COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie PLUS Desert Drive - "Middle-Earth": Solar Park to Faqa - Dubai - 09 Oct 2020

[Ale Vallecchi]

Middle-Earth: the land in between - Drive report

Always with the idea to bring our convoys in less crowded areas, it was impossible not to zero in on that stretch of desert between two often driven Solar Park and Faqa. This is an area that can be reached following the southernmost Qudra bike path, through a set of very technical dunes, and that continues, between sabkhas and long cordons of more or less open dunes, all the way to the boundary with the last phases of Solar Park's project (look for a very tall "chimney" to identify its limit). Initially with quite a lot of vegetation, it then opens up to a 100% sandy desert, presenting occasional feeding stations for gazelles and oryxes, which abound in this area.

The drive was designed to introduce @Tbone to his first lead, with me taking the convoy out to the middle of Middle-Earth, and TBone taking over at the beginning of this area's heart (Little Sweihan), to guide the group through its canyons, and the adjacent more open dune field, all the way to the exit point. I must admit that what may have seemed as a daunting task at first (this area can be quite tricky, with an abundance of sand bowls, sharp ridged dunes and some very tight technical sectors) was marvelously overcome and mastered by TBone. With a minimal number of refusals (mostly due to very soft patches of sand), the whole convoy was led in unison, surfing with controlled ease up and down the bowls' walls. My only disappointment with this segment of the drive was not recognizing @Emmanuel and @Kalahari's convoy, which we saw in the distance, coming from Faqa in our opposite direction (sorry guys😊).

Absolutely fine performances by all members: @Islam Soliman, @Rajeevan Vickneswaran, @Nabil Bishara, @Heisem, @Ilya Golubinsky, @Jeandre Bezuidenhout and @Gregory Perkin were impeccable, considering the challenging level of the terrain, with @Janarthan smoothly supporting the convoy from the center, and @marksproviding calm advice during all refusals, from the sweeping position. Well done to all, with a special loud applause going to TBone for completing very successfully his first lead!!

For the stats' lovers, the drive covered 70.4 KM, driven in 4:13 hours, at an average speed of 17Km/h (25 Km/h while moving). 

Have a great week, and see you all in the sand soon.

[Emmanuel]

32 minutes ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

My only disappointment with this segment of the drive was not recognizing @Emmanuel and @Kalahari's convoy, which we saw in the distance, coming from Faqa in our opposite direction (sorry guys😊).

Don’t worry for that @Ale Vallecchi, actually there’s nothing you could have done to help. And thanks to our fantastic team spirit, we managed. 

Well done @Tbone, I’m impressed that you could do so well in Little Sweihan!