Afternoon Fewbie Desert Drive - Mystery Drive: Badayer Inverted - Dubai - 18 Apr 2026

[Ale Vallecchi]

Please read, understand, and follow the guidelines, etiquette, and responsibilities below.

MUST READ AND COMPLY

• Environmental Policy
• Offroad Flag Guideline
• Two Way Radio Guideline
• Off road Driving Etiquette's
• Emergency details for all off-roaders
• Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities
• Convoy Off-road Drives - Safety protocol during emergency alert
   

DRIVE DETAILS

Level:  Fewbie and above

When:  18 April 2026, Saturday

Meeting time:  3:00 PM - Sharp (Without any exceptions)

Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/vdaEpCtwhBNNgDm38

Action Plan: The first mystery about this drive is if I will be able to return from Italy in time for it 🤪..... kidding!! The actual reason is that I would like to choose an alternative itinerary, with at least some new waypoints, or connecting locations along different routes. I'll elaborate the plan during the week, and will drop the meeting point and final action plan on Friday PM. 

Approximate finish time: 6:30PM

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, enthusiasm and willingness to learn.

Recommended off-road gears: Walkie-talkie radio and off-road flag (MANDATORY), plus tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, compressor, walkie-talkie radio, off-road flag, shovel, first-aid kit and fire extinguisher.

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE

• This drive is limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Friday - 12 PM.
• If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, once anyone drops, you will be moved to the RSVP list.
• RSVP will close a day prior to preparing a convoy list.
• Latecomers will be returned back - Without any exceptions.
• Members without RSVP will be returned back - Without any exceptions.
• 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

 

[Ale Vallecchi]

Hello @Umair Raja. I saw you signed up for the drive on Saturday. As this is a Fewbie drive, I will.have to sign you out. Please join a Newbie drive at your earliest convenience. Thanks a lot for understanding, and hope to see you soon. 

[Ale Vallecchi]

Dear Desertnauts

Mystery solved: Badayer "inverted" is the theme of this drive. We'll drive in the Badayer/Area 53's area, inverting the direction, from the furthest entry point, to finally reach the Badayer's shops, near the "sunsetters'" spots.

The drive will start from a quite high star dune near Bezhad Ranch (AKA Ericsson Tower), and will proceed north through numerous star dunes, which we'll climb with gusto, until the sun goes down.

The convoy order will be the following:

@Giacomo in Second Lead

@Chema at #3

@Jerzi at #4

@Krinesh at Center

@_Piotr_ at #6

@Warbs at #7

@Shahid Mehmood at #8 and 

@Andrew John Melvill in Sweep

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow afternoon.

PS- Regarding the mystery posed by the chance I may not be able to return to Dubai, I did manage, even though with almost a 12-hour delay due to faulty aircraft. All is well that ends well !

[Jerzi]

Hello @Ale Vallecchi , good to hear you made it and the drive is on!

just to clarify, the drive in the end starts at 15:00?

thanks and see you tomorrow!

[Ale Vallecchi]

3 minutes ago, Jerzi said:

Hello @Ale Vallecchi , good to hear you made it and the drive is on!

just to clarify, the drive in the end starts at 15:00?

thanks and see you tomorrow!

Thanks @Jerzi. Yes, we meet at 3PM (and plan to leave as close as possible to 3PM). See you tomorrow. 

[Giacomo]

@Ale Vallecchi I won’t be able to make it unfortunately Ale, some plans changed. Apologies for the late notification.

Wish you a great drive ahead!

[Shahid Mehmood]

Hi @Ale Vallecchi Appogies I  have drop the drive. Unfortunately I will not able to make it. 

[Ale Vallecchi]

15 hours ago, Ale Vallecchi said:

Dear Desertnauts

Mystery solved: Badayer "inverted" is the theme of this drive. We'll drive in the Badayer/Area 53's area, inverting the direction, from the furthest entry point, to finally reach the Badayer's shops, near the "sunsetters'" spots.

The drive will start from a quite high star dune near Bezhad Ranch (AKA Ericsson Tower), and will proceed north through numerous star dunes, which we'll climb with gusto, until the sun goes down.

The convoy order will be the following:

@Giacomo in Second Lead

@Chema at #3

@Jerzi at #4

@Krinesh at Center

@_Piotr_ at #6

@Warbs at #7

@Shahid Mehmood at #8 and 

@Andrew John Melvill in Sweep

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow afternoon.

PS- Regarding the mystery posed by the chance I may not be able to return to Dubai, I did manage, even though with almost a 12-hour delay due to faulty aircraft. All is well that ends well !

Dear 

@Chema

@Jerzi

@Krinesh

@_Piotr_

@Warbs

@Andrew John Melvill 

PLEASE NOTE THE MEETING TIME IS 3:00 PM. There seems to have been some problems with the correct scheduling as I posted the drive from Italy, which has a different time zone.

Once again, WE'LL MEET AT 3 PM.  

Thanks 

[_Piotr_]

Thanks for the update 🙏.

I will departure 1:15pm from Yas Island and should be on time. 

[Warbs]

Hi all and @Ale Vallecchi

 

Apologies for the short notice, we will have to drop out of this drive. 

We look forward to the next one.