COVID19 Compliant - Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Fossil Rock - Sharjah - 9 Apr 2021

[Rahimdad]

@Chinthaka Ruwan you can get either Baofeng UV5R, or UV9R or Motorola or Crony MT777. Make sure these are UHF and not VHF, although Baofeng has both UHF and VHF which is great. Baofeng also has a torch and FM radio, we are waiting for the latest models to come with a portable winch as well. 😜

[Rahimdad]

Time to close up the drive and share the convoy numbering and the radio channel we will be using tomorrow.

DRIVE RSVP IS NOW CLOSED

Convoy numbering:

1  Rahimdad Pathfinder Lead 2  Ranjan Pattanaik Ford Explorer SL 3  Rizwan Waheed Pajero LWB   4  Daniel Fernandez Pajero LWB   5  Lakshmi Narasimhan Pajero LWB   6  Roger K LR3   7  Rawad Bahsas Patrol Y62   8  Tbone Xterra CF 9  Chinthaka Ruwan Xterra   10  Pierre de Maigret FJC   11  TT_Dubai JK - Chessboard   12  Yawa JK - Yellow   13  Richard Franks JKU - Red Sweep

@Ranjan Pattanaik @Rizwan Waheed @Daniel Fernandez @Lakshmi Narasimhan @Roger K @Rawad Bahsas @Tbone @Chinthaka Ruwan @Pierre de Maigret @TT_Dubai @Yawa @Richard Franks

Please find your names and convoy numbering above. When you arrive tomorrow morning, you can start deflating your tires to 15psi if you have normal/highway tires, and 12psi in case you have off-road tires.

Please arrive on time 6:00 AM, earlier is even better so we can help you out with deflation if needed.

We will be using Carnity Channel 2: 446.03125 Mhz.

Seniors on the drive are myself @Ranjan Pattanaik in second lead, @Tbone as center forward and @Richard Franks who will be sweeping the convoy and we will all help you out in case of refusals, stucks, which is all part of the game (and fun) 

After deflating we will do a briefing to emphasize on the aspects of off-roading and the teamwork involved when becoming part of our off-road community. Since the number of cases has gone alarmingly high and as per the new restrictions we will revert back to briefing from our vehicles over the radio..

In case of emergencies, you can contact me on 050 674 9099

See you tomorrow !

[Lakshmi Narasimhan]

What a day, had fog, early refusal, technical problem, last but not the least the hot sun, with@Rahimdad and the entire convoys determination we made it a great day. Great team effort. Enjoyed it throughly!!!!!

[Chinthaka Ruwan]

@Rahimdad It was a great day. Had lot of fun and experience. Thanks a lot for your guidance. Hope to see everyone next week.

[Roger K]

Have to agree with @Chinthaka Ruwan and @Lakshmi Narasimhan regarding today's drive.  Started out a little rough, but our great team members chose to make it an awesome day!.  Many thanks to @Rahimdad, @Ranjan Pattanaik(second lead and chief leak stopper),     and @Tbonefor guiding us up fossil rock and down the other side.  Hoping that @Rahimdad  and @TT_Dubaidon't have too expensive repairs on their rides.  Can't say enough positive things about everyone in the convoy today!  Such fantastic personalities and willingness to help when the chips were down.   So great to see everyone caring about their fellow drivers!  I know I left a few LR3 Discovery parts in the desert today...oh well, SO WORTH IT!

[Rahimdad]

TRIP REPORT

Lost for words, can you believe it, the most talkative finds himself lost for words. I was amazed to see everyone on time even with the dense fog in places. I called @Tbone just before the briefing and knowing he would arrive in an hour, I put the centre forward position on grab for an hour. I'm glad @Roger K put his hand up for the position, just an hour right. So we started our drive riding the ridge and crossing over. A few refusals, but we'll handled as @Roger K and @Richard Franks helped from the centre forward and sweep position to keep everyone moving.

As leads we need to be flexible and ready to change plans as required. But what is more important is patience which I must say was evident with today's amazing bunch. I had some issues with my car and I had full support of @Ranjan Pattanaik, @Roger K and @Lakshmi Narasimhan. We found the culprit to be a hose just below my power steering pump. We had to remove a few parts to reach it and tape it. By this time @Tbone had reached us and we decided to take my car to the road side and continue with @Tbone Xterra.

Evident is in the details, @Tbone allowed me to continue in his Xterra, which kept us awake throughout the drive. @Roger K was now our full time centre forward and @Richard Franks was totalky competent in communication and keeping our convoy moving. We enjoyed playing in 3 of the best play areas and it was lovely to see everyone in such good form. We even crossed over and climbed Fossil Rocks just to come down the other end with @Roger K supporting me from the top to guide people down.

So the majority decided they wanted to continue and I obliged. We were off through a challenging terrain yet one that would teach us the value of momentum. Climbing it with great team work and marching on we went step by step to reach the top of Faya. What started out with a solo of "This girl is on Faya" turned put to be a duet at the end. This sums up the events of the day, the team backs you up even if you're singing bad. So that's the end of the drive, no way, we don't quit that easy. So we came down from Faya and started climbing from the front face till @TT_Dubai Tim's Checkered Jeep felt a heat stroke when there was a clunk and the clutch went hard. After trying it for some time and unable to resolve the issue we decided to pull it out. Team work was again on display as @Roger K realized the challenge and led the rest of the team to the tarmac, while @Tbone helped us to pull the Jeep out.

@Ranjan Pattanaik was up to my expectations as he pushed his Explorer through every challenge as my second lead. What made everything sweeter was he did it all without having a low gear. @Rizwan Waheed made his way on my drive to meet up with me after a long time. His confidence seems high and he is handling his Pajero very well. Although he told me he is finding his Pajero to be a little underpowered specially on high climbs, but I am impressed with how he has grown and how well he drives.

@Daniel Fernandez thank you for the black tape while you were trying to help me out. It was fun having you on my drive and you're more than welcome on my drive anytime. The one of refusal is the best way to learn and we sure had fun learning together. @Lakshmi Narasimhan does not need any position to contribute. Love having you on my drives and love the way you handle most situations. Great contribution on this drive as well and nice to have you and your family out to enjoy.

@Roger K starting with raising your hand to help out for an hour as Centre Forward and continuing the gig for the entire drive with a smile and a half. Really enjoyed your company and also the support offered throughout the drive. Great spirit, keep it up. @Rawad Bahsas was quietly and patiently enjoying his ride. Such a pleasure to watch that whale of a Y62 doing some low level flying on some mighty play area. Always a joy to have you around.

@Tbone gives team work a whole new perspective. Offering me to continue the drive with his amazing Xterra. Besides offering his ride he also offered me great company. How can one individual be so talented in so many ways. Just have a chance to spend some time with @Tbone to be inspired.@Chinthaka Ruwan had an amazing Xterra which was lovely to watch and I had a brief pleasure to drive it. Need a few more drives to improve the throttle control, but seems got a good control on the steering inputs.

 @Pierre de Maigret came with some great feedback from Marshals he has driven with. His grey FJ reminded me of @Ale Vallecchi and @marks FJs. For a newbie he managed well throughout but with time the finesse will make a big difference. Looking forward to many more drives with you. @TT_Dubai did amazingly well. The Jeep just kept up with every challenge thrown at it. Thankfully the clutch issue came up right at the end and we were able to tug it to the roadside. Luckily having the RSA insurance the recovery tea. Was contacted and a promise of between 45 - 60 minutes to reach. Hope you got the people on time to recover your Jeep, I had to rush to my car and thankfully able to drive it back home with @Rizwan Waheed giving me an escort service all the way to Sharjah City.

@Yawa was driving a yellow Jeep which was very familiar to me. Ofcourse @WaYan was one my previous drive with the same yellow Jeep. Today she was a passenger, and I had the pleasure to meet her husband. Great to see husband and wife partnership's, great to see him handling the ride well. Although at one point it seemed he was lost, but he got through with a little help. Working on the safe distance where you don't miss out the tracks of the vehicle in front is also important.

@Richard Franks last but not far the least took on a brand new challenge today of being in sweep. How well he did in the sweep is evident by keeping the convoy moving and me informed regarding the movements of the convoy. @Yawa losing track at one point was helped by @Richard Franks to help him join the convoy again. if our drive was structured today, he was one of the foundation which made our convoy strong.

In the end I would like to thank each and everyone of you today for showing true Carnity spirit and strength. Whether it was taking up responsible positions to enhance everyone's driving experience. The patience shown during the troubled times. The effort to help and guide each other as a true team. Really heart warming. Looking forward to many more drives cultivating these traits in more and more community members. My salute to all the heroes today.

 

[TT_Dubai]

Thank you @Rahimdad for a great morning drive! Really pleased to hear your Pathfinder made it back home and hope it is an easy fix on the power steering. It was nice to tick off Fossil Rock and Faya off the list once we got going again. It is one big playground!

The whole morning was smooth for me and while the clutch issue ultimately stopped play, I feel lucky it happened towards the end of extra time. 😀 I have been having issues with my clutch for a while.  The workshop previously checked it when it was in for a full service as I mentioned it was clicking thought out the travel range and said it had another 20k of life left so not recommended to change now. It looks like I have no choice now! Thank you so much to you for checking on the car and @Tbonethe tow out to the road. I was surprised that the road was so close to where we decended Faya.

Thank you also to @Roger K and @Yawafor coming back to check in while waiting for the recovery truck. Very pleased to report the flatbed truck arrived in a prompt 35 minutes (was dispatched from Sharjah Industrial area) and could locate me easily as adjacent to the quad bike rental shop. Very nice guy called Ali loaded it up in a few minutes and we had a very smooth journey to the Al Quoz workshop chatting all the way on his war stories during his previous decade in Dubai as a Dubai taxi driver! 

The workshop was closed for Friday so I was planning to come back on Saturday morning to hand over the keys. As we were unloading the Jeep, the workshop manager and his wife coincidentally was coming back from their own desert academy drive and quickly checked the car and took the keys in with the promise of a report today. 

So let's see!

I have some pictures which I will upload to the gallery once the Folder for yesterday's drive is created.

It was lovely to see everyone again and to meet new enthusiasts. 😊

Edited April 10, 2021 by TT_Dubai
Add pic

[TT_Dubai]

@Ranjan Pattanaik @Rizwan Waheed@Daniel Fernandez@Lakshmi Narasimhan@Roger K@Rawad Bahsas@Tbone@Chinthaka Ruwan@Pierre de Maigret@Yawa@Richard Franks @Rahimdad

Pictures are up on the Gallery - hope I got everyone 😃

[Lakshmi Narasimhan]

Few of us got opportunity to see @Rahimdadpushing @Ranjan Pattanaik car out of the sand, sand erupted and pushed our superman 2 feet behind, is that not enough for him to rise again strong and push the car out and pose the muscle power of super man!!!! Unfortunately no videos or pics taken!!!!

7 hours ago, TT_Dubai said:

Thank you @Rahimdad for a great morning drive! Really pleased to hear your Pathfinder made it back home and hope it is an easy fix on the power steering. It was nice to tick off Fossil Rock and Faya off the list once we got going again. It is one big playground!

The whole morning was smooth for me and while the clutch issue ultimately stopped play, I feel lucky it happened towards the end of extra time. 😀 I have been having issues with my clutch for a while.  The workshop previously checked it when it was in for a full service as I mentioned it was clicking thought out the travel range and said it had another 20k of life left so not recommended to change now. It looks like I have no choice now! Thank you so much to you for checking on the car and @Tbonethe tow out to the road. I was surprised that the road was so close to where we decended Faya.

Thank you also to @Roger K and @Yawafor coming back to check in while waiting for the recovery truck. Very pleased to report the flatbed truck arrived in a prompt 35 minutes (was dispatched from Sharjah Industrial area) and could locate me easily as adjacent to the quad bike rental shop. Very nice guy called Ali loaded it up in a few minutes and we had a very smooth journey to the Al Quoz workshop chatting all the way on his war stories during his previous decade in Dubai as a Dubai taxi driver! 

The workshop was closed for Friday so I was planning to come back on Saturday morning to hand over the keys. As we were unloading the Jeep, the workshop manager and his wife coincidentally was coming back from their own desert academy drive and quickly checked the car and took the keys in with the promise of a report today. 

So let's see!

I have some pictures which I will upload to the gallery once the Folder for yesterday's drive is created.

It was lovely to see everyone again and to meet new enthusiasts. 😊

Hope your car is fixed and see you soon in the sands

[Rawad]

On 4/10/2021 at 3:09 PM, Lakshmi Narasimhan said:

Few of us got opportunity to see @Rahimdadpushing @Ranjan Pattanaik car out of the sand, sand erupted and pushed our superman 2 feet behind, is that not enough for him to rise again strong and push the car out and pose the muscle power of super man!!!! Unfortunately no videos or pics taken!!!!

Hope your car is fixed and see you soon in the sands

@Lakshmi Narasimhan I managed to crop that moment out of my front camera recordings yet its a bit blurry because i was a bit far

@Rahimdad was showered at first, then he singlehandedly pushed @Ranjan Pattanaikout of his stuck

So lucky to be driving with superman