Come sun, wind, rain or snow, Khalid al-Jaber is sure to be out on his bike, even if only for a short ride. From riding around Germany in freezing conditions when he had to break ice off the seat before riding, to cruising under the scorching summer sun (at 58C) to Muscat – stopping every 40 minutes to pour cold water to cool down the bike – and experiencing flat tires in the dead of night in the middle of nowhere, this adventure motorcyclist has had several wild and thrilling experiences on his bike and he craves for more.
Although Khalid has become synonymous with his bike among friends, he has accomplished a lot more than adventure biking. This computer engineer with a master’s in innovative technology – cybercrimes, is currently working on an executive leaders programme offered by the Qatar Leadership Center. Khalid is also a film producer with his own film production company. The son of a former Qatari diplomat, Khalid has had the privilege of growing up and experiencing various cultures and traditions.
Married with two beautiful daughters, Khalid shares with Community his love of bikes, adventure biking and more.
What got you kick-started on the biking trail?
I am basically a solo adventurer/ traveller biker. I believe in taking a hobby as seriously as a career; only then you can excel in it. As far as I am concerned, when I am on my bike, I am working. My love for motorcycles began when I was 8; I jumped onto a bike with my older brother – Dr Hamad al-Jaber (also a biker now). Although I didn’t get to roll it, I promised myself then, I would become a biker one day.
I used to think that only the traffic police could ride motorcycles and dreamt of becoming a traffic police officer just to ride a bike!
Today I enjoy my rides, but one day I expect to be working fulltime with motorcycles. I haven’t decided how exactly I will do that, but it will involve travelling and adventure motorcycling, which is what I specialise in.
What was your most cherished experience on the mobike?
I’ve made several exciting, individual trips to various interesting locations around the world to test my riding skills and improve endurance. My most cherished ride however, was the one I made to the Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh, India. Visiting the Himalayas and riding at such a high altitude, (reaching 4,850m) was indeed a dream come true. As part of this two week trip, on my rusty, old Royal Enfield last August, I also rode around Kunzum pass on the Tibetan Himalayas (at an altitude of 4,600 metres), waving the Qatar flag. My grandfather used to encourage me, saying, “Follow your dreams even if they are in Thuraya” (meaning ‘stars’ in Arabic). Although I didn’t fully understand it then, those words stuck with me until I realised ‘how far and how high’ he had inspired me to follow my dreams; I named my two week trip to the Himalayas – the ‘Thuraya Trip’ in his honour.
Share with us your plans to tour the world on a mobike.
For three years now, I’ve been planning a trip around the world on my BMW R1200 GS Adventure bike. Named ‘West 2 West’, it will be accomplished in three phases and the entire experience will be documented in a book and filmed for a documentary. I intend to leave Qatar riding towards the west and plan to get back – still heading west. Hopefully, political borders and world conflicts won’t stop me from accomplishing my dream.
In the meantime, I will be on other riding adventures: I plan to ride through the Silk Road soon – crossing the Old Silk road, passing through five countries. South Africa is on my list, too. Each trip requires different skills, which will eventually help me in my ‘West 2 West’ adventure. Can’t wait to tell everyone, “I am leaving Qatar to head to Qatar!”
What was the scariest moment of your life?
I’ve had several scary moments. The worst was being trapped on a mountain – in front of us rocks were collapsing, while behind us we could hear gun shots; there was no way out. There were no alternate routes for a bike besides walking which would take days to reach. That was quite an experience!
Another scary encounter was being stuck in an elevator for a couple of hours with nine other people; watching the others getting dizzy and passing out for lack of oxygen, was quite alarming. Then, again there was the time when my motorcycle had a flat tyre near the Empty Quarter desert between Saudi and the UAE border. There was no mobile signal available and I didn’t have enough water with me either, but thankfully, I managed to get through.
What is your dream bike?
The options available for adventure biking are limited to BMW, KTM, Ducati, Suzuki and Triumph. My bike – a BMW R1200 GS adventure is a dream bike indeed. It can cruise across the planet with no issues whatsoever and is like a magical toy for any enthusiast of adventure motorcycling. The one practical issue though, is that you need to be riding in an area that has a BMW dealer; maintenance at any other motorbike workshop is not an option.
What is your favourite pastime or activity?My activities can be best described as “adventure riding or off-road motorcycling” – as that is what I do. When an opportunity presents itself, I go off-roading on my bike. In addition, I am a big fan of the MINI Cooper, as a result, I started a MINI Cooper Club in Qatar – the Mini Qatar Fan club. Currently, we have 51 members, and we enjoy monthly rides around Qatar. I am also a member of the Qatar Hiking team. Every now and then I also go scuba diving or skydiving.
What do you consider your greatest achievement so far?That would be a project I worked on for Rota (Reach out to Asia). My company had to build a scaled-down model of an intended art gallery within just a few days; it was a near-spherical construction. Termed the Al Koora Project, it had to be presented to the-then Emir – HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, at the Gala Dinner of Rota, in December 2011.
The challenges faced in accomplishing the tasks and completing the project were quite surmountable. It was a true honour to present it to His Highness. The model received the highest value at the auction – a whopping US$1.45 million!
Another achievement I consider valuable was riding my 2002 Royal Enfield through the Himalayas to reach Kunzum Pass in Tibet as mentioned earlier. This is the highest point a motorcycle can reach, and I got to spend a night at Kibber, the village located at the highest point (4,200 metres).
Tell us something about your film production company.
My brother-in-law and I started the Innovation Films in 2010 with the aim of producing feature films and short films. We were soon approached by many local film makers who just wanted to be under the umbrella of a film production house. We, therefore, started this network and hub of Innovation Films talents. We now have about 80 local filmmakers who consider themselves to be an integral part of the Innovation Films team. Sometimes, on the set, you can see up to 300 staff who are not under our payroll!
We’ve been to many film festivals around the world, including Tribeca, Dubai, GCC Film Festival in Kuwait, Munich Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival (four times), Toronto, Sundance, Berlin and Rio and have also won several awards at the regional level.
What is your attitude to life?
Never regret your mistakes, they become good experiences to do things better in future. We learn more from bad experiences than good ones.
Don’t stress yourself over your problems.
Everybody is born with talent, try to find yours; it’s never too late.
UNDAUNTED: Khalid al-Jaber is always game for a challenge.
