COVID19 Compliant - Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - Al Aweer to Mahafiz: Ridge Riding Bonanza - Sharjah - 26 Mar 2021

[Thomas Varghese]

35 minutes ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Hi @Thomas Varghese. No point going to tomorrow's starting point, as it's at the end of a road, just before the sand starts. It would be risky for you to venture in alone. We'll see tomorrow. You can drive on tarmac and see of the car overheats anyways. 

@Ale Vallecchi, thanks. The car is having no overheating issue as of now. Already I have driven it from Dubai to Ajman and back on tarmac. 

[Ale Vallecchi]

My beloved Desertnauts,

in preparation for tomorrow's drive, just a few more info.

First remember that this will be a "premiere" drive, with the possibility of some re-routing, and some change of course along the itinerary. In particular, the greatest uncertainty will be the amount of vegetation in the area: not too dense, but made of small trees and bushes, most often not too close together to make the drive too complex, but located on the slopes and even close to the ridges, so that we may have to exit the dunes prematurely, to find another way across, or around. The dunes' ridges, also, tend to be very "wavy" rather than straight, which will require expert handling of the car while riding them, with the ability to steer on the ridges, and control the momentum, at all times. Concentration and quickness in reacting will be required to overcome both of these obstacles.

The convoy order tomorrow will be as follows:

@Niki Patel in Second Lead

@sheri in place #3

@soumyasaklani at #4

@Hossam Anwar in position #5

@Trekado at #6

@MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ will anchor the middle of the convoy

@Ahmad Shaker in place #8

@Thomas Varghese will take position #9

@Ranjan Das at #10

@Mario Cornejo will be #11, and 

@Nabil Bishara will Sweep the convoy.

Please come with a full tank, at 6:00 AM sharp, at the meeting point, just at the outskirts of Al Aweer farming village (follow Google Maps from the pin posted on the drive's announcement). As you reach the meeting point, please tune into Carnity channel #3 (446.056).

Enjoy your end of the week, and see you tomorrow.

[Ahmad Shaker]

please wait we are 3cars and we lost our way 

 

 

[Mario Cornejo]

@Ale Vallecchi thank you for a diverse and safe drive, I enjoyed it very much.  Also thanks to @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ and @Nabil Bishara for supporting and keeping the convoy moving.

Have a nice rest of the weekend and a great week ahead.

~MC

[Thomas Varghese]

When @Carnity drivers intruded into camel kingdom

[Thomas Varghese]

[Niki]

This was a ride exactly as advertised!  The landscape, vegetation, wildlife, farms, tracks and wavy dunes requires absolute control and concentration!  

What a super drive... I would encourage every fewbie to experience this as it’s a 3 hour master class on momentum!  

I left the drive grateful to @Ale Vallecchi for such a great experience/education and to @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ @Nabil Bishara for all the support and getting the full convoy through safely on what must have been such a difficult set of tracks to follow as you got further back!  Kudos to all In the convoy especially the 2nd half (I didn’t envy your challenge) ... shovels out only twice and no ropes needed! 🙌🏽

[Ale Vallecchi]

"Looking up gives light, although at first it makes you dizzy" (Rumi) - Ridge Riding Bonanza Report

Before diving into the trip's report, I'd like to start a new way to introduce my reports, with the words of the great Master Rumi, inspired by some of the things that the drive allowed us to do, seek, or overcome. 

Looking up we did, to the top of the dune, looking for the right line to reach the ridge, during this "premiere" Ridge Riding Bonanza drive. And perhaps, it made some of us dizzy, while riding the taller dunes we encountered, trying to stay on top, yet looking for a safe exit down.

From the very beginning, at the outskirts of Al Aweer, almost to the very end, near Mahafiz's mosque, the landscape gave us an endless set of extremely long range dunes, a true paradise for ridge riding lovers, which we tried to exploit to its maximum. I have counted 50 ridges driven, on the drive's recorded track, some of which very, very long, As announced, the main difficulties in riding the top of these dunes were twofold: first, the vegetation, sparse enough not to be a nuisance, but sufficiently omnipresent, all the way to the top of the dunes, to present obstacles that needed constant navigation, and second the wavy, curvy nature of the ridges, which needed actual driving, and not just powering through. 

These two characteristics, required a very careful choice of approach to reach the ridges, the ability of exiting the dunes, when necessary, avoiding the small sappy trees dotting their slopes, and most of all an absolute concentration, and control of the car, while on top of the ridges. Continuous accelerations, or decelerations were necessary to make sure one didn't overshoot a curve, lost momentum on an upturn of the dune, or veered out of control on a downturn of the next line. At times, the cars came almost to a standstill on a bumpy spot, just to power out and regain momentum on the following straight line. An additional safety requirement was added to the drive, which called for every car to exit the ridges whenever a car driving in front, anywhere in the convoy, got stuck or had problems. This made sure that we avoided multiple stucks on the ridges, and also functioned as a training exercise on choosing the right side, and line, to safely exit a ridge.

Considering all these challenges, it was amazing that, in the end, we finished the drive with only 2 stucks on ridges, both self recovered (with the help of a bit of shoveling), and a few refusals, coming mostly from climbing steep slopes at an angle, or reaching a ridge from the slip-face. 

My great thanks go to @Niki Patel, who managed to follow all instructions, and making a few significant re-routings imposed by the treacherous terrain, to @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ, who has now become one of my most trusted Center Forwards, and to @Nabil Bishara, who calmly and expertly swept the convoy to safety (not an easy task from a very heavily marked trail). 

Hats off to @sheri and @soumyasaklani for debuting at Fewbies in such a tricky drive, to @Hossam Anwar, @Trekado, and @Ahmad Shaker, for driving with poise and control, and to @Thomas Varghese, @Ranjan Das and @Mario Cornejo for skillfully, and safely, navigating the back of the convoy on a well trodden, and unstable, path. 

At the end of the day, we all retired with another long and fin drive under our belts, having driven for 67.7 Km, in 3:58 hours (of which an abundant 3:10 moving), at an average speed of 17 Km/h (of which a brisk 21 Km/h while moving, considering we were often on ridges, or snaking between trees). 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, have a great week, and see you soon in the sand. 

[MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ]

It was amazing how the new area of Al-Aweer welcomed us with such cool breezes, which accompanied us all the way to the end. Al-Aweer was full of wildlife, and vegetation, which enhanced the view of the natural landscapes, making the drive more visually pleasing. The spirits of Al-Aweer made sure that our experience driving in the area, would want us to come back for more 😂.
When I look back to when I was a Fewbie, I used to find Ridge Riding really challenging, but I bet after this drive, for our fellow Fewbies, Ridge Riding would be a piece of cake, @Ale Vallecchi made sure of that. Everyone drove really well, considering the fact that we only had to shovel twice and no tugs required. 
 

@Ale Vallecchi Thanks for trusting me with the role of Center-Forward, I love helping fellow drivers out. You were an amazing lead as always, throwing different challenges at us and making sure we have a fun and safe drive. Will always look forward for more drives with you.

@Nabil Bishara You were a flawless sweep, actively helping out the drivers in need and keeping the tail of the convoy in order.

Oh and here’s a picture of two off-road convoys side by side.

[Thomas Varghese]

1 hour ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

"Looking up gives light, although at first it makes you dizzy" (Rumi) - Ridge Riding Bonanza Report

Before diving into the trip's report, I'd like to start a new way to introduce my reports, with the words of the great Master Rumi, inspired by some of the things that the drive allowed us to do, seek, or overcome. 

Looking up we did, to the top of the dune, looking for the right line to reach the ridge, during this "premiere" Ridge Riding Bonanza drive. And perhaps, it made some of us dizzy, while riding the taller dunes we encountered, trying to stay on top, yet looking for a safe exit down.

From the very beginning, at the outskirts of Al Aweer, almost to the very end, near Mahafiz's mosque, the landscape gave us an endless set of extremely long range dunes, a true paradise for ridge riding lovers, which we tried to exploit to its maximum. I have counted 50 ridges driven, on the drive's recorded track, some of which very, very long, As announced, the main difficulties in riding the top of these dunes were twofold: first, the vegetation, sparse enough not to be a nuisance, but sufficiently omnipresent, all the way to the top of the dunes, to present obstacles that needed constant navigation, and second the wavy, curvy nature of the ridges, which needed actual driving, and not just powering through. 

These two characteristics, required a very careful choice of approach to reach the ridges, the ability of exiting the dunes, when necessary, avoiding the small sappy trees dotting their slopes, and most of all an absolute concentration, and control of the car, while on top of the ridges. Continuous accelerations, or decelerations were necessary to make sure one didn't overshoot a curve, lost momentum on an upturn of the dune, or veered out of control on a downturn of the next line. At times, the cars came almost to a standstill on a bumpy spot, just to power out and regain momentum on the following straight line. An additional safety requirement was added to the drive, which called for every car to exit the ridges whenever a car driving in front, anywhere in the convoy, got stuck or had problems. This made sure that we avoided multiple stucks on the ridges, and also functioned as a training exercise on choosing the right side, and line, to safely exit a ridge.

Considering all these challenges, it was amazing that, in the end, we finished the drive with only 2 stucks on ridges, both self recovered (with the help of a bit of shoveling), and a few refusals, coming mostly from climbing steep slopes at an angle, or reaching a ridge from the slip-face. 

My great thanks go to @Niki Patel, who managed to follow all instructions, and making a few significant re-routings imposed by the treacherous terrain, to @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ, who has now become one of my most trusted Center Forwards, and to @Nabil Bishara, who calmly and expertly swept the convoy to safety (not an easy task from a very heavily marked trail). 

Hats off to @sheri and @soumyasaklani for debuting at Fewbies in such a tricky drive, to @Hossam Anwar, @Trekado, and @Ahmad Shaker, for driving with poise and control, and to @Thomas Varghese, @Ranjan Das and @Mario Cornejo for skillfully, and safely, navigating the back of the convoy on a well trodden, and unstable, path. 

At the end of the day, we all retired with another long and fin drive under our belts, having driven for 67.7 Km, in 3:58 hours (of which an abundant 3:10 moving), at an average speed of 17 Km/h (of which a brisk 21 Km/h while moving, considering we were often on ridges, or snaking between trees). 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, have a great week, and see you soon in the sand. 

1 stuck was mine as the car in front of me slowed down and I had lost momentum. I knew I had to exit to one side but in previous drives I was reprimanded for losing track so I stayed right where I was, resulting in a crest situation. After Prof. @Ale Vallecchi reassured me that this is what I had to do I was at ease and never got stuck again as I could exit safely as soon as I found the convoy ahead is losing momentum. Thank you @Ale Vallecchi for the right direction.