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@Pavel Pashkovskiy@Patrick allow me to provide my two cents on this: Self-declaration of how many drives one has done can never provide a real safe off-roading environment. We have noticed on multiple occasions where members declare they have driven for example +10 years offroad in the UAE, but upon joining we notice they don't possess even basic skills, and after some digging deeper they finally admit that this 10 years was more kind of camping and BBQ drives , Imagine taking someone like that on a higher level drive and getting into accidents and rollovers.... The same thing applies to drives done in another club. There is no common level with skillsets agreed across clubs in the UAE, so a Fewbie level with us could be a Newbie level in another club for example. Here at Carnity we use numbers as we have learned that for building a skillset or drive level it is a good healthy indicator. Of course, we do know that some people need more drives or other people need less drives to be ready for the next level, but every promotion you see passing by here has gone through a voting system amongst the marshals first and apart from the drive count we look at many other factors as well (see grading structure). Setting up a convoy for example a Fewbie Plus level drive in our current grading structure ensures that the drive lead at all times can be sure that his joining members are up for that level, and there are no members who would be out of their comfort zone or would get themselves in dangerous scenarios or slow down the convoy excessively. Please take note that all of our drive leads thoroughly look at the number of drives each person has done in order to decide on the proper convoy position and to keep an extra close watch on whoever is new on that level. The grading structure did not fall out of the sky in Carnity, it was built and tweaked numerous times thanks to the input of our members and leads to ensure maximum safety and enjoyment for everyone. There is no business aspect in that. Allowing a marshal to invite members from a lower level onto his drive ? How would that work ? And how fair would that be towards others ? "sometimes wish members were placed in the levels they belong based on their actual experience instead of having to do drives just for the sake of earning credits 😁" Please define how we would gauge your "actual experience" safely? A trip lead who is leading the drive is looking 90% of the time in front of him and would not see someone in the middle of the convoy fishtailing or fighting gravity, unless one of the other senior or supporting members would notice that. I would recommend you join to enjoy each drive, without counting as i have personally seen so many off-roaders rushing their drives to reach IM level as soon as possible, and then burning or fading out due to boredom. Driving in the desert is a fantastic hobby. Get to enjoy each drive, socialize, and don't focus too much on the numbers

Whoa !!! 10 Confirmed and 7 WL - For an afternoon "FRIDAY" Drive ??!!! Is UAE back to Friday Weekend Mode ???

15 seconds- convoy full... 15 seconds- wating list full... 🤣🤣 Do we have one more @Ale Vallecchi?

Hi Fred, thanks for your reply. Other clubs have "upgrade trips" where actual skills are demonstrated and assessed by one or more marshalls in the convoy. Yet at another club there is a system in place where 1 marshall can nominate a member for upgrade, and 2 other marshalls have to agree/vote before the upgrade takes place. I think Carnity works well for members who a) have never done any desert driving (so real newbies), and b) do not drive with other clubs concurrently. For members who have prior experience or who drive with other clubs it might not be so suitable. Or just go through the grading structure and accumulate credits. There are a number of members I know drive for other clubs, so I am not alone in my opinion. The members are there, but may not speak up. Agreed that number of drives does not equal experience and well noted on self-declaration. However a system of testing/demonstration as in an "upgrade trip" might be interesting to consider so that members are placed in the correct level. Nevertheless, I do not think that will happen but thought I will voice my opinion.

Yes definitely with the summer heat we usually revert to afternoon drives, SUPER EARLY morning drives, and many night drives

At other clubs I drive with even before joining Carnity the weekday drives are well-attended. Especially night-drives. I joined several night drives at Carnity many weeks ago, are there plans for any more?

Actually I heard it commented multiple times from different people during drives that they wish there were weekday drives offerings too 😁 The large numbers are not surprising, in my opinion. There seems to be quite a substantial member base that is self-employed or with flexible schedules that would happily do weekday drives and spend weekends with family 😊

MUST READ AND COMPLY Offroad Flag Guideline Two Way Radio Guideline Off road Driving Etiquette's Emergency details for all off-roaders Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities Drive Details Level: Fewbie and above (all levels) Meeting time: 3.00 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Dropped pin https://maps.app.goo.gl/WPggnLH2weo54A637 Action Plan: Zarzora was long rumored to have existed deep in the desert west of the Nile River between Egypt and Libya. In writings dating back to the 13th century, the authors spoke of a city which was "white as a dove" and called it "The Oasis of Little Birds" (the meaning of Zarzora). The first European reference to Zarzora is in an 1835 account: the Oasis called "Wadee Zarzoora" abounded "in palms, with springs, and some ruins of uncertain date". The legend persists still to this date: just before WW2 several European explorers, such as the legendary Bagnold, Almazy and Clayton, made forays into the desert in search of Zarzora, but never succeeded in finding it. We will keep looking for it, although in a different part of the desert. Who says we will not be able to run into the fabled remnants of date plantations and ruins of uncertain date? 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 P.S. Only join if you have a compressor to inflate your tires after the drive. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 10 cars maximum. RSVP will close on Wednesday - 5 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 below calendar

Thank you @M.Seidam for this drive. Great drives as always. I really enjoyed the climbs and the loops

Please Read Carefully Hello and welcom to another episode of inter emirates crossing and this time is more challenging in terms of difficulty of the route as we will be driving against the slip face from south east to northwest . please make sure from the begening of the week that your vehicle is fully ready as well as your gear per your rank. expect all sort of terrain from technical to long range dunes as well as wide landed sabkhas to cross over. very imortant to get very well rested the night before as you will need it to keep focus and attention to keep up with pace and time spent in drving. Note 1 : please keep an extra hour buffer in case of any delays Note 2 : its highly advisable not to join this drive if its your first Fewbie Note 3 : its highly advisable not to bring passenges not accustomed to long drives ( 85 km plus ) or known to develope motion sickness. Stay tuned for more info toward the end of the week. We request every member that joins this drive to go through the below information and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquettes and responsibilities. MUST READ AND COMPLY Offroad Flag Guideline Two Way Radio Guideline Off road Driving Etiquette's Emergency details for all off-roaders Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities DRIVE DETAILS Level: Fewbie and above When: 13 May 2023, Satuerday Meeting time: 05:45 - Sharp (Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/JnANM9MrDPGzKrod7?coh=178573&entry=tt Approximate finish time: 09:45 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. Mandatory off-road gears: Tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, compressor, walkie-talkie radio, off-road flag, shovel, first-aid kit, Tow Rope, 2 Shackles and fire extinguisher. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE This drive is limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close one day before the event . 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 couple hours 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 BELOW CALENDAR

Dear @Jona dear @Krishna R, just a few words, first to confirm that the drive is still on, even with a super short convoy. It should be quite a fast paced one. Please note that you may refuel at Sweihan's ADNOC station, opposite the wedding hall. The meeting point is on the other side of the road from Sweihan, so be careful to take the right turn-off. We'll decide the convoy order on the spot, with plenty of opportunities to switch positions. See you all tomorrow. Have a great night.

Hi Ahmed, Always a pleasure to meet you aswell my brother. I brought the car to the garage, luckily everything is fine. I am getting some things double checked. Hope to see you soon!

Agreed on the grading structure. I drive with multiple clubs and already do drives that at Carnity I would need to reach Intermediate level for just to join. This is also true for some other members who I have driven with privately. It's really numbers-based and doesn't take into account the overall and actual experience level, unfortunately. Personally, I am just trying to get the extra 15 drives done so I can reach Intermediate and do the drives I really want to do just based on my actual number of drives I have done overall in UAE. I love this club and am friends with many members, sometimes wish members were placed in the levels they belong based on their actual experience instead of having to do drives just for the sake of earning credits 😁

It's a bit strict system at Carnity with different, and sometimes unnecessary stretched grading. We respect, and understand that Carnity first of all business, and after fun. For my, personal opinion, Fewbie plus level is unnecessary, and maybe Marshals should have rights to add to their convoy members from other levels, based on their own evaluation. For example i will be happy to join Wednesday convoy with @Ale Vallecchiat sweihan, but lvl posted as Fewbie Plus. But generally, i agreed with you, weekday drives will be in demand, if they will be properly leveled and if Marshals will have rights to invite members. @GauravMaybe required some kind of "willing to participate" list, based on which Marshals can plan weekday drives.

Nice Pawel, well deserved and always fun driving with you!

@Pavel Pashkovskiypozdravlayu and enjoy your new level with our big @Carnity family.

Congratulations @Pavel Pashkovskiy - Some more options now - Well done ! am sure you will enjoy the pace up !

Congrats @Pavel Pashkovskiy !

Amazingly done Pavel! Enjoy and have fun 😁

@Gautam Banka thanks for the feedback with regards to the Apex valve - maybe thats why we could not build enough internal pressure to push the rubber against the rim. The new adaptor is surely required as we never know when we will need it. It was a great learning session for me - never had to fix a pop-out on a bead grips rim. Enjoy your week.

The Mercury Retrograde was heavy on me that day. 🤔 When the going gets tough, the tough get going - This is what I have experienced in Carnity Drives. 🤗 The tyres popped out twice on same day - same tyre. I checked tyre later and found that the apex valve had ruptured and there was a air leak happening. I have changed to new valve and car is fixed. Also realized to do few shopping for future rides - New Adaptor for tyres as old stock tyre adaptor not compatible with new method rim. A 2.5 ton jack for lifting the car, and some lubes for the tyres. I can't thank enough 🙌 to the crew who stayed back and did everything to pull my car back on the tarmac road. However it was a great fun and learning ride. My apologies to rest of the riders for holding you back. 🥴 I look forward to drive back this weekend with all corrective measures.

I really enjoyed the short tight convoy, Jeeps always have fun at the back of the convoy getting through the churn. infinite loops was a lot of fun as was the beautiful scenery at fossil rock. An on time finish is always highly appreciated when we have many other weekend commitments.

Thanks @M.Seidam for the drive, it was fantastic start for the weekend. Personally speaking, i can't miss a drive with you. Every time you teach us a new thing and the best is you always care for the safety of each one of us and our cars. @premindra rajaram I hope u checked the car and ready for next drive.. always enjoying the drive with u. I extend my thanks for the SL, support and sweeper. u always watching the drivers from different angles. Today we got the chance to roor our engines in high dunes and controlling our speeds. at the beginning I thought desert disappeared it was full of bushes and later we explored Al Fays dunes steadly and safely. Thanks for all.. looking forward to see u all in more and more drives Ahmad

TRIP REPORT Coming back to fossil rock after a year or more cleared all doubts that this grid area is totally fenced with openings from Khetem, mahafez mosque side and the southern part of Faye opposite the tahady motorcycle rental. In addition the whole western half of the grid has been transformed into a jungle leaving the eastern part and Faye the sandy terrain that we know . Fossil rock 🪨 itself from last year is internally fenced and becoming almost green , what a displaying beautiful portray . It was kinda challenging today from the start . At the beginning with google map crazy glitching . However we were all set on time and moved looking forward to what comes next. It wasn’t for a long till @premindra rajaram got stuck in super soft sand . But the problem was when the coolant temperature raised all of a sudden and we saw the Vaporising steam from the coolant side as if a volcano was in imminent eruption 🫢. This happened while tugging was taking place . Immediately brought him down from the inclined position to the flat . Car off and after a while carefully checked the coolant which was empty totally . Refilled and temperature of the silver Xterra adjusted back but still bit higher . The closest and fastest exit was to Maliha road at Khetem via the pylon track were we existed him safely ( he msged me later that he was already in Garag to check it out and I called him before I started typing this report that all good as it look’s apparently ) . we moved again to make it up for the remaining two hours left from khetem and oh yeah , sphinx was waiting where we had our first proper coffe break after that we climbed all the way to feya from behind where we lined up at its slip side where every one contributed nicely to form a spaghetti leaving their track marks 😄 spending the last hour in back and forth around that area which was super fulfilling to the content to hour hearts till time was calling for exit . @Jona perfect second lead pleasure meeting you for the first time . @premindra rajaram it’s always better safe than sorry and your exit was a wise decision . Hope we meet next time inshallah. But this time we will start from where we exited you and not from mahafez🤣 @Ahmad Nerat more than you drove flawlessly today , your welling to help and assist was remarkable and really appreciated . Thank you a lot my friend 🙏 @Bashar Beasha you did great today keep it up dear well done 👍 @munkybizness really happy to see you after quite a while . Your anchoring middle position as I knew you kept the convoy connected . Thanks my friend 👍 The wrangler boys @Gary F and @Bjoern barely I heard you on the radio which says it all 👍 @Felix Obst thanks for keeping an eye on all of us from the tail of the convoy very well done . Hope the boys enjoyed it today 😉 It’s a day I liked and enjoyed driving with all of you guys and hope to see you all next time . take care Seidam

Everything you need to know about Off-roading in UAE from Desert, Mountain, Wadi and Camping As simple literal meaning off-roading means any terrain off the road, but it gets way too confusing as per so many people different understanding with not enough clarity. After spending 12 years in UAE off-road scene, I feel this write up will help many offroaders clear their doubts and explain a lot of intrigue details to other aspiring offroaders. Off roading is a way of life For a vast majority of UAE population venturing offroad over the weekend is a way of life, that you sneak away from your busy lifestyle and enjoy the adrenaline rush to forget all your worries and recharge yourself. Why and how do you forget your worries? While off road driving your brain has to process hundreds of instructions per seconds that you will eventually forget all you were thinking in the first 5 minutes. And this process continues for the whole offroad drives and keeping you super alert at all times to have the best experience every time. Offroading is an act of driving a standard, stock or modified vehicle on any surface other than the tarmac road. It can be on loose gravel track, beach sand, desert, dunes, mountains or in wadi's (riverbeds). There are several different ways of off-roading in UAE based on your adventure appetite from leisure drives with stock (unmodified) vehicles to slightly modified vehicles to competition level with highly modified vehicles. Off road drive Sand Driving This is the most basic and first step towards an offroading. This requires your standard road 4x4 vehicle with proper 4x4 and LO gearing or even AWD vehicle is acceptable to a certain extent, but not an SUV. All you need to do is deflate your tires to 14-15 PSI to gain more traction and increase the footprint of your tire to spread the vehicle pressure on a greater surface area. At first, learn some basics of offroading in the sand in UAE. Plan your entry and exit points carefully either by following offroad books available in UAE or by existing trails from wikiloc. This level of a drive can be done on the beach, desert or any place close to the habitat territories. In the desert, it's usually restricted to either flat tracks (sabka's) or easily passable tracks on the broad dunes. Dune Bashing This is the most common level of offroading in the UAE, where the group of offroaders get together and venture in desert dunes and explore the uncharted and uninhabited territories. This requires a proper 4x4 with minimum 8-10 inches of ground clearance and deflation of 10-15 PSI depending on the tire and vehicle load. This level of drive organizes in the desert having plenty of dunes to make your own path on virgin sand dunes. This challenge requires special skills of reading the sand and riding the 4x4 with precise control to continue moving without getting stuck. Self-recovery in the sand is the most important skill that every offroader should learn after the first few drives. If you are stuck in the sand, then listen to the instructions very carefully without getting panic. Get out of the car to analyze the situation and also to help the person who is helping you either by shoveling or by fixing the tow rope to your car in the proper recovery point (tow hook). Once you are out of the stuck, do remember to get out of the car for removing the rope and thanking the person. In dune bashing chances of getting stuck are very high and that's why most of the offroaders venture in groups to help each other with proper offroad recovery gears. You can join the like-minded offroad club freely available over Websites, Facebook, Meetups and Whatsapp groups. All you need to do is join a couple of few to find where do you fit the best, as every offroad club and groups are different and unique in their own ways. Some people do prefer private drives over the club and vice versa, check out the reasons here. Mountain Driving This is the second most common level of offroading in the UAE, where offroaders get together to explore beautiful mountains, wadis, and gorgeous camping spots. This requires a proper 4x4 with minimum 8-10 inches of ground clearance and deflation of 22-25 PSI depending on the tire and vehicle load. This level of drive organizes in scenic mountains either accessible by gravel track or by tarmac road to a partial extent. Traversing through rocky mountains or riverbed, do require a special skill that is easier to learn with capable offroaders. Similar to dune bashing, you can join any offroad club for quickly gaining the right experience with safety. These are the Top 3 off-road mistakes in Desert & Mountain that you can learn and avoid. Off road cars Depending on the level of off-road adventure you seek, you need a capable off road vehicle to make you a good offroader. Not all 4x4 and SUV are made equally capable and some are better, stronger and more reliable than others. To begin your offroading journey you can take your regular road vehicle if it's equipped with 4x4 gearing and LO gear option and also have 8-10 inches of ground clearance. Once you get a hang of this new offroading hobby it's always better to invest on a separate dedicated offroad vehicle because of several reasons: You can enjoy the best of both worlds: a comfortable vehicle for road and stronger vehicle for regular off road use An offroad vehicle will be limited to weekend bashing to prolong it's offroad usable life, as every offroad car require more frequent maintenance than the road car. If your offroad vehicle is under repair, you can still safely use your road car for daily commute. You can freely modify your offroad car by trimming bumpers, lifting the suspension, additional lights etc. You will be more comfortable in pushing the rev limiter in 20-40K dhs offroad vehicle than in 200K road car. Here is the list of best offroad 4x4 cars under 10K and 20K dhs in UAE, if you really get serious for offroading. After every offroad drive, you need to check your vehicle before hitting the road again with these post offroad drive car care checklist to make sure if your vehicle is safe for the road again or not. For more serious and regular dune basher, you should learn from other offroaders mistake to know what went wrong just before the accident. These discussions and feedback from seasoned offroaders will help you avoid the disaster and save your life and vehicle. Last but not least wherever you venture, please do not throw your trash or anything as it's a house of beautiful wildlife who get killed by eating plastic, tins, glasses and even metal threw as garbage. If you spot anyone doing it, please explain this to them as many people think that desert is an abandoned area and they can throw anything there. Due to this inconsiderate approach authorities are fencing lot of conservation area and also issuing hefty fines for offroaders littering in the desert or mountains. Feel free to ask me any question for more details or suggest me to add more valuable points for offroading in the UAE.