Lorenzo Candelpergher

Dear Desert Wanderers, In consideration of the enormous waitlist for this drive, @Anish S, who was going to be our Sweep, has kindly made himself available to lead a 2nd convoy, for which I thank him very much. Accordingly, I'm glad to inform that all waitlisted members are now admitted to the drive, which has now a 20 RSVP limit. See you on Tuesday!

Working on it.... Stay tuned!

@Ranjan Das, @topgear, @JeromeFJ, @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil, @Magellan, @Chinthaka Ruwan, @Russ, @Antoz, @Lakshmi Narasimhan, @Lawrence_Chehimi, you are all confirmed for the drive. @Chris Wing your are the 5th waitlisted.

@Niki, @Darren Brooke, @Kenneth Bollhardt, @Rawad Bahsas, your are shortlisted for the drive in this order.

Drive Brief This drive is an evergreen classic at Carnity. Moving from Tawi at 5.15m, we will start in the twilight and then head east straight into the raising sun, which will soon unveil itself from behind the skyline of Fossil Rock. We will enter the desert from a bushy area, riding on large and fat ridges as we make our way to the rock. If not too crowded, we will indulge for some play time at the Long Dune, a fantastic, super-long dune offering great opportunities to practice side sloping. We will then head to Fossil Rock, with the plan to perform a breath-taking climb to the top and, if the terrain will allow for it, a descent on the opposite side. We will then head south, moving across a fascinating area populated by dunes with evocative names such as Camel Rock and The Sphinx, with the aim to reach Faya area (see photo below), where very large and mighty dunes will be waiting for us to leave our tire marks on the sand and undeletable memories in our minds. General Infos 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 2.0 MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: Ban Post TWO WAY RADIO GUIDELINES Every Off-roader 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. SUGGESTED READING: Carnity Two Way Radio Frequencies MUST WATCH: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING Drive Details Level: Fewbie and Above (All Levels) When: 11 May 2021, Friday. Meeting time: 5:00 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Mahafiz Tree Shade - https://goo.gl/maps/Tj9WXKFDYB43KpWZ9 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, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm, willingness to learn and your own compressor for tire inflation. Approximate finish time: 9:00 AM End Point: Mahafiz - Al Faya Road Limited Spots Available: Limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Sunday - 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 EVENT

DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, Today's drive was one of those drives you'd never want to end. Everyone made it to the meeting point fairly on time, so we were able to start moving by 5:43am, making our entry in the desert from the sabkha on the south east side of the pylon track where we met. The entry point in the actual desert is always tricky here: small technical dunes, with very irregular patterns, sharp crests and deep pockets. I believe I never led a drive here without someone getting stuck, and again it was the case today, with @Lakshmi Narasimhanwho got crested but was very effective in self recovering. As we moved more inside, we started enjoying the magnificent view of these bright sand dunes in the morning sunlight. After a few stucks and refusals we reached the first area of long range dunes, when the fun started. I personally love this area as the ridges here are extremely long and oriented east-west, ie with perfect light conditions when riding towards the sun, even though, due to the frequent rock formations, it can be dangerous and should never be underestimated. With a short and very capable convoy the ridge riding was pure fun and the rocks were a nice addition to the landscape rather then a concern, to the extent that we really indulged in the area for quite a while, as can be seen from the screenshot below (red areas are rocks, FYI): As the convoy was doing extremely well, the level of the drive could be increased a bit more, both in pace and in technical difficulty. We started adding more criss-crossing and more ascents from the slip face, which resulted in more challenges and some more refusals and reattempts. @Batuhan Kulac as my 2nd lead did an excellent job with his G63. I keep on being surprised how he gets through all situations despite his very low profile tires. @Lakshmi Narasimhan had a hard time today, having to re-learn how to drive his car after the addition of 40+ kg of extra load on the front due to the installation of the new winch. As the drive progressed, however, I had the clear impression his confidence increased. Well done. @Gok Krish handled his capable Jeep Wrangler in a very clean swift way. It took a nasty hidden pocket combined with a moment of distraction to get him stuck and in need for a quick winching out. @Shaaz Sha was an eccellent Center Forward, very generous in instructing and assisting any of the cars who had refusals or stucks around him. He got tricked by a crest and needed a tug at some point, but in return he shoveled everyone else out, great generosity. Kudos! @Ranjan Das today probably tested his Jeep Wrangler and his driving skills at their best, but this resulted in a flawless drive, very well conducted from start to end, and, as I understand, in a lot of fun. @Watteau (Alex) led his monster truck nice and easy in all situations. The level of the drive was quite high and some passages on crests or tight dunes were not at all trivial for such a long wheel base vehicle but he dealt with them brilliantly. @Janarthan at the back impersonated the ideal sweep every lead could desire, always present and supporting whenever needed. Jana and I shared our Leaders Lead sessions, so it was a particular pleasure for me to have him in this drive and I look forward to return the favor and support one of his drives. As we bumped up the level, the drive became way more complex and demanding. It was at this point that @Lakshmi Narasimhan had a popout during an unfortunate descend while slide sloping. Thanks to the great help and experience of @Janarthanand @Shaaz Sha the poput was quickly sorted and we could move again. As we continued our drive we moved further north-east to reach another great area of large and tall dunes, where we couldn't refrain from a double round at a spectacularly large playground dune, just before meeting another off-road convoy, camels! What a view... We then started moving north to make it to the Lisaili Mighty Dunes, but on our way out to the flat area leading there I managed to get myself royally crested, which required a lot of shoveling by @Janarthan and @Shaaz Sha, to which I'm greatley thankful. By the time we made it to the Mighty Dunes, the convoy was so excited, focused and warmed up that we literally had a blast up and down the place, totally unstoppable. The Mighty Lisaili Dunes are always a great experience and I believe everyone loved the epic ascents to the top. As time was running short, we moved north to get closer to our exit point but the fun on the Lisaili Long Range Dunes was just too much to stop, and we indulged in endless ridge riding, once again until we decided it was about time to make our way out, also considering that one of @Batuhan Kulac's passenger elwas starting to feel a bit car sick. We then steered sharply West and and crossed flawlessly the short portion of technical dunes before and after the pylon track to finally reach Lisaili Fort around 9:50am. Overall we drove 68km in 3h 53', with 50' stopped for stucks and popout and an average moving speed of 22.3km/h, a very good pace, given the terrain. The ascent (+237/-230m) was also significant, meaning we did some serious climbing. It was a great drive. I had a lot of fun and I hope the whole convoy felt the same. Everyone did great and must be congratulated. The drive was smooth and safe thanks to the fantastic support by @Janarthan and @Shaaz Sha, my heroes for the day. See you in the sand soon! Beautiful shots @Lakshmi Narasimhan!!

Dear Desert Wanderers, here's the convoy numbering for tomorrow: @Batuhan Kulac, @Lakshmi Narasimhan, @Gok Krish, @Shaaz Sha, @Watteau, @Ranjan Das, @Janarthan, this drive is going to be technically demanding as it is a Fewbie+ level. It will require your full and undivided concentration at every step, so make sure you come well rested, hydrated and you don’t have any reason for being distracted. Also, please consider carefully if you We will be using Carnity Channel 1 (446.00625 Mhz). See tomorrow morning, ready to go (i.e. already deflated, flagged and briefed) by no later 5:30am (sharp), so make sure you make it to the meeting point at least by 5:15am.

Dear Desert Wanderers, Due to a technical problem I'm unable to post the convoy numbering now. I will do it in 1h approx. Departure time is 5.30am, flagged and deflated, so be on site by 5.15am We will be using channel 1 (446.00625 Mhz). See you tomorrow morning.

You can join Sorry to hear that. Get well and come back soon on the sand!

Sorry to hear the news @Thomas Varghese, hopefully it will be soon sorted out. I know how painful it can be to be grounded while your fellow off-roaders keep going. You were missed today, but I'm sure you will be there in the next mid-week drive! 😉

DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, What a drive today! Our short convoy hit the sand by 5:55am after the briefing. As we entered the desert, we immediately realized it was going to be a great drive: the rain and the wind of the previous days had reshaped the dunes to a perfectly virgin status with no tracks to be seen anywhere. @Lawrence_Chehimi had a taste of the difference between Fewbie and Intermediate drives quite soon, as he got stuck for the 1st time since joining Carnity. I'll take it as a badge of honor for me, as I did with @Mario Cornejo's first stuck two weeks ago.. 😂 As we proceeded along our route we entered a technical area with some nasty pockets, one of which took @Shaaz Sha by surprise, causing a popout, which was quickly fixed after winching his X-Terra out. We then moved to a wonderful area of very long dunes, where we really enjoyed riding right along the crest for incredibly long distances. Not sure who it was, but someone couldn't refrain from shouting on the radio "That was amazing!". Indeed it was! We then had our moment of drama, when @Dodi Syahdar's beast ended stuck sliding down on a slip face with some nasty rocks at the bottom. @Dodi Syahdar was however very calm and precise and he was able to recover from the stuck in no time avoiding the rocks. As the convoy warmed up, I started to bump the level up consistently, to see the response. We did some seriously challenging stuff and everyone did really great. @varunmehndiratta was a very good 2nd lead, careful and responsive to my indications. A couple of re-attempts were required here and there on some of the most ambitious passages for the day, as was also the case for @GauravSoni and @Lawrence_Chehimi, but we didn't have any other major stucks and we could therefore have a central stint of the drive extremely fast paced as we moved north-east, recovering part of the almost 40 mins lost in the beginning of the drive between stucks and pop-out. We quickly made it to the Lisaili Mighty Dunes, which never disappoint. We had a good 20 mins time roaming around these complex and high sand formations, which, when you make it to the top, make you feel really accomplished. It was in fact in one of those moments of self-celebration that I was distracted and got my stuck for the day, beautifully crested with a fantastic view.. 😂😂 Once we left the Mighty Dunes, we started moving West, as the clock was ticking and I wanted to keep my commitment to exit not later than 8:45am. We indulged a bit more on some nice, large and fat ridges which were screaming for our tires to leave some marks, before entering the technical dunes that lead to the pylon track. The convoy was a very good one, so we crossed the technical area without any trouble, moving to the west side of the pylon track heading to our exit point at Lisaili Fort, where we reached by 8:48am: hadn't it been for a new fence that forced us to rerout for a little while, we would have been out exactly at the terget exit time. Overall we covered 48.8km in 2h 52', of which 2h 15' moving (with an average moving speed of 21.7km/h) and 37' stopped. I truly had fun and I thank the whole convoy for a beautiful drive: everyone did extremely well, as it was - at some points - quite a tough drive. A special kudos goes to @Lawrence_Chehimi, on his inaugural Intermediate drive: well done! See you soon in the sand again!

Any updates @Thomas Varghese?

Hi @Thomas Varghese, no problem. You can let me know even late tonight. I hope you can make it 🤞

@Ranjan Das you are now confirmed for the drive, as the RSVP is still not full.

Dear Desert Wanderers, this RSVP is now closed. Here below is the convoy order for tomorrow: @varunmehndiratta, @Lawrence_Chehimi, @GauravSoni, @Shaaz Sha, @Dodi Syahdar, this drive is going to be technically demanding, both mentally for the drivers than mechanically for the cars, as it is meant to be a fast pace drive with recurring technically challenging passages. It will require your full and undivided concentration at every step, so make sure you come well rested, fully hydrated, and that you don’t have any reason for being distracted. Also, please consider carefully if you wish to bring passengers along with you. We will be using Carnity Channel 2 (446.03125MHz). See tomorrow morning, ready to go (i.e. already deflated, flagged and briefed) by no later 5:45am (sharp), so make sure you make it to the meeting point at least by 5:30am.

@Ranjan Das you are waitlisted for you 2nd drive.

Drive Brief The stretch of desert between Al Qudra and Lisaili offers infinite possibilities for desert off-roaders, ranging from small, super-technical dunes to long range, almost endless ridges. This drive will offer a taste of all these terrains at an Intermediate level, alternating more challenging technical stints to faster and more "driven" ones, enjoying the prevailing long range dune formations. There is however a specific place, where dunes become so high and so big that they well deserve to be named the "Mighty Lisaili Dunes". A majestic conformation which will be the perfect playground for breath-taking climbs and arduous passages, combined with adrenaline-packed long slide slopes, the gran finale for this drive, which will end at Lisaili Fort. General Infos 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 2.0 MUST READ AND TOTALLY AGREE: Ban Post TWO WAY RADIO GUIDELINES Every Off-roader 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. SUGGESTED READING: Carnity Two Way Radio Frequencies MUST WATCH: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING Drive Details Level: Fewbie Plus (Fewbies with minimum 5 Fewbie drives completed) and Above (All Levels) When: 8 may 2021, Saturday. Meeting time: 5:30 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Al Qudra Pylon Track - https://goo.gl/maps/VurDujZbhkNZjGah7 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, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm, willingness to learn and your own compressor for tire inflation. Approximate finish time: 9:30 AM End Point: Lisaili Fort Limited Spots Available: Limited to 10 cars 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 EVENT

Drive Brief The day of a good yogi/yogini should start with a salute to the sun: that of a good off-roader should start with an equal tribute to the magnificence of the desert in the early surnise light, enjoying the incredible peace that it has to offer. Starting at dawn, 5:45AM, from the pylon track crossing the sabkha at the end of the Al Qudra - Solar Park Road, we will zig-zag heading north-east, enjoying a long series of high and long range dunes, that will take us to Lisaili where, if time will allow, we will try to reach the "Mighty Lisaili Dunes", a spectacular group of high dunes, the perfect climax to energize an off-roader's working day, before exiting at Lisaili Fort by 8:45am. General Infos 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 Off-roader 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. SUGGESTED READING: Carnity Two Way Radio Frequencies MUST WATCH: NEWBIE VIDEO BRIEFING Drive Details Level: Intermediate and Above (All Levels) When: 5 May 2021, Wednesday. Meeting time: 5:45 AM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Al Qudra Pylon Track - https://goo.gl/maps/VurDujZbhkNZjGah7 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, face mask, rubber gloves, enthusiasm, willingness to learn and your own compressor for tire inflation. Approximate finish time: 8:45 AM End Point: Lisaili Fort Limited Spots Available: Limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Tuesday - 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 EVENT

Congratulations, @Foxtrot Oscarfor achieving this great and totally deserved promotion. Your dedication and commitment are admirable and certainly an example for those who follow you tracks, literally and metaphorically.

There are very similar LED strobo-lights meant for use with quadcopter drones and therefore very resistant to impacts, water resistant and with fitting mechanisms that would allow to fix them on a small diameter pole like the flag's one. There are, as for the bycicle ones, some versions which come with rechargeable battery. It's basically the same exact concept of bicycle ones, only that they are smaller and more powerful as they are designed to be utilized at great distance and some versions also in full daylight. @Foxtrot Oscarvery cool! So you have the whole pole lit?

Dear Dear @Darren Brooke, we share the same frustration tonight, both awake and disappointed for not being able to join the drive.. While the others are (hopefully) asleep, getting a good rest for tomorrow's fun. But don't worry, I have ambitious plans for midweek drives in the foreseeable future.. You'll have plenty of chances... 😉

Dear Desert Wanderers, this RSVP is now closed. Due to very unfortunate circumstances, I will not be able to lead this drive. It really makes me very upset, but there's nothing I can do about it. My very good friend @Luca Palanca Falsini kindly made himself available to step in at the last minute, so he will be taking the lead tomorrow morning. Please find below the convoy order: @Darren Brooke, @Zed, @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil, @Rawad Bahsas, @GauravSoni, @Batuhan Kulac, @soumyasaklani, @Lakshmi Narasimhan, @Dodi Syahdar, @varunmehndiratta and @Shaaz Sha, this drive is going to be a nice and fun Fewbie Drive. @Luca Palanca Falsini will see how far to push it, as there are several newly promoted Fewbies. As every other time, this drive will require your full and undivided concentration at every step, so make sure you come well rested and hydrated and that you don’t have any reason for being distracted. Also, please consider carefully if you wish to bring passengers along with you. We will be using Carnity Channel 2 (446.03125MHz). See you tomorrow morning, ready to go (i.e. already deflated, flagged and briefed) by no later 5:45am (sharp), so make sure you make it to the meeting point at least by 5:30am. I will really miss this drive!!! Have fun also on my behalf...