Looper

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi for giving us for a great drive today. It was hot but who cares about it when you have @Ale Vallecchi at the lead. It was a test of endurance and perseverance and the entire convoy came out on top. One of the most memorable drives for me.

@DP1011, yes I noticed it yesterday when @Varun Mehndiratta joined the drive. @Pieter Pot & @Senthil Kumar I have added you guys to the drive. Pleaes confirm your availability. I will be posting the drive convoy list in a while.

You can put it in the comments section, it will also time stamp them to click and see, that's a neat feature on YouTube. @DP1011 added them as comments on the YouTube videos. Thanks @Zed for the putting the time stamps and giving the idea. One more key moment in the 2nd video is when i got stuck in a bowl just behand @GauravSoni about 5:09. I need to change my tires; they don't have the same grip that I am used to and expect from them.

I recorded all you guys coming in and climbing the dune but due to the focal length you can't see much. Same with the Al Qua drive I recorded @GauravSoni doing his rounds but never gave the video to him because it is difficult to comprehend what is happening.

This week I want to present to you two videos once again. These are from the Intermediate Drive at Al Saad led by @GauravSoni. I was on the second lead and Super @Mario Cornejo was the sweep. We also had @Jaro Tuzinsky @Gertjan and @Chris Wing in their FJs, @Benjamin, @DP1011 and @Vaibhav in the JLUs. @Waqas Parvez and @ASAD. were the Prado Boys plus any drive that starts at Abu Dhabi, we have @Zed's presence to complete the convoy. The first video is a couple of refusals I faced and the self-recovery. It shows what to do and what not to do during refusal situations. The second part of the drive was extremely exciting, but I do not want hours-long video, so it is just a few clips. Part 3: this video focuses on the Lead @GauravSoni

@Krishna R, @Frans M, @Joseph Raju, @Gary F, @Bashar Beasha, @Mark B, @Bjoern, @Chris Wing, @Zulfikhar Naiyar, @Anoop Nair cc: @DP1011 & @Davie Chase Thank you very much for joining this drive. The plan is to extract the most out of the area and it is going to be quick in more ways than one and it will take a toll on the vehicle so please make sure that your car is in tip top condition. Do also double check your calendar, make good excuses, if necessary, in case you have any commitments that you are trying to ignore and be ready. Please do confirm your availability by tomorrow afternoon to plan the convoy. We will publish the Convoy order later on Saturday afternoon. @Pieter Pot, @Senthil Kumar hang in there for some more time if you are still interested.

See for yourself. It is by @Batuhan Kulac's YouTube channel and the Jeep that I can see here seems that of @Gok Krish and he is talking about THIS drive.

a couple of charts from me: This is the chart that shows the last car used by approx. 433 members with whom I have driven since I joined the club. It's 183 drives for you. As you can see the big four are Jeep, Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi. This one is a bit more comprehensive chart. where i have listed models. There are a total of 118 Wranglers in the mix. And the winner is Pajero LWB with 57 driving it currently. followed by Wrangler JL LWB (44) and FJ (41) Cruiser and Xterra (38). of these four only JL is currently available, and the rest have been phased out. --- There are 118 Wranglers in the mix.

This was my fourth drive on this particular track. and a question arises why am I doing so many Lisaili Drives? There are a few reasons. First is, as I mentioned in the drive plan - it provides a bouquet of terrains and one can expand to any level that one wants to depend on how the convoy is performing. Second this track provides a lot of easy exits in case we need to, and as I am trying to get myself as familiar as possible with this track it is an ideal track to drive and learn. Third, till now I have done four leads in this track, but I still find few pockets of surprises. Fifth, this drive also ends conveniently at Qudra. Sixth is the most important reason, which is that I had drawn up a plan that I have still not achieved, so expect few more to go. This drive came quite close to my plan in the first half, but the second half got jinxed. We drove quickly and did a lot of ridge riding and finished the first 25 km in the first hour itself. But then we had to face a silly issue with @Anoop Nair's Jeep that developed an issue with the gears not slotting. I put all the learnings I had in my Leaders Lead training to drive to an easy exit for the Jeep. After we dropped @Anoop Nair and our surprise guest and birthday boy @M.Seidam at the at the initial exit, we carried on. It was a 20 km detour to drop them and get back to the desert to resume our drive that consumed another hour of our drive time. By this time, the sun was shining very brightly and the white sands at Qudra were very tough to comprehend. Anyways we did another 20 km till the exit, which saw us driving on the tall dunes of Qudra as well as a bit of Baja style fast paced drive towards the exit. After the exit at the time of inflation my car won't restart. I found that the positive terminal was completely out of its slot. I put it back and started which it did, but it stopped charging the battery. I drove to Qudra fuel station where I called a recovery, and at the service station they found that one a fuse bust - but why? A short circuit while placing the positive terminal, it was technically an easy fix and I had those fuses as well but did not have the knowledge to look at it, any ways lesson learned. To start with, thanks a lot to @DP1011 for your continued support and appreciate you being there when needed. You did an excellent job in second lead, and I very much suspect the reason for your asking to be there, but I am happy you are taking this step as soon as you are doing. @FERNANDO SYRIO, you should have realized that your Fortuner is more than capable of what you throw at it and it performed as well as you wanted it to. @Mohit Gurnani, you are a regular on my drives, so I see the progress you have been making and it is impressive. I keep pushing the level depending on the convoy and you keep performing at every level. @Anoop Nair, the minor hiccup aside, thanks for joining this drive and you are a support for this drive i could count on. and Finally, Doc @M.Seidam, thanks for joining this drive and while you did not mention at that time, doing your celebratory drive with us. It was a pleasure as well as an honor driving with you always. Gaia GPS track

Congratulations @Saverio Arena on your promotion!

Congratulations @Gary F on your promotion! Well done.

DRIVE PLAN Oh, Tawi Nazwa what has happened to you! The trades men and enthusiast alike have ravaged the terrain and we won't find any area that is barred of tracks. But we have a fantastic opportunity to revisit those tracks on a fast-paced drive through those dunes starting at Tawi Nazwa and ending at Big Red. The Drive will be quick in more ways than one. Considering the heat during this summer season, it will be grueling on the vehicle - so make sure that your car is in particularly good condition. 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 Plus and above When: 25 June 2023, Sunday Meeting time: 5:30 AM - Sharp (Without any exceptions) Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/PXcRwegWaX8dienE7 Approximate finish time: 9:30 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. Recommended off-road gears: Walkie-talkie radio and off-road flag (MANDATORY), plus tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, compressor, walkie-talkie radio, off-road flag, shovel, first-aid kit, and 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