and Virgin Records. Connecting it to the Crescent was the glazed and airconditioned pedestrian bridge completely covered with the see-through in-your-face Korloff Watch ad. I’ve always wondered how much they paid for it because it truly was in a strategic location. But bad for aesthetics. The Gulf Road is littered with huge billboards featuring 4-wheel drives, burgers, banks and, occasionally, a celebrity like Maria Sharapova. I have never found any of them edifying.

Tour of the Gulf Champ at the Scientific Center

It was a straight 2 km. run all the way to our final destination – the Scientific Center where we arrived at 1:15PM. The complex was built about 4 years ago and has an impressively huge shark tank inside plus a state-of-the-art Imax theater. Funny, even though I designed its souvenir shop, I had not been inside the place since it opened to the public. James, who had been there four times on school outings, started showing me around the place. Look who’s being the tourist now, I said. Anyway, I liked the place where they kept life-size models of the wooden dhows – Kuwaiti sailing boats in the long-gone era of pearl-diving which used to be a thriving industry before the discovery of oil. We rested under some of the white, stretched PVC membrane canopies which looked like sails, drinking all our water. None of us was interested to go further inside since foremost on our minds was the long haul back.

I felt my legs stiffening from cramps so much so that biking all the way back to the Towers, which took us about an hour non-stop, was sheer penitence. All in all, we covered 24 kilometers both ways. It surely was a great exercise even though my leaden legs felt as heavy as a ton of bricks. But I felt good inside, having taken the challenge and meeting it head-on. Well, at least it showed the son that his old man still had what it takes.

I am like so dead!

On the drive back home, he asked, “Next week again?” Feigning hard of hearing, I didn't answer. Instead, I turned the car stereo’s volume louder…..