Abu Dhabi: Lotfi Hamrouni signs off on his emails with a line: ‘Born to ride’.
And next week, the 48-year-old biking enthusiast from the United Kingdom hopes to spend nearly 24 hours on the road on his iron steed. Starting from Abu Dhabi, he will drive to the Saudi-UAE border in Ghweifat, head all the way up to Ras Al Khaimah, and back again to Ghweifat, in an adventure that should help him break the record for the greatest distance covered on a motorbike within 24 hours.
“For me, this adventure is a personal quest to mark four years of having been a motorcyclist. In addition, I want to show young people that being fit will help you achieve many difficult and arduous goals even as you get older,” Hamrouni told Gulf News.
The father of two, who has toured the UAE on his bike, says that motorcycles are a fun way to travel in the UAE and experience its beauty.
“But this is not the goal of my quest next week, I want to display the importance of fitness during my journey. I plan to ride continuously, and only stop to refuel or grab a quick bite,” he said.
“Being fit in this manner not only allows people to stay confident of their abilities but also set their mind to difficult tasks and complete them,” he added.
Hamrouni works at The Club, a leisure facility in the capital, as a recreation manager, and has long served as fitness consultant. He completes a five-kilometre or 10-kilometre run at least once each week, and has developed a healthy stamina that he says will help complete his 24-hour bike ride.
The current record for the greatest distance covered by bike in 24 hours is 2,062 kilometres, and it is held by Omani national Omar Al Mamari. Hamrouni now hopes to bring the recognition to the UAE with his feat.
“Earlier this year, I completed a 1,200-kilometre tour of the UAE’s points of interests on my bike. I started from the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, then rode to Burj Khalifa In Dubai, and on to Sharjah Museum, Ajman Museum, Jebel Jais in Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah Port and finally to Jebel Hafeet. It was a wonderful 17-hour ride,” he recounts.
“So now I want to cover more than 2,100 kilometres on my BMW S1000RR,” Hamrouni added.
He will set off on Sunday evening, and hopes to be back at the Club at the same time on Monday.
