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COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Bab al Shams "The Other Side of Qudra" - Dubai - 16 Oct 2020


Ale Vallecchi

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Thank you @Ale Vallecchi and @Foxtrot Oscar for the eventful morning! Appreciate you guiding us through the drive willfully.  

Click on the link below for the pictures!

https://carnity.com/gallery/category/353-newbie-bab-al-shams-dubai-16-oct-2020

 

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Hi Marshal (Ale), indeed a wonderful drive. Immaculate terrain selection though I did have 1 hiccup (probably getting to know my 3 weeks old FJ) ... but as they aptly say in "Carnity" that you don't learn without hiccups. A special note to "Angela" for her ever inspiring dialects.

Enjoyed to the core, looking forward to the upcoming weekend ... Cheers !!!

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46 minutes ago, Pickey Singh said:

Hi Marshal (Ale), indeed a wonderful drive. Immaculate terrain selection though I did have 1 hiccup (probably getting to know my 3 weeks old FJ) ... but as they aptly say in "Carnity" that you don't learn without hiccups. A special note to "Angela" for her ever inspiring dialects.

Enjoyed to the core, looking forward to the upcoming weekend ... Cheers !!!

Congrats @Pickey Singh on your new car. You couldn't choose better :grin: !! You have driven well indeed, and will surely continue to improve, quickly, as you'll learn to trust your new car, and yourself in it. A little bit like a horse rider and his mount, there will soon be a "connection" between yourself and the car. An FJ, in particular, regardless of its limitations in terms of visibility (this is its only shortcoming), it's a true workhorse, capable of taking you anywhere, if you let it.

Good to see you this week-end, and looking forward to seeing you soon again.

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THE OTHER SIDE OF QUDRA: Access (restricted) to a still unspoiled desert - Trip Report

While many clubs scoff at Qudra as an entry-level, all too busy and easy desert to drive, only few understand, and enjoy, its diversity, openness, and wild (in terms of fauna) feeling. Thankfully so; while most look for thrills in the big bowl areas, or near the famous Rocks, Carnity continues to discover new locations, in and around the Qudra Basin. The so called Bab al Shams area is one of them, along with South Solar Park, Lisaili, Margham and Little Sweihan.

Yet, what makes this area interesting and diverse, was also the reason for a delayed departure, from an unplanned deflating point. In fact, as we reached the original meeting point, we were chased away by a zealous watchman, who must have started patrolling the area only since a few days. That is, since a new (almost invisible) "no entry" sign has been put up, exactly at our deflation point. The sign seems to have been put up to protect migratory birds who use this part of Qudra to nest and reproduce, according to the guard's supervisor, who eventually allowed us to proceed into the desert, and deflate far away from the tarmac road, and the protected area.

After this initial delay, the drive started very smoothly, and progressed even more pleasantly. It was so smooth that it soon became clear that the convoy was more like a Fewbie Minus, rather then a Newbie group. So I decided to bump up the drive to a gentle Fewbie level, practicing higher side-slopes (this particular area, near our entry point, is a side-slope paradise), and a few dunes' criss-crossings. We still had a few refusals and a couple of stucks (both on crests), but these actually gave the whole convoy the opportunity to pause, and analyze the stucks' dynamics, thus improving the understanding of the dos and donts of this dune crossing technique. The drive ended at the Bab al Shams tarmac road, not before practicing a low and safe ridge riding. All of this without meeting other convoys, and driving mostly on virgin sand.

Big thanks go to @Foxtrot Oscar (Angela) for sweeping the convoy on the fly, assisting on all recoveries (self and aided ones), as well as to @Lukas Lewis, who found himself thrown into the Second Lead position, which he did manage in a safe and calm manner. To all other drivers - @Pickey Singh, @Yasas Dharmadasa, @Sandeep Padhi, @Archibald Jurdi, @Arda Yagcioglu, @Karthik Krishnakumar, @Mohamed Abo ElKomsan, @Shital Somaiya, @Athula Dharmadada and @Ranjan Das - I can only say "bravi", as you all drove with very good skills (higher than the average Newbie), facing everything with enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Good job.

In the end, we drove 3:54 hours, and 49 Kms, at an average speed of 13 Km/h (24 Km/h while moving).

Thanks to all of you for the nice drive. Have a great week, and see you soon.

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