COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - Mahafiz - Sharjah - 12 Jun 2020

[Wrangeld]

The One Where Rahimdad Did Not Lead

I would never have imagined six months ago after our first newbie drives that @Rahimdad would entrust the lead of a Carnity drive to @Jeepie and myself. But, to my great amazement that's what just happened and it's just sinking in. 

It's possible, even with a COVID sized break in drives that you can, with the guidance of our amazing crew and marshalls, learn enough so that you get the chance to take the lead of a drive (supervised of course) and get to feel what it's like to have to make the choices about where to go. 

It helps that the drivers in the convoy are all experienced, then you feel that if you go the 'wrong way' everyone can follow. 

So we arrived this morning to find the deflation point looking like the Dubai Mall car park as not only Carnity but another group were readying for the off. It was great to see our recently promoted expert @Javier M driving off into the distance. 

With @Jeepie at the wheel we set of with @Rahimdad in second lead. @Foxtrot Oscar followed with @Lorenzo Candelpergher @Shiju Manuel filling in the gaps to our new centre forward @Vanessa8580.

In this early part of the drive @Vanessa8580 handled all the refusals with great advice, supported by @sertac who was sweeping the convoy today. 

@Jeepie having slowly but surely increased the intensity and led the convoy to the first play area and was rewarded with Rahimdad extending the period of the lead because, frankly everyone was enjoying the drive so much. 

The soft sand was becoming a little more challenging and we had more stucks as we slipped and sliced our way towards Fossil Rock. After an hour or so on the move we had a long dig out for @Shiju Manuel and It was decided that i would have a chance to take over the lead. 

We moved off, enthusiastically (well, I was any how!) but the going was getting less easy as the sand is very dry. It seemed everyone was enjoying the challenge @Kalahari @Mels Wolf @asifk and @Colin Jordan @J J all showed how three completely different makes of vehicles can all handle the dunes when in the hands of really competent drivers. 

We made or way quickly to our next play area. Unfortunately sorting out the pop out from @Vanessa8580 meant we had another delay, reducing the play time again. In the desert heat, having the patience to wait in the car is admirable. 

Once on the move again, we almost immediately stopped because there was the most amazing lizard in our sights. It was so exciting that @Rahimdad got stuck and had to be tugged free by sertac. 

With the increasing heat, it became clear that tyres needed to be checked again and unfortunately @Rinelle Sanaani had a problem with his radio. Despite there being a few spares in the convoy, COVID rules are clear. So Rinelle exited and the rest of us launched ourselves up Fossil Rock. 

Noone had any problems until we arrived at the top and found a few cars were overheating, so we sprayed the radiators, allowed fans to run and prepared for the quick descent down the slipface of the rock. 

With temperatures rising to hotter than the sun, we took the quick route out of the desert to reinflate as it was already past 10am. 

From where I sat, in the passenger seat, I think @Jeepie did an amazing job in her first lead.  I just hope that the convoy enjoyed the part where I led, despite the stops, as much as I did leading.

Thank you all for your indulgence. The excellent skills of the rest of the convoy made it a lot easier for both of us to think about where we were going instead of looking back the whole time to check everyone was OK. 

Thanks to @Rahimdad @Gaurav @Srikumar @Emmanuel and @Frederic who have given amazing support and guidance since we first braved the desert in our little jeep. 

My message to everyone who was on the drive today, in a few months that could be you too. The desire in this group is so strong to teach others and empower everyone to enjoy this sport that there are lots of people there to support you in what every you want from your off road experience. 

See you soon in the sand.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Wrangeld
Missed out a driver

[Kalahari]

It was a great drive, with many scenic detours. Thanks @Wrangeld and @Jeepie for not only very competent leads, but also maintaining a great pace!  It was great to have the desert basically to ourselves, and as always the highlight of my week. Thank you to @Rahimdad and @sertac for the guidance, and all the shoveling with @Vanessa8580!

[Lorenzo Candelpergher]

Dear @Wrangeld and @Jeepie,

While this was your first drive as Leaders (kudos for your excellent performance) it was as well my first one as Fewbie, so some of your excitement was also mine.

When he noticed that @Rahimdad was not in the lead, my 6 years old son asked a ton of questions why someone else was leading, as in his mind only someone wearing a Superman T-shirt would be fit for the role.. Afterwards he admitted the ride had been a lot of fun and concluded you can be leaders even if you aren't dressed as super heros. I'd say this means you passed with flying colors! 

Letting aside a few stops for refusals and recoveries from stucks (which I used for a few photo shoots more than usual), we kept a fairly fast pace, which was indeed the greater difference I noticed from previous newbie drives. And great fun too, a totally different ride compared to my 1st time at Fossil Rock two weeks ago. 

Following @Foxtrot Oscar wasn't always easy, as she was surprisingly faster than I would have expected. 

Towards the end I feared my tyres (which I had deflated only to 16 psi) would gain too much pressure with the heat, but I managed to avoid further deflate and ended without trouble at 17-18 psi. 

I climbed and descended Fossil rock with somehow a heavy foot, which caused a couple of jumps too many on the way up (where I slightly damaged the rear left inner mudguard plastics, fixed by hand for the time being). On the way down @Wrangeldquestioned whether I was actually on 1L, as I descended too fast, probably again with a little throttle in excess. Next time I'll pay more attention.

Overall a great ride, thanks to the whole convoy members. 

See below ride track / details from Pathaway. 

[Shiju Manuel]

@Wrangeld @Jeepie you had an outstanding lead today. Hats of you guys 😊 Today was my first Fewbie drive and it was quiet challenging in few places where the sand was very soft due to hot summer. Thanks for @Rahimdad for guiding us all the way and special thanks to @Rahimdad @Vanessa8580 @sertac for recovering me when i was stuck. 

Even the summer heat goes up to 45 degree,we all had the off road spirt to conquer it. See you guys next week. 

pic posted in gallery. 

[sertac]

It was a great drive. This time we had chance to taste the lead of @Jeepie and @Wrangeld, both did amazing choices of route. We had few stucks, few refusals and 1 pop out situation. All handled well. Thanks to @Rahimdad bhai finally i got my new kinetic rope and felt more ready for sweep duty. Also it was good idea to add 2 extra fan to Jeep, because of extra fans even with extreme heat Jeep never passed the 100C. At the end we approach the Fossil Rock. Whenever we reach that point it reminds me my absolute newbie drive. I am not forgetting that excitement even after 3 years.

Big thanks to everyone who participate the drive and special thanks to @Jeepie and @Wrangeld for lead, @Rahimdad for giving that secure feeling of having Superman with us and @Vanessa8580 for keeping her eye on the convoy and sharing her experience with others. 

[J J]

What a track.. Enjoyed the moments led by @Jeepie and @Wrangeld .. The flavour was indeed good and  we all liked the brownie sand ..  @Rahimdad  .. Yes stucks,  pop outs happen and they are part of the game .. thats what we have signed up for ! @Rahimdad was the man of the match though , I could see him really beat but still got that smile to keep you motivated . I was very impressed with @sertac sweeping skills and he was very helpful in so many instances today . @Vanessa8580 keeping up that energy in the team ..All drivers were great today .. drove like pros.

As usual I have loaded some pics in the gallery and a customary video . Enjoy ! 

[Rahimdad]

After all that has been said there is very little I can add to this. Our main challenge when we were driving to the meeting point was the Carnity website was going through an update. Thanks to @Gaurav, @Srikumar and @Frederic were already on top of the situation. It was a great relief to reach the meeting point to see everyone raring to go. My apologies for only 2 flavours today instead of the three I mentioned at the start. Those two flavours were so delicious the only thing I could share were my refusals and stuck. I guess wearing a Superman T-shirt does not guarantee you from a stuck.

I would like to applaud the lead of @Jeepie who took us to a corner of Maliha which remained unexplored. This is also the first lead by a female in @Carnity. Indeed a proud moment for us. @Wrangeld was a decision I had to make as it was so difficult after enjoying @Jeepie lead so much. @Wrangeld was not to be out done as he added such a wonderful flavour to the drive that I enjoyed it just as much as the first part.

Everyone was more than up for today's adventure. I'm in great appreciation of @Foxtrot Oscar who managed every dune with accurate measure. @Vanessa8580 had a moment when side slopping but handled it very well. Bigger surprise was when I approached her she had a pop-out and had her board and Jack all ready to go. This is great as she had a very calm mind not only to handle the situation well, but come to a flat surface and prepared to fix the pop-out.

@sertac has come off age and was hard at work today to keep the convoy moving under all circumstances. I am very happy that @J J also noticed that @sertac seems to be on top of the sweep position. Some one wise once told me that to play the part you have to look the part. @sertac is preparing quietly but surely for a much more responsible position in our off-road community and I'm really proud that he is one step closer.

The highlight of the day for me was the sighting of the Dhub after 2 years. I ended up with the stuck and jumped out of my car to chase it for a good pic. He took me in a circle which tired both of us out, but irony was he hid beneath my car. I took a few pics and have shared it on our drive album. Enjoy.

[Jeepie]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments,  I thoroughly enjoyed leading and had a lot of fun. If you want to learn and get the opportunity, I would say; go for it. It might be a little scary at first but the support is always there. I certainly learned a lot. From practising myself and from watching other people learning how to lead as well. Gaurav put in a lot of time and effort teaching and I am glad I signed up for the leaders lead drives. 

See you soon 

[Foxtrot Oscar]

What an amazing drive! Many thanks to @Jeepie who took us to places we had never before ventured. @Wrangeld then took over and provided even more challenges and fun in the blazing sun. I'd say it was a mint choc chip flavour, cool and refreshing with some bite

It's always a pleasure to drive with @Rahimdad who as ever imparts his wealth of knowledge and encourages everyone in the drive. It was also a timely reminder to even the most experienced among us that during these summer months, we must check our tyre pressure.  As we saw yesterday it absolutely will rise and when mixed with the hot sand will lead to less traction and thus refusals city. Maybe we can incorporate a 10 min tyre pressure check midway through drives ? Just a thought

Sorry if I was a bit too fast @Lorenzo Candelpergher I was just keeping apace with the leads. 

I'll pop some pics in the gallery .

[Wrangeld]

4 minutes ago, Foxtrot Oscar said:

What an amazing drive! Many thanks to @Jeepie who took us to places we had never before ventured. @Wrangeld then took over and provided even more challenges and fun in the blazing sun. I'd say it was a mint choc chip flavour, cool and refreshing with some bite

It's always a pleasure to drive with @Rahimdad who as ever imparts his wealth of knowledge and encourages everyone in the drive. It was also a timely reminder to even the most experienced among us that during these summer months, we must check our tyre pressure.  As we saw yesterday it absolutely will rise and when mixed with the hot sand will lead to less traction and thus refusals city. Maybe we can incorporate a 10 min tyre pressure check midway through drives ? Just a thought

Sorry if I was a bit too fast @Lorenzo Candelpergher I was just keeping apace with the leads. 

I'll pop some pics in the gallery .

Just a quick note ... check some of my earlier posts about the difference from Newbie to Fewbie. Pace is just one of the big changes and @Foxtrot Oscar you got is spot on. Keep up with the pace, and never lose sight of the person behind. 

Yesterday was a real pleasure to lead ... and I think pre COVID we would probably have had that 5 minute pressure check you mention ,... So we could have ventured even further. 

Se you soon in the sand