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

[Nabil Bishara]

I love it when we focus on one thing until we become experts in it. I found this very helpful in improving my off-road driving skills. Thank you all for this fun drive and well done ! and thank you@Ale Vallecchi for the usual flawless lead and @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ for taking care of most of the refusals ! 

[soumyasaklani]

24 minutes ago, Nabil Bishara said:

I love it when we focus on one thing until we become experts in it. I found this very helpful in improving my off-road driving skills. Thank you all for this fun drive and well done ! and thank you@Ale Vallecchi for the usual flawless lead and @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ for taking care of most of the refusals ! 

Well said Nabil - and thanks a million for loaning me your spare radio for the drive, weirdly my walkie talkie switched on absolutely fine when I was back home! Technology can be so unpredictable! Thanks once again!

[soumyasaklani]

3 hours 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. 

Thank you too @Ale Vallecchi - learnt a lot about ridge riding & driving focusing on both ride quality & importantly safety which you always keep reminding us of & the need to act swiftly but safely. Was a very enjoyable drive too. Thanks too to 1st lead, CF & sweep @Niki Patel @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ @Nabil Bishara for your support & guidance too. Till next!

[Hossam Anwar]

@Ale Vallecchi This is the second time to drive with you and i like your way for teaching, thank you for safe drive it was amazing experience. and  thanks to@Niki Patel @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ and @Nabil Bishara for supporting .

Edited March 28, 2021 by Hossam Anwar