Looper

Looks like an opening has open up Sorry to hear it. See you next.

Please see below the convoy order: we will be on channel 2 tomorrow.

one more find from r/dubaipetrolheads

Any time buddy, @Imteeaz i will do anything to keep my jack in the seal wrapped box.

I’ll add you in the manage tab, you will be responding to the pop outs😂

@Mohit Gurnani, @Sreenath G, @Emanuel, @Issam Atra, @Ben Lee, @Mahmoud Taha, @Nadeem Ansari, @DanielN, @Ignacio Quindós, @Arun Menon Waitlisted: @Mohammad Sayawoush Azad & @Abhilash Kottakkal This is the mid-week reminder to all attending. Request you all not to be a No-Show and instead rest well and arrive on time. In case you think there are going to be any issues withdraw from the drive as there is a waiting list. I will be publishing the convoy order on Saturday evening. Please note the meeting point is changed from the time I published the drive post. A little history: This will be my 10th drive in this general area and in the past, I have driven with 7 different leads, the last one being in June 2022. This area has become less driven these days due to all the shrubs that have come up here as well as because the Fossil Rock has been barricaded. I did my first Newbie Drive at this place. In this drive 61% of the time was spent not moving and attending refusals. I was still a newbie so all that i did was just sit in the car and take photos. It was also the shortest drive i have even done with just 11.9 kms driven. Those days Fossil Rock was open and obviously we did not go there and moved to exit after reaching the bottom of the hill.

Reminiscing on the Drive The objective of the drive was to take the convoy to some large dunes at the south of the Faqa'a which were going to be fun place to play. The intention was to start at dawn, approx. 6.15-ish and reach there quickly so that we can play in those dunes more than I did last time there. I started to record track at 6:25 and did not move till 6:33. 10 min into the drive when we tried to ride the first dune, @Mohammad Sayawoush Azad slipped off it and entered into a pocket and had his front passenger side tire had a pop-out. It was in a pocket so instead of trying to get it out we fixed the popout at the pocket itself so that he could move out of it. When we fixed the popout we also realized that the tire wasn't holding any pressure and leaking air. After it came out of the bowl, we replaced the tire and without any spare unfortunately it was the end of the drive for the mighty Patrol. At 7:50 the drive started again. You could see so many tall dunes but when you go near them, they are covered with vegetation. Anyways our aim was to reach the big bowls as soon as we could and, in the process, we navigate though some nice large dunes. On the way at about 8:30 we took a quick break and when we started again, we had another pop-out of the remaining Patrol at the same place. Well, we have already become a team expert in fixing popouts already, so it was dealt with in no time. The Sun was rising, temperatures were getting high, and we were nowhere near the dunes that we wanted to be. The tire pressure was increasing and without checking it led to a couple of refusals. When we started to move @Haneef Thayyil found the only pocket he could and promptly entered it. There was no place to do any self-recovery, so we winched him out of there. At this time, we learnt some sad news, but we could not delve into it there, so we kept moving. Finally at 10;10 am we reached where we wanted to come all along. A quick stuck by @Ishak led us to the bowl. But it was getting late, so we restricted the play time in this place and kept moving towards the exit. Finally, we finished the drive at 11 at Solar Park, but not without finding the misplaced convoy once again. Remarks There were a couple of teachable moments during the drive. We do start with a briefing at every drive with these points, but it became evident why those seemingly unimportant items could become critical. One of those points is to keep an adequate distance between one's car and the car in front. If it is too far away, then one could lose track completely. Another aspect is radio communication, where we need to hear and respond adequately. I also want to touch up an important aspect of driving in the desert. One cannot zone out in the desert; it requires uninterrupted and complete focus. It is a conscious decision-making process where you must look at the car in front and try to replicate what it has done which requires you to make A LOT of decisions on how to tackle that patch till you go to the next. It is like solving a puzzle with your vehicle. That's the game if you ask me. End Credits @Cha I must thank you for all the effort you put into this drive. Fixing the popouts, helping with stucks and refusals, you had quite an engaging day. @Ishak Thank you once again for a brilliant second lead and thanks for helping with the pop-outs and tire change. Final Thoughts Some days are more difficult than others and it is a part of life. For anyone who joined the next day, it was one of those better days.

It is back btw..

I have the craft of photography all dialed in - learning the art is what is more important and difficult job. I am currently compensating it with quantity and a bit of post-production. Of course, there is a lot that can be done that I am not doing. My objective is to feed into the Carnity Instagram page mostly. It's always a learning process. Recently I observed that when I take pictures sitting inside the car and through the front window - the phots seem to focus nicely while shooting but when I pixel peep on my monitor I see that they are awfully out of focus. Take away from it is that - Do not put another medium, even though it is transparent, between your lens and the subject. I know a thing or two about the cameras as well as setting up the camera, maybe @DP1011 as well as many with their DSLRs would want to join a drive where we stop and talk about the essentials of photography as suggested in the near future.

Anyone Notice that the Details page is not showing the map anymore? I have tried Safari on a Mac and Edge on a couple of Windows PCs (running windows 10 and 11).

@Abhilash Kottakkal definitely sign up for the drive. Any and all pop-outs will be fixed without qualms. I am going to run a poll to see how many volunteers we have for the job.

Please see this gallery to have an idea about the terrain. Newbie - Mahafiz - Sharjah - 5 Jun 2022

Introduction I'm a little late to write about the drive as I had back-to-back drives last week (4 in all Friday through Sunday) and afterwards I edited a couple videos on Sunday and Monday evenings. But here I am with the drive report for the Fwbie Drive on Sunday Morning. Unfortunately, @Joji varghese who was going to support the drive had a battery issue. The briefing was short since three out of four of you drove the previous morning with me and the brief was clear that no fighting Gravity, because we don't want pop-outs similar to the ones we had the previous morning. (PS: I have kept my jack in the factory seal till now and I was not ready to break it. 😜) Drive Report We started slowly getting acquainted with the terrain which is ravaged by preexisting tracks. For the first 22kms we trained mild ridge riding and side sloping with the aim to climb the tall dunes to the north of where we started. We continued to drive without any stoppages for refusals. We did however have to stop a couple of times to adjust the action cam of @Mohammad Sayawoush Azad and a further couple of times to deal with his bumper. Then the real action began as we drove towards camel rock. While we did not drive at FB+ speeds, we saw our companion convoy driving; yet we moved at a brisk pace navigating though the winding dunes giving a roller coaster ride feeling. We stopped at Camel Rock to take a break and enjoy some breathtaking views. The weather was still not hot, and we could gather our thoughts. Next, we climbed the Pink Rock from the back side, because why not? Frankly, it looked like another place altogether, not recognizable at all. After that we practiced few sidees on the side of Pink Rock climb. It was almost 8 am already so it was time to head out. The message was clear, no distraction and we also need a lot of attention as the drive will take us through some of the tallest and windiest dunes in this part of the Sharjah desert. We drove like a row of ants, following the track lay in front of us going up some steep hills without any qualms and, the radio silence only being broken by @Lalaji declaring everything is okay at the back. For convoy, the adrenaline rush it was feeling did not let it know but, finally, at about 8:50 a.m.; When we were on the top of Big Red, we started to feel the strain that this drive had put upon us. We did a couple of more sidees on the side of Big Red and exited at 9:00 a.m. half an hour later than what I declared at the start of the drive but, the delay was only because we were having so much fun driving. Credits @Mohammad Sayawoush Azad, I am glad that you and your companions had a fun drive, after an excruciating previous morning. You did well as a second lead, keeping adequate distance as well as keeping up with me throughout the drive climbing every hill that lay in front of you without any issues. You could have easily realized the potential of your ride. It sure needs some modifications to be suitable for more intense off-roading but soon you will have a lot more fun in it. As we both realized at the end of the drive, this hobby can be quite addictive. @Haneef Thayyil, you cannot have just one and call it enough driving a week, can you? Nice to see you again, in what paraphs third drive with me on the trot. However, as I pointed out during as well as on the previous post, you were keeping a lot more distance between you and the car in front, which can result in you losing track, especially in a place like Tawi Nazwa where there are millions of them. @Lalaji, you kept pace with the Y62s in front of you, matching their speed as well as hill climbing prowess. I also appreciated your announcements for everyone to know that we are doing well at the back. You also made it up by coming for the Sunday as promised the previous morning. @Issam Atra, I have previously heard about a lot of your ride. At Carnity, we adore XJs and you showed us why. You were at the sweep of a very short convoy and obviously had ample fun. See you all in the next instalment of Looper's loops.

I choose 4H Auto because I did not know what Part Time 4x4 was at the beginning just like you and auto (presumably like in any camera) takes care of most stuff. But later on when I learnt what Part Time 4x4 was, then too continued with 4H Auto because it just worked flawlessly for my use case scenario.

@Abhilash Kottakkal, it is going to be an exploratory drive. I have not been here in ages now, the last drive I did here was in May 2022 in a Newbei drive. Hence I cannot say how the terrain will be. There are a couple of sections where I have driven in the past but there will be a patch of track where I have never been to and will be exploring. As far as I know, it will be technical, bushy with a lot of vegetation - at least at the start. In the second part it will be similar to Badayer, but more compact. and 3rd Part no idea; I will see what it looks like with rest of the convoy.

As a Newbie driver we do advise you to just drive in 4H Auto (assuming it’s JL). In the 4H Auto the computer in the car manages where the power need to go and depending on the requirement it might just act like 2H or 4H when needed. TBH I and most of us JL drivers drove in 4H Auto even Intermediate drives and never ever felt any issues with the power delivery. I started to drive 4H part time only after I started to lead. And even now, sometimes I drive 4H Auto and I find very less differences. The reason for it is the computer is used to my desert driving and manages accordingly. 4H Part time is actually misleading. Because it is full time 4x4 and power is delivered to all 4 wheel at all times. It’s the traditional 4x4, hence better. Following is my personal opinion: You can do advance courses in different clubs including in Carnity, and it will definitely help you to learn finer details much more quickly and will be your prerogative to decide if you want to do those courses or not. While you will learn what to do, quickly; you will still need to practice and it will take as many drives, but at least it is not a learning experience anymore, but rather practice.

“If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing.” ― Ayn Rand I am still trying to figure out how many drives are too many drives. Thank you very much to everyone associated with @Carnity - All the Club Members, Support Team, the Marshals and the Crew, every day is a pleasure in your company.

DRIVE PLAN This Sunday, I intend to start a serires of exploratory drives. Let's meet at Muhafez Trees to explore a track towards Faya and its exit routes. In this terrain we will find a lot of vegetation but also some of the nicest bowls if my memory serves me well. Towards the end Faya is every off-roader's dream track. We will end our drive at Faya Roundabout. We request every member that joins this drive to go through the information below and strictly follow these guidelines, etiquette, and responsibilities. MUST READ AND COMPLY Environmental Policy Offroad Flag Guideline Two Way Radio Guideline Off road Driving Etiquettes Emergency details for all off roaders Off Road Driving - Roles & Responsibilities DRIVE DETAILS Level: Fewbie and above When: 08 October 2023, Sunday Meeting time: 6:00 AM - Sharp (Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/X9ZZcffaXf7cBTQ4A Approximate finish time: 10:00 AM 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, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn. RECOMENDED OFF-ROAD GEAR: Tire deflator & Tire pressure gauge Compressor (MANDATORY) Walkie-talkie radio (MANDATORY) Off-road flag (MANDATORY) Shovel, Tow Rope & 2 Shackles First-aid kit Fire extinguisher LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE This drive is limited to 10 cars only. RSVP will close on Saturday - 12 PM. If the RSVP is full, you can add your name to the waitlist, once anyone drops, you will be moved to the RSVP list. RSVP will close a day prior to preparing a convoy list. Latecomers will be returned - Without any exceptions. Members without RSVP will be returned - 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 CALENDAR

Nice video thank you very much. May I suggest that you use a gps remote instead of fiddling with the phone while driving. Alternatively few also use the watch app as well. I have in the past used to use the phone app but now use gps remote. This also helps record the gps telemetry (in my experience) with much more precisely than the phone app.

Congratulations on your first IM drive mate. Well done! I think you meant your co-passenger in the advisor drive.

@Cha guiding convoy. From Faqa'a to Solar Park on Sat Sep 30, 2023

A fantastic drive to start the long weekend. I didn't have any time to do anything else other than eat... sleep... drive... and repeat... Thank you @M.Seidam for scheduling this excellent and exhilarating drive. It was great to meet @Sunil Mathew, @Ahmad Nerat, @Senthil Kumar, @Pacific and @Cha. It was so fast and furious I had to actually wonder at what level we were supposed to be driving. Few pics in the gallery. Thank you all for the drive. See you soon.