Ale Vallecchi

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 Plus and above When: 16 November 2022, Wednesday Meeting time: 2:30 PM - Sharp (Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Take the Nazwa exit on the road from Lahbab to Badayer: Dropped pin https://maps.app.goo.gl/9R7vfqf4MkNqBBRS8 Action Plan: Fourth chapter of the Deep Purple saga, this time the song's title may be misleading. There is nothing Lazy about a tune playing at 188 BPM. The pace will be as fast as possible but will also be dictated by the terrain we'll face. In fact, the level of difficulty throughout the series has been escalated, upgrading it from Qudra to Ghantoot/Faqa, and to Murqaab/Lisaili. This time we'll take a route driven during the Star Trek Series - Tawi Nazwa to Bezhad Ranch - seeking to improve its time, average speed and/or cumulative climb. Therefore, our goals will be (singly or combined) to better 25Km/h moving average, 68 Km driven in 3:32 hours, and/or a cumulative climb of 1,118 meters. Approximate finish time: 6:00 PM 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 and fire extinguisher. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE This drive is limited to 8 cars only. RSVP will close on Wednesday - 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

Yes @Krishna R it is. See you soon

Dear @Zubair, due to this late drop out would you like to join the drive tomorrow? Thanks for updating.

Dear @Nadeem Ansari, unfortunately, the drive is closed at this time. Sorry.

Burn (Deep Purple Series) - Drive Report "You know we had no time" - Deep Purple As picked by @munkybizness from the song's lyrics, we did know we had just enough time. To zigzag in Murqab, dash to Lisaili, near the camel track's entry point, run south-west to Solar Park's edge, and sprint back to Lisaili's planned exit at the mosque. Time was scarce, as this was the longest planned Deep Purple drive, and the one on the most varied and unfriendly terrain then the previous two. As the sun was setting to our left, while approaching the Lisaili pylon track on the way to our exit, the clock ticked 3:02 hours of total driving time, and 2:33 hours of actual driving, needed to cover 78.5 Km, moving at an average 31Km/h (26km/h total average). Knowing the nature of the terrain, the goal for the drive had been set at achieving an average of at least 30 Km/h, which in the end we managed to achieve. This speaks volumes of the convoy's skills and most of all concentration. Having driven in this area many times, I was indeed surprised by the speed at which we were moving, and the determination with which everybody took the challenge. We did have many more stucks than any of the previous 2 drives, all of them on crests, which were solved with good speed, and minimum waste of time. The difficulties were foreseen, as the planned track included technical areas with low vegetation, and many taller crests, which in the second half of the drive were being crossed from the slip faces. The surprise of the day was the extremely welcome presence of @Hisham Masaad, who escaped work to join at the last minute. His presence gave the whole convoy an extra level of safety, inspiration and determination. Thanks for coming. Very good Second Lead by @Pacific, followed by ever improving @Ashutosh Garg and @Jessica Lambert, @Senthil Kumar proved very valuable at the Center of the convoy, practicing recoveries, and tugs. Well done by everybody. Coming up next, yet another installment of the Deep Purple Series, titled Lazy (just the title not the song, at all). See you soon in the burning send.

Dear Desertnauts In preparation for tomorrow's drive, considering that this will be my first drive with most of you, please feel free to write me about any question you may have, or to share any information about your experience, or any concerns and questions you may have about tomorrow's itinerary. We will meet at the beginning of a sand track running along the pylons in the direction of Solar Park. We will need to stay on this track for a few Kms, in order to avoid running into a camel training track that coasts the pylons and block the entrance to Lisaili's dune range. Past the camel track, the entrance to Lisaili proper will be through a small but tricky patch of technical dunes (low but sharp, and very close together, creating relatively deep bowls with soft sand at the bottom). After this first test, we'll move into the taller and longer range dunes of Lisaili. where we will warm up with some side-sloping, before picking starting to criss-cross the ridges, and move at a faster pace. Based on the convoy's performance and behavior, we'll decide whether we'll move forward all the way to Solar Park, or we'll loop back to Lisaili. The convoy order will be the following: @Nathan L in Second Lead @Lukas at #3 @Yerem Davtyan at #4 @Krishna R in #5 @Andrew McCarthy at #6 @Rajat Verma #7 @Jad Moussalli #8 @Mark Birch at #9 @Andrei S #10, and @Paolo Pellegrini in Sweep. Please reach the meeting point in time for a speedy departure. Once arrived start deflating, and tune into Carnity Radio Channel 2 (446031). Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow morning.

The Lahbab Circuit - Drive Report I always find this area attractive for a Fewbie drive. It offers a varied terrain, allowing to practice virtually every move, as well as it presents sights like camel trains, gazelles, falcon training grounds, and other signs of frequent use by locals, with virtually no presence of other convoys. This drive, in particular, was as smooth as they come, with an efficient convoy moving easily through the area. The more challenging segments, usually the two technical areas just past the crossing of the gas pipeline, were dealt with comfortably. This time, with a much cooler and harder packed sand, it was possible to cross these tighter dune areas by riding on the crests as much as possible, which allowed us to avoid bumping up and down while straight crossing the ridges, permitted to maintain a steady pace while following the ridges' lines, and gave us a much better visual from the higher viewpoint to choose the smoother path ahead. Another main feature of this area, and a highlight I enjoy exploiting to full advantage, is the set of red sand bowls located very close to the Margham road, leading toward Nazwa. This is a preview of the much taller pyramids of Badayer, and it allows a fast-paced drive in and out of large bowls, and across many interesting ridges, almost always while enjoying a beautiful view of the Nazwa oasis, and occasionally of Pink Rock beyond. The only drawback of the drive has been the construction works going on, first of a new track leading toward the gas facility, and later in the drive, on the way back toward Lahbab, of a deep trench, probably made for a new gas pipeline. These two unexpected obstacles made us detour a bit, and hopefully will not constitute an obstacle to future drives in the area or make the location too much trafficked. All in the convoy drove in an excellent way, with the more junior members slowly warming up, and overcoming any hesitancy or uncertainty in their driving as the drive progressed. Thanks to @Ignacio Quindós with a great Second Lead, @Fabien Monleau assisting at the Center of the convoy, @Karthik Raptor Sweeping safely, and to @Yaseen87, @premindra rajaram, @Paolo Pellegrini, @Pieter Potgieter, @Harshal and @Senthil Kumar for the companionship and team spirit. The circuit covered 50 Km, in a total of 2:41 hours (of which 1:53 of driving), at an average moving speed of 26 Km/h (19 Km/h total). Looking forward to seeing all of you soon. Have a nice weekend ahead.

Dear @Krishna R. Thanks for joining the drive. As I see you have listed 2 cars, which one will you take to the drive? It would help me knowing it to finalize the convoy order. Thanks

Just checking @Tareq Al Turq, you are NOT coming, right? If so, hope to see you next time. Thanks

Thanks @Fabien Monleau for updating. See you next time.

Dear Desertnauts, let's get ready for tomorrow's installment of the Deep Purple Series. As announced, differently from the previous two runs, this one will see greater difficulties in terms of terrain, presenting a greater variety of challenges: from bushier areas (we did encounter a few especially in Qudra), to technical areas (never ran into any significant ones in the previous drives). Consequently, the goal will not be to break the 38 Km/h speed of the previous drive, but to stay above 30 Km/h - everything we'll achieve over this target will be a bonus. The convoy, of medium size compared to the previous two drives, will line up as follows: @Fabien Monleau in Second Lead @Ashutosh Garg at #3 @Senthil Kumar at the Center @Jessica Lambert at #5 @Tareq Al Turq in #6, and @Pacific in Sweep. The meeting place, hoping that Google doesn't scramble our maps, will be facing the mosque, just to the right after exiting at Murqab. The radio channel will be confirmed at the meeting place. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.

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 Meeting time: 7:30 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Near the single lane camel track at Lisaili Dropped pin https://maps.app.goo.gl/yFFzpSNziFLhBd1HA Approximate finish time: 11:00 AM Action Plan: Lisaili is the home of Dubai's race camel farms, as well as the place where they train, on the circuit track, or the straight track. All along most of the Lisaili's plateau one can easily find camel tracks or run into herds or trains of these lanky animals. Inspired by a famous car racing team, we'll exploit this wonderful area of camel farming and training to do our own training and racing across the dunes. As camels do, we'll move along, up, and over the white dunes of Lisaili, steadily and patiently overcoming all obstacles, until we'll be satisfied that we've had our fair share of "pasture". 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 and fire extinguisher. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE This drive is limited to 10 cars only. 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

Highway Star (Deep Purple Series) - Drive Report "Nobody gonna beat my car / It's gonna break the speed of sound" - Deep Purple While I usually post the drive's stats at the end, this time let's begin with them: 76.3 Km driven in 2:14 minutes, with only 14 minutes of stoppage, and a moving average speed of 38 Km/h (34 Km/h total). Great performance by the convoy, with virtually no stucks, a few refusals, and excellent execution and concentration. Nice variety of terrains, ranging from the low, long-range dunes of Ghantoot, to the high, taller dunes and deeper bowls of Little Sweihan, and the final rush across Faqa's plateau. A couple of elements allowed for a slightly faster pace than the previous Deep Purple drive: the sand track along the Army Shooting ground, and the crossing of the couple of sabkhas that separate Little Sweihan from Faqa. A couple more factors demanded a slower pace than the previous drive: a longer convoy, and the tricky crossing of Little Sweihan (more challenging than Qudra's quadrant, yet immaculately completed). All things considered, these factors evened themselves out, and allowed for a slightly faster moving speed, while keeping the same total average moving speed of the previous outing. I'd like to thank @Ignacio Quindós for his perfect Second Lead, @Fabien Monleau for centering the convoy, @Pacific for his sweep, as well as @Ashutosh Garg, @Jessica Lambert, @Senthil Kumar and @Beide Worku for taking time in the middle of the week to join these adrenaline packed drives. My gratitude to all of them, and to the other participants of the previous (and future) Deep Purple series ( @Haitham Khattab, @KAMALIO and @JeromeFJ) for giving me the opportunity to go back in time to my hard-rock years, and rediscover and savor the amazing performances of this talented band, which have made the history of heavy metal. See you all (and more) soon, for the next installment of the Deep Purple series: BURN!! Have a great 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 Plus and above When: 9 November 2022, Wednesday Meeting time: 2:30 PM - Sharp (Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Take the exit to Murqab, make a right once off the exit lane, and park just past the mosque: Murqquab https://maps.app.goo.gl/mcJVEm3czzNFhZCj9 Action Plan: Third installment of the Deep Purple Series, for experienced Fewbie Plus who are seeking to move up to Intermediate level, and above ranked drivers. With this Deep Purple's title - Burn - playing at 198 BPM, speed will continue to be the main theme of the drive. Moving from Murqaab toward Solar Park, and finally to Lisaili, the terrain this time may actually prove a bit trickier than the previous 2 drives (Speed King in Qudra and Highway Star from Ghantoot to Faqa). In fact, it will have relatively more bushy areas near the start, will include the crossing of at least 1 (probably 2) technical areas, but will also have a certain number of long-range dunes to cross. With the previous 2 drives achieving an average moving speed respectively of 37 and 38 Km/h, this time it will be hard to beat those performances. Yet, I am counting on the fast tempo of Burn to make our rubber "burn" the sand. Approximate finish time: 6:00 PM 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 and fire extinguisher. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE This drive is limited to 8 cars only. RSVP will close on Wednesday - 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

Sorry all. Don't know what happened. Google scrambled the meeting point. Please reach below: Al Faqa https://maps.app.goo.gl/E6CrVppXdriq81JKA See you shortly. Thanks

I do @Ahmad Shaker. Hope is charged.

Sorry everybody. I will reach the meeting point 10 minutes late (2:10pm). Please deflate at leisure after you arrive. Thanks for the understanding.

Dear Desertnauts tomorrow we are looking to start the drive practically from within Faqa Town. In fact, after setting this area's usual meeting place in the Faqa sabkha just north of the town (as a consequence of the presence of roadblocks just before the AD border) this time we'll meet and start in the town itself. This will allow us to drive at first through a little driven area, just past the town's many animal farms, on the way to reach the actual "Faqa Plateau". This latter is, as many of you know, an area of nice long-range dunes, some quite tall, most of them with some amounts of vegetation, especially an area I call "the Arboretum", with a great number of Ghaf trees, alone and in groups, at time forming a semi-forested area. We'll have the chance to choose the "aphelion" (or furthest point) of the drive), either closer to the newly fenced area of Solar Park, or closer to E14's border with Abu Dhabi. Based on this choice, we may return closer to Faqa's northern sabkha, or back into the town itself. The convoy is quite experienced, and short enough to allow us to bump the drive to higher levels, based on the response to the terrain. At the moment, the convoy order will be: @Ahmad Shaker in Second Lead @Benjamin at #3 @Ashutosh Garg at #4 @Joseph Raju at #5, and @Fabien Monleau in Sweep. Please tune the radio to Carnity Channel #2 (446031). Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow at 2:00PM. Have a nice Thursday evening.

Dear Desertnauts a quick memo for tomorrow's Speed King drive. Meeting Point - Just at the end of the tarmac road in front of the National Guard's barracks. We'll cross a construction area to enter the sabkha just beyond. Kindly reach in time to make sure we leave as close to 3:00 PM as possible. Please notice that the last bit of road to reach the meeting point is in Abu Dhabi, where speed limits are monitored differently than Dubai. Watch out (only start speeding once on the sand! 😅) Planned itinerary - After a short detour north-west, toward the Oryx farms, we'll double back toward the fenced in shooting range, which we'll coast along its fence to reach Little Sweihan. We plan to cross this higher and tighter area of dune going east, to reach the sabkhas and technical dunes that separate it from Faqa's plateau. If we'll have time left on the 2-hour clock, with enough sunlight ahead of us, we'll look to exit at Faqa. If not, we'll head up to Solar Park. The goal is a high-speed drive, so we'll not spend time looping around dunes, but we'll just cut through them, as quickly as possible. Convoy order - We'll line up as follows @Ignacio Quindós in Second Lead @Ashutosh Garg at #3 @Jessica Lambert at #4 @Fabien Monleau in the Center @Senthil Kumar in #6 @Sunil Mathew at #7 @Beide Worku #8, and @Pacific in Sweep Radio frequency - to be chosen before setting off. See you all tomorrow, with your stereos ready to crank some gool old school hard rock!