COVID 19 Compliant - Full Day - Fewbie Desert Drive - Dubai Crossing: Lahbab to Qudra - 15 Jan 2021

[Thomas Varghese]

[Thomas Varghese]

[Thomas Varghese]

The best fast paced drive I had till date. @Ale Vallecchi u organized a superb drive. Lucky not to be stuck on my 1st fewbie drive but lost concentration for a second as my glove box popped open on a ridge crisscross and all things inside jumped out. By the time I realized I have to cross my momentum was more and I had no choice but continue the slide sloping. Sorry everybody for holding you all up for my mistake. I rarely lose concentration while driving but when I take my eyes off the road which happened only few times in my 41 years of driving I made serious accidents. This time I escaped without any harm but apologize for the delay. I hope I did good for my 1st fewbie drive vouched by @Ale Vallecchi. Would love to hear the comments of fellow desertnauts on my performance. 

[Islam Soliman]

@Thomas Varghese you shouldn’t be too worried about this my friend .. we all do mistakes the most important thing is how much learning we get out with .. maintaining sharp focus all the time is a hard skill specially in long drives like this one and in my view you did an amazing job for a first fewbie drive.

thanks @Ale Vallecchi for another signature drive and looking forward for more of these and hopefully cross-country in the near future 

 

Thanks @Kalahari @Ahab Shamaa and @Francois Germishuys for supporting the drive and was pleasure meeting all follow Carnities ..

 

hope to c u soon on the sand ..

Edited January 16, 2021 by Islam Soliman

[Thomas Varghese]

1 hour ago, Islam Soliman said:

@Thomas Varghese you shouldn’t be too worried about this my friend .. we all do mistakes the most important thing is how much learning we get out with .. maintaining sharp focus all the time is a hard skill specially in long drives like this one and in my view you did an amazing job for a first fewbie drive.

thanks @Ale Vallecchi for another signature drive and looking forward for more of these and hopefully cross-country in the near future 

 

Thanks @Kalahari @Ahab Shamaa and @Francois Germishuys for supporting the drive and was pleasure meeting all follow Carnities ..

 

hope to c u soon on the sand ..

Thanks for the kind words @Islam Soliman

[Ale Vallecchi]

14 hours ago, Thomas Varghese said:

The best fast paced drive I had till date. @Ale Vallecchi u organized a superb drive. Lucky not to be stuck on my 1st fewbie drive but lost concentration for a second as my glove box popped open on a ridge crisscross and all things inside jumped out. By the time I realized I have to cross my momentum was more and I had no choice but continue the slide sloping. Sorry everybody for holding you all up for my mistake. I rarely lose concentration while driving but when I take my eyes off the road which happened only few times in my 41 years of driving I made serious accidents. This time I escaped without any harm but apologize for the delay. I hope I did good for my 1st fewbie drive vouched by @Ale Vallecchi. Would love to hear the comments of fellow desertnauts on my performance. 

Good morning @Thomas Varghese. You have nothing to be sorry about. You did great for your first Fewbie drive, which considering the strength of the convoy, I pushed up to a little more than an introduction to Fewbie, and closer to a Fewbie Plus. All drivers, even the less experienced ones, performed admirably, with minimal issues for such a long drive. As mentioned in the drive's presentation, concentration tends to drop toward the end of any drive (usually after 3 hours on the sand), so I am not surprised that a few more refusals and stucks (all solved brilliantly) took place at the end of the long day. The only word of advice, as I gave you yesterday, is to tend to any issues with objects in the car after having reached a safe position, and while stopped. Distraction on the way to a side slope and the following ridge crossing could have led to worse endings than just a small detour and a little delay (both of which are factored into every drive, so no harm done in this). Congrast on your brilliant induction to Fewbie. See you soon out there. 

[Ale Vallecchi]

ALL THE REASONS FOR LOVING DESERT OFF-ROADING IN A DRIVE - Full Day Drive Lahbab to Solar Park Report

Sunrises and sunsets, misty mornings, sunny days, blazing dusks, yellow, red and white sand, crawling pace, fast runs, lunch with fellow members, coffee, tea, conversation, refusals, second-attempts, working together at sorting stucks, directing traffic amidst tight dunes and rolling bowls, the excitement at starting a drive, and the satisfaction at the end of it. This and more, depending on each one's sensibility, passions and expectations, are the elements that draw certain people irresistibly toward deserts, and off-roading, and which were all available for our enjoyment in yesterdays' full day drive.

In terms of the drive itself, most of it had been described in its presentation, so I will not repeat myself. Suffice it to say that all terrains were available to us - sabkhas, with little or lots of vegetation, tight technical areas, long range open (more or less) dunes, play areas with sand bowls, even pylon dirt tracks and tarmac roads. 

We were chased by the sun, from sunrise to sunset, throughout a drive that took us a total of 6:55 hours, covered 143.2 Kms, at a total average speed of 21 KM/h, and a very impressive 27 KM/H average moving speed in the second segment. 

As for the most important part of the drive, the human component, my biggest thanks to all the drivers: great driving, great attitude and great company.

My first thoughts (and questions) go to @Yasas Dharmadasa and @Athula Dharmadada: it's a pity you had to forfeit the drive due to mechanical issues. Please update us on your car's prognosis.

A most felt thank you goes to @Kalahari, resuming his position as trusted Second Lead, often mind reading my corrections, to @Ahab Shamaa, managing the long convoy from the middle and assisting with the winch, and @Francois Germishuys, not only positioned at Sweep due to his long, big, bad truck, but also, and foremost, for his reassuring driving skills. Your support was key to managing a successful long drive such as this.

Words of praise go to @Thomas Varghese and @Ken Hüüdma, debuting among Fewbies, but driving like much more experienced off-roaders. With only minor imperfections (a moment of distraction on one side, and an indecision coming off a ridge on the other), you allowed the drive to be bumped up to more than Fewbie, closer to Fewbie Plus, both in terms of skills being applied, and speed sustained. Well done also to @sri ganesh, for overcoming all challenges and perfecting his command of the Pajero (which often requires a bit more time to manage in the desert, to to its length and mechanics). 

@AlexPol, @VipinShetty,  @Joe Biju Joseph and @Islam Soliman, you were the more established, experienced drivers, and managed with so few issues that lifted any worries from my mind, and contributed decisively to raising the bar for this drive.

Thanks to all for this first Full Day drive of the season. See you soon out there, for more long treks and explorations. Enjoy the new week.

 

[Francois Germishuys]

@Ale Vallecchi thank for the awesome drive, lets do an intermediate one next! ✌🏼

[Thomas Varghese]

1 minute ago, Francois Germishuys said:

@Ale Vallecchi thank for the awesome drive, lets do an intermediate one next! ✌🏼

@Francois Germishuys it was indeed an awesome drive. I enjoyed it to the fullest. Looking forward to more drives like this. If a fewbie drive is like this I can only guess what will be an intermediate drive. 

[Ale Vallecchi]

17 minutes ago, Thomas Varghese said:

@Francois Germishuys it was indeed an awesome drive. I enjoyed it to the fullest. Looking forward to more drives like this. If a fewbie drive is like this I can only guess what will be an intermediate drive. 

@Thomas Varghese just faster pace, more ridge riding, more ridge crossing, including in and out of bowls. But the skill set is the same (perhaps with more control and self confidence).