COVID19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - Fossil Rock - Sharjah - 22 Jan 2021

[Thomas Varghese]

1 hour ago, Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader said:

What an amazing day we had today, enjoyed the track, play areas, sceneries we drove by and it was a joy to be at the top of Faya. Thx to @Pancho and @Rahimdad bhai. Entire covoy did extremely well, starting from @Hennie Schoeman our 2nd lead, @Danish Mohammad showing so much improvement from all the drives we did together as newbies, @Federico Galbieridriving in full confidence and control today, @Federico De Chirico drove superbly ahead of me giving me full confidence following him closely, followed by me the worst ever CF (I still need to learn a lot and hopefully do better in future if given a chance again 😅), followed by @Joe Biju Joseph amazed everyone with the capacity his truck 😎, @Niki Patel Your driving style is as good as your photography, @AlexPol another confident and stylish driver, @Mikhail Lukichev doing very well and it was a pleasure sharing space with you at the top of Faya. Finally our superman 🦸‍♂️ @Rahimdad, can't thank you enough for all the support, guidance, patience you give us and always encourage us to keep trying with all the safety in place... it may take 12 years of driving experience to drive the way you do but it only takes a person like you to show the real definition of being 'down to earth' and share all your expertise with so much Love and care, you are no less than a big brother to me ❤. 

 

Thank you guy's, see you all in the sand again. 

Dear @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader good to know you all had fun today's drive with @Pancho & @Rahimdad. Missed you all today. Nonetheless we had great fun at Qudra with @Wrangled, @Mohamad seidam & @janarthan. Will see you soon in the sands. 

1 hour ago, Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader said:

What an amazing day we had today, enjoyed the track, play areas, sceneries we drove by and it was a joy to be at the top of Faya. Thx to @Pancho and @Rahimdad bhai. Entire covoy did extremely well, starting from @Hennie Schoeman our 2nd lead, @Danish Mohammad showing so much improvement from all the drives we did together as newbies, @Federico Galbieridriving in full confidence and control today, @Federico De Chirico drove superbly ahead of me giving me full confidence following him closely, followed by me the worst ever CF (I still need to learn a lot and hopefully do better in future if given a chance again 😅), followed by @Joe Biju Joseph amazed everyone with the capacity his truck 😎, @Niki Patel Your driving style is as good as your photography, @AlexPol another confident and stylish driver, @Mikhail Lukichev doing very well and it was a pleasure sharing space with you at the top of Faya. Finally our superman 🦸‍♂️ @Rahimdad, can't thank you enough for all the support, guidance, patience you give us and always encourage us to keep trying with all the safety in place... it may take 12 years of driving experience to drive the way you do but it only takes a person like you to show the real definition of being 'down to earth' and share all your expertise with so much Love and care, you are no less than a big brother to me ❤. 

 

Thank you guy's, see you all in the sand again. 

Dear @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader good to know you all had fun today's drive with @Pancho & @Rahimdad. Missed you all today. Nonetheless we had great fun at Qudra with @Wrangled, @Mohamad seidam & @janarthan. Will see you soon in the sands. 

[Danish Mohammad]

Thank you so much @Pancho @Rahimdad @Hennie Schoeman @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader  It was a wonderful drive today... love the track made by @Pancho as it made me to learn, play, enjoy and to understand my car in better way.

I m very thankful to all Convoy members for their patience and helping during my refusals.

And yes .... Big thanks to our superman for his guidance, patience. love, passion, support... He is our HERO and we are really in safe hand. 

Regards...      

 

[Abdul Rahman AK]

21 minutes ago, Thomas Varghese said:

Dear @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader good to know you all had fun today's drive with @Pancho & @Rahimdad. Missed you all today. Nonetheless we had great fun at Qudra with @Wrangled, @Mohamad seidam & @janarthan. Will see you soon in the sands. 

Dear @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader good to know you all had fun today's drive with @Pancho & @Rahimdad. Missed you all today. Nonetheless we had great fun at Qudra with @Wrangled, @Mohamad seidam & @janarthan. Will see you soon in the sands. 

We missed driving with you too @Thomas Varghese, see you soon.

[Thomas Varghese]

1 minute ago, Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader said:

We missed driving with you too @Thomas Varghese, see you soon.

To tell you the truth @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader I love driving with all the marshals in carnity. Each 1 is different and has a different lesson to offer. We sure had fun today. I'm sure you also had. Missed you & @Danish Mohammad. 

[Rahimdad]

TRIP REPORT

Another fun filled morning with amazing people. Everyone deflated as I reached flags up and raring to follow our lead for the day @Pancho. It feels strange to have not driven with him in a long time and now I am supporting his drive. I must say that he has been really on top of his game and I loved the route he managed today. Also I should compliment him on the convoy numbering for the day as it turned out to be perfect. A big thank you goes ot to @Niki Patel who made photography make a little sense to me capturing my first pic for the day. I have added similar pics, I felt the tip he gave me made a huge difference and hope to take better snaps in future.

Our second lead was @Hennie Schoeman and I must say I've driven more times with him. Today he impressed me with an impeccable second lead as he enjoyed @Pancho lead. @Danish Mohammad was next and our jokes about treating us for some breakfast and lunch continued from last week. Very pleased to seeing him able to self recover and enjoying to drive by being one of the first one on top of Faya waiting for the rest to catch up. His enthusiasm is contagious, but still has to refine his drive style in the desert and try to stay on top of the ridge.

@Federico Galbieri was giving me the goosebumps everytime his V8 made sweet music as it glided through all the dunes. @Federico De Chirico was not far behind and did some low level flying in his Pajero. Watching him do the things in his Pajero makes you want to buy one.

@Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader was our Center Forward today and did amazingly well with his Pajero. Also very cheerful and friendly guy who follows instructions amazingly well. We did have a pop-out which we fixed without much time taken, but makes me think there are still a few lessons to be learned here. He needs to find how momentum in this area behind Faya differs to the rest of the trip and find his throttle and steering control a bit better. I believe it was only his second Fewbie drive and maybe I'm a bit harsh with my judgement. But looking forward to a more polished driving ability from him as his support to us today was amazing.

@Joe Biju Joseph with his H3 was looking mean and the way he handled his ride revived my faith in the Hummer as an off-roader. Really amazing drive and showing us what the H3 can do in capable hands. @Niki Patel always boosts my ego by telling me how he feels about watching me drive. But I have to quickly deflate my ego as I do my tires early in the morning. He is improving with every drive. I don't mean improving in the sense that he doesn't get stuck, as 2 weeks in a row and his FJ Cruiser has not allowed him that luxury. But just from last week to this one I have noticed him trying to emulate my drive style. The biggest compliment one person can give to another person is trying to emulate that person. I'm touched and sure he will find the poetry in driving. Maybe @Frederic can teach him about the rhythm of the drive as he is our house DJ and @Niki Patel can be dancing to his tunes.

@AlexPol quietly drove the second Wrangler limo around the desert. He managed the whole trip without any trouble. Sure people say Wranglers are meant to do that, but the control i saw from up close was amazing and his skills make it look easier than it is. @Mikhail Lukichev comes with is quiet smile and an awesome camera, starts shooting pics like he is operating a machine gun. Ofcourse as he put it selecting those good shots from the thousands he takes on every trip is a task on its own. But we are lucky to have him on any trip as he absolutely glides through the sands, drives up Faya like he paid Salik on one of the highways and treats us to some awesome pics.

What an amazing day with awesome individuals, I still have a smile as I type this out. Thank you to all.

[Mikhail Lukichev]

@Pancho, @Rahimdad and the whole convoy, thanks a lot for the wonderful drive!

It was my first drive from the Fossil Rock to Faya and I found it absolutely stunning! Gorgeous dunes complemented by beautiful rock formations made this a bit technical drive absolutely stunning!

@Pancho @Hennie Schoeman @Abdul Rahman Abdul Kader @AlexPol @Federico De Chirico @Federico Galbieri @Joe Biju Joseph @Danish Mohammad @Niki Patel @Rahimdad you can find some photos in the gallery.

Just in case you would like to have the high resolution photos without watermark, you can download them following the link: https://yadi.sk/d/A2GNvk9Vn0mW_Q It will be active for a couple of weeks.

Thanks!

[Niki]

13 hours ago, Rahimdad said:

 @Niki Patel always boosts my ego by telling me how he feels about watching me drive. But I have to quickly deflate my ego as I do my tires early in the morning. He is improving with every drive. I don't mean improving in the sense that he doesn't get stuck, as 2 weeks in a row and his FJ Cruiser has not allowed him that luxury. But just from last week to this one I have noticed him trying to emulate my drive style. The biggest compliment one person can give to another person is trying to emulate that person. I'm touched and sure he will find the poetry in driving. Maybe @Frederic can teach him about the rhythm of the drive as he is our house DJ and @Niki Patel can be dancing to his tunes.

Thank you for such kind words and recognizing my efforts to improve and learn @Rahimdad.  Indeed I was trying my best to mirror your driving style ... composed, controlled and you made it look effortless!... which it definitely wasn’t for me!
 

I tried to copy @Pancho in his manual driving but the textbook late morning attention drop hit me and being distracted (family chasing me to come home) and being a little tired (those cross tracks are draining) I left myself in gear (I thought I was in drive but I wasn’t) and later in the drive had a few refusals as a result ... which made me realize I wasn’t focused and didn’t get to ride to the top of Faya (being in a rush to get home isn’t the right mindset for a beginner like me to do a climb so I opted out)... I cannot wait to get up there soon! 

@Frederic cannot wait to be on a drive led by you the resident DJ!! Though I must confess I cannot dance and hopeful no one has to experience me trying

[Rahimdad]

@Niki Patel no need to dance, just move to the music and get in sync with the rhythm of the drive.

[H3 Joe]

Maaaaateee! That drive was absolute bonkers. Truly enjoyed ever second. I had passengers who haven't been to the desert and that drive exceeded theirs and my expectations by a HUGE margin. Thanks to convoy leader @Pancho for picking a fairly technical and exhaustive route, fun to the max, thanks to @Rahimdad for sweeping the convoy and for providing constant tips and tricks to anybody having issues with the drive. The play area bowls were so much fun and honestly allowed me to learn so much about my H3. 

As an added note, the pictures taken by @Mikhail Lukichev are truly truly amazing. Cheers for all the hard work put in by everyone to make this drive worthwhile!