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DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, Al Qudra is the off-roading backyard for most of us: a well known territory, usually associated with the idea of fairly easy drives. Today's drive was specifically meant to get past this stereotyped image and prove that even Al Qudra can be a very challenging place for off-roading, even at Intermediate level. The whole convoy (at the end we were 12 cars, which for a Monday afternoon Intermediate is probably unprecedented in Carnity), was diligently ready by 3.30pm sharp, and 10 mins later we closed our briefing and hit the sand. During the previous couple of days more than one participant had made it clear that the expectation for a real Intermediate level was high, and my drive brief had certainly contributed to such expectations. Well, I think the convoy got a good taste of an Intermediate Drive today. After a couple of minutes of warm up, we started a very fast paced stint along a nice group of mid-sized long dunes. It was a shot of adrenaline that woke up the whole convoy: anyone who had plans for a relaxed drive doing some photos here and there immediately came to realize that this wasn't such drive, and that - as promised in drive post and radio brief - this was, on the contrary, a drive requiring the full, undivided attention of every driver. As Carnity Advisors say, a Leader in an Intermediate drive doesn't use the rearview mirror that much, and I must say I didn't. Today's convoy was bombastic, really fantastic. Whatever I threw at them they chewed it without hesitations. From what I could see, @Ahab Shamaa, who had made the impossible to be able to join the drive, chased my tail very closely, making an amazing 2nd lead in all situations, while @Jon M, who was in his 1st Intermediate drive, was definitely faced with a whole new game, but stood to the challenge magnificently. @Ashok chaturvedi's yellow FJ Cruiser did wonders today as we didn't spare any possibility for breaking crests and doing high speed criss-crossings both from windward side to slipside and from slipside to windward side. After approx 40 mins we completed our first stint and entered an area of smaller and more technical dunes, which I tried to spice up with some very quick and tight turns and tons of sharp criss-crossings. It was here were we had the first serious stuck, with @Islam Soliman's GMC Yukon digging down in a small bowl of soft sand, which gave me the chance to inaugurate my brand new winch. A few mins after I got crested in a moment of hesitation. Being an afternoon short drive, we should have opted for a quick tug (which eventually turned out to be the solution, with @Anish S, performing an exemplary recovery), but we instead indulged shoveling, as @Mohamed Seidam's contagious enthusiasm couldn't be contained in those moments. After crossing a sabkha, we then started the 3rd stint of our drive, this time on the longest, tallest, and most complex dunes of the day. The drive had been named "The Slip Side of Al Qudra" and I think that if anyone had not yet understood why I had chosen such title, he/she had pretty much a clear idea at this point, as we probably dived down on slip faces at least 100 times during this section of the drive. We had a couple of crested cars, brilliantly and quickly recovered, and in general the convoy did incredibly well along these high and complex dunes. @Tariq Carrimjee, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe and @Ilya Golubinsky found finally adequate challenges for their capable Wranglers. Certainly today wasn't the ideal occasion for an open top drive, as @Tariq Carrimjee realized.. 😂😂 I was honestly amazed by @Gaurav Soni, who pushed is Pajero to an outstanding performance. Equally astonishing was @Jack Thomas, who had the hardest job of all today with his intercontinentally long F150. By 6.10pm I was planning our way out across the last few dunes to get out on the sabkha and eventually to Bab Al Shams. It was probably because we all felt a bit exhausted and started relaxing in the anticipation of the imminent exit, that the classic last minute disaster happened: literally not more than 50m away from the safe flat sabkha, we suddenly found ourselves in a couple of difficult bowls, where we had 3 pop-out and two stucks, one to be winched out. @Jack Thomas's two pop-outs in 15 mins were part of the game, but they should be considered a badge of honor in today's drive, as they both happened in the most difficult terrain of the day, which costed me a pop-out as well. He's still light-years away from the all-times record of pop-outs that I still hold, so he shouldn't get too excited about today's double..😂😂 The last minute disaster costed us a bit more than a full hour, so we finally made it to the tarmac by 7.30pm. All tired but, behind our masks, certainly smiling. Congratulations to everyone for a majestic performance today. I hope you all had fun as much as I did. Also, many thanks to @Islam Solimanand @Anish S for the great help in the final messy 45 mins. Your help was key to sort out the pop-outs, especially the last one, fixed in a deep bowl and in the dark. Equally my gratitude goes to all the others, who patiently waited on the sabkha: this solidarity and team spirit is one of the reasons I love driving with Carnity. See you soon at the next mid-week drive, Desert Wanderers!!

12 waitlisted. Better start charging for your drive @Frederic bhai.🤣

@Lorenzo Candelpergher, I'm literally in an Uber going to the SZR Toyota to pick up my FJ. I’m still hopeful I can join 😂 I hope to see you guys 😀

There is something very important I have to communicate to fellow desert wanderers. In the drive announcement the Marshal's encourage us to bring loads of water for each drive. I also used to bring loads of water but have never used much as frequency for bio breaks increases proportionately. My fellow wanderers please don't feel shy to take bio breaks in between. Drink lots of water. I don't want to elaborate what happened to me but whatever happened was not pleasant. The suffering I had for almost 3 days is beyond description. Couldn't sleep for all this time as my stomach was feeling like a football inside. Its important to take care of us during the drive as we take care of the machines. The effects of dehydration is not at all pleasant.

same here @Junaid120120. The family thinks I have gone mad.

cant wait for my first fewbie plus drive all excited. and yeah. thanks @Lorenzo Candelpergher for taking me in the drive and yes ur drive was full within a minute. I was out with my family and had to stop my car and apply for the drives lol. my family was unable to understand my madness hahahahaha..

thanks Frederic, very interesting topic, appreciate the time you spent to put all this valuable tips/info together

Dear @Lorenzo Candelpergher Good morning Your reply has been noted and will try to apply after 5th FB drive. Regards....

@Ashy congratulations and well done . We have another JGC climbing up to the challenges ... well done

Which you @Lorenzo Candelpergher and all a safe and enjoyable drive

Short memories from the drive

Slip face drive in Qudra indeed it was a drive I needed to do in Qudra and my wish came true. Fast paced doing almost all maneuvers we needed to do and the some refusals , stucks and pop outs we encountered were a bonus . Hat off really for the lead today @Lorenzo Candelpergher for this amazing challenging afternoon as well as for all the other drivers who kept the adrenaline pumping. Well I couldn’t keep my friend and companion in the car locked for many hours 🤣 ( the shovel ) , but yes agree that short afternoon day drive makes it faster with the rope 👍😄 thank you @Anish S for joining us today and being our sweep and @Ahab Shamaa our fantastic second lead and every one being centrally forwarding when needed. happy to see all of you today and enjoyed the drive more then ever @Lorenzo Candelpergher @Ahab Shamaa @Islam Soliman @Ilya Golubinsky @Tariq Carrimjee @Jon M @Jorge Stepniak Felippe @Jack Thomas @Gaurav Soni @Ashok chaturvedi @Anish S

Bravo @David Ortells.

Congrats @David Ortells. Well done!!

Congrats @stavros papachristos!!

Waitlist 1) Islam Soliman (1) 2) Nizam Deen (1) 3) Muhammad Kashif Razzaq (1) 4) Rizwan Waheed (1) 5) Craig Finlayson (1) 6) Christian Andras (1 ) 7) Mohammed Seidam (1) 8- Jorge Stepniak Felipe (1) 9) Rizwanm2 (1) 10) Ashok Chaturvedi (1) 11) Francois Germishuys (1) 12) David Ortells (2)

@Vanessa8580 You are 100 % correct I pulled out my name from driving list as my car F150 having some steering issues on low RPM ,Iam sending it to service center ,not sure it will come back in time thats the reason I request for wait list

Hi @Junaid120120, As far as I can see, your rank is still Fewbie, so you don't qualify yet for an Intermediate Drive. I am sure you will soon have your chance. Good point, I will do that. Thanks

On these things i would take zero risk. After all you don’t want to end up with steering issues on the road which could potentially lead to serious incidents. I would bite the bullet and get it fixed properly, and not by a backyard mechanic who will make you lots of promises but you might end up having the same problem again and again.

Congratulations @Ashy

@Bhaskar congratulations well done

@Dodi Syahdar congratulations and well done

@stavros papachristos congratulations

@Hossam Anwar congratulations

Congratulations @David Ortells. Well done

Very well deserved. Many congratulations @David Ortells

Congratulations @Dodi Syahdar for reaching the Fewbie Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. Fewbie: Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 5 Newbie drives are required within last 3 months for Fewbie promotion. What you'll learn Basic dune and sand reading Self-recovery techniques Shoveling at right place Crawling out of difficult situations Blip Blip - Coordinate steering and gas control Advance side sloping and hill climb Basic ridge riding and criss crossing Basic control over technical dunes Slightly faster pace desert driving Ability to manage stuck/refusals with radio Learn to control and avoid fishtailing Never fight or challenge gravity Skills required Enthusiastic and positive attitude Willingness to learn and help others Presence of mind and attention to detail Car Worthiness Any 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor. Drive teamwork Manage second lead and sweep positions upon request Intuitive and proactive to support Trip Lead Observe recoveries and offer help, when needed Drive Joining Join Newbie and Fewbie drives And Fewbie Plus, after 5 drives at Fewbie level only Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

Congrats @Dodi Syahdar!!

I actually like the shape of the FJC despite its lack of visibility. It will be perfect if they drop in a bigger engine just to give consumers the options /choice.

This interesting....since TJ's make 70% of their power below the 3k rpm mark, I think the Turbo might bridge the gap to 5.4k rpm....and you'd be saving money on the part of the torque curve where the extra power isnt really needed (since super chargers are more expensive). Pretty sure the love one has for turbo hot hatches is a universal feeling. it might even be illegal to dislike a hot hatch.

Hope you managed to catch the drive @Ahab Shamaa enjoy

Legend! Thanks... see you soon!

Hi @Jon M, You are welcome to join the drive as we will still have one place left even if @Ahab Shamaa joins.

Waitlist 1 @N@ved 2 @Ahab Shamaa

Would be great to incorporate this wording into the standard meeting's announcement template

Congratulations @David Ortells

Congratulations @stavros papachristos

Hi Moe & Lucie! glad that you can join for this drive. See you soon.

@David Ortells Congrats buddy...

Or even third one 🤣🤪It’s becoming hilariously epic already 🚙

Thank you @Rahimdad... learning from experts like you and @Brettewas an amazing experience! Thanks again...

Congratulations @Ashy!

Congratulations @Ashy, well deserved. The only person after @Brette I have seen comfortable enough with his JGC to support a drive. Your assistance in our last drive together is highly appreciated and I enjoyed watching you handle your JGC with much more ease than when I had seen you earlier. You have the right attitude and enthusiasm to march on from here to higher levels. Looking forward to many more drives with you.

Congratulations @Dodi Syahdar!

Congratulations @Dodi Syahdar. Hope you continue to enjoy learning and polishing your skills at this new level.

Congrats @Ashy!!

Congrats @Ashy well deserved.

There are several ways to cross a dune. We always start with the easiest which is straight up and straight down. Slowly but surely we test your side slopping technique and control. Once we feel you earned a reputation for doing it cleanly comes the most thrilling part which is criss crossing a dune. It is scary at first, but like everything else once you have perfected your technique you'll be craving for these opportunities. The one on one training is to help you conquer your fear and be more confident with the dos and donts of these tricks and more. You are most welcome to sign up for a module or the discounted 4 hours session to improve on your skills. @Ale Vallecchi is right in pointing out that the video posted is for extreme drives. But once you have done a few intermediate drives this will be a piece of cake you won't be able to live without.

Well done @Frederic for taking so much time to share this great off-road knowledge. Very well explained and documented with perfect diagrams and videos. Only thing I like to add for all new offroaders, learn and follow above instructions to the max but never fight the gravity. If you had a bad feeling for any side sloping, criss crossing attempt, exit safely and make another attempt rather than fighting the gravity. Small deviation of track can also cause lot of difficulty and push the car to the soft patch, in that case simply accept the defeat and exit down without fighting with mother nature. Even experienced offroader do have refusal and repeat without any hesitation, that's the real fun and challenge of offroading.