munkybizness

Please waitlist me, as a second drive.

Yes! That's awesome! We definitely need more Y61s on Carnity. Will catch you on a drive soon, and spread the bug 😬 Thank you 🙏 Looking forward to it! Used your shoveling technique on Fred's night drive this weekend 😉

Thank you! Your advice has given me a lot of confidence and insight. I hope to be in more convoys with you 🙏

Thank you @Fredericfor making this happen. And doing it with such elan! Although, seeing how @Gaurav & @Srikumar "joined" us into the dam was very suspect Thanks for confirming on the radio that it was them. For a moment, my brain couldn't comprehend why this car was trailing 400m behind me - like a cop. Guess the "marshal" values never leave the system 😛 It's amazing hearing how many people interacted with the astronomer in the parking lot. He was inviting every car in the lot to come take a peek at Jupiter. A little gutted that I didn't join the wider crew but my brother and I were the sole campers on the bridge. After oversleeping and rushing to Gaurav's drive in the AM, I managed to steal a few winks under the night sky. At 2.30am, a hissing snake on our makeshift rug rudely awakened (read scared the crap out of us) and we chickened back to the car in the parking lot, and then out soon after. Will definitely look forward to the next drive and seeing you all again soon!

As I rack up more "firsts" with Carnity, last night was a double-header with a tight-knit convoy followed by meteor showers behind misplaced clouds. Having done some parts of this track with @Frederic in the morning, seeing it at night brought a completely different view to the experience. For one, at many points in the drive, I was completely oblivious to the elevation we had climbed until we would descend down steep dune walls to realize how high we actually were. There were a few refusals and sticky sand situations but all of them provided new opportunities to learn. On Wednesday, I had boasted about how ready I was for "shoveling duty". The universe was listening, intently Thank you @Rizwanm2 for being such a tour de force as sweep. But thank you mostly for teaching me how to connect ropes and shackles to recovery points, where & how to shovel, and most importantly giving me the right guidance when I had refusals. @Lakshmi Narasimhan, you have hands-down the most kitted out Pajero I've ever seen. I think we deserve a forum post "teardown" on just everything you've built and added as you've gone along. I was taking mental notes the entire time. Your chase lights can be used to help planes (or aliens) land in the desert. You riding the ridge out of that bowl was masterclass. @Savio Fernandes - two drives in one day! There were many moments in the drive where you gave me just the right kind of braking warning with dips. It saved my nose on many occasions. The refusals and sticky situations are all part of the experience, and driving at night can be a bit nerve-wracking but you did great. Did those "teenagers" offer you to buy your car too? 😛 And finally, @Frederic thank you for a lovely leisure drive visiting forests, helping aliens find Sharjah, navigating us through exciting terrain, and planting a big fat smile of satisfaction on my face at the end. All of this while meeting two of my favorite people here. The total number cannot be counted on my two hands 🙏

Thanks @Ferl Brown🙏🏽

Ahh! Can't take it back now 😛 The exuberance to help comes from seeing you marshals really putting in that elbow grease every single time #respect

Thank you! I hope we're in a drive together soon. You are an amazing driver to follow

With @Rizwanm2behind me, I'm going to bring my sunglasses and leave my lights in low beam 😎☀️

Thank you @ShereenMK & @Damien Ranjit!

Thank you @Gaurav, @Frederic & @Nivin! I'm ready for shoveling duty 💪😆

I’m confirmed to join in! Thanks 🙏🏽

Some further assurances here, @Gaurav Dubai Astronomy Group is hosting an event atop Jebel Jais on the night of the 12th: https://dubaiastronomy.com/events/perseids-meteor-shower-2021/ Mleiha Archaeological Centre (as part of the Sharjah Tourism) is also hosting a viewing party on the night of August 12th: https://www.visitsharjah.com/sharjahsummer/categories/activities/catch-the-perseids-meteor-shower

Just one more? Let’s get recruiting… 😎

Hi @Ale Vallecchi, I’m already signed up for another drive and this would be my second drive.

Please waitlist me, as a second drive.

Thanks for sharing this. Will definitely attempt it on an early AM next week. If you're keen to do a steep ascent, check out the Jebel Yibir climb too. It's a paved road so most cars can take it but my brakes were screaming for help coming down. There is a military checkpost at the top (EID, DL & Registration) which was easy to get through. You can return back down and route through Wadi Shrayeb.

That's a stunning capture 🤩👏

My second night drive and I can safely say I'm falling more in love with night driving than the day. The calm in the desert at night combined with the simple hum of our engine as the only sound crackling through makes me feel like I'm on an exploratory adventure - for both the mind and the body. In @Brian Dev's words, it's a "trance" indeed. As I settled into the drive, I cued Tchaikovsky and let the orchestral scores announce our grand entrance every time our lights opened a dark area, a feat occuring every other second. But what good is an orchestra if not for the conductor guiding the symphony. @Gauravand his light bar opened up new expressions of the desert sand, sometimes even a distant planet. Halfway back @Tbone kept the string of the halfway quartet connected. Waving and dancing on slopes, he gave fervent new expressions for the score we were crafting. And in the back, the calm and soft @Janarthangiving the resolute affirmation that our score was strong. On a serious - and less poetic note - @Gaurav Soni, I must apologize if I was unable to find the right spacing. I could see in my mirror that I was sometimes forcing you to stop in uncomfortable spots. Thank you all for a splendid drive. And let's go see Mars next time.