As a woman with numerous bikes and cars in my driveway, I can't tell you how many other women ask me about riding a motorcycle. Am I scared? Is the bike heavy? Do men accept me? What is it like riding on the roads here?
I would say that most of the women who ask these questions have considered riding a motorcycle, but don’t know where to start.
Well, wonder no longer.
Harley-Davidson is spreading the message of gender equality and increasing numbers by finding new female riders in the UAE. So in collaboration with Harley we found a suitable candidate from the members of the female automotive group Miss Auto Know, of which I am the founder.
South African Kylie Slowe, 24, grew up in a motorsporting family and always had the automotive bug. At 8, Kylie moved to the Middle East, where she took up quad biking at 13, and by 16 had tried her hand at riding dirt bikes. She then stepped it up a gear to compete in motocross a year later. Up until that point though, she hadn't obtained her road licence.
It has been 20 years since I sat my motorcycle test – I was 19. It was something I had wanted to do since I was little, so I was eager to find out what Slowe made of her experience.
"The journey has been exciting and I've learnt so much," Slowe tells me. "My knowledge of the testing system stopped at knowing you had to be 17 years old, hold a valid residence visa and pass an eye test.
"Once I had registered on my preferred course with the correct documentation and some passport photos, I was ready to start the first stage, which was classroom-based."
The Road and Transport Authority (RTA) curriculum mandates that every trainee attends eight theory classes.
These classes are vital to educate each rider on the rules and knowledge required to drive on UAE roads.
“There were eight lectures, which I did over the course of two days, a Friday and a Saturday,” she says. “They were long hours (9am to 5pm), but I decided to try and get them finished as soon as I could so I could move on to the practicals.
"I learnt a lot about safety, which is most important to be a good rider," Slowe says. "They give you detailed presentations where you are questioned throughout the day, so you absorb as much as possible. Once the theory lectures were complete, I went on to the written exam a week later."
Those theory lectures are conducted in various languages including Arabic, English, Hindi and Urdu, to communicate the rules and guidelines prescribed by the RTA. Each lecture covers topics essential to becoming a good rider, from understanding the characteristics of the road user to traffic violations, route planning and even what to do in the event of an accident.
"On the day of your written test, you are sent into a room where you sit at a small desk, headphones covering your ears and a timed questionnaire on a computer screen in front of you," Slowe explains. "I had 30 minutes to answer all of the questions. I found this part quite easy – but make sure to pay attention in the classes beforehand."
She passed, and then came the practical sessions.
"The driving school will email a list of essential safety gear that you need to bring with you to do the lessons on the bike," Slowe says. "You need a helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, steel-toe-capped boots and gloves. They also require you to wear long sleeves and full-length jeans. You have 15 hours of practical sessions to complete, which works out at four to six weeks if you have a full-time job.
"I work 9am to 6pm, which means my sessions are on a Friday and Saturday. During these, you learn the basics; the accelerator, brakes, clutch, indicators, lights etc. Once you know where each of these are and what they are used for, you go on to riding in the yard.
“You will be taught how to manoeuvre the bike quickly and safely, emergency braking, sharp turns, clutch control, slow riding and reaction times at traffic lights. With each session, you will feel more and more comfortable with riding.
This, to me, is the most important part. After the yard sessions are complete, you do your yard test – if you pass this, you’ll do eight sessions on the road before the final exam.”
I feel that riding motorcycles and the culture around it has become increasingly appealing to women, thanks to a new generation of female bikers. We are finding and inspiring each other with the help of social media.
Add to this the support and encouragement of manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson and meeting places like Cafe Rider and there is a whole new world open to women motorcycle enthusiasts.
Slowe agrees. “I would recommend any women who is interested in getting their licence to go for it.”
Alix Capper-Murdoch is the founder of Miss Auto Know. Motorcycle courses vary in price, Slowe went to Al Ahli Driving Centre in Al Quoz, which cost Dh4,240.
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Read more:
Motoring year in review: 2017's most-popular road tests
The real winner from Saudi's new stance on women drivers
‘Driving license’ to be mandatory for Dubai boat and yacht owners
Latest from The National's Motoring section
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Concrete and Gold
Foo Fighters
RCA records
SPECS
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Colomba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe
Gordon Corera, Harper Collins
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
EXPATS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lulu%20Wang%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nicole%20Kidman%2C%20Sarayu%20Blue%2C%20Ji-young%20Yoo%2C%20Brian%20Tee%2C%20Jack%20Huston%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Brief scoreline:
Al Wahda 2
Al Menhali 27', Tagliabue 79'
Al Nassr 3
Hamdallah 41', Giuliano 45 1', 62'
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
