@mjj
Officer Cadet
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Appreciate all the support. Hopefully can attend more drives when we get into season. Working on Fridays has its downside…
Hi all,
Just an FYI….these are available on blingmytruck for AED250.
Cheaper and quicker to get than ordering them from amazon.
I am in no way affiliated with the site…just use it sometimes.
Would love to make this but think that I will be in the office.
Will join if anything changes.
Great drive by Sanjay! Since we were one convoy we started off at a relatively calm pace taking an easier route through the very soft sand. As confidence in the convoy grew Sanjay started to pick up the pace and difficulty. There was some fantastic side sloping…felt like we were surfing the dunes forever!
We had a few stucks along the way, but nothing major until a little bowl towards the end of the drive. At one time we had 4 cars needing some sort of assistance (pushing/digging/sand ladders/towing) in what was incredibly (incredibly) soft sand. We needed 3 tow ropes attached together to reach some hard enough sand for the recovery – which highlighted the need for people to carry all necessary equipment. In time all were recovered and we were able to end the drive just in time for Iftar.
In all, a cracking lead from Sanjay. Highly enjoyable route through some technical dunes in soft sand. Looking forward to the next one.
Cheers!
I take your Toyota and raise you a Honda…
[media]http://youtu.be/2150iFXF5Vc[/media]
Hoping to make it tomorrow after the great drive last week. If anything comes up to prevent it I will drop you a message.
quote DuncanField:quote MJJ:After being escorted out the other week, are we sure this area is still ok to go to?This area is further down towards Al Faquaa itself. The area is fine to drive in for now……………..Last time was Murquabb close to Lisailli.
Quite right…I have my Dubai-Al Ain highway exits confused.
Hopefully the schedule allows me to make the drives this weekend.
After being escorted out the other week, are we sure this area is still ok to go to?
Thanks for the vote of confidence all involved! Now on to the next one 😉
Cheers,
Majid
quote Ahmad Pervez:Any tire shop should be able to spare a few for a couple of Dirhams…max.Whenever I had gone to tire shops they only ever offered whole valve stems (I think one wanted AED50 each).
quote anandrajant:I managed to get few from Enoc Proshop close to Ibn Battutha mall, I just paid him 10 dhs 🙂ENOC served the purpose. Grabbed a whole handful of them. All sorted now. Thanks all
I will rename yesterday’s drive as “Camel-gate” (which will be explained later). The newbie convoy was led by Humayan – who decided to steepen the learning curve for the first and few timers alike. By his own admission the route we took was fairly technical and it definitely lived up to it.
Sweep Matthews was kept busy from the off. The first recovery required pulling me off the crest on which I had decided to turn my truck into a giant see-saw (chassis down and minimal contact with front or rear tires). Oops. Once recovered we met with the rest of the convoy that was practicing side sloping. From there Humayan navigated us through/around/over some tight/steep bowls/crests. On the way we had a few stucks, some of which were pulled out of, some of which Matthews took over the car and self recovered. At one point the lead himself needed a helping pull from Matthews, which showed that getting stuck was all part of the sport regardless of experience. All good opportunities to learn from.
As it was getting later we decided to make our way out of the sand, and this is where context will be given to the first sentence. On the way back a SWB patrol came up along side the convoy and told us that we had to exit via a different route. I assume that this was because we were driving into a roaming herd (?) of camels. We changed our direction accordingly…but before long the white patrol was on us again pointing us in a different direction. After a little conversation it appeared that the patrol was just going to escort us to a track and back to our starting point at the mosque. There ended the drive.
Though it seemed like we didn’t cover a huge amount of ground (although we might have) there was a lot to be learnt on the path that Humayan drove us. A good experience all around. Thank you.
Majid
Sorry…that got longer than I was expecting…
As I hit the highway towards the group I was greeted with that sinking feeling of someone who had left his/her flag on the floor in the garage – never a great start to a drive. When I reached the meeting point I began to deflate my tires…due to the size of them this is a very time consuming process made thoroughly unenjoyable by the windy conditions on the day. We split in to our convoys and the drive started.
Faheem was leading the newbie convoy and before long that took us in the direction of a place where another convoy or two were waiting. It appeared as though a problem with a car meant that someone’s day was already over and they were escorted back to the road. This meant that the newbie and fewbie convoys were combined.
The newly formed n/fewbie convoy set off with Faheem informing us that he would need to pick up the pace to accommodate the fewbies. Though the leaders tried to get the convoy moving, unfortunately we had a few stucks along the way and Faheem’s tire seemed to want to drop air and needed to be topped up a couple of times during the drive. As I dropped down the side of a bowl I looked up to see the underside of a car and a front left wheel hanging over the crest. I assume that this was the rather tricky and stuck/recovery that Saj was talking about. The half of the convoy ahead of the stuck moved on to a safe waiting point whilst the cars behind sorted all of the problems.
By the time the entire convoy was regrouped the light was starting to fade and we were forced to head back to the road in darkness. This was not the easiest running since much of the convoy (myself included) did not have any additional lights.
All being said I had a great time on my first drive with DO. As Saj said it is often through watching recoveries that we are able to improve our driving the most. The help provided of the marshalls and sweeps was always there whether it was showing the correct line or pulling someone off a crest. The route was an enjoyable one – although some of the tight turns were a bit to tight in my car (I had to do a 3-poin turn at one point). I am very much looking forward to the next drive that I am able to attend. Thanks to Faheem and all of the members that organised and helped out during the drive.
Till next time.
MJJ
Looking forward to what will be my first drive with DO. See you on Friday.
Sorry, had to take name off trip…something has come up which means I won’t be able to attend.
Was really looking forward to joining you guys. Hopefully next week.
