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COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Faqa Loop "The Arboretum 102" - 13 Nov 2020


Ale Vallecchi

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Dear Desertnauts.

Let's get ready for tomorrow's drive.

This will be the convoy order:

@Federico Galbieri will retain his #2 spot, from our pervious drive 

@Kaile Barrameda will follow at #3

@GauravSoni will be at #4

@sri ganesh in spot #5

@Pickey Singh will occupy the #6 spot

@Federico De Chirico will be the #7

@Sandeep Padhi will be at #8

@MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ will take place at #9

@Aravind Padmaraju will drive with #10

@Ahab Shamaa will be #10

@Malachy McGrogan will follow at #12, and 

@Foxtrot Oscar will Sweep at #13.

 

A few notes about the meeting time and place. Please remember that from tomorrow we'll start meeting at 6:00 AM. Nonetheless, please try to be punctual or even a little early, as we'd like to start the drive as soon as possible (the sun will rise at 6:35, so it would be great if we were able to move as the sun comes up, or even earlier).

The meeting and deflation point will be just off the tarmac road. Please make sure NOT TO REACH FAQA TOWN, but to TAKE THE EXIT BEFORE FAQA: it's marked, on the map, and consists in a road veering to the right of the tarmac a few Km before Faqa town, going through a fenced gate, and continuing through some dunes first then a sabkha area. Once you reach the meeting point, please tune into Carnity Channel 1 (446.006).

Tomorrow's drive will take place in a slightly less used area for Newbies. Nonetheless, the nature of the northern sector of Faqa, with waves of long range, relatively open dunes, allows for safe travel also by Newbies in search for a bit of a challenge. Hence, this will be a Newbie outing with the chance to taste, in a safe and controlled manner, some of the challenges to come once achieved a higher rank. It will provide the convoy with ample opportunities to practice low side slopes, riding on smooth, wide ridges, and straight crossing low dunes, honing one's off-roading skills, especially in the areas of finesse and control. We feel confident that it can be a nice and intriguing drive: follow instructions carefully and calmly, and stay concentrated, to find the perfect feeling between yourselves, your car and the terrain we'll drive in. 

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning for a leisurely and pleasant drive.

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What an exciting drive today 😀 Learned a lot, met some great people, and experienced a few new techniques. @Ale Vallecchi and @Foxtrot Oscar, thank you very much for the tremendous effort you put in teaching us, encouraging us and keeping us safe. @Malachy McGrogan, thank you for taking the time to recover my fallen toolkit bag 🙏🏻
@Gaurav and @Rahimdad, I didn’t have refusals or get stuck today; I’m not sure if it’s the Yokohamas (as promised by Gaurav 😂) or if it’s Angela’s endless transmission of positive energy and good vibes 😃

Thanks to all fellow drivers for their helpfulness and team spirit 🙏🏻
See you all on the sand real soon!

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This was my first ever drive under the lead of @Ale Vallecchi, and I can confidently say that he knows how to make the most out of a drive. 

The drive was very thrilling, consisting of several challenging dunes and providing the drivers with a chance to see the true potential of their cars. We learnt how to ride on a dune’s crest, something new and a bit challenging for the Newbies, hence really emphasizing on the thrill.

@Foxtrot Oscar was one of the most active sweep that I ever come across, always being there to assist anyone in need and making sure our convoy remained in order. 

Looking forward for another drive with you.

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@Ahab Shamaa you can't give credit to the tires for what you've learnt in the past few weeks. You have your goid days and you'll have days you'd like to forget. I'm glad you enjoyed the day and there is a difference the tires can make, but that is not to undermine what you pick up as skill and develop it further week after week to negotiate the levels of difficulty thrown at you. Although I was not there in person, but I'm sure the tires are not the only thing to praise. Some credit should also go out to you for honing in on your skills, the tires might just allow to unto do little better. I'm happy for your good choice of tires as Yokos are not that heavy and the groves on the tires make sure you get out of most situations on your own vehicle power. Keep learning and impress me when we meet. Looking forward to riding by your side.

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Raising the stakes: Faqa Arboretum 102, Newbie Drive Report

Some drives start one way and end another. It was the case of this Newbie drive: it had been planned as a leisurely loop in the Faqa area, and it ended as a much faster paced, fun packed ride all the way to Solar Park. Praise must be given to the quality of the drivers, who negotiated the first long range dunes of western Faqa so well that, once reached the planned midpoint of the drive in no time, prompted me to divert the track into the taller dunes' area, rather than turning back toward Faqa Town, and go all the way to the sabkha leading to Solar Park. This is how a previously driven Newbie itinerary executed in this area (Faqa Arboretum 101), which lasted 3:30 hours for 47.3 Km, became an almost Fewbie drive of 5:00 hours (not all moving) and 60 Km.

Along the way a few lessons were learned. First and foremost, I am confident that the necessity of never fighting gravity became engraved in all the members' minds, following a couple of tricky approaches to a taller, steeper dune, which resulted in a couple of wheels up in the air, and in a perfect sideways stuck. On a very positive and encouraging note, the whole convoy kept its motivation, put its collective head down, and marched on toward Solar Park, rising to the challenge of learning the principles of approaching the ridges, riding the easier ones, and practicing safe criss-crossing of low, wider dunes, toward the end of the drive. The day ended with mostly refusals, a few stucks, quickly solved by our Master Sweeper Angela (AKA @Foxtrot Oscar), and quite a few relieved yet smiling faces.

Well done to all the not-so-Newbie members: @Federico Galbieri for further improving in his Second Lead position, @Kaile Barrameda for her resilience, @Federico De Chirico for his persistence, @GauravSoni and @sri ganeshfor their fast learning, @Pickey Singh for continuing to master his new mount (congrats on your first recovery), @Sandeep Padhi, @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ and @Aravind Padmaraju for an impeccable drive, @Ahab Shamaa for attending his last Newbie drive (welcome to Fewbies), and @Malachy McGrogan for the perfect control exercised on his beast.

As mentioned above, the drive took 5:00 hours, went for 60 Km, at an average speed of 12 Km/h (but a much brisker 23 Km/h while moving).

Congrast to all drivers, thanks for coming, and hope to see you soon again.

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Thanks @Ale Vallecchi for the amazing drive and, on a personal note, for having added some challenge to the trip! And thanks @Foxtrot Oscar for being our helping out through all the drive!

Edited by Federico Galbieri
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On another note, I would like to bring up one topic. During this trip I saw some people smoking and throwing the cigarette butts on the ground, carless of having some respect for the beautiful environment we have the luck to drive into.

Please have the decency to put the cigarette butts in your ashtray or in a tissue but DON’T TOSS THE CIGARETTE BUTTS ON THE GROUND!

Thank you.

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