munkybizness

Well done @Daniel Rodas! And what a way to get there while out on a phenomenal drive where you threw everything at it, including that sweet sweet sound 😎

Congratulations @Mohamad Anwer! This is extremely well deserved and completed in one of the most classically beautiful cars in Carnity. See you on a drive soon!

Amazing! Thanks for the prompt response and support 🙏🏽🤩

@Gaurav we’re unable to join any drives. Getting a message that says we’ve reached our max limit for the week. We’ve had to waitlist instead

Always with the coolest names... 🤩

With a total drive time of 6 hours and 51mins, where we spent almost equal parts stopped as we were moving, we got plenty of exercise (and sand) in. I won't be visiting a gym until June comes around. But let's pause for a minute and reflect on the fact that you drove for 6 hours and 51 mins. I'm certain you drove at least 45mins to get there, and did the same going back. That's almost 8.5 hours of driving in a day. That's a test of your endurance. And you nailed it 🤩 It's been a few months since I've been a part of a Newbie convoy. And I'd forgotten just how much one gets to learn by being in one. I'm sure some of you will be very pleased with the way you drove today, some of you will be self-critiquing like harsh taskmasters, and some still will just be too exhausted at this point to think either way. If you're being overtly critical with yourself, please don't be. You all did extremely well. Getting stuck is inevitable, and for those doing recoveries, it's a great learning process. I learned how to execute a tethered pull on @Sunny84 and a sustained pull on @Mahmoud Tahaincluding how and where to position my car to do these. In refusals, were the opportunities for me to improve my recovery knowledge. But for those who were fasting (i.e. @Islam Soliman and I'm sure others) deserve this recognition even more. He was out of his car in the heat, with the sun glaring down upon us, and troubleshooting every single refusal, continuing to be patient, and leading us safely out through to the exit. Islam, I am in complete awe of your resilience and the calm demeanour with which you carried us through this experience. I have learned so much today from you 🙇‍♂️ 🙏 After missing my alarm for @Ale Vallecchi's drive yesterday, I woke up at 3.00am today so I could be there on time. And even then @Looper had beaten me to the punch. As the support on the drive, he was there, a beacon of light, waiting in the darkness. And it too speaks about a role you play so well. Your support on every refusal and keeping the middle section tethered was of utmost importance. I also stood atop the crest today when you took off which is a sight I will not be forgetting for years to come. Last night, when I saw the drive roster, I was a bit surprised to see @Mario Cornejo ahead of me. With as many intermediate drives as I have Newbie & Fewbie, his experience shows in the way he drives - with care, sensibility and yet still exciting. In him, I found the perfect "third lead", who gave me a fresh new perspective at the back with the churn. And because you were trying to figure out the LWB, I saw you instinctively do the things I usually do so it was a nice peg to follow along to. Your support in the refusals are truly appreciated. Your banter made it all the more enjoyable. To everybody else in the convoy, I'm going to try and not make this post as long as the drive itself. So I'll try and keep this limited to three things that you should all experiment with, in your upcoming drives. Throttle Management: Everyone today had cars with enough power. Even 3.5l Pajeros. But driving offroad is about using "just enough" power. That's the skill we're all trying to develop. If you overpower, you'll get over every dune, with scrapes, without a bumper, and in time you'll churn up so much sand, you'll make the drive for those behind you in the convoy unbearable. If you under-power, you'll get crested or stuck in a side slope lock. Every single driver, regardless of skill or experience or number of drives is constantly working to improve their throttle management. So if you were going quite fast today, try to do the next drive a little slower. Watch how many RPMs you need to "just make it". If you were getting crested, learn when to "let go of the accelerator" and not brake. Our heavy beasts can slow down pretty rapidly climbing by just lifting the foot off than pressing the brake. Putting your foot down is easy. The real fun comes from feathering it just enough. Follow the track, but don't drive in it: Following the track is very important. It keeps us safe. But when you think "track", don't think like a train even though we're a convoy. You don't need to be on it precisely. Instead, it is a path. If 4 cars of different weights, and throttle responses drove on the track precisely, it would get churned up. Instead, go a little left or a little right and flatten that little mound that was made by the driver before you, by putting your wheels on it. Adapt to the elasticity of the convoy: A convoy will stretch and shorten basis the size of dunes and gradients of bowls in between. If the dunes have steep bowls, it will begin to stretch out as everybody needs more distance to accurately climb and still be safe. If the gradients are smoother, it will compress because we can maintain a healthy visual rhythm. So adapting to the elasticity of the convoy will help you be in the right place to see exactly how the car in front of you has negotiated a dune. If you are too far out, you will not see when they braked, if they took a bump on the other side, or if they struggled climbing up a soft patch. If you're too close, any of these situations will make you shifty and you'll let go of the throttle causing yourself to lose momentum and get stuck. Thank you all for a gruelling educational day in the sun. It was an absolute pleasure to meet new faces and see the endurance of you (and your passengers) in full force. See you soon on the sands, and Eid mubarak to all celebrating 🌙 [ 🐵 ]

@Ale Vallecchi - count me in, for either convoy.

Good Morning Ale, I’m terribly sorry but I’ve missed the buzzer for my alarm this morning Even if I was to leave now, I wouldn’t be there before 6.50am, which would severely and unfairly delay the convoy. Please accept my sincere apologies for not making it today. I will be no doubt kicking myself for missing the Oryx Express, a drive I’ve been pining over for weeks.

LWB? Did I read that right?! Also, thank you for accepting my waitlist @Islam Soliman

Supremely well deserved @Zixuan Huang - Charlie! From the Liwa Crossing to every other drive, I've been with you on, it is truly a pleasure to see how calmly you push that Pathfinder up every tail. Also, outside @Frederic, you're perhaps the most knowledgeable person for radio issues.

Definitely the coolest car in Carnity, helmed by an amazing driver who pilots it with such great finesse. Congratulations @Fabien Monleau! Looking forward to being with you on a drive soon

Congratulations @Gertjan on the promotion, and do continue to regale us with some of the best photography from the drives. It really helps us all relive the action of the day - even if we're not there.

Supremely well deserved @Davie Chase. And you’ve been one of the most supportive drivers on the convoy well before this recognition. Only onwards and upwards from here 😎✨

Sorry @Shaaz Sha! I really wanted to be on this drive - conquering Sweihan, especially with your eye for finding the most stunning tails of dunes is an experience nobody should miss out on. But I've got to fly out tomorrow and I'm so gutted that I will have to miss this, including a convoy of my favorite people. I'll make up for this soon enough.

Congratulations @Andrei S - enjoy the new level

It's been a month since I last drove out into the desert. With travel keeping me away from the sands and the city, the itch to be out there only grew stronger with every passing week. And when the opportunity to do a night drive came on, I jumped. I'd just arrived back in town last week, and my car was still dusty from sitting out. I joked with @Vaibhav when I got to the meeting point, that I may not be able to see much out of my windscreen. Fortunately, that was never the case, as both the full moon and our array of lights lit up the desert sands in spectacular fashion. The last time I did a full moon "ride", I was on horseback many years ago. I still remember that memory with great fondness. Last night, I could see the same full moon as our north star always keeping an eye and laying out a silver path ahead of us in the darkness. A truly magical feeling which was felt with the long moments of silence on the radio, as the convoy snaked through the night, criss-crossing, diving, climbing and side-sloping to Doc @M.Seidam's trailblazing path. Being a center-forward position, the weight of responsibility was weighing heavily on me. And with the time away from the desert, I wasn't sure how rusty I was and if it would be second nature again. In the end, it truly was. And it all comes down to how easily and with great aplomb, this convoy of ours drove. The refusals which were few and far between are all natural given the lack of visibility. It is a given when you don't know what's beyond to lay off the throttle and get crested. I took some unnecessary leaps because I was just too eager. Fortunately, my car and I both were just so eager to jump forward, that never did one feel misplaced or a step too far. Driving behind @Karthik Raptor and his beast, I was initially weary of the churn this monster would leave behind. On the contrary, he left the lightest of tracks and his pacing and throttle both showed just how well accustomed he has become with his car. Other Raptor drivers should take a leaf out of his book. A beautiful drive, Karthik. And behind me, I could see the large light array of @Ahmad Shaker holding tether to my track. Your caution was well warranted in most areas. And you pulled the rear end with my favorite back-benchers along. We were also witness to Ahmad's superhuman strength when he pulled Dr. Seidam's car with his bare hands. We will be using you to do tugs in the future. @Morshedi, you and I have not been on drives before but you were the perfect second lead. As the drive went on, you gave Doc just that few seconds more to find the best path forward helping us not run into too many re-routes. And your help in shoveling at every refusal was a major boon. Seeing your Wrangler flexing in your stuck was a sight to behold too. It really displayed the articulation of your car's suspension and its frame. While we heard the chassis make some groaning sounds, it was to be expected especially when you had one full wheel in the air. @Vaibhav & @Waqas Parvez come in pairs. Beyond the chatty banter that I love so much with you gents, it is your spirit to always help out, always be there, leaning in and pushing us all through. Having you on the drive not just made it even more exciting for me to be there but I could sit back and relax because I knew as good as the drivers you are, any issue would be quickly resolved. For those up front who couldn't see them, missed the beautiful cat & mouse charade the two had on the entire drive. You both drive so in sync with each other, it is a treat for any bystander. @ASAD. & @AlexM - with no issues between the two of you upfront, and the tightness of the front half, it was clear that you too were so in sync with the rhythm we were all on. Thank you for keeping up the pace and translating it down the line to us. A convoy always feels more alive when every car is running in sync. And you gents did just that. Thank you all for helping me come back to this, with renewed vigour. I left early this morning, energy spent, sand in the hair and my cabin, and a beaming smile telling myself and everyone around me that I had a great drive with an amazing convoy. See you all out on the sands soon [🐵]

Apologies @Gaurav, I’m going to have to drop out as I need to go pick up family from the airport before my night drive. I’m going to drop out of the drive, but I’ll show up at the meeting point to drop off the stickers for the Liwa Drive before you folks leave into the desert.

@AlexM- absolutely! It's precisely the reason why I'm popping by the Iftar Drive to drop some off

Congratulations @Mark D , and enjoy the change in pace

Well done @Felix Obst and congratulations on the promotion! Enjoy the new level

Congratulations on the promotion @DP1011!

Congratulations @RiaanJH! Enjoy the new level

Congratulations @KKIRAN! Enjoy the adrenaline pump that comes with FB+ 😎