COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Al Qudra - 5 June 2020

[Chaitanya D]

Quite a "fewbie"ish newbie drive at Qudra today morning.

Well directed by @Srikumar super supported by @Ale Vallecchi and @sertac. Nice learning doing a few Crest crossing and the difficulty gradually increasing was getting more fun with very few refusals and tugs. It is indeed getting very hot in the desert once it gets over 9am, as we are getting into the peak summer months. Pictures uploaded in gallery 

[Srikumar]

TRIP REPORT

Al Qudra is an area that offers something to every level of offroaders. Seeing the sign up for this drive, which was mainly a Fewbie convoy except for a couple of Newbies I felt that if the convoy drives well, this is a perfect convoy to scale the level along the drive. Everyone reached with a max 5 mins delay, which is really appreciated, as time is extremely precious in the month of June.

Newly promoted   @Shiju Manuel  was my second lead and he did a very good job of following instructions and rerouting the convoy as required. @Tero Vallas and @paolo dassi were the Newbies in the convoy, but they showed confidence in approaching the dune, good steering control and following exactly the car in front. Seeing that the convoy was managing well and with no major refusals or stucks, it gave the confidence that we can up the level. So we started side slopping closer to the ridge and wherever the opportunity provided to crisscross over to the other side. Mistakes were made by trying to fight gravity, but once it was explained to everyone individually they knew what was required and from the next dune onwards, one could see the vast improvement. And this is what makes a good offroader, to learn from the past mistakes and keep improving.

Well done to all the Fewbies on the convoy, @Chaitanya D @Kalahari (in his new Red toy), @Jun Zamora, @Nikhil Saju Paul @asifk 

Big thanks to @Ale Vallecchi and @sertac for supporting the drive and helping with recoveries.

 

[Jun Zamora]

Very well managed by @Srikumar in today's morning drive. It feels like a fewbie drive. with lots of side sloping and crest crossings. I learned a lot in this drive.

Thanks to @Ale Vallecchi for being very cool and supportive. 

 Congrats to t he rest of our convoys today.

  @Nikhil Saju Paul ,@asifk, @sertac,@Chaitanya D,@Kalahari,  @Shiju Manuel @Tero Vallas and @paolo dassi , we all did great !

See you on our next adventures !

[Shiju Manuel]

Thanks to @Srikumar for the well managed routing, being on the second lead was quit fun with the proper instruction and rerouting by Sri. Also big thanks to @Ale Vallecchi and @sertac to manage the convey at the back. Over all its a good place to learn side slopping and crisscross. 

Thanks to all the member joined today. See you all next week.😊 

Photos uploaded in the gallery. 

[sertac]

I will also put a report from me. That was a crazy morning for me i woke up at 6.41 am. My alarm didint ring or i didint hear i dont know. I was outside my door 3 min after i woke up. Luckily my home is not far from the area. I reached with minimal delay. Again i am sorry from everyone i was the latest comer of the day. 

I guess for the first time i had guests with me in the car. It is a different feeling you are having another responsibility. As being sweep of the team i try to kept my eye on everyone on the convoy i can proudly say everyone did great job, this club getting expended with great talents day by day. We had only 1 stuck and few refusals thats part of the game and part of the fun. Special thanks for @Srikumar and @Ale Vallecchi amazing drivers and amazing leaders. Even my guests said these 2 guys are dedicated people they are there for everyone who need even small help. 

At the end of the day tempature reached around 42C and i saw my heat gauge getting slowly slowly up. When i got chance i throw some water on my radiator and it became to normal level. Than 5 min later while we were not moving gauge start going up again and O/D off light came on. I knew the next step going to be transmission over heat so i stopped and asked help. Sri and @Jun Zamora came with their water sprays and we spray as much as water we can to the radiator. After that heat came down again and once we start moving faster everything became alright and all of us exited safely. 

Edited June 6, 2020 by sertac

[Ale Vallecchi]

37 minutes ago, sertac said:

I will also put a report from me. That was a crazy morning for me i woke up at 6.41 am. My alarm didint ring or i didint hear i dont know. I was outside my door 3 min after i woke up. Luckily my home is not far from the area. I reached with minimal delay. Again i am sorry from everyone i was the latest comer of the day. 

I guess for the first time i had guests with me in the car. It is a different feeling you are having another responsibility. As being sweep of the team i try to kept my eye on everyone on the convoy i can proudly say everyone did great job, this club getting expended with great talents day by day. We had only 1 stuck and few refusals thats part of the game and part of the fun. Special thanks for @Srikumar and @Ale Vallecchi amazing drivers and amazing leaders. Even my guests said these 2 guys are dedicated people they are there for everyone who need even small help. 

At the end of the day tempature reached around 42C and i saw my heat gauge getting slowly slowly up. When i got chance i throw some water on my radiator and it became to normal level. Than 5 min later while we were not moving gauge start going up again and O/D off light came on. I knew the next step going to be transmission over heat so i stopped and asked help. Sri and @Jun Zamora came with their water sprays and we spray as much as water we can to the radiator. After that heat came down again and once we start moving faster everything became alright and all of us exited safely. 

Thanks @sertac. We had not seen each other in a while, and it was good to drive with you again. Your calm transmitted a feeling of security to the whole group, even when Sri upped the challenges to a Newbie + level. Good job, and hope to see you soon again.

[asifk]

It was a great drive yesterday - a lot more side sloping that I hadnt done before. Also getting stuck while crossing the crest was a bit scary but luckily I wasnt too fast. Thanks @Srikumar and @Ale Vallecchi for the support and guidance. See you next week ! 

Edited June 6, 2020 by asifk