Morning Fewbie Plus Desert Drive - Sweihan Adevntures - Abu Dhabi - 29 May 2022

[Vaibhav]

@SrikumarWow! what a drive. The stories about your drive were really true. Though the start we had the issue with @Vanessa8580 car and time spent on getting it sorted you made it up by the end of the drive.

@Vanessa8580It was a pleasure meeting you. hope your car issue is sorted and you reached home safely

@munkybiznessGood job as a second lead only one issue during the drive which was the pop out

@Salim Akhtar drove well only the pyramid drive was challenge for you. But 1st drive as Fewbie plus you did well.

@Xavier Treasurer1 or 2 refusal but strong performance

@Anoop NairGood drive buddy.

@Waqas ParvezPop out only if you had a momentum you would have overcome it. but like always strong performance

@Looperthank you for your support. 

@Mohamad AnwerSo many drives together and the beauty you drive never fails to impress. Excellent drive

@Ranjan DasDid well with the climbs and no refusals no issues. Good to see you again

 @Josh T. Thank you for your support as a sweep. Your car is very beautiful specially to watch it on big bowls. 

Hope to see everyone on the sand soon. 

 

[munkybizness]

It's taken me 10 months from my first Absolute Newbie drive to get back into a drive with @Srikumar. To say that he's the first person responsible for me wanting to be a part of @Carnity would be an understatement.

On that humid morning in mid-July last year, I arrived at the meeting point in Qudra, 10mins late, and never having deflated a tire before with those quick-release gauges I'd bought the day before. Sri was the perfect host, welcoming me in, calming my nerves (from being late), and sending help with a support team member to help me get down to the right pressure. And before we could leave, we had a Pathfinder whose tire was leaking air. Unlike most other clubs, which would have sent that driver back, Sri rolled up his sleeves, got under the car, pulled out the spare, and then helped the driver swap his tyre. The entire ordeal set us back by 40mins, which in the summer would have been brutal. But he did that nonetheless, and I've never respected and admired an individual as much as I did him on that warm morning. And then, on this Absolute Newbie drive, he also made me his second lead which heightened my nerves to no end.

Fast forward, ten months to yesterday, when I finally again found myself on his drive, he walked up to me and asked me to repeat that role all over again. The serendipity wasn't lost on me. And it helped cap my 49th off-road drive, bringing the journey a full circle.

To say that our drive was eventful, too would be an understatement. With two pop-outs - one on my car, and the other on @Waqas Parvez, and a sensor failure on @Vanessa8580's "Big Blue", we ensured that much of the time that Sri wanted us to fight off through an early start and sleepy eyes, was lost to fixing them. Much was remarked about how Old Lady may not have given her all of her blessings, but I believe these were just the sacrificial rituals she warranted for a lot of new faces traversing these slopes. Of course, it doesn't take away from the error I made climbing up where I should have exited 20 seconds sooner. With the steep gorge at the top, I then landed my right wheel smack into the middle of a little wall where Vanessa and I both heard the air escaping as the bead unsettled itself.

About an hour into the drive, and having just left Old Lady in our rear view, I had the good fortune to also bring @Vanessa8580 into my cabin. This came off the back of her misfortune, but it gave me the opportunity to really get to know her, the Marshal she is, and gain access to a second pair of trained and experienced eyes. For this experience alone, thank you Vanessa. I learned so much from hearing about your story, and for the advice that I intend to carry on with me in drives to come. I also hope that the "Big Blue" is back in its natural habitat soon, putting to test, those lovely new riveted flared fenders.

With the Pajero parked on the track, we continued back inwards into the dunes, and this is where I saw Srikumar's penchant for not looking back. I also was witness to where he sees a path emerging. And it is quite unique to many of the marshals I've been out with. With every marshal, this close up front, it's a special treat to see where they are seeing a path through. It gives you a view into how they plan a track and then lay it down - in the moment. At some points, I did lose sight of him because he is like a child with endless wonder darting from corner to post and back again, but as long as I kept my eye on the little red flag bobbing in the wind, and the deep tracks of the Cherokee, I knew where I needed to head. The virgin, almost untouched sands, ensured that his were the only ones there.

But most of all, seeing Sri lead, and being in the second seat right behind gave me a newfound perspective on some of the angles I would have previously thought I should not attempt. I learned first hand yesterday, how a marshal also uses every passing car including his/her own to force into compliance a step that will eventually disappear when car #6 gets there. Sand, unlike tarmac compresses. And good marshals will use that knowledge to create paths where you may not see them at first. A fantastic lesson for me.

Sitting at the top of the hill, I think @Salim Akhtar, you really deserve the most honors for not giving up. With @Vanessa8580's tested advice from years driving the Pajero, the 4HLC unlocked a new avenue of power delivery for you. And you put it to great use. Well done in your first Fewbie Plus drive, and also for being the first at the meeting point. Your eagerness to participate and fly through the hills was felt by all.

To everybody else in the back, including some of my favorite people, thank you for making this such a great day out. And @Srikumar, the spell is broken, and I hope to return to see Sweihan or wherever you call us to go, much sooner than this last one.

See you all out on the sands soon.

[ 🐵 ]

[Gregory]

So well written @munkybizness 👍

[Waqas Parvez]

It's become a habit for me to get up in the middle of the night and start driving from home, but I have no regrets. On the drive, I met a few new folks from Abu Dhabi, and it was a pleasure driving with you all @Josh T.@Xavier Treasurer@Salim Akhtar, @Vanessa8580 was anxious about how we would get the car out when it broke down due to a malfunction in the airlifter, but her car reflected Vansesa's attitude of never giving up and made it to the first section of the road.

@Srikumar I was looking forward to driving with you in @Carnity and you did not disappoint, I was discussing the drive with @Vaibhav and @munkybiznesswhat we could expect with the terrain, the terrain had beautiful big bowls and high speed crest crossings with virgin track, for a desert enthusiast it was heaven, @Srikumar you deserve a round of applause for finding the tracks for us and making sure we were all safe and enjoyed it thoroughly

I'd want to relate my first popout incident; generally, I'm very careful with my steering input and never resist gravity, So I was following @Vaibhav and he missed the track of the car in front of him and took a different route that was challenging which we as intermediate drives expect to handle,  so basically it was a side slop crossing and I missed to accelerate instantly and slid down into a ditch. I had two options: save my front bumper or steer aggressively to avoid hitting the front on impact. If I could go back in time and tell myself what I could have done differently, I would tell myself to listen to the sound of the car in front of me to hear the engine roaring and realize that I needed to step on it, overall it was a good learning experience and will be more vigilant in future, the cherry has been broken of the tyre and rim, as @munkybizness said, and I am now a member of the popout club 😃

Thank you @Looperand @munkybiznessfor your support @Ranjan Das @Mohamad Anwer It's always a pleasure to drive with you guys; we have a lot of fun conversing and watching you drive.

I look forward to driving with you all in the future till we meet again in the desert.

Edited May 30, 2022 by Waqas Parvez

[Mohamad Anwer]

10 minutes ago, Waqas Parvez said:

It's become a habit for me to get up in the middle of the night and start driving from home, but I have no regrets. On the drive, I met a few new folks from Abu Dhabi, and it was a pleasure driving with you all @Josh T.@Xavier Treasurer@Salim Akhtar, @Vanessa8580 was anxious about how we would get the car out when it broke down due to a malfunction in the airlifter, but her car reflected Vansesa's attitude of never giving up and made it to the first section of the road.

@Srikumar I was looking forward to driving with you in @Carnity and you did not disappoint, I was discussing the drive with @Vaibhav and @munkybiznesswhat we could expect with the terrain, the terrain had beautiful big bowls and high speed crest crossings with virgin track, for a desert enthusiast it was heaven you deserve a round of applause for finding the tracks for us and making sure we were all safe and enjoyed it thoroughly

I'd want to relate my first popout incident; generally, I'm very careful with my steering input and never resist gravity, So I was following @Vaibhav and he missed the track of the car in front of him and took a different route that was challenging which we as intermediate drives expect to handle,  so basically it was a side slop crossing and I missed to accelerate instantly and slid down into a ditch. I had two options: save my front bumper or steer aggressively to avoid hitting the front on impact. If I could go back in time and tell myself what I could have done differently, I would tell myself to listen to the sound of the car in front of me to hear the engine roaring and realize that I needed to step on it, overall it was a good learning experience and will be more vigilant in future, the cherry has been broken of the tyre and rim, as @munkybizness said, and I am now a member of the popout club 😃

Thank you @Looperand @munkybiznessfor your support @Ranjan Das @Mohamad Anwer It's always a pleasure to drive with you guys; we have a lot of fun conversing and watching you drive.

I look forward to driving with you all in the future till we meet again in the desert.

👏👌👍🙂we always love hearing you Lexus lion roar bro 

[Vaibhav]

@Waqas Parvezi have the video will share it soon 

[Salim Akhtar]

On 5/29/2022 at 1:09 PM, Looper said:

The old lady dune was not benevolent on us initially. Needed 3 sacrifices to satisfy her. @Vanessa8580’s MAF sensor and a couple of pop outs. As correctly predicted by @Mohamad Anwer the bad luck lasted 3 count and then we began. It was FB+ for name sake only. I could sense that @Srikumar was pushing the drive and it was pretty much an Intermediate drive, considering that almost all of the drivers were at that level. Loved every minute of the drive. Sweihan has the one of the most spectacular dunes and we had a chance to enjoy all of it . Frankly it was much more than the worth of the effort of getting up early in the morning and driving all the way. 

@munkybizness was excellent host and second lead for the drives. A big thanks to @Josh T. for managing the rear of the convoy. 

@Salim Akhtar on his first Fewbie+ was excellent and I am impressed by his driving skills considering that every one else was an intermediate or above. Well done. 

Thanks @Looper for your encouraging words. Being only Fewbie+ Guy in convoy and that too with very first drive after promotion, kept my heart beat faster as how to keep pace with the convoy and not let much refusals/stucks. Thankfully with all support from all of member, hopefully it ended much better 😊
 

[Srikumar]

3 hours ago, Salim Akhtar said:

Thanks @Looper for your encouraging words. Being only Fewbie+ Guy in convoy and that too with very first drive after promotion, kept my heart beat faster as how to keep pace with the convoy and not let much refusals/stucks. Thankfully with all support from all of member, hopefully it ended much better 😊
 

@Salim Akhtar you were a true superstar on Sunday to manage your car and the drive so well. Bravo!! 

[Salim Akhtar]

7 hours ago, Srikumar said:

@Salim Akhtar you were a true superstar on Sunday to manage your car and the drive so well. Bravo!! 

Thank you @Srikumarits was the best and most exciting drive so far with @Carnity with faster pace, many bigger dunes and all intermediate & above team member. It was worth coming at location mid night and sleeping in my car there.