COVID19 Compliant - Afternoon Intermediate Desert Drive - Qudra to Ganthoot (Criss-crossing Heaven) - Dubai - 12 May 2021

[Ale Vallecchi]

26 minutes ago, Francois Germishuys said:

@Ale Vallecchi yea im in! Thanks 

Copy that @Francois Germishuys. See you tomorrow. 

[Arda Yagcioglu]

9 hours ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Dear Desertnauts.

Last info for tomorrow's PM drive. 

Meeting point: the actual meeting and deflation point is, strangely, marked wrongly on Google Maps. That's why you should follow Google Map's directions to reach the first link posted, which is just off the first roundabout after Qudra's Last Exit, on the road to Bab al Shams. Only after exiting the roundabout you can reach the actual meeting point (second map's link), through a dirt track just to the right of the track leading to the "villa"'s guarded gate. 

Deflation: please deflate between 10 and 11 PSI's, or as much as your tires will allow, as the hot PM's temperatures will make the sand quite soft and shifty, especially early on in the drive.

Convoy order:

@Thomas Varghese in SL

@imranaasghar81 at #3

@Arda Yagcioglu will be #4

@N@ved #5

@Yousef Alimadadi will be Center Forward

@GauravSoni at #7

@amir amiri in place #8

@varunmehndiratta at #9, and 

@Mario Cornejo will Sweep.

As mentioned, at this IM and above level, I'd like each driver to be responsible for assisting in recoveries the car either immediately in front or behind (depending on which driver will be better positioned). This will ensure that everybody is exposed to recovery techniques.

Bring a full tank, water to drink, snacks to enjoy, and your determination to safely practice criss-crossing.

See you tomorrow, and Eid Mubarak to all.

 

Dear @Ale Vallecchi,

As tomorrow is expected to be 1st day of Eid, there will be a family event which I forgot before. Apologies for that but I have drop out this time. Thanks for understanding and Eid Mubarak to everyone.

[Ale Vallecchi]

1 hour ago, Arda Yagcioglu said:

Dear @Ale Vallecchi,

As tomorrow is expected to be 1st day of Eid, there will be a family event which I forgot before. Apologies for that but I have drop out this time. Thanks for understanding and Eid Mubarak to everyone.

Thanks @Arda Yagcioglu. Eid Mubarak to you. 

[Ale Vallecchi]

Dear Desertnauts.

One last info. Due to the addition of 2 Carnity Advisor Team members, I have restructured the convoy as follows:

@Thomas Varghese #2

@imranaasghar81 #3

@N@ved #4

@GauravSoni #5

@Yousef Alimadadi at Center Forward

@varunmehndiratta #7

@Mario Cornejo #8

@amir amiri #9

@Francois Germishuys #10

@marks in Sweep

See you in time for a punctual departure. 

[Imran Asghar]

Good Morning Gang, unfortunately I need to drop out of this drive

please donate my spot to someone else and have a great drive ☺️ 

[Ale Vallecchi]

Hi @imranaasghar81. Thanks for advising. 

[Thomas Varghese]

As usual Prof. @Ale Vallecchi lead a very technical drive through very technical area. Brushed up the skills learned earlier to finesse. IM drive for sure but it was more of brushing up skills. The convoy responded well to the Professor's class and I believe he will give an A+ to the convoy. After every drive my shoulders lock up and start to pain but today they are as light as feather. The sand was super soft at some areas but Ale's forewarning to keep the tire pressure between 10 to 11 psi helped a lot. 

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi.  

[N@ved]

Awesome... just awesome... can’t think of any better word to describe the drive today...

one of the smoothest moving drives I have been on, very few refusals/stuck’s... first half was more challenging for me, hot weather, white sands and blowing winds made it very difficult to see the tracks of the vehicle ahead.

@Ale Vallecchithe pace was just perfect we started slowly but the momentum picked up soon. Thanks to fantastic team/convoy for their support and guidance throughout.

perfect start to the eid break......Eid Mubarak everyone, wishing you and your loved ones a happy and safe festive break.

[Varun Mehndiratta]

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi for the wonderful drive...Criss crossing was the theme and that was clear from moment GO.

 

It was good idea to keep rolling the position .. should explore this is in all Intermediate drives .. 👍..

The whole convoy did pretty well .  

Just an idea (personal thoughts) - should explore this drive in the early morning hours. In afternoon, Qudra ranges are extremely tough to spot. We had to cut down many ridges due to the challenges of light and weather. 

[Ale Vallecchi]

Qudra to Ganthoot: Criss-Crossing Heaven - Trip Report

"On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open, and the world is full of beauty. Today is such a day" - Rumi

Sun, sand, heat and wind. The essence of deserts, manifesting itself at its utmost during afternoon drives, like this one. While the heat was undeniable, with 41 degrees at starting time, and the sand as soft as expected, the sun played its role majestically, chasing us to the end of the drive, when it offered us a blazing sunset below the Ganthoot horizon. The wind, however, was the absolute star of the drive, blowing torrid in Qudra, ruffling the crests and making them very hard to read, as well as sweeping all traces of tracks in the Ganthoot stretch, where we drove on virgin sand.

The wind also forced the convoy to approach the majority of the slopes, and making most criss-crossing attempts, from the north-east, the side from which it was blowing. This forced us to snake up and down the cordons, rather than attacking them from all sides. Still, a good exercise in this primary skill, which was well executed by all in the convoy (no stuck on crests, which on such a day, is a great testimonial to the drivers' ability).

Differently from other drives, the experience of the members prompted me to create a rotation among them, switching Second Leads with Sweeps, progressively bringing the back of the convoy forward. Due to some time spent on fixing a pop-out, solving some refusals, and sorting a couple of technical areas, not all members managed to take both SL and SW positions, although all managed to try at least one of these key position. I feel this is an experiment that is worthwhile repeating, to offer more chances to all drivers in a highly skilled convoy to switch positions, and play key supporting roles.

Therefore, no particular mention goes to single drivers for covering the Second and Last position in the convoy. The whole group did just great, providing well executed Second Leads, and Sweeps: @Thomas Varghese, @N@ved, @Gaurav Soni, @varunmehndiratta, @Mario Cornejo, @amir amiri, @Francois Germishuys and @marks, very well done. The only Desertnaut who got "stuck" with his position was @Yousef Alimadadi, on whose experience I counted to anchor the convoy, and support most refusals: thank you for your work.

At the end of the day, the wind blew on our sails for 79.6 Km, driven in 3:07 hours of moving time (4:02 total), at an average moving speed of 26Km/h (20Km/h total average). 

Hoping to see you soon again, I wish you all a great week.