COVID 19 Compliant - Afternoon Newbie Desert Drive - Fossil Rock - Sharjah - 18 Dec 2020

[Thomas Varghese]

2 minutes ago, Rahimdad said:

@Thomas Varghese glad to know you and your X are back together again. I have a vaccine for this bug already, but I am not sharing the formula, it will cost you much more to get the vaccine than continue off-roading. Fortunately I have one position in my convoy and can make an exception if you want to join. Let me know before 11 am so that I can add you to my convoy. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks for the generous offer @Rahimdad. The car is ready at the garage since yesterday night but I didn't pick it up.  

[Rahimdad]

Noted @Thomas Varghese always trying to help and encourage enthusiasts so they do not miss on any opportunity to learn. Insha Allah next time.

[Thomas Varghese]

1 minute ago, Thomas Varghese said:

Thanks for the generous offer @Rahimdad. The car is ready at the garage since yesterday night but I didn't pick it up.  

They are not open today and I can only pick up the car tomorrow. 

[Thomas Varghese]

3 minutes ago, Rahimdad said:

Noted @Thomas Varghese always trying to help and encourage enthusiasts so they do not miss on any opportunity to learn. Insha Allah next time.

@Rahimdad I really appreciate. I always believe I was born to drive but forced to work. Used to attend bike rally's in my younger days. Now kids are all grown up, standing on their feet and plenty of time and energy for me. Wifey may not like me chasing girls but will allow for chasing the dunes. To tell you the truth I liked the carnity club and will not miss a drive if possible.

[Varun Mehndiratta]

Thanks @Rahimdad@Wrangeld for an awesome drive today. It was really exhilarating day in desert with lots of soft sand, steep slides and awesome play areas with beautiful slide slopes.

 

Self assessment : loved every bit of my wranglers ride today. It truly is a mean machine. Important lesson learnt - lock the frequency on walkie talkie 🙂🙂. Only time I had refusal today, my walkie talkie jumped the frequency and I missed important instructions from Richard in my self recovery mode..though managed to find my way out, it truly ratifies the safety norm - don't  overlook the minutest of details in every tool we have.

 

Another tip that I practiced today and cherished every bit of it (learnt after watching multiple offroading guides/videos and practiced today) - while going down a steep slope, look under the side view mirror (not in the mirrors, under the mirror) to get a clear view of slope....worked great for me so sharing with all...

Thanks all for great afternoon. My daughter and dad both enjoyed a lot in your company. 

 

 

[Rahimdad]

Trip Report

Wow what a different day for me. For the past few months I had been doing early morning drives only  so it was so different to be driving out during broad daylight and driving back in the dark. My sincere thanks goes out to @Wrangeld who after an exhausting morning drive joined me to support my afternoon drive with a commitment for Saturday early morning. It was great for me to have a social distancing brief after a long time, @Wrangeld again stepped up to deliver a humorous and awakening brief where everybody was involved.

As we all agreed that @Wrangeld should be a fly sweep we marched on with our original convoy positions leaving @Wrangeld to keep an Eagle eye on our convoy. Within a few minutes of departure I was informed @Wrangeld was tangled and headed back. It was amazing to see how a little digging and proper use of all tech on his Pajero he was able to wiggle himself out. Not only that with a tree right below he masterfully avoided it to join the convoy safely.

I had attended a drive earlier led by @Jeepie and @Wrangeld and I loved their route so much I tried to get as close to that route as possible. Many members love this area like myself due to the amount of fun learnimg we can apply at all levels. Today my mission should I be ready to accept it was to level it down to Newbie. To my surprise everyone handled themselves so well I could have easily got carried away. As we drove through handling everything what the desert had on offer we were treated to some awesome play areas one behind the other. We all took our turns at impressing everyone with the amount of steering and throttle control we possess. More than anything what impressed me was the calm and safe way everyone managed to steer down when momentum was lost.

As we had our fill in the play areas we headed to the power lines as 2 cars had to leave. The rest of the convoy continued in pursuit of reaching the top of Fossil Rocks. After a few tries and realising that some of us wouldn't make it, the rush on top and with bare rocks on top which meant we had to drive around it anyways, we came back down to reroute around Fossil Rocks. I must confess that going around Fossil Rock with the dunes around are not the easiest, but I'm so proud that the convoy made it through with a little help. From here it was easy to just drive through and have a little chat on the radio. At this point we inflated and left with a silent promise to see each other again on another exciting drive.

@Anvar Sadath Bekal was an excellent second lead with his Pajero. He was in with his beautiful girls and I just loved the smiles and energy from them. Its been some time since I last drove with him and his improvement shows with great steering and throttle control with good lines.

@Michael Gazi and his Pajero had a point to prove. He too showed great control and his pleasant smile and friendly approach was wonderful thing to carry through the drive. Very calm approach following the tracks with great competence. Well done.

@Badar Tariq completed the trio of Pajeros up front with just as much finesse and it was a treat to see how well he managed his Pajero.

@Sreenath Giridharan came and really showed us what a 4 cylinder 2.7 litre Fortuner. After witnessing @Jolly Abraham with a similar vehicle there is a lot they can learn from each other.

@Umar Kamal with his Jeep Grand Cherokee managed the entire trip very nicely. However the throttle control needs a bit of work as he over sped through a bump on one of the sideys. Thankfully nothing major and we managed to recover the plastic pieces from the site of the bump. Insha Allah it should be sorted out soon and hope to catch you again. As discussed in the beginning of the drive please remove the rear bumper lip also  it will just give you some additional  clearance. @Brette has mastered the JGC and he can guide you better if you want to continue using it. @Ashy also has some experience with the JGC and he too can help you if needed.

@Senthil Kumar did extremely well with his JKU limo. I had selected him as my Centre Forward an important position and he did really well filling up those huge shoes. He also chose great lines to drive on and really handled his ride well.

@Arman with is Wrangler was cautious, which is always a good trait at the newbie level. That being said he did not let that get in the way of having fun and learning in a safe way. I am looking forward to seeing him use the power of the TJ to his advantage as we discovered together with his kind permission.

@varunmehndiratta drove amazingly well and was in our second limo of the day. I really admire the way he drove and handled the entire trip. However a little mishap with the radio and caused a bit of a menace, but nothing we could not handle. With some information exchanged we will now make sure to lock our radio keypads so that they don't accidentally change channels in case of a bump.

@syed salman raza had his own surprise in store as he rode in with his Ford F150. I have to admit that I love the grunt of his 5.0 V8. It was wonderful to see him flattening the dunes behind him. Just one little slip into a pocket which saw the little Pajero with a big heart pulling it out.

@Harold Roberts was a treat to have with his FJ Cruiser. Queit, yet handling his FJ with grace. Great concentration and joyfully following the convoy to perfection.

@Shehab Alawadhi who had his dream come true did amazingly well with his Ford F150. There is a reason these are some of the best selling trucks in the world. With an amazing personality riding the F150 made our convoy secure in sweep. As a sweep he was always updating me about the convoy situation on radio. I hope I made you proud as your lead, and as promised I will have you as my second lead on our next drive together.

Once again a special shout put to a special person, @Wrangeld who makes any trip filled with humour and joy. With your little black Nt for a Psjero you saved the day in so many ways. I recognise you must have been tired from your morning trip and had an early morning appointment on Saturday, but that did not stop you from adding that much needed energy to the drive.

Until next time keep tuned to the upcoming drives and don't forget to sign up on time.

[Sreenath G]

@Rahimdad you are amazing bro, all it happened due to your motivation and guidance over the radio. It was my first drive with you. Had amazing time/drive. Great. 

 

[Sreenath G]

that*

[Umar Kamal]

@Rahimdad, what an amazing trip report and story telling. It was my first ride with you and it was a wonderfull experience. Had amazing time there though i decided to leave early. Thanks for advise for car. Thank God those plastic parts were not of my JGC, only bottom splash gurde and the fender lining was came out of clips and was torn down from different places so could not refix. However, I managed to source very goodone from Sajja car scrap market for 300 AED and got it fixed. Hopefully see you very soon inshaAllah.

[Wrangeld]

13 hours ago, Rahimdad said:

Trip Report

Wow what a different day for me. For the past few months I had been doing early morning drives only  so it was so different to be driving out during broad daylight and driving back in the dark. My sincere thanks goes out to @Wrangeld who after an exhausting morning drive joined me to support my afternoon drive with a commitment for Saturday early morning. It was great for me to have a social distancing brief after a long time, @Wrangeld again stepped up to deliver a humorous and awakening brief where everybody was involved.

As we all agreed that @Wrangeld should be a fly sweep we marched on with our original convoy positions leaving @Wrangeld to keep an Eagle eye on our convoy. Within a few minutes of departure I was informed @Wrangeld was tangled and headed back. It was amazing to see how a little digging and proper use of all tech on his Pajero he was able to wiggle himself out. Not only that with a tree right below he masterfully avoided it to join the convoy safely.

I had attended a drive earlier led by @Jeepie and @Wrangeld and I loved their route so much I tried to get as close to that route as possible. Many members love this area like myself due to the amount of fun learnimg we can apply at all levels. Today my mission should I be ready to accept it was to level it down to Newbie. To my surprise everyone handled themselves so well I could have easily got carried away. As we drove through handling everything what the desert had on offer we were treated to some awesome play areas one behind the other. We all took our turns at impressing everyone with the amount of steering and throttle control we possess. More than anything what impressed me was the calm and safe way everyone managed to steer down when momentum was lost.

As we had our fill in the play areas we headed to the power lines as 2 cars had to leave. The rest of the convoy continued in pursuit of reaching the top of Fossil Rocks. After a few tries and realising that some of us wouldn't make it, the rush on top and with bare rocks on top which meant we had to drive around it anyways, we came back down to reroute around Fossil Rocks. I must confess that going around Fossil Rock with the dunes around are not the easiest, but I'm so proud that the convoy made it through with a little help. From here it was easy to just drive through and have a little chat on the radio. At this point we inflated and left with a silent promise to see each other again on another exciting drive.

@Anvar Sadath Bekal

Once again a special shout put to a special person, @Wrangeld who makes any trip filled with humour and joy. With your little black Nt for a Psjero you saved the day in so many ways. I recognise you must have been tired from your morning trip and had an early morning appointment on Saturday, but that did not stop you from adding that much needed energy to the drive.

 

@Rahimdad a wonderfully poetic and wonderful description of the day drive. While you are far too kind in your words to me, I revelled yesterday in the wonderful memory that it was almost year to the day that I first went to Fossil Rock on a drive led by you and we had our first experince of the thrill and excitement of the descent from the rock, 

Having taken that route a few days ago on another drive, I can confirm that the descent is now more challenging than ususal and while a disappointment not to be able to take that route again today, the memories came flooding back of my first newbie drives with Carnity.

This was a drive a year ago where we were still able to sit in a picnic area with tree shade and have breakfast together (and enjoy your legendary Aloo Paratha and Karak Tea). This was where i met one or two of the drivers, like yourself, that have become wonderful friends and a support group in all things inside and outside this club. 

For the Newbies on this drive: treasure these moments of learning from our Superman @Rahimdad. WIth his guidance and support, within a 12 month period i have the privilege of being a Carnity Marshal and have learnt so much about myself and my driving. And, as mentioned, I have made friends, that friendship made more dear because the relationship is built on shared values and experiences where we learn to trust each other and their judgment through facing challenges that are outside our daily work and comfort zone. 

See you soon in the sand