Desk research against primary sources. Figures are traced to the issuing UAE authority and linked on the page.
The legal answer and the practical answer diverge here more than for most transport questions — cycling on main roads is technically permitted, but ‘permitted’ is doing a lot of work in that sentence given the traffic those roads actually carry, which is why the dedicated network matters more than the legal minimum. The Al Qudra loop’s 86km distance makes it a genuine long-ride destination rather than a short local lane, so treat it as somewhere you drive or ride to rather than something that connects to your commute.
The October–April window is a comfort limit rather than a legal one — nothing stops you cycling outside it, but daytime heat for the rest of the year makes the same routes a different proposition, which is why the network sees far less use outside the cooler months than the infrastructure itself would suggest. Helmet use is mandatory regardless of season or location, on the dedicated network or on a road, so it is not a rule that eases off once you are on a marked cycle lane.