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At 15:30, under conditions that most sensible human beings would describe as completely inappropriate for outdoor activity, thirteen brave souls gathered once again at the edge of the desert. The temperature was somewhere between “unpleasant” and “surface of Mercury”. There was no morning breeze. No golden sunrise. No gentle introduction. Just heat. A lot of heat. Leading the expedition was Ale, with JP riding second in command. Giacomo held the centre of the convoy, while Yarem took the noble responsibility of sweeping from the rear, making sure that no man, woman, vehicle or miscellaneous bumper was abandoned to the desert. Before departure, we managed to locate what could very generously be described as a tree. It was small. Very small. Nevertheless, thirteen grown adults immediately gathered underneath it, desperately negotiating for approximately four square metres of shade. There, beneath our heroic shrub, Ale began the briefing. And then he produced… a tiny toy car. With the seriousness of a military commander planning the Normandy landings, he used this miniature vehicle to demonstrate cresting and recovery techniques. Considering the temperature, I spent most of the briefing wondering whether the little car would survive the explanation, melt into the sand, or simply turn into a fried egg. Against all odds, it survived. And so did we. Then came the dunes. Crests. More crests. Side dune riding. More side dune riding. And, naturally, a healthy number of stucks. The desert appeared particularly affectionate today, repeatedly embracing members of the convoy from underneath and refusing to let go. Radios came alive. “Stuck.” “Second refusal.” “Need recovery.” “Copy.” At certain moments it felt less like an off-road drive and more like a very organised excavation project. Then the sky changed. What had already been an intense afternoon suddenly became something far more dramatic. A sandstorm swept across the desert. Within minutes, everything turned brown. The sky was brown. The dunes were brown. The cars were brown. Probably we were brown too. Visibility dropped dramatically and following the vehicle ahead became an exercise in faith, concentration and desperately staring at two faint red lights disappearing into a wall of dust. For a few moments, the desert completely swallowed the convoy. And naturally, because timing is everything, this was precisely when one vehicle decided to get properly stuck. Out came the shovels. In the middle of the sandstorm, several of us began digging sand from underneath the belly of a very black vehicle. We dug. And dug. And dug some more. The sand kept coming back. The wind kept blowing. Visibility remained terrible. And throughout this heroic collective effort, the driver of the aforementioned very black vehicle remained comfortably inside. Presumably supervising. Possibly adjusting the air conditioning. Perhaps selecting music. History may never know. Eventually, man, machine and shovel defeated the desert once again and the convoy continued. By the end of the afternoon, we had experienced extreme heat, crests, side slopes, recoveries, digging, almost nonexistent shade and a spectacular sandstorm. In other words: A perfectly normal Carnity drive. Ale led us safely through the chaos, JP supported from the front, Giacomo kept the middle together, Yarem swept behind us, and thirteen overheated humans somehow emerged from the desert still smiling. The little toy car survived. The black vehicle survived. We survived. And somewhere out there, one tiny tree is probably still recovering from having thirteen people underneath it. Until the next expedition.

Apologise, as my aircon has stopped working, we’re going to have to pull out.

Thanks to leads and team!

Was nice and cool today

Thanks for the great sandy windy drive @Ale Vallecchi, @J-P L, @Giacomo and the team!

@nithish468 will be joining us. He will slot is as a flying sweep.

In true @Ale Vallecchi style: Hello Desertnauts, @Warbs, @Chema, @Diego, @saumik1989, @ChrisW, @Steffi, @Sebastian Nohse, @Eddie-Dune-Glider, @Piter & @Krinesh, Thank you for signing up on this drive and hope you're all having a nice weekend! Please find the convoy order below. Let's aim to start the briefing at 03.30 pm so please arrive earlier at the meeting point to give yourself sufficient time to deflate and prep. Summer is fully here and sand is extra soft so please adjust your tyre pressure accordingly. We will be communicating on CH2 (446.031). Meeting point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dXm262PVEqspXdBz9 See you all tomorrow afternoon. Have a nice evening!

Many thanks @Glenn W! That was a really fun way to end the week. Thank you all for keeping in the zone and driving as well as you did - we flowed through in good time and got to experience a wide variety of terrain. The salt rock exploration was also a fun little aside!

Anyone reached yet? Just checking to confirm if I am at the right location as Google maps does not really like me a lot. I do see a steep climb at the starting point though😁

Hi

Sorry about it we start at 3:30 - it will be the move out time

Just spoke to goutham we start at 3:30

@ChrisW great Friday afternoon drive mate, lovely mix of technical dunes, some faster sweeping dunes with some areas in particular where momentum was key!! … thanks for showing us the ancient salt rocks area. Really interesting to see the rocks, the formations etc. bit of a scare with my AC but the Toyota gods must be looking down on me as still it’s in working condition 🫣 @Ale Vallecchi @Giacomo @Jose Luis Campos thank you for the second lead and support! Great to drive with you guys as always. @Jerome @Steve Farmer @Steffi excellent driving throughout it certainly pays off to keep coming, learning and gaining more experience. enjoy the rest of your weekend 🍻

Good Afternoon @Emanuel, @Sandeep Padhi, @Enrico - Mountain, @Ana, @Mahesh_, @Rajath Shetty, @Hartzel, @saumik1989 and @J-P L Thanks all for signing up for the drive tomorrow morning! We will be starting at the 2nd Dec Cafe meeting point for 06h00 aiming to be fully deflated and flags up for the briefing at 06h15. There are some nice relatively clean dunes close to the meeting point, once done with those we will proceed through to Pink Rock, Little Red and Big Red. Aiming to be out around 09h00 and/or before it gets over 40 degrees, keeping it short and sharp! It will be HOT tomorrow so please ensure that you check your cars today, especially coolant levels. Please bring plenty of fluids for yourselves and any passengers. The proposed convoy order is as follows:

Hi @J-P L. It works for me. I am attaching the screenshot from my Google Maps, if it may help others. If someone still cannot open the link, these are some directions: - after filling up the tank at Qudra's Last Exit ADNOC station, take the Saih Al Salam road toward Al Lisaili; - pass 2 roundabouts going straight - after driving 1.2 Km from the second roundabout you will see a dirt patch and road on the right of the tarmac: that's the meeting point.

Meeting time is 3 or 3:30? Drive detail mentions 3:30 and here ready to go by 3:10 Can you please confirm

@Ale Vallecchi for the location i am getting a google error, ive tried via both links. I think it is where we usually meet but that doesnt help anyone else 😎

Hi @Ale Vallecchi I didn't sign up for this drive—I guess my name was added to the list by mistake. Could you please check and confirm? I intentionally didn’t respond to this event due to other commitments and won't be able to make it today.

Hi @Andrew John Melvill, I'm sorry but I need to withdraw myself from this one. Have a nice drive guys!

“Just keep your rig in shape and don’t be an A-hole” Words to live by, @Thomas54675!