COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - Al Faya - Sharjah - 3 Jul 2020

[Ale Vallecchi]

Dear fellow Desernauts.

To paraphrase @Wrangeld  Richard’s report titles, I guess we should call this one “The Rumble in the Jungle”.

I don’t know you, but I have never seen any desert in such green and lush conditions. That cloud seeding is certainly working, to the benefit of the citizens and residents, yet to the detriment of the off-roading community. Having escaped successfully from Mahafiz’s jungle (and to a lesser extent that around Fossil Rock), I’ll have to mow the lawn trapped under the car If I want to be able to drive without literally sweeping Dubai’s highways.

Backtracking to the beginning of the drive, first of all, a commendation to all drivers for their timely (or in most cases, even early) arrival. After an unhurried deflation, we proceeded to move in the following order: @Rinelle Sanaani for his first second lead, diligently and patiently executed, @asifk doing great until his car experienced transmission issues (luckily resolved) which forced him to exit prematurely, @Shiju Manuel @RohanH, @Jolly Abraham and @J J, driving with poise and control in spite of the tricky terrain, @Vanessa8580 dominating the convoy, covering its length to help direct the occasional refusal, @Najeeb Mohammed much improved in extracting the power under his FJ’s hood, @Chaitanya D totally enjoying his new desert toy, @Anish S, overcoming a cooling issue to finish the drive in perfect conditions, @Tbone and @Janarthan navigating as a perfectly synchronized pair, and finally @Denizzalbayrak, who swept the convoy with exceptional control, lending his precious help to Vanessa in sorting out some refusals.

The great news is that, in spite of some challenges that the bushy and very technical environment threw at me (and I, in turn, threw back at the convoy), it’s the first ever drive that I have done, ever, with no stucks. Truly amazing, guys (and girl)!!

So, what else did we do?

We started backward from the usual itinerary, to exploit the cooler air and sand to scale Faya’s first wall (as Faya has many, most of which were to be conquered later in the day by @Javier M's convoy). Not everybody made it to the top: unfortunately, the Pajero contingent had some issues with engine power and shifting gears (following which Vanessa will ask Fred for a new car).  Nonetheless, everybody truly enjoyed the sideys on Faya’s second high slope, which most did twice, with great control. And, very importantly, we all enjoyed the sunrise while driving away from Faya, toward Camel Rock and then Fossil Rock. Here we found some very soft sand, which forced us to pause for a few minutes, to cool a few engines off and check the tires’ pressure. Finally, we managed to descend from Fossil Rock toward the pylons, where some of the cars almost crossed paths with @Frederic's convoy, running on the opposite Mahafiz-to-Faya lane. En-route to Mahafiz, we paid a mandatory visit to what are now known as @Gaurav's Slopes”: a play area with a set of 3 adjacent slopes, which all cars drove twice, to everybody’s satisfaction. As the vegetation became denser as we were approaching our exit point, we still managed to side slope a few more dunes, adding some criss-crossing to the challenge.

We all arrived safe and sound at the exit point, which was none other than the group of trees where we usually deflate when doing the opposite route.

The drive, started at 5:21AM, took us 4 hours and 1 minute, at an average speed of 11Km/H, with 141 meters of altitude gradient.

That’s all from the Rumble in the Jungle. Have a great week-end and see you soon.

Edited July 3, 2020 by Ale Vallecchi

[Frederic]

20 minutes ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Dear fellow Desernauts.

To paraphrase @Wrangeld  Richard’s report titles, I guess we should call this one “The Rumble in the Jungle”.

I don’t know you, but I have never seen any desert in such green and lush conditions. That cloud seeding is certainly working, to the benefit of the citizens and residents, yet to the detriment of the off-roading community. Having escaped successfully from Mahafiz’s jungle (and to a lesser extent that around Fossil Rock), I’ll have to mow the lawn trapped under the car If I want to be able to drive without literally sweeping Dubai’s highways.

Backtracking to the beginning of the drive, first of all, a commendation to all drivers for their timely (or in most cases, even early) arrival. After an unhurried deflation, we proceeded to move in the following order: @Rinelle Sanaani for his first second lead, diligently and patiently executed, @asifk doing great until his car experienced transmission issues (luckily resolved) which forced him to exit prematurely, @RohanH, @Jolly Abraham and @J J, driving with poise and control in spite of the tricky terrain, @Vanessa8580 dominating the convoy, covering its length to help direct the occasional refusal, @Najeeb Mohammed much improved in extracting the power under his FJ’s hood, @Chaitanya D totally enjoying his new desert toy, @Anish S, overcoming a cooling issue to finish the drive in perfect conditions, @Tbone and @Janarthan navigating as a perfectly synchronized pair, and finally @Denizzalbayrak, who swept the convoy with exceptional control, lending his precious help to Vanessa in sorting out some refusals.

The great news is that, in spite of some challenges that the bushy and very technical environment throw at me (and I, in turn, threw back at the convoy), it’s the first ever drive that I have done, ever, with no stucks. Truly amazing, guys (and girl)!!

So, what else did we do?

We started backward from the usual itinerary, to exploit the cooler air and sand to scale Faya’s first wall (as Faya has many, most of which were to be conquered later in the day by @Javier M's convoy). Not everybody made it to the top: unfortunately, the Pajero contingent had some issues with engine power and shifting gears (following which Vanessa will ask Fred for a new car).  Nonetheless, everybody truly enjoyed the sideys on Faya’s second high slope, which most did twice, with great control. And, very importantly, we all enjoyed the sunrise while driving away from Faya, toward Camel Rock and then Fossil Rock. Here we found some very soft sand, which forced us to pause for a few minutes, to cool a few engines off, check the tires’ pressure. Finally, we managed to descend from Fossil Rock toward the pylons, where some of the cars almost crossed paths with @Frederic's convoy, running on the opposite Mahafiz-to-Faya lane. En-route to Mahafiz, we paid a mandatory visit to what are now known as @Gaurav's Slopes”: a play area with a set of 3 adjacent slopes, which all cars drove twice, to everybody’s satisfaction. As the vegetation became denser as we were approaching our exit point, we still managed to side slope a few more dunes, adding some criss-crossing to the challenge.

We all arrived safe and sound at the exit point, which was none other than the group of trees where we usually deflate when doing the opposite route.

The drive, started at 5:21AM, took us 4 hours and 1 minute, at an average speed of 11Km/H, with 141 meters of altitude gradient.

That’s all from the Rumble in the Jungle. Have a great week-end and see you soon.

What a fantastic drive report and seeing Vanessa coming home with a smile after such a great drive means your preparation and planning really paid off ! 

[Ale Vallecchi]

1 minute ago, Frederic said:

What a fantastic drive report and seeing Vanessa coming home with a smile after such a great drive means your preparation and planning really paid off ! 

I do hope so. Trouble is, as you well know, that the sooo many bushes don't show in the maps, and really change the landscape, forcing changes to the original plan that sometimes are not optimal. But we all managed well, and learned some more. 

[Shiju Manuel]

Very big appreciation to @Ale Vallecchi for todays drive where he very well managed and took us in a new route with well planned, you did a grate job without even a single stuck and very few refusal. I really like the way you rerouted us in a safe patch. Really enjoyed the play area with 3 adjacent slopes. @Vanessa8580 and @Denizzalbayrak did a grate job to manage the convey through out the drive. See you all soon. 

Picture uploaded in gallery. 

[Ale Vallecchi]

4 hours ago, Frederic said:

What a fantastic drive report and seeing Vanessa coming home with a smile after such a great drive means your preparation and planning really paid off ! 

 

1 hour ago, Shiju Manuel said:

Very big appreciation to @Ale Vallecchi for todays drive where he very well managed and took us in a new route with well planned, you did a grate job without even a single stuck and very few refusal. I really like the way you rerouted us in a safe patch. Really enjoyed the play area with 3 adjacent slopes. @Vanessa8580 and @Denizzalbayrak did a grate job to manage the convey through out the drive. See you all soon. 

Picture uploaded in gallery. 

Thank yoy so much @Shiju Manuel. I just update the report where for some reason you tag name had not registered. You were very much a good part of the drive. Very good control and care in handling the car. See you soon on another new stretch of desert.

Edited July 3, 2020 by Ale Vallecchi

[Janarthan]

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi @Vanessa8580 @Denizzalbayrak . My very first Fewbie drive and it was a wonderful experience.

[J J]

Nice Drive @Ale Vallecchi and thanks  for the multiple hill climbs and sideys workouts . A drive with no stucks and no tugging - good support from @Vanessa8580 and @Denizzalbayrak  . Everyone drove like pros but unfortunate for @asifk. Next time ! 

As usual video below and pics in the gallery 

[Ale Vallecchi]

16 minutes ago, J J said:

Nice Drive @Ale Vallecchi and thanks  for the multiple hill climbs and sideys workouts . A drive with no stucks and no tugging - good support from @Vanessa8580 and @Denizzalbayrak  . Everyone drove like pros but unfortunate for @asifk. Next time ! 

As usual video below and pics in the gallery 

Wow @J J where did you find the Fiorentina's audio?!?!?  That's great! Thanks a lot, and see you soon.

[J J]

1 hour ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Wow @J J where did you find the Fiorentina's audio?!?!?  That's great! Thanks a lot, and see you soon.

a little bird told me .. tons of them in YouTube ! See u soon. 

Cheers.

[RohanH]

8 hours ago, J J said:

Nice Drive @Ale Vallecchi and thanks  for the multiple hill climbs and sideys workouts . A drive with no stucks and no tugging - good support from @Vanessa8580 and @Denizzalbayrak  . Everyone drove like pros but unfortunate for @asifk. Next time ! 

As usual video below and pics in the gallery 

@J J you are making me feel like being in love with the desert and off roading.

Nice video.

Edited July 4, 2020 by RohanH