COVID 19 Compliant - Evening Fewbie PLUS Desert Drive - Al Lisaili - Dubai - 10 Jul 2020

[Ale Vallecchi]

12 minutes ago, Kalahari said:

My car has feelings you know

Of course. I was debating between burgundy and maroon, than decided just to go for unique 😊. I'll use your color descriptor of choice 😇

[Chaitanya D]

Just back from a refreshing drive and fully energized - everyone drove like on highway in the desert!

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi, @Srikumar and @Colin Jordan. Well driven everyone,  almost 70+ km at 40 to 60 kmph through most of it. Some pictures uploaded in gallery. 

[Ale Vallecchi]

12 minutes ago, Chaitanya D said:

Just back from a refreshing drive and fully energized - everyone drove like on highway in the desert!

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi, @Srikumar and @Colin Jordan. Well driven everyone,  almost 70+ km at 40 to 60 kmph through most of it. Some pictures uploaded in gallery. 

Thank you @Chaitanya D. Very nice to have had you in the drive. You are now in total control of your new car. Well done. Hope to see you next week.

[Ale Vallecchi]

Dear Carnity friends.

I am sure all of you have safely reached home and are now enjoying the nice buzz from today’s ride. Thank you very much for taking part in this almost exploratory drive, in a lesser known part of Dubai’s desert.

 

Here are the key words of today’s trip:

• Punctuality – I reached the meeting point at 4:04PM, and to my surprise I found already 3 drivers working on deflating their tires. With the last driver arriving at 4:25PM, we managed to leave in record time.

• Discovery – It was my second time in this area, and probably the first time for most of the drivers. We entered it after a short drive along the pylons (to avoid an extremely long came track hidden in the dunes), crossing a small technical area. The focus of the drive were the cordons of long-range dunes which make up most of this area, between Al Lisaili’s camel track and Solar Park. While we did encounter some bushes (which this year seem to resist the summer heat and drought like never before), we managed to drive mostly unhindered by vegetation, on surprisingly firm and hard sand. We also enjoyed great views, saw magnificent sandstone formations, and glimpsed at camels, gazelles and oryxes.

• Speed – The convoy managed to cover 72.9 Km in 3 hours and 17 minutes, at an average speed of 22 Km/h. So that casual readers may not think that we just drove on flat terrain, I should add that we climbed a total of 531 meters, having started from an altitude of 1 meter, reaching a maximum altitude of 97 meters. So we did quite a bit of ups and downs, with the climbing mostly done to criss-cross the long range dunes, and to ride their ridges.

• Smoothness – Considering the tricky technical dunes, with soft pockets of sand, at the beginning of the drive, and the novelty of the itinerary, where quite a bit of dune crossing is required, I had expected a few stuck and refusals, and planned accordingly, to reach Solar Park at sundown. Instead, apart for a stuck at the beginning, and one at the end by two unnamed drivers (as we say in Italy, mention the sin not the sinner), we proceeded so smoothly, with nobody experiencing any kind of problems, that after 1 hour of uninterrupted and silent driving I stopped to check that everybody’s radios were still on, and to enjoy a drink of water, which I had been unable to have due to the absolutely riveting drive. So, we ended up reaching Solar Park well before sundown, and decided to proceed through the lower part of Qudra, until we reached the exit point west of Qudra Parking Lot.

   

I’d like to end the report mentioning the convoy order: @Kalahari as a precise and cool Second Lead, @Najeeb Mohammed in third, managing his FJ as well as I have ever seen him, @Chaitanya D following in fourth without batting an eye (commendable considering this was his second drive of the day) @Colin Jordan at Center Forward, whose task of practicing recoveries was denied, @Rinelle Sanaani and @Febin Fredericcompleting the Wrangler contingent, in complete control of their drive, @Mels Wolfsweeping an all too clean convoy, and, last but not least, our new Crew member @Srikumarsavoring his well deserved top rank in a relaxing Flying Sweep position.

 

Thanks to all for another very enjoyable adventure, and see you soon out there.

Edited July 10, 2020 by Ale Vallecchi

[Najeeb Mohammed]

Enjoyed the drive and the group what a team we went today 

[Rinelle Sanaani]

@Ale Vallecchi.. thank u so much again for the super adrenaline joy ride in the desert

. And for a lot of criss crossing.. it was really fun!

[Febin Frederic]

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi we had a blast. awesome pace. look forward to next drive.

[Ale Vallecchi]

1 minute ago, Rinelle Sanaani said:

@Ale Vallecchi.. thank u so much again for the super adrenaline joy ride in the desert

. And for a lot of criss crossing.. it was really fun!

Thank you @Rinelle Sanaani. You are improving every drive. See you soon.

1 minute ago, Febin Frederic said:

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi we had a blast. awesome pace. look forward to next drive.

Thanks a lot @Febin Frederic. We had not driven much together, but I trusted you could handle your car, even if at the back, and you certainly did very well. Good job.

7 minutes ago, Najeeb Mohammed said:

Enjoyed the drive and the group what a team we went today 

Thank you @Najeeb Mohammed. You have improved a great deal, and can now take full advantage of the FJ's potential. Well done.

[Chaitanya D]

@Ale Vallecchi awesome drive, followed by an equally awesome trip report studded with stats and beautiful descriptions. Loved reading it .🙌🤝

[RohanH]

Covered 71 kms... WOW... that too with stuck only couple of times .. I think you need to learn how to get stuck LOL 😂

Seriously, Well done guys. Congrats.