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Amazing, however was hoping to have more. Thank you every one for joining. Every one made the right time, deflated, quick briefing, and started. As soon as we started, and with the tempting of Shuweib dunes, we didn’t even have enough time to warm up. Started climbing, and found dunes of shuweib totally different from last time visited. Most of them soft, so much disturbed with the last rain and wind. Somehow, we had good time, and decided to move to Bidayer area to spend the balance time. Unfortunately, found Bidayer too busy with many off-roaders groups, all types of vehicles can enter the desert. Adding to it, Abdelghani was not feeling well. Thank you @Sunil Mathew for the motion sickness tablet, which made him feeling better. Amazing support @Russ linking the convoy together, @Ranjan Das thank you for sweeping us, and great SL @Chinthaka Ruwan. @Chris Wing you done fantastic in your first I’m drive, @Charbel @Sunil Mathew @Pacific @Humayun Ghias @Matt.T @Archibald Jurdi @Amir Amiri @Abu Muhammad pleasure having you in the drive yesterday. Below is the summary of the drive. See you soon in sand nice weekend Hisham

Thank you @Thomas Varghese for the detailed write up.😄👍 What a day guys!!!.perfect....chilling weather, light shower, and an incredible convoy...what more could you want for? After the radio check and briefing, we started 20 minutes late, waiting for the sunrise. We had a surprising member in the convoy, @Ashok chaturvedi, who ended up in the wrong meeting point today, trying to join @Frederic on the Batayah Drive. As we got started, the rain became a little heavier, and we had a mix of terrains...except rock. It was muddy in some spots, incredibly soft on the dunes' top, and hard at some places. But the convoy was ready for anything, and we had a thrilling and beautiful drive. With some drizzle , some greenery, Sand Gazelles, Oryxes, and Camels, the landscape was breathtaking.Though we didnt expected any stucks today..we had to deal with a few and couple of pop outs towards the end of the drive. Every driver in the convoy were incredible today and Thank you @Thomas Varghese for a superb second lead. you did a great job today considering the diversities in the track. Thanks to @Joji varghese, @Rsjiv Samuel, @Fabien Monleau, @Mohamad Anwer, @Gilbert Khalil, @MMansoor, @munkybizness, @Javier Lucero, @Gok Krish and @Ashok chaturvedi for signing up and joining the drive. It was an unforgettable day and was great to be with you Guys.Every one of you were up to the mark today👏👏👏👏 Thanks to @Rizwanm2 and @GauravSoni.. the real heroes today for those wonderful recoveries and great support. Good work guys and it was a blessing to have you today in the convoy. Some pics in the gallery As @Thomas Varghese said .. cant find the gallery..😊

Thanks again @Fredericand @Kailas for a great ride and excellent guidance. Very interesting to drive in the desert during the rain!

Thanks @Ale Vallecchi, @Niki and fellow convoy members for the wonderful drive this morning. It’s one of the longest drives I have done so far and also not being at the back of the convoy for a change 😅. See you all soon in the desert!

@Davie Chase @Daniel Rodas @Gregory @ShereenMK @Tareck @Daniel Yang @Zixuan Huang - Charlie hats off to your great performance; @marks @Dodi Syahdar and @Werno for your great leading and support. The convoy made 83 km track today, with only one stuck (which was mine) in the beginning and one pop out which was quickly fixed, and after then showed a flawless performance on the both long ridges and technical dunes... 💪 That is the good point having "plus" drivers like you. Looking forward to meet you again.

@Shaaz Sha never ceases to amaze us with his route selection and challenges. The drive was tricky from the beginning as it was drizzling from the word go. Not one moment in the drive where I could switch off my wiper. The wiper washer reservoir ran dry almost half way through the drive. The sand was expected to be compacted as it was wet but the terrain fools you with slippery sand occasionally. The moment you take your eyes of the track you find your car has deviated from the path and you have ended up on the other side of the dune. Twice I had to ask @Rizwanm2 to use his rope & Xterra to tug me out as once I found the rear right wheel off the ground and the other time the car got bogged down in mud like sand. Thank you buddy for the well executed gentle pull. Almost all in the convoy drove perfectly and without much issues even though the terrain was tough. The only nail biting situation came when a LC 70 rested on a slip face with 2 tires barely touching the sand and tilted on a very precarious angle. God's grace the car came down on its own with some left right steering and blip blip acceleration. Not sure if the driver exited his passengers before attempting this recovery as @Shaaz Sha and me were far ahead and by the time we raced back the car was already coming down to safety. @Gaurav Soni & @Rizwanm2 can shed more info on this as they were in charge of the action. Anyways this created a pop out and double pop out for the car very soon as the tire beads were compromised with sand intrusion into the tire and there was no way to hold air inside those tough BF Goodrich tires and the passenger side rear tire had to be swapped with the spare. Thank God the car had spare and soon we were on our way to the exit. Thanks to all who showed up on time early morning and exited safely after having a wonderful drive on a weekend morning@Joji varghese, @Rsjiv Samuel, @Fabien Monleau, @Mohamad Anwer, @Rizwanm2, @Gilbert Khalil, @MMansoor, @munkybizness, @Javier Lucero, @Gok Krish, @GauravSoni and our wild card entrant @Ashok chaturvedi. Some pictures in the gallery

Good point @Felix Obst we can take this into advantage. However we might not be able to do all the manoeuvres we want as Safety comes first . Let’s see tomorrow it’s expected not to be as rainy as today but this will leave us a firmer ground and no slip faces to crisscross as smooth as usual . Nevertheless the good accompany and fresh air is all what I am looking for 😉

Will be wet and hard like hell - looking forward guys!!!

@GauravBhai, It was a great great experience for me, Route planning, guidance, support system, monitoring and members ethics all are 100/100. Please let me know if yourneed me to understand more on desert drive skill or if you find any loop hole. so that i will work on that on next drive. luckily didn’t call anyone today for refusal/stuck. but i like the way you said *In desert anyone can get stuck either you have low power, over power, mid range, high range vehicle. it’s totally based on your self confidence, strong mind control and marshal obedience* and one thing i learn today is GRAVITY IS MY FRIEND.

Hi @M.Seidam, I have joined at the RSVP, would have a fun driving on sand in the evening (slightly dark time).

S@Hisham Masaad thanks for today's drive was great fun, challenging and well paced. Though we have driven together many times it was the first time we have been out with you as the lead and it disappoint, excellent fun, good calm support from @Russ and @Ranjan Das and a competent convey made for a good afternoon out.

Thanks @Brette and @Islam Soliman for a great drive. It was slow and steady and had plenty of small crests for me to practice throwing my Raptor over! Shame we had to cut it short but the wind was really starting to pick up, so definitely the safest decision. Good to see you all!

Couldn't find the gallery section for this drive. So pics are posted here.

Thanks @Gaurav for lovely drive today and congratulations all for completing your first drive with Carnity and for many their first drive in desert - first ones are always special and i am sure you will remember this for long time. The terrain, the beautiful weather and the whole experience was worthy of Dubai's tag line "The Coolest Winter". Overall we travelled around 32Km covering a basic intro to various aspects of desert driving - side sloping, climbing up and down the dunes and @Gaurav ensured that even on Absolute Newbies drive we had a chance to experience some steep climbs through soft patches as well as Criss crossing - my fav element of desert driving. Despite the rain and windy weather, we travelled at a decent average moving speed of 13Km/hr, a reflection of how well you all handled your vehicle. From the CF position i could see a good mix of happy and at times nervous faces and that's what the experience and learning is all about - and in the end this mixed feeling is what leads to a sense of accomplishment at end of every drive. @Charles Wallace though you missed the fun of driving without roof 😂😂 you were a perfect SL and had a perfect drive. @Eli Zandro Hamoy @Zulfikhar Naiyar @Abdul Basit Khan you have powerful Nissans with you and you handled them very well. @Udit S check some videos and try using your deflator before the next drive, i think the deflator is fine - just need some handling tips and if you plan to go for Valve core extractor look for magnetic tip one - will ensure you will not lose the core. For the first desert drive you managed it really well - i could see the excitement through the drive and i am sure you will love exploring the Newbies drive on your Prado. @Shahzad Akbani for someone driving the FJ for less than a week you did really well, surely takes some time getting used to vehicle. You had couple of refusals, however i am sure as you would have noticed during reattempts it's just about approaching with the right momentum. Looking forward to see you on NB drives. @Sivakumar the relationship between you and your flag was on rocky terrain since the word go and wasn't meant to last long 😂 get a new one prior to the next drive and you are good to go @Kishore Venkat crests and stucks are integral part of offroading, you handled your Patrol really well. Reg your compressor, i believe it's the fuse issue and should be an easy fix. @Vinod Damodaran jeep on lift looks majestic and you handled it really well. 👍👍 @Andre Olivenca @Nasr.990 @hugo you three were simply awesome and had impecable drives. Thanks Hugo for being a perfect sweep and keeping the long convoy togather. Looking forward to see you all soon. As @Gaurav mentioned drive schedule is released at 11am every Monday and rsvp opens at 7pm. Watch out for it and as a general advice don't be late to RSVP, some of the drives get full within couple of minutes. Thanks for the lovely company on a beautiful day. Have a nice week ahead and hopefully we catch up again soon.

Thank you Brette and Islam for a fun and safe drive

Have been trying to upload a short video but no luck. This was a great first drive, thank you!

Yes absolutely you and @fayazc will be added to the next week, 23 Jan, Absolute Newbie drive on priority.

Thanks for a great trip @Gaurav, @Kailas. Wind and dust was part of the fun! Great to see a helping hand offered to those who need and not only members. A few pictures to remember the drive! https://carnity.com/gallery/category/1177-fewbie-solar-park-lisaili-dubai-15-jan-2022

For Xterra yes , not sure about pathfinder, and I have replaced the left and added a right one as well as I mentioned before. Two points that give flexibility in difficult situations as Sri mentioned . Planning to add front left as well soon

The desert night drive is quite different than day light . Some people like it while others don’t . It’s different world. the visibility is reduced and limited so comes with that the pace is reduced as well as the distance between cars becomes closer enough not to loose track and minimise risks . In addition your senses become more focused and the vigilance increased . don’t worry Alfred , just check that your stock headlight high beam and your fog lights if present are working properly . And that should be adequate as we drive in convoy . We will say more about it during the briefing . It’s your decision eventually but if it’s me I would give it a try 😉

Thanks for the advices everyone, heading to sharjah for the beam replacement tomorrow. there is only 1 point on left side, and I have heard from many that those original points are weak, hence upgrading is necessary

The calm before the storm.

Option 2 does evenly distribute the load. But in your existing setup do you have recovery points on both sides at the rear. If so, I would look to upgrade that as it gives the flexibility while doing some difficult tugs

Drive Report Give yourselves a round of applause, that was some great driving out there today! Yes, the sands were hardened by the rain fall, but they were also rutted, and disfigured with channels which were created by those very same. It was also great that everyone had arrived in plenty of time and we were deflated, flagged and ready to go by 8.05! We entered the small dunes and readied our desert wheels, getting a feel for the sand and getting on top of some nice rounded dunes. I threw everything at you at the start as we maneuvered our way through the dunes with smooth crossovers and gentle sides, keeping a watchful eye as we did so. Having passed Pink Rock and content that you were all capable I added some masala, and after a short , safely distanced tutorial we made our way to the larger dunes and swept through the footdunes that lead to the majestic Big Red. Alas, we have to look on in awe these days, but the restrictions provided an unexpected bonus of very quiet sands. In terms of feedback I would like to just say, please (at Newbie level) never try to self recover without a member of the support team to guide you, always keep a safe distance between cars and never apologise for a refusal. It’s how we learn! Well done to the guys at the front @Yasirimam @Rasif ABDUL RAHIM @Ahmad Mehwi @Tareq Al Turq @Mo. @Sharat Nambiar , kept up with the pace and drove well. To the guys at the back who had a lot of big cars in front of them which makes it more challenging as the sands get churned up. @Faisal Alhashimi @ASAD. @takeshi sobue @Gerrit Bus and @Will Seivewright. Many thanks to my support @Richard Franks for an excellent 2nd lead and to @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil for helping with the few recoveries we had. Finally thank you to you all for listening, following instruction and being such a great convoy. Until our next adventure 😎

It was a fabulous drive today, long and high dunes ( I havent rode them in months!!), and technical ones at the second half. Thank you @Mehmet Volga @marks for leading this fabulous, and @Dodi Syahdar @Werno for the flawless support. The entire convoy did pretty well, we had minimum refusals all self recovered, and we successfully reached Faqa without surpries and delay. Thought I heard Dodi's Raptor in the back, but it turned out to be @Daniel Rodas 's "Rap - ajero"

Few pics of our convoy.

Thanks @Gaurav for the lovey drive.. we thoroughly enjoyed it.. Thanks @varunmehndiratta for pulling me out of the difficult spot.. looking forward for the Newbie drive.. Kishore

@Gauravthanks for the nice drive yesterday! Thoroughly enjoyed the different types of dunes we drove!

Well done @Osama M! Good efforts.

@M.Seidam: I've never driven in the dark before. Is it going to be OK? Or is it going to be too hard for me?

For option one three bolts for each recovery point is required for option two as Fred said the load is distributed on minimum 4 for the whole block which is even better in my X Terra I still have the stock front one and still in good condition while the rare one I installed option one with three rated bolts for each recover point

Thank you @Hisham Masaad for leading us through a memorable drive this afternoon, one of the best I have had in the area. Hope your son is now fully recovered, maybe it was not the motion sickness but the anxiety of getting his driving license that got him excited. Wish him all the very best. A pity that most coveted dunes have been made out of bound. This and notwithstanding the vigilante three car convoy that decided to tag along, you made sure that we had absolute fun. I had two firsts todays, first - my first under your lead; second, shovel/rope free drive through this area. Everyone drove beautifully. Thank you everyone for the company and make it a wonderful afternoon. Hope to see you guys soon

Hi.. @Thomas Varghese, @Joji varghese, @Rsjiv Samuel, @Fabien Monleau, @Mohamad Anwer, @Rizwanm2, @Gilbert Khalil, @MMansoor, @munkybizness, @Javier Lucero, @Gok Krish, @GauravSoni..welcome to the drive boys..😄 Here is the convoy order for tomorrow and we will be using carnity channel 3 (44605625)

@Mehmet Volga @marks @Werno great drive today with a great bunch of peeps, really enjoyed it and looking forward to the next one. Thanks for your leadership and taking us through some technical dunes as we as some great side slopes and ridge riding. have a great rest of your weekend all and see you in the sand pit again soon

@Shaaz Sha it better not rain today in the area or tomorrow WE WANT SOFT SAND OR I CRY

Congratulations @Markus B