COVID 19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie Plus Desert Drive - Middle Earth (somewhere south of Solar Park) - Dubai - 12 Mar 2021

[MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ]

11 hours ago, MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ said:

Total Time 04:51:35 😬

Edited March 13, 2021 by MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ

[Varun Mehndiratta]

On 3/11/2021 at 8:45 PM, MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ said:

Haha, Try to keep up 😂

Hey @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ this was always going to be a struggle (almost close to not feasible)...I hope I could come close (at least being able to follow the tracks you left behind)...Thanks a lot, with you leading the tracks, makes it look so much smoother and easier to follow..

@Niki Patel Hope the LWB Wrangler didn't create too much havoc for you to follow. 

[Thomas Varghese]

[Thomas Varghese]

[Niki]

8 hours ago, varunmehndiratta said:

 

@Niki Patel Hope the LWB Wrangler didn't create too much havoc for you to follow. 

Was a pleasure @varunmehndiratta! Made it a fun challenge!  

[Thomas Varghese]

[Thomas Varghese]

[Yusuf Esaf]

@Rob Harper

[Ale Vallecchi]

From Middle Earth....to the Other Side - Extended Drive's Report

What better excuse than an Ironmen Triathlon, jamming the roads around Al Qudra and Bab al Shams, to keep driving on pristine sand, beyond our initial goal, until the sand hit the tarmac at Dubai's border with Al Ain. This is how a planned 3 hour drive became a monster 4-plus hour ride, and the targeted 60 something Km became almost 95 km. 

A timely start saw the convoy enter the "Middle Earth" just before 7AM. The quality of the drivers, including a couple of fearless first-time Fewbie Plus members, allowed everybody to launch themselves into a sustained series of criss-crossing exercises, and reach the sabkha north of Little Sweihan in no time. After sighting a huge herd of Oryx leaving their feeding pen, we tackled the canyons and bowls of this exciting location, owing its nickname to the similarity of its high dunes and sharp crests, with the better known Abu Dhabi's playground. That's when the dilemma of heading back to a traffic-jammed Qudra exit point, or continuing to drive east on pristine long range dunes was easily solved by unanimous decision: on to Faqa it was. 

This is a drive which we normally do in the opposite direction: from Faqa in the direction of Solar Park. Driving it in reverse, requires, at times, to cross dunes from the slip-face, adding an element of difficulty to the track. On top of that, I thought it would be interesting to visit the eastern-most part of Faqa, as close as possible to E44 (the Dubai-Al Ain border). This area is what I call the "Other Side" of Faqa: tall, long range dunes, with lots of ridges to be ridden, and sharp, steep drops between each dune, with beautiful trees in between each one. 

As mentioned, the drive lasted 4:35 hours, covered 94.4 Km, averaged 21 Km/hour (and a very fast 29 Km/hour of average moving speed). Well done to all drivers: @Javier Lucero, @Nacho and @Rob Harperdebuting at Fewbie Plus level, @Thomas Varghese, @varunmehndiratta, @Niki Patel, @Yusuf Esaf and @Jeandre Bezuidenhoutconsolidating their off-roading skills. Special thanks to  @Rizwanm2 for a precise Second Lead, @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ for supporting the convoy from the center position, and @Mehmet Volga for watching over the safety of all members from the sweep position.

Looking forward to seeing you soon in the sand, I wish you all a great week.

[Rizwanm2]

12 minutes ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

From Middle Earth....to the Other Side - Extended Drive's Report

What better excuse than an Ironmen Triathlon, jamming the roads around Al Qudra and Bab al Shams, to keep driving on pristine sand, beyond our initial goal, until the sand hit the tarmac at Dubai's border with Al Ain. This is how a planned 3 hour drive became a monster 4-plus hour ride, and the targeted 60 something Km became almost 95 km. 

A timely start saw the convoy enter the "Middle Earth" just before 7AM. The quality of the drivers, including a couple of fearless first-time Fewbie Plus members, allowed everybody to launch themselves into a sustained series of criss-crossing exercises, and reach the sabkha north of Little Sweihan in no time. After sighting a huge herd of Oryx leaving their feeding pen, we tackled the canyons and bowls of this exciting location, owing its nickname to the similarity of its high dunes and sharp crests, with the better known Abu Dhabi's playground. That's when the dilemma of heading back to a traffic-jammed Qudra exit point, or continuing to drive east on pristine long range dunes was easily solved by unanimous decision: on to Faqa it was. 

This is a drive which we normally do in the opposite direction: from Faqa in the direction of Solar Park. Driving it in reverse, requires, at times, to cross dunes from the slip-face, adding an element of difficulty to the track. On top of that, I thought it would be interesting to visit the eastern-most part of Faqa, as close as possible to E44 (the Dubai-Al Ain border). This area is what I call the "Other Side" of Faqa: tall, long range dunes, with lots of ridges to be ridden, and sharp, steep drops between each dune, with beautiful trees in between each one. 

As mentioned, the drive lasted 4:35 hours, covered 94.4 Km, averaged 21 Km/hour (and a very fast 29 Km/hour of average moving speed). Well done to all drivers: @Javier Lucero, @Nacho and @Rob Harperdebuting at Fewbie Plus level, @Thomas Varghese, @varunmehndiratta, @Niki Patel, @Yusuf Esaf and @Jeandre Bezuidenhoutconsolidating their off-roading skills. Special thanks to  @Rizwanm2 for a precise Second Lead, @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ for supporting the convoy from the center position, and @Mehmet Volga for watching over the safety of all members from the sweep position.

Looking forward to seeing you soon in the sand, I wish you all a great week.

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi for fantastic drive on perfect friday morning. 

I enjoyed every bit of it till the end. Hope to see you all soon.