Ale Vallecchi

The day of records: 100 Km Challenge successfully completed - Trip Report Even though we knew from the previous Challenge that driving 100+ Km in close to 4 hours is possible, there is always an element of uncertainty in such drives. In case of this particular itinerary, from Faqa to Qudra, one variable that adds to its difficulty is that, except from the first part of Faqa, all major dune cordons must be crossed from the slip-face side. This means that criss-crossing is trickier than when approaching from the dunes' hard-face, and that sometimes one must find a way around the cordons. However, there is an advantage with doing this drive in the morning, and in this direction, and that is not having the sun in one's face, making visibility easer. Another element of uncertainty of this drive was the length of the convoy: while the first Challenge was driven by 5 cars, the Sequel saw a convoy of 8 drivers. Initially this many cars worried me a little, also in light of the relative "greenness" of some of the drivers, tackling their first or second Intermediate drive. In the end, it was such a pleasant surprise to see all perform impeccably, bringing home an almost perfect record of no stucks, the only delays being 2 pop-outs. After a quick deflation and briefing, the convoy moved at 6:17am, first almost at a leisurely pace, in order to ease the transition of the new Intermediates to the new rank, than slowly picking up speed, driving smoothly toward each planned leg of the itinerary. We reached the first way-point at the end of Faqa in 1:02 hours; the second way-point at the end of Little Sweihan was reached in 1:40 hours., after taking care of our first pop-out (and changing the damaged tire); the third planned break, at the confluence of Solar Park into the "Bab al Shams" sector, in just another 1:02 hours (in spite of a second pop-out, this time sorted out just by re-inflating; finally we exited at Qudra west (next to the big farm on the tarmac road to Qudra Parking in exactly another hour. The most tested skills of the day, besides basic dunes' straight and criss crossing, and finesse-driving in the few technical areas, were bowl riding, and especially ridge riding, this latter mostly toward the end of the drive, on Qudra's super long range dunes. I was really happy to see the convoy move in unison, almost never breaking stride: well done @Mehmet Volga, @Yousef Alimadadi, @Biju Abdul, @marks, @Gregory Perkin, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe and @Janarthan. Comparing this Challenge to the previous one, we took 3:41 hours of driving time (Vs. 3.18 h), for 114.6 KM. (Vs. 104.4), at a slightly lower average speed of 23 Km/h Vs. 26Km/h (and 31Km/h while moving Vs. 32Km/h), climbing for 871 meters Vs. 570 meters. Thanks a lot for joining this challenge, and hope to see you soon on the sand.

Thanks @Nivin. See you soon.

@Yousef Alimadadi I just saw you added your name to the drive. Do you confirm you will join? Thanks a lot.

Dear Desertnauts. Time to get ready for tomorrow's drive. Meeting time is confirmed at 6:00AM, on a sabkha adjacent to the tarmac road leading off to the right from the Dubai-Al Ain highway. Make sure that you do not reach Faqa town (it's happened before to sleepy drivers), but please pay attention to your Google Map's directions, and leave the highway at the exit before Faqa Town. It will then be a few kilometers before you'll reach the marked meeting/deflation point. The road is dark, and seemingly leading nowhere, but it'll be the right road. Given that the convoy is made up by a fair number of newly promoted Intermediates, we'll start as leisurely as possible, in an area with wide open dunes, where we'll be able to warm up to the more challenging parts of the drive, coming up during the second and fourth hour in the planned itinerary. The convoy numbering will be as follows: @Janarthan in Second Lead @Mehmet Volga will line-up at #3 @Biju Abdul at #4 @marks in position #5 @Gregory Perkin will be #6 @Jorge Stepniak Felippe at #7, and @Nivin will sweep the group. Once arrived at the meeting place, please deflate to about 12 PSI. We'll check the pressure again toward the middle of the drive, before entering the dune canyons of Little Sweihan. Also, please tune into Carnity Channel 2 (446.031). Have a nice rest, in preparation for this ling-range marathon, and see you all tomorrow.

Hello @Islam Soliman. Thanks for informing. Safe travels, and see you soon.

Hello @Nabil Bishara. Thanks for informing. See you Friday. Hello @Gregory Perkin. You are IN this drive. Please confirm it's OK. Thanks a lot.

Wonderful news @Tbone. Well done and well deserved.

Dear Desertnauts. The 100 Km Challenge is back!! Actually, we should call this the 104+ Km Challenge, since the goal of this sequel is to better the mileage achieved in the first round, a little over a month ago. In my previous desert experience, away from the UAE, the goal of each trip was to go from A to B, choosing the most direct, yet most scenic and entertaining route. These trips used to last up to 3 weeks, so covering as much ground as possible was a must, always keeping in mind the safety of the convoy. This particular drive, therefore, plans to imitate those long range drives, taking us from Faqa to Qudra Lakes/Parking, in the least possible time, while visiting as many of the scenic locations along the route as possible. Hence, we'll cross the width of Faqa, along its western border, drive through a series of 2 sabkhas and technical dunes, all the way to Little Sweihan, traverse this fun area from West to East, through more sabkhas and technical dunes (the area which I call "The Middle Earth") to reach Solar Park, then again West to Bab al Shams, and back North to our exit point. We plan to cross the major sand formation (Faqa, Little Sweihan, and Bab al Shams/Qudra) in approximately 1 hour each. Counting for some pit stops, the goal is to cross the 100Km mark within a little more than 4 hours. The length of this convoy (9 cars at the moment) will add to the difficulty of this drive Vs. the previous one, when only 5 cars participated. Be ready to come as concentrated as possible, ready to follow the car in front of you with matching speed and momentum, so that we can keep moving (safely) in unison, overcoming all obstacles at a good pace. More tips and info the day before the drive. Have a great week, @Nivin, @marks, @Nabil Bishara, @Mehmet Volga, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe, @Islam Soliman, @Biju Abdul and @Janarthan.

Hello @Gregory Perkin. You are #1 on the WL. Thanks.

Well done @DANIEL NOGUEIRA!!

This drive is organized in full compliance with the COVID19 guidelines. We expect every member that joins this drive to go through below information and and strictly follow these guidelines in order not to jeopardize someone's health, and to ensure we can keep organizing these drives safely. MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: COVID19 Precautions MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: BAN POST Two Way Radio Guidelines Every Offroader brings his own radio, programmed to the frequencies described in below advice topic. We will not share spare radios or program your radio on the drive. If you need assistance in programming the radio, post a topic on the Carnity website with your questions and we will help you out. Make sure your radio is fully charged. It will be your only way of communication while driving. Before buying, please carefully read below advice so you are informed properly on which model / cost / shops... No radio = No drive. It is an essential tool and you should make sure you bring it on every drive and learn/practice how to use it. Drive Details Level: Intermediate and above When: 6 November 2020, Friday Meeting time: 6:00 AM (Sharp - without any exceptions) Action Plan: this should be a fast paced, long-range drive, planning to go from A to B with as much determination as possible, covering the areas of Faqa, Little Sweihan, Bab al Shams and Qudra proper. Our goal is to beat the 104Km mark established with the first 100 Km Challenge. Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/yvfuyKfWguxpPhEk9 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), face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Approximate finish time: 10:00 AM End Point: Qudra Lakes THIS IS A COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COMPRESSOR, PLEASE DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS DRIVE. IF YOU ARRIVE AND HAVE NO COMPRESSOR YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO JOIN THE DRIVE. LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE: Limited to 8 Members only. RSVP will close on Thursday - 9 AM. 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. 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 BELOW CALENDAR

The day of the longest rope recovery - Bab al Shams "The Secret Qudra" Report Interesting and stimulating two-faced drive yesterday in Bab al Shams area (that's what we call the south-western quadrant of Qudra, closest to the well known resort). The first face was that of a very smooth drive, with a well behaved convoy, responding perfectly to increasing challenges of ever higher side-sloping, riding low and wide ridges, and learning their first principles of how to approach and criss-cross dunes in a safe manner. This gentle, smooth face of the drive manifested itself twice. First, during the first half of the drive, which took us from our entry point, near one of this sector's feeding/drinking stations, through dunes sneaking their way toward the northern area of Qudra, and all along the long wide open dune corridors which are a true side-sloping paradise. Secondly, the drive resumed its pleasant, uninterrupted flow toward its end, on our way back to the Bab al Shams road, after crossing the bike track, and while riding the taller, but still wide open dunes which eventually took us back to our starting point to complete the loop. Here we even managed to practice the first criss-crossing as a convoy, with all cars managing the approach, the crest, and the exit without any hic-ups, in a well coordinated manner. In the middle of this marvelous drive, where all members drove more like Fewbies than Newbies, the second, tougher face of the drive showed itself. It had the semblance of an innocent looking slope, with a smooth, almost flat pocket to its right side. It's here that after I managed to go through, the 4 cars behind me were sucked into the apparently harmless pocket, for the first (and last) major multiple stuck of the day. While the last car of the group managed to self-recover, due to the softness of the sand and the nature of the pocket, with a slight hump in the middle, the other 3 cars could find no way to free themselves from the molasses. Here's where the multiple ropes came out. In fact, while the last car in the order of the stuck was pulled with only one rope, the second one needed 2, and the third and last car needed 3 ropes tied to each other, in order to allow the tugging vehicle to pull them from a position where it would still be able to move freely and exert its tug. While that one was also a first for me, it surely provided the whole convoy for some unplanned action, and a very educational opportunity to learn about recovery angles, proper hooking points, and use of safety ropes. With this experience under the belt, the drive was very well executed by all. Thanks to @Vanessa8580 for her tireless work from the Sweep position, to @Federico Galbieri for his Second Lead, and to this wonderful convoy of @syed salman raza, @frederic demolder, @Federico De Chirico, @Shyam Karat, @Ahab Shamaa, @Vijaysekhar, @Vinojps, @Kaushal Prithwani and @DANIEL NOGUEIRA. It took us 4:00 hours (of which 2:06 moving) to complete the 55.8Km of the drive, at an average speed of 14Km/h (but 26Km/h while moving). See you all soon in the sand.

LAHBAB - QUDRA MARATHON DRIVE - PART 2 Report As winter approaches, long drives lasting the whole day, will soon become possible. This excursion was planned as one such drive, but was broken into 2 parts, firstly due to the lingering heat in the middle of the day, and secondly to allow more members to join, in this past long weekend. This route aims to join one of the least driven areas of Dubai - Lahbab - to the most popular one - Qudra - covering most of Dubai's desert from East to West. The whole drive covers 108 Km of sand, with a break between the end of the first half at Skydive and the start of the second leg at Murqaab (but it could also be Lisaili). The second leg of this marathon started just past Murqaab's Mosque, and took us through an initial area of tall and wide (almost flat topped) dunes, then on a sand track (cutting through an unfriendly technical area) to the long range dunes of Lisaili, ending in a gentle cascade at Solar Park, where we exited as the sun went below the horizon. It was great fun scaling the tall, camel back, dunes of Murqaab, which are really a great treat and a wonderful surprise, being so close to other well beaten locations, and yet so devoid of other convoys. And it was almost hypnotizing, the driving on Lisaili's easternmost dunes, which again immaculate, as much less driven than those closest to the pylons toward the north-west part of Lisaili. This Marathon Part 2 also saw @Foxtrot Oscar (Angela) making her debut in the Lead, executing an extremely clean, smooth as silk, follow the sun drive, from the heart of Lisaili all the way to Solar Park. Congrats Angela!! Great thanks also go to @Alexander Alcala for anchoring the convoy in the center position, and to @Pancho for sweeping it to safety, both assisting the few refusals of the day. Very well done to @Abu Muhammad, @Gok Krish, @Kailas, @Piotr Kolodziej, @VipinShetty, @topgear, and @asifk (I hope your family enjoyed the drive). The second part of the Marathon saw the convoy drive for 49.5Km, in 2:34 hours, at an average speed of 19Km/h (25Km/h while moving). Thank you all for coming, and see you soon in the sand.

LAHBAB - QUDRA MARATHON DRIVE - PART 1 Report As winter approaches, long drives lasting the whole day, will soon become possible. This excursion was planned as one such drive, but was broken into 2 parts, firstly due to the lingering heat in the middle of the day, and secondly to allow more members to join, in this past long weekend. This route aims to join one of the least driven areas of Dubai - Lahbab - to the most popular one - Qudra - covering most of Dubai's desert from East to West. The whole drive covers 108 Km of sand, with a break between the end of the first half at Skydive and the start of the second leg at Murqaab (but it could also be Lisaili). The first part of the drive, which we are reporting here, took us from a yellow sand area of open dunes, with a few technical areas and sabkhas separating them, to a fun string of red sand low bowls overlooking Nazwa (with Big Red and Badayer's pyramid dunes visible in the distance, then directly west toward Skydive, through technical yellow dunes, and finally, whiter sand open dunes close to Skydive. The drive took place without almost any refusals (save while riding in the bowls), with all drivers displaying very good control of their cars, both in the tighter, more technical terrain, and in the more fun playgrounds. It is incredible how this area gifts us with no other clubs' convoys zig-zagging through it, in spite of its proximity to the most popular Nazwa/Big Red/Badayer off-roading locations. The only human signs were tracks left by locals training their falcons, and a circuit used by quad-drivers during the previous day, which marked heavily the sand close to Skydive. Other than this, we thoroughly enjoyed the almost unspoiled area. Congratulations for an excellent drive to @Tamas Hoffmann as Second Lead (waiting to see some of that drone footage), to@Alexander Alcala covering the Center Lead position with abnegation, and to @Foxtrot Oscar (Angela) for her clean sweep of the convoy. A note of "Very Well Done" to all the drivers: @Javier Lucero, @Athula Dharmadada, @Anand Nataraj, @Senthil Kumar, @Yasas Dharmadasa, @RaYan E, @Jihad Hachem, and @Abu Muhammad. This first part of the Marathon covered 58.8Km, in 2:55 hours of driving (while moving), at a total average speed of 14Km/h (20 Km/h while moving). Thank you to all the members, looking forward to another, uninterrupted Marathon drive. With the idea of getting ready for the winter, when long drives lasting a whole day (with a lunch break) will be possible

Dear Desertnauts. Time to get ready for tomorrow's drive. Please make sure you show up punctually at 6:00AM sharp. Those who will be early may start to deflate, looking for a pressure of 12-13 PSI. Once you reach the meeting and deflation point you may tune into Carnity Channel #4 (446.081). We'll start the drive heading in an easterly direction, through a first set of tighter dunes, looking to reach quickly the long, open dunes. We'll then make our way slowly to the north-east quadrant of the Qudra basin, through a mix of long range dunes and some lower, tighter dunes (we'll try to minimize this portion), before turning back to the south-west, to approach our exit point (planned to be the same as our entry's to complete our loop) through a final ride on more long range dunes. The convoy order will be the following: @Federico Galbieri will be my Second Lead @frederic demolder in the #3 position @Federico De Chirico in #4, completing the Fred's pack @Sandi88 at #5 @Vinojps in place #6 @Shyam Karat at #7 @Vijaysekhar will be #8 @Aravind Padmaraju with #9 @Ahab Shamaa will wear #10 @Sandeep Padhi with #11 @Kaushal Prithwani driving at #12 @DANIEL NOGUEIRA will be driver #13, and @Vanessa8580 will Sweep the convoy. Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow, I wish you a great evening.

GRANDE Lorenzo!!! Bravissimo.

Bravo Biju👍

Hello @asifk. As per our rules (and the Gov.t's) more than 3 people are allowed, as long as they come from the same household. Thanks Thanks Fred. @Gok Krish, see the link above. In case of more issues, please look for Murqaab's mosque. We'll be just a few meter past it. Thanks

ATTENTION. THE DRIVE'S MEETING TIME IS 2:30PM Thanks

Dear Desertnauts. Time to prepare for tomorrow's afternoon drive. This time, we'll start in a very little driven area of Dubai, and will gradually move toward the better known stomping grounds. From the yellow dunes of Murqaab, we'll cross into the white dunes of Lisaili, with the goal of reaching first Solar Park, and with time permitting, Qudra Parking. We'll drive with care through the more technical parts of these areas, but also with speed and more exciting maneuvers in the longer range dunes we'll find toward the middle and the end of the itinerary. These will be the convoy order: @asifk will be my Second Lead @VipinShetty the #3 driver @Piotr Kolodziej at #4 @Gok Krish will be #5 @Abu Muhammad in spot #6 @Pancho will anchor the middle of the convoy @Kailas will be #8 @topgear will drive in #9 @Alexander Alcala will wear #10, and @Foxtrot Oscar will make sure nobody is left behind. The meeting place will be just past Murqaab Mosque, in an ample space, where we can line up and start deflating as soon as we arrive (to about 12-13 PSI). Once at the deflation point, please tune into Carnity Channel #2 (446.031). Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, I wish you a nice Wednesday evening.

Dear Desertnauts. Time to set your alarm tomorrow morning, and get ready for the first drive of this long weekend. As announced, this itinerary will cover a relatively unknown area of Dubai (bordering with Sharjah), mostly visited by locals. We'll see a few camel farms, we'll cross an oil pipe, and we may encounter Emiratis falconeering in the early morning. The purpose of the drive is to reach Skydive, on the Dubai-Al Ain Road. As most desert crossings, we are planning to go from A to B, and will do our best to reach our goal. This means that, even though we will be exploring and playing (there are locations for both activities along this drive), we will also try to make good time, by also speeding up (safely) when necessary. The convoy order will be the following: @Tamas Hoffmann in Second Lead @Athula Dharmadada at #3 @Abu Muhammad in position #4 @RaYan E at #5 @Jihad Hachem will be #6 @Alexander Alcala will anchor the middle if the convoy @Yasas Dharmadasa will be #8 @Anand Nataraj in spot #9 @Javier Lucero will be #10 @Senthil Kumar at #11, and @Foxtrot Oscar will Sweep the convoy. Please reach the meeting point punctually, or slightly before, and deflate to 12-12 PSI. The meeting point will be to the right of the tarmac road, a few hundred meters past the big truck parking lot in Lahbab. Once arrived, please tune in to Carnity Channel #2 (446.031). Make sure you have all the necessary equipment with you, including at least a compressor, a good shovel, and possibly a kinetic tug rope. Have a good evening, and see you tomorrow.

Hello @Javier Lucero. This is a 2 part drive. You're signed up for Part 1, with meeting time at 6AM, in Lahbab, and ending (hopefully) around 10:30 AM near Skydive (on the Dubai-Al Ain Road). We have given other members the opportunity to drive in the second part of this drive, starting at 2:30PM (due to the still very warm temperatures in the midday, the break between the 2 parts is still too long to organize this as one uninterrupted drive.

Hello @RaYan E. Please use this link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xd5Zhkx4EP9UtM567 Hello @Craig Finlayson. At the moment the drive closed. You would be #2 on the waiting list. I'll keep you posted until this evening. Thanks a lot.

Thanks for the warning @Hatim Patharia. See you next time