Morning Intermediate Desert Drive - Sweihan - Abu Dhabi - 15 Oct 2022

[Tom B]

@JeromeFJ on route but had two punctures. Repairing. May be 5-10 mins late. Sorry 

 

[Tom B]

19 minutes ago, Tom B said:

@JeromeFJ on route but had two punctures. Repairing. May be 5-10 mins late. Sorry 

 

Having to abort @JeromeFJ. One of punctures is not sealing. Too big a split. Won’t be able to make it. Have fun! 

[JeromeFJ]

Sorry about that Tom. See you next time

[JeromeFJ]

Thank you for joining the drive this morning ! This small group was perfect to explore this area. I'm still wondering how to qualify it : technical and high ?  highly technical ? technically high ? Never mind, these portions of empty dunes and virgin ridges were beautiful. and navigating through these required all your skills and capabilities.

The sand was very very soft, making the track difficult for the back of the convoy, and deep bowls, pockets, ditches, shrubs, rocks were all around, requiring full concentration.

If I want to summarize, first part was beautiful sharp ridges in the morning light, middle part was a big Little Sweihan, very challenging to cross, and the last hour was just pure driving concentration, in a mixed terrain.

Thank you for the support, @Looperand @Waqas Parvez securing the back, @Chris Wing watching me as SL, and adjusting the track, @Santoso Marjuki and  @Rajiv Sam participating with excellent team spirit. Excellent driving from all.

@Tom B, sorry to miss you, you made the effort of repairing your tire this morning, and you took the decision not to join as the repairs was not looking reliable, It was a wise decision, thank you for that. I will keep a spot for you in my next IM drive !

Enjoy the rest of the weekend !

[Looper]

Thanks @JeromeFJ for a truly Intermediate drive. It was an Excellent terrain and definitely tested the skills of everyone at this level. Some minor refusals here and there but everyone drove with commendable spirit. Small convoy definitely helped me a lot on my puny Jeep at the back, but sad to see all the drop outs. 

The technical terrain in the second part of the drive was my favourite. While I wanted to say it looked like Little Sweihan, it was the actual Sweihan, the big brother. The long radio silence was testament to the meditative sensation everyone was going through.

A big shout out to @Chris Wing as second lead, @Santoso Marjuki was excellent in his Jeep. Great driving by @Rajiv Sam good to see you after a while and finally @Waqas Parvez, you are a sanity check for all in a drive. Hope to see you all very soon.

Edited October 15, 2022 by Looper

[Waqas Parvez]

As @Looper previously mentioned, the drive was a proper intermediate drive that required a lot of focus, especially in the first half with high technical dunes,one small mistake you would end up in a pocket or would have had a poppout .We all experienced our fair share of refusal, but this didn't stop us from reaching the target distance that we had set and enjoying the drive as well @JeromeFJ thank you for exploring such area and driving  through such terrain, As once remarked by our great leader @M.Seidam if learn how to control your car in technical areas,high dunes and pacey drives will be easier for you. 

@Chris Wing thank you for the 2nd leader and hoping to see you new FJ soon🙂

@Santoso Marjuki it was pleasure driving with you and i was impressed, with your self recovery inspite both of your front tyre been airbone,diff lock of rubicon is too 👍 

@Rajiv Sam its been a while we drove together,was fun.

@Looper thank you for tugging us all out,it is always a confidence booster to see you in the convoy list.

[JeromeFJ]

@Looper and @Waqas Parvez, thanks for amazing pics in the gallery!

[Looper]

Started the drive after chanting this Mantra from @JeromeFJ.

On 10/14/2022 at 5:59 PM, JeromeFJ said:

"Desert Lords, kindly let me in, I will show care and respect"

Hope you will enjoy the video. Looks best on a large screen.

[JeromeFJ]

Great video @Looper !! Thank you !

[Looper]

1 hour ago, JeromeFJ said:

Great video @Looper !! Thank you !

It takes a great drive to make a great video. So thank you @JeromeFJ.