COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - Lahbab to Qudra Marathon: Part 1 - Dubai - 29 Oct 2020

[Jihad Hachem]

hi Ale, of course i am in, thank you!

20 minutes ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Dear @Jihad Hachem, you are IN the drive. Please confirm your presence tomorrow. Thanks a lot.

Hi Ale, sure with pleasure, i am in thank you

[Piotr Kolodziej]

Hi @Ale Vallecchi is there still space for 1 more from WL - would be great to experience both legs of this epic drive tomorrow!

[Craig Finlayson]

Hi @Ale Vallecchi - do you still have a waitlist? If there’s any space I’m keen to join. Cheers 

[Ale Vallecchi]

5 hours ago, RaYan E said:

Hello @Ale Vallecchi I have click the location map and it brings me to Dubai Area. No specified location on the link. Can you send us the correct location map. Thanks in advance

Hello @RaYan E. Please use this link:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/xd5Zhkx4EP9UtM567

57 minutes ago, Craig Finlayson said:

Hi @Ale Vallecchi - do you still have a waitlist? If there’s any space I’m keen to join. Cheers 

Hello @Craig Finlayson. At the moment the drive closed. You would be #2 on the waiting list. I'll keep you posted until this evening. Thanks a lot. 

[Javier Lucero]

On 10/26/2020 at 8:48 PM, Ale Vallecchi said:

Dear Desertnauts.

It's time to build the expectation for this Thursday's drive. Better yet, drives. In fact, as mentioned in the post, this has been conceived as a marathon, to be executed in one whole day. Considering the diversity of the terrains, however, it has been divided into 2 parts: the first one from Lahbab to as close to Skydive as possible, and the second part, from Murqaab, across the Dubai-Al Ain highway, to the Qudra area (with Solar park as the minimum objective, and Qudra Parking the ideal finish point.

The first part of this marathon will take us from the low, yellow dunes of Lahbab, through a technical area, to a string of red sand low bowls (very playable), and, time permitting, through a second technical area, all the way to the very nice open dunes stretching between Margham and Skydive. This area presents a couple of tricky, no-go, points, where driving it's forbidden, as marked by some "skull and bones" signs, near an oil and gas installation, and impeded by the endless metal fence surrounding one of the Royal Villas. These same "no-go" areas make this drive not so common among any other off-roading club, which is a plus for us at Carnity. We may share this terrain, if at all, only with locals, engaging in the art of falconeering, or herding camels.

The second half of the drive, will see a change of terrain, starting on a yellow sand mix of technical and open dunes, then across a small sabkha leading to a sand track cutting across a very treacherous area of technical dunes, eventually ending at Lisaili's white sand long range dunes, stretching all the way to Solar Park, and to Qudra proper beyond.

Given the variety of terrains, the driving skills required will be practically all inclusive: finesse driving, controlled straight crossing, side sloping, both low and high, as well as criss-crossing and occasional ridge riding (especially in Qudra).

With this, I welcome to the drive @Javier Lucero, @Athula Dharmadada, @Anand Nataraj, @Abu Muhammad, @Senthil Kumar, @Yasas Dharmadasa, @RaYan E, @Alexander Alcala, @Tamas Hoffmann, @Sinol and @Foxtrot Oscar. 

More details to follow on Wednesday evening. Enjoy your short week. 

Excited about the drive. Says there that the second half is in the afternoon and that it’s and all day drive but the end time is 10:30am. What’s the actual timing of the ride tomorrow? 

[Shaaz Sha]

Hi, plz add me to the waiting list

[Craig Finlayson]

@Ale Vallecchi you can remove me from waiting list.  Thanks and best wishes. 

[RaYan E]

1 hour ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Hello @RaYan E. Please use this link:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/xd5Zhkx4EP9UtM567

Hello @Craig Finlayson. At the moment the drive closed. You would be #2 on the waiting list. I'll keep you posted until this evening. Thanks a lot. 

@Ale Vallecchi got the map you have attached. Thanks a lot. See you tomorrow

[Ale Vallecchi]

1 hour ago, Javier Lucero said:

Excited about the drive. Says there that the second half is in the afternoon and that it’s and all day drive but the end time is 10:30am. What’s the actual timing of the ride tomorrow? 

Hello @Javier Lucero. This is a 2 part drive. You're signed up for Part 1, with meeting time at 6AM, in Lahbab, and ending (hopefully) around 10:30 AM near Skydive (on the Dubai-Al Ain Road). We have given other members the opportunity to drive in the second part of this drive, starting at 2:30PM (due to the still very warm temperatures in the midday, the break between the 2 parts is still too long to organize this as one uninterrupted drive.

[Ale Vallecchi]

Dear Desertnauts.

Time to set your alarm tomorrow morning, and get ready for the first drive of this long weekend. As announced, this itinerary will cover a relatively unknown area of Dubai (bordering with Sharjah), mostly visited by locals. We'll see a few camel farms, we'll cross an oil pipe, and we may encounter Emiratis falconeering in the early morning.

The purpose of the drive is to reach Skydive, on the Dubai-Al Ain Road. As most desert crossings, we are planning to go from A to B, and will do our best to reach our goal. This means that, even though we will be exploring and playing (there are locations for both activities along this drive), we will also try to make good time, by also speeding up (safely) when necessary.

The convoy order will be the following:

@Tamas Hoffmann in Second Lead

@Athula Dharmadada at #3

@Abu Muhammad in position #4

@RaYan E at #5

@Jihad Hachem will be #6

@Alexander Alcala will anchor the middle if the convoy

@Yasas Dharmadasa will be #8

@Anand Nataraj in spot #9

@Javier Lucero will be #10

@Senthil Kumar at #11, and

@Foxtrot Oscar will Sweep the convoy.

Please reach the meeting point punctually, or slightly before, and deflate to 12-12 PSI. The meeting point will be to the right of the tarmac road, a few hundred meters past the big truck parking lot in Lahbab. Once arrived, please tune in to Carnity Channel #2 (446.031). Make sure you have all the necessary equipment with you, including at least a compressor, a good shovel, and possibly a kinetic tug rope.

Have a good evening, and see you tomorrow.