Leaderboard

DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, This was my 1st drive after having skipped 2 weekends, but it was also @Luca Palanca Falsini's and @Yousef Alimadadi's first drive in almost 2 months: a lot of rust to remove! We started from Lisaili Fort with great punctuality, moving at 5:48 am, in the twilight before the sunrise. Our first stint, from the Fort to the Pylon Track, was a nice "warm-up", as someone defined it on the radio. Those very irregular dunes where not at all easy to read and we soon inaugurated the day with a couple of stucks there, with @PaoloMaraziti doing the honors of the 1st one, sorted by some good team work at shoveling, followed by a 2nd stuck, requiring a tug, by I don't remember who.. @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil, maybe? After reaching the Pylon Track we entered a 2nd stretch of small technical dunes, which again caused a few refusals and a stuck by @Yousef Alimadadi, who had to be tugged out just before entering the long range dunes area. After 2 months out of the game, it takes a while to get the sand feeling back. We then spent a good hour riding long ridges back and forth in a very smooth stint, with no stucks or refusals. Lots of fun there, as we progressively made our zig-zag south towards the Mighty Lisaili Dunes, which we climbed from all sides. A few times the convoy got a bit stretched, but we were able to quickly recompact it with a couple of stops. It was around there when@Shehab Alawadhi managed to get eventually stuck and soon after crested. He had been asking me on the radio if all those tight crests and sharp turns were specifically chosen to get him stuck with his F150.. Well, for sure they weren't chosen to make his life easier, but judging from these photo he kind of enjoyed the challenge 😂😂: After descending on the south side of the Mighty Lisaili Dunes we entered a very nice area where we performed a long sequence of convoluted spaghetti-style rounds: It was definitely a very enjoyable portion of the drive, but probably a bit too demanding for @imranaasghar81's passenger, who eventually ended up with motion sickness. It was then decided to help@imranaasghar81 make an early exit on the nearby dirt track across the sabkha to ease his passenger's condition. While on the track, we noticed @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil's front left tire was flat. With no apparent damage or sign of leakage, we decided to reinflate the tire and see how it behaved a few mins after. This was, probably, the time when everyone relaxed a bit too much, because as we headed back to the dunes, while @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil and myself re-checked the tire pressure finding out we needed to replace it with the spare, both @Rawad and @Yousef Alimadadi had a front tire pop-out, respectively on the right and left side. Thanks to the experienced support team, all three issues (tire replacement and 2x pop-out fixing) were sorted out simultanously and we could soon move again, heading towards the last playground of the day, a big bowl where we enjoyed a couple of rounds before the last popout by @Luca Palanca Falsini occurred while we were just 200m away from the nearby sabkha to exit. What a day! Once fixed, we were quickly out, reaching Al Qudra Road by 9:47am, just 1 min under 4h from our departure at Lisaili Fort. Overall we covered 68km, driving for 3h 7' at an average moving speed of 21.8km/h and stopped in total for 53'. The whole convoy did very well today: @Alain Canivet-AbikhalilCanivet-Abikhalil was a great 2nd lead, following my lines with very few hesitations. Hope his leaking tire can be easily fixed. @PaoloMaraziti, at his 2nd FB+ drive, managed to keep up with the high pace, handling well all passages including a couple of tricky criss-crossing points. Well done! @Rawad handled his Y62 very well even when we approached the area of the Mighty Lisaili Dunes, where we had to do some tight maneuvering. @Chinthaka Ruwan followed surely and safely in all situations. I don't recall any refusals with him, if I'm not mistaken. I didn't have much visual on the Intermediate guys behind, @Matt.T, @imranaasghar81, @Looper, @varunmehndiratta and @Shehab Alawadhi, who probably found today's drive a walk in the park, but I 'm sure @Yousef Alimadadi and @Luca Palanca Falsini will add their precious feedback in the comments. Kudos to everyone and great thanks to @Yousef Alimadadi and @Luca Palanca Falsini for their support. Very glad to have you both back!! See you all soon in the sand!

Well, there's not much left to say @Wrangeld that was a brilliant drive. It was the first time I wander in this part of the desert. Thank you for the discovery. Always a pleasure to follow your lead, at any level I keep learning from your technical expertise. @Niki for the new title I suggest "The Punstobable" 😆 @Niki and @Alex Raptor your expertise and spirit are the best support ! Also wanted to highlight @S Jacob who had to react quickly several times when I was caught short. @Abdul Rafay-S, i think it's the first time I see you behind the wheel well done ! @Damien Ranjit @Ehab @Naveen Raj nice to meet you and looking forward to have more drives with you @munkybizness those days are definitely part of the game and the learning curve. @Christopher Assal you're not a Fewbie 😄 and what's happening between you and @Niki ? 🤔 @Pierre de Maigret good to see you back compatriot !

Fantastic drive @Lorenzo Candelpergher I enjoyed it, I wouldn’t say a walk in the park for me, I felt I was being tested to see if I could Maneuver my car through all the sharp crests and in between all the tight dunes, and eventually I did get stuck 😂. I guess I’m too used to Area 53/Fayah/Fossil Rock where there is a lot of space for error. Other than that I enjoyed the drive, and the weather wasn’t actually that bad especially earlier in the morning, I noticed @Luca Palanca Falsini was driving with his windows down. Great job everyone and see you all soon inshallah 💪🏽

Really really good drive you really kept us on our toes Lorenzo. Matt who was ahead of me drove like a legend as always and my passenger despite getting motion sickness is off to purchase a pajero if anyone has any recommendations ie swb / lwb I'll pass the message on Thanks all much love and have a fantastic week Imran

@Alain Canivet-Abikhalili think he just really likes my socks brother. Maybe more then me 😂 , as long as at @Nikiis happy so am I 😍

Thanks @Lorenzo Candelpergher @Luca Palanca Falsini and @Yousef Alimadadi for the beautiful drive. Soft sand and irregular long range dunes at Lisali, as always, ensured that we were all always awake and fully attentive through the drive. Apart from initial hiccups through the tech zone and late in the drive, some mystical tyre spirits suggesting us to exit, the convoy did very well. Sorry for being a bit late in the morning (snooze button is always dangerous 😃), thanks @Lorenzo Candelpergher for support in deflating ensured that we still managed to move on time.. Hope to see you all soon. . @Lorenzo Candelpergher@Luca Palanca Falsini

It was mostly a smooth flowing drive , given the route chosen by @Wrangeld, and thanks for trusting me with the 2nd lead role. But for the "double stuck" at the same crest by me, it would have been almost recovery free. Continuously getting crested on the same dune twice and just scraping through on the 3rd attempt, is not really something to be proud of . Thanks to @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ and @Abdul Rafay-S for the double tug, it must have been annoying to tug me out the second time 🙏 at the same place. Still scratching my head, as to what was influencing my judgement , preventing me from getting that right level of gas, having done plenty of straight up/straight down on dunes. Probably the darkness, as this was my first proper night drive ? So , a lesson learnt - do more night drives and get it right!!! Good to drive again with @Danish Mohammad @Pacific @Mario Cornejo, meeting some new faces @TheoB, @Santoso Marjuki and @Bernard Kalaani. Looking forward and coming back for more !!

so it turns out that you are only a good SL but also a talented writer.. great summary @Gregory... you captured almost all the highlights of today's drive. As I said in the drive debrief, we plan for the drive but on sand you have to go with the flow and as you rightly said expect the unexpected. I am glad you, your son, and the rest of the convoy enjoyed the experience and all the skills practiced.. I believe the key takeaways from today can be summarized to: - a shovel and a tug robe are your best companion on the sand.. specially a proper shovel 😉 - teamwork is key, despite of how tough and challenging the drive looked, we all had fun and came out better drivers because we worked together as a TEAM - in tough situations, staying cool and thinking and acting fast is key to safe outcome, @Zixuan Huang - Charlie you demonstrated all today and can't thank you enough for your quick grab of the fire distinguisher and correct use of it.. I have seen before people struggling in panic and unable to remove the safety pin and properly direct it to the source of fire.. you ticked all the boxes on this item today.. well done and THANK YOU🙏 - having the "RIGHT" distance is key to avoid tricky situations.. today's last stuck with 3 cars was the lead example - momentum and tight control of steering is key.. in today's drive most of you did very well in the technical tight dunes which means you have very good control on the steering when moving in low speeds... next is to start doing the same with the speed ramping up and that what will get you to enjoy the long range dunes without high risks of stocks or God forbid rolls Again, thank you all for the wonderful company today.. hope to see you soon on the sand

I certainly made use of all my shoveling skills learnt from previous drives this time, never felt my shovel is this heavy before, and big thank to everyone, where we all showed the team spirit @Islam Soliman @Gregory @Daniel Yang @Aisha S @Anoop Nair I never expected that I would be using the fire extinguisher anywhere in desert drive, I only brought it because of the grading requirement. The fire started by crawling in the sand with dry bush under the engine, maybe both the friction and the heat produced by the running engine with 4low engaged made the fire. @Islam Soliman Perhaps we should bring this to ppl's attention by post a topic? and I believe you have the pictures taken. I had 2 stucks and several refusals, I guess I was too relaxed at the back that my level of attention wasn't enough for the technicals, thank you @Islam Soliman for always covering my ass The winner of the day @Aisha S, the only one who did not get single stuck (my jinx didnt go well), and drove very well. Apologies for not saying goodbye face to face to everyone at the end of the drive, (I did announce in the radio but only Anoop copied the message) I was really behind my schedule and had to run for my other commitment, Thanks God I wasn's too late. Till next time!

Trip report: It was good to see everyone at the meeting point on time and all smiles. After a quick briefing we were off just in time to see the sun rise over the dunes. The area we entered from turned out to be a bit deceiving and about 15 minutes into the drive I got myself into a soft pocket and needed @Rizwanm2 to give me a quick tug. With newbie drives I tend to start with some small technical patches where we drive through slow but it requires each drivers undivided attention. It was going to be a challenge with a 16 long convoy, but knowing that I had @Rizwanm2 @Nabil Bishara and @marks in support was a blessing and I went ahead. We did have our share of stucks and refusals that were quickly handled by the support team and we made it all the way to the camel farm at the other end. I was really impressed with the entire convoy, you all did exceptionally well. A special shout out to @Bernard Kalaani @salah2u and @YazGayed who were on their first newbie drive and managed very well. From the camel farm we moved towards the bigger rolling dunes of Margham where everyone hopefully had fun riding the flatter ridges and doing some sideys before we exited. @YazGayed sorry about the rear bumper lower facia getting ripped off. If you plan to use the JGC a lot in the desert, I would suggest leaving it without the lower facia in the front and back. It gives you a bit more clearance as well. Thanks again @Rizwanm2 @Nabil Bishara and @marks for the excellent support and @Enrico Biscaro for being the perfect second lead, you maintained the perfect distance and on a couple of occasions rerouted the convoy perfectly. Well done ladies and gentlemen. See you all again in the sand..

@Sunil Mathew no worries buddy. All was part of game. This is how we all learn. Rest is very well explained by @Wrangeld.

It happens. All this moment did is show that taking the lead is a challenge. Normally you're following so see the way over. This one I asked you to reroute. You had the lead. That's a different experience. Don't worry about it, don't put yourself under more pressure. Just enjoy.

Bit late to the party, had to drop the truck this morning to check out a funny noise on the drivers side front spring, I'm also taking the opportunity to change out all my schrader valves as I'm getting inconsistent deflate & inflate using my hose system. Yesterday was an absolute pleasure, I think its all been said already, thoroughly enjoyed it and there was something for everyone in the terrain we covered, everyone performed admirably and we covered a lot of ground at a decent pace. Theme for the next one might have to be "inappropriate socks"? Have a good week everyone, until next time......

Been a while since I wrote here but guess been a while since I drove with carnity and was a pleasure. Mr @Wrangeld aka “Did you see my recovery”, even though you were hidden . Thank you again as always a pleasure to drive with you, seem to be my go to Stalk , I mean , Marshall…. Again lovely lines and really really enjoyed the drive and support. Great advice as always which I put into practice on my drive tonight. @Alex Raptor always fantastic to drive with you and have your support and advice, and seemingly unlimited supplies and tools in the raptor. I have some great pics of the you and the raptor if you would like, just grab my number. @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil second time I have seen you in 2nd lead and you drive your driving is really great as always 👍🏾 @munkybizness thanks for allowing me to fill my boots with sand! Only kidding honestly I think your being hard on yourself. As you mentioned and others its just the the throttle control I could see but it’s easily solved . Although we both have a very capable car we do have differences from stock in our models due to the years and I did just replace the shocks which has made a huge difference. But you very drove well and it was so soft even more so at the back once churned up. Everyone else on convoy was a great drive and very much enjoyed it! Oh @Niki , I did get dressed in the dark brother and although they are not my wife’s socks I have a selection of luminescent socks, makes up for the lack of lights 😂. I will continue to wear them on drives you are on hopefully next time with my padded spandex for you and continue to impress you. Maybe I should put it at the top of my pole, flag pole. Very much enjoyed your company and driving at the back with @Pierre de Maigret thanks again . See you guys around

Thank you very much 😄😂 I will have to think carefully about my next wish to avoid future curses 🤣

You did great today @Aisha S.. impressed with your driving skills and how good you managed your capable ride.. in addition for sure to your great team work and unmatched passion for shoveling 😉 What is your next wish?!🤣

I was looking at the off-road club grading structure yesterday and what I needed to accomplish and learn in order to be able to get promoted. One of those was the ability to shovel and dig yourself out of situations and learn some problem solving skills. Seemed simple enough and I ended up asking for it (I seldom get what I ask for) and it ended up being a curse only because the weather is still unbearable and we ended up shoveling for most of the drive. A part of me is glad however because I believe I did a decent amount of learning today thanks to everyone who got stuck, the teamwork and spirit and most importantly, @Islam Soliman. I regret nothing, but I will not ask to shovel again until winter I believe. I loved how the entire convoy helped each other out, and I'm glad your kid ( @Gregory ) had lots of fun watching us recover ourselves today.

@Wrangeldthanks….. again! Long periods of radio silence, free flowing convoy and a drive led with humor and supportive throughout! This is now your ‘signature’ … I think it’s time we replace Mr.Technical …. Suggestions welcome and the best title will win a prize was a pleasure to be part of this convoy - @Alex Raptor flawless again in CF supporting all and I even got a turn to have a tug! @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil SL duties again for you and yet again, perfectly managed! @munkybizness I think you are being hard on yourself… near 4 hours with one rope and a few reattempts .. considering the soft sand and being at the tail end - I’d say a strong drive and as you’ve already called out .. an opportunity to build on our skill with the throttle and steering controls. @Pierre de Maigret right at the back with soft difficult tracks and you running the stock FJ tires! I salute you in how you drove… also getting to see the magic of A-trac was well worth the mini crest! Consider that when/if you move to true AT tires - your may find driving too easy! @Christopher Assal was a pleasure being on a drive with you again… even though you seemingly got dressed in the dark and accidentally picked up your wife’s bright pink leggings/socks - they should become your go-to desert driving gear as you were immense! thanks for the support with the limited stucks we had. @Abdul Rafay-S at your age I hadn’t even mastered parallel parking and here you are effortlessly managing a fewbie! I genuinely thought your dad was driving and there is no bigger compliment than that! @S Jacob @Ehab @Damien Ranjit - look forward to a being on a convoy with you all again soon!

Wow, what a drive! Or should I say an extended practical tutorial After several weeks of smooth, and mostly stuck/refusal free drives, I was expecting something similar today on the Bab al Shams morning. I also had in my mind that with a small group, we would be able to increase the pace and cover more ground. It shows that in life, one should always expect the unexpected! @Aisha S had a wish - to be able to dig, and to be part of / assist with recoveries as far as possible. Within 30 minutes of our very humid start, her wish was granted... I was the first to get stuck. As second lead, I wanted to ensure I kept up with @Islam Soliman, and fulfil my duty - I ended up too close. I was generously assisted by all, and the situation was treated as a learning experience. One after the next, others granted her her wish too, either in the form of refusals or stucks - at one time we had 3 of the cars stuck at the same time. This included @Islam Solimanon occasion. Lots of digging, tow ropes and creative thinking/strategies in the super soft sand. Beautiful dunes but such soft sand. I decided to keep my tow rope inside my car (as opposed to the trunk) from that point on as it seemed to be a very popular piece of equipment during the drive. In between these stucks, we did some ridge riding. What was fantastic was how the group members assisted each other in finding solutions, and the participating (all Covid guidelines observed), and this was patiently and graciously facilitated by @Islam Soliman This is how people learn their strategies - from a practical perspective, which increases their confidence and skill. Patience was tested in the (by now) hot sun. @Aisha S 's wish allowed us to enjoy a very different drive to the one that most of us may be used to. On the way to the exit, @Islam Soliman returned to the back of the convoy to assist with a stuck situation. When he called for fire extinguishers, I originally thought that he was inviting us back for some barbecued Kofta - it was actually some vegetation under his car that had caught alight/was smoking. Quick thinking (and use of his fire extinguisher) by @Zixuan Huang - Charlie ensured the danger was controlled, and Islam's Yukon prevailed. @Anoop Nair followed up by using his shovel to remove any further vegetation from under the vehicle, lessening the risk. Islam needed a pull-out, and @Daniel Yang obliged, as V8 power was needed in the crazy soft sand. Close to the exit, we were blessed to come across a herd of Gazelles - I thought of the barbecue again 🤣 (and the connection between Gazelle and barbecue), but decided we had had enough excitement for the day, and left it at that. Jokes aside, a great learning experience for us all - the day had turned out differently. My son commented that this was his favourite drive (and he comes on almost all of the drives with me) - as he said he spent more time outside the car witnessing recoveries, than in it 🤣 @Islam Soliman thanks for giving me the second lead position - I'll keep more distance next time. Great teamwork and company this morning @Anoop Nair @Zixuan Huang - Charlie @Daniel Yang @Aisha S Will post some pics tomorrow.

You will be missed my friend.. hope the car recovers well soon

Thank you @Lorenzo Candelpergher for such a detailed report. You covered all subjects and as you said all of us had a great fun today with eventual refusals, stuck and pop-out. thank you @Luca Palanca Falsinifor such a great support and thank you all for showing up on time and helping each other when there was a refusal. hope to see you soon all on the sand again😊

Thanks @Brette, for taking us through the interesting route, it’s was fun, and I am looking forward for next drive…

Challenge accepted

All the best Alex.

That's strange. When I try from my phone it works. If you have any issues tomorrow give me a call.

@Chaitanya Dthank you for the opportunity and guidance. I’m looking forward to future rides and improving on my driving skills. @Usman Basit I’ve never been so glad that someone beeped their horn at me 😅

Dear all, Thanks to Brett and the leads in this drive for showing us something new today and what a drive! I really learn a few things today. 1. I am happy with my new AT tires. Climbing requires less momentum, as demonstrated by the little jump I performed off a small ridge. Unfortunately that was not captured on camera. Jumps are bad! 2. I happy with the new AT tires. You can rally feel the better grip and traction. 3. I deflated to 10 psi. That might be a bit too much. Will try 11 the next time as I ended the drive at up at 11 psi. I recon 11+ 1 = 12 should be good. 4. You need momentum when you try to use the dune as a parabolic curve. Without Momentum Gravity wins. (check the vide when I got a refusal) 5. I feel more secure when climbing and descending with the new tire, the lift and getting rid of the front bumper + skids. 6. I really like to drive along the ridges. It's kind of a roller coaster. 7. We experience some soft sand patches and those can be fun when you understand how to cope. They are also fun as they are challenging. What is still not clear. 1. Before today, I always drove in 4H. Today I tried 4HLC and I felt better when taking a parabolic curve and when steering hard. Is this only my impression or is there something to it in your experience? 2. I need to get better at riding the dune on the incline, gravity still wins a bit too much because I tend to try and point my front wheels up slightly to drift. Hope you enjoy the short movie

@Islam Soliman Hi, I have just got back from today's drive, got a funny noise from drivers side shock and spring, noticed it this morning, on full lock, I'm not going to risk it for tomorrows drive, so I will have to bow out, I thought I was going to make it 3 in a row, for our large vehicle excursions, but its not to be , will get it fixed tomorrow. apologies and have fun guys.

Thanks @Islam Soliman looking good for the weekend, not long now!!