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Afternoon Intermediate Desert Drive - Star Trek: First Contact, Part 1 - Sharjah - 30 Jun 2022


Ale Vallecchi

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This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and strictly follow these guidelines.

 

MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: 

 

Drive Details

Level:  Intermediate and above 

Meeting time: 3:30 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions)

Meeting Point: Badayer
https://maps.app.goo.gl/aL2id8hHdbeCZ8Wk8

Action Plan:  

"STAR": referred to dunes, are pyramidal sand mounds with slipfaces on three or more arms that radiate from the high center of the mound. They tend to accumulate in areas with multidirectional wind regimes. Star dunes grow upward rather than laterally.

"TREK": a trip or movement involving difficulties or complex organization

So, Star Trek: First Contact is my return trip after a very long time to an area - Badayer and Shuwaib - where star dunes dominate the desert landscape. I prefer not to drive in this area at the height of the off-roading season, due to the excess of clubs driving there, and the abundance of cross-tracks, ruining the landscape and making the drive less than smooth. With the summer heat decimating the less adventurous drivers, and some recent winds restoring the sand to a cleaner state, it's time to move back in these fun and beautiful terrain.

This will be the first of a series of "Star Trek" drives. The next one will continue from Madam (our planned exit area, and next entry point) to Bezhad Ranch (in the Shuwaib region). After these, it will come the time to go to AD, for more star dunes and their beautiful bowls.

Screenshot_20220629-105736_Chrome.jpg

Type of Car: Any proper 4x4 with front and back tow hooks and 8-10 inches of ground clearance.

What to bring along: Loads of water, snacks (for yourself), smiles, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

Approximate finish time: 7:00 PM (with the possibility of a 30 minute extension to reach the exit)

P.S. Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive.

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE:

  • Limited to 8 cars maximum. RSVP will close on Monday - 12 PM.
    • If the RSVP is full and you wish to join, please mention your name on the drive thread to add on the waiting list
  • Latecomers will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS.
  • Members without RSVP will be returned back - without ANY EXCEPTIONS.
  • Members that do not confirm the terms of the COVID requirements will be removed from the RSVP list.
  • Please withdraw your RSVP, if you aren't joining, so your spot can be taken by others.
  • Repeated no-show members after RSVP will have their account suspended for a month.

 

PLEASE RSVP ON THE CALENDAR

 

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  • Gaurav changed the title to Afternoon Intermediate Desert Drive - Star Trek: First Contact, Part 1 - Sharjah - 30 Jun 2022

Dear Desertnauts

not much time to plan and get ready for this drive. The impulse has come from the thought that perhaps the Badayer/Shuwaib area, after the congested cooler months, may have started to return to a more pristine state. As most of you know, I don't enjoy driving through dunes that bear too many scars from an excess of off-roading, hence my avoiding some of the most crowded areas. Nonetheless, Badayer, Shuwaib and indeed Sweihan are so sought after for a good reason: they are characterized by beautiful dune formations, which truly challenge anyone's off-roading skills and spirit. Therefore, I have thought it may be time to venture back into these locations, with the first of a new "Star (Dunes) Trek" series. 

This session has been nicknamed "First Contact" (after one of the big-screen Star Trek series), because it will be my way to get reacquainted with tall dunes and deep bowls. Bear with me for any possible imperfections. We'll navigate mostly by sight, moving from star dune to star dune, across the desert between Badayer and Madam.

We plan to start as close to 4:00PM as possible (hence the 3:30 PM meeting).  The convoy, being quite a short one, will start in the order indicated below, but will switch positions throughout the drive: every 30 minutes the car driving in Sweep will take Second Lead, with the rest of the convoy moving back 1 position (the original SL in 3rd place, and so on).

We'll start in the following order:

@Ashok chaturvedi in Second Lead

@Zixuan Huang - Charlie at #3

@Fabien Monleau at #4

@Mohamad Anwer at #5

@Pacific at #6, and

@Thomas Varghese in Sweep.

See you tomorrow at Badayer, near the quads' rental shops. Have a nice evening.

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@Ale Vallecchi I have to leave the drive as my car has a check engine light and I need to source an A/F sensor. 

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Hi all, I am sad to leave the drive but not that sad. I had brought an engine wiring harness from US for my car and a gallary gasket which is inside the timing cover. The wiring because all my wiring connectors were breaking apart. The gallary gasket because my car VVT was getting starved of oil and it was rattling at low rpm's. Car was in garage and both got fixed. The rattling stopped and engine is super silent after fixing the gallary gasket. The wiring fit like a glove everywhere except at the A/F sensors. The wiring as it was bought from US came with US specifications, not GCC specs. The A/F sensor for GCC spec has 5 wires whereas the US model has 4 wires. After rummaging through the 2nd hand market for a A/F sensor with 4 wires I found out its the same for Armada and Infinity QX 70. Unfortunately I will get the sensor only today afternoon by 12.30 and there is not enough time to fix it and join the drive. Will see you all soon in the sands with a better performing car soon. 

Edited by Thomas Varghese
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On 6/29/2022 at 7:42 PM, Ale Vallecchi said:

Dear Desertnauts

not much time to plan and get ready for this drive. The impulse has come from the thought that perhaps the Badayer/Shuwaib area, after the congested cooler months, may have started to return to a more pristine state. As most of you know, I don't enjoy driving through dunes that bear too many scars from an excess of off-roading, hence my avoiding some of the most crowded areas. Nonetheless, Badayer, Shuwaib and indeed Sweihan are so sought after for a good reason: they are characterized by beautiful dune formations, which truly challenge anyone's off-roading skills and spirit. Therefore, I have thought it may be time to venture back into these locations, with the first of a new "Star (Dunes) Trek" series. 

This session has been nicknamed "First Contact" (after one of the big-screen Star Trek series), because it will be my way to get reacquainted with tall dunes and deep bowls. Bear with me for any possible imperfections. We'll navigate mostly by sight, moving from star dune to star dune, across the desert between Badayer and Madam.

We plan to start as close to 4:00PM as possible (hence the 3:30 PM meeting).  The convoy, being quite a short one, will start in the order indicated below, but will switch positions throughout the drive: every 30 minutes the car driving in Sweep will take Second Lead, with the rest of the convoy moving back 1 position (the original SL in 3rd place, and so on).

We'll start in the following order:

@Ashok chaturvedi in Second Lead

@Zixuan Huang - Charlie at #3

@Fabien Monleau at #4

@Mohamad Anwer at #5

@Pacific at #6, and

@Thomas Varghese in Sweep.

See you tomorrow at Badayer, near the quads' rental shops. Have a nice evening.

Dear @Ale Vallecchithank you for the very nice drive yesterday afternoon.  The terrain was untouched all they, evern the very common bowls such as the iftar bowl felt so soft and un touched, thanks to the windy few days earlier. 

We felt all VIPs due to the small convoy,  a few small refusals and a popout which was dealt with quickly and we moved on. 

The idea of swaping positions every 40 minutes was great and worked well for everyone 👏

@Ashok chaturvedi 

@Zixuan Huang - Charlie 

@Fabien Monleau 

@Pacific 

pleasure driving with you all always! And great to see you @Pacificon the dunes again!

See you all soon in the desert 

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