Jon M Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 Hi @Lorenzo Candelpergher - finished work early, any chance I can slip in... pleeeeeease?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorenzo Candelpergher Posted February 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 Hi @Jon M, You are welcome to join the drive as we will still have one place left even if @Ahab Shamaa joins. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon M Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 Legend! Thanks... see you soon! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ahab Shamaa Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 @Lorenzo Candelpergher, I'm literally in an Uber going to the SZR Toyota to pick up my FJ. I’m still hopeful I can join 😂 I hope to see you guys 😀 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisham Masaad Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 Hope you managed to catch the drive @Ahab Shamaa enjoy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shynil Hashim Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 @Lorenzo Candelpergher Very sorry about this. It happened by mistake. I didnt even realize until you mentioned it here. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorenzo Candelpergher Posted February 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 hour ago, Shynil Hashim said: @Lorenzo Candelpergher Very sorry about this. It happened by mistake. I didnt even realize until you mentioned it here. No problem at all 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Lorenzo Candelpergher Posted February 22, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, Al Qudra is the off-roading backyard for most of us: a well known territory, usually associated with the idea of fairly easy drives. Today's drive was specifically meant to get past this stereotyped image and prove that even Al Qudra can be a very challenging place for off-roading, even at Intermediate level. The whole convoy (at the end we were 12 cars, which for a Monday afternoon Intermediate is probably unprecedented in Carnity), was diligently ready by 3.30pm sharp, and 10 mins later we closed our briefing and hit the sand. During the previous couple of days more than one participant had made it clear that the expectation for a real Intermediate level was high, and my drive brief had certainly contributed to such expectations. Well, I think the convoy got a good taste of an Intermediate Drive today. After a couple of minutes of warm up, we started a very fast paced stint along a nice group of mid-sized long dunes. It was a shot of adrenaline that woke up the whole convoy: anyone who had plans for a relaxed drive doing some photos here and there immediately came to realize that this wasn't such drive, and that - as promised in drive post and radio brief - this was, on the contrary, a drive requiring the full, undivided attention of every driver. As Carnity Advisors say, a Leader in an Intermediate drive doesn't use the rearview mirror that much, and I must say I didn't. Today's convoy was bombastic, really fantastic. Whatever I threw at them they chewed it without hesitations. From what I could see, @Ahab Shamaa, who had made the impossible to be able to join the drive, chased my tail very closely, making an amazing 2nd lead in all situations, while @Jon M, who was in his 1st Intermediate drive, was definitely faced with a whole new game, but stood to the challenge magnificently. @Ashok chaturvedi's yellow FJ Cruiser did wonders today as we didn't spare any possibility for breaking crests and doing high speed criss-crossings both from windward side to slipside and from slipside to windward side. After approx 40 mins we completed our first stint and entered an area of smaller and more technical dunes, which I tried to spice up with some very quick and tight turns and tons of sharp criss-crossings. It was here were we had the first serious stuck, with @Islam Soliman's GMC Yukon digging down in a small bowl of soft sand, which gave me the chance to inaugurate my brand new winch. A few mins after I got crested in a moment of hesitation. Being an afternoon short drive, we should have opted for a quick tug (which eventually turned out to be the solution, with @Anish S, performing an exemplary recovery), but we instead indulged shoveling, as @Mohamed Seidam's contagious enthusiasm couldn't be contained in those moments. After crossing a sabkha, we then started the 3rd stint of our drive, this time on the longest, tallest, and most complex dunes of the day. The drive had been named "The Slip Side of Al Qudra" and I think that if anyone had not yet understood why I had chosen such title, he/she had pretty much a clear idea at this point, as we probably dived down on slip faces at least 100 times during this section of the drive. We had a couple of crested cars, brilliantly and quickly recovered, and in general the convoy did incredibly well along these high and complex dunes. @Tariq Carrimjee, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe and @Ilya Golubinsky found finally adequate challenges for their capable Wranglers. Certainly today wasn't the ideal occasion for an open top drive, as @Tariq Carrimjee realized.. 😂😂 I was honestly amazed by @Gaurav Soni, who pushed is Pajero to an outstanding performance. Equally astonishing was @Jack Thomas, who had the hardest job of all today with his intercontinentally long F150. By 6.10pm I was planning our way out across the last few dunes to get out on the sabkha and eventually to Bab Al Shams. It was probably because we all felt a bit exhausted and started relaxing in the anticipation of the imminent exit, that the classic last minute disaster happened: literally not more than 50m away from the safe flat sabkha, we suddenly found ourselves in a couple of difficult bowls, where we had 3 pop-out and two stucks, one to be winched out. @Jack Thomas's two pop-outs in 15 mins were part of the game, but they should be considered a badge of honor in today's drive, as they both happened in the most difficult terrain of the day, which costed me a pop-out as well. He's still light-years away from the all-times record of pop-outs that I still hold, so he shouldn't get too excited about today's double..😂😂 The last minute disaster costed us a bit more than a full hour, so we finally made it to the tarmac by 7.30pm. All tired but, behind our masks, certainly smiling. Congratulations to everyone for a majestic performance today. I hope you all had fun as much as I did. Also, many thanks to @Islam Solimanand @Anish S for the great help in the final messy 45 mins. Your help was key to sort out the pop-outs, especially the last one, fixed in a deep bowl and in the dark. Equally my gratitude goes to all the others, who patiently waited on the sabkha: this solidarity and team spirit is one of the reasons I love driving with Carnity. See you soon at the next mid-week drive, Desert Wanderers!! Edited February 22, 2021 by Lorenzo Candelpergher 3 3 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Seidam Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 Slip face drive in Qudra indeed it was a drive I needed to do in Qudra and my wish came true. Fast paced doing almost all maneuvers we needed to do and the some refusals , stucks and pop outs we encountered were a bonus . Hat off really for the lead today @Lorenzo Candelpergher for this amazing challenging afternoon as well as for all the other drivers who kept the adrenaline pumping. Well I couldn’t keep my friend and companion in the car locked for many hours 🤣 ( the shovel ) , but yes agree that short afternoon day drive makes it faster with the rope 👍😄 thank you @Anish S for joining us today and being our sweep and @Ahab Shamaa our fantastic second lead and every one being centrally forwarding when needed. happy to see all of you today and enjoyed the drive more then ever @Lorenzo Candelpergher @Ahab Shamaa @Islam Soliman @Ilya Golubinsky @Tariq Carrimjee @Jon M @Jorge Stepniak Felippe @Jack Thomas @Gaurav Soni @Ashok chaturvedi @Anish S 3 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ilya Posted February 22, 2021 Report Share Posted February 22, 2021 Short memories from the drive 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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