dune jockey

Trip report Exploring a relatively unknown area with a bunch of die hard off roaders is always fun. We started our journey from Rashidiyah north of Bateyh desert. We traversed through an area filled with some tall dunes but the approach to then is a tricky proposition. Need to climb along a technical dunes to reach to the top and come down steep along the slip side between trees , which was quite thrilling. We played around such areas , had some crests tugged quickly and paced through Sabkhas , or should we call green patches as there were quite a few trees with enough cool shade for each of us to rest while we took a break. Starting again we encountered dunes which were super soft with wierd wedges making driving through a challenge. This meant we had our first major stuck in me when I got wedged in a pocket needing some good amount of shovelling and tugging to get out. We drove to clear this area and I must say all of you drove beautifully to conquer this terrain which is less often visited by offroaders , the reason well you all know now. Heading towards exit near Bareer , Al Dhaid I ended up along a slip side of a dune adjacent to a fenced area. Tried my best bust kept drifting towards the fence. With sand churned up, slip phase of the dune I had to ask Alecander to winch me out. Well this was a recovery which bought all of us to a constructive phase in our drive and how everyone chipped in to shovel, place the max trax , double up the soft shackles and snatch straps was quite impressive. Even to an extent that one of the patrolling officer who kept telling "gas gas gas" later agreed once recovered that it was a very well executed recovery. Thanks yo all of you for an amazing team work. We drove close to 47 km exploring a newish area and hope we come back here to explore more and get out off roading skills even better. @Anish S was flawless as a 2nd lead. Exactly stopping whenever he saw me struggling in tight spots even before I announced on radio. How your presence on any drive has been so helpful for everyone is quite amazing . @Nivin our recently promoted advance driver did well in all areas, self recovering from a near crest and managing his blue X well. @Abu Muhammad driving a monstrous Sequndra which roared even in tight dunes was quite impeccable. How you managed your beast in the tightest dunes was a treat to watch. Quite impressive how you have become so confident , great to have you my friend. @Kailas in his wrangler gets better each drive. Managed all the areas really well and always helpful when anyone needed recoveries ( the most behind the lead for this drive 🤣). Fantastic driving. @Alexander Alcala was the master rescuer on this drive - shovelling, tugging and winching literally everyone except Anish. Fantastic to have you on drives and have your amazing experience come along. Great learning from all the experiences you share and I am eager to hear your results of Rahal Challenge. Best wishes. Well by now I hope you all know why we keep such drives at intermediate level , because it gets more challenging as it gets along. I hope you al enjoyed this exploration of a new area and the challenges here, and we participated in some recoveries which will be etched in our memories for a long time to come. I/We wish to come back and explore more here sometime soon. Enjoy your week , ending soon.

Yes awake just now @Rahimdad🤣.There is a small OD - Over drive button on the gear lever under the knob at the position of thumb when you hold the gear. Press it and u will see gear numbers while driving. If its 4 you can down shift to 3 manually , if you cannot wait for the automatic while driving fast to over take or whatever. Try this OD button and play around . Go through the link below https://www.thenewx.org/threads/2011-pro-4x-over-drive.51106/#post-795826 Having said all this, I usually drive my Xterra with cruise control on highways at 80 or 90 kmph listening to my favorite music on the 3rd lane.I lose may be few min, but the drive is enjoyable. Never tried this OD

Congratulations @Nivin

Trip Report: Well driving on a chilly morning through this area which is among my favorites is always such a nice experience, especially when all of you drove really well. Impressive stuff and how you all enjoyed the last loops and fast driving (albeit safely) was a treat to watch. Thank you @Vanessa8580 for your support and @Tamas Hoffmann for doing the center forward duty to perfection. We were greeted by Santa on one of the dunes which was a surprise @Goutam did his 2nd lead to perfection. Minor rerouting and redirections managed efficiently, well controlled driving. Fantastic stuff @bassel el rafei was driving his massive LC with minimal issues. Hope you get the TPMS sorted with your tires before the next drive. Well driven !! @Archibald Jurdi driving a classic TJ which is so nice to watch on the dunes. Fantastic control and how you quickly progressed and drove on the small ridges and criss crossing we practiced, safely. Well done @Tamas Hoffmann always great to have your company for a great attitude, quick learner and some nice self recoveries you do. Thank you for your support and all the beautiful pictures. @Anvar Sadath Bekal did well driving his pajero. As you do more driving at different terrains , you will get better at all that we practiced today. Just to always remind you and everyone in the group - never fight gravity, get on the ridge to ride before exiting and keep the right approach. Stick to these basics all the time. Well done! @MUHAMMAD Kashif RAZZAQ drove his yellow Wrangler beautifully. Having driven with you before, it was definitely more impressive driving by you . Good going buddy @Vanessa8580 joined us as a late addition on the previous evening and she is always a massive support on any drive , along with bringing in a lot of positive energy and enthusiasm . Thanks you ! Enjoy your week to come back for another weekend of adventure, oh it could be a weekday too. Keep looking for the drive notifications!

Trip Report Short convoy is what was a blessing on this weekday that we drove from Lisaili to Faqa, covering almost 75 Km which included long range dunes, ridges, criss crossing and some really tight technical areas. 5 different cars which are among the commonest with off roaders and all cars performed equally well. Goes to say that its the driving and the technique which matters more to offroading than anything else. @Ashok chaturvedi was my 2nd lead, did wonderful job . Impressive driving with hardly any issues , compared to what I have seen through all the drives done with me. Great going with his Pajero !! Well done sir . @Lucky sAm drove well in his Y62, managing all challenges aplomb. Great control of this missive beast , and some nice self recovery from a side stuck on a slope which was tricky. Exited mid way at Murquab at his request, but drove really well till then. @Ahab Shamaa fantastic driving in his roaring FJ, never felt it was his first FB+ drive. Great control on ridges, criss crossing and in technical areas. How you managed manual A trac with blip blip to get out of a near central crest on a long ridge was impressive stuff. Well done buddy! @Tariq Carrimjee was my sweep and was his first drive after he was promoted to intermediate level. Quite impressive how you have mastered controlling that white open top wrangler SWB on all terrains and challenges. Some nice rope recoveries and advises done which will only get better as you progress with more involvement from your side. Thank you for your support. Well done guys and it was nice fun on a chilly morning. Personally for me this was my third attempt to pull through a convoy across 3 challenging terrains ( Lisaili- Murquab-Faqa), and I am glad we could do it even though with a short convoy. Have marked up all the improvisations done on this drive and should be doable with a full convoy of 10 cars some time soon. Enjoy your week!!