Lorenzo Candelpergher

Dear Desert Wanderers, this RSVP is now closed. Please find below the convoy order for our drive: @Abdul Rahman AK, @Danish Mohammad, @Ranjan Das, @Lakshmi Narasimhan, @M.Seidam, @Ashok chaturvedi, @varunmehndiratta, @Shehab Alawadhi, @Dodi Syahdar, @Abu Muhammad, @Francois Germishuys, this drive is going to be very demanding from a technical point of view, both mentally for the drivers and mechanically for the cars, given the extreme heat of these days and the long distance we are supposed to cover in a variety of terrains. It will require your full and undivided concentration at every step, especially when we will reach elevated positions on steep slopes, so make sure you come well rested and hydrated and that and 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 4 (446.08125Mhz). The meeting point is confirmed at Mahafiz Tree Shade: https://goo.gl/maps/Tj9WXKFDYB43KpWZ9 See you tomorrow morning, ready to go (i.e. already caffeinated, 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.

DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, being the 4th of August in the UAE, yesterday's late afternoon was a relatively pleasant one when we reached the meeting point: hot, but not too humid, thanks to the nice breeze. Everyone made it quite early to Al Badayer interchange, so by 7:10pm we were already on the move. We immediately made our way to Big Red, where we made a first attempt to climb from the west side to test the level of the convoy while there was still a bit of light. Maybe it was a bit too early in the drive and the convoy was not yet ready: the climb proved problematic, with a first refusal by @Danish Mohammad first and then @Naveen Raj stuck in a pocket after having lost the track, with @Rjducos awaiting for instructions how to come down avoiding a deep bowl. After a quick tug for @Naveen Raj, we started going around Big Red counter-clock wise, with a couple of other attempts to climb on the east side. We then roamed a bit around on fairly small dunes, which gave everyone the chance to adjust their distance from the car in front and to familiarise a bit more with night-time driving, a total novelty for 1/3 of the convoy members. We then tackled "the other big dune next to Big Red", aka Little Red (thanks @GauravSoni for the toponomastic hint). Surprisingly the ascent and descent from Little Red was brilliantly and almost effortlessly overcome by the convoy, which gave me the confidence to raise the level of the drive a notch up. As we kept heading north, we enjoyed a long series of large dunes along a convoluted and yet fluid route where we proceeded seamlessly until we hit a nasty crest where @Lakshmi Narasimhan first and then @GauravSoni both got stuck, requesting respectively tugging from the back and winching from the front. As there's no 2 to stucks without a 3rd one, while probably bored waiting for the recoveries at the back to be completed, @Danish Mohammadmanaged to get himself stuck again in a tricky soft sand patch, which - again - requested winching out. 😂 We were then able to proceed further in a zig-zag to the west, reaching another area of large dunes. While riding a long ridge, @Ehab (who otherwise had a spotless drive) slipped on the wrong side and had to climb up again. We then aimed at some of the largest bowls in the area, where we played a bit, including a daring criss-crossings from inside a large bowl to the top of its edge and then down on the opposite unknown dark side. It was quite a maneuver for a Fewbie drive, but with some guidance the convoy did very well, with @Aisha S @Rjducos showcasing all their abilities in the circumstance. Quite on the opposite.. Soon after it was my turn to get crested and tugged our by @Danish MohammadMohammad. I guess, at this point @Gregory's son was starting to get really excited as I announced on the radio that we were about to enter an area of big rocks that would have eventually led us at the top of Pink Rock, his favourite place, as he later admitted. Another couple of refusals with @Gregoryand @Aisha S were brilliantly self-recovered, then we fiercely headed uphill, bordering the huge rock spine that leads to the south edge of Pink Rock. In a pitch black night, with no moon to be seen around, we knew that we were at the top of the rock more because of our GPS and because of the view of the road lights far in the distance than because of what we could actually see the immediate surroundings. The short pause we took there was, personally, the best moment of the drive. Nice, warm breeze in the air, no one around us, a 360 degrees view from the top of the rocks and, once lit by the headlights of my car, the wonder to eventually discover Pink Rock itself, now visible on the North side. Once we passed the crest and stared moving down on the west hillside, we had a quick opportunity for a group photo: We then roamed around, descending all the way to the bottom and reascending as close as possible to the rocky crown of the hill, then, after a couple of quickly self-recovered refusals, we reached the starting point of the climb to Pink Rock pass, the 2nd crossing point of the day, more on the north side. One by one we smoothly and surely made it to the top, and I must say it was quite a show to see the whole convoy climbing up. The photos below only give a fraction of the real feeling: It was after making it to the top of Pink Rock that @Aisha S started paying the toll for an extra-long day, so @Arman sat behind the wheel for the last, short stint of the drive. We gently descended on the north side, heading towards our exit point at 2nd December Cafeteria. Before exiting, however, we tackled a last group of tall dunes, where @Danish Mohammad first and then @Naveen Raj had to find their last energies and skills of the day to get out of a nasty bowl with soft sand, after which, having exhausted our time, we quickly made our way to the exit, just in time to avoid troubles with the failing O2 sensor in @GauravSoni's Pajero, who was spitting grey exhaust smoke! Overall we drove for 38.6km over a total of 2h 56', of which 1h 58' moving, at an average moving speed of 18.1km/h. Our total ascent (ie total elevation gain/loss) was +800/-825m, which is quite significant for a Fewbie drive, meaning we really climbed a lot. See elevation graphs elow: Kudos to everyone for an excellent performance and thanks to @Danish Mohammad (a very good 2nd lead) and to @Lakshmi Narasimhan (congrats for your 50th drive with @Carnity) and @GauravSonifor their support. I also hope @Aisha S had a good night sleep to recover! See you soon in the sand again!!

Oh, no! Sorry to hear that. We will certainly repeat the route soon. @Francois Germishuys, you are next in line, I've added you to the drive.

Dear @Abu Muhammad, yes it is OK. I recall here the waitlisted: For 1st drive @Francois Germishuys. For 2nd drive @GauravSoni, @Watteau.

Both options work!

Hi @Ehab, I guess you didn't get the notification because I had hidden the post while publishing it, so this may have prevented notifications out, even when later I hit un-hide. I'll update your car details, my mistake.

Dear Desert Wanderers, this RSVP is now closed. Please find below the convoy order for our drive: @Danish Mohammad, @Naveen Raj, @Aisha S, @Gregory, @Lakshmi Narasimhan, @Ehab, @Nithin Vaidir, @Rjducos, @GauravSoni, this drive is going to be a new experience for several participants who will be exploring the desert at night for the first time and more in general it will be more demanding than a daytime Fewbie drive. It will require your full and undivided concentration at every step, so make sure you come well rested and hydrated and that and you don’t have any reason for being distracted. Also, in order to avoid problems during the drive, please consider having your last meal sufficiently earlier than the drive starting time or plan it after the drive (but in this case pls carry a snack with you) and don't forget to wear closed shoes and long trousers as at night scorpions and snakes may be occasionally around. Should you plan to bring any passengers, these recommendations apply to them as well. We will be using Carnity Channel 4 (446.08125Mhz). The meeting point is confirmed at Al Badayer Interchange, Dubai-Hatta Road - https://maps.app.goo.gl/FXsEjCSTTQh5oCnx9 See you tomorrow evening, ready to go (i.e. already deflated, flagged and briefed) by no later 7:00pm (sharp), so make sure you make it to the meeting point at least by 6:45pm.

@Enrico Biscaro, just be mindful of the fact that registering your drone with GCAA under the MyDroneHub App is NOT sufficient to fly it in the Emirate of Dubai. This is the UA (Unmanned Aircraft) registration certificate you get from GCAA: This allows you to fly in Green zones in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Umm Al Quain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Ajman but NOT in Dubai. To fly in Dubai you need and Hobbyist RPAS Pilot Certificate like the one below, plus your drone must be additionally registered and labeled with DCAA (Dubai Civil Aviation Authority) which is DIFFERENT than GCAA (General Civil Aviation Authority). Here's an example of hobbyist registration label for my Phantom 4: As you will see I have two labels (it and old photo so the label dates are now expired). Same Wing Number, but one is for hobbyist use and the other is for commercial. Many believe that having the MyDroneHub registration under GCAA is sufficient to fly in Al Qudra, for example, but in fact it isn't...

@Enrico Biscaro, this a painful topic. First of all, as a hobbyist pilot, you are supposed to register your drone with GCAA (General Civil Aviation Authority) and are free to use it in all emirates except Dubai with the standard limitation (max 120m AGL, max 500 flight radius, i.e. distance, but always in VLOS - visual line of sight, no flying over crowds and private properties, no flying after sunset and before sunrise). In addition, to fly in Dubai emirate, you need to take a specific exam to be certified as an "Hobbyist RPAS Pilot" (RPAS = Remoted Piloted Aircraft System), register your drone and license with DCAA (Dubai Civil Aviation Authority) and apply their ID stickers on both remote and aircraft. This is to fly freely in GREEN ZONES and operate your camera for hobbyist purposes.. Should your footage be used for commercial purposes, you'd be violating the local regulations. To fly in Yellow Zones, you will require each time a specific permission by the relevant authority, depending on the location (i.e. GCAA for all other emirates, DCAA for Dubai). These permissions are normally granted only for commercial purposes and they are quite expensive (approx 6-7k AED for a single day flying/shooting session). You will need to obtain clearance from GCAA/DCAA + MOD, which is normally only possible by applying through a licensed entity (=company) which has obtained security clearance from MOD. I have tried multiple times to obtain an NOC to fly in YELLOW ZONES for hobbyist purposes but I never succeeded, despite having all the other credentials for professional use. Whenever you fly in yellow or red zones under a GCAA/DCAA NOC, an inspector from MOD will be sent to monitor your operations. If in Dubai, you will have to use a tracker (which sends all data to DCAA, who monitor that you stay within the authorized parameters, which are typically the standard ones, unless you are in RED ZONES, where you may have reduced AGL and flight radius, and coordinate with ATC (Air Traffic Control) before/after take-off and landing. As you can see, drones are very strictly regulated in the UAE and I recommend you really know the subject well. Some dare to fly their drones without permissions even in Yellow Zones (which in UAE are mostly defined for military purposes), but I wouldn't recommend doing so, as you may risk to get your aircraft seized and to be fined, if caught. Should you fly close enough to a military base, you may get your drone taken down!

Nice video @Enrico Biscaro. I am a licenced commercial drone pilot and use drone aerial shootings for work mostly for progress monitoring and aerial surveys at construction sites. I must say this is a professional activity but I do it more as a diversion from the real work, which is running a construction project management company I occasionally do shoots for other commercial purposes as well, but I must say in recent times I haven't been piloting much, as I've been very busy with other stuff and for quite some time my video editing laptop was under repair (I edit with Da Vinci Resolve). I have currently use a DJI Mavic 2 Pro, a DJI Phantom 4 and a DJI Inspire 2 (the last used only for professional shootings). It will be a pleasure to exchange views and ideas about drones.

Congratulations @Faraz Mohammad, looking forward to drive toghether soon!

@Frederic, @Danish Mohammad, I think last Satueday's drive wasn't very relevant as far as these consumption stats are concerned. We did over 45 long climbs with wide open throttle in 2nd or 1st gear, bottom to top, covering overall only 65km. I also started with a full tank and ended with 1/4.. Which is an abnormous consumption even for my JLU in comparison to other "flatter" drives.

Hi @GauravSoniit is a Fewbie Drive. I fixed the details. Thanks for noticing. @Rjducos, yes it is a Fewbie Drive. The mismatch in the Drive Details has been fixed. You won't need any special lights for this drive.

Drive Brief On Wednesday night only 21% of the waning moon will be visible in the UAE: the amazing colors of Big Red and Pink Rock will be hidden in an almost pitch black night, only to be unvealed by the light beams of our convoy. We will enter the sand from Al Badayer Interchange on Dubai - Hatta Road, making quickly our way to the heights of Big Red, hopefully early enough to contemplate the twilight following the sunset. We will then head north with the aim to climb "the other big dune next to Big Red" and from there to indulge in an endless sequence of round ridges and large bowls as we will get closer and closer to Pink Rock. We will then approach the rock itself, crossing it twice, first from the south east side and then up, again from the west side. We will enjoy the warm breeze at the top, then turn around the north edge of Pink Rock, to eventually reach our exit point at 2nd December Cafeteria. A nice mid-summer desert diversion, away from an ordinary evening on the couch. 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 Ban from Carnity Off-road Club Two Way Radio Guidelines Drive Details Level: Fewbie and Above (All Levels) When: 4 Aug 2021, Saturday. Meeting time: 7:00 PM (SHARP - Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: Al Badayer Interchange, Dubai-Hatta Road - https://maps.app.goo.gl/FXsEjCSTTQh5oCnx9 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: 10:00 PM End Point: 2nd December Cafeteria Limited Spots Available: Limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Tuesday - 5 PM. 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

Waitlisted for 1st drive: @Abu Muhammad Waitlisted for 2nd drive (in order of priority): @GauravSoni, @Watteau

Drive Brief This Intermediate Drive is meant to be a high speed adventure across a long stretch of red sand desert in the Emirate of Sharjah, covering over 70km from Mahafiz to Shuwaib, going through some of the most coveted off-roading areas in the emirate, all packed in a single "Express Drive" experience. We will start in Mahafiz, approaching, for starters, the Long Dune and then climbing to the top of Fossil Rock, descending on its east side. We will then head south, passing by Fossil Rock, Camel Rock and The Sphynx at high speed in order to reach Faya's reknown big dunes. We will subsequently border S153 Mahafiz - Faya Road to cross it at Mahafiz Roundabout and enter the Suwaidan stretch of desert that will eventually lead us to the tall dunes on the north side of 2nd November Cafeteria, which will hopefully be a pleasant surprise to most. Once crossed the road, we will dive again in the tall dunes on its west side, then head straight to Pink Rock, from where we will keep on heading south, making our way towards the Al Badayer area, climbing first "The big dune next to Big Red" and eventually the Big Red itself, before exiting at Al Badayer Interchange on Dubai-Hatta Road This drive will offer all types of red sand challenges a driver could ask for, an all in one express shot. 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 Ban from Carnity Off-road Club Two Way Radio Guidelines Drive Details Level: Intermediate and Above (All Levels) When: 7 Aug 2021, Saturday. Meeting time: 5:30 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: 9:30 AM End Point: Al Badayer Interchange - Dubai - Hatta Road 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

Hi @varunmehndiratta, today I drove 98% of the time in D, using M only to sustain 2nd or 1st gear while climbing on some long and steep, straight climbs, thus avoiding undesired automatic upshifting. There is absolutely no upshifting when in M: if in 1st gear, your engine would keep screaming at max revs limit. Where practice is never enough for me, however, isn't the upshifting but rather the WOT (wide open throttle) downshifting to 1st gear while climbing in 2nd gear and losing momentum. JLUs are programmed not to allow WOT downshifting, so the only way to achieve it is to feather the throttle, shift down and give full gas again. But when you climb up on a bumpy stretch jumping all over the place it ain't so easy to "feather" the throttle as you'd wish.. The alternative would be tuning (ie enably WOT downshifting), which however would void the warranty (not an option for me) and possibly shorten the life of the gearbox/engine..

By coincidence I bought the original gun on Amazon today at this link: https://www.amazon.ae/dp/B08XMZDVXX?ref=myi_title_dp Now they seem to have some in stock apparently, even if earlier it showed no availability.

Dear @Abu Muhammad, I don't think there should be any additional requirements. We've all been inexperienced Intermediate drivers at some point and we've all had bad days, while not all of us have 100+hp/1000kg power to weight ratio under the hood. We all drive to become better drivers and I think one of the best things of today's drive was precisely that those who most struggled, in the end succeeded toghether with the rest of the convoy and that not a single time we left anyone behind, making sure the weakest car could always make it to the top as everyone else. This is one of the best things in @Carnity, in my opinion.

DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, My last drive as lead had been exactly 30 days ago, so I came to this drive with some concern whether I was actually going to be up to the task, given that the 1st edition of the 1km ascent quest had created a lot of expectations. I must say I really enjoyed the drive today and it was great to be back again on the sand. It was a memorable drive, with endless challenges that put everyone to the test. We started very early this morning: by 5am sharp we lined up the convoy. I feel it was maybe a bit too early, as we had to drive for 45 mins before the sunrise. We indulged a bit in the small dunes between our entry point and the 1st group of dunes of Area 53 next to the Dubai - Hatta Road, but we couldn't possibly spend 45 mins there, so I decided to aim to the top climbing in total darkness. Not exactly the easiest way to start the day, but certainly an effective way to make sure everyone was fully awake! 😂😂 We started having refusals right away at the very first climb, I guess mostly because of the additional challenge with the darkness and because of the abrupt ramp-up of the technical level that today's ascents implied. Even if with some hesitations, the convoy made it to the top 3 times in a raw on the first group of dunes: it was the perfect warm-up for the day. We progressively moved across 11 different areas of big dunes, everytime climbing from all sides and making sure we left our tire marks on every available bowl. The first 2 hours were not easy, as we had to deal with several refusals, mostly with the two Pajeros, whose underpowered engines with undesidered upshifting demanded their drivers, @Danish Mohammad and @Lakshmi Narasimhan, every drop of their driving skills to make it to the top.. Kudos to both for the extra effort! I could sense some frustration by the big and experienced guys at the back, whose desire to unleash their endless horse power was often dampened by some stucks and refusals at the front and even more by my occasional decisions to abort and reroute (or restart from the bottom) when things were getting too troubled at the front of the convoy. @Watteau was very vocal when he asked not to give up and to make sure the cars at the back could have their fair chance to make it to the top. I know my choices may have disappointed, @Watteau or @Abu Muhammad, but the point for me was that ALL drivers (and cars) today had to make it to the top and I believe that is what happened 80% of the over 40 straight bottom-to-top climbs we performed today. In that 20%, we gave up or rerouted to continue having fun without wasting too much time being overly ambitious. The sand was tricky today, with lots of unusual pockets and patches of very soft sand caused by the unusual winds of the last weeks, combined, in the 1st part of the drive, with an immense number of tracks everywhere. This is where most of us had our good share of refusals and stucks, which required a great deal of brilliant self-recoveries, including the spectacular ones by @Danish Mohammad and @Mario Cornejo in deep bowls and with great inclines. I wasn't equally good and needed help shoveling to get out of a crest. Just to make sure we didn't miss anything, we also had repeated overheating issues and two pop-out for my myself and @Dodi Syahdar! What a day! The drivers in the front didn't have the horsepower nor the experience of the big guys in the back, and I must say I was proud to see the enormous improvement in self-confidence and actual car handling that @Danish Mohammad achieved trough-out the drive as he shifted to 2nd lead. It is only by being challenged a bit beyond our comfort zone and by our mistakes and struggles that we become better. Well done, my friend! I must say I was also a bit disappointed to see how convoy discipline today was often neglected.. Impatience to climb and not to lose momentum often led to a split convoy or to overtakes and confusion, to the extent that we had to slow down and reorder the convoy multiple times. I still believe, as frustrating as this may be, that if a car in front struggles, those behind should avoid overtaking and should patiently allow as many attempts as may be required for whoever has difficulties in a specific passage.. In the last two hours of the drive we drove more, stopped less and enjoyed fantastic, virgin dunes that repaid us of all the waiting, digging, rerouting and struggling of the first two. The climax of the day for me was the stretch at and after Suhail Dune, where we had a quick photo stop: With some concerns about overheating and running out of fuel for some cars, we then headed towards Iftar Bowl, where we took 3 full rounds back to back before eventually making our exit. We drove for 4h and 35 mins, covering 68.6km at an average moving speed of 16.7km. As far as the goal of the day is concerned, I'm glad to say that - despite all setbacks - we hit the 1670m ascent mark, which is 100m than last month. See the analysis below: Congratulations to @Mario Cornejo (you'll conquer that high bowl) @Danish Mohammad (full throttle!!) , @Ranjan Das(great new Rubicon!), @Lakshmi Narasimhan(Iftar Bowl is now yours), @Ilya(a walk in the park for an Expert like you), @Watteau(we did get to the top, eventually), @Dodi Syahdar("when I enjoy the drive I get a pop-out", you said 😂😂😂😂😂), @Abu Muhammad(we were all inexperienced IM drivers at some point!) and big big thanks to @M.Seidam and @Hisham Masaad for their outstanding support at all times. See you at the next stuck!

@Ashok chaturvedi, if @varunmehndiratta had announced earlier his intention not to come you would have been the next in line, but since he sent a message at 3am, there wasn't much to do.. The other dropout was taken by @Lakshmi Narasimhanwho had precedence in the waiting list. You missed a good drive, but there will be many more!

Dear Desert Wanderers, this RSVP is now closed. Please find below the convoy order for our drive: @Mario Cornejo, @Danish Mohammad, @Ranjan Das, @Lakshmi Narasimhan, @varunmehndiratta, @M.Seidam, @Ilya, @Watteau, @Dodi Syahdar, @Abu Muhammad, @Hisham Masaad: this drive is going to be very demanding from a technical point of view, both mentally for the drivers and mechanically for the cars. It will require your full and undivided concentration at every step, especially when we will reach elevated positions on steep slopes, so make sure you come well rested and hydrated and that and 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 4 (446.08125Mhz) Our meeting point is confirmed at Al Badayer Exit - E44 Dubai - Hatta Road - https://goo.gl/maps/JkhE9hDwve8mkkU99 See you tomorrow morning, ready to go (i.e. already caffeinated, deflated, flagged and briefed) by no later 5:00am (sharp), so make sure you make it to the meeting point at least by 4:45am.

In this case @Ilya is the next in line.