COVID19 Compliant - Saturday Morning Fewbie Desert Drive - Mystery Drive - Dubai? - 03 Apr 2021

[Ale Vallecchi]

Dear Desertnauts.

Evidently mystery attracts!

Due to the many requests for the Waiting List, we have decided to reopen the drive, and thanks to @Wrangeld's kind availability we'll have a double convoy roaming the desert, this Saturday morning.

Therefore, @Jack Thomas, @Mobeen Anwar, @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ, @Rizwan Waheed, @Malachy McGrogan, @Ahab Shamaa, @Kenneth Bollhardt, @andy_macdxb, @Humayun Ghias and @VipinShetty, remain confirmed as the first batch of 10 members to join the drive.

At the same time, @Watteau, @Niki Patel, @Thomas Varghese, @kolinrrj, @stavros papachristos, @sheri and @Yahya Munir have been added, and will compose the second convoy for this drive. 

At the moment, @Sreejith Sreenivasan is the only originally waitlisted member who still has not confirmed his intention to join: please so d ASAP, if still interested, before we close the drive again. Other than Sreejith's pending confirmation, there are only 2 spot remaining to reach 20 drivers.

As mentioned, the two convoys will be led by myself and @Wrangeld, and will be supported by @Islam Soliman and @Yousef Alimadadi. 

The drive aims to be of the longer, more fluid kind, and its starting location will be announced on Thursday evening (only the meeting point, as the exit area will remain to de decided until we'll be in the middle of the drive. 

In the meantime, thanks for the enthusiastic response.

Enjoy your week.

 

 

[Sreejith Sreenivasan]

Hi @Ale Vallecchi, please count me in.

Thanks

[Ale Vallecchi]

19 minutes ago, Sreejith Sreenivasan said:

Hi @Ale Vallecchi, please count me in.

Thanks

Copy that @Sreejith Sreenivasan. Thanks

[Ale Vallecchi]

8 hours ago, Yahya Munir said:

Hi, please add me to WL 2nd drive 

@Yahya Munir, you have already been added. Thanks

[Ahab Shamaa]

 

A huge thanks @Ale Vallecchi and @Wrangeld for leading these drives 😀 You guys are birds of feather when it comes to great write-ups; shrouded with excitement and mystery🤣

To all my fellow drivers, I have a few thoughts to share with you. Here it goes:

1. Please allot ample time for the drive (no early commitments so we don’t have to exit early). Plus you know in desert driving, you control your entry time, but not so much your exit time.

2. Please don’t bring “green” passengers, especially if they haven’t been to the desert before and you are not sure if they will get sick on the drive. Also, I cannot stress enough that it’s your responsibility to have all passengers on the drive seat belted and secured. You are the captain of the car and your rules go. Do not let your passengers talk you into not wearing a seat belt because they feel sick or trapped. Everyone, especially small children should be belted; period. 

3. Please make sure your car is desert worthy and free of mechanical problems at the time of the drive. The car is overheating slightly on SZR, translates into an engine blow-up in the desert. The heat and the demanding drives have been amplifying car issues lately.

4.Make sure your radio is fully charged and/or have a spare battery or a spare (charged) radio. Once on the drive, speak clearly into the radio. Start speaking a second or so after you press the PTT button and release the button a second or so after you’ve finished speaking. If you get stuck, please announce your name, your car make and if possible your position in the convoy.

5. Please be at the meeting point at a time you deem is enough for you to get your flag up and your tires deflated and ready for the drive. The pre-drive prep varies from person to person, so operate on your own timeline. Just be in your car, ready to drive with your radio switched on, at the starting time of the drive. 

Finally, I would like to stress that I say all the above with the utmost respect and love for everyone. Lately, I’ve experienced some or all of the above issues on my drives, and they have made our actual driving time way shorter than anticipated, and diminished the desert experience for most of us. 

In any event, I hope I’m not overstepping by sharing my two cents. I’m merely expressing my feelings aloud on the forum. 

With that, if @Ale Vallecchi, @Wrangeldor @Gaurav do not murder me for running my mouth, I will see you all on the sand on Saturday. Otherwise, know I’ll be dead and buried somewhere in “Dubai’s Middle Earth” 🤣

Edited March 30, 2021 by Ahab Shamaa

[Wrangeld]

3 minutes ago, Ahab Shamaa said:

Finally, I would like to stress that I say all the above with the utmost respect and love for everyone. Lately, I’ve experienced some or all of the above issues on my drives, and they have made our actual driving time way shorter than anticipated, and diminished the desert experience for most of us. 

In any event, I hope I’m not overstepping by sharing my two cents. I’m merely expressing my feelings aloud on the forum. 

With that, if @Ale Vallecchi, @Wrangeldor @Gaurav do not murder me for running my mouth, I will see you all on the sand on Saturday. Otherwise, know I’ll be dead and buried somewhere in “Dubai’s Middle Earth” 🤣

and I'd like to say THANKS @Ahab Shamaa for saying all these things that need saying. You saved me and Ale a lot of grief and effort in so doing. 

We love being out in the desert - that's why we do this - but we cannot guarantee a departure time, nor are we mechanics, or magicians (OK - maybe we are a little bit!) or can we continually change the plans because of some controllable change in circumstances. 

If this type of drive is not for you, Ahab is right: sign out now. We want to drive in the sand, play a little and most of all, I think the overriding thing I read is that we want to use being out in the landscape to clear our heads from the other stuff that's filling them during the week. We are a team and a family in Carnity - so let's make sure we all accept that responsibility for what it is. 

See you soon in the sand.

[Lawrence_Chehimi]

@Ale Vallecchi, please add me to the waitlist for 2nd drive.

I already pressed on the going button, but not sure if I should do that or not as this will be my second drive...

Edited March 30, 2021 by Lawrence_Chehimi

[Ale Vallecchi]

2 hours ago, Lawrence_Chehimi said:

@Ale Vallecchi, please add me to the waitlist for 2nd drive.

I already pressed on the going button, but not sure if I should do that or not as this will be my second drive...

Hello @Lawrence_Chehimi. I am adding you now. Thanks.

[Lawrence_Chehimi]

hahaa🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️, i got too excited to join the drive and forgot that I'm actually travelling on Sat morning 😃😃, sorry for that @Ale Vallecchi

[Ale Vallecchi]

28 minutes ago, Lawrence_Chehimi said:

hahaa🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️, i got too excited to join the drive and forgot that I'm actually travelling on Sat morning 😃😃, sorry for that @Ale Vallecchi

HI @Lawrence_Chehimi. Copy that. Thanks for informing. Have a safe trip.