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Morning Newbie Desert Drive - Hunting for springs in Al Qudra - Dubai - 31 Dec 2021


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1 hour ago, ahmed salama said:

Really sorry everyone , feeling not well when woke up , seems can’t make it , better to be very cautious these days for any flu symptoms . Good luck and happy new year in advance . I removed my name already . 

I am on my way but selected a wrong location will be late by 15 minutes

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Sorry @Lorenzo Candelpergher 

I just saw your message and therefore missed it. Hope you guys have a great drive. 

13 hours ago, Lorenzo Candelpergher said:

With more dropouts, we now have @Pacific and @topgear admitted as well. Please confirm both your attendance. 

 

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Dear Desert Wanderers, 

this drive was a nice conclusion of our 2021 off-roading year! With a clear sky and a wet, mostly virgin sand after the rainfalls the drive was bound to be special, and indeed it was... 

We started our day deflating in a chilling 16°C air, but welcomed by a wonderful sunrise by the nearby pond at the start of Bab Al Shams road:

_LRZ3407.jpg.3873363529394a9b8be8a030cf171bfe.jpg

_LRZ3409.jpg.9f45436d31cc735d17decdaa7df675be.jpg

The convoy was a bit slow in getting ready for the drive, and it was only 7:40 when we were really able to enter the sand, after our briefing. 

The first stint of the drive was across beautiful virgin dunes with literally no tracks. We soon had a couple of stucks with @haridas kt and @Mohammed Sirajuddin, our newest joiners both at their very 1st Newbie Drive. We've all gone through those first drives where everything seems overwhelming and complicated, instructions sound always unclear and handling the radio while acting on the steering wheel and the gear stick seems just too much to do at once... but don't worry, you'll get used to it and, for a first time, you both did incredibly well!!

As we moved further north-east, we entered an area of nice long-range dunes where we could practice sustained side-sloping over and over again, getting practical demonstration why "do not fight gravity" is such an important recommendation for both new inexperienced drivers and seasoned, sometimes, overconfident ones.

Meanwhile, the sun had shown up and we could enjoy a fantastic blue sky with a light refreshing breeze.

_LRZ3412.jpg.6dfbd9b47f3b6263dc1d21110cb86242.jpg

As we proceeded south, we entered an area of way more complex and large dunes that required one-by-one guiding in order to get the convoy through some of the most challenging passages which, I'm sure, at first sight seemed totally beyond most drivers' own capabilities. In the end, everyone got a bit beyond their comfort zone, discovering that they (and their cars) could do way more than expected! Kudos to all, as the most complex passage was undoubtedly not far from a Fewbie drive level!!

As time went by, the sky started to get covered again with heavy clouds, cumulating from the west side, in stark contrast with the bright sunlight we were still blessed with.. By the time we reached the area of the rocky formations on the south side of Moon Lake, the looks of it were quite a spectacle:

_LRZ3417.jpg.5501bc18c41af8826285615ee5bacfa2.jpg

Moon lake itself is always a nice stop to take a breathe of fresh air after a couple of challenging driving hours across demanding dunes and to enjoy some family time, as @Gregory did with a nice smile behind the masks:

_LRZ3422.jpg.535ebfbc61e7bb9788cfa8974d4b01c0.jpg

Before exiting, we had the chance for a quick detour back in the dunes to reach the last spring of the day, actually the one I always find most fascinating in Al Qudra:

_LRZ3431.jpg.38cdb5306913d733f1430a0c55cada48.jpg

As our time was over, we quickly headed out across the sabkha, where we could see a couple of oryxes, then reached the dirt track that eventually took us back to our starting point next to Bab Al Shams, where we reached at approx 11:10am.

Everyone did very well:

@Gregory was an excellent 2nd lead, as always when I've had him in my drives: cautious, responsive and diligently following my instructions to reroute here or there.

@haridas kt and @Mohammed Sirajuddin had quite an experience in their first Newbie drive, but I'm sure they learned a lot, especially about not being shy on the throttle when it comes to maintain momentum and speed along side-slopes and, most importantly, about not fighting gravity under any circumstance and steering down whenever momentum is lost!! They both improved as the drive proceeded and were eventually able to go successfully through some very tricky passages towards the end. Kudos to both!!

@Ammar Naji and @Kolin were admittedly back in the sand after a long absence: well, if it was the case, we couldn't notice, as they both drove very well, handling their beasts without hesitation, even across the most difficult spots. Well done!!

@Waqar Sarwar followed very effectively, showing great improvement since the last newbie we had toghether. Quite impressive!

@Pacific enjoyed drawing nice lines along side-slopes, collecting awe-filled radio comments by the convoy. It was a pleasure to watch you go through!

@Anoop Nair was a great Center Forward for the day, always ready to help, be it shoveling, handing over a rope or giving radio instructions or updates from the center of the convoy. Great support!

@Tom V and @Claudio C cruised very well at the back, despite the churned up sand they had to go through. @Claudio C, in particular, had a fully loaded car with lots of passengers, who hopefully enjoyed the ride too!

Last but not least was @Melenany, who was great support at the back, always present and responsive, ready to come over and help whenever needed. As the guys in the 2nd half of the convoy were all very good and had very little issues, he was more often in the front than at the back whenever a stuck or refusal happened!! Great job!

Overall we drove 50.6km over a total time of 3h 34', of which 2h 24' spent actually moving and 1h 09' stopped for recoveries or short breaks. our average moving speed was 21km/h (a bit doped by the final stint along the dirt track), a very good average for a Newbie Drive.

Thank you everyone for you company and see you soon in the sand. I wish you a wonderful new year 2022, full of dunes to ride on!!

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On 1/2/2022 at 3:08 PM, Lorenzo Candelpergher said:

Dear Desert Wanderers, 

this drive was a nice conclusion of our 2021 off-roading year! With a clear sky and a wet, mostly virgin sand after the rainfalls the drive was bound to be special, and indeed it was... 

We started our day deflating in a chilling 16°C air, but welcomed by a wonderful sunrise by the nearby pond at the start of Bab Al Shams road:

_LRZ3407.jpg.3873363529394a9b8be8a030cf171bfe.jpg

_LRZ3409.jpg.9f45436d31cc735d17decdaa7df675be.jpg

The convoy was a bit slow in getting ready for the drive, and it was only 7:40 when we were really able to enter the sand, after our briefing. 

The first stint of the drive was across beautiful virgin dunes with literally no tracks. We soon had a couple of stucks with @haridas kt and @Mohammed Sirajuddin, our newest joiners both at their very 1st Newbie Drive. We've all gone through those first drives where everything seems overwhelming and complicated, instructions sound always unclear and handling the radio while acting on the steering wheel and the gear stick seems just too much to do at once... but don't worry, you'll get used to it and, for a first time, you both did incredibly well!!

As we moved further north-east, we entered an area of nice long-range dunes where we could practice sustained side-sloping over and over again, getting practical demonstration why "do not fight gravity" is such an important recommendation for both new inexperienced drivers and seasoned, sometimes, overconfident ones.

Meanwhile, the sun had shown up and we could enjoy a fantastic blue sky with a light refreshing breeze.

_LRZ3412.jpg.6dfbd9b47f3b6263dc1d21110cb86242.jpg

As we proceeded south, we entered an area of way more complex and large dunes that required one-by-one guiding in order to get the convoy through some of the most challenging passages which, I'm sure, at first sight seemed totally beyond most drivers' own capabilities. In the end, everyone got a bit beyond their comfort zone, discovering that they (and their cars) could do way more than expected! Kudos to all, as the most complex passage was undoubtedly not far from a Fewbie drive level!!

As time went by, the sky started to get covered again with heavy clouds, cumulating from the west side, in stark contrast with the bright sunlight we were still blessed with.. By the time we reached the area of the rocky formations on the south side of Moon Lake, the looks of it were quite a spectacle:

_LRZ3417.jpg.5501bc18c41af8826285615ee5bacfa2.jpg

Moon lake itself is always a nice stop to take a breathe of fresh air after a couple of challenging driving hours across demanding dunes and to enjoy some family time, as @Gregory did with a nice smile behind the masks:

_LRZ3422.jpg.535ebfbc61e7bb9788cfa8974d4b01c0.jpg

Before exiting, we had the chance for a quick detour back in the dunes to reach the last spring of the day, actually the one I always find most fascinating in Al Qudra:

_LRZ3431.jpg.38cdb5306913d733f1430a0c55cada48.jpg

As our time was over, we quickly headed out across the sabkha, where we could see a couple of oryxes, then reached the dirt track that eventually took us back to our starting point next to Bab Al Shams, where we reached at approx 11:10am.

Everyone did very well:

@Gregory was an excellent 2nd lead, as always when I've had him in my drives: cautious, responsive and diligently following my instructions to reroute here or there.

@haridas kt and @Mohammed Sirajuddin had quite an experience in their first Newbie drive, but I'm sure they learned a lot, especially about not being shy on the throttle when it comes to maintain momentum and speed along side-slopes and, most importantly, about not fighting gravity under any circumstance and steering down whenever momentum is lost!! They both improved as the drive proceeded and were eventually able to go successfully through some very tricky passages towards the end. Kudos to both!!

@Ammar Naji and @Kolin were admittedly back in the sand after a long absence: well, if it was the case, we couldn't notice, as they both drove very well, handling their beasts without hesitation, even across the most difficult spots. Well done!!

@Waqar Sarwar followed very effectively, showing great improvement since the last newbie we had toghether. Quite impressive!

@Pacific enjoyed drawing nice lines along side-slopes, collecting awe-filled radio comments by the convoy. It was a pleasure to watch you go through!

@Anoop Nair was a great Center Forward for the day, always ready to help, be it shoveling, handing over a rope or giving radio instructions or updates from the center of the convoy. Great support!

@Tom V and @Claudio C cruised very well at the back, despite the churned up sand they had to go through. @Claudio C, in particular, had a fully loaded car with lots of passengers, who hopefully enjoyed the ride too!

Last but not least was @Melenany, who was great support at the back, always present and responsive, ready to come over and help whenever needed. As the guys in the 2nd half of the convoy were all very good and had very little issues, he was more often in the front than at the back whenever a stuck or refusal happened!! Great job!

Overall we drove 50.6km over a total time of 3h 34', of which 2h 24' spent actually moving and 1h 09' stopped for recoveries or short breaks. our average moving speed was 21km/h (a bit doped by the final stint along the dirt track), a very good average for a Newbie Drive.

Thank you everyone for you company and see you soon in the sand. I wish you a wonderful new year 2022, full of dunes to ride on!!

Awesome photos!

Thank you for a fun beautiful scenic drive @Lorenzo Candelpergher!  I love drives like this. 

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