- When I ride,
it just feels like everything else washes away.
(bike engine roars)
Nothing is important
other than what I'm doing right there.
That's just the best feeling ever,
that feeling of freedom from everything.
(calm music)
- My name is Mark Beaumont,
and I'm an endurance athlete.
With the current world record for cycling around the planet,
seeking adventures and finding stories
is what I'm most passionate about.
Ever since I can remember,
I've had that sense of curiosity about the world.
This time I've come to Dubai.
I'm going to meet Dana,
a bike rider who's been inspiring young girls
all over the UAE.
(powerful music)
- I was born and raised in Dubai.
So I've lived here for 25 years.
I've been riding dirt bikes since I'm 15.
Growing up here, my dad always taught me how
to do pretty much any sport that I wanted to do.
I grew up learning how to wakeboard, to drive my new car,
things like that.
I never felt like there was anything
I couldn't do just because I'm a girl.
If there's a sport that I wanna learn,
yeah, let's go for it.
There's nothing holding me back.
When I started riding, it just felt natural
to do that as well.
I just loved it from the very beginning.
So I started racing in the Emirates Desert Championship.
And that's a two hour race,
around like a 20 to 25 kilometer loop.
And I was doing a couple of those,
and then I started riding a bit on the motocross track.
And they really wanted more girls to be racing
so I did a couple of motocross races,
and then I did one rally,
which was the Dubai International Rally.
And that was probably my favorite race ever.
So, let me show you the bikes that we're gonna ride today.
- [Mark] This is pretty cool.
- Yeah.
- I'm not used to having an engine on my bike.
(laughing)
- So these are the two bikes we're gonna take out.
We've got the 450-SXF, the 350-SXF.
- I guess they're the same size of bike,
it's just a bigger engine.
- Exactly, yeah.
- And what's the idea?
We're gonna go out there, and you're gonna
show me the basics?
- Yeah, so we'll maybe just start on a flat area.
And I'll show you as well, like,
what kind of lines you wanna take in the dunes
'cause you don't really wanna just go straight over
'cause that's quite rough on you.
But yeah let's get you kitted up,
get the bikes up,
and let's head into the desert.
(soft music)
- Because it's such a melting pot of cultures,
how would you reflect growing up here?
- Yeah, I mean having an international culture
around you is my normal.
It feels odd not to have that.
And yeah, you get to learn so many different cultures,
traditions, how people tick, how they work.
(soft music)
When I tell people about riding in the desert,
I describe it kind of as surfing in the dunes.
It's like you're cutting through butter,
cutting through water.
It just feels so natural.
(bike revving)
It really does like you're just painting a canvas,
and you find your lines and when you find that good line,
it just feels like poetry in motion,
like you're surfing dunes.
It's just perfect.
(soft upbeat music)
The riding community here is just so open and welcoming.
And maybe it is because I'm a girl
that they're actually more helpful.
There's so many different nationalities,
you never feel like you don't belong.
(bike engines growling) (soft upbeat music)
Whoo!
Nice job, dude!
- Wow!
- How you feeling?
- Well, it's a mixture between sort of laughing and terror.
(laughing)
- [Dana] Well, you look a lot more comfortable
than just a few minutes ago.
- Yeah, I mean it's child-like, isn't it?
It's just that sheer glee.
- Yeah. - Why did you keep going?
I mean, so many people would start something,
and then when it's up to them,
they do something else,
but you took it to the next level.
- Yeah, I kept going 'cause, I mean,
for me, it was something that really changed my life
at the time.
I was in quite a dark place.
I wasn't confident in myself.
It kind of made me realize how awesome life actually can be.
- If the days out on the bike gave you nothing else,
that phrase, "It showed me life could be awesome."
- [Dana] Yeah. Exactly.
- That would be enough, wouldn't it?
- Yeah, no, that's the best gift I could've asked for.
I would love to inspire other girls to ride.
If I could give another girl that experience that I had,
and that feeling of self-confidence, belonging
that makes my day.
- [Mark] At the heart of Dana you've got somebody
who's very, very sweet and friendly.
And simply wants to show me the bike path,
but a fierce competitor, like I can see
that undercurrent of, I wanna push this.
Just trying to keep up with her around the dunes
was intimidating enough.
It was wonderful.
It was eye-opening.
It was scary but it was seriously cool.
(serene music)