Ale Vallecchi

Dear Desert goers. Time to get ready for tomorrow's drive. First, the convoy order: @Kalahari in Second Lead will be your leader (as you may know, the convoy always follows the Second Lead, who is the driver with the best and cleanest track, based on my possible corrections and re-directions). @Hatim Patharia will make his debut as Fewbie at #3 @Tero Vallas will start at #4 @Mohamed Seidam will take position #5 @Mehmet Volga will follow at #6 @Nivin will celebrate his new Intermediate rank by anchoring the convoy at Center Forward @Nabil Bishara will cover position #8 @Miguel Ibarbia will drive at #9 @Shaaz Sha will wear jersey #10 @Biju Abdul starts at #11, and @marks will Sweep the convoy. Regarding the itinerary, we will meet a few hundred meters past Lahbab's big trucks' rest and parking area, and will stop to deflate just beyond an open gate through the fence running parallel to the tarmac road. When you reach the meeting's location please tune into Carnity channel 1 (446.006). You may refuel at a Emarat gas station just before taking the turn toward Labhab on the E66, or at an Eppco station as you enter Lahbab. The drive will take us first through a relatively mixed area (some trees, a bit of vegetation, and some low dunes traversed by a few tracks, that will slowly become more sandy, and a little technical (which is where your foot's sensitivity should adapt to the terrain, using short bursts of power when needed, but mostly being gentle on the accelerator). About half way we should start crossing some open areas, coasted by longer range dunes, until toward the end we'll reach a very mouth-watering set of higher dunes and bowls, of a beautiful redder sand, where we can play as much as possible. Please remember to make sure you have a compressor (no gas stations near the exit point), and the minimum required tools for Fewbies (a good shovel is mandatory). Enjoy your last day of the week, and see you tomorrow at 5:30 SHARP.

Congrats Nivin!! See you tomorrow 😄

Hello @Rizwanm2 I will. You are currently #4.

Ciao @Luca Palanca Falsini. I surely will. Thanks for asking.

@Lorenzo Candelpergher of course I am in 👍

Dear Desertnauts. Carnity is very pleased to present you with another, brand new, area to visit during our weekend drives. This time, we have explored, and chosen for you, the stretch of dunes between the farming villages of Lahbab and Margham. This is an area that some of you may know also for the presence of one the Royal villas. Perhaps for this reason, it is very little visited by off-roading clubs, with the few tracks that one encounters mostly made by locals. The terrain is mostly made of low yellow colored dunes, not very high and with frequent openings between cordons, that allow an intricate, yet quite safe, navigation. Some low bushy vegetation is present (as almost everywhere else this year) but less dense than in other areas nearby. There is also a very nice play area, of relatively taller dunes, presenting some large sand bowls. The skills required to complete the drive successfully will be controlled driving over technical dunes, side sloping techniques, and principles of ridge riding and crossing over (low dunes). In order to allow more drivers to enjoy this nice new playground, we have decided to launch the "Relay drive" format. As explained in the post's Action Plan, we have organized 2 separate convoys (this one and Richard's), that will follow roughly the same path, but each leaving at opposite ends, and exiting at the other convoy' starting point. The 2 convoys plan to meet halfway through the drive to exchange a symbolic "baton" (like in a relay track race). We think the "relay" format is a safe way to drive 2 convoys through the same area, rather than creating one convoy, too large to manage effectively. @Hatim Patharia, @Nivin, @Mehmet Volga, @Biju Abdul, @marks, @Miguel Ibarbia, @Mohamed Seidam, @Nabil Bishara, @Shaaz Sha, @Melenany, and @Kalahari I look forward to seeing you all on Friday. Have a great week.

@muzamil hussain I will do that (you're #1). I am also asking @Wrangeld to consider your name if a spot opens up in his drive (the track is inverted, but is the same). @Vineeth John Joseph you are currently #2 in the waiting list. I am also asking @Wrangeld to consider your name if a spot opens up in his drive (the track is inverted, but is the same).

Great job @Shaaz Sha. I look forward to seeing soon out there, facing new challenges.

Way to go @Jun Zamora. Congrats for a well earned promotion.

Brava Angela (artistic name @Foxtrot Oscar) !!! Your progression has been amazing. Looking forward to many more drives together.

Great job Jamie (better known as @Desert Dweller) !!! This is wonderful news, for one of the most passionate, enthusiastic and fearless drivers I have seen lately.

Very good @Janarthan. Great drives are awaiting!!

Well done @Hatim Patharia

Good job @Yousef Alimadadi. You've improved greatly, so now it's time for a new positive challenge.

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: Fewbie and Above When: 25 September 2020, Friday. Meeting time: 5:30 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Action Plan: We will explore a BRAND NEW AREA, where 2 separate convoys will follow roughly the same path, each leaving at opposite ends, and exiting at the other convoy' starting point. The 2 convoys plan to meet halfway through the drive to exchange a symbolic "baton" (like in a relay track race). The "relay" format is a safe way to drive 2 convoys through the same area, and give more drivers the opportunity of visiting this very new desert location. We will practice controlled driving over technical dunes, side sloping, principles of ridge riding and crossing (low dunes), at a leisurely pace. Meeting Point: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xd5Zhkx4EP9UtM567 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: 09:30 AM THIS IS A COMPRESSOR ONLY DRIVE. WE WILL STARTING AND ENDING THE DRIVE AT THE SAME POINT, WHICH IS NOT CLOSE TO AN AIR LINE. 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 10 Fewbie and above drivers. 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 Longest Drive (not the movie) - 100 Km Challange As exlpained in the drive's preview, an accidentally long Fewbie drive, of just more than 94 Km (due to an extension for exiting a troubled car), had wet my appetite for an even longer drive: why not 100 Km, at least? Luckily, within the Dubai emirate there is ample choice of long stretches of desert, connected by small and medium sabkhas, to allow the drawing of a drive plan of at least 100 Km. Departing at 5:50 from the northern Faqa area, the convoy moved rapidly along, heading west through the lightly forested area which I call "the Arboretum" (due to the presence of numerous trees, exploiting the existence of subterranean water seeping through the neighbouring sabkha area) . Temperature at departure was the coolest recorded so far this summer (26 C.), and the terrain was still wet from the night-time and early morning humidity, which made the drive easier. As planned, we managed to cover this first stretch in 1 hour and 8 minutes. After a short water break, we headed toward the area of "Little Sweihan", reachable through a mix of sabkhas and more technical dunes. This is an area of long corridors of higher dunes (more like canyons in my opinion), quite close to one another, and filled with bowls full of soft sand, that deposits here after being carried by the wind through the large northern open plain (the one going toward Solar Park). After running to its western end (indicated by a metal fence running along a sand track), we doubled back for half of Little Sweihan length, before we headed north, toward the limit of the Solar Park plain. We concluded this second leg of our drive in exactly another hour. The third leg of the long range drive took us through some lower technical dunes, then, using the faster track along the bike path, eventually to reach the Bab al Shams sector of Qudra. This is a location which we have recently explored quite a bit, enjoying its mix of open and tighter long range dunes, separated very often by flat surfaces from which emerge a jungle of fantastically shaped clay rock formations. The sand in this area turns from the yellow of the two previous places to a bright, almost blinding white, which makes reading the dunes quite challenging. Crossing this area has taken us precisely another hour. The final part of the long trek saw the convoy navigate the western and the northern sections of what is properly known as Qudra. We moved north along the western border, toward a big farm visible from the Qudra-Bab al Shams tarmac road, then turned east to drive along the northern border, until we reached our exit point. As many know about this favorite Carnity paly-ground, the area has a mix of long range, very open white sand dunes, and tighter technical dunes. Due to the nature of the drive we avoided the latter as much as possible, and exploited the former, taking every opportunity to ride the long ridges. In the end we reached the planned exit point, at Qudra Lakes, after an additional hour. The short convoy of @Foxtrot Oscar, @Lorenzo Candelpergher, @J J and @Junaid Sayeed managed to drive in perfect unison, with almost no refusals, and only a couple of stucks (on of mine, on a ridge, which luckily was solved by a bit of A-Trac action), and completed a flawless drive of 106.2 Km in 4:03 hours (of which 3:27 moving), at an average speed of 26 Km/h (and 31 Km/h while moving). As the drive was conceived to cover a lot of ground, we purposefully avoided a lot of specifically marked play areas, and did not purse the goal of climbing the highest dune, but concentrated on moving as quickly as possible through the designated areas. The challenge, therefore, was to face and manage obstacles on the way with speed and control, to reach each way-point in the shortest (and safest) possible time. Hats off to the whole driving crew, for crossing most of the dunes from the slip-face side, which is certainly more tricky than from the harder wind-swept side. This should serve as a footnote to anybody planning a similar drive. The advantage of following this same itinerary in the morning, is to drive without the sun in the face, with the disadvantage of crossing the dunes from the slip-side (except the first half of the Faqa segment). If driving in the afternoon, it should be easier to reverse the itinerary, and drive still with the sun behind the back, plus crossing from the dunes' hard-side.

Dear Desertnauts. As usual, time for the convoy numbering, and the last minute info about the drive. The convoy will travel with @Foxtrot Oscar in Second Lead, followed by @J J at #3, @Lorenzo Candelpergher in the #4 spot, and @Junaid Sayeed in the Sweep position. As far as recovery duties are concerned, as usual in my Intermediate drives, I'd like all drivers to be involved, so each will take care of the car either in front or behind, depending on the best position to recover from. Junaid, or myself as second option, will always assist the attempted recoveries. Regarding the drive itself, as we are planning a long excursion, I would like to complete each sector in approximately 1 hour (barring any difficult situation we may encounter). The sectors we look to complete at the end of each hour are 1) Faqa (Northern Side) to Little Sweihan, 2) from here to the edge of Solar Park, then on to 3) complete the Bab al Shams area, and finally 4) the Qudra segment, from Bab al Shams (western side) to Qudra proper and the parking area. I am hoping to depart as soon as there is sufficient light (officially at 5:43), so please be as punctual as possible at the meeting point, proceeding with deflating as soon as you reach it. We will tune into Carnity Channel 2 (446.031). Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, have a great end of the week.

Of course @Chaitanya D. Makes sense. Looking forward to seeing you soon.

Hi @Chaitanya D. What happened to the car? Hope it gets fixed soon.

Hi @Najeeb Mohammed. Understood. Thanks, and hope to see you the following week.

@Kalahari I am really sorry not to see you this week!

@Foxtrot Oscar and @Junaid Sayeed, just a reminder that all drivers need to have read and acknowledged the Covid-19 rules on the web site. If you have not done so yet, please acknowledge by clicking on the "Totally Agree" icon at the bottom of the rules' post. If you have already done so, I'll update my file (and sorry for the oversight). Thanks a lot.

Congrats @Junaid Sayeed. Looking forward to seeing you this weekend.

Complimenti @Lorenzo Candelpergher. Well earned!! Hope to see you very soon for an Italian connection drive 🟩⬜🟥